Morning Story: 12.3.08

Posted by Dave at Wednesday, December 03, 2008 10:44 AM
Categories: Bruins,Red Sox,Celtics,Patriots,Boston sports scene


What's on the mind as we begin to make our way over the hump of this post-holiday week...
  • For the fact his acceptance could create the ideal bridge between generations at catcher, the Red Sox offer of arbitration to Jason Varitek was virtually a no-brainer. If he accepts, Boston gets him back under a one-year commitment, essentially giving the club more time to plot its course for the future. If he declines, and signs elsewhere, the Sox get a couple of the coveted draft picks they've made so dangerous over recent years.

    Though there may be a less-official benefit, too. Because Varitek is a Type-A free agent, any team that signs him will forfeit their first-round pick to Boston (or a second rounder if it's in the top 15), and that factor could give the Sox the upperhand in the event of open-market negotiations. Not only would the interest of a new team cost that club somewhere in the neighborhood north of $20 million, but also a prime opportunity to pick up a young and controllable talent — and that package may prove prohibitive for a 36-year-old coming off his worst offensive season. But for the clubs who are really, really desperate for a veteran backstop that would seem too steep a price, and so if the Sox really want him to return, this offer of arbitration — even if initially rejected — may be the ticket to bringing back the captain on their terms.

  • As for the other half of the Heathcliff Slocumb heist, it was exciting to see that Derek Lowe would welcome a return to the Red Sox. And I have no doubt that a starter of Lowe's consistency and credentials would pay big dividends for the team in 2009, and probably beyond.

    But if it costs the type of terms and money Scott Boras is suggesting it might — four or five years at more than $15 million a season — the Sox might be wiser to spend elsewhere. Whether it's Lowe or A.J. Burnett, the Sox would be committing a significant chunk of their future to a pitcher who could well be their fourth-best starter, and occupying the cash they could use to secure their core. By the time that deal would expire, Boston will be forced to re-sign Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia, with Jacoby Ellsbury looming not long thereafter.

    So yeah, Lowe would be a nice pick-up. But not if paying Lowe to pitch at 39 costs Boston a young star in his prime.

  • If you'd bet a buck on the odds I'd have given you during his — 4-5, 4.66 ERA, 1.67 WHIP — 2002 stint with the Red Sox that six years later the 38-year-old Darren Oliver would be considered a top-tier, Type-A free agent ... you may be able to single-handedly fund the government bailout by now.

  • KNOWLEDGE-IS-YOUR-PRIZE Trivia: The Bruins are the NHL's third-highest scoring team. How many players do they have in the league's top 48 scorers? (See below for answer.)

  • There isn't much risk to the Patriots' signing of Rosevelt Colvin, seeing as it's essentially a four-game deal. Though it could produce significant rewards.

    It's unrealistic to think the former Pro Bowler will come in off the street and five days later be the difference maker that turns around the entire season. But Colvin's strength has always been his ability to rush the passer, and so he could be just what the doctor ordered in the third-and-long situations that have stung New England so often. Apparently afraid to leave their defensive backs alone in coverage, the Pats have been reluctant to blitz in those scenarios — though with Colvin and Mike Vrabel now coming off the edges, a bring-the-house change in that strategy could be in store for this Sunday.

  • Oh, and it might help to use your most dominant defensive lineman during the game's decisive down, too.

  • Nothing says blowout like the Pacers coming to town tonight, on the second night of a back-to-back with each of the reigning NBA finalists, and the rested Celtics waiting to avenge one of their season's two lonely losses. But, this evening aside, I believe Indiana's going to have a say in the Eastern Conference playoff race before this season's over.

    They're 7-10, though they've dropped seven games by 10 points or less. Once a young team figures out a way to win, and resolves the Jamaal Tinsley situation, the quality coaching of Jim O'Brien will make Danny Granger and the Pacers a team to reckon with.

  • Let's get this straight: A sport that allows (and celebrates) bare-knuckled fighting suspends Sean Avery for hilarious-and-away-from-the-rink trash talk, specifically using the term "sloppy seconds"? I realize Avery is a punk, but c'mon. Even a fine would've been excessive.

  • Plaxico Burress should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and both Antonio Pierce and Ahmad Bradshaw could be going down (if not as far) with him. But no matter what their record suggests over the next month, we won't know what this incident means for the Giants until at least the playoffs.

    Now 11-1, if they split the final four to finish at 13-3, you'll hear folks saying the Burress fiasco has become a distraction, and the defending champs aren't as dangerous as they once were. Although, they may have gone 2-2, or worse, anyway. Looking at the schedule, there isn't a sub-.500 team left on the slate, and each of New York's final four games means more to the opponent than it does the Giants.

    They've got the Eagles this week, then go to Dallas, Carolina comes to the Meadowlands, then they end the season at Minnesota. Particularly those last two tilts could be totally meaningless for the Giants, and totally do-or-die for their foe, so don't put all that much stock in their outcome. Wait until January to pass judgment on Plaxico's impact.

    Though you needn't wait another minute to pass judgment on Plaxico's intelligence.

  • TRIVIA ANSWER: One. Marc Savard (30 points) is in a sixth-place tie with Joe Thornton, while Phil Kessel's 20 points have him knotted for 49th.

    Depth, baby. It's called Bruins.

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