Penguins Series Preview

Hi there,
So, for the second time in three years, the Bruins are back in the Eastern Conference Finals. Part of their cup run in 2011, they versed the Lightning in the Conference Finals. Their opponent this year? If you don't know by now then that's a little sad, it's the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference: The Pittsburgh Penguins. The main story in this series in that the Bruins will be facing Jarome Iginla, who the Bruins thought they would get because they had been told Iginla was going to waive his no-trade clause to come here. Instead, however, he chose to go to Pittsburgh, basically telling us he didn't think we were good enough to win a cup. Also let's not forget that Penguins player Matt Cooke was the one who made the dirty hit to the head that ultimately ended Marc Savard's career...

So, with all the potential fighting in this series aside, this is going to be tough. The Penguins have one of the best offenses in the NHL, including arguably the best player right now in Sidney Crosby. They have the league's top power play at just over 28%. And, oh yeah, we lost all three meeting with them in the regular season. Something positive? Well, all the losses were only by 1 goal, so there's that. Anyways, the series will most likely go at least 6 games and I can also see it going the distance to 7. I think the Bruins also have an advantage in goal. I'm sorry, but I don't see Vokoun as being better than Rask, even if his goals against average is better than Rask's. Rask has played more games. Some things the Bruins need to do. 1) Play strong defense. This is most likely going to be a high scoring series (which I am happy about) but you need to be able to shut them down at key points in the game and make Rask's life a little easier since, like I said, he is going up against one of the best offenses out there. 2) Stay out of the penalty box. You can't give this team too many power play opportunities because they will convert. The Bruins can be just as good as the Penguins if they keep it 5-on-5. And, finally 3) Beat the crap out of Jarome Iginla. Yes, ok, I just want to see it. He shoved us out the door at the last second when we thought we reached a deal. Show him that we can be just as good as the Penguins and that we didn't appreciate him backing out of it like that. This will be a tough series, I think the Bruins can pull this off though and I think they win in 7 games.

~Anthony

Red Sox Fall To Yankees 4-1

The Red Sox lost to the Yankees 4-1 Friday night. It was a tough loss for the Sox as they could not score with runners in scoring position again. Sabathia pitched a great game, and out dueled Lester. This was definitely not Lester's best start, as he went 6.1 innings, giving up, 6 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, and striking out 5. Bradley Jr did not do too good in his fill in start for Ellsbury tonight, as he went 0-3, he did do somewhat good at defense though. Pedroia who went 3-4, and Iglesias, who went 2-3, were really the only ones who stood out tonight in the offense role. Lester fell to 6-2, and took the loss.

There wasn't that much to talk about in this game but oh wait, Hey! At least Kate Upton was at the game! Anyways with this loss the Red Sox, still remain in first place 1 game ahead of the Yankees and will face them again tomorrow. Doubrant will be on the mound tomorrow to face the Yanks.

- DJ

Historic Night For Ellsbury As Bats Lead Red Sox To 9-2 Win

Red Sox center fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury steals his 5th stolen base of the game

The Red Sox beat the Phillies 9-2 yesterday and split the 2 game series at Philly. The Sox got a quick 4 runs in the first thanks to Pedroia, Carp, and Salty. The Phillies would get a 2 home run in the first but Morales was dominant from that point on, as the Red Sox would score 5 more runs in the game, including Gomes and Ortiz home runs. Morales (1-0), went 5 innings giving up 2 runs, 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2 in his 2013 season debut, not bad, considering he only threw 79 pitches and could have went more innings, but it was his first start so we'll give the coaches a break on this decision.

Now, as for center fielder. number 2, Jacoby Ellsbury, former 2011 runner up MVP, had a historic night for himself and the Red Sox, stealing his 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, AND 21st base. In total he stole 5 bases in the game, setting a new club franchise record for the Red Sox, for the most stolen bases in a game. The former record holder of this? Jerry Remy.

Anyways Ellsbury was great at night at bat, also going 3-4 and a walk, raising his average back to the .268 range. And it looks as if Ellsbury has suddenly got out of this slump and gained confidence back in himself. Hopefully that's true and stays the same. Now as for the game tonight against the Yankees, Jon Lester (6-1, 3.34 ERA) will get the nod, against CC Sabathia (4-4, 3.96 ERA). Boston's other ace Buchholz was originally supposed to get the nod but he wasn't ready, sadly. But the good news is that he threw a bullpen session and felt fine and great, and will be ready to pitch Sunday. This game will be the first of three in this original classic Yankees-Red Sox series. The Yankees got swept by the Mets in a 4 game series, are on a 4 game losing streak, and are 3-7 in their last 10 game series. Let's go Red Sox! Extend the Yankees losing streak!

- DJ

Red Sox Fall Short To Phillies 4-3

The Red Sox lost to the Phillies 4-3 Wednesday night and had a little 9th inning rally. The Red Sox got on board first making it 1-0, but the Phillies would get 3 runs between the 2nd and 4th inning off of 3 solo home runs. Lackey's (3-5) outing was 6 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Basically his biggest problem was leaving the ball over the plate because when he did that, he gave up home runs. He picked up the loss as the Sox could not tie the game or win it. Our offense was OK, getting 7 hits and 3 runs. Ellsbury went 2-5 with an RBI, and was the only Sox player to get 2 hits. Also, if you wanted to know, Lackey went 0-1 at the plate. As I mentioned earlier, the Sox had a small 9th inning rally for former closer, Jonathan Papelbon, in which they picked up 2 hits and 1 run to make it 4-3 but Papelbon got Daniel Nava to ground out to first base on the first pitch, in which he should have been more patient.

You know with this recent loss, it would feel so great to have one of those big blowout wins. I mean, c'mon, when's the last time we had one of those? Anyways, pitcher Franklin Morales will finally be making his season debut tonight, getting the nod to start tonight's game. This situation with Buchholz not pitching kind of works out perfect right now as Morales is just coming off the DL and will be fresh to start a couple games, if he has to. Also, the Red Sox remain in first place in the standings at a 32-22 record, 1 game ahead of the Yankees as they have lost 4 straight. Well, let's hope Morales gets that win and does good tonight!

- DJ

Sox Finish Home Stand, Lose To Phillies 3-1

The Red Sox lost to the Phillies 3-1 last night, and we'll say there's an excuse for this loss. The excuse? Cliff Lee. Oh and Jonathan Papelbon. Ok anyways, Cliff Lee pitched the Phillies a spectacular game, going 8 innings and giving up only 4 hits and 1 run. And he was so efficient on the night that he only threw 80 pitches through the first 7 innings, and 95 all together in. Enough with him, I'll talk about how Ryan Dempster improved tonight, still earning the loss (2-6), but only gave up 6 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and striking out 4 through 7 solid innings. The bullpen was shaky, mainly Tazawa giving up 3 hits, including a first pitch home run to the first batter he faced in the 8th. It came to the 9th for the Sox to rally again. Papelbon jogged onto the field as rains of "boo's" came from Fenway. He would retire his first 2 batters, and then Ortiz came up. He came very close to a home run but hit it just foul, and then he would ground out giving the save to Papelbon in his return.

So the Red Sox finished the home stand going 4-2 and will be heading to Philadelphia to play in a 2 game series there, if you want to call it that. Lackey will be pitching today against the Phillies and will be looking to continue his success this season. He will also be at the plate trying to hit, hopefully that goes well. Also, hopefully we'll see Franklin Morales pitching at some point in this series.

- DJ

Red Sox Rout Phillies 9-3, In Return Of Papelbon

The Red Sox beat the Phillies 9-3, in what is the first time Papelbon has been back to Fenway since his departure in 2011. Well he probably won't even have to be used this series, considering how bad the Phillies are playing and how good the Red Sox are playing. Anyways, Aceves pitched fairly well going 6 innings, giving up 7 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, and striking out 4. He also gave up a home run, which was his only run. The Red Sox did pretty good last night offense and defense wise. The Sox got 15 hits, and 9 runs. And Ellsbury's defense was great out in the outfield saving Aceves sometimes. The infield defense was also good last night, including Iglesias and Pedroia. Actually speaking of Ellsbury, in his past few games he has been doing better hitting and last night he went 3-5 with an RBI. Also Napoli went 2-4 with 2 RBI's, and Drew went 2-3 with 2 RBI's. It was just a great game for Memorial Day.

Following his start, Aceves was optioned back to Triple A and Franklin Morales was activated from the DL and called up from Triple A, and he seems to be ready. I think that now Morales is back, it provides depth in our bullpen and a backup rotation spot, which he could be in soon if Dempster or Doubrant struggles. Anyways, tonight Dempster will get the start vs Lee of the Phillies, who has been good so far this season. Hopefully the Sox can score some runs on him!

- DJ

Ellsbury's Walk Off Double Leads Red Sox To Epic Comeback Win

Red Sox teammates celebrate with Jacoby Ellsbury as he hit the walk off double

The Red Sox walked off Sunday and beat the Indians 6-5 in an amazing epic comeback in the 9th. Before I get to that, I'll explain the rest of the game. The Tribe got on the board first with a 2 run first inning. but the Sox would score in the 3rd to make it 2-1. The Tribe would strike again the 5th, and 6th when they homered once each inning, both solo homers, off Felix Doubrant. That would make it 4-1. The Indians would score one more in the 8th, and so would the Sox making it 5-2. And then came the 9th, where the comeback was slowly waiting upon us. It all started with Pedroia taking the walk. Ortiz would double that wound send Pedroia to 3rd. Mike Napoli would ground out to get an RBI and send Pedroia home. With Ortiz at second, he would steal third, bringing him closer to scoring. And what do you know? Salty would do the exact same thing Napoli did, ground out to get an RBI, and this time send Ortiz home. And just like that the score was 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. Gomes was next up to bat and he walked. Drew was next and he singled sending Gomes to third, and then he would steal second. And then it looked as if it all came down to Iglesias who was just called up for the series, to win us the game. But nope! He had a great at bat and forced the walk to first, loading the bases. Then the Indians pitcher apparently had an injury and to be honest, I bet he just did this so that he wouldn't have to pitch, but who am I to jump to conclusions? And then finally, here's who it came down to, Jacoby Ellsbury, who has seen a significant struggle at the plate. The new Indians pitcher, warmed up and was ready to go. On the first pitch Ellsbury sees, he smacks it for a double to center field as Gomes and Drew would score at home plate to give the Sox the 6-5 walk off win! Other than that, the only thing I have to say is, Doubrant did OK, not his best, giving up 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, but 8 strikeouts. He also gave up 2 home runs.

So, the return of Terry Francona was spoiled for him as his Tribe lost. Man, what a win. That great at bat from Iglesias and then that walk off double by Ellsbury, WOO! The Red Sox finished the series taking 3 out 4 games and are currently on a 3 game win streak, as they are 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are also tied for first in the division with the good old Yankees, 30-19, and the Red Sox, 31-20.

So the Red Sox (31-20) will face the Phillies (24-26) in an inter league match up, that will have 2 games played at Fenway and 2 games played at Philly in a 4 game series. The downside of tomorrow is that Clay Buchholz will be on rest for a day due to an irritation in his arm, and Alfredo Aceves will be in his place to start tomorrow. The good news is that Buchholz will be able to pitch Tuesday. Hopefully we win tomorrow...

- DJ 

Next Stop: Pittsburgh

(The fourth line was once again huge for the Bruins, as Gregory Campbell got 2 goals and the Bruins knock out the Rangers)

Well, they didn't sweep them, but the Bruins didn't fail to close out the series a second time. As the Bruins send the Rangers home for the summer and have now punched their tickets for a matchup with the #1 seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. But that's not here yet, right now everyone is just celebrating this win.

The Rangers were obviously going to be desperate with their season on the line (again) so it's not surprising that they were playing with a lot of intensity. In fact, we saw our second fight of the series. It was Shawn Thronton going up against Derek Dorsett. There weren't really any big punches thrown, but Thronton won in my opinion was mostly a wrestling match.  The Bruins and Rangers both were playing great in what was an up and down first period. However, the Bruins played just as good, but it was the Rangers who struck first. Dan Girardi got a shot that went past Tuukka Rask with a huge screen in front. Girardi was open because Paille lost an edge and fell down while trying to stop himself, so there's that. And I'll admit, the Bruins didn't play too good for the rest of the first, and the Rangers had the momentum after the goal. But in the second, the Bruins had definitely marked their territory in the Ranger's zone. They were in their for basically the entire second period and just dominated play. The Bruins would tie it up on a goal from none other than Bobby Orr, I mean uh.... Torey Krug. But seriously, this kid is just impressing everybody and he is showing why he deserves to be on this team right now and in important situations. He again showed off his skill with a huge slap shot that once again beat one of the best goalies in the league. Lundqvist got a piece, but it was shot so hard it fought it's way through and it would have taken a lot more to slow down that one. Then, the Bruins would take the lead 2-1 with the 4th line on the ice which has impressed all series. With a scramble in front, Gregory Campbell was able to put it top shelf over Lundqvist. Tuukka Rask was once again outstanding, making 28 saves and keeping the Bruins in it. Particularly on a breakaway where Rask was able to make the save off of a back-handed attempt by Ryan Callahan. With time winding down and with the Rangers net empty, it was once again Campbell who scored the empty netter to make it 3-1, and that was all she wrote. The Bruins advance, and the Rangers are going home.

All in all, this was a good series for the Bruins. Aside from game 4, the Bruins were really the better team and we showed that we can handle facing a great goalie. Something else that shouldn't be forgotten is the play of Torey Krug, who by the way became the first defenseman in NHL history to score 4 goals in their first 5 playoff games. He gets offensively involved, then races back to do his job defensively. The Bruins may have a real prize on their hands here. Now the Penguins are a completely different animal than the Rangers. I will make a preview post the day before the series is going to start, which I don't know yet. So stay tuned!

~Anthony

Red Sox Rally For 7-4 Win Over Tribe

The Red Sox rallied to beat the Indians 7-4. Coming into the 8th inning of this game it was 4-3 Indians, but the Red Sox would score 4 runs off of Ciraco's, Carp's, and Pedroia's wall ball doubles, oh and a misplayed popup to make it 7-4, and then Bailey came into the 9th to seal the deal, and earn his first save since coming off the DL. Pedroia went 2-4 with an RBI, Nava went 1-3 with an RBI, Iglesias went 3-4 with a double, and Ciriaco went 3-4 with a double and an RBI. Lester did OK, earning a quality start giving up 10 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, but striking out 8, and got the no decision.

The unexpected helped the Sox win this one, referring to Iglesias and Ciraco, and they have now took 2 out of 4 games in the series so far. The Red Sox are now 30-20 on the year, and in second place 0.5 games back of the Yankees, as of now, because it could change soon. Tomorrow Doubrant will be on the mound to close out the series, hopefully he does good and continues to improve.

- DJ

Lackey Shines As Sox Beat Twins 8-1

The Red Sox (29-20) beat the Indians (27-20) 8-1 Friday night. In what was a rainy day in Boston, the game was played out, and got a 45 minute rain delay and started at 7:50. Lackey did great, giving up 2 total hits through 7 innings, 3 walks, and striking out 8, earning his 3rd win (3-4). The run was unearned due to a throwing error trying to get the runner at third from Salty. Anyways, the offense was quiet through the  first part of the game, besides Mike Carp's home run. They scored 5 more runs later though, 1 in the 6th, and 4 in the 7th to make it 8-1 Ellsbury went 1-4 with 2 RBI's, Pedroia went 2-4 with 2 RBI's, Napoli went 1-4 with 1 RBI, and Carp went 1-2 with 3 RBI's. Also Iglesias who made his major league start at third base, went 1-3 with 2 strikeouts, and his was defense was good but he did not get much action at third. Also some bad news, no matter how good he does, nobody likes him anymore, Alfredo Aceves was called up to fill a spot in on the roster and he came in the 9th, and pitched a scoreless 9th.

This was a pretty good game to be at despite the weather conditions, considering I was there, and Abudi and Anthony. The offense was just there and so was the pitching. Anyways, some other news, Ross was moved off the 7 day concussion list, Victorino (right hamstring strain) and Middlebrooks (lower back strain)  were placed on the 15 day DL, and the two people filling in the roster spots were Aceves and Iglesias. Well, tomorrow, Jon Lester (6-1) will be on the mound tomorrow to take on the Indians in this 4 game series.

- DJ

Red Sox Beat White Sox 6-2

The Red Sox beat the White Sox 6-2 last night. Buchholz did great, going 7 innings, giving up 5 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and getting 4 strikeouts, earning his 7th win (7-0), and lowering his ERA to 1.73. The offense was OK/good, getting 9 hit and 6 runs. Ortiz went 2-5 WITH A STOLEN BASE (his first since stolen base since 2011) and got 2 RBI's earning his 30th, and 31st RBI. Nava also got 2 RBI's, and Middlebrooks got 1 RBI. Also Ellsbury who has been in a slump, went 2-3 with 2 walks. Andrew Bailey finally, came in the 9th to pitch, to just close the game out, not earn a save, and............. he gave up a home run but then got 3 outs to finish it. So far nothing to worry about, hopefully...

I felt I had to say this, newly added reliever the Sox got this offseason, Koji Uehara, has sort of a tradition when he does good. It's to go in the dugout and basically just get happy and nuts giving everyone high fives. It's hard to explain but if you watch Red Sox games (not Abudi), you would understand. It just gives you the feeling of how close and happy this club/team is, because as of last year, not everyone got along, and it was a mess. Anyways, the return of Terry Francona has arrived and he will be back at Fenway tonight with the Indians. Let's go Red Sox!

- DJ

Red Sox Lose 2nd Straight To White Sox, 3-1

The Red Sox lost the 2nd straight to the White Sox 3-1 last night. Doubrant (3-2) pitched well, going 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and getting 3 strikeouts. His only downside of this quality start was that he gave up a home run to someone who had a .195 average with no home runs this year. Anyways the Red Sox were being held hit-less through 6 innings, but Ortiz broke that up with a single in the 7th, and the Sox would get 3 straight hits, and load the bases, only to not score. Rain was falling down hard in the bottom of the 8th, and top of the 9th, but the umps chose to just play it out. I don't know if that affected us at all but we lost, and we need to get back on track.

The Red Sox (27-19) will face the White Sox (21-23) one more time tonight, and will try to get the win to go back home with. Buchholz will be on the mound, to again, try to earn his 7th win in which he should have already got twice in his last 2 starts, but the offense was not there to support him. Anyways, the Boston Sports crew will be at the game Red Sox game Friday, including Anthony's brother, Michael. Aww, what the hell, who is even reading this anyways besides us...

- DJ

Bruins Dominate Rangers to Take Commanding Lead in Series

(In what was Henrik Lundqvist's best game of the series, he stopped two breakaways in the first period, but it wasn't enough as the B's take a stranglehold in the series)

Now I know what people are saying, "Well we didn't really dominate them". Well actually, we did. The Bruins played their most complete game of this series-and maybe the playoffs-in last night's victory over the New York Rangers. When I say complete game I mean 60 minutes, beginning to end, of solid play. Even though the scoreboard didn't show it, because of Lundqvist, we played great. This game was scoreless through 1 period of play, which is how we thought this series would be the whole time. It was a grind it out style and was very physical. There was a lot of blood on the ice last night. Bergeron and Chara both got high sticks to the face that probably should have been a 4 minute power play for Boston. Maybe the refs were doing us a favor since our power play is really bad. Anyways, even though it was scoreless, the Bruins were dominating the puck. However, when you can't see a shot, it makes it pretty hard to stop it, and that's what happened in the 2nd period when Ryan McDonagh shot the puck through a double screen, one by Taylor Pyatt and one by Dougie Hamilton, and it gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The Bruins wouldn't lose 1-0 though, in the 3rd period another defenseman would get a goal. The Bruins lead the league in playoff goals by defensemen, this time it was Johnny Boychuk  getting a wrister by Lundqvist. What shouldn't go unnoticed is what Daniel Paille did to start this goal, there were a couple shots that went wide and Paille got to both rebounds to keep the play alive so good work by him. Then, when the game looked bound for overtime, it was again the 4th line of Thornton-Paille-Campbell, who were great all night, that started the rush. Cambell got a shot from the point, it was tipped in front by Thronton, went off the face mask of Lundqvist, popped in the air and landed right behind him on the goal crease! It looked like it would go in but somehow, SOMEHOW, it bounced forward away from the net. After that, Paille was able to bang home the rebound and give the Bruins a 2-1 lead with 3:31 remaining in the game. Paille had 2 points on the night. And the Bruins now have a chance to sweep New York. You know, no matter the sport that just sounds nice, sweep New York...

Ok, we all know the Bruins big problem in the Leafs series was closing it out. This series better not go more than 5 games because it shows we have a real problem ending series. I would very much like to get my broom out tomorrow, but I can handle 5 games. It better not go more than that, though.

~Anthony

Bruins Take 2-0 Lead Over Rangers

(Torey Krug once again made a case to stay on the team with his second goal in as many games)

The Bruins were looking to build off of Sunday's overtime win, and thank you to Abudi for posting it, with another solid effort. And....well, that's exactly what they did. The Bruins took a 1-0 lead when new sensation Torey Krug got another goal. He made a great move with a puck that was on edge, slick handling it through his legs and was able to beat Lundqvist, who didn't have his best night. The Rangers would tie it up 1-1 when Brad Marchand made a turnover to Ryan Callahan, who skated in and made a great move to deke out Rask. In the second period, once again it was Torey Krug who kept the puck in the zone by another fancy stick handle, shot it on net and the rebound was picked up by Gregory Campbell who scored on a backhand. Less than a minute later though, Rick Nash would score to tie the game at 2. Surprisingly, it was Nash's first playoff goal this year. The B's would take a 3-2 lead when Boychuk scored on a wrist shot with Bergeron screening. Then they would go up 4-2 with a goal that was almost exactly the same as game 1's overtime goal. Bergeron passed it to Marchand right in front and he was able to tap it in. Then they would finish it off when Milan Lucic got his own rebound to scored the 5th goal of the night for Boston. And that's that, Bruins win 5-2 and take a 2-0 seried lead heading from one garden to another. The other one is of course Madison Square Garden where these two teams will play again tomorrow night.

~Anthony

Sox Sweep Twins In 3 Hour Delay Game

The Red Sox swept and beat the Twins 5-1 Sunday, and Sunday night technically. The game started off scoreless through 1 and through 3, the Sox led 2-0 from a home run by Middlebrooks and Napoli's RBI.  Then in the 5th, the Twins got on the board on an unearned run making it 3-1. Lackey came in to pitch the 6th, having given up only 1 hit and that was it for him and the game, well until 3 hours later, as the grounds crew came on and the game was in rain delay. The game looked as if it was going to be be called off, as the Sox started packing their equipment, but hey what'ya know, the rain stopped, sun came out, and the the teams went back on to the field, 3 HOURS LATER. The rest of the game was a bit weird. The Twins would leave bases loaded in the 8th, and then in the top 9th, Pedroia technically hit a home run, that went off Twins outfielder, Willingham, and into the stands, therefore it being a home run because it did not touch the ground. Tazawa came into the 9th to finish the game, in a non save situation. He did OK, giving up 2 hits, but striking out 2. Lackey did great going 6 innings pitched, giving up 1 hit, 1 unearned run, and striking out 5, and if it wasn't for the rain delay he'd probably go back in. Ortiz, Pedroia, and Nava all went 2-5 yesterday. Pedroia had 3 RBI's on the day/night. Ellsbury sat out his first game of the season, giving him a rest.

Pedroia has been on fire lately, earning a .343 batting average, and is currently riding an 11 game hit streak. And suddenly, the Sox look like the Sox we all knew in April, but there is still a long way too go, so I won't get ahead of myself. They are also 5-1 this road trip, 6-4 in their last 10 games now, AND are on a 5 game win streak. Anyways, the Red Sox will face the White Sox in a 4 game series, and then will head back to Boston for a 6 game home stand, and then will go to Philly, in a 4 game series, 2 at home, and 2 at Philly. Anyways, Lester will be on the mound tonight, and will try to go 7-0.

- DJ

David Ortiz, Red Sox Crush Twins 12-5

The Red Sox beat the Twins 12-5 Saturday night. There was one particular downside to the game, and it was Ryan Dempster. In just 4.2 innings pitched, he gave up 8 hits, 5 runs, walked 6, and got just 2 strikeouts. The bullpen was once again pretty good, giving up 0 runs for the rest of the game. Alex Wilson did the best going 2 innings, giving up 1 hit, and getting 2 strikeouts. And also once again, the offense was here getting 13 hits and 12 runs. Pedroia went 2-3 with an RBI, Nava went 2-4 with 3 RBI's and a home run, Middlebrooks went 2-4, Lavarnway went 1-4 with 2 RBI's, and the best for last, Ortiz went 3-4 with 6 RBI's and 2 home runs. Two people who did bad? Ellsbury went 1-5, and Ciriaco went 0-5. Ellsbury is now getting considerations to move down the lineup to help him some more maybe. Pedroia made a great double play, running to shallow outfield to catch a fly ball and then gunning down a runner who was running from third to home plate, and then the runner collided with Lavarnway and he held onto the ball to make a great play.

This was a great game, especially for the Ortiz, probably his best game of the season so far, or one of his best this season. Breslow picked up his first win of the season (1-0) in relief last night. Lackey will be on the mound today for the Sox and hopefully he can do better than his 2 most recent starts.

- DJ

Gomes Sac Fly And Red Sox Squeeze Past Twins 3-2 In Extras

The Red Sox beat the Twins in extra innings (10 innings) off of Johnny Gomes sac fly in the top of the 10th. The Sox got on the board in the first with a run but the Twins would respond in the 3rd inning off of a 2 run home run given up by Buchholz. It went all the way to the 10th, for the Sox to score another, and that would be Gomes sac fly. Uehara came in the bottom of the 10th to close out the game and earn his first save of the season, also getting 2 strikeouts. The bullpen, who has been struggling and a weak spot for the Sox, was magnificent last night, shutting out and no hitting the Twins through 3 innings. Miller went 1.2 innings giving up no hits, and getting 3 strikeouts. Wilson went 0.1 innings, getting 1 out, and Uehara went 1 inning doing good also. Well besides that last Tampa Bay game with 4 hits, the offense was here again getting 10 hits, and their only problem was not scoring with runners on base. Ortiz went 3-4 with an RBI, Nava went 2-4, and Salty went 2-4. Also Ellsbury and Gomes each had an RBI, Gomes with the game winning RBI. Buchholz was once again dominant and solid, proving who he really is this season, going 7 innings, giving up 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and getting 9 strikeouts. And he now leads the Sox in strikeouts with 69, yes get your laughs in. He could not earn his 7th win sadly, because the offense decided to show up later in the game, not supporting him but he did great, earning a no decision.

Anyways, Alex Wilson picked up his first major league win of his big league career, congratulations, many more to come with the Sox, who are 3-1 on the road trip so far this season. The Sox have won 3 straight and are currently in second place in the AL East with a 25-17 record, 1 game back of the first place Yankees. Dempster will be on the mound tomorrow tonight at 7:10 PM to face the Twins.

- DJ

Insane Comeback Part 2 In Tampa

The Red Sox made an "insane comeback" as Anthony would say, and beat the Rays 4-3. The Sox were down to their final out in the top of the 9th inning, and Middlebrooks came up to bat, and drilled a 2 out 3 run bases loaded double to center field to give the Sox the 4-3 lead. If it wasn't for that inning, this would be a terrible loss, because in the game we only got 4 hits... Anyways, Doubrant didn't do bad in his first start back since being in the bullpen, but it wasn't good either. It was kind of in the middle, maybe a decent. This start probably would have been great if he just had kept control of the ball. He only gave up 3 hits, and 2 runs, through 5 innings, and getting 7 strikeouts. But their was one thing that ruined this start completely, his career high 6 walks given up. Just like in his other starts, it was the walks that killed him, and ruined the start. It proved to be why he gave up those runs. Our other pitchers, well I'll skip to Tazawa, he didn't do bad, he did ok, giving up 2 hits in the 9th, but none of them scored. Our offense, well slumping and struggling Ellsbury went 0-5, Napoli went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts, Drew went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, Salty went 0-3, and Middlebrooks who has proved to be out of his slump and has been doing good lately, went 1-3 with 3 RBI's.

The Sox finished the series, earning 2 out of 3 wins in Tampa and they will now travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins, and the Sox are one thirds done from this long road trip. Buchholz will again look to earn his 7th win tonight to go 7-0. Anyways, hopefully the Sox keep playing good and don't do bad like last time against the Twins.

- DJ

Bruins Take Game 1 3-2 In OT Over Rangers

I'M BACK! For now of course this is just a one time thing while Anthony is busy. Now lets talk about the game shall we?

The Bruins and Rangers went through a scoreless 1st period with both goalies playing good. Zdeno Chara stared off the scoring with a slapper that snuck by Henrik Lundqvist which snapped his 2 game shutout streak. The Rangers would tie it how ever with a goal with 1 second left in the second by Ryan McDonagh. The Rangers would score 14 seconds into the 3rd to give them the lead. Then on the powerplay rookie Torey Krug scored on a slap shot that beat Lundqvist. I mean can you believe that? We scored a POWERPLAY goal wow. With the clock winding down Boychuck fired a bomb that beat Henrik but hits the post it would've been a buzzer beater.(I've been watching to much basketball) The 2 teams would head to Overtime were the Bruins are 2-0. The Bruins hit the post a couple of times during that but eventually the hero from game 7 Patrice Bergaron made a nice pass to Marchand and he scored and the Bruins would take game 1. Lets look at the stats:


Tuukka Rask: 33 out of 35 shots saved
Brad Marchand: 1 goal and a assist
Torey Krug: 1 goal
Zdeno Chara: 1 goal and a assist


Nice game between these 2 original 6 teams both goalies played exceptionally well. The teams will have some rest before game 2.

So yea I bet your surprised to see me post today(I know am) So this is probably my last post for a while, maybe a month. Lets talk about the Celtics real quick. Danny Ainge has till June 30th to make a decision on to buy out Paul Pierce and most likely he will sadly. Doc Rivers is confirmed to come back next season also. So yea see you whenever!

-Abudi

Red Sox Pound Rays 9-2

The Red Sox beat the Rays 9-2 Wednesday night, ending their 3 game skid. The bats were here for this game totaling 10 hits and 9 runs, including 2 home runs. The Sox had an 8 run 3rd inning in which helped them mostly. In that inning, Stephen Drew hit a 2 out GRAND SLAM, his 2nd of his career, and that basically secured the lead for the Sox. The game remained 8-2 until the top of the 8th, when Middlebrooks, who was been doing good lately, homered to opposite field, right field, giving us the 9-2 lead. Jose De La Torre, who made his major league debut last Sunday, pitched a scoreless 9th, with 2 strikeouts, in a 1-2-3 inning. Lester did good, a solid start, going 7 innings pitched, giving up 8 hits, 2 runs, and getting 5 strikeouts, picking up his 6th win of the year, being 6-0. Drew went 2-3 with 4 RBI's, Middlebrooks went 2-4 with an RBI, and Pedroia went 2-5 with an RBI.

This game was a great game for the slumping Sox, and it showed who they are. They proved they can be a good team and if they keep playing like this, they'll rise back top to 1st in the division. Anyways, Doubrant will get the nod for tonight's game to pitch in the series finale with the Rays, hopefully he does good...

- DJ

Red Sox Lose 5-3 To Rays

The Red Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 because it was just a bad game... I'll sum it up, Lackey sucks and the Rays stadium is horrible, and due to all the obstacles in the air in the way, Napoli and Pedroia could not see the high pop up and they dropped it. That proved to be the outcome of the game, because the Rays never scored again that inning. Ortiz got his 5th home run to give us our only 3 runs. 

Rays ace, Matt Moore earned his 7th win, and improved his record to 7-0. So basically, Lackey sucks and the Rays got lucky on a misplayed/confused pop up, because the Rays stadium is horrible! It sucks!

- DJ

Rangers Series Preview

Hello,

So the Bruins are moving on the the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a win in game 7 that we are all going to remember for a long time no matter what  happens this year. Now, the Rangers. During the Toronto series the Bruins offense wasn't there every game even though we should have been scoring a lot more goals. In this series it's going to be the opposite. This series the games are going to be very low scoring because of the style of play the Ranger use. First of all, the have a great goalie as we all know, Henrik Lundqvist. Then on top of that they play a denfensive style of hockey to make one of the greatest goalies out their's job a little easier. So if the Bruins don't score a lot, then that's ok, because they aren't expected to. Now the problem is, yes, Rask. Can Rask compete with Lundqvist? I think he can, but let's be honest, Lundqvist is a better goaltender. What the Bruins need to do is try and get those lucky bounces so they can get pucks in the net. You can do that by being agressive around the net. You might not get the lucky bounce on one shift, but if you continue to charge the net you will get one. They should also focus on being more agressive defensively, it will make Rask's life easier and it's not like the Rangers have the best offense out there. It will be a long, grinding series, but I think the Bruins can win. Game 1 is Thursday night at TD Garden.

~Anthony

Insane Comeback

The Bruins made Boston go crazy last night when they came back from a 3 goal deficit with less than 11 minutes remaining in the third period to win the game and knock the Leafs right out of the playoffs. Matt Bartkowski got the Bruins on the board first when he fired a wrist shot past James Reimer. About 4 minutes later the Leafs would tie it up 1-1 when there was a mad scramble in front of the Bruins net and somehow it got onto the stick of Franson and he was able to put it in. Then, the lone goal in the second period was again Franson, this time he fired a slapshot and it got through because of a screen in front and I don't think Rask ever saw it. Then, once again Phil Kessel scored after he jumped on a rebound. So, it's not 3-1 Toronto, 17:51 remaining in the third period. It's over was what I thought and I wasn't alone with that. Then, about 3 and a half minutes later there was a 2-on-1 and Kadri scored to make it 4-1. By now I'm thinking this is just embarrassing. We had a 3-1 series lead, we scored the first goal and we are about to give it all away. I mean if you thought the Bruins were going to come back raise your hands. Ok, now put your hands down....Liers.

With 10:42 remaining in the game, and possibly the Bruins' season, Nathan Horton scored to make it 4-2. Ehh, ok. It was still a long way to go with not a lot of time left. Then, as we have seen many times, Toronto got a lead then went in a shell and Boston just dominated play. However, it looks like it going to be like all the other games and we would have nothing to show for it. Tick tick tick tick..... (the the clock winding down by the way). With about 2 minutes left, they pulled Rask to get the extra skater. With 1:22 left in the game, Chara fired a slapshot, huge rebound, Lucic jumped on it, 4-3. Wait, whats this? Could this actually happen? Bruins won the face-off, the got it in deep, they pulled Rask again. With Chara as a screen, Bergeron fired a wrist shot and.... he scores!!!!!! Overtime!!!!

In overtime now, Bergeron fired a shot that Reimer couldn't, Seguin was able to get it out to open ice, and it got back to Bergeron and he was able to finish the comeback. Bruins win 5-4, they win the series 4-3, and it's a good night to be a Bruins fan.

This is going down in history as one of the greatest comebacks in Boston sports. They are the first team in NHL history to win a game 7 after being down by 3 goals in the third period. Incredible. Now we have to verse the Rangers, I will make a post later this week about my predictions.

~Anthony

Maple Leafs Force Game 7

(Phil Kessel once again scored in Game 6, while Tyler Seguin has yet to get a point in the series)

The Bruins had another chance to put the Leafs away once and for all. With some positives, they had a way better first period than game 5, you really couldn't have done much worse than they did in game 5, though. This game was scoreless through 2 periods and was really hard fought. Both teams were trading chances, both getting good goaltending. There was one big difference: TURNOVERS! Whenever the Bruins got a rush, most of the time, they tried to be too cute and go for a wing-to-wing pass or tried to pass it behind you just hoping for a guy to be there to pick it. The key word is "hoped". Instead of doing that, they should have just shot the puck and create second chances. As we all know, Reimer gives up rebounds! The game was still scoreless through two periods thanks to none other than old Touk. Yes I said old Touk. Anyways, Toronto got the first goal of the game (of course), when van Riemsdyk fired a wrist shot that was tipped in front off Deon Phaneuf. They would go up 2-0 when Kessel, yes Kessel, jumped on a loose puck and got a backhanded shot over Tuukka Rask, it was a pretty good goal I have to admit. The Bruins had the same problems, not scoring. Part of it was their fault, with the turnovers and everything, but Toronto also blocked shots. A lot of good opportunities were stopped because of blocked shots. So really, what can you do in that situation? Well, I think they should try to get in towards the net further before shooting. And another thing, when you do shoot, get the puck on net please. How many shots have gone wide? Too many.

Oh yeah, and Lucic scored with 20 seconds left in the game. Bruins lose 2-1. Game 7 is tonight at TD Garden. Heart attack time.

~Anthony

Sox Get Stomped On, Lose 12-4

The Red Sox lost again to the Blue Jays 12-4 Sunday on what is a usual Mother's Day Miracle but not this year sadly... The Blue Jays belted 5 home runs total today, and 2 coming from Jose Bautista. Dempster was not on his A-Game and he just had no control of the ball. He could not locate anything and was leaving balls down the plate. In 5 innings, Dempster gave up 7 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts. And not to forget, he also  gave up 3 home runs. Craig Breslow was the only Sox pitcher who did not give up a run today, going 1 inning giving up 0 hits and 0 runs. Jose De La Torre made his major league debut coming in the 9th inning giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, and a walk through an inning. The Sox had a rally in the 8th inning but failed to score, leaving runners in scoring position on base AGAIN... Napoli and Pedroia were really the only Sox hitters who did good today. Napoli went 3-4 with a home run and an RBI, and Pedroia went 2-5. 

Something is wrong with the Red Sox .I just don't understand why they are doing bad. At this point they are relying on Buchholz and Lester as the only good starters and then the offense is never there in some games. A lot of people are doing bad again, including Ellsbury who is going 1-5 every single night now, and Napoli has slowed down his offense and isn't leading in RBI's anymore. Middlebrook's is having an off slump year, Drew isn't helping, Salty is striking out, Ciriaco is being wild, Nava isn't being the hero we saw earlier this season, and most of our pitching including our bullpen is doing bad. The Red Sox need to get back on track during this road series so that they can come back at home fresh and new and ready to go. I'm hoping they can get back on track and be the good Red Sox we saw a few weeks ago.

- DJ

Struggling Red Sox Lose Again 3-2

The Red Sox lost, once again, to the Blue Jays 3-2. The Red Sox were held run-less until the 8th inning when they rallied to tie it up 2-2. Ellsbury hit a triple to send Ross home, and Pedroia sent Ellsbury home with an infield single. Then it came to Gomes and Ortiz to send Pedroia home to give us the go ahead run but they both struck out. Junichi Tazawa let up the go ahead run for the Jays in the 9th on a home run from Adam Lind, and that proved to be the outcome of the game as the Sox rallied a tiny bit in the bottom of 9th but failed to send anyone to home plate. Ortiz has struggled ever since he lost his hit streak and his average has quickly dropped from .420 to .330. Anyways, we saw what Tazawa can do in the 9th, and it's giving up home runs, which doesn't help us... We need our Bailey back, and the Sox need to get out this slump/struggle they've been having.

Anyways, Buchholz was once again solid, but he could not earn the win, getting the no decision. The Red Sox will take on the Blue Jays one more time this series, tomorrow at 1:35 PM. And after this, they will be heading on a long road trip to Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Chicago, to take on the Rays, Twins, and White Sox. Again, let's hope we get out this struggle.

- DJ

Lester Nearly Goes Perfect As Sox Beat Jays 5-0

The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 5-0 as Jon Lester nearly went perfect, tossing a one hitter and getting the complete game shutout. His only hit he gave up was in the 6th inning on a 2 out double, in which he pitched a curve ball, and he probably left it hanging. Lester's final line for then night was 9 innings pitched, 1 hit, 0 walked, and getting 5 strikeouts, and earning his 5th win, going 5-0. Anyways, the offense was here this game, collecting 10 hits on the night.

This was just a great game for the Sox and Lester, I really wish Lester could have got that perfect game. Also, thank you to whoever updated the Red Sox sidebar for me. The Red Sox will take on the Blue Jays again today at 1:35 PM and Buchholz will look to earn his 7th win and go 7-0. Also, here's some sad or good news, depending on how you view it, closer/reliever Joel Hanrahan will undergo a surgery and he will be out for the remainder of the season, to recover from this season ending injury and surgery. So this could be a bad thing, considering we got Hanrahan to be our future star closer and now he is out for the season. But it can also be good because it let's Andrew Bailey go back to his old role, the cloer role once he comes back from the 15 day DL. For now, Junichi Tazawa will be in the closer role until Bailey comes back. Anyways, let's hope Buchholz earns his 7th win tonight... LET'S GO RED SOX!

- DJ

Bruins Fail to End Series, Give Toronto Hope

                                                      (This is how we all felt)

The Bruins were looking to end this series series last night on home ice, while Toronto was on the verge of elimination. It looked like it was the other way around in the first period. The Bruins had many turnovers and lost puck battles, and they were lucky to get out of the first scoreless. They weren't as lucky in the second. Ference couldn't handle a pass, I will say it was a hard pass so he doesn't deserve all the blame, anyways it bounced over his stick to Tyler Bozak and he was able to get a partial breakaway. Even though there was pretty good back pressure, Bozak got it in underneath the arm of Tuukka Rask. Ok, it was a save you would have liked to see him have, but making 20 saves in the first period alone, it could have easily been 2-0 or 3-0 by then so it's really hard to blame him. In the third now, there was a pass off the boards that was going right to Nathan Horton, but he didn't get his stick down on the ice in time (another turnover). Clark MacArthur brought it into the zone and went forehand-backhand and into the back of the net. 2-0 Toronto. Now I don't know if the leafs wore themselves out or what, but they just disappeared in the second half of the third period. I mean the Bruins were just dominating, although not scoring. That was until Zdeno Chara finally got the Bruins on the board to make it 2-1. There was a late delay of game penalty on the Leafs, but the Bruins couldn't convert. They dominated play up until the buzzer with nothing to show for it. The Leafs had tons of blocked shots, and it was just that kind of night for Boston.

The first half of this game is what really hurt the Bruins, they just didn't show up. They were extremely slow coming out of their own end, turnovers, sloppy play, not a good effort. Like I said, they dominated much of the third, and really they started getting better in the final minutes of the second, but it's just too late. You need to come ready to play and Bruins didn't do that. Now I'm nervous because we gave Toronto hope, which is something they didn't have coming into this game the way we played in game 4. Now we are headed back to Toronto in a building that will be rocking. Here's an interesting fact: the Bruins are 6-11 in closeout games since Claude Julien became coach, which was 2007. We have seen a lot of game 7s over the years, haven't we.

~Anthony

P.S. I updated the Red Sox Record and last games and next game played since that hasn't been getting done lately. (Yes I'm talking to you Dj, it takes 20 seconds to do.)

P.S.S. Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan is undergoing season ending surgery. That's all I'm going to say about it because Dj will probably post. Ok, I'm done, I promise.

Krejci Gets Hat Trick, Bruins Win 4-3 In Instant Classic

(David Krejci scored the overtime winning goal and completed his hat trick as the B's take a 3-1 series lead.)

This was a great playoff hockey game. It was probably the closest game of the series so far against these two original 6 teams. The Bruins were looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the series and Toronto was looking to tie it up at 2.

Joffrey Lupul got the scoring started for the Leafs when he took advantage of a little bit of a Bruins defensive breakdown and shot it past Tuukka Rask about 2 and a half minutes into the game. They would then take a 2 goal lead when Franson would take a wrist shot from the blue line, it wasn't shot hard at all and he was probably just hoping for a rebound, but he ended up getting a goal. It appeared Chara got in the way of Rask's sight and by the time he saw it it was too late. By this point I was thinking, "Here we go..."  But the Bruins wouldn't sit back. Early in the second period, after a shot was fired at Reimer producing a big rebound (which happens a lot), Patrice Bergeron jumped on it and got his first goal of the playoffs. And by the way, it was a power play goal. They would then tie the score at 2 when Marchand got a shot on net and while Krejci was in front of the net it bounced off him and went in. Originally it looked like Marchand's goal, but it was given to Krejci, which turned out to be a good thing. The tie was short lived though, because less than 2 minutes later the Leafs would regain the lead 3-2 when MacArthur scored. Krejci would then tie it up again for his second of the game. After a scoreless third period , but not uneventful, as both teams had great chances and it was a lot of up and down the ice action, we would go to the first overtime of the series. Both teams had chances, and I think the Maple Leafs had better ones actually. But it was Krejci scoring the overtime winner on a 2 on 1, completing his hat trick and giving the Bruins a 3-1 series lead.

The first line was once again on fire today, producing 7 points and 3 goals, all from Krejci but I would say that's still good. They Bruins will look to close out the series Friday at the Garden.

~Anthony

Sox Lose 6-1 In Mess Of A Game

The Red Sox lost 6-1 to the Twins Tuesday night, and man it was a wild game... Well mostly all in one inning. And that was the 8th, when the Sox gave up 4 runs on poor defense and just sloppy plays. Dempster did pretty good, only giving up 2 EARNED runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts in 7 innings pitched. Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 27 games going 1 for 4. Also Salty got a 9th inning home run to break up the shutout. In total, the Sox produced 4 hits and 1 run... I don't know what to say.

Middlebrooks and Ross left the game due to colliding after Middlebrooks made a great sliding catch in foul territory and hanging on to the ball. Anyways, the Sox will take on the Twins again on Wednesday.

- DJ

Drew's Walkoff Leads Sox To Win Over Twins 6-5

The Red Sox beat the Twins Monday night 6-5. The Twins led up until the 7th inning when Stephen Drew hit a home run to tie the game at 4. Then, it came till the 8th inning when Dustin Pedroia would hit a towering momentum home run to the green monster that would give us the 5-4 lead. Sadly, the Sox could not enjoy the moment because Joel Hanrahan would give up a game tying home run in the 9th inning, evening it at 5. It went all the way until the 11th where Drew would hit a walk off double giving us the 6-5 win. The Sox totaled 17 hits and Stephen Drew had 4 of them going 4 for 5 with 3 RBI's and showing us great improvement at the bat. Also, Victorino went 3 for 5 with an RBI, and Pedroia also went 3 for 5 with an RBI. Buchholz did average, decent, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs, 2 walks, and 9 strikeouts through 6 innings pitched. Since we tied the game and got the win, Buchholz avoided the loss, and got the no decision, remaining 6-0 this year. Hanrahan left the game in the 9th inning, after feeling something wrong with his arm again, and went on the 15 day DL after. And now it appears he has a inflammation in his right arm.

Allen Webster was called up in place of Hanrahan and will be in the rotation for now. He is scheduled to make his second major league start this season for tomorrow's game. Doubrant was orginally scheduled but he will now be in the bullpen for a small time period until Hanrahan is back. Anyways, hopefully, Hanrahan and Bailey will be ready to go and alright once they come off the 15 day DL in a couple weeks.

- DJ

Everybody Contributing as B's Take 2-1 Lead in Series

(We weren't sure if Nathan Horton's 3rd playoff goal went in at first, but we found out it got stuck on top of the inside post.)

The Bruins last night looked like they did in game 1, and that was dominant. Everybody was doing well tonight. Adam Mcquaid got the scoring started for the Bruins in the First Period when he slapped in a shot from the point. Peverly would get the next one when Jagr stole the puck behind the net and was able to pass it to Peverly who was out in front. That was only one of many scoring chances from the third line, who Claude Julien was looking to get more production out of. They were involved all night and it was a good game for them. The Leafs would make it 2-1 on a power play goal from Gardiner. Chris Kelly tried to clear the puck down the ice, but he didn't get a lot of the shot, and it went right to Gardiner and he was able to put it by Rask. Horton made it 3-1 on that goal I was talking about, Lucic passed it cross ice to him and he went top shelf over Reimer. His team leading 3rd goal of the playoffs. Paille would then hurt the Leafs chances of coming back even more when he stole the puck and had a partial breakaway and scored to make it 4-1. Unfortunately, Phil Kessel would then score on the power play to make it 4-2. But Krejci would add an empty netter and the Bruins won 5-2 and took a 2-1 lead in the series.

Toronto's attack wasn't consistent in this game, and that hurt them. There were times when they actually  outplayed the Bruins, sometimes even badly outplayed them. But it wouldn't last, and the Bruins would just control the game. The first and third lines were very good tonight, they either scored or were on the ice for every one of the Bruins goals. Tuukka Rask was once again outstanding making 47 saves. Even though you would like to see way less shots given up, Rask kept us in the game as has been the case many times. The Bruins will look to get a 3-1 series lead on Wednesday.

~Anthony

Celtics Regular Season Wrap Up/Future

(what does the future hold for these 2 future Hall of Famers?)

The Celtics began there season against a team that ended there season against the Heat it was there first game against ex Celtic Ray Allen and the Heat won 120-107. They got there first win against the Wizards. The Celtics were struggling heading into a game against the Heat they were 20-23 and out of the playoff picture following the game they learned that there star player Rajon Rondo was out for the year and everyone was counting out the Celtics... again and again they were wrong as they went on a impressive 7 game winning streak before it being snapped by the talented(chuckle) Bobcats. A few more games after rookie Jared Sullinger who was having a great season went down with a season ending injury. The Celtics at the deadline would trade an injured Barbosa and a now well recognised Jason Collins for Jordan Crawford. Fast Foward a few more months and the Celtics would face the Heat in a chance to end there historic streak but ultimately falling short. The Celtics limped into the playoffs with a 41-40 record(a game against the Pacers got cancelled due to the marathon bombings.) Games 1 and 2 the Celtics had there chance at winning but terrible second halfs cost them. They got embarassed at home in game 3 and were down 0-3 and everyone was counting them out and again everyone was wrong as they won games 4 and 5 and forced a game 6 where they eventually lost.


Whew that was a workload ANYWAY the Celtics are done now and now its time to see what Danny Ainge will do. Will he get rid of KG and Pierce and start the rebuilding process? Will Rondo be gone also? Will Doc leave the Celtics and move on? Who knows whats in Ainge's mind all I hope though is that he keeps everyone together. We have a good enough team to compete if they stay healthy. Heres how the lineup would look like.

Point Gaurd: Rajon Rondo
Shooting Gaurd: Avery Bradley
Small Foward: Paul Pierce
Foward: Jeff Green
Center: Kevin Garnett
6th Man: Jason Terry

Whats not to like about that lineup? Terry should be better than last year limit KG's minutes and put in Sullinger here and there. We got a good enough squad to challenge for the division and maybe even the Heat.

Well anyway sadly this will be my last post for a while, I will post if the Celtics do any offseason moves but that won't be until probably July. Anyway before I go i'd like to share my opinions on the Red Sox and Bruins. For the Bruins well this is a series they should take against the Leafs but I do see a second round exit for them, and as for the Red Sox its still early and that sweep against the Rangers pretty much tells me there not ready to compete with the big boys....yet. Anyway good luck to the Red Sox and Bruins and good luck to Anthony and Dj and with that i'm gone.


-Abudi ;-)

Red Sox Get Swept, Lose 4-3

The Red lost and got swept by the Texas Rangers Sunday 4-3 by a walkoff from the Rangers. The Sox had a 3-1 up until the 6th inning when the Rangers put 2 on the board to even the score at 3-3. Lester would be pulled and it all came into the 9th, when Clayton Mortenson was trusted to keep this game tied. Well, he'd get the first two batters to strike out but Elvis Andrus hit a single to center field and then he fell apart. He threw a wild pitch which would let Andrus advance to second, and then he was pretty much forced to intentionally walk Lance Berkman, after throwing 2 straight balls. Adrian Beltre would step up to the plate and he would hit a single that would send home Andrus and the Rangers would walk off for the win and sweep, sadly... Our offense was not there much this series getting 4 total runs the whole series and only getting 5 hits today, and the pitching was also not the best, referring back to the 2 first games. Today was a tough game, Yu Darvish struck out 14 Red Sox. The only bright side of the offense was Ortiz and Ross each hitting a home run today, and helping Ortiz extend his hit streak to 25 games, techinically, dating back from last season. I don't even want to talk about this series anymore...

ANYWAYS, the Sox will return back to Fenway to take on the Twins, who have been a struggling team. Hopefully the Red Sox can get back on track after getting swept by the Rangers and now being tied with the best record in American League, at 20-11, of course, with the Rangers.

- DJ

Bruins Lose 4-2, Head to Toronto Tied in Series

(Rask, 28 Saves, kept Boston in the game for a lot of the game I think, but it wasn't enough)

Everybody was expecting the Leafs to come out a lot better than in Game 1. So, with everyone seeing it coming, the Bruins should expect it, right? Well whether they expected it or not, they couldn't handle the Leafs as they are skating back to Toronto having won 1 of 2 at the Garden. The Bruins first goal came after Milan Lucic one timed a shot on goal and it produced a rebound and Nathan Horton was able to jump on it. It was reviewed to see if he kicked it in, but the goal stood. The Leafs tied it in the Second when Lupul jumped on a loose puck and was able to get it in the back of the net, with 2 seconds left on the Leafs power play. They would take a 2-1 lead when a pass when right across the crease and again Lupul got it in with a great back-hander. And now, the third Maple Leafs goal...

With all the boston defensemen in the offensive zone, the leafs were able to get a pass through to, who other than, Phil Kessel. The ex-Bruin skated into the offensive zone all alone on a breakaway and went 5-hole on Touukka Rask to give his team a 3-1 lead. The Bruins would make it interesting when Boychuk score to make it 3-2. But the Leafs would end it when van Riemsdyk score to make it 4-1, and the series is tied.

The Maple Leafs we saw in game 1 is not who they are, the team we saw last night were the Maple Leafs. After the Bruins made it 3-2 they had some great chances and for about 5 minutes just controlled the Leafs zone, but they weren't able to connect. Ference comes back for game 3, which is better for us since we can go back to all our normal line combinations, so maybe that will help us out.

~Anthony

Celtics Season Comes To An End As Celtics Fall To Knicks 88-80

Once again the Knicks got off to a hot start as they had a 24-10 lead after one quarter. Celtics would go on a little run in the 2nd and were down by 12 going into halftime. Knicks would extend there lead even more in the 3rd though and had a 20 point lead going into the 4th. Eventually they had a 26 point lead in the 4th and everyone thought it was over but the Celtics never go down without a fight and BAM we went on a 20-0 run Bradley would get a steal later in the 4th and it was a 4 point game, But Carmelo Anthony would hit clutch shots to ice it. Pierce and KG got standing ovations when they got subbed out the fans chanted lets go Celtics till the end and the season came to an end. Lets look at the stats:


Jeff Green: 21 points and 5 rebounds

Brandon Bass: 6 points and 4 rebounds

Kevin Garnett: 15 points and 10 rebounds

 Paul Pierce: 14 points and 7 rebounds

Avery Bradley: 10 points and 3 steals

Jason Terry: 14 points

This was the first time since getting KG the Celtics got out in the 1st round. Although they went down they didnt go out with a bang what a crazy season this has been. I will make a Celtics season wrap up post probably on Monday and that will be my last post.


-Abudi

Doubrant Not On His Game, Sox Lose 7-0

The Red Sox lost Friday night 7-0 and Doubrant was just not on his game. He gave up 12 hits, 6 runs, walked 1, and got 2 strikeouts over 3.2 innings pitched. The Rangers were all over him, it was like a hit parade for them, totalling 18 hits in the game and 7 runs. The offense wasn't really there to support him though, only getting 6 hits, and no runs. The only good part about this loss is that we only used 2 bullpen pitchers so that's good for us. Anyways, there is not much to talk about in this game, but I'll just mention Ellsbury went 2 for 4, being the only person who got 2 hits on our team last night. And yes, Napoli didn't do too good in his return to Texas either.

So with this loss, the Sox will take on the Rangers again at 8:05 PM tonight. Hopefully we get the win, because the Rangers offense looks too good...

- DJ

Sox Win, Take Series Over Jays, Final: 3-1

The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 3-1 Thursday night. It was a pretty quiet game, considering we only got 6 hits and 3 runs, and Jays got 1 run. Gomes did the best on our team, being the only one who got 2 hits, going 2 f or 4. Dempster didn't get off to the best start giving up 1 run in the first, but that would be the only run he would give up through 6 innings pitched. His final line was 6 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. We can call it a quality start, because of his 3 walks and home run he let up. But other than that he did great holding the Jays to 1 run and 4 hits and earning his 2nd win with the Sox. The bullpen was pretty good except for Miller who left 2 on, but Tazawa would finish the inning to secure the lead in the 8th. Hanrahan came in the 9th to earn his 4th save of the season, giving up a hit in 1 inning pitched. Bailey didn't pitch last night because of a right bicep strain that has been bothering him so they'll let him rest for now, until he feels fine.

Anyways, with this win the Sox are the first team to get 20 wins this season and currently own MLB's best record at 20-8. The Red Sox will be facing the Texas Rangers tonight, and what will be Napoli's return to Texas since signing with the Sox. Well let's see how the Rangers react to Napoli being there, considering last time they boo'ed Josh Hamilton when he returned this season.

- DJ

Napoli's Home Runs Leads Sox To 10-1 Win Over Jays

It's so cold right now I can't evveeen tyyppeee, yeah I know random... Anyways the the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 10-1 Wednesday night, and it was yet another good one. The bats were on fire, Buchholz was dominant, and home runs were being hit everywhere. Napoli hit his first of 2 home runs in the 4th inning sending a deep fly ball to center field. He would hit his second in the 7th, another deep HUGE home run to center. Drew also got a home run (surprise). Oh and to top it all off, Carp got a home run also in the 9th. Napoli is doing great, and last night went for 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's, hitting his team leading and league leading, 31st RBI. Drew also did good going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's. With this win, Buchholz leads the MLB in wins with 6, and leads the American League in ERA at 1.01, overall being 6-0. Man, he is looking great this season!

Anyways, with this win the Sox will face the Jays one more time in Toronto this week and will try to take 2 out 3 in the series. Also, I had to mention this, last night ALL Boston teams won, and it was a great night to be a Boston fan. LET'S GO BOSTON!

- DJ

Celtics Postpone Funeral Beat Knicks 92-86 Force Game 6

This series just got interesting. Anyway, the Celtics got off to a slow start going down by 11 but they rallied and were only down by 2 after 1 quarter. They carried the momentum into the second and had a 6 point lead going into halftime. Pierce was coming up clutch in the third burying shots and had a 9 point lead heading to the 4th quarter. Jeff Green went off in that quarter making in clutch back to back 3's. The Knicks wouldnt go away though and were only down by 5 with 40 seconds left. But Garnett hit a clutch jumper to seal the deal. After the game Jordan Crawford had a few words with Carmelo involving his wife but i'm not going to say the exact things. Doc had to break it up. Lets look at the stats:(Only 7 players played this game so i'll name the stats for every player)


Brandon Bass: 17 points 5 rebounds and shot 6-7

Jeff Green: 18 points and 4 rebounds

Kevin Garnett: 16 points and 18 rebounds

Avery Bradley: 4 points

Paul Pierce: 16 points

Jason Terry: 17 points

Terrence Williams: 4 points and 4 rebounds

Bass gets the player of the game for keeping us in it in the 1st and overall a great performance. Williams played great also and a smart move by Doc putting him in since Bradley was struggling. Anyway this series is heading back to Boston for game 6. No team has come back from an 0-3 defecit and win the series and now the Celtics(and Houston) have a chance of doing that. Anyway im just going to update you guys on the playoffs.

The Heat begin there title defence with a sweep of the Bucks, Pacers have a 3-2 edge over the Hawks, and the Bulls can eliminate the Nets with a win at home today. In the West OKC had a 3-0 lead over the Rockets but an injury to Wessbrook has Houston back in this like the Celtics. The Spurs swept the Lakers easily, the Warriors have a chance of finishing off the Nuggets today, and Memphis has a 3-2 edge over the Clippers. A good day for Boston as the Bruins and Celtics won yesterday, the Red Sox did also but lets be honest right now who cares its the beginning and Celtics and Bruins are in the postseason. LETS GO CELTICS AND BRUINS!


-Abudi

Bruins Shut Down Maple Leafs in Series Opener

This was the Bruins team we all remember.

The Bruins were looking to get the playoffs started on the right note against the Maple Leafs who they only lost 1 game out of 4 in the regular season. Toronto had the upper hand in the first 5 minutes or so into the game, and they would actually score first on van Riemsdyk's first of the playoffs after some crazy bounces that led to him having an open net and just tapping it in basically. The Bruins woke up from there though. They pretty much were in control of the rest of the game. They tied it up 1-1 when Wade Redden made a slapshot from the left face-off dot and it Reimer almost stopped it, but it just squeezed through his arm. Wade Redden would also be involved with the second goal. This time it was a wrist shot and there was a great tip by Horton right in front. He tipped it right down to the ice and it bounced underneath the glove side of Reimer with 12 seconds left in the First Period. In the Second, the Bruins got some lucky bounces of there own. I'm pretty sure the puck bounced off of about 4 different things, whether it was a Bruins or Maple Leafs player. Krejci was able to jump on the lose puck and put it in the net. Now for the final goal. Krejci got into the offensive zone and left the puck behind at the blue line for Boychuk to just rip a slapshot and it flat out beat Reimer. It's moments like that when I want them to measure the speed of shots. Shots in this game were 40 to 20 in favor of the Bruins, yeah.

There was a lot of physical play in the game, a lot of hits, but it looked like there weren't gonna be any fights during the game. Well, there wasn't, it was actually after the buzzer sounded to end the game that Kelly dropped the gloves with Komarov. It wasn't the best fight, but the game ended with some fireworks. If we play like we are capable of (which we did tonight, finally) we will be able to win this series.

~Anthony