RALLY FALLS SHORT

Five days after pitching 8 shutout innings in Detroit, Tim Wakefield threw 2.2 innings and allowed 7 runs in Minnesota. Wakefield let up homers to Craig Monroe and Adam Everett. He left the Sox with a 7-1 deficit.

But give credit to the club. They made a game out of it. The bullpen did a decent job of keeping the Twins from pulling too far ahead (although Timlin gave up another Monroe homer).

The offense did their part. Coco had a triple and a homer. Kevin Cash was 2 for 4. Alex Cora was 3 for 4, lowering his average to .857. Drew, Youkilis, and Ortiz each had 2 hits.

But the hole was simply too big for the Sox to dig out of.

Buchholz goes against Livan Hernandez Monday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Jim Mone

COREY TRADED TO PADRES, CORA ACTIVATED

Bryan Corey, who struggled mightily with the Red Sox, has been traded to San Diego for a player to be named later and/or cash considerations. Corey had a 10.50 ERA with the Sox in 7 appearances. He'll go down in Red Sox history, as the guy in between Wil Cordero and Rheal Cormier in the Encyclopedia.

Alex Cora was also activated off the disabled list. Jed Lowrie was sent down to AAA Pawtucket, and Cora will be starting tonight as Julio Lugo is still suffering from a mild concussion.

Sources:
Baseball-Reference.com
Hartforc Courant

AN UNFORTUNATE TREND

This is becoming an unnerving tendency of the Celtics. Then again, perhaps the 108-84 loss in game 3 is just an aberration, made to seem worse by the 3 road losses in the Atlanta series. After all, the C's were 35-10 on the road during the regular season, so it isn't as if this is a team that got here by only winning at home.

Unlike the losses in Atlanta, the Celtics didn't lose simply on defense. Offensively, they were off. KG had 17, but Ray Allen only had 10. Allen was 4 of 12 from the field and 0 for 5 from behind the arc. Sam Cassell only contributed 1 point off the bench. Rajon Rondo had a dismal night, shooting 3 of 10, with no assists.


Meanwhile, the hawks, I mean Cavs, were shooting lights out on offense. As a team, they were 53.6& from the field, and 10 of 19 from beyond the arc. Cleveland also out-rebounded (37 to 33), out-stole (6 to 5), and out-blocked (7 to 3) the Celtics. LeBron didn't shoot that well, but had 21 points.

The most disgusting moment of the night was when the announcers commented on how LeBron's "athleticism" allowed him to drive to the hole and draw fouls, whereas other players would simply get knocked down and turn the ball over with no whistle. Right, that's how LeBron draws so many fouls. It's some rare form of athleticism. And nothing more.

Game 4 is Monday night, and I have a feeling the Celtics will win in a close contest. And finally, all the haters will be silenced.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

I LOVE 5-2 WINS

5-2 is my favorite score in baseball to win by. 5-2 wins mean that everything was good. The starting pitching was solid, the bullpen was great, and the hitting was timely.

Daisuke was solid for his 6th win, and once again I felt like the Red Sox could have sent him out for another inning. He only threw 96 pitches through 7, which is nothing for him. And he had gotten 8 outs in a row. Why not save Okajima, especially after he went 2 innings Friday night. Now for Sunday's game, the Red Sox might not have Hideki or Papelbon available to work.

The Sox scored 4 of their 5 runs with homers, all of which were solo shots. Kevin Youkilis hit his 8th. Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie were part of a very unlikely back-to-back tandem in the 7th. It was Lowrie's first career homer. Mike Lowell continued to hit well, going 2 for 4 with a solo HR in the 7th.

Julio Lugo was scratched from the lineup due to wooziness/dizziness before the game. His replacement - Lowrie - went 3 for 4 with that homerun and a double. He did not commit an error.

Manny's struggles at the plate continued, as he went 0 for 5. His average has dropped nearly 70 points in the last 2 weeks.

Tim Wakefield and Nick Blackburn face off in the rubber game Sunday night. The Sox are even less familiar with Blackburn than they were with Perkins, with only 6 total at-bats against him.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Jim Mone

FREAKY LOSS

Last night's 7-6 loss to Minnesota was a hard one to swallow, but let's not line up on the Zakim Bridge because Papelbon has blown two saves in a row. The bottom of the 9th was a very strange inning. A leadoff single up the middle, a sacrifice bunt, then Young steals third base, which wound up being the difference in the game. Gomez walks, then steals second. Had Young not taken third beforehand, surely the twins wouldn't have put on a double steal with 2 outs, and the go ahead run wouldn't have gotten into scoring position. But it did, and Lamb hit a bloop single which knocked in both Young and the speedy Gomez.

It wasn't as if Papelbon got knocked around, or had trouble throwing strikes. Give credit to the Twins for playing good aggressive small ball. Most of the time, the Red Sox will win this kind of game. But Friday night was Minnesota's.

Julio Lugo once again hurt the club with his glove, committing his 11th error of the season. It was a simple error doing something that Major League short-stops should be able to do in their sleep. And it allowed 2 unearned runs to score.

It's time to send Jed Lowrie back to AAA Pawtucket. He needs to get his regular at-bats down in the minors so he can replace Lugo in '09, or perhaps sooner. Right now, he's not ready to be a full-time short-stop. But with a few hundred more AAA at-bats, he will be.

Daisuke goes against Glen Perkins, who is making his first career start.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Paul Battaglia

MATT WALSH REVEALS THE HORRIBLE TRUTH

This is breaking, earth-shattering, life-changing news that needs your full and complete attention!

Matt Walsh has shown the NFL that the New England Patriots have videotaped opponents' hand signals from the sideline!!!

Regained consciousness yet?

I'm as stunned as you are, folks. Matt Walsh has submitted tapes of signals dating back to 2000. In total, he has eight tapes. Reportedly, he also has betting slips showing that Pete Rose bet on sports. He's also got evidence to suggest that Jose Conseco used performance enhancing drugs. And finally, Walshy suspects that OJ Simpson is guilty of murder.

Let's keep an eye on Sherlock Walsh, folks. There's no telling what mysteries and secrets he might uncover.

MAYBE LEBRON IS THE NBA'S A-ROD

LeBron may have ended up with 21 points, but he was still 6 of 24 from the field and turned the ball over 7 times. The Celtics' defense shut him down again, and shut down the rest of the Cavs. That's two straight games under 75 for Cleveland.

But unlike game 1, the Celtics weren't sloppy on the offensive side of the court. Pierce and Ray Allen improved on their previous performances. Pierce had 19 points and 6 rebounds, Allen added 16. Kevin Garnett only had 13 points and 12 rebounds, so expect a Shaughnessy column about how his game 2 performance will bring down his PPG.



Powe came off the bench and had 11 points and 7 rebounds (4 of which were on offense). Rondo had 7 points (all free throws), and 6 assists. The Celtics only had 12 turnovers, as opposed to 23 in game 1.

Of course, the Celtics went up 2-0 on Atlanta, but couldn't beat them on the road. The series shifts back to Cleveland Saturday night, where there will be even more token LeBron fouls called. And if James ever does get going, these games will become very interesting.

Doesn't Jason Bateman look like his daddy has taken him to his first ever basketball game?



And you have to give it up for Leonardo DiCaprio. A lot of celebrities go to sporting events and make a tremendous scene when they go: sitting in the front row in a place where everyone can see them. Ben Affleck is probably the best example of this type of egocentric behavior. But not Leo. He just sits quietly, with his hat low, and watches the game.



Thank you, Mr. DiCaprio, for not being Ben Affleck. In fact, I think everyone should go around today and thank people for not being Ben Affleck.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Elsa/Getty Images
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

JOSH BACK AT IT

Vintage Josh Beckett last night in Detroit. Seven innings, 1 run, no walks, and eight strikeouts for the Red Sox ace. And if not for Clay Buchholz and Julio Lugo, the Red Sox would also have come out of Hockeytown with a 4 game sweep. Beckett also recorded his 1,000th career strikeout.

Kevin Youkilis remains the third hottest thing in our solar system (behind the Sun and Scarlett Johansson). In the last 6 games he is 10 for 23, with 4 doubles, 5 homeruns, and 12 RBI.



Meanwhile, David Ortiz has also started to heat up. His slugging percentage has risen about 100 points since the end of April. He was 2 for 5 with a double. And Mike Lowell seems to be hitting his stride, as he was 2 for 5.

The Sox go up to Minnesota to face the Twins over the weekend. Jon Lester faces Boof "My Parents Hated Me" Bonser.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Duane Burleson