Is it Time for Lukaku to Return to Chelsea?

After Chelsea took care of their top priority, signing Jose Mourinho to manage the team, the focus has shifted to the transfer market and the search for a top striker. Chelsea has been rumored to be in talks with top forwards such as Edinson Cavani (Napoli) and Hulk (FC Zenit Saint Petersburg), but their best option might already be under contract.

Romelu Lukaku, who was on loan to West Bromwich Albion last season, has stated that he wants to return to the London squad for next season. Lukaku had a phenomenal season at West Brom, netting 17 goals in 35 games, including a hat trick vs Manchester United, in which he was inserted into the game as a second half substitute on the last day of the season. The 20 year old Belgian has often been compared to another former Chelsea star striker, Didier Drogba.

Lukaku is a tall, strong and agile player that has shown that he has ability to give opposing defenders fits in the offensive end of the field. His physical stature and imposing demeanor is what Chelsea have been missing since Drogba left at the end of the 2012 season. Combine that with the success he had last season playing for a lesser club in West Brom, and the fact he has experience playing against top Premier League defenders, and you have a player who is ready to take on the challenge of cracking Chlesea's starting 11.

Back in the 2010-2011 season, then current Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho was quoted as saying that he wanted to bring Lukaku over to Real Madrid. Lukaku later decided to join Chelsea, and now Mourninho has the chance to coach the player he insisted on obtaining a few years back.

Chelsea's current forwards Fernando Torres and Demba Ba were unable to be that model of consistency for the Blues up front. Torres, who actually had a quietly productive season, already has been rumored to be heading out of town, possibly to Napoli if they sell Cavani. Demba Ba is a nice player, but he's not a top quality striker for a top quality team. He would be a serviceable backup to Lukaku and/or anyone else Chelsea would buy. Mourinho was the one who brought in Didier Drogba, and was able to shape him into being one of the top forwards in the world. Lukaku has all the right tools to become even better than Drogba was in his prime, and just needs the opportunity and some guidance from "The Special One."

It's time for Lukaku to come home and join his fellow Belgian Eden Hazard in the mission to help Chelsea collect another trophy or two in the upcoming campaign.

CC struggles, Yanks lose opener 8-2

photo courtesy of NY Daily News

After losing over 100 home runs in the offseason, and having stars such as Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodiriguez on the disabled list, pitching was supposed to be the strong suit for the Yankees this season.

That was not the case on Monday, as the Yankees fell on opening day to the Red Sox, 8-2 in front of 49,514 at Yankee stadium.

Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia had another poor outing on opening day, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, and 4 walks in just 5 innings.

In 5 opening day starts for the Yanks, Sabathia has yet to come away victorious. He is 0-2 in his 5 starts, with a whopping 7.43 era.

Sabathia has started slow in the past, and usually doesn't reach his full potential until mid season, but his lack of velocity has some cause for concern. Sabathia, who had offseason surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow, failed to reach his average midseason velocity of 95 mph in Mondays start. His fastball ranged from 89.9 to 91.7 mph, and he relied heavily on his off-speed pitches as he threw 33 changeups compared to 35 fastballs.

C. C. didn't seem worried about his velocity, stating that his elbow and shoulder feel fine. He has been a workhorse since he entered the league with Cleveland, and has pitched four straight 200 plus inning seasons for the Yankees.

His age, 32 years old, and his 2,569 career innings, indicate that eventually his production will decline. Of course it's just one game, and being a notorious slow starter could have something to do with it, but the question is a valid one. Was Monday the start of that decline? We'll have to wait and see.