MVPEDROIA

As you've all no doubt heard by now, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia won AL MVP. He's the first Red Sox player to win the award since 1995. It's the 10th time a Red Sox has won the MVP. However, Pedro Martinez should have won it in 1999 and/or 2000.

Believe it or not, one of the voters left Pedroia completely off their ballot. Each writer picks 10 players (1st thru 10th), and apparently Dustin wasn't good enough to be even the 10th most valuable player in the League.

Pedroia didn't put up typical "MVP" numbers. He's not a power hitter with 17 HRs and a .493 slugging percentage. But he had a very good OBP of .376, contended for the batting title before finishing 2nd, won the Silver Slugger, the Gold Glove, and his red hot performance down the stretch pushed the Red Sox into the playoffs.

In his short career, Pedroia's amassed a generous amount of hardware. He won Rookie of the Year last year, as well as the World Series. He started the All-Star Game this year, won Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and the MVP.

Pedroia's become the answer to what was once a very questionable position for the Red Sox. The Sox haven't had the same starting second baseman for more than 3 seasons since Marty Barrett in the 80's.

For anyone who thinks Pedroia didn't deserve this Award, my only question to them is: so who did?

Justin Morneau finished 2nd. He had 20 HRs, pretty much the same OPS, 0 stolen bases, and the Twins didn't make the playoffs but contended.

Kevin Youkilis put up impressive numbers for the Sox, and was consistent all year round. He would have been a good MVP with his numbers (.959 OPS), .312 average, 29 HRs. I actually think Youkilis should have won the AL MVP.

Joe Mauer edged Pedroia for the batting title, but he's even less of a power hitter with 9 homeruns.

Carlos Quentin had the homeruns, and that's about it.

Francisco Rodriguez set a save record, but saves are one of the most misinterpreted stats in baseball. He was given lots of opportunities, and blew his fair share of them.

Josh Hamilton and Alex Rodriguez were on losing teams. Carlos Pena hit .247. Everybody else that received MVP votes had good seasons, but nowhere near great.

So a nice bit of good off-season news.

Sources:
Extra bases
Baseball-Reference.com

BRUINS STAY HOT UP NORTH

It wasn't pretty, but the Bruins escaped Toronto with a 3-2 win against the teetering Maple Leafs. The Bruins haven't lost in regulation this month, and have won 9 of their last 11 contests.

I've said it before, but it deserves reemphasizing. A major reason behind the B's recent success has been the penalty kill. Toronto was 0 for 5 last night with a man advantage. The Bruins have killed 14 straight penalties, 37 of their last 38 (97.3%), and 44 of their last 47 (93.6%). There's only one word for that: godlike (lower case "g"). Before this stretch of hockey, the Bruins penalty kill percentage was 28th in the NHL, now it's 19th and steadily rising.

The best penalty killer on the team is Tim Thomas. Once again, he was brilliant, stopping 28 of 30 shots. He had some help from the posts, but he made both the athletic saves and the smart positioning saves. For my money, he's the best goalie in the NHL right now, if not the best player. He has the best GAA and Save Percentage in the League.

The Bruins host the Sabres Wednesday night. The Bruins haven't lost at home since October 23rd (5 straight wins). And I'm going, but not before I stop at Bru Fest.



Source:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ron Poling

VOTE EARLY VOTE OFTEN

The NHL All-Star Game has Chicago rules for its voting. There's no limit to how many ballots you can cast. Not surprisingly, the fuckwads up North in Quebec are voting for their favorite femme fatales. "Guys" like Saku Koivu, Michael "Lucic is mon papa" Komisarek, and Alexei "водолаз" Kovalev (that's Russian for "the diver") are the leading vote-getters. In fact, all 6 starting positions are Canadiens.

Let's help prevent travesty. I'm encouraging Bruins fans everywhere to put aside their team loyalty in the interest of unity and hatred. Vote for guys like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Also, Zdeno Chara is #4 in defenseman voting, so stuff the ballot box for him. He deserves to be there.

And write-in Tim Thomas. The retards at the NHL didn't put him on the ballot (only 10 goalies per each 15 team conference, makes sense right?). But all you have to do is write "Tim" in the write-in box and the site will do the rest.

Vote at http://fanballoting.nhl.com/

Or text the player's last name to 81812

BC UPSETS FSU IN TALLAHASSEE

ESPN seems to be blaming the suspension of 5 Seminole receivers for their 27-17 loss to Boston College. There's no doubt that their absence was a detriment to Bobby Bowden's squad, and the incident was a distraction to their teammates. However, that's what happens when you recruit players based on athleticism alone.

Boston College seems to have found their ground game. Jacksonville native and true freshman Montel Harris ran for 121 yards and a score against the team he wanted to play for growing up. He's averaging 5.4 yards per carry this season, and the future looks bright for him and for the Eagles.

Believe it or not, BC still controls their own destiny. They travel to Winston-Salem and play Wake Forest next Saturday. If they win there, and beat Maryland at home on the 29th, they go to the ACC Championship Game.

At the very least, their victory over Florida State has saved the Eagles from a bowl game in Boise.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Phil Coale

BRUINS BLOW 2 GOAL LEAD IN NEW YORK

A shootout loss on the road to the team with the 2nd best record in the NHL isn't a bad result. Unless, of course, you were up 2-0 with 6 minutes left in the 3rd.

Then again, the last 6 minutes of the 3rd was the first stretch of bad hockey the Bruins have played in over a week. And if Patrice Bergeron's post-hitting shot in round 4 of the shooutout had gone in, the B's may have left MSG with maximum points.

Not surprisingly, the New York media selected three Rangers for the three stars of the game. And who can blame them, they're still high from the Jets' Super Bowl victory Thursday night.

Wait a minute...

Bruins start a homestand against the Maple Leafs Monday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II (sweet name)

UNFORTUNATE

It's a shame to waste such a valiant comeback. It's a shame to be forced to comeback so valiantly against a team like the Jets. It's a shame that all the football talk until Sunday will involve Brett The Swashbuckling Gunslinging Ninja River Boat Gambler Pirate Favre, and Eric Mangenius.



It's a shame that Mike Vrabel was flagged for defensive holding, on a call that would have made Bill Polian say "THAT was holding!?!" It's a shame that the Jets won the coin toss. It's a shame the Pats couldn't stop them on 3rd and 15. It's a shame that kickoff return coverage has sucked the past few games. It's a shame the Jets were 9 of 16 on 3rd downs and the Pats were 4 of 14. It's a shame Matt Cassel led the team in rushing. It's a shame Ben Watson put the ball on the ground.

It's NOT a shame that the Pats rallied from 18 down and tied it, despite the efforts of the officials. It isn't a shame that Matt Cassel was 30/51 for 400 yards, 3 scores, and rushed for 62 yards. It's not a shame that Wes Welker had 10 grabs. It's not a shame that Watson and Jabbar Gaffney had their best games of the season. It's not a shame that Jerod Mayo had 20 tackles (16 solo), and Pierre Woods looked good filling in for Adalius.



This loss hurt like the Colts loss, but the Pats were just one play here or there away from victory. And that defensive holding call on Vrabel shouldn't be forgotten. That gave the Jets 3 downs which they used to put up 7, instead of kicking a field goal. The Pats also used up 2 timeouts on plays following the penalty.

A completely bullshit call.

Pats go down to Miami for a game on the 23rd. I remember a certain team from New England having an historical game in Miami on a November 23rd a few years ago. It's also my birthday. And Jonathan Papelbon's.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson
AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

THANK YOU, BRUINS

The Bruins' 6-1 pounding of the Canadiens made the Patrtiots' loss a little more bearable.

The B's hadn't beaten Montreal in 12 straight regular season meetings. The Bruins arrived in Boston at 3:00 AM Thursday after a hard fought 2-1 shootout win in Chicago. The Bruins didn't have much of an advantage coming into the game.

But that didn't matter. The 4th line of Shawn Thornton, Stephan Yelle, and Chuck Kobasew combined for 3 goals and 7 points. Manny Fernandez stopped 27 of 28 shots. Marco Sturm broke out with 2 goals. Patrice Bergeron had an assist and pancaked Saku Koivu in the open ice. Milan Lucic fell an assist shy of a Gordie How hat trick by scoring a goal and beating the crap out of Mike Komisarek.



Last year as a fan, I'd dread games against Montreal because the Bruins would find some way to mess it up. They'd get too emotional, fall behind early, and lose 5-1. Or they'd play too physical, rack up penalties, and give up shorthanded goals. Or they wouldn't be physical enough and the Habs would outlast them. But this season, the Bruins have handled Montreal as if they were any other team.



The Bruins are in 1st place and on pace for 118 points. They've won 5 straight and 8 of 9. They've beaten good teams like Chicago, Buffalo, and Montreal in this streak. The goaltending has been outstanding from Thomas and Fernandez. They're scoring goals in abundance. They're playing smart and physical hockey.

It's what we've been waiting for, Bruins fans.

They face another challenge Saturday night as they go down to Manhattan to face the 1st place Rangers.

Sources:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

CHICAGO SHOOTOUT

The Blackhawks came into this game riding a 4 game win streak. The Bruins had won 3 straight and 6 of 7. Not surprisingly, it was a close contest that wasn't decided until the 3rd round of a shootout.

Tim Thomas and Nikolai Khabibulin were beyond amazing. In a game that saw 13 power plays, 71 total shots, and a penalty shot; only 2 pucks crossed the goal line. Both Thomas and Khabibulin made highlight reel saves. Thomas stopped a penalty shot in OT, and Khabibulin was a wall during an overtime penalty kill, robbing Marc Savard and Phil Kessel.



The surprise of the night was PJ Axelsson. Coach Claude Julien selected him to be 3rd in the shootout. Axelsson is 0 for 3 lifetime in shootouts, and hasn't scored a goal all season. Then he beats Khabibulin by faking a wrist shot, forcing the big Russian to commit, then lifts the puck along the side of the net and in for a Bruins victory.

The TV gods seem to hate the Bruins. They were up against a 103-102 Celtics/Hawks game tonight, and will be up against the Pats/Jets Thursday night.

But I suggest you flip back and forth, because Montreal is in town.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh