Red Sox Pitching Puts Them Head and Shoulders above the Rest

The Boston Red Sox have easily found out the formula to winning come October. PITCHING!!!! The Red Sox by far have the best pitching staff that is situated for a seven or five game series against anyone. With three Aces in their hand (Lester, Dice K and Beckett) and one the river in Papelbon, the other playoff teams will need to find a way to get five-of-a-kind if they want to beat this team.

The Red Sox pitchers have been dominate so far in this post-season. Their starters have combined for a 2.03 ERA allowing 7 ER in 31 IP so far. The bullpen has been just as effective posting a 2.11 ERA, allowing 4 ER in 17 IP . In a combined 48 IP they have been averaged 8.56 K/per 9IP and averaging less than one hit per inning.

Many skeptics questioned Francona's decision to start Dice "K" in game one of the ALCS. Well so much for that. In fact in may have been the best decision he could of made. The move allowed all of his pitchers to stay in routine and if they happen to see themselves behind after game 5, they will have Beckett and Lester in games 6 and 7. Believing that the series will at least go 5 games, Francona will be able to start Lester and Beckett in game 1 and 2 of the world series. This was a smart move by Francona lining up his pitching staff in a way that gives his team the best chance to win the World Series, not just one game.

The most impressive stat so far this post-season must be that the Red Sox pitchers have only allowed a combined 6 extra-base hits the entire post-season. Four of those hits were allowed by Beckett in game 3 of the ALDS and in-fact those 4 hits were the only extra-base hits given up by any Red Sox starter so far. In comparison, the Red Sox offense has 16 extra-base hits and the other teams left all have given up more extra-base hits Tampa (11), LA (13) and Philly (9).

This team may be the complete package. The combination of dominate big game starters, a great closer, solid defense all around the field, a line-up with power and speed, and a bullpen that understands and thrive on their roles makes them a tough team to beat. There is one team that can beat the Red Sox , the Red Sox.

NFL TOP 10 - 10/7/08

This weeks NFL Top 10 poll is for the week ending October 5th.

Dropped Out: SD (2-3)

#10 - Tampa Bay (3-2) Tampa drops three spots after a 13-16 loss to Denver. Now they have 4-1 Carolina coming to town this weekend. They need to find more offense if they want to be effective. Expect a hard hitting low scoring game once again from these two teams, and probably close to 70% run plays on offense.

#9 - New England (3-1) The Pats slide into the top 10 for the first time this season. They still have not faced a good opponent yet. Will have a tougher test against a struggling SD team this weekend. The question is are they for real when they need to play better teams, yet they only have four real hard games left (Buffalo-2 games, Denver and Pittsburgh).

#8 - Buffalo Bills (4-1) You knew the glass slipper would eventually fall off, you just didn't expect it to be to the Arizona Cardinals by 24 points. They are still a good team, just not elite! They as well as the Pats will benefit from a weak schedule this year. Lets see what they can do after their bye week against a desperate SD team.

#7 - Carolina (4-1) They move up three spots from #10 last week after dominating a pathetic KC team 34-0. Now comes their biggest test of the season so far with this week at Tampa and then games against two high powered offenses in New Orleans and Arizona. If they can keep up the will continue to move up.

#6 - Denver (4-1) Denver bounced back after an embarrassing loss against KC with a 16-13 win against Tampa. Next up Jacksonville and New England. They will need to find that powerful offense again to make an impact.

#5 - Steelers (4-1) You can describe this team in one word, RESILIENT! Does not matter who they have on the field, if you are wearing black and gold you will be in the game and most times come out on top. Third stringer Moore runs for over 100 yards and this team does not miss a beat. Now they get a week to rest and get healthy before playing Cincy.

#4 - Cowboys (4-1) Despite a 33-21 win over Cincy the Cowboys fall 2 spots from #2. Two reasons, they failed to put away a Cincy team that they had down big early and let them make it a game. Second, once again the secondary is still a problem letting too many yards and only have 1 interception on the year.

#3 - Washington (4-1) The Redskins after being down early at Philly dominated the rest of the game. Two straight weeks with wins at division rivals moves them up to #3. Now the ball is in their court. With three easy wins coming up (St.Louis, Cleveland and Detroit) can they keep up the intensity they showed the past two weeks?

#2 - Titans (5-0) The first time in franchise history this team has started 5-0 and they do it in style, hard nose football style. Nothing flashy in their 13-10 win over Baltimore, just good defense and they did not let their mistakes kill them. After their bye week the should easily make it 6-0 against the pathetic KC Chiefs.

#1 - Giants (4-0) They showed why they are #1 and a cut above the rest. Seattle came in and had no shot from the opening kick off, this is a team that dominates the teams they are suppose to even without their #1 wide-out. As said before they will have a rough second-half, so the next two weeks need to be must wins against Cleveland and SF.

METS - Looking to the Future

Ahhh!!! Another year that ended in disappointment all you Met fans. Not that I am complaining, but the Mets will need to do some work to sure up a team that had more wholes than the Titanic. A clear lack of offense down the stretch was surely to blame down the stretch, as well as a depleted and weakened bullpen after the loss of closer Billy Wagner. Looking at the Mets line-up, after you got past Wright, Beltran and Delgado there seemed to be no answers to producing runs.

So what so the Mets need to do? Some have suggested a total overhaul, we here at Pro Sports Insider feel the Mets only have a few needs to put them over the top and make them a World Series contender. The Mets will free up 40Million with the loss of Pedro, Alou, Oralando Hernandez, Oliver Perez, Jorge Sosa and Easley. So how do we spend that money, there are 4 players.

#1: Pitching, Pitching Pitching! There are two top starters out there C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Either one would give the Mets a one two punch that could carry them during the season and in a playoff series. Behind their top 2, you add Pelfrey, Maine, and will need to find a veteran fifth starter or rookie to fill the 5th spot. (Hey, how about Heilmann?)

#2: Power in LF. Once the dinosaur named Alou went down in LF, the Mets scrambled. They need to look to get younger and add someone to plant in the 3-6 hole in the line-up. There are a few great options out there, Pat Burrell (Philly fans would go nuts) 33HR-86RBI, Adam Dunn 40HR-100RBI, Bobby Abreu (seems like the Yankees don't want him anymore) 20HR-100RBI and Raul Ibanez (hidden talent out in Seattle may be best fit for the Mets) 23HR-110RBI.

#3: Closer / Bullpen. Right away everyone is going to say Franscico Rodriguez. Well hold on a second, he may be the best but also the most expensive. Brian Fuentes (30sv-2.73ERA in Colorado) would be a solid second option and they can fall back on looking at Kerry Wood (34sv-3.72ERA) if they can't land either of Rodgriguez or Fuentes. After the closer role the Mets should be solid the emergence of Parnell and Smith could make Heilmann available to start. Stokes, Schoenweis, Sanchez, Stokes and Feliciano would round out a solid bullpen.

#4: Secondbase. This is a position that the Mets need to get more out of. They tried Castillo, Easley, Martinez, etc. None proved to be consistent enough. Castillo is still going to make 6.25Million next year. The best option is Nick Punto (.284BA) would provide great defense flexibility and a solid offense threat who would hit in the 2nd spot. Other options would be Mark Ellis (OAK), Iguchi (SD) and Eckstein (ARZ).

Mets 2009 Potential Line-up / Roster

1-Reyes (ss), 2-Punto (2B), 3-Beltran (CF), 4-Delgado (1B), 5-Wright (3B), 6- Free Agent LF, 7- Church (RF), 8-Schneider (C), 9 - P

Rotation: Santana, Burnett or Sabathia, Pelfrey, Maine, 5th Starter TBD

Bullpen: Parnell, Heilmann, Stokes, Sanchez, Smith, Schoenweiss(L), Feliciano(L)

Closer: Funetes or Rodriguez

WEEKLY NFL TOP 10

Each Week during the NFL season we will post our weekly Top 10 NFL Teams. We encourage any and all our readers to give us your comments on the weekly poll:

#10 - Carolina Panthers (3-1) A healthy Jake Delhomme, a strong running game and one of the best defenses in the league. So why are they not higher? Simply because every game with them is close, no matter who their opponent. Which in the end leads them to be upset at times.

#9 - Buffalo Bills (4-0) Nobody expected this team to be 4-0, so are they for real? I do not think so, but expect them to continue to lead a weakened AFC East. No Brady, a rebuilding Miami and a Jets team that even with Favre seem to play too conservative to win the big game. Don’t expect a Super Bowl Bills Fans, but 6 more wins this year will get you a AFC East Championship.

#8 - Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) This team is really banged up, a QB with a bad throwing shoulder, top two RB are both down and out. Yet you can always count on the Steelers to be one of the most resilient teams in the NFL. It will not be an easy road having to play the entire NFC East, but they have no real challengers in the AFC North so expect them to be around come playoff time.

#7 - Tampa Bucs (3-1) Here is there formula, find the oldest QB who can understand Gruden’s playbook terminology, run the ball down people’s throats and hit everything that moves on defense. They have a tough first-half schedule and are 3-1 so far. They will need to find more catches from their WR or it could mean trouble as they move forward and in the playoffs.

#6 - Denver Broncos (3-1) Their offense is the best in the league and their defense is the worst in the league. So bad, my local pop warner team would score 30 points on this defense. They better learn how to stop somebody soon or what started so well could turn bad real fast. A convincing loss to a KC team that couldn't win in the arena football league, keeps them out of our top 5. Expect them to get things straight.

#5 - SD Chargers (2-2) After a tough first two weeks this team has bounced back and could be 4-0. Rivers has stepped up and is starting to understand Norv Turner's offense and they is bad news for the rest of the league. I expect them to keep rolling along in the next few weeks against Miami, New England and Buffalo, so what was once a lost season will soon be a 5-2 team.

#4 - Washington Redskins (3-1) After a rough first week, Jason Campbell looks comfortable in Zorn’s West Coast Offense. They have averaged 26 points over the past three weeks. The verdict is still out if Campbell and this team is deep enough to win the NFC East. Let’s see what they can do @ Philly this weekend before we get too excited.

#3 - Tenn. Titans (4-0) The Titans are 4-0, Vince Young must of finally come of age? No! Then their defense must be out of this world. Winner! The defense has allowed only 46 points in the first four games and Kerry Collins has managed this team with a great combo at RB with Johnson and White. Believe it! They are for real as long as they keep Vince Young off the field. But Jax and Indy will have something to say about this in the end.

#2 - Dallas Cowboys (3-1) Tough loss at home to Washington 26-24, but expect the NFC East to beat up on each other. Still they have too much talent on offense, but as usual their defensive secondary plays too soft and lets too many underneath throws which puts them on their heels. Expect them to roll the next three weeks with Cincy, Arizona and St. Louis.

#1 - NY Giants (3-0) People said their defense would fall apart without Strahan and Umineyora. Don’t be crazy! They have only allowed 43 points and have 13 sacks in the first 3 games. Only question surrounding this team is that they have not been tested yet and won’t be until week 8 @Pitt.

White Sox Prevail / Beware Rest of League

The White Sox just prevailed with a 1-0 win over the Twins, backed by the pitching of John Danks and a solo shot from Jim Thome. In a pitchers duel, the resilient Twins must be commended for the outstanding season. In the end though the Twins failed themselves but losing two-of-three to the Royals at the Metrodome in the final week of the season. If it was not for Joe Maddon down in Tampa, Ron Gardenhire would be your A.L. Manager of the year.

Now to the White Sox, a team that has battled and will play four different teams in five days now when they meet the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday (so far 3-0 in those games). I warn the rest of the A.L., beware! This is not a team that I would want to be facing right now, especially since they have been seemingly playing playoff games for the past three weeks. As you look at the White Sox deeper, they are some of the toughest baseball players around (Jim Thome, Ken Griffey, A.J. Pierzenski, Mark Buerhle and of course their manager Crazy Ozzie Guillen). They may seem old on the field and young in the rotation, but nothing can beat toughness at this time of year. Not to say that they will win, but do not be suprised if they get hot and role through the inexperienced Tampa team.