BEASTS OF THE EAST

The Boston Bruins are tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference after beating the Florida Panthers 4-2 last night. It was the 7th consecutive home win for the Bruins who have yet to lose a game in regulation in November.

Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron provided most of the firepower, each finishing the night with a goal and assist. Savard is now tied for the 2nd most points in the NHL with 27.

For the second time this month, the Bruins have a game against the Canadiens immediately after another game. The last time this happened, Boston beat the Habs 6-1. But that was in the Garden. The B's face Montreal in Quebec Saturday night.

When was the last time both the Celtics and Bruins had the best record in their conferences?

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

CELTICS OFFICIALLY OWN PISTONS

42 points off the bench, 18 points and 8 assists from Rondo, 10 boards from Perkins, and 50% 3 point shooting propelled the Celtics to a 98-80 win over Detroit. Iverson, Hamilton, and Wallace inflicted some damage, but the Celtics limited every other Piston to minimal offensive production.

It was a battle of attrition and the Celtics gradually wore the Pistons away until they led by 20 going into the 4th and the game was all but over.

The C's have defeated Detroit twice this season and 6 of the last 9 times they've played. Can we even consider this a rivalry this season? Cleveland might end up being the Central Division winners, Detroit hasn't played well on the road, and they might just be the 4th best team in the East, not the 2nd anymore.

Celtics take on the Timberwolves in Minnesota tonight. The Bruins also host the Florida Panthers. When was the last late November night that we here in Boston had to choose between two first place teams to watch?

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

CRISP TRADED FOR RELIEVER

The Red Sox and Royals announced earlier today that outfielder Coco Crisp will be traded for righty Ramon Ramirez. This finally brings an end to the question "When will Coco be traded?" which had been asked for the last 13 months.

Ramirez pitched 71.2 innings last season as a set-up man for closer Joakim Soria. He had 21 holds, 1 save, and 4 blown saves. He struck out 70 batters and walked 31. He had a tidy 2.64 ERA and an unremarkable 1.23 WHIP. My favorite stat is that he only allowed 2 homeruns. Opponents hit .222 off him, and he only allowed 12 of 52 inherited runners to score. Righties hit .153 against him.

But all his good numbers are from one year. His previous two seasons were spent in Colorado, where things didn't go so well. However, he should add some depth to the bullpen, and do what we all expected/hoped Manny Delcarmen would have in done in 2008.

At the same time, this move exposes Jacoby Ellsbury. There's been NO criticism of Ellsbury for the Sox post-season exit, or for their occasional offensive struggles. Ellsbury's .336 OBP is not good enough for a leadoff hitter. His stolen bases are nice, but he strikes out twice as often as he walks. He's got no power, which would be fine only if he got on base more often.

This move also exposes the Sox when JD Drew's annual injuries come along. Coco Crisp played in 118 games last year, with 361 at-bats. If Ellsbury struggles, or someone gets hurt, the Sox won't have as good of an answer to the problem now that Coco's gone.

That being said, Crisp never flourished as the kind of player the Sox had hoped. Last year, as 4th outfielder, was his best year. Like Ellsbury, he had stolen bases and fielded well, but had struggled as a leadoff hitter to get on base.

Overrall I think it's a good move that had to be done considering the shallowness of the Sox bullpen, but now a solid 4th outfielder needs to be found.

Sources:
ESPN.com
The Kansas City Star

MVPEDROIA

As you've all no doubt heard by now, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia won AL MVP. He's the first Red Sox player to win the award since 1995. It's the 10th time a Red Sox has won the MVP. However, Pedro Martinez should have won it in 1999 and/or 2000.

Believe it or not, one of the voters left Pedroia completely off their ballot. Each writer picks 10 players (1st thru 10th), and apparently Dustin wasn't good enough to be even the 10th most valuable player in the League.

Pedroia didn't put up typical "MVP" numbers. He's not a power hitter with 17 HRs and a .493 slugging percentage. But he had a very good OBP of .376, contended for the batting title before finishing 2nd, won the Silver Slugger, the Gold Glove, and his red hot performance down the stretch pushed the Red Sox into the playoffs.

In his short career, Pedroia's amassed a generous amount of hardware. He won Rookie of the Year last year, as well as the World Series. He started the All-Star Game this year, won Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and the MVP.

Pedroia's become the answer to what was once a very questionable position for the Red Sox. The Sox haven't had the same starting second baseman for more than 3 seasons since Marty Barrett in the 80's.

For anyone who thinks Pedroia didn't deserve this Award, my only question to them is: so who did?

Justin Morneau finished 2nd. He had 20 HRs, pretty much the same OPS, 0 stolen bases, and the Twins didn't make the playoffs but contended.

Kevin Youkilis put up impressive numbers for the Sox, and was consistent all year round. He would have been a good MVP with his numbers (.959 OPS), .312 average, 29 HRs. I actually think Youkilis should have won the AL MVP.

Joe Mauer edged Pedroia for the batting title, but he's even less of a power hitter with 9 homeruns.

Carlos Quentin had the homeruns, and that's about it.

Francisco Rodriguez set a save record, but saves are one of the most misinterpreted stats in baseball. He was given lots of opportunities, and blew his fair share of them.

Josh Hamilton and Alex Rodriguez were on losing teams. Carlos Pena hit .247. Everybody else that received MVP votes had good seasons, but nowhere near great.

So a nice bit of good off-season news.

Sources:
Extra bases
Baseball-Reference.com

BRUINS STAY HOT UP NORTH

It wasn't pretty, but the Bruins escaped Toronto with a 3-2 win against the teetering Maple Leafs. The Bruins haven't lost in regulation this month, and have won 9 of their last 11 contests.

I've said it before, but it deserves reemphasizing. A major reason behind the B's recent success has been the penalty kill. Toronto was 0 for 5 last night with a man advantage. The Bruins have killed 14 straight penalties, 37 of their last 38 (97.3%), and 44 of their last 47 (93.6%). There's only one word for that: godlike (lower case "g"). Before this stretch of hockey, the Bruins penalty kill percentage was 28th in the NHL, now it's 19th and steadily rising.

The best penalty killer on the team is Tim Thomas. Once again, he was brilliant, stopping 28 of 30 shots. He had some help from the posts, but he made both the athletic saves and the smart positioning saves. For my money, he's the best goalie in the NHL right now, if not the best player. He has the best GAA and Save Percentage in the League.

The Bruins host the Sabres Wednesday night. The Bruins haven't lost at home since October 23rd (5 straight wins). And I'm going, but not before I stop at Bru Fest.



Source:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ron Poling

VOTE EARLY VOTE OFTEN

The NHL All-Star Game has Chicago rules for its voting. There's no limit to how many ballots you can cast. Not surprisingly, the fuckwads up North in Quebec are voting for their favorite femme fatales. "Guys" like Saku Koivu, Michael "Lucic is mon papa" Komisarek, and Alexei "водолаз" Kovalev (that's Russian for "the diver") are the leading vote-getters. In fact, all 6 starting positions are Canadiens.

Let's help prevent travesty. I'm encouraging Bruins fans everywhere to put aside their team loyalty in the interest of unity and hatred. Vote for guys like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Also, Zdeno Chara is #4 in defenseman voting, so stuff the ballot box for him. He deserves to be there.

And write-in Tim Thomas. The retards at the NHL didn't put him on the ballot (only 10 goalies per each 15 team conference, makes sense right?). But all you have to do is write "Tim" in the write-in box and the site will do the rest.

Vote at http://fanballoting.nhl.com/

Or text the player's last name to 81812

BC UPSETS FSU IN TALLAHASSEE

ESPN seems to be blaming the suspension of 5 Seminole receivers for their 27-17 loss to Boston College. There's no doubt that their absence was a detriment to Bobby Bowden's squad, and the incident was a distraction to their teammates. However, that's what happens when you recruit players based on athleticism alone.

Boston College seems to have found their ground game. Jacksonville native and true freshman Montel Harris ran for 121 yards and a score against the team he wanted to play for growing up. He's averaging 5.4 yards per carry this season, and the future looks bright for him and for the Eagles.

Believe it or not, BC still controls their own destiny. They travel to Winston-Salem and play Wake Forest next Saturday. If they win there, and beat Maryland at home on the 29th, they go to the ACC Championship Game.

At the very least, their victory over Florida State has saved the Eagles from a bowl game in Boise.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Phil Coale

BRUINS BLOW 2 GOAL LEAD IN NEW YORK

A shootout loss on the road to the team with the 2nd best record in the NHL isn't a bad result. Unless, of course, you were up 2-0 with 6 minutes left in the 3rd.

Then again, the last 6 minutes of the 3rd was the first stretch of bad hockey the Bruins have played in over a week. And if Patrice Bergeron's post-hitting shot in round 4 of the shooutout had gone in, the B's may have left MSG with maximum points.

Not surprisingly, the New York media selected three Rangers for the three stars of the game. And who can blame them, they're still high from the Jets' Super Bowl victory Thursday night.

Wait a minute...

Bruins start a homestand against the Maple Leafs Monday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II (sweet name)