FRUSTRATING FOURTH SINKS CELTICS

Alliteration can cheer anyone up.

The Celtics were down 68-65 going into the 4th; a reasonable deficit, especially on the road. But the C's shot 5 of 13 in the final quarter, scoring 12 points. Meanwhile, Cleveland put up 20 to win game 4 88-77.

KG started hot, but cooled down, shooting 6 of 13 from the field. Pierce only had 13 points. Ray Allen and Rondo also had 15 points. The bench wasn't much help either. PJ Brown contributed 8 points, But Cassell, Posey, and Powe combined for a mere 9.

There's only one player on this Celtics team that I don't like, and that's Sam Cassell. Ever since the C's picked him up, he has yet to impress me. And in the post-season, he's done nothing but irritate me. He looks to take the shot far too often for a point guard, especially when guys like KG, Paul Pierce, and Jesus Shuttlesworth are on the floor. He takes some of the dumbest shots with plenty of time on the clock, and he loses his temper at the drop of a hat. Cassell was 0 for 5 from the field, including an infuriating 0 for 3 in the 4th.



As a team, the Celtics shot 38.6% from the field, and 3 of 14 from 3. It seems like on the road, this team has found a new way to lose every night. While at home, they find a new way to win.

But Cleveland isn't Atlanta. Cleveland can actually win a game in Boston. And if they do, the Celtics might be in big time trouble.

You can just hear the wheels spinning in Dan Shaughnessy's head, and hear his pen scribble on paper as he jots down a few notes for his new book: The Curse of Delonte

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

TWINS 7, RED SOX 3

It's funny that the day the Sox let go of Julian Tavarez, they really could have used a long reliever to go 3+ innings. Wait, it's not funny, it's frustrating.

Buchholz once again had a poor outing. He has yet to prove that he can be a consistent Major League pitcher. And if the Red Sox didn't have such a lack of depth in the rotation at the moment, I'd want to see Buchholz pitching in AAA for two or three more months.

The offense came out with a bang with a 3 run third, but failed to do anything after that. Manny hit homer #498. The Red Sox got 8 hits after the 1st, but failed to knock in any more runs, leaving 10 men on base in total.

I guess the silver lining is that the bullpen pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.

The Red Sox have a short 2 game series in Baltimore starting Tuesday night. Beckett goes against Jeremy Guthrie.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Jim Mone

TAVAREZ DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT

In order to make room for Sean Casey, who came off the DL today, the Red Sox designated Julian Tavarez for assignment, essentially releasing the utility pitcher. Tavarez was a big part of the '07 Championship team, but this season he was a massive failure.

Tavarez will go down in Red Sox history as the guy who started a fight in a spring training game with Tampa, the guy who gave pitching advice to Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the air traffic controller of the infield.



Source:
MLB.com

Photo Credit:
Boston.com

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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