Red Sox decide to finally win a road game in 2011

It doesn't get any uglier than the 0-6 and then 2-10 starts for the 2011 Boston Red Sox.

However, going 0-7 in their first seven road games was similarly unforgivable. Boston (6-11) finally notched a road win yesterday afternoon, 5-3 against the A's (9-9) at Oakland Coliseum.

Clay Buchholz (1-2) picked up his first win of the season too after his first two starts were nothing short of disasters. He wasn't great yesterday but he got the job done. He went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, one earned run, four walks and two strikeouts.

Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez (2-1) came in on the opposite end of the spectrum after being basically unhittable in his first two starts. The Red Sox got to him though somehow as he went six innings, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts.

Boston's offense righted itself with three home runs: by Kevin Youkilis, Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew.

The real star of the game was reliever Daniel Bard who inherited a bases loaded situation in the sixth with one out and the Red Sox clinging to a 4-1 lead. He got out of that unscathed and also pitched a scoreless seventh. That made up for Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon who each allowed an earned run. Papelbon settled down and recorded the last two outs in the ninth with runners on first and third.

Coco Crisp gave Oakland an early (and I mean early 1-0 lead) as he homered on Buchholz's first pitch of the game.

Carl Crawford answered with an RBI single in the top of the second which tied it at 1. Youkilis' solo shot in the fourth, Lowrie's two-run bomb in the sixth and Drew's solo homer in the seventh gave Boston some breathing room.

They were able to withstand Crisp's RBI single in the eighth and Landon Powell's RBI single in the ninth.

From here, Boston travels to Anaheim with four games scheduled against the Angels. Josh Beckett faces rookie Tyler Chatwood tonight in the series opener.

Brett Anderson rules

They get absolutely no hype because well they're the Oakland A's and they play in the AL West but damn, Billy Beane has really constructed a young rotation to die for.

The Boston Red Sox got their first taste of it in 2011 last night as they opened a nine-game road trip at Oakland Coliseum.

Anderson (1-1) completely baffled Red Sox (5-11) hitters for eight innings as Oakland (9-8) won 5-0.

Anderson allowed just four hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in picking up his first win of the 2011 season.

John Lackey (1-2) actually pitched very well, for him, since he was facing an old AL West foe that he was familiar with from his days in Anaheim. Lackey kept the Red Sox in the game with six innings of work, allowing four hits, one earned run, one walk and three strikeouts.

In falling to 0-7 on the road this season, Boston proved that they still haven't figured out how to hit consistently despite coming in on a three-game win streak.

Old friend Coco Crisp gave Oakland a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a hit, steal and two groundouts. Woo, small ball!

In the seventh and eighth innings, Dan Wheeler (1 hit, 1 earned run) and Hideki Okajima (2 hits, 3 earned runs in his return) did their best to blow the game although truth be told, there was not a chance in hell Boston was scoring any runs last night.

Daric Barton's RBI single that scored Cliff Pennington in the eighth for a 2-0 lead was enough but Oakland padded their lead with three more runs in the frame.

Hideki Matsui added a two-run double and Kurt Suzuki notched an RBI single.

Clay Buchholz will try and help the Red Sox avoid the sweep this afternoon as he takes on another young A's lefty stud, Gio Gonzalez, in the conclusion of this brief stay in Oakland.

Celtics outlast Knicks B-squad, take 2-0 series lead

With Chauncey Billups ruled out with an ankle injury before Game 2 started, the Boston Celtics already had a distinct advantage.

When Amare Stoudemire left late in the first half with back spasms and didn't return, you had to think what else could go wrong for the New York Knicks.

Still, despite a severely limited roster of healthy bodies, Carmelo Anthony almost single-handily willed New York to victory with a playoff career-high 42 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.

Boston was able to hang on for a 96-93 win at TD Garden, giving them a 2-0 series lead. Just like in Game 1, the Knicks went up late but couldn't stop a later Celtics hoop (this time a KG hook shot) and then bungled their last possession (Jared Jeffries getting stripped by KG on the baseline).

After a terrible Game 1 performance, Carmelo was truly special last night. However, a mental error (letting almost four seconds lapse before fouling Ray Allen at the end) nearly overshadowed his dominant display.

There's not many other ways to say it then the Celtics know how to win and the Knicks are still learning how to do it when it really matters.

Rajon Rondo had a playoff career-high 30 points and seven assists. Paul Pierce had 20 points, Ray Allen scored 18 and KG put up 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Starting for Billups, Toney Douglas had 14 points and Jeffries was the only other Knick in double figures with 10 points (including the go-ahead hoop before KG's shot).

In an ideal world, Boston will sweep New York and the Celtics bench will get some more playing time in the next two games since they clearly need to get the work. Four players (Delonte West, Nenad Krstic, Jeff Green and Glen Davis) combined for 14 points last night and that's simply not good enough to win consistently in the playoffs.

The Cs got out to a 23-21 lead after the first quarter but the Knicks took a 45-44 halftime lead. Boston responded with a strong third quarter (30-22) and as I said, made enough plays to survive a shaky fourth (26-22 New York).

Boston shot 47.0% to New York's 35.6%. The Knicks hit two more 3-pointers (8-6) and nine more free throws (21-12). The most shocking stat was that New York had 16 more rebounds (53-37). The Celtics had seven more assists (21-14) and 12 more fast break points thanks to Rondo (16-4) along with six more points in the paint (40-34).

Billups supposedly will play in Game 3 and Stoudemire is getting an MRI today but you have to bet he'll suit up since New York's season will basically be on the line. It's in Boston's best interest to make this series as short as possible. If they get to the next round, it'll be much harder (yes, I realize these games have been really tight) against likely Miami.

Canadiens Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge...and Still Lose

Whenever the Montreal Canadiens are playing a closely contested game, the theatrics can be pathetic. In the playoffs, at home, they are downright insufferable.

In Monday night's game 3 at the Bell Centre, the Habs did all they could to embellish injuries, take dives, and even doled out a few cheap shots of their own in their attempt to take a 3-0 series lead and essentially end the Bruins season.

It started early in the first period as Wisniewski went down after a stick to the mouth from Zdeno Chara. While he certainly look injured, flopping to the ice and grabbing his face, there was no penalty called.

Later in the action, Roman Hamrlik went down after a collision that he initiated, prompting Bruins' play-by-play man Jack Edwards to utter one of the most classic lines in recent memory.

After Hamrlik struggled to get to his feet, Edwards observed, "And Hamrlik goes down as if he's been shot! GET UP!" Once I was done laughing and texting friends to see if they had heard the latest maniacal call from Edwards, I realized that the Canadiens, once again, had to resort to flopping to win. Without the benefit of a man advantage, it became clear that Montreal was going to do whatever it took to agitate the Bruins.

The most controversial moment of the night was when Benoit Pouliot launched himself in the air and made contact with Bruins Defenseman Jonny Boychuck. After several non calls on similar interference penalties, the refs finally cited Pouliot for not playing the puck, after Andrew Ference made Pouliot answer for the cheap shot.

Funny how no Habs fans objected to the Pouliot hit, but howled when Chara was throwing his body around left and right. Just another example in a seemingly infinite list of ways Montreal fans and players try to manipulate referees, especially at the Bell Center, in order to gain a competitive advantage.

Looking forward to game 4, Montreal will certainly try to continue their embellishing ways, with the main goal being to get under the Bruins' skin and attempt to goad them into taking retaliatory penalties, as they tried to do on Monday night when Ference dropped the gloves with Pouliot.

Knowing that the Habs were trying to capitalize on Ference's retaliation, he told reporters, "Well, I waited for him to drop the gloves and throw a punch before I did anything. I definitely didn't want to take an extra penalty." In order to not fall victim to shady officiating, the Bruins are going to have to use this type of restraint, while at the same time protecting their players.

The next chapter in this rivalry will be written tomorrow night at 7:30, as the Bruins take on the Canadiens, and hopefully not the referees, north of the border.

A couple heart attacks later, the Bruins hang on for dear life and a Game 3 win

You know you're watching a pivotal Boston Bruins playoff game when your emotions run the gamut: from worry to joy to shock and despair.

Despite some ridiculously tense moments and two soft as silk goals allowed by Tim Thomas, the Bruins held on for a 4-2 win in Game 3 last night at the Bell Centre.

The victory cut Montreal's series lead to 2-1 and ensured there will be a Game 5 on Saturday night at TD Garden. First things first, Game 4 is Thursday night back at the Bell Centre.

To the Bs' credit, they finally decided to get out to a good start. Make that a great start. David Krejci gave Boston its first lead of the series at 3:11 of the first period with a one-timer from Patrice Bergeron.

Nathan Horton doubled the lead with a banked shot off Carey Price's (21 saves) back for a 2-0 lead at 14:38 of the first period.

Andrew Ference and Benoit Pouliot squared off with four seconds left in the first period, the direct result of Pouliot's attempted cheap shot (charging) on Johnny Boychuk.

Price had a terrible gaffe to start the second period as he cleared a puck right to Rich Peverley, who put in his first career playoff goal. Mark Recchi assisted on that gift which gave Boston a commanding 3-0 lead at 2:02 of the second period.

From there, it was hang on to your hats boys as Thomas (34 saves) gave up a weak backhander (deflected by Zdeno Chara) to Andrei Kostitsyn at 7:03 of the second period.

The tempo of the game was fast from the start but it really picked up after Montreal finally got on the board. Boston retreated to their dressing room with a 3-1 lead after two periods but the Canadiens got another jolt of energy from another weak sauce goal.

Tomas Plekanec turned quickly and fired a seeing-eye shot that somehow got under Thomas' pads and in the net. Yikes, 3-2 Boston with 15:52 left in regulation.

Thomas deserves a ton of credit though. After the two terrible goals he gave up, he stood on his head for the rest of the contest as the Bs could barely get the puck out of their zone.

Chris Kelly scored an empty-netter with 26 seconds and that was it. Boston heads to Lake Placid, NY for two days to get out of "the circus" as NESN's one and only Jack Edwards called it.

Game 4 is similarly a must-win for the Bruins. The keys will be the same: Boston needs to score first and they have to get out to a solid start. They can't get bogged down by Montreal's joker fans who freak out every time a Canadien gets touched or falls on the ice like they've been shot (which is pretty much every shift).

Dice-K on Marathon Monday, the reverse lock of all-time comes through

When we last saw Daisuke Matsuzaka, he was reduced to a lonely puddle on the mound at Fenway Park after get shellacked by the Tampa Bay Rays.

So of course, when his start was pushed back and he closed out Boston's long homestand with a Marathon Monday outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, he was outstanding.

Dice-K (1-1) allowed one hit in seven innings, walked one and struck out three in one of his most dominating and mystifying starts of his Jekyll and Hyde MLB career.

As I said last season, I'm done expecting anything of Dice-K or trying to predict what he'll do since he's the ultimate trick or treat pitcher.

Yesterday's 9-1 Red Sox (5-10) win on Patriot's Day, allowed them to win three of four from the Blue Jays (7-9), and hit the road (9-game, 10 day trip) on a good note.

For whatever reason, Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero (1-2) is a very good pitcher against everyone but Boston. Like always, the young lefty struggled. He gave up eight hits, five earned runs, five walks and four strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

The Red Sox pounded out a season-high 13 hits led by Jed Lowrie (4 hits, 4 RBIs, 2 runs), Kevin Youkilis (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) and Jacoby Ellsbury, who all hit home runs.

The red hot Lowrie continued to crush the ball, get started early with a two-run single in the first that scored J.D. Drew and Dustin Pedroia for a 2-0 lead.

David Ortiz's RBI single in the third made it 3-0 and scored Youk.

Lowrie hit a two-run homer in the fifth (scoring Ortiz) over the Monster.

Earlier Youk had a double off the top of the bullpen wall in right so it was only fair that he hit a two-run homer in the sixth (that scored Adrian Gonzalez). Carl Crawford broke his horrendous slump with an RBI double that scored Lowrie and made it 8-0 later in the sixth.

Ellsbury's solo shot in the seventh opened it up to 9-0.

Yunel Escobar broke the shutout with a garbage time solo home run off Tim Wakefield in the ninth.

Boston has two games in Oakland, four in Anaheim and then three in Baltimore. It's a long trip but against three teams that they should beat.

John Lackey gets the ball tonight against A's young stud Brett Anderson. Lackey last pitched on Opening Day at Fenway so hopefully seeing an old AL West foe will allow him to be half decent. It's asking a lot, I know.

The Status Claude: Why Julien Isn't Doing Enough to Win

For a coach who is on the hot seat, Claude Julien certainly isn't coaching as such.

Many Bruins fans and journalists alike were calling for major changes to the Bruins lineup after their humiliating game 2 loss to Montreal. Some called for Tuukka Rask to replace Tim Thomas in net. Others asked for line shakeups. But most people wondered why, given the Bruins lack of offensive firepower in the first two games, Tyler Seguin was not inserted into the lineup in place of the apathetic Michael Ryder.

In the last few weeks of the regular season, Ryder, Seguin, and the emerging Daniel Paille seemed to be competing for the final two roster spots going forward to the poatseason. The inexperienced Seguin was chosen by Julien to be the odd man out for the first round matchup.

Ryder, who made the roster based on his above average performance in last year's postseason, has failed to contribute anything on either side of the puck. His "sniping" ability has been as invisible as the numbers on his stat sheet. In 3 playoff games Ryder has THREE shots on net in 35 total of ice time. Simply unacceptable for allegedly one of your best scoring threats right Claude?

Ryder was a puddle once again in game three, with his only legitimate scoring chance ruined by his relentless desire to dangle through traffic rather than put a shot on net. Much has been said about Seguin's defensive shortcomings, but Ryder is not exactly a bruising defender either.

Seguin can and should be used on the Power Play to provide a scoring spark and to counter Montreal's speedy and skilled forwards. Julien has to realize that by now, Ryder is simply going through the motions and plays with no sense of urgency.

However as Bruins fans will tell you, Claude is not known for mixing and matching lines, no matter how hot his coaching seat is. Many people feel that if he is in fact coaching for his job, he is either going to win with his guys or lose with his guys. Julien has coached Ryder for quite a while and is clearly uncomfortable playing the untested Seguin on the biggest stage of his life.

Whatever Julien's reason is for sticking with Ryder, he should hope that the struggling winger starts to turn it around, or else the both of them will be searching for new jobs come summertime.