Bleacher Report - Articles by Robert Speigle

Buckeyes Looking for Big Game Redemption: Receiving Corp Is Key

Robert Speigle — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:16:16 -0400

Two Big Ten powers and top ten teams will meet this Saturday in prime time. Penn State will travel to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in a game that should determine the Big Ten Conference Champion. It is the first night game at Ohio Stadium since 2005, and Buckeye fans make sure you come dressed in scarlet; Ohio State is planning for a "sea of scarlet."

A fact to remember: Penn State has not won at the Horseshoe since joining the Big Ten, with a record of 0-7. Ohio State has played seven night games at home and has a 6-1 record; the only loss coming to 2005 National Champion Texas.

The Buckeyes are looking for a good showing against a top ranked team to alleviate some of the pain that the Southern Cal. loss caused them. Everyone knows the Buckeyes play great defense, and the offense is lead by bruising tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells. He and freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor have lead the Buckeyes attack this year, after Beanie Wells came back from an early season foot injury, and Pryor took over for senior Todd Boeckman after the USC game.

The key to this game will be if the Buckeyes can establish any sort of passing game. Penn State also plays great defense and Ohio State can ill afford to be one dimensional against a great defense.

The Buckeyes receiving corp. is lead by Senior Brian Robiskie and juniors Brian Hartline and Ray Small. Devier Posey, a freshman, has also started to get some of Terrelle Pryor's attention.

Robiskie started the season with a shoulder injury, but seems to be healthy and has been getting more involved in the offense.

Ray Small has been important in the punt return game and has had a couple really good returns, including one against Michigan State last week. He also has to pay more attention to securing the ball, narrowly avoiding a turnover after fumbling a punt return last week against Michigan State.

One other thing the Buckeye receivers will want to make sure they do is catch the ball before they run with it. Ohio State receivers have dropped a lot of passes this year and to beat a great team like Penn State, they will need to have a minimal amount of mistakes.

When he has caught the ball, Brian Hartline has been the Buckeyes biggest play-making receiver with 19.1 yards per catch while Robiskie has the most receiving touchdowns with five.

Penn State features an experienced group of defensive backs with four seniors at the corners and safety positions. The group is lead by hard hitting safety Anthony Scirrotto although he left last Saturday's game against Michigan with a mild concussion and is uncertain to play for the Nittany Lions. He says he will be ready.

Lydell Sargeant leads the team with two interceptions. The Penn State defense hasn't given up more than 24 points this season and hopes to put the clamps on Ohio State's play-makers. If Scirrotto doesn't play, it will be a big factor in the game.

Penn State has Daryll Clark to practice against, so they have a good idea of what to expect from the Ohio State offense. Don't under estimate this defense Buckeye fans. Expect nothing less than the hard hitting games these two teams have played in the past.

What's Wrong With Josh Beckett?

Robert Speigle — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:46:47 -0400

In his postseason career, Josh Beckett has been nearly un-hittable.

Not so in his two starts this postseason. Last night, Josh Beckett gave up eight runs, yes eight. He didn't have very good command and missed pitch locations several times allowing the Tampa Bay Rays hitters to turn them into home runs.

There is clearly something wrong with Josh Beckett. There have been rumors that he gets bored and needs a challenge. He didn't pitch his best during the regular season only going 12-10. His earned run average was up also this year.

Is Beckett tired from all the pitches he threw last year? Doubtful. The man isn't bored either, he still has that swagger of dominance that he has always had. So there must be another reason.

Josh Beckett slightly strained his oblique muscle two weeks ago, the Red Sox say they caught the injury before he actually hurt himself.

They waited to pitch him in the American League Divisonal Series until game three to give him time to heal. The man is a gamer and isn't going to make excuses for his poor pitching performance, nor will he tell you he is hurt.

But that just has to be the case with this guy, who has given up 12 runs in just two postseason starts this year, but only 14 in his nine other postseason starts in 2003 and 2007.

The Rays and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are great teams, but they can't be that great because they scored 12 runs in just over nine innings off of Josh Beckett.

I'm going to bet that Beckett is hurt, and causing one of baseball's clutch performers to grossly under perform. There is just no other solid explanation for it. He was handed the lead on three occasions last night, and quickly served up home runs to Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton, and then got knocked around for three more runs in the fifth inning.

If the Boston Red Sox plan on winning this series, they had better make sure that Beckett is okay to pitch his next start. He is scheduled to pitch game six if the series makes it that far, which seems fairly likely based on the regular season history between the Sox and Rays.

Josh, if you are hurting—let everyone know. You can sit one out.

The Sox still have Paul Byrd on the ALCS roster, an experienced veteran who can be trusted. If you just don't have it right now, step up and show us the real Josh Beckett.

Why the Boston Red Sox Will Beat the Tampa Bay Rays

Robert Speigle — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:38:09 -0400

With the ALCS looming in just two days, this article will take a look at five reasons why the Red Sox will win this series.

1. Experience—To have experience or not, that is the question. There is always a debate about whether having playoff experience is important. Without losing to the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS on Aaron Boone's now famous game winning home run, this writer doubts the Sox would have been able to come back against the Yanks in the 2004 ALCS. The Red Sox are the reigning World Series champs, and until someone knocks them off, they are the team to beat.

2. Records Don't Matter—The Red Sox proved the regular season series doesn't matter after beating the Angels. Say what you want about the Rays winning the season series and the Sox not winning a game at Tropicana Field, but that isn't going to matter. The Red Sox are loaded with scrappy blue collar players, and they are not going to let the regular season series determine anything in the postseason.

3. Patience—The Red Sox are the most patient offensive team in Major League Baseball. They take it to a whole new level in the playoffs. They will grind down even the best starting pitchers until they crack. The Red Sox hitters do strike out, and pop out just like everyone else; but the Sox protect the plate and usually put the ball in play when they have too, which gives them a chance to make plays. The Red Sox pitchers are also battle tested, and are not easily rattled. When they start getting beat, they slow the game down and grind it out. When Josh Beckett pitched against the Angels in game 3, he clearly didn't have his best stuff. But, he slowed the game down and grinded the Angels hitters as much as they did him. He kept them in the game, even though they lost.

4. Jonathan Papelbon—What is the difference between the Rays bullpen and the Red Sox bullpen? Answer, Jonathan Papelbon. When you have a shut down pitcher the likes of Paps, it puts fear in the other team. This man has 12 straight playoff appearances without allowing a run. Troy Percival was a great closer, about five years ago and may not even be the closer during the series. The Red Sox feel like they are never out of a game, and when you have a guy that can finish games, it gives your team even more confidence. The Sox also like to see Papelbon dance when the team wins a series, so the Rays have that going against them also.

5. Fenway Park and Red Sox Nation—Fenway is a very intimidating place to play. The Red Sox crowds are as rowdy as any you will see in baseball, and they don't need cowbells. The place only holds 39,000 or so and knows when to apply the pressure. The Red Sox feed off the Nation's energy. When your team has players like Papelbon, Pedroia, and Youkilis who are high energy players already, it only helps when you have the best crowd in baseball behind you. No offense to the Rays, but the Red Sox are in the midst of making themselves a dynasty. If Tampa can keep these guys together, they will have a great future. But as Jack Parkman said, and Rube Baker repeated back to him at the end of Major League II, "Mr. Parkman, you're a good ball player, but I want to say, that you're standing on the tracks and the train's is about to come through, bonehead."

Red Sox Come up Clutch, Mistakes Cost Angels

Robert Speigle — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:13:55 -0400

The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim played a great series to watch.

Although the final series tally was 3-1 in favor of the Red Sox, each game was filled with suspense and was hard fought. It was clearly the best series of the Divisional playoffs.

While the Cubs, Brewers, and White Sox seemed to have no chance in their losses, each game of this series could have gone the other way.

Jon Lester led the Red Sox in game four, as he dominated the Angel hitters. Lester only allowed four hits and two walks in his seven innings pitched, and seemed to get stronger as the game went on.

He left the game with a 2-0 lead, which was quickly given up the next inning by Justin Masterson. John Lackey didn't have his best stuff last night, but he was dominant as well.

If it weren't for a couple of more Angel miscues, he too may have left the game after throwing up all zeros. This Angels team should have nothing to hang their heads about. They took the defending champions to the limit in each game, and, if they had a break here or there, would have won.

The top of the ninth was Boston's ultimate test. The Angels got a pinch hit double off the Green Monster by Kendry Morales, who was lifted for pinch running speedster Reggie Willits. Howie Kendrick then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to get Willits to third base.

It almost had that Red Sox-coming-back-against-the-Yankees feel—you know, from the 2004 ALCS game four comeback win.

What happened next just epitomized the Angels' series as a whole.

With Erick Aybar at the plate, Angels skipper Mike Scioscia decided to go with the suicide squeeze. Manny Delcarmen threw an inside pitch that Aybar wasn't able to get a piece of, as Willits was coming down the line toward the plate. Jason Varitek ran down Willits and applied the tag.

The Angels were upset as Varitek fell down and the ball popped out, but it was clearly the right call as the ball came out well after the tag.

In the bottom of the ninth Jason Bay hit a one out ground rule double near the Pesky Pole. Reggie Willits dove and came close to making the play, but was lucky it went in the stands after he missed it. Mark Kotsay then lined out to first, where Mark Teixeira made a great play.

The inning then seemed to have the same feel as the night before when the Red Sox failed to come through on several chances to score the winning run.

Jed Lowrie then hit a breaking ball through the hole between first and second and into right field, which allowed Bay to score the winning run.

There seems to be something about this Red Sox team. Something the late '90s Yankees used to have—the will to win. The Red Sox are winning with scrappy hard-nosed players who seem to never give up.

They now go to Tampa Bay to take on a young Rays team, who to this point have dominated the Red Sox at home.

Don't be surprised to see Tampa Bay take a 3-0 or 3-1 series lead, and watch the Red Sox come back and win the trip to the World Series. Until someone knocks the Red Sox off, they have to be the favorites.

Officiating No Help As Red Sox Come Up Short in 12 Innings

Robert Speigle — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:27:56 -0400

In a game that took over five hours to play, the Red Sox were lucky they still had a chance going into the 12th inning in an eventual 5-4 defeat.

Josh Beckett clearly didn't have his best stuff, but battled to help keep the game close during his five innings pitched. Beckett walked four batters during he game, a total he had taken his previous three outings to meet.

Given a gift from the Angels in the bottom of the second, the Red Sox were in the thick of it all. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a pop-up to shallow center field with the bases loaded, and a defensive miscommunication allowed the ball to drop and all three runners to score.

Joe Saunders pitched admirably other than his defense letting him down on that play. He clearly didn't have history on his side, as the Angels had lost 11 straight to the Red Sox, dating back to the 1986 NLCS.

It seems as if the umpiring in these playoff games, and not just the Red Sox vs. Angels series, have no clue what they are doing behind the plate. Ellsbury was called out on strikes in the bottom of the 11th on a pitch that was well off the plate. Earlier in the game, Mike Lowell clearly checked his swing on a pitch, which was ruled he went around, and he eventually struck out.

Too bad players and coaches cannot speak about such awful umpiring, because something needs to be said, or done about it by the commissioner's office. It is very frustrating to see games changed because of bad umpiring, no matter what team you are rooting for. The object of the game is for the parameters to be the same for each team and player that steps on the field, and that clearly wasn't the case Sunday night.

Both bullpens came up huge in this game, with Boston's finally cracking after seven innings of scoreless relief in the top of the 12th inning. Jonathon Papelbon pitched a textbook two innings in the 10th and 11th innings.

Fransisco Rodriquez had some trouble in the one inning he pitched, and seemed to have been bailed out of a bases loaded jam by the poor umpiring by home plate umpire Kerwin Danely. Nonetheless, he got through the inning to keep the game going. Javier Lopez eventually allowed the winning run for the Angels in the top of the 12th.

Tonight is Game Four, which features Game One pitchers Jon Lester for the Red Sox and John Lackey for the Angels. If the Red Sox want to finish out the series tonight, they had better come up with an answer for when they face the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters for the Angels—Mark Teixeira, Vlad Guerrero, and Torii Hunter—who have been beating up on Red Sox pitching.

The Sox will need Dustin Pedroia to start hitting the ball, as he is 0-for-13 in the series. They also need the Angels to keep playing the type of baseball they have been; making mistakes, allowing numerous two-out runs, and failing to mount multiple-run rallies when they do score in an inning.

Buckeyes-Badgers: Pryor's Late Drive Leaves Badgers as Roadkill in His Wake

Robert Speigle — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:52:45 -0400

Wow, what a game.

What a freshman.

In a battle of two of the Big-10's best teams, the Buckeyes relied on freshman phenom Terrelle Pryor to lead them to victory in front of 81,000 rabid fans in Madison, WI. On the first drive of the game, Pryor and Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells made it look easy against the Badger defense: a six-play, 71-yard drive capped by an impressive Wells 33-yard run to pay dirt.

From there, the Wisconsin defense stiffened up, and the longest drive the rest of the half for the Buckeyes was just 24 yards; which allowed the Badgers to hold a 10-7 lead at halftime.

There were numerous big hits in the game, including a big one late in the first half by three Badgers all at the same time against Dane Sanzenbacher; which in turned caused him to fumble and the Badgers recovered.

Daniel "Boom" Herron also had his clock cleaned and seemed to have a concussion when he left the game. This game was also played without the Wisconsin band in attendance, after being suspended by the school president for several misconduct problems on a recent trip.

The Madison crowd didn't seem to have the same swagger as they normally do and weren't really as loud as usual either; which may be attributed to the band not being there.

In the second half, the slugfest continued. Beanie Wells broke a 54-yard run on their first possession of the second half, nearly breaking away for a touchdown. From there, the Buckeyes would get the ball inside the Badger 10 yard line, but would fizzle after that.

Ohio State tied the game on a 20-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius. Four possessions later, the Buckeyes would add another field goal to take a 13-10 lead. Wisconsin then answered with a 10-play touchdown drive, ended by a P.J. Hill two-yard touchdown run.

The Badgers ran the ball nine of those 10 plays, gashing the Buckeye defense for a 17-13 lead.

This was a nail-biting, back-and-forth game for fans of both teams to watch. What ensued next was just as unpredictable.

With 6:31 left, the Buckeyes started the drive that would determine the game. Pryor came up with big throws and runs during the whole drive. On 3rd-and-6 from their own 24-yard line, Pryor laced a throw to Brian Hartline for a first down.

Pryor would later connect again with Hartline on a 27-yard pass, in which Hartline would fumble and luckily have the ball recovered by Brian Robiskie. On second down at the Wisconsin 11-yard line, the Wisconsin defense seemed to be confused at the Buckeye's offensive formation; which had the Buckeye coaches yelling for Pryor to snap the ball.

Pryor would snap the ball, roll to the left on an option play with Beanie Wells following. Pryor faked the pitch to Wells, and rolled the 11 yards to the end zone for a 20-17 lead with 1:08 left on the clock.

On the first play of the ensuing Wisconsin drive, Badger quarterback Alan Everidge threw a game-sealing interception to Buckeye's senior Malcom Jenkins. Pryor and Co. came out to kneel on the ball to finish the game, which lends itself as a good learning experience for the young phenom.

I am sure Pryor will have some nice things to say to Mark May after the win, as the two had a small spat this week after May questioned Pryor's ability to win in a hostile environment; which is the second time he had something negative to say about Pryor, stemming from Pryor's extra-long recruiting process.