Bard Not Bad, But Sox Sucking Continues

Going back to September 1st of last year, the Red Sox are 8-24. That's .250 baseball. So I'm not just "panicking" over a slow start. I'm concerned about what seems to be a continuation of a pattern dating back to last year. The calendar is different, but the games look eerily similar.

On the bright side, Daniel Bard was better than his 5 inning, 5 earned run line score suggests. The first run he allowed came in the 1st, when the Jays had a few well-placed hits and squeezed out a run. The last two runs charged to Bard occurred with Justin Thomas on the mound.

Bard looked promising. There's room for improvement, but he did well. He didn't let a few bad breaks affect him, he mixed up his pitches as the game progressed, he threw strikes (65 strikes, 31 balls, slightly better than the 2:1 ratio you want to see), he didn't walk anyone until the 6th inning, he got better as the game progressed.

His slider was devastating. He worked the changeup in later in the game, and that went well. But the Jays repeatedly made contact on his fastball. Mostly for line drives. He allowed 8 hits. 7 of them were singles.

I'm not yet sold on Bard as a starter. But I am still listening to the sales pitch.

The rest of this team I am definitely not sold on. More bad bullpen work from Thomas and then Michael Bowden. The Sox got plenty of baserunners, but couldn't manage that big hit to break things open. They were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Both those hits came in the 9th with 2 outs and the Sox trailing by 6 runs.

Youkilis finally got 2 hits. If he and Ellsbury can get a little hotter, the offense should find more consistency.

But pitching still worries me. The bullpen is just a mess. And with starters like Doubront and Bard going 5 or 6 innings, that bullpen is even more exposed.

Maybe Lester can turn things around this afternoon. He faces Ricky Romero at 12:37.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Marlins Suspend Ozzie Guillen for 5 Games

Ozzie Guillen is being punished for expressing an opinion. Which sounds like something that would happen in Castro's Cuba, and not the Free World. Obviously as a private entity, the Marlins have the right to suspend Guillen. Guillen's remarks have incited a PR nightmare of Biblical proportions. Expressing admiration for Castro in Miami is like going to Tel Aviv and praising Hitler's public works projects. It's a really stupid thing to do.

But what did Guillen actually say? I'm having extreme difficulty finding the full quote. All I can find is that he said "I love Castro." But I doubt he said that without being asked a question, and I doubt he said that without adding more. Guillen is not a three-word-answer type of guy. He speaks in tangents.

So where's the rest of the tangent?

Time Magazine has the full story available online, but only to subscribers. And I don't subscribe to Time. Why would I?

And every other paper, blog, cable news site, pundit pool and sports radio station only features the "I love Castro," part of the quote. Then the writer takes over with their opinions about Guillen, Castro, Cuban-Americans, the Marlins, and so on.

I finally found the real quote. Thank you, Broward Palm Beach New Times:

"I love Fidel Castro... You know why? Many people have tried to kill Fidel Castro in the last 60 years, yet that [SOB] is still there."

It doesn't seem so horrific now, does it. It's just a stupid thing to say.

And did he say it in English or Spanish? Why is nobody asking these questions before they spit out their opinions one way or another? Are we so addicted to outrage in this country that we don't ask questions, we just get pissed?

The Marlins have been inundated with complaints, protests, and boycotts from the Cuban community in Miami. Understandably so. These are people who were forced out of their homeland by Castro. And people who still have relatives living under Castro's regime.

Will a 5 game suspension ease their anger? Maybe for a day. But their real anger is at Castro, not Guillen. And at the end of the 5 game suspension, Castro's still alive, and Guillen's job is still to manage a baseball team. Which is more important?

Ken Rosenthal wants a month long suspension. Wow. Because that's what we do in America? Lobby for people to be punished as harshly as possible for saying something stupid? This is the same guy who in 2008 insinuated that the Red Sox were a racist club because they had so many white players. He then back-tracked and tried to explain his remarks. I wonder if Mr. Rosenthal was clamoring for his own suspension back then for saying stupid stuff.

I really think after this media firestorm that Guillen will not talk about Castro ever again. He's not an idiot. A 5 game or a month long suspension isn't necessary to shut him up. His own common sense and desire to manage a ballclub will give him some self-censorship.

Getting Ozzie Guillen to sincerely apologize about anything is enough for me. He's not the apologizing type. If a 5 game suspension will quiet the enraged masses, then that makes sense for the Marlins. But this whole story is why I hate the media. Three words, no context, and suddenly Guillen is a pro-communist villain.

It's disgusting. And if we read about something like this happening in Cuba we'd all say "Thank God we don't live there. We live in a free country."

Sox Pull the Goalie and Score in Toronto

The Sox finally put that first win in the books thanks to a 3 run 9th inning last night in Toronto. And finally, the pain is being felt by another team.

Felix Doubront did his job. That's something that Beckett and Buchholz didn't do. Doubront's 5 innings of 2 run ball gave the Sox a chance to win. It was an undramatic start that allowed the Sox to end the game dramatically.

Dustin Pedroia is my favorite player on this team. He started the 9th inning rally with a leadoff double. He also hit a solo homerun in the 6th. It's not just about overall numbers for him, it's when he gets the hits. He's the guy you want at the plate when you need a big hit to start a rally.

This season looks like it might be a bipolar roller coaster. Tremendous highs followed by horrifying lows.

Daniel Bard makes his first MLB start tonight against Doug Drabek's son Kyle Drabek.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BC Wins Yet Another National Title

Is Jerry York the best collegiate coach currently coaching a team? If he's not, he's right up there.

BC beat Ferris State 4-1 Saturday night to win their 5th NCAA title, their 4th under York, and their 3rd in 5 years. York now has 5 championships as a head coach. He won his first with Bowling Green in 1984.

The BC Eagles ended the season with 19 straight wins. They haven't lost since January 21st. That streak includes a Beanpot win, a Hockey East tournament win, and some impressive victories in the NCAA tournament. They beat last year's champs, Minnesota-Duluth, as well as WCHA regular season champs Minnesota.

Parker Milner was the biggest key to the Eagles' success. At the start of the season, he was one of 3 goalies vying to replace John Muse. He eventually settled into the role, then dominated. In the NCAA tournament he stopped 110 of 112 shots (.982 SV%). He's the Tim Thomas of college hockey. He was deservedly named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

The Eagles have 9 players with NHL affiliation, and they're losing 6 seniors. But their ability to continually reload has been why theirs is the best program in the sport. Milner is only a junior, this guy Johnny Gaudreau is only a freshman.

They're already poised to make a run at the 2012-13 NCAA title.

Celtics Take Command in Atlantic

The Celtics rolled over the 76ers last night, and by doing so extended their lead in the Atlantic Division to 3 games over Philadelphia and New York. With only 10 games remaining, the Celtics are growing closer and closer to clinching a top 4 seed in the playoffs, as well as home-court advantage in the first round.

Avery Bradley continues to impress. He dropped 18 points last night. It was a total team effort for the C's. Garnett scored 20, Brandon Bass had 18, and Pierce had 17. Rondo had 15 assists. Ray Allen had 10 points off the bench. That's a weird sentence to write.

I'm still not overly confident about a deep playoff run, but home-court should be a huge advantage. The Celtics are 20-9 at home this year, and 12-15 on the road.

And I don't think anyone wants to draw them in the playoffs, in any round. Garnett, Rondo, Pierce, now Bradley and Bass, and Allen off the bench. That's scary.

Celtics take their talents to South Beach Tuesday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Bruins End Season On Positive Notes

The Bruins were literally playing for nothing but pride on Thursday in Ottawa and on Saturday against Buffalo. And they should be proud of how well they did.

Anton Khudobin stood on his head, making 44 saves on 45 shots against Ottawa. The Bruins were without Thomas, without Chara, and without Bergeron, but they still managed to beat a team that was already in playoff mode. The Bruins gave key players a rest and still managed to win. Which made one B's fan in Section 325 very happy.

Saturday was a tune-up game. You don't want to sit players for too long, especially goalies. The lineup looked more normal. The Bruins surged from 3-1 down to tie it, Thomas didn't allow a goal in the shootout, and the Bruins ended the regular season with a win.

Now it's playoff time. Against Washington, not Ottawa.

That series begins Thursday night in Boston and we'll have a full preview of it later in the week.

Cue the beards.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Making April Seem Like September

Vicente Padilla had the second best pitching performance for the Sox in Detroit. Need I say more?

No. But I will anyway.

A pair of horrible starts from Beckett and Buchholz, combined with inconsistent hitting, and one unbelievably shitty bullpen resulted in a Detroit Tigers sweep. Just like in September, the Sox are finding different ways to lose.

Alfredo Aceves gave up the winning hit in Thursday's loss. Yesterday he blew a 3 run lead. Mark Melancon also blew a save yesterday, and now he's 0-2. It's April 9th and the Sox have a reliever that's 0-2. That's sadly impressive.

One bright spot was Padilla's 4 scoreless innings. He might earn a chance to be in the rotation if he keeps up that good work.

I'm hearing some clamoring for Daniel Bard to be installed as closer. Maybe that will eventually happen, but right now the Sox need starting pitching. Because while the bullpen ultimately blew yesterday's game, a good start from Buchholz would have allowed the Sox to cruise to a blowout victory. Bullpens lose games. Starting pitchers win them.

And you know who should be the closer...

Jonathan Papelbon.

People in Boston were far too complacent and docile when the Sox didn't re-sign the best closer they've had in a long time. Everyone who wants Bard to close should also get angry at the Sox for not retaining Papelbon.

The Sox go up to Toronto to face the 2-1 Jays. Doubront faces 21 year old Henderson Alvarez.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Frozen Four Preview

Two historic programs, two newcomers. Two northeastern teams, two from the Midwest, playing for hockey supremacy in Florida. It's the Frozen Four and it's on tonight.

The first semifinal starts at 4:30pm (ESPNU) and pits the Union College (NY) Dutchmen against the Ferris State Bulldogs. Many people don't even know where these schools are, let alone how good they are at hockey. FYI, Union is just outside of Albany, NY and Ferris State is in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Union has the goaltending. Ferris State's netminder isn't bad either. I didn't expect Union to get this far. They play in a league that isn't very deep. They were also inexperienced. I still have trouble picking them to win this game, but goalie Troy Grosenick is quite capable of stealing it.

Ferris State won two close games to get to Tampa, but they were against Denver and Cornell. Cornell gave the Bulldogs some trouble, and Union finished ahead of Cornell in the ECAC.

Union went through Michigan State and UMass-Lowell to get this far. They rolled through the ECAC tournament. They haven't allowed more than 3 goals since February.

Union wins a goalie duel 3-2.

At 8:00pm on ESPN2, BC takes on Minnesota in the other smeifinal.

Boston College vs. Minnesota represents an historic theme in college hockey. East vs. West. The Hub of Hockey vs. The State of Hockey. BC and Minnesota have 9 national titles between them (5 since 2001), 43 Frozen Four appearances, 27 conference tournament titles, and 26 regular season conference titles. These programs know how to win.

Minnesota will be BC's biggest challenge of the season. The Eagles have won 17 in a row. They're accustomed to elimination hockey. They won the Beanpot, won at Fenway Park, even beat North Dakota in North Dakota back in October. They're goaltending situation has been resolved thanks to the tremendous play of Parker Milner. They roll 4 lines and 3 of them can score at any moment.

Minnesota, however, is big. They're strong. They can skate and keep pace with BC while also punishing them. UMass gave BC trouble this season because of their ability to skate. And if UMass had better finishers, then the Minutemen could have beaten the Eagles with regularity. Minnesota have those better finishers.

Based on pure logic, I might pick Minnesota. But I'm sentimental. And I also don't bet against a team that's won 17 straight games.

BC wins 5-4 in double OT. Then goes on to win their 5th national title, 3rd in 5 years, and 4th under Jerry York.

The Championship Game will be Saturday night at 7:00pm on ESPN2.