Sox lost in weekend hype, standings too

The Bruins not only gave me a chuckle, but they broke the hearts of the many sucker fans. The Celtics gave me great joy by putting a hold on the LeBron commercials for the short term and more importantly, they advanced the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in the last three seasons. Lost in all of this great hype and sports action that gives us something to feel warm inside about, the Boston Dead Sox continued to do what they’ve done best all year: play inconsistently and lose.

John Lackey has been so-so in his first of five Red Sox seasons -- Jon Lester the same. The team’s issue list would take up more space than Dwight Howard’s shoulders. The bottom line is this: the Red Sox have their chance for a successful season in the current and upcoming series. If they don’t win -- which it looks like they won’t on a consistent basis -- then the goose is cooked. Well-done.

Sitting back at 19-19 and 7.5 games out of first place, the standings haven’t been kind to the Red Sox. But the Red Sox haven’t been kind to the standings themselves, and regardless of the Yankees and Rays’ terrific starts, they have only themselves to blame.

The important games currently and ahead that will make or break the season:

3 games at Detroit: 1-2

2 games at New York

2 games vs. Minnesota

3 games at Philadelphia

3 games at Tampa Bay, all TBD

Thirteen games, already down two losses. Those five teams are of the cream of the crop. If the Sox don’t step up their play, they’ll be surprised how quickly these quality opponents can and will bury them. Keep Terry Francona in your thoughts the next few days, huh?

It’s becoming harder to dissect the Red Sox’ problems as the season has gone on. Most would find it easier to figure out their flaws, as the case usually goes. However, it’s becoming more difficult to point the finger at the specifics. Yes, the pitching has been brutal, the offense and defense right up there in misery. But why? Why aren’t things improving? Is John Farrell overrated? Could be. Is Francona sitting with his hands tied? Most likely. Did Theo just put together a group of square pegs built for circular holes? Looks that way.

Lost in a weekend where the Bruins had the largest choke in the history of the NHL and the Celtics made believers in their fans, the Red Sox sit boring and dangling over the fire. I predicted this team would have to make a major move by late May in order to compete; looks like Chef Theo is going to have to decide whether to drop the goose onto the fire to be cooked or buy some different groceries.

JMO

Quick thoughts on Game 1

The C's came out playing great defense, and the game plan was as expected: Cover Dwight Howard one on on, make him shoot from more than 3 feet away, hack the shit out of him if he's too close, and limit Orlando's three point attempts. The Celtics did that well in the first half and were aided by Orlando's poor shooting. Dwight Howard must have tried to finish with his left hand 4 or 5 times and didn't hit any of those shots. Mark Jackson said the Celtics had no chinks in their armor, while the Magic's armor had more chinks than an honors math class. (I'm not a racist, I just play one on the internet.) Pierce had his way with Vince on the offensive end, going 6 of 8 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line. Matt Barnes was atrocious logging a -14. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot more JJ Redick in game two. Mickael Pietrus couldn't hit a shot, and Rashard Lewis was a nonfactor. The Magic will have to get more from them if they expect to win the series. Ray Allen was great and Tony Allen continued his stellar play in the playoffs. More thoughts to come tomorrow.

-Aloy

CELTICS MAGIC PREVIEW

After defeating the sinking ship that was the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference Finals starting today at 3:30 in Orlando. Last year, the Celtics lost to the Magic in 7 games, but that was without Kevin Garnett. The Magic come into the Conference finals on a roll, having gone 8-0 in the playoffs so far. This has all the makings of a great series, so let's break it down, in the words of the real VP of Common Sense, "Dr. Jack Style."

Centers:
Magic: Dwight Howard, Marcin Gortat
Celtics: Perk and Sheed
Dwight Howard is without a doubt the best center in the league, putting up ridiculous block and rebound numbers. His dominance is born out in the difference in Orlando's production when he is on and off the court. They are a +10.5 per 48 minutes when he's on the court, and a -.3 when he's off it. Orlando not only counts on his defense but also his post presence to create open shots for their 3 point shooters (basically their whole team). If Dwight is Superman, Kendrick Perkins might be his Kryptonite, as he defends Howard better than anyone in the league. The Celtics aren't asking for much out of Perk offensively. His job in this series will be to cover Howard one on one, so Celtics don't have to double and create open 3s for Orlando. Guarding Howard entails making him shoot jumpers and jump hooks, and hacking the shit out of him if he gets too close to the basket. Dwight shoots only 25% when taking jump shots, so any time he takes anything but a dunk or layup consider it a win for the Celtics. Look for Howard to be a factor early in games, and probably get Perk and Sheed in foul trouble, but luckily when the game is on the line Superman has a tendency to play more like Lois Lane.
Edge: Magic

Forwards:
Magic: Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus
Celtics: KG, Pierce, Big Baby, Tony Allen
Rashard Lewis creates a really tough matchup for the Celtics, as he's much too quick and has too much range to be guarded by KG, and is too tall for Pierce to be able to bother his shot. Look for him to have a big series. Luckily, he seems to disappear late in games. It will be interesting to see what the Celtics do to try to limit his looks from the perimeter. Also, the mismatch on one end becomes a mismatch on the other, as Lewis can't guard Garnett in the post.
Vince Carter and Paul Pierce seem to be linked together during their basketball careers. Both played their college ball at perennial powerhouses, where both failed to deliver a national title, Pierce at Kansas, and Vince at UNC. Both contended for rookie of the year in the '98-99 season, where Pierce was robbed as the award was given to the flashier Carter. Both hit the floor like a ton of bricks when they get fouled going to the hoop, the only difference being that Pierce gets up, while Vince sits out the next month. Both were viewed as selfish players for most of their careers, although Vince actually deserved the label while Pierce got a bad rap playing on bad teams. Vince has had a much better than expected season with the Magic. As strange as it seems, he may be the x-factor in this series. If he can play like a man and withstand the beating the Celtics will surely deliver him when he goes to the hoop, it's the Magic's series to win. However, I wouldn't bet on it. Expect Pierce to take him behind the woodshed and exploit his softness. Barnes can hit a lot of threes, so it'll be important to limit his open looks. Pietrus scares the shit out of me, as he always seems to step up and hit big shots. Look at him to get significant crunch time minutes while Vince is getting worked on by the trainer late in close games.
Edge: Celtics, but it's close.

Guards:
Magic: Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Jason Williams
Celtics: Rondo, Ray Allen....wow we really only have two legitimate guards
Wow, a Jason Williams appearance! We now have the whole top 3 in the '98-99 rookie of the year voting! Remember when Jason Williams made that behind the back pass that he bounced off his elbow?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Vq-DO86RE
He used to be so fun to watch. Unfortunately he never turned into a great NBA point guard. And no, I have no idea what language that was in.
Jameer Nelson is the heart and soul of this Magic team. However, expect that heart and soul to be ripped out as he simply doesn't have the quickness to stay with Rajon Rondo. This is no knock on Nelson, since I'm not sure anyone in the league has the quickness to stay with Rondo. Rondo will have to be dominant once again for the Celtics to get out of this series with a win. We'll have to wait and see if we'll see good Ray this series or bad Ray. Redick's a little bitch.
Edge: Celtics

Coaching:
Magic: Ron Jeremy
Celtics: The doctor
As much shit as SVG sometimes gets, I actually think he's a great coach. He destroyed Mike Brown in last year's conference finals. It appears Doc knew what he was doing all along this year, as his team has responded in a big way for the playoffs. This series is so interesting because it feels like every matchup is a mismatch on one end or the other. The Celtics will do everything they can to limit Orlando's open threes, while the Magic will do everything they can to stop Rondo from controlling the game.
Edge: Push

The Verdict: This should be a great series. The Magic are firing on all cylinders, but the Celtics can smell the Promised Land and realize this is probably the last chance they have at a title as presently constructed. I think the Celtics take this one in 6, setting up a matchup with the Lakers in the finals. Leave your thoughts/predictions in the comments section.

-Aloy

This one's on you, Bruins

My view of the Boston Bruins is pretty well established. I'm not a real fan of the team or the organization. I don't like the Jacobs and I'm not a hockey buff to say the least.

I was rooting for the Bruins in the playoffs; I hopped on the bandwagon faster than a pink-hat Red Sox fan could. They were up 3-0 on Philadelphia, playing lights out on both sides of the ball, and looked like strong Stanley Cup Champ contenders. Then the usual happened: the Bruins turned into the Bruins.

Look -- a Montreal vs. Boston Eastern Conference Finals would be amazing; not only for the fans of these two great hockey cities, but for the league itself. This is history in the making. One problem: the Bruins don't seem to want to let this happen.

If they blow this series, people will call it the biggest choke in the history of sports, up there with the 2004 Yankees, almost every Cubs/Red Sox team (prior to 2004), etc. The list could go on forever, but this one would be pretty bad.

The bottom line is this: the Bruins owe it to their fans. Only TWO playoff series victories since 1999? That's harsh. It's even more harsh that they're letting Philly and the Carcillo's of the world have a shot of over-taking them. I do know that Philadelphia isn't as good and has no business being in the series at this point. It's ironic how the Boston media jumped from calling the series a gift to saying that Boston's injuries are an excuse and the Flyers are really good. Pick a side. The Bruins owe their fans a shot at Montreal. Even if they lose, it would make a very successful, over-achieving playoffs exciting and worth the watch. If they lose game 7 Friday night, it will be more than a gag job: it will be one of the biggest sports-turn-offs in history. Fans won't be so willing to crawl back to these players this time. After all, aren't these the Bruins we expected to see most of the year?

Here's to hoping they change their stripes this time. Cheers, Bruins fans.

JMO

Can the Celtics finish it off tonight?

I figured I'd mail this entry in in honor of Lebron's game 5 performance......The Celtics enter tonight's game 6 with a 3-2 lead. Many have expressed shock at the Celtics taking a 3-2 lead in this series, but somehow it isn't too surprising. My buddy Wood said before the series that it's a good match up for the Celtics. After game 2 I felt that not only could the Celtics win the series, but they SHOULD win the series. As great as Lebron is, (and he is great, despite all the shit he's getting after his atrocious game 5) the Cavs are a one man team.

Mo Williams has been embarrassingly bad; he can't stay in front of Rondo to save his life, and he has shot horribly this series. Antwan Jamison has put together some good first halves, but he absolutely disappears down the stretch. The best way to surround a dominant ball handling 3 like Lebron is with guys who can hit open threes and athletic big men. Cleveland's guards haven't been able to hit open shots. Mike Brown decided to use Shaq and Z instead of the more athletic JJ Hixon and Anderson Varajeo. Hixon played 4 minutes last game! Varajeo played 17! The Shaq move was a terrible move at the time for Cleveland, and his poor fit for this Cleveland team has shown this series, as he has clogged the lane and created poor spacing for Lebron to drive.

Meanwhile, the Celtics executed beautifully in game 5. There was a perfect balance, as KG, Ray, Pierce, Rondo, and Big Baby all had significant scoring contributions. Lebron will need some help tonight if his Cleveland career is going to continue. You have to feel like he will have a huge night tonight, but will it be enough to win? I'm feeling something ridiculous like 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 asssists in a game that will go down to the wire. Hopefully the Celtics can overcome that for a win.

-Aloy

The Curious Case of Josh Beckett

After being scratched for his start scheduled for Friday night in Detroit, Josh Beckett has continued to trend toward one thing: pissing people off. I don't really understand how to classify Josh. He's been really dominant at times, while countering those great games with stinkers that would even offend public restrooms. Beckett's 2010 stats so far: 1-1 with a 7.46 ERA.

The debate with Beckett is this: how do we classify him as a pitcher, particularly with his tenure as a Boston Red Sox? Some say he's in the dominant class of pitchers around the league, but lately, you hear more of the whispers of Beckett being slightly above average and an underachiever.

You decide. The evidence is as follows:

Beckett in his career is 107-69 with a 3.89 ERA. That looks and sounds pretty good. Most fans would then probably guess his Red Sox numbers as a whole aren't too pretty though. They are a surprising 66-35! His ERA is 4.21, but factor in that he has a 7.46 ERA currently. It may be hard for many fans to learn that Josh Beckett's numbers are better than expected. He won an ALCS MVP and dominated in the 2007 postseason. He's still young, throws in the mid 90s, and has the guts to take the ball while hurt. There's a lot there to give fans high expectations.

But that isn't the issue. This guy is supposed to be your ace. He just got paid a hell of a lot of money to be that ace for the next five seasons. I'm not seeing a guy who has won two World Series, almost soley on his dominant pitching. I'm seeing a guy who I have zero confidence in when he takes the ball. I see a pitcher who makes fans have no idea whether Jeckyll or Hyde is going to show up.

Josh Beckett hasn't even started game one of the each of the last two postseasons. Even the Red Sox know this guy isn't an ace anymore. Your ace doesn't have his turn skipped in the rotation. Your ace doesn't have a 5.96 career ERA in almost 20 starts against the Yankees. The alarm in your head should be going off right about now.

I don't know what exactly to expect from Josh Beckett the rest of the season. For all we know, common sense tells us he should rebound and have a pretty solid season. But I tell you this: don't expect him to be your ace.

JMO

Tiger Woods Withdraws with neck injury

So as I'm sure you've all heard, Tiger Woods withdrew from the Players Championship yesterday with a sore neck. That got me thinking, we all know there are only two ways to injure your neck...(skip to 1:25 of the clip)

Two ways to hurt your neck

I don't think Tiger's been in any more car accidents recently, so I guess that only leaves one thing...

-Aloy