DICE-K GOES 5 IN REHAB START, ORTIZ GETS CAST REMOVED

While the Red Sox played in Philadelphia, the PawSox played the Phillies' AAA affiliate in Allentown with Daisuke Matsuzaka starting. He went 5 innings, allowed 3 hits and 2 runs. In his first 4 innings, he mowed down the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He faced the minimum 12 batters and only threw 39 pitches. In total, 47 of his 65 pitches were for strikes. After the game, he said: "I don't know what percent I'm at, but I'm ready to pitch again."

Also on Monday, David Ortiz had his cast removed. His wrist will now be in a splint, and he can start exercising it.

Sources:
Associated Press
Boston.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steve Klaver

COLON EMBARRASSED ON THE MOUND AND AT THE PLATE

It just wasn't a very good night for the Red Sox on any front, particularly Bartolo Colon. He only went 4 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs. At the plate, he looked like a drunk softball player, hacking wildly as Cole Hamels toyed with him. Yeah, watching pitchers bat is fun.

If Colon has another bad start his next time out, it's time to get concerned about his durability and recovery from starts.

The Red Sox got plenty of hits to put up more than 2 runs. Unfortunately, a pair of 2 out rallies both started (and quickly ended) when Colon was due up.

The good news is that Pedroia seems to be hitting again. He was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Sean Casey also looks good, so when interleague play is over, he should be able to plug the DH hole left by Ortiz.

Jon Lester goes against Jamie "Which Team Am I On Now?" Moyer Tuesday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR

The Celtics came close to finishing off the Lakers last night, but wound up on the wrong side of a 103 to 98 score. Once again, the Lakers pulled ahead early, leading by 19 at one point. They then collapsed, allowing the Celtics to come back. But the C's didn't put the finishing touches on the game and LA escaped.

Kevin Garnett had a mediocre to bad 4th quarter. On defense, he was rarely physical. Then again, he was in foul trouble, so that's understandable. On offense, however, he failed to be physical for the entire game. He made Pau Gasol look like an actual big man, and not just an overgrown soccer player. KG slapped defensive rebounds to the backcourt, instead of trying to haul them in. He didn't drive. He didn't get to the free throw line until the 4th quarter. And then he shot 1 of 4, which was back breaking.



I'm not going to pull a Phil Jackson and blame the officials for this loss. The Celtics did enough to lose it on their own. But the refs deserve free drinks in LA for at least a month.

With 0:48 on the clock in the 4th, and a 97-95 Laker lead, Paul Pierce pulled down a defensive rebound. He appeared to get mugged by three different Lakers as he corralled the ball. But he got out with the ball and brings it up the court. Then Kobe Bryant reaches around and hits Paul Pierce's side. KOBE NEVER TOUCHED THE BALL. It pops free, the Lakers get it, find Kobe running up the court, and he dunks to make it a 99-95 lead with 0:37 on the clock.



So instead of Paul Pierce going to the line with a chance to tie it, the Lakers get a 4 point lead. I'm not accusing the refs of bias, it was just a standard case of officials refusing to call fouls/penalties late in games. I guess by allowing rules to be broken late in a game, the officials avoid affecting the outcome. Flawless logic.

Anyway, the Celtics and Lakers come back home for some more fun. Hopefully KG will get his act together, because Pierce, Allen, and the bench are doing everything right. Game 6 Tuesday night.

And Jack Nicholson, get a life. You may be one of the coolest dudes on the planet, but any mystique you have evaporates when you yell at the refs like a 12 year old.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Pool, Larry W. Smith
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

100,000 HITS

Saturday afternoon, this blog reached 100,000 hits. It's a relatively small milestone, even for a sports blog, but I'm still proud. I just want to thank the 6 or 7 regular readers out there, as well as the thousands who stumble through by accident. Special props to my friends who indirectly encouraged me to start blogging by constantly asking what I thought about the latest Sox trade or the Patriots draft. Then there's that dude Andy who seems to hate Boston sports but always has something intelligent to contribute via comments. Then there are the multitude of sites that link to my articles, or subscribe to my feed. UniversalHub.com gets a special shout out for linking to my articles from time to time. And most importantly, I'd like to thank my sponsors. Because anything someone does that doesn't make him money is a waste of time.

So thank you everyone. Next stop: 1,000,000 hits.

BECKETT LOOKS LIKE BECKETT, ELLSBURY SETS RECORD, SOX WIN 9-0

Despite lacking Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox slugged their way to a 9-0 win over the Reds. Every Sox batter reached base, except Josh Beckett. Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia each hit homeruns, as did JD Drew, who now has 11. By the way, Drew now leads the team in runs scored with 50, and OPS at 1.004.

Jacoby Ellsbury broke the Red Sox rookie record for stolen bases. He stole 2, giving him 33 for the season. The previous record was held by Andy McCombell, set in 1908. Just to show how old that record is, that was the first year the Red Sox were known as the Red Sox. The AL rookie record is 66, set by Kenny Lofton in 1992. Ellsbury is on pace for 74.

Josh Beckett finally had a Josh Beckett calibre start, going 7 innings, scattering 6 hits, allowing no runs, and striking out 6.

The Sox have won 12 of their last 16 games. More importantly, they've won their last 2 road series in a row for the first time this season.

But things get much harder. The Red Sox start a three game series against Chase Utley and the NL East leading Phillies Monday night. Bartolo Colon faces Cole Hamels. In his last two starts Hamels threw 17 innings and only allowed 2 runs.

Source:
ESPN.com
WBZTV.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tony Tribble

SOX SHUT DOWN BY HARANG, LOSE 3-1

The road woes continue for the Red Sox. After a 7-2 homestand, yet another road trip has begun with a loss, this time against the 6th place team in the NL Central.

To be fair, the Red Sox lineup had a few alterations to it. Of course, in an NL ballpark without the DH, somebody has to sit. Jason Varitek missed the game due to strep throat, and he actually got stranded in Cleveland on his way to Cincinnati. Manny drove in the lone Sox run, but left the game early due to his nagging hamstring issue. Manny won't start in this afternoon's game. Youkilis also sat while Sean Casey played first base.

Without Manny, the Red Sox offense that only managed 5 hits and 1 run last night loses even more teeth. Don't bank on a victory for this afternoon's game, folks. Tim Wakefield is on the mound for the Sox, and he's up against Edinson Volquez. Volquez is just 9-2 with a 1.56 ERA and he leads the universe in strikeouts with 96.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Uhlman

LAUGHING AT L.A.

Found this classic shirt from the 80s on HubArts.com



And The Serious Sports Network writes about Phil Jackson and the Lakers practising their excuses. You have to scroll down a bit for that one.

FIRST NAIL IN THE COFFIN

All you can say is "wow." The Celtics were trailing by 21 points after the 1st quarter, by as many as 24 points, and by 20 points halfway through the 3rd. But from that point on, they outscored Los Angeles 47 to 21 and took game 3 97-91.



The series isn't over by any means, but no team has ever come from 3-1 behind in the Finals to win the series. But we here in Boston remember what happened in the 2004 ALCS. Anything can happen. But in order for such a catastrophe to unfold in 2008, the Lakers would need to win on Sunday, then win two games in Boston. Detroit was the only team besides the Celtics to win two games in Boston this season. So it's possible, but highly unlikely.

The Celtics and Lakers had two different games last night. The Lakers played out of their minds in the first half. They drained threes seemingly at will, and Lamar Odom started 7 for 7. The Celtics, on the other hand, only managed 14 points in the 1st quarter. Pierce's struggles continued, and the offense was as lost as they were in the 4th quarter of game 3.



What was scary about the 1st half was that Kobe hadn't yet gotten it going. The Lakers lead hovered around 20 points, but once Kobe started playing like the one-man-wrecking-crew/god ESPN declares him to be, it was going to be lights out for the C's.

But Kobe never reached top speed. He finished 6 of 19 for only 17 points. He was outscored by: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Lamar Odom, and James Posey!!!



Meanwhile, Lamar Odom remembered that he's Lamar Odom. He was 1 for 4 in the 2nd half. The three pointers stopped falling for the Lakers. And on the other side of the ball, Paul Pierce and the rest of the PGA (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) Tour woke up. They got stops, forced bad shots, didn't screw around on offense and went on some big runs. To end the 3rd, the Celtics went on a 10-1 run, cutting LA's lead to 2 points. In the final 5 minutes of the 4th, the Celtics went on a 21-3 run.

Pierce recovered from a sluggish 1st half to finish with 20 points and 7 assists. Ray Allen had 19 points. He's been the most consistent player in the Finals, averaging 20 points per game. He also had 9 rebounds. KG recovered from a dreadful game 3 with a 7 for 14 shooting night and 16 points, to go along with his 11 rebounds.



James Posey came out of nowhere and put up 18 points. He hit four 3 pointers and was huge. Eduardo Casa a.k.a. Eddie House also came up big in support of the injured Rajon Rondo. Rondo only played 17 minutes, still nursing that ankle. House played 25 and had 11 points. Combined, the Celtics' bench had 35 points. The Lakers' bench had 15.

Game 5 awaits the Celtics and Lakers on Sunday. It will be a long, long two days in Boston. And if I have to hear anyone declaring their desire that the Celtics lose game 5 so they can win the title here in Boston, I'm going to dry heave.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Mark Avery
AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill