THERE GOES THE DIVISION

If the Sox are to win the AL East, it will now take a near miracle. But the more pressing matter is the health of Jon Lester after he took a linedrive off the right leg. The good news is that X-Rays were negative, and as of right now, he's expected to make his next scheduled start on Thursday night.

This loss doesn't hurt or scare me in the least. Lester struggled, then the Sox' long-relief couldn't keep the game in hand. It was a 6-3 game in the 6th, hardly out of reach. And does Joba Chamberlain impress you at all?

But again, the division is pretty much won by the Yankees. The Sox are down by 6 games in the loss column, so even if they took the next 2 games in New York, they'd be down 4 with 7 games left.

This afternoon on Fox, Daisuke Matsuzaka faces 18-7 CC Sabathia.

Sources:
ESPN.com
MLB.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill

SOX MAGIC NUMBER DOWN TO 3

The Sox took care of business last night and left Missouri with a split in their 4 game series, and a much smaller Magic Number. Jacoby Ellsbury had the big night, going 3 for 6 with 2 runs, a double, and 2 stolen bases. He has 66 steals on the season, which is made even more impressive by the fact that he's only been caught 10 times.

Both Martinez and Pedroia extended their hitting streaks to 22 and 16 games, respectively.

David Ortiz had a 3 RBI night, giving him 91 total on the season. Remember back in April when his over/under for RBI was 50?

Clay Buchholz struck out 8 on his way to win #7 of the season. What a godsend he's been for this club. Beckett's been a roller coaster, Matsuzaka and Wakefield missed huge chunks of starts, Smoltz was a bust, Penny disintegrated. His last 6 outings have been Quality Starts. He's 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA in that stretch.

Texas was blown out by the Athletics. That reduces the Magic Number to 3.

Big series in New York, as the Sox can clinch a playoff berth this weekend. And if they have any chance at the AL East title, they pretty much need to sweep the Yanks.

Jon Lester faces Joba Chamberlain Friday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Ed Zurga

BECKETT SCATTERS 12 HITS, RED SOX CONCENTRATE 12 OF THEIR OWN

The Red Sox only scored in 2 innings last night. In fact, they only got hits in 3 innings. But in those 3 innings, they recorded 12 hits. They scored 6 runs in the 5th, then an additional 3 in the 9th, giving Josh Beckett his 16th win of the season.

Beckett wasn't on his A game, allowing 12 hits in 6 innings of work. But the Royals only put 2 runs across in the 4th, and that was it. He got himself out of trouble, and navigated his way to an important win. You don't want to go to Kansas City and return without at least one victory.

How complete have Alex Gonzalez and Victor Martinez made the Red Sox lineup? Back when it was Varitek then Lugo/Green/Lowrie, the bottom of the Sox order was a cruise control inning for opposing pitchers. Martinez's placement in the heart of the order allows guys like Drew and Lowell to anchor the bottom third. And Gonzalez doesn't allow pitchers to have any easy outs in the 9 spot. A-Gon was 2 for 5 last night, and he's hit.293 in 116 at-bats for the Sox. He makes Theo Epstein look like a moron for letting him go, and a genius for brining him back.

The Sox finish their trip to Missouri Thursday night as Dusty Hughes (sounds like a pro wrestler from the 1980s) opposes Clay Buchholz.

Magic #=5

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

NO RAYS OF HOPE IN '09

Last night, by losing 4-3 to Seattle, the Tampa Bay Rays were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Good fucking riddance.

I've never like the Tampa Bay franchise. Ever since its inception. It doesn't deserve to exist. Why have an expansion team in a city that already has a massive following loyal to another team? The Yankees have held spring training down there for decades, and built up a sizeable fanbase. So why send some low grade expansion team to try and compete with that?

Then there were the constant beanball wars. Every time the Sox played the Devil Rays, you'd anticipate Ortiz getting hit on the wrists, or Manny buzzed by a near-miss over his head. It was planned, and it was ridiculous.

They were also a financial drain on the League. They'd spend $25 million on payroll, and collect almost that much from MLB. They'd whine and moan about big market teams, but happily absorb the attendance boost when Boston and New York came down to play.

Last year they got good. But instead of being a plucky, blue collar, likable bunch; they were cocky and self-entitled. They felt like the World Series should be given to them, and the Red Sox tried their best to hand it over. There was no respect for their opponents, and I've never been happier to see a Philadelphia team have success than I was last October.

So welcome back to Earth, "Rays." Everyone had a career year in '08, no such luck in '09. The Red Sox and Yankees remembered how to play. And although you still beat the Sox, you couldn't beat anyone else. And down the stretch, you choked it away on your own. A nice 11 game losing streak in September was your cause of death. A record of 4-17 from August 26th to September 16th.

Bye bye Tampa.

PATS SHOOT SELVES IN FOOT

The good news is that the Jets don't look too good. Sure they're 2-0, but if not for a craptastic performance by Matt Schaub in Week 1, and a shaky Tom Brady in Week 2, they'd be 0-2. I'm not impressed with Sanchez, and although Rex Ryan is far above the likes of Eric Mangini, he's not on the same level as the coach who works in Foxborough.

The bad news is that there doesn't seem to be much improvement from Tom Brady. He's getting rid of the ball just a few seconds too early. He's not stepping into all his throws when there's people around him. After 2 games, I'd have to rate his pocket presence as below average. This might change (it MUST change), but so far it's been steadily subpar.

The good news is that the defense looked solid. Think about it, they've only allowed 33 points as a unit (7 of Buffalo's points came from an interception return) in 2 games. They made some big plays early on that SHOULD HAVE turned into a 14-0 Patriot lead.

And how valuable is Wes Welker. Edelman might have a similar skill-set, but he doesn't have the wherewithal of Welker, who seems to know where to go. He and Brady once had a psychic connection. That connection was rusty in Week 1, and unfortunately did not get a chance to improve in Week 2. Hopefully he'll be back in on Sunday.

The Patriots host the 2-0 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, in what could be a very important game. Losing to Atlanta certainly won't end the season, but beating them would be a real mark of improvement.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

REALITY 25, BC 7

After rolling over Northeastern and Kent State, the BC Eagles had to face a real team. And it was ugly. Clemson's kicker Richard Jackson was the best player on the field, which tells you all you need to know about this game. On the bright side, the BC defense didn't allow a touchdown. On the not-so-bright side, the afore mentioned Jackson kicked 6 field goals. And on the very dark side, the BC offense was inept at best, impotent at worst.

Justin Tuggle was 4 for 20 for 23 yards, a touchdown, and 3 interceptions. And yes, he looked as bad as those numbers suggest.

BC rushed for 0.9 yards an attempt. They had 51 yards of offense. The offense didn't get a 1st down until 1:56 remained in the 3rd.

There were some bright spots on the defensive side of the ball. Then again, Clemson has a one dimensional offense, so it's not brain surgery. BC probably should have lost this game 42-7, but the defense kept things relatively close.

The Eagles return home to face Wake Forest next Saturday. BC can beat Wake Forest, but unfortunately they won't.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain

BRUINS SEND KESSEL TO TORONTO, THEN THE BANK

It's finally happened. The Bruins and Maple Leafs agreed to the terms late Friday night. The Leafs got Phil Kessel, the Bruins received a pair of 1st round draft picks, as well as a 2nd rounder. Almost immediately after the deal was announced, the Leafs declared that Kessel's services had been secured for 5 additional seasons and for a price of $27 million.

I'll give credit to Phil and his agent, who I doubted in a previous post. They got precisely what they wanted. And I can't blame them. They wanted a big contract RIGHT NOW and they got it. So what if they kept their former team and former fans in limbo for months, and so what if they cost their new team some premium picks. Phil and his agent treated this situation just like he treats a breakaway on the ice. All they wanted to do was score, and they certainly did that.

As a Bruins fan, this is hardly something to celebrate. You don't run your leading scorer out of town, then have a parade when he's gone. And Toronto wouldn't be my first choice of teams for Kessel to wind up with. Nashville would have been better.

You don't celebrate, but we as fans shouldn't mourn, either. Any Bruins fan out there that thinks Kessel was worth $27M is probably also wearing an Adam Vinatieri jersey with a Nomar Garciaparra t-shirt underneath it. As good as Kessel was, and as great as he someday might be, that amount of cap commitment is simply unfeasible for the Bruins. Perhaps a one year, $5 million deal would have worked, but that's not what Kessel wanted.



I think it was the length of the deal that kept Kessel and the Bruins apart. After this season, Marc Savard's an unrestricted free agent. Milan Lucic is a restricted one. Do you think a team or two might send offer sheets to Lucic? And then there's the uncertainty in the NHL salary cap. So long as the Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators, and Atlanta Thrashers of the world continue to bring in subpar revenues, the Bruins, Rangers, and Red Wings of the world will have to shed talent.

And here's what this came down to: Phil Kessel got what he wanted. So did the Maple Leafs. But Toronto's benefit is simply a byproduct of Kessel's desires. The perturbed and almost always emotionally unstable Bruins fan will bemoan Jeremy "Scrooge" Jacobs. But this wasn't JUST about the money. It was about the cap.



"Where will those 36 goals come from?" Has been the refrain of WEEI's Pete Shepherd this week. Well, here's my answer:

9 of those goals came against the Islanders and Lightning, the two worst teams in the NHL. The Bruins will win those games again by multiple goal margins, so Kessel's 9 scores won't be missed.



15 more of those goals came against other non-playoff teams. Once again, the Bruins will find goals in these games without the great Phil Kessel.

Then there's those 8 goals against playoff teams. 8 goals. In 34 games.

I'll tell you exactly where these 8 goals will come from. Patrice Bergeron. Byron Bitz. Milan Lucic. Marco Sturm. Mark Rechhi, and so on. Even with the loss of Phil Kessel, the Bruins have almost unparalleled depth at forward. And they're going to win a lot of games without Kessel.

Sources:
ESPN.com
HockeyBuzz.com

BRUINS UNVEIL WINTER CLASSIC JERSEYS

I don't hate it. I don't love it. I do like the thought process that went into it, even though I would have preferred a slightly different jersey.



The Bruins wanted to incorporate something from the jerseys worn by all 5 of the Stanley Cup winning teams in their history. And that's fine. The only thing that bugs me is the crest. It's not bad, I just would've wanted something a bit more familiar, and a bit more square. The rounded "B" just won't look right. Some variant of the classic eight-spoked B, or just a big capital letter B with squared sides would look so much better.

And maybe the B's could have opened up the whole Winter Classic Jersey question to the fans. Have an online poll, maybe in a tournament format, with different jersey styles squaring off.



The crest from the 1963 and '67 jerseys would look cool. Or the huge B from the '54 and '92. Oh well.

Sources:
NHL.com
WEEI's Big Bad Blog