Red Sox Win A Laugher Over The Twins, 11-2

Can you imagine how many games the Red Sox would win every season if they played in the AL Central?

That's all I can think about after they pounded the Minnesota Twins (5-13, 2-6 home) 11-2 tonight at Target Field for their second consecutive win in the series. The funny part is that the Twins aren't even the worst team in their division, that would be the Royals who have already lost 12 straight.

If Boston (6-10, 3-5 away) played Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota and Kansas City way more every year, it wouldn't even be entertaining. I guess in a perverse way, I'm happy that they are the AL East-still MLB's best division-since I enjoy good competition. Blowouts might be cool when you are a kid but not when you get older.

Led by new lead-off hitter extraordinaire Mike Aviles (4 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), the Red Sox pounded out 18 hits meaning that they have 30 over the last two nights. Adrian Gonzalez was 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, David Ortiz had three RBIs, two hits and a run while Ryan Sweeney (run, RBI), Kevin Youkilis and Marlon Byrd (run) all had two hits. Dustin Pedroia scored two runs.

Josh Willingham (who's going on paternity leave tomorrow) had two doubles, Denard Span had two hits and Jamey Carroll scored twice.

Josh Beckett (2-2) was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first and he benefited from two more in the third and two more in the fourth against Nick Blackburn (0-2). The Texas Toughguy struggled with his command and lost his composure with home plate umpire Adrian Johnson but only allowed one run in the first despite throwing nearly 40 pitches.

After an even 100 pitches, Beckett was done after six innings. He allowed two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

Blackburn was rocked; in three innings, he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Sweeney and Ortiz had RBI singles in the first and Cody Ross drove in a run with a ground out. Justin Morneau got a run back by walking with the bases loaded in the home half of the first but Beckett managed to strike out Ryan Doumit and get Danny Valencia to ground out. Commence barking at Johnson.

The Red Sox really opened it up as Ortiz crushed a two-run homer to right in the third, his third of the season, then Aviles roped a solo shot just fair to left in the following frame to make it 6-1. Gonzalez also had an RBI single in the fourth.

Aviles, Pedroia and Gonzalez all had RBI doubles in the fifth before the Twins finally scored another lone run in the fifth on Willingham's RBI double.

Pinch hitter Lars Anderson scored in the eighth on Darnell McDonald's (another pinch hitter) ground out.

This was exactly what the Red Sox needed after last night's nail-biter, an easy win against an overmatched opponent. Their lineup dominated, Beckett worked through some early trouble and the only relievers used were Scott Atchison and Matt Albers.

Boston will go for the sweep tomorrow night with another pitching matchup that really favors them: Clay Buchholz (1-1) faces rookie Liam Hendriks (0-0). Yes, Buchholz has been awful and no I don't know one thing about Hendriks but this is a layup against a pathetic lineup and team. It is a game that Clay has to win if he wants to start getting his season on the right path.

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Celtics Beat The Heat For The Third Time In April

Hey, did you ever wonder how the Celtics (minus Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen & Rajon Rondo) would do against the Heat (without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh)? Me neither but that dumpster fire happened tonight at TD Garden with Boston (38-27, 23-9 home) prevailing 78-66 over Miami (46-19, 18-14 away).

All you need to know about this mostly meaningless game, the second to last one of the regular season, was that Sasha Pavlovic was the game's leading scorer with 16 points. Marquis Daniels (13 points) was the other Celtic to score in double figures. Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley all had eight points while Keyon Dooling and E'Twaun Moore scored seven apiece.

For the Heat, former blob Dexter Pittman had 12 points and James Jones put up 11 off the bench. Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers both scored eight points as well.

I could quibble with why Pierce played tonight (only 18 minutes) but that would make my head hurt too much. My only rationale is that he'll sit out the regular season finale on Thursday against Milwaukee while maybe KG and Rondo will get some run.

The only reason that the Bucks game deserves any mention is that the Celts are only one game behind Atlanta going into their final contests. The Hawks (39-36) host the Mavericks on Thursday night. If Boston wins and Atlanta loses, the C's will have home-court since they own the tiebreaker. Otherwise, they'll have to start their first round series in the ATL.

Tonight and Thursday will serve as a reminder why nobody pays attention to NBA preseason games, they're brutal. Bring on the playoffs!

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Red Sox Snap A 5-Game Losing Streak With Come-From-Behind Win In Minnesota

Well for one night at least, we don't have to bitch and complain about the Red Sox. Joy!

Boston (5-10, 2-5 away) began a seven-game road trip by winning 6-5 tonight against Minnesota (5-12, 2-5 home) at Target Field.

Cody Ross (3 RBIs) slugged two home runs, Daniel Bard (1-2) was successful in his first appearance out of the bullpen (2 key outs) and Alfredo Aceves nailed down his third save of the season to help the Red Sox snap an ugly five-game losing streak.

Jon Lester had his second straight bad start in a row although this one was nothing compared to the disaster against the Rangers last week. He was up 3-0 and cruising in the fourth when Ryan Doumit (2 hits) hit a two-run double to left then the immortal Danny Valenica (1st of the season) cranked a two-run bomb to left center.

Lester was up to 105 pitches entering the seventh so I had no idea why he was still in when it was tied 5-5 but the head-scratching move turned out fine. He got a 1-2-3 frame and his outing was complete with seven full innings of five earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks.

In the first, Adrian Gonzalez gave Boston a 1-0 lead with his third sacrifice fly of the season, driving in Mike Aviles. In the third, Jarrod Saltlamacchia (2 runs, 2 hits) reached down and golfed a two-run shot (his 2nd of the season) to left off Jason Marquis.

The Twins scored their other run in the fifth when Jamey Carroll grounded into a double play. That ended up being a turning point since Minnesota had runners on first and third with no outs. The best part of Lester's uneven performance was that he forced three double plays.

It was only a matter of time before the Red Sox found a way to score some more runs against Marquis (6.1 innings, 5 earned runs, 11 hits, 3 strikeouts), a journeyman starting pitcher. It turned out that Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire-one of the best in MLB-gave them an assist by leaving him in too long. He served up a two-run homer by Ross into the upper deck in left in the seventh which tied it at five.

After Carroll's single turned into a triple on a throwing error by Ryan Sweeney (2 hits), Franklin Morales retired Joe Mauer (2 hits) for the first out of the eighth. That's when Bard was summoned. No pressure. He responded by getting Josh Willingham to line out. Justin Morneau was intentionally walked (great decision) and he was able to get Doumit to pop out to end the threat.

Ross added a solo shot, his fifth of the season, in the ninth against Twins closer Matt Capps (0-1), in a non-save situation. Ross is a dead pull hitter but he hit that the opposite way, over the right field fence.

Some Red Sox writers thought Bard would start the ninth but Bobby Valentine stuck with his embattled closer. It paid off as Aceves worked around a single for the save. There was one dicey moment as Trevor Plouffe's fly ball appeared to have the distance to get out off the bat but thankfully it died on the warning track.

Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz also had two hits each for the Red Sox.

Boston will look to get another winning streak started tomorrow night as Josh Beckett (1-2) faces Nick Blackburn (0-1) at 8:10 p.m. on NESN.

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Patrice Bergeron Named 1 of 3 Finalists For 2012 Selke Award (Defensive Forward)

A little Bruins nugget to tide you over until their biggest game of the season on Wednesday night-Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals vs. the Capitals at TD Garden.

Today, Patrice Bergeron was named one of three finalists for the Selke Award (defensive forward) at the 2012 NHL Awards. For the second straight year, that celebration will be held June 20 in Las Vegas, NV (sick!) but the house band is also Nickelback (again, puke!). The winner is selected by a vote of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and will be presented at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.

For years, Bruins fans have always felt that Bergeron was one of the top two-way centers in the NHL and this nomination only illustrates that it is the view league-wide too, not just a regional bias.

The other two nominees are St. Louis Blues center David Backes and Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk.

From NHL.com's press release:

Besides his team-high totals of 24 goals and 54 points, Backes led Blues forwards with an average ice time of 19:59 while posting a plus-15 rating. He started just 46 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, the second-fewest of any Blues forward who played at least 10 games, but finished 52.4 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, meaning he was able to turn defense into offense better than any player on the team. He also led all NHL forwards in advanced metrics website Behind the Net's Quality of Competition rating, meaning the players he skated against had the highest average plus/minus rating.

He led the team with 226 hits and all Blues forwards with 72 blocked shots, while his 50 takeaways were second on the team. He won just 48.6 percent of his faceoffs, but took the most on the team at 1,353.

The Blues were the League's best defensive team, allowing just 1.60 goals per game. Much of that had to do with goaltending, but the team allowed a League-low 26.7 shots per game, meaning skaters like Backes had a big role in that defensive excellence.

In addition to finishing second on the team with 64 points, Bergeron was at his best in the faceoff circle, finishing second in the League by winning 59.3 percent of his draws. He was especially strong on faceoffs while shorthanded, winning 53.5 percent of his faceoffs while killing a penalty, and he led Bruins forwards in shorthanded ice time at 1:48 per game. He also took 34.6 percent of all Boston faceoffs, the sixth-highest percentage of any player in the League.

He led the League with a plus-36 rating, and did it while playing 18:34 per game and picking up just 20 penalty minutes. He also led all Bruins forwards with 67 blocked shots and 55 takeaways. And among forwards who played at least 30 games, his 1.73 on-ice plus/minus per 60 minutes at even strength was third among all NHL forwards -- he was on the ice for 66 goals for and 34 goals against at even strength.

Datsyuk is a perennial contender for the Selke, and with good reason. Besides scoring at leat 65 points for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, he was 10th in the League in faceoffs, winning 56.2 percent, while taking 32.0 percent of all Red Wings faceoffs. He was third among all League forwards with 97 takeaways. Datsyuk was second among the team's forwards in average ice time per game at 19:34, but had a plus-21 rating and just 14 penalty minutes, the fewest of his career. He also played 1:13 per game shorthanded.

And according to Behind the Net's QoC, Datsyuk faced the second-hardest competition among Red Wings players, behind only defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.

He had his three-year Selke win streak snapped last year when Vancouver's Ryan Kesler won it. If Datsyuk wins his fourth Selke, he would tie Bob Gainey for the most in history.

Bergeron got hurt in Game 5 on Saturday and had to leave the game but he played in Game 6 and there's no doubt that he'll suit up for Game 7. He's such a special player, just look at Bruins head coach Claude Julien's comments about him after yesterday's overtime win. We're lucky to have him on the B's, he represents basically everything that is right in professional sports. He does his job, respects the game, his teammates, coaches and opponents and seems like a nice guy off the ice as well. He wasn't able to take any face-offs yesterday (because of his upper body injury) but when he had to take one late in the third period, in Boston's own end, he of course won it.

We all know that awards are meaningless when your team falls short in the playoffs (what up Vancouver Canucks?) but if the Bruins can make a run once again and Bergeron can pick up the Selke Award, it will be quite an accomplishment. Remember that Tim Thomas picked up the Vezina Award (not to mention Conn Smythe) last season while Zdeno Chara got the Norris Trophy. Let's hope for another May and June dominated by the Black and Gold.

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Tyler Seguin Scores In Overtime, Bruins Force Game 7 Back In Boston

It is only right that a series that has been so insanely close from Game 1 to Game 6, would end with the ultimate finale: Game 7 at TD Garden.

The Bruins still never make it easy on themselves but they pulled out a 4-3 overtime win this afternoon at the Verizon Center in D.C. to force Game 7 on Wednesday night (time TBA). Tyler Seguin scored his first goal of the playoffs off a pretty play from Milan Lucic (2 assists) and David Krejci (1 goal, 1 assist) as Boston blew three separate one-goal leads but still prevailed.

Krejci intercepted a bad clearing pass by the Capitals and fed Lucic, who took a hit but released the puck right on time to Seguin. The second-year player was able to beat his defender to the outside then work around Braden Holtby (27 saves). It was a goal-scorer's move that few other guys on the Bruins could possibly make let alone execute in that type of high-stakes game situation.

This series which wasn't that anticipated coming in, has been nothing short of a classic (haha assuming the B's win Game 7). Each game has been decided by one goal (first time in NHL history that the first 6 games have been like that): there have been three 4-3 games, two 2-1 games and one 1-0 game. If that's not enough, this was the third time in six games that they have needed overtime. Basically, if you make it through this series as a Bruins fan without suffering a heart attack, you are in damn good shape.

The Bruins have only played with a lead twice this series (Game 3, Game 6), they've scored first only twice (Game 1, Game 6) and this will be the fifth time in their last six playoff series that they've gone seven games.

It's easy to look back in hindsight because they won but this would have been a particularly brutal way to lose (and crash out of the playoffs) since Boston had two golden opportunities right away in OT: Zdeno Chara had Holtby way out of position but he wasn't able to get a shot off. Then Patrice Bergeron tipped a shot off the crossbar.

The B's played with urgency from the start, illustrated by the fact that Rich Peverley (3rd of the playoffs) scored 5:56 into the first period. He tipped in Andrew Ference's shot from the point with the banged up Bergeron picking up the other assist.

Washington responded less than four minutes later as Mike Green (1st of the playoffs) banked a shot off Greg Zanon's leg and past Tim Thomas (36 saves). It was a bad break, the kind that the Caps have seemingly taken advantage of all series long.

Krejci (1st of the playoffs) scored a power-play goal at 16:48 of the first period from Lucic and Peverley. It was definitely a shot that Holtby would like back since the puck hit him in the chest area but still squirted by him. Regardless, it was huge for the Bruins to get Krejci on the scoresheet and on the man-advantage no less (their second of the series and in as many games).

The Caps tied it two with 42 seconds left in the second period on a bizarre play. Brad Marchand spun and took a flop in Washington's defensive zone, trying to get a call, but he didn't and the Capitals ended up with a rush up the other end. Nicklas Backstrom found Jason Chimera (1st of the playoffs) with a pretty backhand saucer pass that the goon just had to tap in. Dennis Seidenberg was caught behind Chimera and Thomas sold out thinking Backstrom would shoot. People freaked out on Twitter that it should have been a penalty but honestly, Marchand can't pull that type of Montreal Canadiens type crap. Hopefully he'll learn from that mistake.

Ference (1st of the playoffs) scored a clutch goal at 11:57 of the third, following up a rebound from Seguin's shot. Unfortunately, Thomas gave up a soft goal to Alex Ovechkin (2nd of the playoffs) at 15:08 to tie it up once again and eventually force overtime. Yes, Boston gave Ovechkin a ton of space in the shooting lane but he didn't exactly rip it. The puck went through Thomas' five hole, much like Troy Brouwer's game-winner in Game 5, it was one that Thomas has to stop if the Bruins are going to advance.

Thank God that these teams and the fans get a couple days off before Game 7. If they played again tomorrow or even Tuesday, they would be dead. After playing two wild 4-3 games the last two days, we all get a chance to take a breath and allow the proper hype and buildup for what should be an awesome Game 7.

Joe Corvo missed today's game with a knee injury so Mike Mottau took his place. The other Boston move was replacing Shawn Thornton with Jordan Caron. Plus, Tuukka Rask was Thomas' backup for the first time in the series.

Clearly, Wednesday night will almost certainly be a one-goal game. I would be shocked if it's not very tight either way. Overtime is a real possibility too. Beyond that, who knows? There is nothing better than a Game 7 in the NHL playoffs so let's all enjoy it as much as possible. You can never be sure who will step up and be the hero or likewise, be the goat. Boston is 1-2 at home so far but I can guarantee that the Garden will be electric on Wednesday. As always in big games, the Bruins will rely on their leaders: Thomas, Chara and Bergeron to set the tone. If they all play like they are capable of, the B's will be hard to beat.

UPDATE 4/24: Bruins-Capitals Game 7 on Wednesday will begin at 7:30 p.m.

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Red Sox-Yankees Series Finale Rained Out, Daniel Bard Headed Back To The Bullpen

As expected, tonight's Red Sox-Yankees game (slated to be Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN) was cancelled this afternoon since it has poured all day in Boston. No word on when the game will be made up later in the season.

Frankly, this is the best thing that could happen to the Red Sox, who've dropped five in a row. They avoid another loss to the Yankees and more importantly, they can get out of Fenway Park and away from all the (deserved) negativity. They head to the Midwest for three games against the Minnesota Twins (5-11) then four games next weekend in Chicago against the White Sox (9-6).

The other big piece of news is that Daniel Bard has been moved back to the bullpen. The Red Sox say it's only temporary but come on, give me a break. How many times do guys get bounced back and forth between the rotation and bullpen during the regular season? Although, I wouldn't put it past Bobby Valentine to do something stupid like that. Putting Bard back in his normal role: setup man or even closer should help the bullpen immensely.

It will give them someone else that Valentine can count on whereas now there is almost nobody that is reliable. I never understood why Boston's front office wanted Bard to be in the rotation as a fourth or fifth starter. That seems counterproductive since I feel like an elite setup man or closer is much more valuable. Have they learned nothing from the Yankees' mismanagement of Joba Chamberlain?

No word on how they'll fill Bard's spot in the rotation, for now with the rainout today, they're simply skipping him. Look for Aaron Cook to be called up from Pawtucket next week at some point, that's my best guess. He's been pitching well there so far.

At Target Field, Jon Lester (0-2) tries for his first win of the season tomorrow night (8:10 p.m., NESN) against Minnesota's Jason Marquis (1-0). Josh Beckett (1-2) faces Nick Blackburn (0-1) on Tuesday night and Clay Buchholz (1-1) gets rookie Liam Hendriks (0-0) on Wednesday night.

One other roster move: the Red Sox have put Jason Repko on the DL with a shoulder injury and called up Lars Anderson from the PawSox. With Adrian Gonzalez in front of him, Anderson will always be a backup first basemen so I guess he's been playing in the outfield for Pawtucket. If nothing else, Anderson gives Bobby V some more depth on the bench in terms of pinch-hitting for the next few weeks.

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Marlon Byrd Is Here To Save The Red Sox

Twitter absolutely blew up this afternoon in Boston with reports that the Red Sox were close to acquiring Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd. It's not big news but it gives us something positive to talk about.

Well after today's nightmare of a loss, Boston made it official as they dealt reliever Michael Bowden and a player to be named later to Chicago for Byrd and cash considerations.

I was shocked how many people weren't into this move; granted Byrd is nothing special but have they seen who's been patrolling the outfield at Fenway? Jason Repko, Nate Spears, Darnell McDonald. All fringe Major Leaguers at best. Byrd was an All-Star only two years ago with the Cubs and he has the ability to play center field.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford won't be back for a while so Byrd should be an adequate stop gap until the stars return. In 10 MLB seasons (Phillies, Nationals, Rangers, Cubs), Byrd has 1040 hits, 516 runs, 81 home runs with 438 RBIs. His career splits are .278 batting average/.337 OBP/.416 SLG.

Keep in mind that Bowden (who was recently designated for assignment) is useless and he was never going to do anything for the Red Sox plus the Cubs forked over most of Byrd's salary. So what's not to like about this move? It's basically no-risk and they could get some decent production out of Byrd, who should be motivated to perform for his new club.

2009 and 2010 were his best seasons. With Texas in 2009, he had 20 home runs and 89 RBIs with a split of .283 batting average/.329 OBP/.479 SLG. He made his only All-Star appearance in 2010 with the Cubs. He set career-highs with 84 runs and 170 hits. His power numbers went down (12 homers, 66 RBIs) but he became more selective at the plate (.293 batting average/.346 OBP).

To make room on the roster for Byrd, Spears was designated for assignment. Let the Marlon Byrd experience begin!

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