Grapefruit League play started for the Red Sox with the annual contest against the BC Eagles, and the opener of the 2009 Mayor's Cup.
The Sox extended their winning streak over BC, even though they were shut-out until the 5th inning of the 7 inning contest. David Ortiz was 0 for 2, Julio Lugo was 0 for 1 with a walk, JD Drew was 0 for 0 with a walk, Rocco Baldelli was 0 for 3, Clay Buchholz pitched a perfect 3rd inning, recording 1 strikeout.
Already, the 2009 season is better than 2008. Last year, Beckett was grabbing his back in pain after his first Spring Training start. This year, he threw 2 perfect innings, struck out 2, and the outing was totally pain free.
Across town at the Twins' facility, the rest of the Sox lost 5-2. Notable performances:
Jacoby Ellsbury: 0/3 Dustin Pedroia: 2/3, 2B Kevin Youkilis: 1/3, R Jason Bay: 0/3 Brad Wilkerson: 1/3, R, Error Jed Lowrie: 1/2, 3B, RBI Jeff Bailey: 2/2, RBI Josh Bard: 0/3
And now the pitchers...
Tim Wakefield: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR Justin Masterson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K Manny Delcarmen: IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Javier Lopez: IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Ramon Ramirez: IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Josh Bard also looked less than smooth catching Wakefield. But I don't think it's time to sound the Mirabelli Alarm and get a replacement. After all, Wakefield might not be in the rotation at all in a few months.
The last time the Bruins played the Panthers, they were shutout 2-0. Last night saw the opposite. After an ugly Florida trip, the Bruins came out firing on all cylinders, maybe even with some NO2 mixed in.
The Bruins dominated the last 30 minutes of this game. Byron Bitz (Cornell '07, GO BIG RED!) did something a Bruin hasn't done in a while: had a tip in goal. The score made it a 3-1 game. But unlike previous contests, the Bruins didn't ease up. Bitz scored again, early in the 3rd. This time off a juicy rebound (another recent rarity). Two minutes later, Aaron Ward slapped in a goal. Then Michael Ryder, just back from injury, scored on the power play. It was Ryder's 20th.
Of all the troubles the Bruins have had lately, their mental lapses, defensive miscues, and struggling to play with the lead have been the most frustrating. They've also had difficulty finishing, but at least they've been generating offensive opportunities. Last night, they made few mistakes. They kept their foot on the gas throughout the 3rd period.
The Bruins now have 90 points, a 9 point lead over Washington in the Conference, a 19 point lead over Montreal in the Division, and a game against the Ducks Thursday night.
Boston College was a bubble team until last night. In my opinion, they're in the NCAA tournament, regardless of what happens in their remaining games.
Sophomore Joe Trapani led the Eagles with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Tyrese Rice was held to 11, but all 11 seemed to come at big times. With 0:23 on the clock, Rice nailed a 3 pointer to give BC a 71-67 lead
The Eagles now sit in the top 6 of the ACC, and have 20 wins. In little over a week they play NC State, then host Georgia Tech.
The Bruins went on vacation in Florida, both off and on the ice. Two games in the Sunshine State, two defeats, zero points. And Washington's getting larger in the review mirror.
So what happened? Why did a trip through the Southleast Division, which the Bruins had owned, turn into a nightmare. What should have been a roadtrip like Sherman's March turned into the Peninsular Campaign. Hooray for obscure Civil War references.
Last night it was in Tampa Bay. The lowly Lightning, in their putrid uniforms, made a stand against the Bruins. A 3rd string goalie stopped 40 shots. And an injury riddled opponent lit the lamp 4 times.
The Bruins came out with fire and focus. Phil Kessel scored 98 seconds into the game, ending a long goalless drought. But the B's lost their edge. Lacidasical defense and downright horrible goaltending led to 2 quick Tampa Bay goals. The Bruins looked the better team for the rest of the game, but Tampa had the luck of deflections, and the B's didn't.
Saturday night in Miami it was a similar story. Another opposing goalie boosted their save percentage. Thomas Vokoun stopped all 41 shots he saw. The Bruins went 0 for 6 on the power play, had the better chances, but couldn't finish.
The offense isn't closing posessions with goals. And it's a team-wide problem. Phil Kessel finally scored again, so hopefully his production will increase. But Marc Savard, who made no mistakes from October to January, has suddenly become a turnover machine. His passes hit skates, not sticks. He makes low percentage passes near the blue-line, touching off rushes the other way.
The absence of Michael Ryder can't be understated. Ryder, Krejci, and Wheeler were a perfect unit on the ice. Now that line has become less of a factor. Or maybe it just seems that way with the Savard-Kessel-Lucic unit going through a monumental slump.
But there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel. As stated above, Kessel ended his goalless streak. Chara and the other defenders are looking sharp. Milan Lucic is back to bending the boards. Shawn Thornton got in a fight, ending a team streak of 8 fightless games, the longest streak of the season. The team is coming home for 6 straight.
In the Celtics' 90-85 loss in Utah Thursday night hurt more than a typical loss. Kevin Garnett left in the 1st half with what turned out to be a strained muscle in his knee. He'll miss 2 to 3 weeks while the knee heals.
Trying to find a silver lining, this injury could also serve as a bit of a rest for Garnett. Then again, the other members of the Celtics are going to have to work even harder with him out.
If the Celtics win 13 of their remaining 26 games, they clinch the division, even if the 76ers win ALL of their remaining games. But the C's lead in the Eastern Conference is much much slimmer. Cleveland is 1/2 game behind, and is actually ahead in the loss column. Cleveland also possesses the head-to-head tie-breaker.
This injury might cost the Celtics home court advantage. But probably not much else.
On February 20th, 1992, the Simpsons episode Homer at the Bat first aired. It featured 9 Major League stars as ringers on Mister Burns' softball team. The lineup:
C Mike Scioscia 1B Don Mattingly 2B Steve Sax 3B Wade Boggs SS Ozzie Smith LF Jose Canseco CF Ken Griffey Jr. RF Daryl Strawberry P Roger Clemens
Looking at this lineup, there is 1 player still active in the Majors, 2 have moved on to coaching, 2 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, 6 played for the Yankees, 2 are known cheaters, and 1 is a cokehead.
Mike Scioscia is one of the most respected managers in baseball, if a bit overrated. The Angels have him under contract until 2018. He won the first World Series in Angels history in 2002.
After his playing days, Mattingly was an instructor at Yankee spring training for 7 years. He was named hitting coach in 2003, then bench coach for the 2007 season. He was a frontrunner for the Yankees' opening after they disrespected Joe Torre, but Joe Girardi got the job. Smart move, New York. He's currently the hitting coach for Torre's Dodgers.
Steve Sax has been busy since leaving baseball in 1994. He was a part owner of a nightclub, he owns a martial arts studio, he's currently writing a book on athletes and finances, and he's a financial consultant working for RBC. He's also been an analyst on TV, and made a guest appearance on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He might be the only person who has been on Sabrina, The Simpsons, and Who's the Boss?
After the 1992 season, Boggs left the Red Sox for the Yankees. In 1996, he had a walk-off bases-loaded walk to win Game 4 of the World Series. The Yankees, of course, won the whole thing that year. Boggs finished his career with the Devil Rays, recording his 3,000th hit in 1999. He is the ONLY member of the 3,000 hit club to record #3,000 via the homerun. Odd since only 137 of his 3,010 (4.55%) career hits were homers.
Ozzie Smith was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2002, with a career fielding percentage of .978. He opened a restaurant in St. Louis, as well as a youth sports academy. He once played The Wizard in an opera production of The Wizard of Oz. In '05, his son Nikko made the final 10 on American Idol.
Now we get into the bastard players. Jose Canseco defines the word shame. An admitted steroid user, he used his years of cheating as a springboard to rat out every other cheater for his own personal gain. He's a reality TV hobo, and amateur boxer/punching bag.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s numbers will probably be tainted by no fault of his own. There's no suspiscion around Griffey, but his 611 homeruns couldn't have come at a worse time. He's the only player on the team still active, recently signing a deal with the Mariners. And I don't feel bad for him. He's a millionaire, and has like 6 video games named after him.
DDDDDDaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyylllllllllll Strawberry. Alcohol. Cocaine. One of the biggest wastes of talent in the latter half of the 20th century. He had 280 career HRs before this episode first aired. He hit 55 after. I guess Mr. Burns pinch-hitting for him in the 9th really got to him. His memoirs are being published in April. The book cover should be a mirror, so you can do lines on it.
Roger Clemens. What a scummy cunt. Roger's career eventually stalled after the episode. He was 40-38 in his last 4 years in Boston. Then suddenly, somehow, as if by magic, as if some magical drug somehow found its way into his bloodstream, he was back to winning Cy Young Awards. He was 41-13 in two years for the Blue Jays, capturing two Cy Youngs. He had a bullshit 20-3 season in '01, receiving the best run support in recent memory, and now it turns out that season really was bullshit. He is the King of Douche.
So that's where the Springfield 9 are these days. Scioscia and Mattingly are part of the Mr. Burns coaching tree. Sax is advising athletes how to invest their money. Boggs and Smith are in Cooperstown. Griffey's in Seattle... again. Canseco's probably an understudy on some reality TV set. Strawberry's in a constant state of regret, at least he should be. And Clemens is in a self-dug hole, quickly filling with his own bullshit.
Coming off their first 4 game losing streak of the season, the Bruins seemed listless and despondent. They weren't scoring, not on the power play or even strengthed. They were turning the puck over in the neutral zone and even their defensive zone. They needed a spark.
They got it.
Tim Thomas, David Krejci, and Zdeno Chara all had fantastic games. Thomas allowed 1 shot by him, stopping the other 31 he saw. Krejci, a.k.a. The Matrix for the way he seems to bend time and space to his bidding, had a goal and assist. Chara had an assist, 3 takeaways, and 2 blocked shots.
Kessel's goal-less streak was extended, but he had three golden chances to end it. He just couldn't slip it past Cameron Ward. The goals will come. He's not forcing the issue, and he's doing everything else he needs to do. I see a bunch of Kessel goals coming very soon.
Patrice Bergeron was able to end his goal-less streak. He scored the empty-netter that made it 5-1. He hadn't scored since November 21st.
Hopefully the Hurricanes get the 8th seed and the Bruins face them in the playoffs. In four meetings, the Bruins have come out on top 4-2, 4-2, 5-1, and 5-1. That's 18-6 combined. This is also the first year that either the Bruins or the Hurricanes/Whalers have swept the other in their season series.
Bruins stay down South and play the Panthers Saturday night.
Boston College 80, #5 Duke 76. A classic contest that may have punched BC's entry ticket into the Big Dance. Or at the very least, put their destiny in their own hands.
This game was won in the 1st half. Duke dominated most of the first 20 minutes, leading by 11 with 5 minutes left in the 1st, and down by 13 with 2 and a half minutes left. Tyler Roche then Tyrese Rice each hit 3s, then Rice hit another field goal to make it a 5 point game going into halftime.
Duke had a chance to put BC away before the half, but they eased up a bit, and the Eagles clamped down on defense. BC gained some momentum, but more importantly, gave themselves a chance to keep it a close game.
The 2nd half saw some good defese, lots of turnovers, and some clutch shooting by BC. They didn't let Duke pull away, and eventually ground out a tie with 13:03 left, then a lead with 9:25 on the clock. Back and forth the two went, but BC made more clutch shots down the stretch, and played outstanding defense.
Reggie Jackson was huge, finishing with 15. Rice had 21, and all of them seemed to come in big moments. With 1:32 on the clock, down by 1, he hit a 3 pointer. That gave BC the lead they held until the final buzzer.
I was working on the floor at this game, and then had to help escort the Duke players off the court as the BC students charged. I had goosebumps, and it was hard to contain a smile.
BC has 4 games left, 2 of which are against good teams. They play in Miami Saturday afternoon, in a contest between two ACC bubble teams. FSU comes to Boston a week from Thursday. Tickets are on sale.
By the way, this was the first time BC has beaten Duke in 24 years.
