ROGER CLEMENS TAKES VIAGRA

A Yankee clubhouse official has alleged that Roger Clemens took Viagra as a performance enhancing drug. No, not that kind of performance. On the field performance.

NY Daily News story

Apparently Viagra helps build endurance for athletes and increases the flow of oxygen to muscles. It also gives you wood, which can help some athletes tackle the side effects of other performance enhancers.

This Roger Clemens stuff keeps getting better and better.

WHAT'S PHIL JACKSON COMPLAINING ABOUT?

Phil Jackson got fined for whining about the officiating in Sunday night's 108-102 loss to the Celtics. The Celtics got to the line many more times than the Lakers did, Kobe had a few soft fouls called on him, and the Celtics played a physical game down low. Then again, the Lakers aren't exactly a hard-nosed team that will draw a lot of fouls.

But any bad officiating wasn't one way. The lack of a travelling call on this play is simply grotesque. Travelling isn't like a foul or pass interference. There's no opinion in travelling. Too many steps is too many steps. Radmanovic took too many steps, the call was never made, and had the Lakers come from behind, maybe Doc Rivers would be the one complaining.

But Phil Jackson needs to shut up. Can't he just say "We were outplayed?" For as much crap as Bill Belichick takes in the national media, he's never copped out of a loss or used excuses like Jackson has. Phil Jackson, you'll never be even on the same level as Red Auerbach, so quit with the token LA excuses and admit that the Celtics were the better team in games 1 and 2.

NUMBER ZERO BECOMES A HERO

The Celtics rode a roller coaster last night in Game 2 of the NBA finals. After leading by as many as 22 points in the 4th quarter, their lead evaporated, getting as close as 2 points. But the Celtics were strong down the stretch and prevailed 108-102.



Leon Powe had the game of his life. Any question marks surrounding the Celtics' bench in this series were answered with exclamation points thanks to Mr. Powe. In only 15 minutes of playing time, he had 21 points. He was 6 of 7 shooting (that one miss was actually an alley oop gone awry), and got to the line 13 times. He was simply unbelievable as he sparked the Celtics run that put them 20 ahead of the Lakers.



Powe wasn't the only one who answered questions. Paul Pierce clarified a great many things about his health last night. He had 28 points, 8 assists, and was 4 for 4 from 3 point range.



Kevin Garnett had a decent night, although he struggled early. He started the game 3 for 12 from the field, before finishing 7 for 19. Defensively he was a beast, and under the glass he hauled in 14 rebounds.

Ray Allen continued to shoot well. He was 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, and 6 of 11 overall. He once again finished with 17 points.

Rajon Rondo didn't put up many points (only 1 of 4 shooting for 4 points), but he did have 16 assists. The Celtics as a team had 31 assists for their 36 field goals. About the only knock on Rondo's night was that he was 2 of 6 at the charity stripe, and late in the 4th he got a little bit crazy with the unnecessary alley oop passes that wound up as Laker rebounds.



The big story of the game will probably be the way Los Angeles came back and made a game of things down the stretch, but to be honest, I don't think it was that big of a deal. Both teams slowed down when the Celtics were up by 20. Suddenly, Los Angeles couldn't miss three pointers. The Lakers started the 4th shooting 7 of 9 from behind the arc. That's insane. And it helped bring them back into the game.

The officials also deserve an assist. The Celtics weren't the only ones out there who lost focus. With 1:31 on the clock, Paul Pierce was mugged, but the refs didn't blow the whistle. Sasha Vujacic runs down the court, nails a 3, and it's a 104-98 game.

On the very next play, Vladimir Radmanovic took a stroll through the paint - a 4 step stroll - before dunking the ball. No travelling was called and the score was 104-100.

The Celtics put themselves in a bad position by losing their concentration and not properly finishing off the Lakers. But the refs were a big reason why the potential for a close game became a reality. Thankfully, the C's turned it back on, Paul Pierce nailed some clutch free throws, and so did James Posey.

Even though they allowed 102 points, the Celtics defense had one of their best games in the post-season, at least for 4/5 of the night. They smothered Bryant, forcing him to take near impossible shots. They kept Kobe out of the paint and held him to 11 of 23 shooting and 30 points. He only had 9 points in the 1st half and Ray Allen had already gotten him into foul trouble.



The series now heads west to LA. The Celtics proved in Detroit that they can win big games on the road. Now it's time for another test. Tuesday night, 9 PM



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images
Elsa/Getty Images

MASTERFUL

Justin Masterson improved to 3-0 with yet another solid outing. He went 6 innings, allowing just 1 run off 3 hits. Craig Hansen pitched another scoreless inning, earning his 4th Hold of the season. Okajima and Papelbon pitched a perfect 8th and 9th, respectively. Papelbon only threw 5 pitches, all of which were strikes.

JD Drew provided all the offense that Masterson and company would need. He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 3rd, then hit a solo homerun to center in the 6th.

The Sox have Monday off, then continue their homestand when the Orioles come to town. Beckett goes against Daniel Cabrera on Tuesday, which will start early due to the Celtics game.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

MANNY TIES MURRAY, SOX MAUL M'S IN MATINEE

The Red Sox offense, which had been stymied by King Felix Hernandez on Friday, came alive Saturday afternoon, scoring 11 runs off 13 hits. Six of those hits were for extra bases. Manny Ramirez hit homerun #504 in the 1st, tying Eddie Murray for 23rd on the all-time list.

Fortunately for the Sox, neither Manny nor Ellsbury missed much time with the injuries they suffered in Thursday night's game. Ellsbury would replace Ramirez as a pinch runner in the 8th inning.

JD Drew continued his 7 game hit streak. He was 3 for 5 with a homerun, a triple, 2 RBI, and 3 runs. Drew now leads the Red Sox in batting average and OBP. He's raised his average .035 points since May 28th, and is 5th in the AL in batting average.

Dustin Pedroia got the day off. He's been struggling mightily as of late, going hitless in his last 12 at-bats. He's 1 for his last 17. His average has plummeted from .301 on May 21st to .266.

Kevin Youkilis committed an error at first base in the 9th inning. He seemed to lose sight of a ball thrown to him by Alex Cora. The ball dropped, Willie Bloomquist reached, and eventually came around to score. It was Youkilis' first error as a first baseman in 238 games, an MLB record.

Wakefield pitched superbly, allowing 2 runs in 7 innings. Eight of his 13 starts this year have been Quality Starts (6 innings or more, 3 earned runs or fewer).

Craig Hansen hasn't allowed an earned run in 5.2 innings, an impressive stretch for him. During that period, his ERA has deflated from 7.20 to a more tidy 4.60.

The Red Sox face the Mariners this afternoon in the rubber game. Justin Masterson faces Erik Bedard.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mary Schwalm

SOX SUSPENSIONS AND INJURIES

After Thursday evening's brawl with the (Devil) Rays, Major League Baseball has handed down some suspensions and undisclosed fines. Here they are:

Coco Crisp - 7 games
Jon Lester - 5 games
Sean Casey - 3 games

Crisp has appealed his, Lester has accepted his, Casey has yet to decide what to do.

Here are the suspensions given to Tampa Bay:

James Shields - 6 games
Jonny Gomes - 5 games
Edwin Jackson - 5 games
Carl Crawford - 4 games
Akinori Iwamura - 3 games

These suspensions seem fair to me. The way the Rays ganged up on Crisp when he was already was not only shameful, but unmanly. I'm also glad that Navarro didn't get suspended because he did his job in taking Crisp down, and nothing more.

The suspensions will be staggered, so it won't be as if Crisp, Lester, and Casey will all be absent at once. Just in case you don't know, suspensions aren't like the DL. The suspended player's spot on the roster cannot be filled by someone else until they come back. So when Crisp starts serving his, the Red Sox will have to play with 24 men.

Jacoby Ellsbury had an MRI on his wrist and it came out clean. No time on the DL is expected. He should return to the lineup fairly soon.

Curt Schilling threw 35 pitches off a mount on Friday. He'll soon start facing live hitters.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will begin throwing today.

Sources:
Associated Press via ESPN.com
Boston.com

JV SOX FALL TO MARINERS

Last night the Sox were without David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Jacoby Ellsbury. Not surprisingly, they didn't manage to score. Although, they did get 7 hits and work 3 walks, but they couldn't get that big hit.

Not that it mattered. Colon had his first ugly start of the season, going 5 innings, allowing 6 runs, 3 earned runs (although the unearned runs came after his own errors. I hate that rule), 8 hits, and a walk. The 2 runs David Aardsma allowed in the 7th erased any doubt as to which team would win.

But this is what we're going to get from Colon. A couple of good starts, a couple of bad starts. The lack of offense intensifies the harshness of this loss. But considering the absences in the lineup, it shouldn't be too much cause for concern.

Tim Wakefield goes against Miguel Batista this afternoon.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

THURSDAY NIGHT IS FIGHT NIGHT AT FENWAY

To be honest, I didn't see this coming, and I'm ashamed at myself for not being able to foresee it. After the baserunning incidents involving Coco Crisp on Wednesday, along with the braggadocio Crisp showed after the game, thrown in with Tampa Bay's history of escalation and fight starting; and you've got a recipe for some drama.

If you missed it on Wednesday, Crisp attempted a steal of second base, and (Devil) Ray second baseman Jason Bartlett blocked the bag with his leg. Crisp slid in head first, jamming his hand against Bartlett’s leg. Later, Crisp tried to steal second again. This time, he purposely hit short-stop Akinori Iwamura while sliding. This caused some drama, and some shouting between Crisp and (Devil) Rays manager Joe “Drew Carey glasses” Maddon.



In Coco’s first at-bat of last night’s contest, pitcher James Shields threw at his hip. Coco took a step or two toward first, flung his bat aside and charged the mound. Shields threw a big right hook, but Crisp avoided it (Coco has an amateur boxing history, by the way). Both Shields and Crisp threw punches that didn’t land.




But by now, the benches had cleared. Catcher Dioner Navarro (who officially has 25 pounds on Crisp, but I’d say its more like 35) grabbed Crisp around the neck and hauled him down. Then the Rays swarmed and enveloped Coco. Jonny Gomes joined in the “Hit a man while he’s down” party. Carl Crawford came streaming in from the outfield to land a few hits on Coco. Even Iwamura stood around and pretended to hit Coco.




Meanwhile, the Sox took down Shields. Actually, it was third base coach DeMarlo Hale who should get credit for the tackle. General mayhem ensued, and scraps between players erupted all over the mound area. Finally, things settled down. Shields was ejected, Crisp was ejected, and Gomes was ejected.



Both sides were in the wrong on this one. The (Devil) Rays have a tendency to start trouble when it shouldn’t be started. Instead of moving on from Wednesday night’s drama, they felt the need to continue it and bring it to a higher level. Coco, for his part, should have kept his mouth shut after Wednesday’s game, and shouldn’t have charged the mound. Charging the mound doesn’t accomplish anything (ask Robin Ventura), especially when James Shields is 6’ 4” 214 and has Navarro watching his back.

That being said, the way the Rays ganged up on Coco was sad. Navarro had already taken him down, there was no need for Carl Crawford to start jabbing into him. Then again, what do you expect from the (Devil) Rays? “They hit like girls” according to Coco.

Noticeably late to the brawl was Manny Ramirez. In fact, Bartolo Colon, and some of the bullpen arrived before Manny. This may have been the spark to the scuffle between Manny and Youkilis.

The Sox are being very hush-hush about the dugout fight, and understandably so. What NESN’s cameras caught on tape is all we have to go on. Manny and Youkilis were jawing (mostly Youkilis). Manny walked past Youk, Youk said something, and Manny slapped Youkilis with the back of his hand, then charged him. Both were restrained, and Francona claims the situation has been dealt with.

My question is, what the hell did Youkilis say to get Manny so riled up? Since Manny’s been on this team, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him angry enough to hit someone. Youkilis either kept on him for a few innings, or said one or two magic words.

It did seem like it was merely overflowing testosterone. And God knows how many fights and arguments like these there are in private during a season.

Although the Red Sox won 7-1 (Manny had 5 RBI), it was a bit of a pyrrhic victory. Jacoby Ellsbury left the game in the 4th after rolling his wrist while making a diving catch. Manny left the game in the 7th after an awkward half-step on his right leg in the batter’s box.



Ellsbury is listed as day-to-day. The Sox sent down Chris Carter, and brought up Brandon Moss from AAA Pawtucket. Moss is hitting .313 with the PawSox, and was a respectable 6 for 21 with the big club earlier this season.

The Red Sox swept the Rays, and have won 6 of their last 7. Now Seattle comes to town. King Felix Hernandez goes against Bartolo Colon tonight at 7.

Sources:
ESPN.com
Boston.com
Hartford Courant
The Baseball Cube


Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer