BRUINS TAKE HOME SOME HARDWARE

Two things gave you an edge in last night's NHL Awards ceremony: being Russian or being a Bruin. Every Bruin nominated for an award won it. Tim Thomas won the Vezina (best goalie), Zdeno Chara won the Norris (best defenseman), and Claude Julien won the Jack Adams (best coach).

Tim Thomas was simply unbelievable for the Bruins. He led the NHL with a 2.10 GAA, and .933 SV%. In the postseason, he had a playoff best 1.85 GAA in his 11 games, which came with a .935 SV%.



Timmy's the first Bruin to win the Vezina since 1983 (Pete Peeters), and the first American to win it since 1996 (Jim Carey). It's only the 8th time the trophy has been given to a Bruin.

Zdeno Chara is simply the big brother on the Bruins. Mess with anyone in black and gold, and you'll eventually have to answer to Chara. He was +23, tied for 7th best among defenseman. His 19 goals were 4th amongst defensemen, he was 6th in ice time. He used his impressive wingspan to literally decrease the amount of free ice opponents could use. He was both intimidating and irritating. Whenever he was on the ice, he changed the dimensions of the game.

Chara's the first Bruin to win the Norris since 1994 (Raymond Bourque). Since the award was first given in 1954, a Bruin has won it 14 times (Orr had 8, Bourque had 5). Chara is the first Slovakian to win the Norris.

Claude Julien took a team of kids and turned them into contenders. Who knows what would've happened had key players like Kessel, Krejci, Kobasew, and Ference remained healthy. But this team wasn't much different from the 8th seeded, below .500 Bruins that exited in the 1st round of the 2008 playoffs. So this award is really given for two years of coaching.

Claude's the first Bruins coach to win the award since Pat Burns in 1998. This is only the 3rd time a Bruins coach has won the Jack Adams.

It also should be noted that Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez share the William M. Jennings Trophy for playing goalie 25+ times for the team that allowed the fewest goals.


Photo Credit:
Ryan Remiorz/Associated Press

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?

With players on this team who have names like Penny, Bay, and Green; the plays on word truly are endless.

The Red Sox celebrated their 500th consecutive home sellout with a nice 6-1 defeat over the Florida Marlins. Brad Penny went 5 innings for the win, and Dustin Pedroia had 3 hits and 3 RBI.

Penny's start was one of the most fortunate outings I've seen a Red Sox starter have. Allowing 3 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings is almost Matsuzakan. And a pair of hard hit shots belted Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu in the 5th luckily found Red Sox gloves.

I'm honestly not too impressed with Penny, and think he'll be the odd man out when it comes time to decide on 5 starters.

How cool was it that the Sox got their 500th sellout in a row on the 49th anniversary of Ted Williams' 500th homerun?

The Man of the Game:
Dustin Pedroia - 3 for 5, double, 3 RBI

The Sox go for the sweep Thursday night. Jon Lester faces Ricky Nolasco, who is 2-6 with a 7.62 ERA.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

WHAT A "HOLD" REALLY IS

I'm just watching the Red Sox game, and they're talking about Holds, which are statistics for middle-relief pitchers. But Don Orsillo got the definition wrong. Holds are rewarded to relief pitchers who enter a game in a save situation, record at least one out, all without surrendering the lead.

So if it's a 4-1 game in the 7th, and Hideki Okajima gets 2 outs, keeping it a 4-1 game, he'll get a Hold.

So it's a Save, just without finishing the game.

SOX GO FISHING

Is Tim Wakefield an All-Star? He certainly helped his case in that argument last night with win #9 of the season. It wasn't Ace-like - 6 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 4 strikeouts - but he's gotten the job done this season. He's probably been the most consistent pitcher in the Red Sox' rotation, and I for one would like to see his efforts rewarded with an All-Star selection.

David Ortiz had another great night. He pulled a shot over the bullpen in the 4th. Later in the same inning he hit a 2 run single. He's got 4 homeruns and 10 RBI in June and we're only halfway through the month. He had 1 HR and 18 RBI in April and May combined.

Brad Penny faces Andrew Miller tonight. It will be the 500th straight sellout at Fenway Park, which is quite an achievement by the fans of Boston, as well as a testament to the quality of the on-field product we've seen here the past few seasons.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

MID INNING MELTDOWN

Things were looking pretty good thru 4 innings. The Sox were up 4-1, Beckett was dealing. Then it all went to hell. Beckett gave up 4 runs and the lead in the 5th. But he himself tied things up again with a homer in the top of the 6th. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to settle down, and he and the pen let up 6 runs in the 7th.

It was an unfortunate way to end what has been a tremendous stretch of baseball. Facing four straight 1st place teams, the Sox went 9-3. It doesn't get better than that. And despite this afternoon's woes, there's still plenty about this team to be impressed with.

Man of the Game:
Jimmy Rollins

Bitch-Goat:
Beckett: 0.7
Bard: 0.3

The Sox have a day off before the Marlins come to town. Tim Wakefield faces Chris Volstad Tuesday night.

John Smoltz will pitch on Thursday. But whether he'll pitch in Boston against the Marlins or in Pawtucket against the Charlotte Knights.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek

THIS TEAM LOOKS SO FREAKIN GOOD

The Sox are looking insanely good these days. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have been unstoppable. Ortiz is hitting. Drew is hitting. And the bullpen is deeper than Salvador Dali preaching on acid.

Lester struck out 11 in 7 innings of work. He was robbed of his 6th win, but I don't think he minds much. In his last three starts, he's tossed 22 innings, and allowed only 3 earned (1.23 ERA).

Razor Ramon Ramirez did allow that atomic shot off Ryan Howard's bat. But Howard's victimized 18 other pitchers this season, so nothing to be ashamed of there. Ramirez did settle down and keep it a 2-2 game.

Then the depth of the Sox pen became apparent. Remember, this was a night off for Papelbon, and the Sox pen still came through. Masterson for 7 outs, Saito for 2, then Bard for the last 3. Bard struck out the side in the 13th for his first Major League save.

This is the 4th straight series the Sox have had against a division leading team (at the start of the series). So far in that stretch, Boston is 8-2. Very impressive stuff.

Saturday night Daisuke faces my favorite player in the universe: Antonio BASTARDO! But seriously, Bastardo is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek

SWEEPSTAKES

The Red Sox were not supposed to win this game. Brad Penny against CC Sabathia? Yet Brad Penny outdueled Sabathia with 6 shutout innings. Then Delcarmen craps the bed and the Yankees lead 3-1. So game over, right? Wrong. A magnificent 8th inning rally flipped a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead.

Dustin Pedroia's at-bat in the 8th was monstrous. Not only did he work a walk, but he did it by making Sabathia throw 10 pitches, ensuring that JD Drew would be the last batter he faced.

David Ortiz's homerun in the 2nd was the most encouraging of his 4. He hit it over the Monster, and hit it off a tough lefty who was on his A-Game. Without a doubt his most impressive homer of the season. His 2 for 3 night launched his average over the .200 mark for the first time since May 23.

Brad Penny may have saved his spot in the rotation. Or perhaps he's raised his pricetag on the trade market. If all the Sox get for him is some minor league short-stop, I'll be very disappointed.

This was a stolen victory, plain and simple. Some excellent defensive plays, taking full advantage of a shoddy bullpen, and a late inning comeback. Good teams steal wins like this one, and over the course of a 162 game season, they add up.

Man of the Game:
Brad Penny - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Another big series starts Friday night as the Sox travel to Philadelphia. The defending champs are leading the NL East by 4 games this season. Jon Lester faces Joe Blanton.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

LUCKY NUMBER 7

The Red Sox are 7-0 against the Yankees this season. Which is probably a partial product of playing them 5 times in Fenway (where the Sox have the 2nd best home record in baseball) and only twice in Yankee Stadium (the Sox have the 12th best road record in baseball).

But 7-0 is 7-0 is 7-0.

Chien-Ming Wang is atrocious this season. His 2.2 inning, 4 run outing actually lowered his ERA to 14.34. As a starter, he has a 21.60 ERA, and opponents are hitting .507 off him.

Hideki Okajima saved this game. Ramon Ramirez was struggling, but Francona utilized the depth he has in the bullpen. Which is yet another reason why a 6 man rotation is moronic. The Sox have a deep bullpen, why strain it when guys like Wakefield, Smoltz, Penny, and Matsuzaka are 5 to 6 inning pitchers at best?

Wakefield was solid, and he improved to 8-3 on the year. But let's not get too hard about it. 6 innings and 3 earned runs is nice, and that's it.

David Ortiz's hit streak was snapped at 7 games. It had been perhaps the most intensely followed 7 game hit streak in Boston baseball history. He was 0 for 2 with a pair of walks. The Ortiz Optimists will point to his 410 foot flyball out to centerfield as another sign of his impending comeback. The Papi Pessimists (like myself) will observe that when he hits the ball hard, he's hitting it to center. He's not pulling it to right.

The Sox go for the sweep tonight, but it's a bit of a mismatch. Sabathia faces Penny. And Penny might be pitching to stay in a Red Sox uniform, because Smoltz is making his final rehab start tonight in Syracuse.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson