Bruins in 6

That is all. It'd be nice if we scored at least one power play goal in the series. Or if Milan Lucic scored one goal period. The Flyers got lucky with their goaltending situation last year, and I'll be damned if that happens again. I honestly feel like once the B's got past Montreal, they're all set to cruise right into the Stanley Cup finals. We'll see though.

Lost In the Euphoria.....

The Heat put away the 76ers.....I'm not sure how the next two weeks are going to play out, but could you draw it up any better than the ultimate revenger series (Bruins vs. Flyers) and the de facto NBA Finals (Celtics vs. Heat)? A chance to send LeBron out in the East semis for the third time in four years, where he can keep his talents on South Beach for the whole summer this time? A chance to bury all that goddamn "Heat Index" hype on ESPN? A chance to expose the LeBron triumvirate as a total fraud? A chance to render the blown 3-0 lead from last season vs. Philly just a side note in Bruins annals? A chance for both Boston teams to host parades through Government Center in June? A chance to forget that the Red Sox are two games below .500 right now?

That's enough questions. But one more. Does it get any better than this right now?

There'll be plenty of action left at the Garden this season.

GO CRAZY FOLKS

I'm speechless. I have absolutely nothing to say. My hearts beating like I just ran a marathon. The Boston Bruins won a Game 7 in Overtime. Against Montreal. If this is what it feels like to win a quarterfinal series, I can only imagine what it feels like to hoist the Stanley Cup. There's still plenty of work left to do but for tonight, enjoy this.

One Game, One Shot

So the Habs already made plans to be in Washington after this game? If that's not enough bulletin board material for Claude to fire up the boys with then obviously he just wasn't made for these parts. It's now or never. Erase these recent Game 7 demons. No more excuses. 

Boston 4, Montreal 2.

Game 7 it is

I'm still mega-heated so if I sound angry, pissed-off, and full of rage, that's because I am right now. Fair warning. Anyways......

-That's about as big a overreaction to a minor boarding call as you're gonna see. Lucic didn't leave his feet and it clearly wasn't a head shot. Just because Spacek looked like he just got stabbed with a trident doesn't mean toss Luc out of the game. Of course....

-It was hard to notice Lucic was gone the way things have been going for him. He's been invisible the whole series, and it continued before the hit this game. I mean at this point he has to be hurt, right? That is not the same Milan Lucic who scored 30 goals this season.

-Will he or won't he be suspended for Game 7? Again I'm not saying it looked like he didn't leave his feet or go for the head, he clearly didn't do either. The refs shaped the rest of Game 6 after that call. Will the NHL step in and sway Game 7?

-The Bruins power play has gone beyond levels of ineptitude. You know those days when you want to play pickup basketball but you only have 9 people, so you've gotta play 5-on-4, but the team of 4 doesn't seem to mind because the team of 5 is a bunch of JV-caliber players? The United States Special Olympics team probably has a better power play unit at this point.

-The root of the PP troubles? Tomas Kaberle. He's easily the most over-hyped mid-season acquisition by a Boston team since Eric Gagne to the Sox back in '07. And the Sox could just hide Gagne in long relief duty. What can the Bruins do with Kaberle? Move up McQuaid or Boychuk to play the point with Chara on a man advantage? No thanks. 

-Looking real fortunate that Chiarelli decided not to sign Kaberle to an extension. Whether PC wanted to wait to see how Kaberle adapted to playing on a contending team or whether they didn't offer him enough money/years, I don't know. But I sincerely hope the Bruins pull the plug on this experiment after the season.

-But will Chiarelli be around to oversee personnel moves? And on that note, is tomorrow night Claude's last stand? Firing Chiarelli would be a foolish move, in my opinion, but there's no doubt that Claude's rear end is on the line tomorrow night. And remember, just making it to the next round might not save him either.

-Listen I said this morning, the Bruins would be well-advised to win this game. They've been eliminated in Game 7's each of the past three seasons, and going back to before the lockout, have been done in by Game 7 four consecutive post-season trips now. Will this team be blown up should they lose tomorrow night? Doubtful, with Chara/Lucic/Krejci/Thomas/Bergeron all locked in to long-term deals. But if we're to think that this cast will at any point bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Boston, doesn't it have to be sooner rather than later? Tim Thomas is 37. Chara is 34. Father Time doesn't hold off forever. It all comes down tomorrow night for these Bruins. Are they up to the challenge, or is this just the latest bunch of underachieving frauds to dawn the black and gold? We'll know tomorrow.

What're you made of, Claude? Put up or shut up. 

The Bruins Need to Win Tonight

If it was ever possible for a team with a 3-2 series lead to be under more pressure than the team trailing, this is that exact scenario. The Bruins, for all intents and purposes, face a must-win north of the border tonight. Why? Several reasons. First and foremost, any slight momentum Montreal can gain would be a certain deathblow to the B's. Montreal is the lower seed. If they lose, it's because they were expected to lose. If the Bruins blow this as the 3-seed? Claude is almost certain to get the axe, and there could well be other wholesale changes on Causeway Street. The pressure is solely on the Bruins here.

Why else? In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the Bruins played in three Game 7's. Their record in those games? 0-3. And the latter two were at TD Garden. It doesn't matter where a Game 7 is played, home or away. All bets are off. Just ask Kevin Millar, "anything can happen in Game 7". The Habs will be playing with house money in a seventh game. Advantage, theirs.

Don't think the Bruins aren't aware of what happened these past two years on home ice in those decisive seventh games. They remember Scott Walker. They remember blowing a 3-0 lead in a game after blowing a 3-0 lead in a series.  All can be avoided with a win tonight. There's no question the Bruins are the hotter team coming into this game. No need to cool down now. So long as everyone plays their game, no soft goals, no stupid penalties, I firmly expect the Bruins to march out of the Bell Centre tonight and into the second round. Because if they don't, a storm's a brewin' bruin'.

Good Times Never Seemed So Good

Celts sweep the Knicks. Bruins storm back to get a 3-2 series lead. Red Sox winners of 5 in a row. Add it all up, and Boston is on a combined 12-game winning streak.

Just think about the spirit around here about a week ago. The Bruins had dropped their first two at home to the Canadiens. The Sox were winless on the road. The Celts had beat the Knicks in two games at home by a combined five points. No doubt a full-fledged panic mode was setting in around the Greater Boston area.

Now? I'm not sure which team to be more optimistic about. The Celtics absolutely demolished the Knicks in their two games at Madison Square, and despite this, Knicks fans still gave their team a standing ovation in the waning seconds of Game 4. That's the difference between Boston and New York fans. Any Boston team getting swept out of the first round would get booed mercilessly off the court/rink/field. I guess that's what happens when your basketball team hasn't won a playoff game since 2001. That's right. 2001. You take just making the playoffs as a win.

Maybe the Bruins? I don't think I've ever witnessed a more dramatic turnaround than what we're seeing with them. If you told me the Bruins would have a 3-2 series lead, I would be on board with that. But that it would only be 3-2 after the Bruins drop the first two at home only to go sweep in Montreal? And with David Krejci and Milan Lucic combining for one goal, one assist, and a -3 rating thus far? I don't know how this shift happened, but I'll take it. Claude was coaching for his job these past three games, and it's encouraging to see he didn't just roll over. You've got to give him credit for sticking by Mike Ryder. Just about everyone and their brother was calling for Ryder to take a seat on the 9th floor and bring down Tyler Seguin after Game 2, but boy did patience pay off. His "JD Drew moment" is a large part of why Bruins fans are looking into May and beyond.

Or is it the Red Sox? We all know about that hideous 2-10 start. Since then? 8-1. Now that's more like it. I can't say I'm surprised by the surge; this team was expected to pull off runs like that. But all that 100-win talk was looking damn foolish, especially with the way the entire rotation had been looking. Since I called for Pedro Martinez to take Dice's spot in the rotation? He's 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00 through 15 innings pitched. He's walked just four batters over the stretch, while striking out 12. Josh Beckett has a 1.17 ERA over his last three starts. Heck even John Lackey hurled 8 shutout innings today. Has Carl Crawford finally awoken? He went deep for the first time in a Boston uniform today.

Obviously if there's one thing we've learned with the Bruins through the years it's to not count your chickens before they hatch (see: 2010 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals), but it's impossible to not feel at least a little bit confident right now. As for the Celts? They'll be taking their talents to South Beach once the Heat (presumably) finish off the 76ers. Safe to say LeBron won't be quitting this time around.

Lastly today, thank you everyone for sticking with the Experience through 100 posts. That's right, we just hit the century mark today. Didn't think this upstart school project would make it so far but I'll tell you, I have no plans of ending it anytime soon. This is almost as fun as watching these Boston teams right about now. So go cue up the Sweet Caroline. Good times never seemed so good.

Michael Ryder

I suppose he had his "JD Drew moment" tonight. There's no bigger difference in a series than 3-1 and 2-2. This pic about sums it up.

First Road Victory of the Season

Well then. Let's look at it as 5-4 at home instead of 6-11 overall until this team finally reaches .500. Which isn't a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Hey when even JD Drew is going yard you know things are starting to click. Jed Lowrie continues his superhuman surge, going 2-4 with another home run and making Red Sox fans quickly forget about the Edgar Renteria/Alex Cora/Alex Gonzalez/Julio Lugo/Marco Scutaro era at shortstop. Yeah Gonzalez was good defensively but is it a stretch to say Lowrie is the best shortstop in the 617 since Nomah Garciaparra? Just look at that list again, provided you didn't gouge your eyes out after reading it the first time.

Next up: a trip to SoCal to take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angels. What is it about Anaheim? It's not in Los Angeles. But between that ridiculous moniker they've got for the Angels and trying to get a third NBA team in the area, they just don't know if they're coming or going.

There'd Better Be Football.....

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/schedule/_/name/ne/new-england-patriots

.....Because this is the kind of schedule I dream of. Eight Pats games start at 4:15 this season. Eight (8). That's half their games! Throw in four prime time affairs, and only 25% of the schedule starts at 1:00 for New England. The three hour difference between starts can't be understated. No more forcing yourself to roll out of bed before 1 to see the kickoff. Everyone knows Sunday mornings are the worst. The full effects of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night finally catching up with them. What's better than staying in bed till 3? Catch the end of a (rarely) high-quality early game and then, BOOM! Pats at 4 taking you through the rest of your Sunday.

The Pats open up against Miami in the annual Monday Night doubleheader (that's a big win for Team Goodell. Two football games on Monday night? Genius. So what if the middle schoolers have to go to bed after the first one?) Personally I wish it was Pats-Jets in that game, because, well, you know, but I'll take a prime time Week 1 affair any day of the week. In this case Monday.

New England gets their first crack at Rex Ryan's squad on October 9 in a Sunday afternoon showdown in Foxboro. I turn 21 the next day. You might say I "Can't Wait" for that one, Bart Scott.

Eli Manning and the G-Men come rolling into Foxboro in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII on November 6. Would a win atone for the atrocities of that evening? Nope. Am I still bitter? Yep.

The following four weeks all have great action: Sunday night at the Jets; Monday night vs. Matt Cassel and the Chiefs for the first time since the trade; a clash with Mike Vick and the Iggles in the City of Brotherly Love; and the annual Pats-Colts contest, in Foxboro for the second year in a row, on December 4. The Patriots close out against Buffalo at home on New Year's Day. Maybe Cam Newton will be in uniform for the Bills?

Obviously there's a ton of uncertainty involving the NFL right now. Player movement is frozen during this freaking lockout, so it's tough to go up and down the schedule and pencil in wins and losses just yet. The Patriots have to still qualify as an elite team though, right?

Maybe I'm optimistic, maybe I'm just an idiot. But dammit, I just know there will be football in 2011. Make it happen, Roger.

That Was Rich

This series isn't over, after all.

For all intents and purposes the Bruins season was on the line tonight in Montreal. Here in Boston we know what it's like to be involved in coming back from/blowing a 3-0 series lead, but that's not something to get into a habit of. After all, it's only been done four times in the history of professional sports, three in hockey.

And for whatever reason, the Bruins just seem to feel more comfortable away from TD Garden. After posting the fifth-best road record in the NHL in the regular season, they couldn't have been happier to take their show to that very road after looking rather anemic through two games in Boston.

Throughout the first 40 minutes of hockey, the Bruins dominated the Canadiens in nearly every facet of the game. Puck possession was in Boston's favor, seeming almost of a prolonged power play (which is ironic, because in reality the Bruins power play is about as effective as a burst condom). They manhandled the Habs physically, most notably with Andrew Ference ripping apart Benoit Puliot. Checks were being finished all around the ice, and despite the most valiant efforts of Montreal attempting to dive, the Bruins weren't called for any dumb penalties. 

The third period was about as intense a twenty minute span of hockey as you're going to see. Tomas Plekanec's goal pirouetting away from Timmy Vezina sent every Bruins fan on edge for the remainder of the game. But it wasn't in the cards for Montreal to runaway with this series, as Thomas made several glamorous saves down the stretch to preserve the 4-2 win and the season in the process.

Jack Edwards was in vintage form tonight, just shitting all over the aforementioned Benoit Puliot's life, making 

him out to be a JaMarcus Russell-sized bust. And of course the blog's namesake tonight come's from Edwards's call of Rich Peverly's goal, "that was rich!" Say what you will about Captain Jack, but he genuinely cares about the Bruins and wants nothing more than to see the team win. He can still be objective; this isn't a Tommy Heinsohn situation on our hands. The passion he brings to the broadcasting booth is something I definitely tried to emulate back in the day for the Harbormen puck, and is definitely something I look to do in the future. 

Lastly tonight, you can see the effect Zdeno Chara has on this team just by being out there. Listen I don't know the whole story behind his dehydration thing, and we may not know the details for sometime. Maybe it's a sketchy deal; maybe it isn't. I'm leaning with the latter. Chara just straight up brings it every time he's out on the ice, making up for an otherwise so-so blue line corps for the black and gold. The reaction he got from Canadiens fans tonight made LeBron's return to Cleveland look like child's play. He isn't phased by any situation. I'm supporting Big Z through and through.

Now let's get it on Thursday night and make it 2-2 heading back to Boston.

Is That a Winning Streak?

It sure is. For the first time in 2011, the Red Sox have put together back-to-back victories, thanks to impressive pitching performances by Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, respectively. Although today's 8-1 victory helps the Red Sox improve to 4-10 on the season, they still have the worst record in all of baseball.

Beckett's last two outings have looked like this: 2-0, 0.60 ERA, 19 K, 3 BB, and 5 hits through 15 innings pitched. You have to go all the way back to August 2009 for the last time Beckett made consecutive starts of at least 7 IP while allowing 1 earned run or less through the two outings.

Lester was by no means dominant today through 6+, but at this point a quality start is a quality start for the Red Sox. While I feel like he was being squeezed a little bit by home plate umpire Doug Eddings, his pitch count was still a tad high for just 6 innings (110). Some double play balls bailed him out in the 2nd and 3rd innings, respectively.

Among other bright spots today was Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who's 2-4, 3 RBI performance is perhaps helping him turn the corner after a hideous start offensively. Salty's two-run single in the bottom of the 6th helped break the score open a little more to 6-1 Boston, and it could even have been 7-1 if not for poor base running by JD Drew. That being said, the man with the longest surname in Major League history continues to struggle defensively. His decision to throw the ball to 2nd on the play where Juan Rivera was ultimately picked off allowed Aaron Hill to score from 3rd, which at the time put the Sox in a 1-0 hole. Salty's other throws to second both bounced well shy of the base, one of them even bouncing off the pitcher's mound. It's going to be a work-in-progress for Saltalamacchia behind the dish, and hopefully he gets it together sooner rather than later.

The Sox will look to take 3 out of 4 from Canada's team tomorrow on Marathon Monday in Boston, where Daisuke Matsuzaka will likely get his last chance to prove he belongs on the Red Sox. Stay tuned. The Red Sox are 66-49 all-time on the Patriots Day 11:00 A.M. start.

Ultimate Stanley Cup Champion

Red Wings over Bruins

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 1

The puck drops tonight in Detroit and Pittsburgh around 7:00 Eastern Time. The Bruins get underway tomorrow evening at 7:00 on Causeway Street. Finally, playoff puck is upon us. And if even Kevin Kelly will admit "playoff hockey is great", then you know it's true. Here are the 1st round picks:

Eastern Conference

1 Washington Capitals over 8 New York Rangers, 4-2

Henrik Lundqvist was good enough to carry the offensively-challenged Rangers into the post-season into the first place. He's good enough to steal a game or two from the top-seeded Caps. But I just don't see how Washington gets their torch snuffed in Round 1 for a second year in a row, as the 1-seed no less. Earlier this season it seemed as though the Crosby-Ovechkin debate was over, with the nod going to the Halifax, Nova Scotia native. With Sid likely out for the post-season, can Alex re-ignite the talk?

4 Pittsburgh Penguins over 5 Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3

Though the Penguins are still without Malkin and likely Crosby, I'll take Marc-Andre Fleury over Dwayne Roloson/Mike Smith without batting an eyelash. Even if I have called Fleury the "Eli Manning of Hockey". I mean he's the number 1 overall pick, struggles mightily early on, still puts up mediocre numbers at times, but won a ring fairly early on in his career thanks to his teammates. Total Eli. But since Tampa carried a negative goal-differential for much of the season, I take them about as seriously as Philip on Survivor. Which means I don't take them seriously at all. Penguins march on.

3 Boston Bruins over 6 Montreal Canadiens, 4-1

I know the Habs won the season series 4-2. But I also know that the Bruins put up 15 goals against Montreal in their two victories, most recently the 7-0 laugher in Boston in March. This team was built for the playoffs, and anything less than a trip to the Cup Finals will be a huge disappointment. Provided Chara doesn't get arrested upon entering the Bell Centre, the B's should advance without too much trouble.

7 Buffalo Sabres over 2 Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3

Ryan Miller since March 1: 8-4-2, .924 SV%, 2.13 GAA

Flyers goalies since March 1: 7-7-6, .905 SV%, 2.52 GAA

The Flyers dodged shoddy goaltending all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last spring. Not this time around. Especially if Chris Pronger misses any of this series.

Western Conference

1 Vancouver Canucks over 8 Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1

Talk about backing into the post-season. That's exactly what the defending champs did. They wouldn't even be in the tournament had the former Minnesota North Stars not choked on Sunday. The 'Hawks are just 7-5-3 since March 8. Vancouver's post-season exploits have been well-documented, but with both Sedin's firing on all levels and Ryan Kesler even getting his name in the Hart Trophy discussion, look for Bobby Luongo to will the 'Nucks to a quick victory.

5 Nashville Predators over 4 Anaheim Ducks, 4-0

If not for Tim Thomas, Pekka Rinne would be your Vezina winner. And without Jonas Hiller, the Ducks have a pair of anti-Vezina winners to throw out there, be it Dan The Man Ellis or Ray Emery. Ask Ben Riley about Dan Ellis, he'll tell you all you need to know. Corey Perry made a late great surge to get into the MVP discussion but no one out West is playing as well as Rinne. 

3 Detroit Red Wings over 6 Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2

In a rematch of last seasons first round series, expect a much easier go-round of it for Detroit as they send the Yotes back to Winnipeg, where they belong. In the off-season, the Jets can sign Teemu Selanne and bring him back to where his career began, and things will get all emotional, and people will actually care about a hockey team that's been damn good these past two years. It's not their fault nobody's noticed. 

2 San Jose Sharks over 7 Los Angeles Kings, 4-1

You could call Antti Niemi the antti-Nabokov. Guy just wins in the post-season, unlike his Bay Area predecessor. No doubt the Kings got a tough break with Anze Kopitar going down, but there's still too much firepower up front for San Jose to not have a shot at making a run. San Jose in a breezer.

A Picture's Worth 1,000 Words

PS JD swing the bat. That's what they're paying you $14 million to do right?

Roll the Dice-K

Alright it's about 98% official that the Daisuke Matsuzaka experiment has been a colossal failure. Two pretty good seasons, two terrible seasons and we're on a fast track for a close encounter of the third putrid kind. Well, three is just too many in my book. If I'm Tito, I give Dice one more shot to prove he can pitch in the Major Leagues. If he turns in another outing like tonight, either exile him to the bullpen or all the way back to the land of the rising sun for all I care. And I'll tell you what else, Timmy Wakes isn't the answer either.

So what I propose is based off a tidbit I read in the Boston Globe this morning: bring back Pedro Martinez. He wants to pitch again, and has been working out. When we last saw Petey, he was pitching for the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. He started two games in the series, took the loss twice, but did notch a quality start in Game 2 (6 IP, 3 ER, 8 K, 2 BB). For the '09 regular season he was 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA through 9 starts.

Channeling Rick Pitino, the Pedro Martinez of 1998-2004 ain't walking through that door fans. But as a number 5 starter for a team who clearly needs some sort of injection? Why not at the very least give it a whirl? Can he possibly be worse than Dice or Wakes? It's not like it'd be his first rodeo in the hysteria of the AL East. The article this morning said the Red Sox had no interest, but Pedro presumably wouldn't command all that much dough. I mean John Lackey is making $17 million for this team so what's Pedro at $1 mil?

Wake up the damn Bambino and drill him in the ass. The Sox need a lift anyway they can. Why not go back to the future?

2-7 Never Sounded So Good

Two out of three from the Yankees is good under any scenario, but the Red Sox desperately needed that over the weekend and got it done. Josh Beckett was on his game tonight, pitching the way he's capable of throwing every single time he takes the hill. I was at the game, and I gotta say I'm disappointed Tito didn't let him finish what he started (he had just thrown his 100th pitch to end the 8th), but you can't argue with results. As I mentioned in the preview, Beckett has every right to be ticked off about being named the no. 4 starter. And tonight I think we saw that he clearly still gives a damn. Double-digit strikeouts against the Yankees is about as encouraging a sign as you're gonna see.

Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit tonight except for Crawford and "Captain" K (copyright Kevin Rosenberg), with Dustin Pedroia leading the way with a 3 for 4 night. He's up to .400 on the young season, really the only bright spot offensively thus far.

Coming up next is a Tampa Bay team in complete and utter disarray. They're best offensive player, Evan Longoria, is on the DL and that whole Manny Ramirez drug saga has gotta be affecting the mindset of the team. Johnny Damon's batting a paltry .125 (4 for 32), which is always great to see. Gotta kick these guys while they're down and go for the sweep. Although I could never have envisioned this kind of start, I'd say the Red Sox should make it a goal to get above .500 by the end of the month and never look back from there. They showed tonight the kind of team they're capable of being, and I just hope we see more of that this coming week.

The Theo Epstein All-Stars

I've been meaning to write this for a few days now, in light of some terrible pitching performances by Red Sox starters. Namely John Lackey. Never hated the Lackey signing per se, but never understood it fully either. I mean sure, Lackey had a solid run in Anaheim. In parts of 8 seasons, he won 102 games, posted a 3.81 ERA, threw 200+ innings four times, finished third in Cy Young voting one year. Not bad, right? But by no means great either.

Only two seasons did he have an ERA below 3.50 (2005, 2007); never struck out 200 batters; and in his final two seasons, he missed roughly 15 starts combined due to various injuries. And aside from 2007, a year in which he went 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA, did he ever have what you would consider a dominant season? Are those numbers even considered dominant? Check out his profile and you tell me.

So despite some red flags with Lackey, the fact that he was never truly an ace, the injuries, and good-but-not-great numbers, Theo decided to give Lackey a 5 year, $82 million contract. In an off-season where he openly admitted it would be a "bridge year". Huh? Lackey has become the JD Drew of the rotation. In fact, he's on pace to surpass JD as my least favorite Sox player by the end of April if he doesn't get his sh!t together.

My point here? Theo develops infatuations with players for whatever reason and tends to pay them well above market value at times. I'm pro-Theo, all things considered. He's made some great moves while in Boston; but boy, have there been some head-scratchers too. Here's the starting lineup of the Theo Epstein "All-Stars":

Leading off, at SS, Julio Lugo


The poster child of everything that's gone wrong at the shortstop position since Nomar Garciaparra was jettisoned in 2004. Lugo was supposed to be the rock, the next franchise shortstop. The guy who could play some great D and hit the ball pretty well for a middle infielder. And to be fair, Lugo did have a nice 3+ year run in Tampa Bay prior to joining Boston. But remember, he was traded to the Dodgers in 2006 before reaching free agency, where he promptly hit .219 with a .545 OPS and no home runs in 49 games. Not the biggest sample size, no, but for someone who had also had the reputation as a head case (he once was arrested for beating his wife), shouldn't that have been enough to deter interest?

Lugo was a disaster in every sense of the word in Boston. He hit .237 his first year in Boston, completely flopping as a leadoff man (hence he'll lead off in this batting order), and played shoddy-at-best defense in the field. His one plus-side that first year, 33 stolen bases, never re-surfaced in 2008; his total sunk to 12. He hit just one home run that year, and by the time 2009 rolled around, it became clear that the Lugo signing was a lost cause. Theo had to bring back Alex Gonzalez mid-season, which is ironic because he was the shortstop prior to Lugo and the Sox never should have let him leave in the first place. Naturally Theo let him walk again and signed Marco Scutaro. Let's just get off the topic of Theo's shortstop escapades before I bring up Edgar Renteria.

Batting second, at DH, Jeremy Giambi


I'm not mad at Theo for this one. I'm pretty sure he just saw the last name 'Giambi' and figured why the hell not. Coming into the 2003 season, this Giambi signing was bigger news than the signing of David Ortiz, Bill Mueller, or Kevin Millar. All four signings were considered low risk, high reward. Three outta four ain't bad. But Giambi couldn't even hit above the Mendoza Line in his brief time here, and was out of baseball by the end of the season. The lesson, as always: just because the older brother pans out doesn't mean the younger will. Hank Aaron vs. Tommy Aaron. Cal and Billy Ripken. Peyton vs. Eli. Jake Levin and Jesse Levin. See what I mean?

Batting third, at 1B, JT Snow


Like with Giambi, this one really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. But let's say Kevin Youkilis didn't work out at first in 2006. JT had just 4 RBI in 53 games, hit .204, and left his gold glove out in San Francisco. Granted the Sox had their worst season of the Theo era in 2006 (86-76), but yeesh, it coulda been even worse if JT was forced into playing everyday.

Batting cleanup, in CF, Mike Cameron


Don't get me wrong, Cameron was at one time a helluva ball player. Truly a 5-tool player in his heyday. But at age 37, Theo decided it would be a good idea to have Cameron play centerfield while the younger Jacoby Ellsbury, who had proven himself to be a very good defender in center, slide over to the much smaller left field beneath the Green Monster. I mean why have your most agile outfielder play the same position Manny Ramirez made look easy? Cameron's offensive game is almost non-existent at this point, rendering him our fifth outfielder behind the immortal Darnell McDonald.

Alright I'm off to Fenway for Sox-Yanks tonight, better not start 1-8. Part II will be finished up tomorrow. If you'll notice, I haven't gotten to seventh in the batting order yet. Just think about who usually bats 7th and that's all you need to know.

LeBron's Mom Arrested.....Things Starting to Make Sense

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/news/story?id=6303536

MIAMI -- The mother of Miami Heat forward LeBron James was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge early Thursday morning at a Miami Beach hotel, area media outlets reported.

Gloria James was arrested following an incident at the Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach police said, according to multiple media reports. She was released early Thursday morning.

James allegedly assaulted a parking attendant at the hotel, according to WPLG-TV.

Have I been too hard on LeBron recently? Maybe it's not all his fault. I mean his mom is a certified whack job at this point. If she's not beating up defenseless parking attends, she's getting plowed by Delonte West or getting DUI's. Throw in the lack of a father figure in LeBron's life, and it's becoming abundantly clear why he's become the asshole he is. Does that mean I should let up on him?

Should I admit I was wrong, say I'm sorry, and go back to supporting LeBron? Nah, screw that, I'm just gonna keep being a f*ckin dick.

Watch that South Park clip and what I just said will totally make sense, I promise.

Yeah I Still Watch Survivor

Why? It's easily still the best show on TV. Tonight, for example.

How freaking dumb is Matt? Wanna know what happens when you put your faith in God on Survivor? You get voted off. And this moron has managed to get voted off twice now thanks to the Redemption Island twist. Bro I'm not sure if you watched any of the previous seasons but I can't grasp how dumb you have to be to go back with Boston Rob, of all people, after he's already voted you off once. He deserves what he gets at this point. I hope he loses the next duel. In the words of Frank Ryan, he's just "not the brightest brain on the tree".

And neither is Ralph, who further opened the hole between the former Ometepe and Zapatera tribes by wasting the hidden immunity idol on Iraq Vet Mike, who didn't receive a single vote. Between that and his not knowing what "cohesive" meant last week, we might have one of the all-time most clueless castaways on our hands.

Should I Start Breaking Shit?

Losing a few to Texas? It happens. Getting 4 hits and 1 run against Josh Tomlin and Cleveland? Who the hell is Josh Tomlin? These aren't your Albert Belle Indians either. This isn't a death sentence but this is starting to get beyond frustrating. Beckett wasn't necessarily bad but way too many pitches. He still tries to blow by every hitter that comes up, which is too bad because he was throwing some great curves and changes at times too. 

And since we're here two great JD Drew moments tonight. Getting thrown out at the plate on Saltalamacchia's first hit of the season, and giving up on a foul ball in the bottom of the 8th just because he was getting near the wall. This guy never ceases to amaze me. Turns it off and on as he pleases. Doesn't even play two of the games in the Texas series. 

Bottom line is four game losing streaks happen, and there's still 158 games left for them to make this up. But not the start anyone envisioned to the 2011 season.

Ramblin' Man: 4/5/11

-The UConn Huskies are National Champions after one of the sloppiest deciding games of a final I can remember, and that goes for both collegiate and professional sports. Granted after last year's Duke/Butler duel we were due for a letdown, but those very same Butler Bulldogs shoot 18.8% (12-64) from the floor? There've been Barker Championship games back in Hingham that have featured better shooting.

-Of all the years I don't enter a pool, I almost surely would've won any that I entered. At the very least placed top 3. Basically anyone who didn't have UConn at least their Final 4 was screwed this year, because few people had Kentucky that far and, well, Gordon Hayward was probably the only one with Butler in his Final 4. And I don't think anyone had VCU there, simply because it didn't even pass the laugh test. 

-Perhaps the most disturbing number from last nights game is 3. 3 as in: number of two-point field goals made by the Bulldogs all night long. 3-31 from inside trey land. Not a misprint.

-As bad as last nights game was, that's still no excuse to tune into WWE Raw. I know this kid, let's call him "FR", who opted to watch WWE because "one of my childhood idols (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) came back last night", he said. That's just lewd, lascivious ,salacious, and outrageous.

-Scary part about UConn? They might be even better next year. Obviously Kemba will be missed, but their other four starters this year were underclassmen, including three froshies. I'd put them on a short list with Duke (providing Kyrie Irving comes back to team with Austin Rivers) and Ohio State (with Sullinger back in the fold) to be the early favorites.

-The Bruins blew a 3-0 lead last night. Granted it wasn't a series lead or a Game 7 lead, but there's simply no defense for that. I know we're pretty much locked into the 3-seed at this point and the Rangers are desperately fending off the Whalercanes for the eighth and final spot in the East, but c'mon boys this isn't how you tune up for a playoff run that's supposed to last into June.

-If I'm Doc Rivers, just keep Shaq out till the playoffs at this point. And possibly even the second round. There's zero point in playing him hurt, because as much an injury liability as he might be, Banner 18 won't be raised to the rafters if he's not the starting center when the real tests come along.

-Early returns on baseball predictions: the I knew the Orioles would be improved, but not this much! 4-0 for the first time since I was finishing up Kindergarten. Didn't hurt they had a double-play combo of Cal Ripken and Roberto Alomar that year.

-I refused to drink the Milwaukee Brewers kool-aid (or since it's just as poisonous, Milwaukee's Best Light), but wow it's looking like it could be a trying season for the Brew Crew. That's what you get when Yuniesky Betancourt is your everyday shortstop. And Prince, remember it's a contract year. Just because the Yankees and Red Sox have no room for you doesn't mean the Cubs or Angels won't overpay you by about $60 million.

-How bout them Cowboys? Good to see a QB controversy brewing at the hands of the backup tight end. Only in the Big D.

-Beckett going for the Sox tonight to try and stop the bleeding. I liked the way Michael Smith put it on Around the Horn yesterday, "it's a three game losing streak, it just happened to be at the start of the season". Tellin' you right now, I wouldn't be surprised to see Beckett deliver an "F-You" season. If he's any kind of competitor, he's taking it real personally he got named the number 4 starter. He should be under the mentality "who the hell are Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz? I'm a freaking World Series MVP! I shut down the Yankees in Yankee Stadium! I don't care if it was 2003! I'll show 'em who the real ace is". And if that's not how he's going to operate? We'll always have 2007. And the next 4 years of his contract.

Is it just me, or are we still waiting for Beckett to finally live up to his potential as a surefire ace? He's going to be 31 next month. Has the time come and gone?

Who you got tonight?

For me, quite simple. Gotta go with UConn just for selfish reasons: "The Jake Levin Effect". Should the Huskies win, this is 4 odd-numbered years in a row I've called the winner of March Madness. UNC in 2005, Florida in 2007, and UNC again in 2009. Sure, all of those teams were 1-seeds. Degree of difficulty maybe not as high. This year, though, would be extra satisfying, knowing that I went out on somewhat of a limb going with 3-seeded UConn. Hey why not Team Kemba? Arguably the hottest team in the nation coming into the tournament, and definitely under-seeded at 3. So boom. Go Huskies 2011.

Still Ain't Time to Panic

Remember those 1998 Yankees that won 114 games, and are considered by some to be the greatest baseball team of all-time? They too started 0-3, ultimately 1-4 before going on a tear. Obviously this Boston rotation is lacking in comparison to their Bronx counterparts, but if you look at each lineup, top to bottom, who's to say the 2011 Boston offense can't be better than the 1998 New York outfit?

David Ortiz has avoided his usual sluggish start thus far, clubbing two home runs over the weekend in Arlington, Adrian Gonzalez has fit right in, and after today it looks like Carl Crawford has shaken the jitters. Hey, Texas is the defending AL champs. Now go take care of business in Cleveland, a clearly inferior team, and we'll see where we stand after next weekend's home-opener vs. the Yankees.

It's Alright

They lost opening day in 2004 and 2007 too. To the Orioles and Royals, respectively. Both those years ended up on Duck Boats. One game outta 162. And this year they lost to the defending AL Champs. So just because Dan Shaughnessy is about to go write a column about how the Sox are a bunch of frauds, don't go jump off the Tobin Bridge. Bob Marley says it best, every little thing is gonna be alright.

The $14 million platoon man

Red Sox Opening Day Lineup for today down in sunny Texas:

Ellsubury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Crawford, LF
Youkilis, 3B
Gonzalez, 1B
Ortiz, DH
Cameron, RF
Saltalamacchia, C
Scutaro, SS

Hm. Who's conspicuously missing from that right field spot? Yeah yeah yeah I know Drew can't hit lefties. And CJ Wilson is a damn good lefty for the Rangers. Well I'm no major league executive but for the life of me if you're paying someone $14 mil shouldn't he be able to hit not only both lefties and righties, but hit them both well? And Mike Cameron is 38 going on 48, so that's a pretty big liability we've got going on here.

Also pertaining to the lineup, I guess they're going to give Ellsbury the chance to redeem himself as an elite leadoff man after missing practically all of last year. I thought his speed would be a little more valuable down near the bottom of the order now that Crawford is in the mix, but if he can regain his 2009 form it really extends the lineup, evidenced by Ortiz batting 6th. I'll trust Francona on this one. Go Sox.