SOX CAN'T CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MEN

A solid MLB debut for Justin Masterson went to waste last night as the Sox bullpen couldn't hold onto a lead against the Angels.

Masterson went 6 innings, allowing just 2 hits, 4 walks, and 1 run. He struck out 4, and his sinker induced 11 groundball outs and only 3 flyball outs. He threw 95 pitches, 58 of which were strikes. But then Javier Lopez came into the game.

The Sox had a 3-1 lead, and only needed to get 9 outs for a win. But Lopez walked the first man he faced, then allowed a single. Delcarmen came in, but also struggled, allowing another walk and an infield single which made it a 3-2 game. Then Okajima came in, but allowed back-to-back basehits, which knocked in 3 more runs.

Aardsma allowed another run in the 8th, then Tavarez let in one more to make it 7-3. Those runs turned out to be important, as David Ortiz hit a 2 run homer in the 9th, but the Sox still came up 2 runs short.

On the bright side, Coco Crisp is still hitting. He was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 stolen bases. He's been a very pleasant surprise so far this season. Manny, Pedroia, and Youkilis are 1, 2, 3 in the AL batting title race. And Justin Masterson looked GREAT for someone who hasn't even pitched in AAA ball yet.

All things considered, having three scratched starting pitchers, losing 2 of 3 to Anaheim isn't that bad. The games were close, almost playoff like in that respect. But you know what helps you win close games? Middle-relief. And the Sox simply don't have much reliability in that department.

The Sox travel to St. Pete to take on the (Devil) Rays. Tim Wakefield goes against Matt Garza

Sources:
ESPN.com
MLB.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

CELTICS CRUISE PAST HAWKS...AGAIN

Atlanta tried everything in a desperate attempt to sneak out of Boston with a win. Mike Bibby tried to get the crowd riled up by calling them bandwagoners. The Hawks brutally fouled Paul Pierce early in the game. But the Celtics are too good, and the Hawks are too mediocre.

KG tallied his 15th straight post-season double-double with 19 points an 10 boards. He also added 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Before the game, he was awarded his Defensive Player of the Year trophy. And in a gesture that summed up his first year in green, he invited his teammates over from the bench to bask in the glory of the award ceremony.

Rajon Rondo had an impressive night, with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Ray Allen was 3 for 6 from beyond the arc and had 15 points.

And can you believe how hot Bruce Willis's girlfriend is?



Her name is Emma Heming, she's 29, and a Victoria's Secret model. He's fifty-friggin-three! Nice work, Bruce!



Very nice work indeed.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Atlanta.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

PATS SIGN FORMER COLT POLLARD

The Pats recently agreed to terms with three veteran free agents: tight-end Marcus Pollard, punter Scott Player, and d-lineman Kenny Smith.

Pollard is 36, and a 13 year veteran of the League. He spent 10 of those years with the Colts, where he put up his best numbers. Last year, he caught 28 passes for 273 yards, which is a decent average. With Watson and David Thomas ahead of him, Pollard will be more of a 3rd tight-end who may be a secret weapon near the goal line.

Fun fact: Pollard is the active leader for 2 point conversions with 5. He's two behind Marshall Faulk for #1 all-time.

Scott Player may not be a household name, but he is a household face. He's this guy:



Single facemask bar, and a Hulk Hogan style bleach-blond Fu Manchu. Gotta respect that.

Source:
Patriots Insider

AILING SOX FALL 6-4

The magic seemed to run out last night. After losing Daisuke to flu-like symptoms, Jon Lester was moved up a day. Lester pitched well for someone on short rest, going 5 and allowing 4. Ortiz tied the game in the 5th with a 2 run blast, but Craig Hansen allowed a solo homerun in the 6th. The Angels' bullpen was outstanding and the Sox lost for the first time in a week.

Hansen has looked solid in AAA Pawtucket with 12.1 scoreless innings and 13 strikeouts, so judging his performance in 2008 off one Major League appearance is unfair. He did strike out 3 Angels, so it wasn't all that bad.

The parade of unexpected starters continues Thursday afternoon, as Justin Masterson makes his Major League debut for the Sox. Masterson hasn't even pitched in AAA ball yet. But he's 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. In 19 innings, he's struck out 23 batters. He'll face Joe Saunders.

Sources:
ESPN.com
PawSox.com
PortlandSeaDogs.com
The Baseball Cube

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

SOX WIN ONE THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO...AGAIN

When Josh Beckett was scratched from his scheduled start against the Angels and David Pauley replaced him, like most Sox fans I felt like this game probably wouldn't go too well. But this Red Sox team has been anything but predictable this season.

Pauley didn't pitch horribly, he made it into the 5th, which is about as much as could be expected. Then Tavarez got 5 outs with relative ease. The Sox tied it in the 5th as Youkilis hit his 2nd homer of the year. Then Ellsbury put Boston ahead 6-5 with his second solo homerun of the night.

Surprisingly, Okajima blew the lead in the 8th, his first blown save of the season. But in the bottom of the inning, Pedroia's double knocked in Ellsbury to put the Sox ahead 7-6. Papelbon threw a perfect, 2 strikeout 9th inning to shut the door.

The Red Sox have won 6 in a row. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ramirez, Casey, Lowrie, Drew, Lugo, and Youkilis are all hitting over .300. Pedroia's .364 average leads the AL. He's joined in the top 6 by teammates Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis. Along with Lugo, there are 4 Sox in the top 12 in hitting.

Jon Garland faces Daisuke Wednesday night.

Sources:
ESPN.com
MLB.com
The Sports Network

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

KIND OF A SHAME, BUT...

For the fourth time in their history, the Bruins went up to Montreal for Game 7 of a playoff series. And for the fourth time, they'll come home eliminated. But unlike the '79 Bruins, who blew a heart-breaking Game 7 lead, or the '71 squad that was one of the favorites to win the Cup; the 2007-08 Bruins may come home in defeat, but they won't come home as losers.

This team wasn't supposed to make the playoffs. Then when Bergeron went down, things looked even worse. A bunch of kids called up from Providence, and a seemingly random assortment of veterans scraped from the proverbial trash heap of the NHL coalesced to form a pretty good team.

And then they drew Montreal in the first round, a team they had fallen to about a dozen times in a row. But out of nowhere, they made games close, then broke through and won a game, then dominated a game. They came up short in the end, and Montreal came up big, but at least they earned an opportunity to come up short in the end, to go out in a blazing failure, instead of some quiet sweep, or another year without post-season play.

We're spoiled in Boston, with the Pats, Celtics, and Red Sox. But the local hockey team got more out of their talent than any of the other three teams. They gave us a show, and perhaps a sneak preview into what might be just around the corner.

Guys like Lucic, Krejci, Thomas, Sobotka, Thornton, and Kessel will be back in a few months. And they'll be contenders. And Montreal's fruity reign of soccer style hockey - complete with diving, flamboyant celebrations, fans who are only tough guys when in large groups, and Steve Begin getting his knees dirty for $12...will soon be over.

Be patient Boston, The Big Bad Bruins will be back.

CELTICS WIN WITH EASE

This game was tied for 49 seconds, then Atlanta took a 2-0 lead for 23 seconds, then tied for 56 more seconds, then Paul Pierce hit a three and the game was over.

The C's didn't have their A game, but their B+ game was more than enough to keep the Hawks on the ground. Apart from a few rebounds that weren't gathered up, the Celtics simply outclassed Atlanta in all aspects of the game. The Hawks were held to 38.2% from the field, and the Celtics shot 46.9% (including 56.3% from beyond the arc).

It was a typical team effort from the C's. None of them had more than 20 points, but 6 of them had 10 or more. KG had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. He also threw in 4 assists. Rondo also had a good all around night, racking up 15 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Game 2 is Wednesday night at The Garden.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP/Charles Krupa

RED SOX PULL OUT ANOTHER ONE

The Red Sox have specialized in nontraditional wins this season. Just a few oddities from today's 6-5 victory over Texas:

The Red Sox used 3 different left-fielders, including Julio Lugo in the 9th

Five of the 6 runs scored by the Sox came with 2 outs

The Red Sox left 14 men on base

Every lefthanded hitter that Texas lefty CJ Wilson faced reached base

David Ortiz had an RBI infield single, with Jed Lowrie scoring from 2nd on the play

Wakefield allowed 5 runs in 8 innings, but didn't walk anybody, and only threw 86 pitches

Papelbon got the Save, but didn't record any strikeouts for only the second time this season. His other strikeout free outing was last night's save.

Manny Ramirez got ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the 2nd. Manny rarely shows emotion on the field, especially at the plate

But a win is a win is a win, and the Sox now have 13 of them. But the Rangers aren't a good team. Good teams find ways to win games they probably shouldn't win, like the Sox did today. Bad teams find ways to lose games they should win, like the Rangers did today.

The Red Sox look for the 4 game sweep tomorrow morning in the annual Patriots Day Game. Clay Buchholz goes against former Sox prospect Kason Gabbard. On ESPN.com, Gabbard's picture has him wearing a Red Sox hat, and Buchholz still doesn't have a picture. It's kind of funny when the two images are placed next to each other as tomorrow's starters.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson