Clippers/Celtics Trade Dead

It is being said now that the trade that would've sent KG and Rivers to the Clippers is now dead. This could just be posturing, but it is being reported everywhere that this isn't going to happen. In a way I'm kind of glad, it was a shitty trade. Those 2 first round picks are kinda worthless since they are late first round, and Jordan is decent, but nothing special.

Now it will be interesting to see what happens with Doc and KG.

Rays @ Red Sox Preview

Red Sox got a doubleheader today, and this first game is going to be very interesting. The Rays have a young pitcher named Chris Archer on the mound. I like him a lot, and even though a lot of people think he will eventually be a reliever I think could is a damn good pitcher. On top of that Wil Myers will be making his major league debut, and he is one of the top prospects in all of baseball. If he starts crushing the ball the Ryas could be a very dangerous team, as they always seem to be missing that big bat.

For the Red Sox Doubront is on the hill. Doubront (4-3, 4.91 ERA) had a rough outing Thursday, giving up four runs while throwing 103 pitches in 4 2/3 innings. Before that game though Doubront had 4 quality starts in a row.

Red Sox win 5-4
Player of the Game: Napoli
Game starts at 1:05pm

Let's Get Cliff Lee And Papelbon

The Phillies need to start shedding salaries, and the Red Sox could really use another good starter and a closer. Bailey just isn't going to cut it in my opinion, and Lester hasn't showed that he can be our #2. I know Papelbon can be a douche, but he is a damn good closer, and we know he can get it done.

This was touched on in an earlier post that the Phillies have been scouting the Red Sox minors system, so it would seem they are open to moving someone to Boston. It would make sense for them to get rid of these two big contracts, and it would make sense for the Red Sox to acquire two guys like this that would put them over the top in the AL East.

Red Sox Notes

The Red Sox have really hit the back burner with the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals, Tebowmania coming to Foxboro and the Celtics blockbuster trade rumors stealing the headlines.

-They had a rough 4 game series against the Orioles going 1-3, making the season series against the Orioles a dismal 2-5.

-Jon Lester continues to struggle. He's lost his last 4 decisions and his ERA has climbed from 2.72 up to 4.37.

-Jose Iglesias continues to hit well since coming back to the majors. For whatever reason he seems to be a more successful hitter at the major league level than the minors. Maybe he doesn't give it his full effort in Pawtucket? I have some attitude concerns about Iglesias (He was benched in Pawtucket for that reason) but if he continues to hit this well I'm willing to overlook these minor issues.

-For the first time since John Lackey put on the Red Sox uniform it looks like we're getting the player that was advertised. The one recent outing where he didn't perform well he was pitching with a substantial lead for most of the game. This might have been Lackey's best month in a Red Sox uniform.

-David Ortiz has cooled off recently as his batting average finally dipped below .300. Even with the recent slump he managed to contribute a triple and a home run in the Orioles series.

-Clay Buchholz's presence in the rotation has been sorely missed. His return to the rotation keeps getting pushed back because of a reported neck injury. He is supposed to throw a bullpen session today, if he is unable to do so, he'll be put on the DL. One of the major issues with Buchholz has been his durability. He's already missed a few starts, an extended DL stint could be very bad for the Red Sox to cope with. He has been the Ace of this rotation.

-Ryan Dempster has also been better since getting shelled by the Indians in late May. He's had 4 quality starts in his last 4 appearances. He's 2-2 in that stretch, but his run support has been feast or famine. The Red Sox bats put up 1 run, 17 runs, 10 runs and 0 runs in those starts. Guess which two he lost.

-Andrew Bailey hasn't solidified himself as the closer since coming back off the DL. He blew a save in Tampa Bay and nearly blew a 3-run lead against the Orioles. If not for a boneheaded baserunning error by Alexi Casilla, Bailey might have had another blown save to his name. This has lead to speculation about Tazawa or Uehara taking over the closer job and moving Bailey back to setup. There have even been rumors about the Red Sox reacquiring Jonathan Papelbon from the struggling Phillies. The Phillies have supposedly been specifically scouting out the Red Sox minor league talent. A trade for a guy like Papelbon or Cliff Lee might make sense for both sides.

Alright Celtics, I Have Mentally Prepared Myself and Am Ready For The Future

Before I get into what is probably going to happen today, I want to say these past years with Doc Rivers, KG, Paul Pierce and to an extent Ray Allen, have been the best in my Celtics lifetime. It made every game regular and post season an awesome feeling seeing KG pump up the crowd, Ray Allen hitting 3s, Pierce being the Truth and Doc being the guy that made it all happen. Now that all of this is happening, it finally is the end of an era and the start of something that could be special.

I'm not mad at Doc Rivers, I am extremely disappointed. When he came here he preached loyalty, devotion to the game and to the Celtics. When he signed the 5 year deal 2 years ago, he said he wanted to be the next Greg Popivich or Jerry Sloan. When the times are getting tough and Danny wanted to rebuild for the future, Doc is turning and demanding to be sent to a better situation for the time being. It sucks, that a guy who we all thought was going to be here for years, is practically abandoning us. However, in Doc's defense, he is bringing NBA talent back, whether it be DeAndre Jordan, cap relief and picks or DeAndre Jordan, Bledsoe, Picks or whatever it is, his last act as a Celtic is helping the Celtics.

When this deal goes through I think it will be Doc/ KG/ Jason Terry for DeAndre Jordan/ Caron Butler/ Willie Green and 2 1st round picks. So what then?

The Celtics will have to search for a new coach and on my radar would be Stan Van Gundy and Lawrence Frank. Probably leaning towards Frank. Frank was an assistant coach here in Boston, he's young, so him being the coach of a young rebuilding team would probably work better than many coaches. Plus, Rondo is familiar with him already, so that is always a good thing.

It's now officially Rondo's team. I like it, with Pierce and KG, I always felt like he was still held back a little bit and unable to do what he really wanted to do, because of their age and style of play. This will open up the floor a lot hopefully.

I believe the Celtics will most likely let Pierce go come June 30th, and the Captain will go to LA to join Doc and KG. It will be a sad way to see Pierce go, I would love to keep him around, but if Danny is committed to this rebuild he has to do it. Plus, with the extra cap relief by losing Paul, will be paramount, especially since I have a feeling they will turn their efforts to Josh Smith.

Smith loves Boston, has always flirted with the notion of playing here and loves Rondo. If they have a team next year of Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Josh Smith and DeAndre Jordan, we are now getting somewhere. It will be a new era, a new Celtics as we know it, a lot more exciting/ frustrating, but it will be working towards something that can not only beat the Heat, but potentially win a Championship.

With everything so up in the air and the uncertainty of the future gives me anxiety, but it also gives me a ton of excitement thinking of what this team can be.

Bruins 2, Blackhawks 0

Everything that had been even and level about this series was lopsided last night. The Bruins dominated in the faceoff dots, Rask was clearly better than Crawford, and special teams play heavily favored the Bruins.

The Bruins haven't lost on home ice since Game 5 of the Toronto series. That's 7 in a row. Home ice might be why the B's were so much better at faceoffs (40-16, 71.4%) in Game 3. The Blackhawks had previously been able to match the Bruins in the dots.

What truly decided this game was goaltending and special teams. Rask didn't need to stand on his head, just do his job. He really hasn't been straight-up beat for a goal by Chicago in this series. Meanwhile Crawford's glove side seems very vulnerable. The Bruins are targeting him high glove side, and that's where Paille beat him in Game 2 and last night.

The Bruins are also dominating on special teams. Not only has their power play scored twice, not only has their penalty kill shut down Chicago, their penalty killers are creating very dangerous shorthanded scoring opportunities. Chicago have adjusted their PP unit to focus on the area of the ice closer to the net, but they can't get anything set-up to execute that plan. Meanwhile, on the Bruins power play, Jagr and Bergeron executed a similar strategy to perfection in the 2nd period.

Chicago looked lost for most of this game. I don't think they're accustomed to playing without the puck this often. They seem to be trying to adapt, but last night the Bruins had an answer for them at every turn.

Game 4 Wednesday night. Let's hope the Bruins continue to avoid big mistakes, continue to win battles, and Rask continues to play like he's playing.

-The Captain

Awesome Look Hockey Fans?

Just another example of how awesome some hockey fans can be

Also Chicago, sweet Chicago Stronger shirts dickhead.

Bruins win 2-1 in OT Let's keep it rolling.
Tommy Award: Jagr

Why Not?

Why not watch the US Open Leader get King of the Northed?

114 Spurs, 104 Heat

The Spurs are an impressive team. Their offense can come from anyone at seemingly any place on the floor. Tonights feature was Manu Ginobili who had 24 points and 10 assists.

The game actually was a lot closer than expected as the Spurs were just killing in the 1st half. But the Heat kept it within striking distance for a lot of the second half (or maybe that was me just being nervous).

Miami has it's work cut out for them and they need to now win the remaining 2 games (both in Miami) to keep this series alive. Something the Lakers did in 2010 to the Celtics and something they could certainly do with the talent they have.

Other than LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Allen, nobody really did anything for the Heat. And if they want to win this title that are going to have to play a lot better.

We will see.

This Doc Shit Is Really Pissing Me Off

It looks as if the Celtics/ Clippers deal involving KG/ Doc Rivers/ Paul Pierce for DeAndre Jordan/ Eric Bledsoe/ Caron Butler/ 2 1st Round picks is at an impasse, because of the Clippers unwillingness to involve Bledsoe.

But before I get into it. I want to express how I am very disappointed in coach Doc Rivers. A couple years ago when he signed the 5 year deal with the Celtics he preached loyalty, and how he wanted to be the next Greg Popovich/ Jerry Sloan and how he is a Celtic. Now that he sees that the road ahead is going to be tough with rebuilding he wants to leave? It's ridiculous. We stuck with Doc Rivers through a lot of bad seasons before we got the big 3 including a 34 win and a 24 win season, and this is how he shows loyalty. I don't know all the information, so I don't want to completely write him off, but if all of this is true, I'm really pissed at him.

As for the deal itself, I would do it in a second if I were the Celtics. I would 100% trade Doc and KG for DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and 2 1sts. It would suck to see them go, but if Danny wants to rebuild, this is a good first step to rebuild. KG isn't getting much younger, and I think you could get a coach like Lionel Hollins or a Stan Van Gundy and it would be a good fit. You would have a team that has Rondo, Bledsoe, Green, Sully and Jordan. Certainly not as intimidating as seeing KG and Pierce's name in there, but it doesn't hurt to have a group of solid (but flawed) players.

So if the Clippers do include Bledsoe I'm all for it, if they don't Doc and KG will be back in Boston next year, no harm, no foul.

6 Orioles, 3 Sox

Is there a way we can send Lester down to AAA and start Aceves from this point on. Because honestly, Aceves is a better pitcher than Jon Lester right now.

Lester pitched another shitastic game last night going 5 innings letting up 9 hits and 5 runs to the Orioles.

He just is in bad quicksand right now, and for the team, he cannot be relied on. Thank God we have Dempster and Lackey pitching well, because right now Lester just sucks.

I wonder if Ben can pull off another deal this season where we can ship Lester off at the deadline, because he's hurting the team far more than helping the team right now.

Get him out of here.