Why Not?

Why Not watch some real life heros

Can The World Be Cool For Like..... 2 Seconds

If it's not some Hurricane Sandy, or some dickbags murdering people at the marathon, or a giant fire in Texas, it's this awful tornado that just hit Oklahoma. It's ridiculous how much devastation nature can do. I have never really seen a tornado do this type of devastation in my life, when I think of Tornados I think of the Wizard of Oz or the movie Tornado, but I guess they are some serious scary shit. Just looking at the photos of yesterdays tragedy it's scary.

There are reported 51 deaths with 20 of them being children.

Bye Bye Terrence Williams

Terrence Williams is in a bit of trouble for allegedly “brandishing a weapon” during a confrontation with the mother of his 10 year-old son.

Terrence has the talent and skill set to be on an NBA team, however, he is a shithead and not deserving of one because of this type of shit. He is just pissing his chances away at a pretty good pace, he's lucky the Celtics even gave him a shot this year when he was in China and this is how he repays them? He pulls a gun out in front of his 10 year old son and gets arrested? Just dumb. I liked Terrence at Louisville and I even really liked it when the Celtics signed him, but this shit can't happen. If I were the Celtics I would cut him before now, he has a non guaranteed contract and you don't want someone who takes the game not seriously on your roster.

Pulling a gun out on the mother of your child..... just fucking stupid.

Gronk Going To Need 4th Surgery

Remember how most Patriot fans deny the fact Gronk is injury prone and can't be relied on, on and off the field. Well here you go. I honestly think Gronk will never remain healthy over the course of a season, it would be like BMack writing when I'm busy, doesn't happen.

Gronk is a hell of a talent and can be the best tight end in the game when he's healthy the problem is, over the course of a season he gets battered, beat down and is hurt during the most important times when the Patriots need him. So what do the Patriots do? There is nothing they can do, they signed him for a giant extension now they have to just hope he can make it through. I would probably put him on more of a leash during the offseason if I were the Pats, but they seem to have a blind eye when it comes to Gronk making a fool of himself out in the public and flipping people around on stage.

Gronk recently said that he doesn't want to be labeled as injury prone. Well that pretty hard considered he gets injured all the time, his back is starting to act up (which was a major issue at college) and he can't remain healthy. If I were a Patriots fan, I would treat gronk exactly how I treat Polomalu, expect him to miss a couple games and it's a good season.

6 White Sox, 4 Red Sox

Jeckyl and Hyde Jon Lester is at it again. Lester was able to get two quick outs in the first but then Alex Rios was able to get a single, Paul Konerko drew a walk and then Lester throws a pitch right over the middle of the plate to Adam Dunn and he knocks it out of the park for a 3-0 White Sox lead.

Next inning, it was the same thing all over again: two quick outs but Lester wasn't able to close the inning. Instead the White Sox gets three consecutive doubles from Tyler Greene, Alejandro de Aza, and Alexei Ramirez to make it 5-0 Chicago.

I really dislike Jon Lester. I don't like his attitude, I don't like that people consider him good, I think he's an overrated over hyped diva, and it's going to suck when the Red Sox hand him a 100 million dollar contract for something he did 5 years ago. I really hope they let him walk, he isn't worth bringing back at the contract he is going to demand.

The shittiest thing about this game, is that the Sox offense hd ample opportunities to come back and didn't have the timely hitting. Ellsbury made me want to punch him in the face as he grounded out to the 2nd baseman 4 times.

Red Sox Sweep Twins In Weekend Series

After that embarrassing 2-9 stretch, the Red Sox have righted the ship and take a 5 game road win streak into Chicago tonight. We saw some great pitching from Clay Buchholz and John Lackey and an offensive explosion from the Red Sox covered for a bad start from Ryan Dempster. The bullpen complemented them well by allowing no runs in this series. They now trail the Yankees by just 1/2 a game and have a 3.5 game cushion on the Rays and Orioles.

GAME 1: Red Sox 3, Twins 2 F/10

Clay Buchholz continues to roll as one of the best pitchers in the American League and leads the AL in ERA.  You just can't say enough about his contribution to this team's turn around from last season. The Red Sox are 8-1 when he takes the mound. He's worked deep into games and been effective. He's been accused of throwing a spitball, but given how well he's performed since the accusation was made I'm inclined to think that he's the real deal as the umpiring crew would certainly be on the lookout for it with all the media coverage on the matter. Buchholz threw another gem in this game going 7 innings giving up just 4 hits, 3 walks and 2 earned runs to leave the game in a tight 2-2 tie. Both Minnesota runs came in the third off of a double and a home run. 4 of his 7 innings of work were 1-2-3 innings and that included striking out the side in the second inning. A very strong outing from Buchholz when the Red Sox offense was struggling was clutch.
STARTING PITCHING GRADE: A-

Andrew Miller came in for the 8th with the task of keeping the 2-2 tie intact. Miller answered by retiring all 5 batters he faced and picking up 3 strikeouts in the process. As I mentioned the last time Miller made an appearance, he's quietly becoming one of the best relievers in the bullpen. Alex Wilson came out for the last out of the 9th and retired the one batter he faced. Wilson would pick up the win for his 0.1 innings of work for his first decision in the big leagues. Wilson has also quietly assembled a good rookie season out of the pen for himself this year. With the Red Sox picking up the winning run in the top of the 10th and Junichi Tazawa unavailable having pitched two innings the night prior, Koji Uehara was charged with protecting the 1-run lead. Uehara pitched a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts and collected his first save of the season. The bullpen combined for 3 innings of work, no hits, no walks, no runs and 5 strikeouts. This was crucial in such a tight game.
BULLPEN GRADE: A+

After having a pretty good run of being able to score when opportunities presented themselves the Red Sox fell back into their usual inability to put runs across. Vance Worley came into this game with a 7.15 ERA and got hit hard by the O's for 5 runs in his last outing. This is a guy the Sox should be able to feast on. Instead they got him for just one unearned run over 6 innings. It's not that Worley was dominating them, they had ample opportunities. Worley gave up 6 hits and 3 walks, but without a throwing error they may not have scored any runs from that at all. The final result was 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position and 11 runners left on base. Worley never had a 1-2-3 inning in this game. The biggest goat for this game was Dustin Pedroia. He singled in the 10th and scored the winning run on a Jonny Gomes sacrifice fly, but he was 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and hit into two inning ending double plays to get Worley out of some jams. David Ortiz and Daniel Nava both had very good games getting on base very well with walks and singles. Salty also had a 2 for 4 day with two singles. Will Middlebrooks was the only player in the starting lineup not to reach base and hit into a costly double play, but put down a bunt to advance the runner in the 10th to contribute to the winning run. Not bad given that Middlebrooks has only bunted once in his career including the minors. All in all a very frustrating day at the plate for the Red Sox, but just good enough to win.
HITTING GRADE: C-

GAME 2: Red Sox 12, Twins 5

This will get swept under the rug because the Red Sox won comfortably, but this was the second bad start for Dempster in a row. He didn't make it through 5 innings and gave up 8 hits (3 for doubles), 6 walks and 5 earned runs. Normally Dempster is good for a few strikeouts, but he only managed 2. He also had to throw a staggeringly high 127 pitches in the process. The bullpen and the bats bailed him out of an embarrassing loss in this game.
PITCHING GRADE: D

Clayton Mortensen came into the game with the Red Sox lead down to just two runs and the tying run at the plate with two outs. Mortensen allowed a single, but got out of the inning without another run for the Twins. Mortensen got the leadoff batter out in the 6th, but then gave up a single and a walk before being pulled for Craig Breslow. This was a bad outing for Mortensen, but he didn't give up any runs. Craig Breslow came into a tough situation with men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Breslow gave up the walk to load the bases, but got the fly out and the tag out at the plate to end the inning. Breslow came back out for the 7th, now with a 6 run lead, and gave up just a single in an otherwise smooth outing. Breslow would be credited for the win for his efforts. Alex Wilson came out for the 8th and recorded the only 1-2-3 inning of the game. He came back out for the 9th on mop up duty and the game finished on a double play. The bullpen had their work cut out for them this game with Dempster's short outing. They bent, but they didn't break and the bats gave them some breathing room.
BULLPEN GRADE: A-

Whenever you have 12 runs it means your team had a very good day at the plate. This game was fueled by Papi power as David Ortiz blasted two home runs and had an RBI single for a 6 RBI game. He also worked a walk and scored a run late in the game. His only out managed to move Pedroia from 2nd to 3rd so he could score on a sacrifice fly. The only no-show in the lineup was Pedro Ciriaco. Somehow Ciriaco managed to go 0 for 5 with no walks and only saw 11 pitches. Ellsbury had a leadoff single to start the game, but was quiet otherwise going 1 for 5 with no walks as his OBP continues to slide, down to .309 after this game. This might be why he did not play in Sunday's game to wrap up the series. It was nice to see the Red Sox shell Scott Diamond after the 7 shut out innings he threw against them at Fenway earlier this month. With Dempster struggling it was necessary to put up that run support.
BATTING GRADE: A+

GAME 3: Red Sox 5, Twins 1

This was easily the best outing we've seen from John Lackey so far this season. It was comparable to his start against the Astros, but the Twins are a better hitting team. Of the 6 innings John Lackey pitched he threw 5 1-2-3 innings. Only one unearned run allowed which scored on a throwing error from Pedro Ciriaco in the 5th. If not for a 3 hour rain delay Lackey most likely would have pitched deeper into this game, being at just 84 pitches. This was a very encouraging start from Lackey.
PITCHING GRADE: A+

After the three hour delay Andrew Miller came out for the 7th, still a tight 3-1 game. Miller recorded another 1-2-3 inning. Koji Uehara came in for the 8th and gave up a leadoff double, a walk and a single to load the bases, but managed to work around them and recorded 3 strikeouts in the process. Junichi Tazawa came in to the 9th, now a non-save situation thanks to Dustin Pedroia's homer making it a 4 run lead. Tazawa made it interesting giving up back to back singles to start the inning, but he retired the next 3 batters to keep the runs off the board. Some nice work by Andrew Miller again. Uehara and Tazawa bent but didn't break.
BULLPEN GRADE: A-

This was another "That's great, but it should have been more" games. 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position and 11 runner left on base. Everybody got on base multiple times except for Will Middlebrooks and Pedro Ciriaco. The one hit for Middlebrooks was a solo home run to put the Red Sox on the board 1-0. A Jonny Gomes walk followed by a Pedroia homer gave the Red Sox some insurance in the top of the 9th to take the pressure of Tazawa. I think Pedro Ciriaco is bad. He made another costly error to put a run across in a tight game. Ciriaco is now tied with Will Middlebrooks for the most errors on the team with 6. This is worse given that Ciriaco has played less than a third of the innings that Middlebrooks has. I think Stephen Drew has worked hard to compensate for his early season ineffectiveness, but if he's goes down for a few games again Ciriaco is too much of a liability and Iglesias should be brought up from Pawtucket instead. If I'm going to have a shortstop who can't hit, I'd at least like him to be able to flash the leather like Iglesias can.
HITTING GRADE: B+

Bruins 5, Rangers 2

I don't think the Rangers know how to play this series. They were dominated in the OT of Game 1. And in Game 2, they started the game by not forechecking the Bruins at all. They made it so easy for the Bruins to move the puck up the ice. I know John Tortorella is perceived as a good coach, but his team looks flat and his tactics don't make much sense.

The Bruins, on the other hand, were terrific yesterday. There were some mistakes, especially along the blue-lines. And turnover goals resulted. Apart from that the team played outstanding hockey. Krejci was strong on the boards and on the puck. Lucic and Horton were skating hard. Bergeron and Marchand continue to attack with ferocity. Chara dominates half the ice surface when he's out there, which is half the game. Rask made huge saves on Ranger breakaways.

Then there's the defensemen, who now have 10 goals in the playoffs. Boychuk scored his second of the series and third of the playoffs. And Torey Krug, who went to Michigan State in case NBC didn't mention that, scored his second in two games. In the first two playoff games of his life.

On most deep Stanley Cup runs, unexpected heroes like Krug show up randomly and contribute. Like Chris Kreider did for the Rangers last year. We were all worried about losing Seidenberg, Ference, and Redden. Now one of their replacements has 2 goals, an assist, and is +2.

Seguin has yet to get going. But he's so close. It's like an engine struggling to start on a cold morning. It revs and revs but doesn't turn over. Although once it gets going I think the floodgates will open and he'll score several goals in a stretch.

The third line is still struggling. And you can see the frustration in Peverley and Kelly. Kelly went after Dorsett and that's almost stupid aggressive. They're no longer dominating faceoffs like they did against Toronto. They're still not generating much offense. And they're making little mistakes like that offside when Seguin would have been open on the seem. It hasn't hurt the Bruins. They're not making negative plays, apart from Peverley's serial high-sticking. Hopefully they can contribute in a grinding, fourth line kind of way.

Up 2-0, the Bruins can't afford to get too comfortable. This is the time they seem to slip back into bad habits. They need to remember that New York lost their first two games to Washington on the road. And during the regular season they were a much better home team (16-6-2) than road team (10-12-2). New York is down, far from out, and there's no need to make it easy for them to get back into this series. Make them earn it.

Game 3 is Tuesday night at MSG.

-The Captain

Red Sox 4, Rays 3

The Red Sox really needed a win here. It's nice to win a series when you've lost the last 3. It's nice to win when somebody other than Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester is on the mound. It's nice to win when your offense is slumping. It's nice to win when your 1st and 2nd closers are on the DL. It's a shame that such a late dramatic comeback will probably go unnoticed because of the Bruins OT playoff win and the fact that Tampa doesn't really have a fanbase.

Doubront didn't have a good start, but I think this was a good start given what we've come to expect of Felix this season. Given that he got shelled for 6 runs in each of his last 2 starts this was a nice improvement. He left it a 1-1 ballgame and a man on 1st base and the home plate umpire had a really tight strike zone all game. He gave up 6 walks, I mentioned the tight strike zone, but only got punished for the last one as Mortensen allowed the inherited runner to score. He worked around the rest of the walks and only allowed 3 hits: 2 singles and a solo home run. I would have liked to see him work deeper into the game, but with his pitch count climbing it made sense to pull him.
STARTING PITCHING GRADE: B

Clayton Mortensen came on with a man on 1st and no outs in the 6th inning. He got the lead runner on a fielder's choice, but couldn't do much else right. Back to back walks loaded the bases and a single from Jennings made it 2-1. Mortensen was another victim of that tight strike zone, but he didn't do himself any favors. Andrew Miller came into the game with 1 out and bases still loaded. Miller gave up a single to put another run across to make it 3-1, but he managed to work out of the jam from there and keep the game within reach. Other than that meltdown in Toronto last week Miller has been pitching pretty well this season. Craig Breslow had a 1-2-3 7th. Other than that meltdown against Minnesota earlier in the month Breslow has been lights out this season. He's given up 1 hit in his last 4 appearances and no walks or runs. Closer #3 Junichi Tazawa came in for the 8th with the Red Sox down 3-1 and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. The Sox gave him a save-like situation (He's ineligible for a save because he was the winning pitcher) by scoring 3 runs in the top of the 9th so he came in to close. He gave up two singles but held onto the lead to give the Red Sox the win. Other than Mortensen, I felt like this group performed really well in a tight game where every run ended up mattering.
BULLPEN GRADE: B

This wasn't a great game for the Red Sox offense as they managed just 4 hits off of Rays pitching all night. Fortunately they were patient and also worked 6 walks (the home plate umpire was consistent with his tight strike zone) and 2 of the Red Sox 4 hits put across all 4 Red Sox runs. A Shane Victorino double and a David Ortiz single put the Red Sox on the board in the 4th inning. The hero of this game was undoubtedly Will Middlebrooks. Down to their last strike, his bases clearing double scored 3 runs and put the Red Sox on top going into the bottom of the 9th. Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava, Stephen Drew and Salty all went hitless in this game and nobody had a multi-hit game. Not a good game, but just good enough to win. I feel like with that tight strike zone they could have done more with it in terms of getting hits.
BATTING GRADE: C-

Something that's been flying under the radar for a while is just how mediocre/bad a season Ellsbury is having thus far. One would think that given the large payday looming after this season he'd be performing a little closer to his 2011 MVP form, but that hasn't been the case. His on base percentage is currently at .314, which is second lowest on the team just below Mike Napoli at .316 and well above Will Middlebrooks at .245. Middlebrooks has been awful in this regard as well, but he always swings for the fences and he got the big hit last night, so we'll leave that alone for now. Ellsbury leads the AL in plate appearances and stolen bases, but for your leadoff hitter to be one of your worst OBP players is unacceptable.

Bruins 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

The first period of this game almost put me to sleep. I have never seen such boring hockey in the playoffs. I suppose both teams were tired coming off of bitter 7 game series. They grew accustomed to hating the Caps and Leafs. Familiarity breeds contempt. In the 1st period of this game, the Rangers and Bruins were essentially strangers, indifferent to each other.

It didn't take long for things to percolate. The Bruins' first goal seemed to ignite both teams.

The end result is great. The Bruins played better than the Rangers. The young defensemen filling in were solid. Not only did they not make mistakes, Torey Krug (who went to Michigan State, in case you didn't hear that mentioned a half-dozen times) scored a goal.

The Rangers didn't play their best. An unwise pinch resulted in a giveaway in overtime, Bergeron and Marchand took advantage, and that decided the game. It's great to see Marchand contributing to the offense again. He helped carry this team in the regular season, and it's critical that he step up in this series.

As I said in my pre-series thoughts, the Rangers lack that extra something that drives a team to win. They just don't have that edge, that special something, that pushes a team forward in the playoffs.

It's good the Bruins took advantage and won, but there were still some very aggravating aspects of this game.

Rask has to stop that second goal. He just has to. It wasn't a horrendous goal to allow, but that has to be stopped. Period.

The way Jagr plays is like if you're playing video game hockey with a friend, and the pass button on his controller is broken. The only things he can do are skate and shoot. He's got to remember how to pass the puck.

And just a reminder as to how old Jagr is, it's been 40 years since the Bruins and Rangers met in the playoffs. Jaromir was already 1 year old during that series. He gets tired after only 25 seconds on the ice. I think you have to consider giving some of his shifts on the 2nd line to Seguin. Then again, the 2nd line has performed very well since Seguin was moved down to the 3rd. Then again Seguin was on the ice for the Game 7 OT winner. So give Seguin a few extra 2nd line shifts, give Jagr a bit of a break, and I think everyone wins.

Zdeno Chara: 38 minutes and 2 seconds of ice time. A goal, an assist, +2, 6 hits. This guy's a freak. I love him.

This series is going to be long, tough, and it's going to be decided by a margin the width of a dime. This game could have turned on a post, or if Rask didn't make a huge save in the 3rd, or if McDonagh doesn't make that pinch maybe the game goes on and into another OT period. A handful of plays will decide these games and this series.

So buckle up, Bruins fans. This will be a bumpy ride.

Game 2 Sunday afternoon, which is an advantage to the depleted Bruins. It gives Chara (38 minutes of ice time), Beregeron (27 minutes), Boychuk (27 minutes), and others a chance to rest and recover.

-The Captain

Bruins vs. Rangers Thoughts

A few nights ago I thought that we'd spend this week discussing how to fix the Bruins after an epic collapse. Now we're looking forward to another series. A winnable series. Despite the issues this team still has, along with some injuries.

The Rangers are not the Maple Leafs. They're actually very similar the Bruins. They play a conservative defensive system. They rely on goaltending. Their forwards play a big part in their defending. Their Power Play isn't that good (23rd in the NHL). They have talented forwards, but it always seems like a handful of players are in a slump at any given time.

Rick Nash, for instance, had 0 goals and 2 assists in the Washington series. Brad Richards had 1 goal and 0 assists. As a team, the Rangers only managed 16 goals in their 7 game series against the Caps.

What's scary is that the only allowed 12. And they haven't been scored on for 6 straight periods.

The Bruins, who already struggle to score, will continue to struggle against the Rangers. That's why the B's will need every frontline forward to step-up and contribute what they can. No more series long slumps from Marchand or Seguin. And the 3rd line has to find a way to at least threaten to score.

I'm not sure about much with this series. On paper, the Rangers should do well. They're perennial Cup favorites because of their Vezina winning goalie, their defensive system, and their talented forwards. They just seem to lack that intangible quality that propels a team through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That thing that makes a no-name 4th-liner a one game hero, that urgency that causes a team to score with the goalie pulled to force overtime, that ability to win the series changing overtime game. The Rangers have never shown much of that.

Then again, they made the Conference Finals last year. So maybe they do have that X-factor and I just have been oblivious to it.

Something that troubles me as a Bruins fan is how banged up the B's defensemen are. We don't know how much time Seidenberg and Ference might miss. And these guys are vital to the way the Bruins do things in the playoffs. Seidenberg is Chara's wingman, and Ference always plays at top gear in the playoffs.

This is a tough series to pick. I have to lean toward the Bruins, just because they have that intangible, indescribable something that can win a tough game in a tough series. So long as Rask does his job, and stops a few big breakaway shots after the Rangers block shots on the other end of the ice. It's up to you, Tuukka. He doesn't have to outplay Lundqvist, but he's got to make the big stops in the big moments.

So Bruins in 7. With multiple overtimes throughout the series.

-The Captain

Red Sox 9, Rays 2

Reigning AL Cy Young Winner David Price just hasn't been himself this season. He's been getting shelled lately and left this game after 2 1/3 innings. Early indications are that he has a strained tricep that is causing issues. Meanwhile, Jon Lester had another solid start to follow up on the gem he pitched against Toronto in his last outing. The Red Sox lineup punished David Price and Jamey Wright to put this game to bed in the third inning.

Of course it wasn't as dominant as his last outing, but Jon Lester had a good day on the mound. He only pitched one 1-2-3 inning, but mostly managed to work around the hits he did give up and made them work for it by giving up no walks. The only two Tampa Bay runs came off of a single, a triple to score the single and a ground out to score the runner from third base. He got staked to a big lead early and managed to eat some innings and protect the lead. Lester picked up his 6th win to improve to 6-0.
STARTING PITCHING GRADE: A-

Koji Uehara worked the 8th and gave up a single and a walk to create a 2 men on 1 out jam, but worked his way out of it without giving up a run. A little sloppy, but I'm willing to write this off as pitching for contact with a 7 run lead. Jose De La Torre came in for the 9th and had a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. This was a nice improvement over De La Torre's major league debut in his last appearance.
RELIEF PITCHING GRADE: A

David Price wasn't doing well when he left this game with his tricep issue, but he didn't have a complete meltdown like the 4 earned runs might indicate. When he left the game it was still a very winnable 2-run deficit with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd base. Jeremy Wright was the real meltdown here allowing both inherited runners to score and 4 of his own to boot. Stephen Drew lead off the inning with a walk. A single from Ellsbury and a single from Pedroia would put the first run across. A single from Ortiz would put the second run across. At this point Price was pulled for Wright. A Mike Napoli double made it 3-0. A Jonny Gomes single made it 4-0. A walk to Salty would load up the bases for Stephen Drew. Drew hit a grand slam to put this game to bed at 8-0. Will Middlebrooks added a solo home run in the 8th to make it 9-2, but otherwise the Sox bats were quiet for the rest of the night. Middlebrooks and Drew both had very good nights for themselves getting a double and a home run each. Some clutch hitting and 5-11 with runners in scoring position was nice to see given how bad the Sox have been in those situations lately. Shane Victorino had a bad game going 0 for 5 and was the only Red Sox starter to not score a run in this game. I hope that this is just a bad game and that back injury from that collision with the bullpen isn't hurting his productivity.
BATTING GRADE: A