Roy Halladay Saves Boy From Anaconda While On Fishing Trip In The Amazon

Posted by Clayton Collier on

According to NESN, Roy Halladay was on a fishing trip in the Amazon with Chris Carpenter, B.J. Ryan and professional fisher Skeet Reese, when he and Reese stumbled upon a local boy being attacked by an anaconda.

Here is what happened according to Reese’s recent blog post:

“Me and Doc Halladay even came across a local, sitting bare naked on a tree by the river. What we were able to figure out is that he was fishing in the river for tropical fish to sell for aquariums when he got attacked by an anaconda.”

“The snake apparently bit him on the ass but he was able to free himself before the snake wrapped him up. Instead the snake wrapped around his motor on the back of his little 14 foot dugout canoe and tore it off the back of his boat. Doc and I helped him gather his gear and flip the boat back over and then towed him home. You could definitely see the bite mark on his ass, but he was able to fight it off; amazing.”

So let me get this straight: The Mets won’t let R.A. Dickey climb Mt. Kilimanjaro but the Phillies will let Roy Halladay wrestle anacondas in the Amazon? Got it.

Trifecta NY Baseball News & Notes: A-Rod Gets Medical Treatment, Mets Ask Dickey Not To Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

Posted by Clayton Collier on

Here are a few tidbits circulating around the New York baseball world:

Mets Have Interest In Ryan Theriot: The New York Mets have expressed interest in free agent middle infielder Ryan Theriot says Jon Heyman via twitter. The 32-year old Louisiana native batted .271/.321/.342 with 26 doubles and 47 RBIs for the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals this past season.

Yankees To Sign Hideki Okajima: The Yankees have agreed to terms with reliever Hideki Okajima on a minor league deal. Okajima spent most of last year in Triple-A with the rival Boston Red Sox where he pitched to the tune of a 2.29 ERA.

Omar Vizquel Will Not Go To The Mets: Responding from a tweet from yours truly, the 11-time Gold Glove award winner stated he not consider going to the Mets if offered a contract.

A-Rod Gets Medical Treatment: Yankees’ slugger Alex Rodriguez flew to Germany recently to receive an experimental treatment for his ailing knee and shoulder. The treatment involves taking the patients own blood, separating its components and then re-injecting it into the affected area. The procedure was cleared by both the Yankees and MLB.

Mets Ask R.A. Dickey Not To Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro: The Amazin’s sent knuckleballer R.A. Dickey a letter informing him that they are not in favor of him climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and should he get injured on the journey, they would have grounds to void his contract. The 37-year old plans to climb the mountain for charity and risks losing $4.5 million if anything happens to him on his trek to the summit.

 

Off and Running

Posted by Tyler Murry on

After a slower start than any other team in recent NHL history coming off a Stanley Cup win, the Boston Bruins are poised for a record-setting year.  Since starting off a dismal 3-7-0, the Bruins have posted and astounding 22-2-1 record.  During this stretch, the B’s went through the month of November without posting a regulation loss and are currently on a 7 game win streak while sitting atop the Eastern Conference.

A big credit to the hot streak has to be the phenomenal goaltending.  Both Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas are on pace to have personal records shattered.  Thomas currently has a 1.81 GAA and a .943 S% while Rask has a 1.61 GAA and a .945 s%.  Last year Thomas was the guy, he posted big numbers and played the majority of the games.  Not so much this year as Rask continues to earn time between the posts for the Black & Gold.

“When there are not many shots, you have to find ways to stay sharp. It becomes a mental thing, but, in the end, good teams find ways to win,” said Rask after Thursday night’s win against the Phoenix Coyotes.

When Rask’s number has been called upon, he has stepped up and this versatility in net will be a vital advantage as the B’s approach the stretch run.

But the goalies can’t get all the credit for allowing just 64 goals against (Fewest in NHL).  In fact the Bruins are on pace to surpass the record set by the 03-04 New jersey Devils for the fewest goals against in a season of 164. Defense has been spectacular.  Team defense is stressed upon for the B’s and has become the team’s biggest obstacle.  Players like Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand have stepped up each with a +25 giving the Bruin’s an edge in all three zones.

“We take pride in our defensive game without the puck,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien  ”Confidence grows with each game, and we believe 99 percent of the time, we will get great goaltending.”

The next commodity that sets the B’s apart is their depth ant ability to roll four lines.  Depth has always been a strongpoint but this year the B’s have truly stepped up their game with nine players with 20 points or more (leads NHL).  All four lines are producing and as a result the B’s currently have 121 goals for this season second only the western conference leading Chicago Blackhawks.

“We have great depth throughout the whole lineup and that helps a lot,” said assistant captain Patrice Bergeron “You can’t say enough about the importance of that, because if one or two lines are off you still have others you can rely on. You look at the teams who have won the Cup, that’s a common denominator.”

No doubt the B’s have been great so far but can they keep it up?

“However, we know there will be challenges ahead, so we have to guard against overconfidence,” noted Julien.

If the B’s can stay grounded and put their head down and play their brand of hockey there is no reason why we shouldn’t see the Bruins roster engraved into the side of Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Red Sox Acquire Andrew Bailey

Posted by Clayton Collier on

According to Buster Olney via twitter, the Boston Redsox have acquired all-star closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney from the A’s in exchange for 24-year old Josh Reddick, and minor leaguers Miles Head and Raul Alcantara, pending physicals.

Bailey, despite battling injuries, has slowly emerging into one of the game’s top closers. Over his first three seasons, the 27-year old hurler has compiled a 2.07 ERA, 0.954 WHIP and saved 75 games. The two-time all-star and 2009 AL Rookie of the Year is arbitration eligible and will be under team control through 2014.

Sweeney, also being shipped to Boston, batted .265/.346/.341 in 299 at-bats for the A’s in 2011. The 26-year old Iowa native plays all three outfield positions and will be under the Redsox control through 2013.

Ranked as one of Boston’s top young talents, Reddick started to put it together in 2011 batting .280/.327/.457 with 18 doubles, 7 homers and 28 RBIs in 254 at-bats. The doubles are bound to decrease after leaving the Green Monster and Fenway Park behind, but once he reaches his full power potential, the move to the Coliseum shouldn’t be much of an issue. Reddick will become a free agent in 2017.

Head was a 26th round pick for the Sox back in 2009. The 20-year old third baseman batted .299 with 22 homers and 82 RBIs and 50 walks, probably one reason why Billy Beane traded for him.

19-year old hurler Raul Alcantara has enjoyed success as well. In his short career, Alcantara is 6-7 with a 2.72 ERA over 26 starts. The only problem with this is, only four of these outings were above rookie ball, and they weren’t pretty. The Dominican native went 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA in low A ball.

This deal gives the Redsox a replacement to their recently departed closer, Jonathon Papelbon, who skipped town to join the Phillies. Now along with newly acquired set-up man Mark Melancon, the Red Sox have a solid 8th and 9th inning going into 2012.

Here We Go!

Posted by Tyler Murry on

A new season is upon us hockey fans!  The long anticipate 11-12 NHL season begins on Thursday with a fierce matchup with the new and improved Philadelphia Flyers taking on the reigning Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

There are plenty of questions and topics relating to the four teams that we cover hear at Trifecta Sports.  Will Gaborik and Richards gel well?  Will the new Flyers be able to be succesful right away? Who will step up between the pipes in Long Island? Can the Bruins repeat as Stanley Cup champs?  We don’t know the answers to these questions yet and that is the beauty behind the mystery that this season haas in store for us.  The bon-crushing hits, stellar defense, Top 10 play caliber goals, and of course the race to get into the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup.

Who knows what this year has in store, but one things for certain…..Hockey is Back!

In depth Look at Rangers First Round Pick JT Miller

Posted by Tyler Murry on

Standing in at 6’1″ 198 lbs, Miller possesses the tools to be a great NHL player.  The left-handed winger possesses good speed and hands for his size.  That being said, he can still throw his weight around and be a difficult player to handle for opposing teams.

Miller was born in East Palestine, OH,USA and has played hockey in America his entire life.  In fact the young star has committed to play for D-1 University of North Dakota for the 11-12 season.

Without a doubt Miller has plenty of talent, however he is not NHL ready.  The Rangers knew this when they selected him with the 15th overall pick this past June and plan on developing him into an NHl player within the next few years.

Bruins Ink Marchand to 2 Year Deal

Posted by Tyler Murry on

On wednesday, the Boston Bruins announced the resigning of forward Brad Marchand toa 2 year deal worth $5 million. The 5’9″ gritty winger posted 21 goals and 20 assists last year in his rookie year for the B’s.  Marchand spent the majority of the year including the stanley cup playoffs on the second line playing alongside centerman Patrice Bergeron and winger Mark Recchi.  With Recchi gone, fellow youngster Tyler Seguin will fill the spot on  that line.

No doubt both Seguin and Marchand showed a lot of promise in their rookie seasons and there is no doubt that they are poised to break out.  With this much talent, there is no shot for a sophomore slump for either of these players.