GOODBYE, ATLANTA

I don't think I was the only person to get annoyed by the Hawks during this series. Horford really came off as an impudent prick. Mike Bibby's comments were not only uncalled for, but were silly considering the city in which he plays is known for having some of the most fair-weather fans in the country. And then there was Atlanta's PA announcer leading all the chants and cheering. To me, that was the most annoying aspect of this series. And thank God it's over.

The Celtics' annihilation of the Hawks in game 7 makes it hard to believe that the series even got to a 7th game. Pierce had 22 points and 8 rebounds. Garnett had 18 points and 11 boards. Perkins registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Powe came off the bench with 12 points.

Defensively, the Celtics played an even more phenomenal game. They had a total of 11 steals and 10 blocks. The Hawks were held to an abysmal 24 for 82 (29.3%) from the field. And best of all, Mike Bibby was held to 2 points. Two points! HAHAHAHA



Now the Celtics have to play the 4th seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. The C's better be able to step it up on the road, because Cleveland is a real team and is very capable of winning games in Boston. The C's and Cavs played 4 games this season, splitting 2-2. Neither team was able to win on the road in the season series.

Here is the schedule for the series with Cleveland:

Game 1: Tuesday 5/6 - 8:00PM - vs. Cleveland
Game 2: Thursday 5/8 - 7:00 PM - vs. Cleveland
Game 3: Saturday 5/10 - 8:00 PM - @ Cleveland
Game 4: Monday 5/12 - 8:00 PM - @ Cleveland
Game 5: Wednesday 5/14 - TBA - vs. Cleveland
Game 6: Friday 5/16 - TBA - @ Cleveland
Game 7: Sunday 5/18 - TBA - vs. Cleveland



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

SOX PUSH KAZMIR AROUND

The Red Sox got out to an early lead against Scott Kazmir Sunday afternoon, and although the game was made close in the late innings, were able to pull away at the end for a 7-3 victory.

Lester had a typical Jon Lester start, 112 pitches in 6 innings. Although he pitched well and allowed only one run, he put the Sox in an awkward position. Manny Delcarmen had to be brought in to pitch the 7th.

Delcarmen was one of the X factors of this team coming into the season. If he did well, then Papelbon and Okajima would have some support in the bullpen. The dynamic duo could take more days off, and there'd be someone reliable to pitch the 7th inning when the starter could only get through 6.

But things haven't worked out that way. After another struggle on Sunday, Delcarmen's ERA is up to 7.30. ERA is not a good way to gauge a reliever, but every other Delcarmen stat is as bad or worse. His WHIP is 1.70. He's throwing 20.1 pitches per inning. Opponents are hitting .333 off him. He's inherited 12 runners, and 7 of them have scored.

Although the Sox still managed to win Sunday (thanks in large part to Okajima, Papelbon, and Youkilis), this trend with Delcarmen simply cannot continue. Last year, we saw how effective the Sox were at conserving Papelbon so he could last the whole season. We also saw Okajima wear out toward the end of the year.

In 2008, Papelbon has already had 4 outings longer than an inning. In 2007, he had a TOTAL of 4 appearances that were longer than an inning. Papelbon has 14 appearances and 15.1 innings so far. By May 4 in 2007, he only had 11 appearances and 11.1 innings. This may sound like a small difference, but if it continues throughout the year, it will take its toll. And the Sox won't have Papelbon available to pitch 2 tough innings in the World Series, if need be.



The Red Sox now head to Detroit for 4 games. Daisuke goes against Bonderman in the series opener Monday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

WAIT...WHAT?

The Celtics are coming back to Boston...with the Hawks. Once again, the Hawks outplayed the Celtics in the 4th quarter to win at home 103-100.

This has been a consistent trend in this series. When the game is close going into the 4th, the Hawks seem to shift into a higher gear, and the Celtics seemed to be worn out. The Hawks are a young, fast team. The Celtics, on the other hand, are a bit older, a bit wiser, a bit slower, and much more prone to wearing down as a tight game comes to an end.

The officials have also played their part in this debacle. Had the refs called this series evenly, it would have been over in 5 or 6 games. But the Celtics have struggled to keep their cool. The 6th foul on Paul Pierce in game 6 was complete bullshit. But there was no need for Pierce to spike his headband and draw a technical.

The piss poor officiating extends beyond the massive number of times Atlanta has been given free throw opportunities. The Celtics have been handcuffed on defense, unable to make any contact. Even when the Hawks go out of their way to run into a defender, Atlanta is getting the calls.



But you know what, the Hawks just aren't a good team. And as we all saw in games 1, 2, and 5; the Celtics are simply on a higher plane of existence. And the refs were calling the games for Atlanta, as well.

Game 7, Sunday afternoon, in Boston.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images

STILL NO OFFENSE

The Red Sox have scored a total of 5 runs in their last 50 innings of play. And the drought continued last night as the Blue Jays put up a seemingly insurmountable amount of runs and beat the Sox 3-0.

The Sox had plenty of baserunners, getting 4 hits and drawing 6 walks, but couldn't come up with any big hits with runners on.

The good news is that Wakefield looked solid. His 7 innings and 3 earned runs was the 7th straight Quality Start for Sox starters. But the Sox are 2-5 in that stretch, which is simply pitiful.

Buchholz faces Edwin Jackson and the Rays tonight.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Source:
Elsa/Getty Images

CELTICS 110, HAWKS + REFS 85

The Celtics are capable of such a high level of basketball, that despite the best effort of the officials to give lowly Atlanta a boost, the Celtics still rolled over them.



Pierce led the way with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Garnett had 20 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists. Ray Allen started slow, but his 5 for 8 from 3 point land helped him finish wit 19 points. Rondo had another impressive night, with 12 points and 7 assists. Rajon now has 40 assists in this series, with only 4 turnovers.

The real story, however, was the quality of play from the Celtics bench. Leon Powe had a great night with 10 points and 7 rebounds (5 offensive rebounds), but the numbers don't tell the story. All of those rebounds were hard ones underneath the post. He also drew a pair of huge charging calls early in the game that set the tone for the Celtics' defense all night.



The Celtic bench combined for 35 points, whereas Atlanta's only amassed 14.

The only thing that kept the Hawks in the game was free throws. Atlanta got to the line 29 times (the Celtics only 15 times). The refs called a very tight game when the C's were on defense, and a very loose one when the Hawks were defending. Free throws accounted for 29.4% of Atlanta's point production.

But the Celtics (when they're on their game) are simply too good to fall to a team like Atlanta, even with the help of the refs. The Celtics outrebounded, outhustled, outshot, and completely outplayed the Hawks.



Game 6 is Friday night in Atlanta.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

SOX SQUEEZE ANOTHER ONE OUT

The starting pitching on this team has really started to click. Daisuke came back from the flu with a vengeance, going 7 innings, allowing just 2 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs. Unfortunately for him, sparse offense and the struggling middle relief cost him the win.

Delcarmen pitched to one batter in the 8th, allowing a single. Then Okajima came in, allowed a double, and a sacrifice fly. That's Okajima's third blown save (even though the run got charged to Delcarmen) of the season. He had 2 blown saves in all of 2007. And if it weren't for a sensational diving catch by Brandy Moss (what he'll be called from now on), things could have been much worse.

But the Sox bats came up big in the 9th again. Ortiz singled, Manny walked, Lowrie pinch ran for Ortiz on second, Brandy Moss singled up the middle, but this time Vernon Wells came up with a great throw, and Greg Zaun blocked the plate Patrick Roy style to tag out Lowrie. But Varitek followed that play with another single up the middle, this time scoring the suddenly speedy Manny Ramirez.



Ortiz had one of those "maybe he's coming out of it" games, going 2 for 4 with a solo homer, and the single in the 9th. But we've seen this from him several times this year, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

The Sox go for the sweep Thursday night as Tim Wakefield takes the mound against AJ Burnett.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

RANDY MOSS + NASCAR?

Randy Moss announced the foundation of Moss Motorsports the other day. The team has no sponsors, yet. No drivers, yet. No anything, really. But that's how most race teams start.

The team will run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the 3rd tier NASCAR touring series (Nextel Cup is #1, Nationwide is #2). The truck series is essentially the arena football league of NASCAR. Lots of old talent that went nowhere, lots of young talent going nowhere, and the occasional young player who will catch the eye of an NFL franchise.

I really don't know what to say.

Source:
Associated Press via ESPN.com

FINALLY

For 8 and a half innings of baseball, frustrated Sox fans must have asked themselves "Will we ever score a run again?" The answer was a resounding yes.

With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Red Sox finally got something going against Halladay, who had been all but unhittable to that point. An Ortiz walk, a single by Manny, a single by Youkilis, and a bobble by Vernon Wells gave the Sox a 1-0 victory over the Jays.

Jon Lester was absolutely brilliant, putting forth the best performance of a Sox starter this season. 8 innings, 1 hit, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts, 15 groundball outs, and an uncharacteristically low pitch count of 97.

The bad news is that JD Drew left the game with tightness in his quad. Just when the Sox get Lowell and Ortiz back, another starter goes down. Thankfully, before the game, the Sox had decided to designate Bryan Corey for assignment to make room for Mike Lowell, instead of sending outfielder Brandon Moss to AAA Pawtucket.

Daisuke goes against Dustin McGowan Wednesday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa