More to prove

Great 2-1 win by the Bruins tonight over the Bolts. They showed that they are on a completely different level than Tampa Bay. Despite the flashes of brilliance that have been shown all year by the Stamkos-St. Louis duo (not to mention the superb play by net minder Mike Smith tonight), this Boston team has too many threats for one-dimensional teams to keep up; threats that include goal-scorers that can brawl and brawlers that can score.

While Boston's depth is an upgrade from disappointing years past, there's still a mental elephant the Bruins have struggled with which may have been a key factor in their recent post-season shortcomings. Night in and night out, thoguht, this team appears to be facing these demons in a desparate effort to show they are a different team. Winning 6 out of 6 games on a road trip which included some of the top contenders in the West in CAL and VAN as well ass draft lottery candidates NYI and OTT(x2) showed that the Bruins have the ability to perform at their level and play their game no matter the opponent.

If ever there was a case for Boston to drop to their competitor's level, playing a Tampa team that relies heavily on a strict game plan of maintained-possession and a high quantity and quality of scoring chances would be it. A big part of this is the fact that the Lightning lead the league in power play minutes coming into the night. While at times it looked like Boston was struggling to build momentum playing a team that appeared to have a hard time staying on their skates in a city that knows how to keep a sheet of ice frozen, the Bruins skating a squad where each player is expected to contribute in all aspects of the game helped them battle a 2 minute 5-on-3 PK and run 3 crunch-time lines int he final minutes of the game to pull out the win.

But this was just one game and if this season ends the way the past several have, this will only be one game out of 82, and this win streak, while nice at the present time, will be something many a Boston fan would sacrafice to put together a group of wins in May and June.

Back to it

Okay I think I want to get this going again to give myself a place to vent about things other than taxes this busy season...

Mostly Bruins posts will be coming, as they are something worth talking about this season. I think my only issue this year will be finding things to gripe about, because this team is looking pretty good as the season winds down. The team listened to me and stuck with Timmy (like I said) and Tuukka hit his sophomore slump (also like I said-which start last year playoffs rd 2). They got rid of Wheeler (like I said) who was about to break the league record in offsides per season--a record previously held by none other than Blake Wheeler. And despite Savard being out for who knows how long, they have found the back of the net.

But I'm sure I'll think of something...

The Anti-Climatic Summer of Baseball

In mid-June, I finally recovered from the punch to the gut that was the end of the Bruins season. I'm slightly okay with the fact that Boston has met the same fate as the '04 Yankees, and that this town of annoying pink-hat fan-dom knows what that kind of embarrassment feels like. But ask me if I had my choice between the Bruins advancing a round and Boston getting what's been coming to 'em, I'd 100% of the time take the former.

When I finally got around to watching baseball--July 4th is good for that; there's nothing more American than Tim McCarver and Joe Buck calling a Yankees game on Fox; that and the hot dog eating contest--the regular season was basically over. The Yankees had surged to the top of the A.L. East. The Red Sox had begun there 2nd-half downward spiral a month early. And the success of Tampa Bay was leading many in the Nation to question whether or not Boston would even be in contention for a wild card spot.

How did this all get missed? Where did sports fans go instead of to America's Past time?

1. Lakers/Celtics Final: The Lakers and the Celtics are two of the most polarizing teams in the NBA (add Miami to that list now): You either love them or hate them. Even if you are so-so about one of them, your feelings are extreme about the other. This means you're not watching Darnell MacDonald man centerfield at Fenway. You're watching basketball.

2. World Cup: Despite the US being the only (and therefore, the biggest) fair-weather soccer nation in the world, ESPN/ABC jammed world cup coverage down our throats. Even if you didn't enjoy watching the games played accross a perfect green pitch on your 60" HD, it was better than watching Manny DelCarmen give up 5 runs in the 8th inning.

3. Recessionary Baseball: The MLB has taken advantage of fans for a while, making it harder to pay to go to a game that you are probably going to enjoy more watching from home in the A/C with a cheap beer in your hand. Even if you get a good deal on scalped tickets, you're blowing $60-80 on food an drinks by the 3rd inning. The only problem with this concept is that when baseball teams are mediocre, the only way they get attention in their town is by making it affordable to go to games. Without people getting their thrills at the old ball park and without a local team in contention to top their division, TV ratings fall drastically. The advertising dollars go towards America's Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance. And the summer of sports turns into a countdown to football training camp. (BTW: anyone going to Pats camp this week?)

Let's face it: Baseball is the sport of summer. Just not this summer.

Tell me if this sounds familiar…

Congrats to Tim Thomas for showing some recognizable Vezina form last night. Okay so it’s been two months since I’ve written last. I took turns going around on other people’s blogs trying to get my point across there (which never actually goes well). Probably a big reason for not writing is that every other blogger out there has been doing a good job covering the issues. Or maybe there just haven’t been enough issues worth talking about…

If you told me at the end of last season that the B’s would have month-long spans without showing many sparks (beyond dominating at “Kesselmania,” what a joke that was), I would have slapped you across the face with a salmon like you had just tucked in your Bruins jersey. But now that this team has done everything in its power to muffle the momentum from last post-season, let’s take some time to reflect.
Everyone knew coming into the season that this team was good. This includes the players. How many times have you looked across the sports spectrum and seen a team whose downfall was it knew it was good? This has struck the Black and Gold harder than a slapper from Big Z and what we’ve been watching during this past stretch is the team trying to skate it off. Well, there are some times when you just need to head down the tunnel for 5 minutes and tape it.

Example: Maybe it’s just me having a man-crush on Tim “The Tank” Thomas (or hating people for thinking Rask is the second coming of Christ), but I think the biggest non-story for the B’s so far has been the battle for time between the pipes. Tuukka is a gifted goalie and could be headed for a hall of fame career, but look at Thomas’s personal stats outside of the first 5-10 games. There was a stretch of seven games before Timmy sat out with an injured blocker hand where his GAA was hovering around 1.7 and he could only go 50/50 in those games. Boston turned it around in a high-scoring game in Pittsburgh where Thomas may have had the most underrated performance of the year (next to the 2008-2009 All-Star game, but they can’t give the MVP to a Bruin in front of a Montreal crowd). That conference match-up saw Timmy stop not only a breakaway from both Crosby and Malkin, but also a 2-on-1 from – you guessed it – both Crosby and Malkin.

So why were the B’s 7th in the East going into last night? Besides a lackluster offensive effort, the defense has taken a beating. When your defense is taking a beating (or anyone for that matter), they look for nights where they only have to provide 100% effort rather than stretch for the extra 10%. Those nights, unfortunately for TT, have been with last year’s Vezina in net. Welcome to a team that knows they’re good. Welcome to a team that knew they had a top goalie with a top performance in net last night and waited for the 3rd period to stop Ottowa from shooting and put a couple in the net themselves.

Hopefully, last night’s performance was just a big F you from Thomas to the rest of the team. Hopefully, the attitude of ‘your most important player played a 60-minute game, maybe you can play more than 20-minutes’ will rub off on the rest of the team going into the pre-winter classic stretch. If the same team that’s been playing for the past few months shows up New Years Day, the game at Fenway may do more to harm their popularity than promote it.

Either way, I’ll see you at the ball park!

Congrats to Tim Thomas for showing some recognizable Vezina form last night. Saturday night's game was the second time this season the Bruins have come back from multiple goals down to tie it in the third before going on and clinching two points in the shootout. The latest heart attack game was even more intense, calling for two goals in the final 1:28 of regulation. If you watch a replay of the game, try your hardest not to pay attention to Jack Edwards in a classic Jack Edwards moment, and look at the faces of the Sens fans. Priceless.

While Thomas did come out and make some amazing saves, one goal that beat him five hole and another that sneaked by his left pad as it lost coverage of the near post still tell me he's got a little bit of rust to shake off. He'll do better if he's alternating netminding duties with Rask, as this rotation with Fernandez at the beginning of last season really brought the best out of him. Doing this may help Timmy get on the NHL Network's top five saves of the night, like he is below:

A Whole New Team

(Sorry for such a gap in between posts. It's tough devoting the time I want to posts now that I'm working. Then again, I don't think I want to be unemployed again...)

This Bruins bunch has really given me a rough go the past few weeks. I can't decide if I like the direction they're in or not. Don't get me wrong; I don't think the team that was out there tonight against Nashville can win the Cup, but I like where things are going. Remember everyone: this is a Boston team that by no means was a favorite after the first few weeks of the 2008-09 season.

And then something happened. They got behind a "rough and tough and whatever gets the job done" attitude and decided they weren't going to lose in late-November/December. And that's exactly what it'll take for this new crew wearing the B to turn a 3-3 squad into the League's elites.

Some side story lines since my last post will probably end up as a turning point when Kathryn and Barry are recapping the season next spring, either positively and negatively:

Chucky's Out - In reality, this didn't shock me as much as I thought it would. Kobasew got ditched for what may only be explained as a salary dump. The Bruins get yet more draft leverage in exchange for a mediocre, overpaid forward. There is a surplus of average forwards in Boston, and if one leaves, Providence as a bunch of guys who, odds have it, will end up as other average forwards. Which brings me to my second point...

Vladdy! - The shuffling of lines that's come from injuries (we'll get to those another day) has made room for Pruins center Vladimir Sobotka to take on a daily role for the big boy club. The problem with Sobotka in his limited time in playing up last year is that his lack of a defensive game completely contradicts Julien's style. Rather than spend time honing his skills in Boston last year, he was seen as expendable and shipped back to R.I. The longer he calls the Garden his home, the better he'll get...hopefully. But if not, there's always...

P. Burgerrrr - As much as I have against guys named "Patrice," I am amazed by what he's doing this season (not just that goal he scored tonight that he worked his ass off for that everyone else is going to be talking about). After coming back from a tough injury to where he was supposed to be back at his prime last season, he by no means was a star. So while I thought he was on a downhill spiral, he has come out since scoring the lone goal on opening night as the ice time leader he was supposed to be that past few years. Let's hope he's not the only guy stepping up with the absence of Marc and Milan.

Go B's! See you tmw night in Philly!!

Great Video - Fired Up for Game 2

I just saw this video again this morning and was immediately compelled to buy tickets to tonight's game vs. the 'Canes. See you there...

The B's Are Back -- Kind Of...

As I wait for baseball games to start mattering again, I've had a lot of time to get amped up for the start of the Bruins season. For the second year in a row, I've been able to go to the home opener at the Garden ice, and for the second year in a row, I've watched the Bruins disappoint a sell-out crowd that was completely drunk with excitement (or just drunk).

A big problem for the B's last year, the lack of a consistent, go-to goal scorer, got much worse this off-season with the loss of Phil Kessel, the young-gun who looked ready to take on that role. However, when you have the reigning Vezina winner between the pipes (not to mention the Norris winner in front of him) and, oh yeah, the Jennings Trophy on display at the pre-game kick-off event, maybe you can get by without as much offense. It brought Boston the best regular season record in the East just six months ago, hopefully it will work again.

Last night, though, it was almost impossible to pick out the weakest area on the team: not because there were none, but instead too many. Of course the horrible passing and lack of speed through the neutral zone made me sick, but I don't think that did the most damage as the Bruins fell to the Capitals 4-1. The bad luck Boston has had this year (and last year against the Penguins) is opening at home against a team with a superstar forward.

Despite the individual accolades, the B's get their strength as a unit; being able to push out four effective lines and never giving up an easy side on defense. The team that took the ice last night adorning the black and gold lacked any hint of these strengths that brought so much hope to Boston hockey fans. The flaw in giving up these big holes with lack of communication and cohesiveness was that last night (like last year) they were across the ice from one of the elite players of this decade.

As much as you can hate Ovechkin (especially in the home-opener after hitting Savard well behind the play and out of a ref's sight and then making sure to wimp-out and just draw the penalty when Chara went in for a retaliatory fight), it's impossible to note that his ability of ALWAYS being open is anything less than genius. The only way to keep him (or Crosby) in check is to put a Lucic or a Wheeler on him. Without a physical player glued to the #8 on his back wherever he roves all over the ice, the Bruins don't beat the Caps--not to mention any other team.

But the biggest hope I can draw on is that the B's started with a home opener loss last year, they had the same struggles finding the right line-mates, and their special teams were a weakness even on a power play. Still, they found a way to prove all the doubters wrong. My guess is that it had something to do with the other trophy holder on the squad: the Jack Adams winner on the bench. Let's just hope Claude can work some magic in a season that has the bulls-eye square on Boston's back.

August Update/Millar Factor

While I had some brief fun with Ortiz last week, including adamantly booing him during his six at-bats I saw while at the Yankees game last Thursday (his first game in the Bronx since the Times article came out), there's so much more to talk about. I, unlike the Boston media, was more interested in how dominating the Bombers were over the four-game series than what Papi had to say in his press conference Saturday.

Let me just say that I am now more than ever looking forward to another sports talk radio station in Boston. If I have to hear another moronic caller on WEEI go on about how Ortiz probably never knowingly took as much as a Red Bull to help him get up to the Majors, I might go crazy. I'm sorry Big O but you are and idiot if you think that Ortiz knew any less about what he was taking than A-Rod, so stop acting like it. You are an embarrassment to sports radio.

The real issue in Boston is that there is no Kevin Millar. That is to say that there is no personality in the clubhouse. Maybe it was just the fact that they were held scoreless for 31 consecutive innings, but the visiting dugout at new Yankee Stadium this weekend looked pretty abysmal compared to years when the Sox even thought they had a chance. That's where the Kevin Millar factor steps in.

In '04, Millar's antics, which I admittedly criticized over and over again, really showed how much his team liked what they were doing. As much as I'm not the ideal employee example at the moment, I think it's safe to say that when you like what you're doing you do your best work. In '07, when the Sox won their second Series of the decade, Manny Ramirez's comic relief role was as big if not bigger than his bat. He was the Millar for the clubhouse that year.

One thing the Yankees have shown us over the past few years is that you can have the best players in the league, but without a Millar, you won't win a ring. Enter Nick Swisher. (This could have gone to A.J. with his shaving cream pies, but he's too much of a stud on the mound.) Swisher was never supposed to be an everyday player, but with his increased playing time as a result of injuries to Gardner and Nady, his personality has had a lot more time to shine. His Swish-hawk, his tweets, and his occasional home runs have given the Yankees the life they've been lacking for too long.

As I was correct about the August Sox slump in my previous post, let's see if I can go 2 for 2 on the Yanks going back where they belong, back to the World Series, and all because of the Kevin Millar factor (and maybe with some help from acquisitions of Sabathia, Burnett, and Texiera).

Justice

I've been waiting for this day ever since Alex Rodriguez's name came out in February the media as one of the players who tested positive in supposedly anonymous, research-gathering steroid tests in 2003. No more than three minutes after the story broke, every one of my Red Sox-loving friends (which is a majority, living near Boston) had some clever thing to say about "A-Roid" or "A-Fraud." Not only was Red Sox Nation already overzealous about they're run of success over the past five years, but now they had this to gloat about.

Come to think of it, I've been waiting for this ever since the Sox mysteriously had a swelling of offense to win their first World Series in 86 years. Since 2004 I've been waiting for this kind of doubt, this kind of dumbfounded response, from these Boston fans. And now I have it...

Mark July 30, 2009 on your calendar as the first day of Red Sox Nation demise. That day will go down as the day Papi was known to "disrespect" his narrow-sighted fans. How does a guy who knowingly tested positive in the same test that broke about A-Rod in spring training respond by saying he's better than that because he cares about the game, his family, and his fans? How can he still get cheered so feverishly by the Fenway Faithful? How can he get curtain-called for powering a go-ahead home run to center field hours after it was finally confirmed that his power was derived from more than "rice and beans?"

More to come on this topic later...

Bruins Summer Vacation

So I just heard Aaron Ward on the Toucher and Rich show for probably one of the last times in a while. For those of you who don't listen, "Ward Wednesdays" was a regular segment on WBCN's morning show during the Bruins season. His phone-in relationship and extracurricular events with Fred, Rich, Crash, and Adolfo made Aaron a cult favorite among Boston hockey followers.

Late last week, all those fans (yours truly included) got a shot in the gut when the Bruins sent Ward packing in order to bring in a more solid blue-liner. While I think a lot more people will be missing Ward's presence than Peter Chiarelli could ever imagine, I don't think a lot of people can hate on the fact that Ward is heading back home to play in Raleigh.

So, what's left for the Bruins to do this off-season? They've just filled Ward's spot with Derek Morris and the only remaining loose end is Phil Kessel. To be honest, signing a guy like Morris who's going to command $3mil+ against the cap seems like a bad sign for Kess's future in Boston. He should be getting close to Krejci's salary of upwards of $3.6mil. With only $1.6mil of room left, I think the Bruins might be shooting for a less-proven 2nd-3rd year guy who hasn't broken out yet to replace Kessel. I hope I'm wrong.

Needless to say, I'm still excited about the B's 2009-10 campaign. With such a disappointing stoppage in play this past spring, I can't wait for opening night at the Garden. Also, if anyone is selling their Winter Classic seats, name your price.

2nd Half MLB Preview

Tonight marks the end of a draining drought of sports to watch. (NL fans, I know you guys started last night, but you really need to win an All-Star Game for anyone to give a damn.) The highlight of my week may have been Andy Richter going yard (or, for the ladies, Brian Littrell getting face time) in the Legends/Celebs. I started watching the HR Derby, but after I saw players taking 10 bp pitches waiting for "the one," I decided I'd tune back in a few hours when they might be out of the first round. No, the ASG was not a complete blowout and the NL had a huge opportunity, just like last year, when overrated Papelbon took his rightful place as a 7th inning man and, like last year, almost blew it. But the 9th inning went to Mo and, like always, he said good night. (BTW, did anyone else think that Joe Buck was sounding extra peanut buttery calling Rivera's record setting 4th ASG save?)

Anyway...this has got to stop. No, I don't want to watch summer league basketball; I have a tough enough time dealing with the NBA. And why can't Comcast SportsNet broadcast a soccer game in HD? I've come to terms with the fact that NE Revolution games are poorly attended. Don't try to fool me by lowering the resolution. And don't get me started on the Versus Network and their ability to make the Tour de France feel like a peloton of old people in scooters at Wal-Mart racing to a rollback on tapioca pudding. VS kills sports (see also: NHL).

So, I'm open for suggestions. How do we make this week better? By making a bunch of dumb Celtics fans wait outside the Garden (and every TD Bank in the Commonwealth) for a candy bar and a chance at winning Bruins tickets that they don't care about and are just going to sell on StubHub? Here's an idea, instead of having the Winter Classic and Fenway in January, why not have it during the all-star break? It definitely won't do as much damage to the field as an Aerosmith concert, no one in the stands will have to wear a parka, and there's no chance of snow making any visibility on television nearly impossible. Sure you won't sell as much in concessions as you would at a Phish show, but I think we're all desperate for something other than the Major League Lacrosse "Old School vs. Young Guns" to take us through the break.

Tennis anyone?

I just got done watching a decent Wimbledon semi-finals match. The Battle of the Andy's pitted #6 seed Roddick against #3 seed Murray. Maybe I'm being a homer and maybe I just like guys who can sport the "A-Rod" nick, but I really like our Andy's chances against Federer in the finals. He's spent the last couple weeks (and pretty much all of 2009) playing amazing tennis while Fed has been acting in NetJets ads. This is one of the few tournaments since his stint at world #1 and only grand slam title in 2003 where I've seen him play with almost no holes in his game. His first serve percentage is over 70 and his speed and positioning for shots all over the court could earn him his first ever title at Wimbledon. I could go on and on talking about how if ever there was a time for Andy to beat Roger in a slam, this is it...

...but instead I really have to rant about the absolute disappointment in sports coverage NBC is providing. The problem facing NBC in covering Wimbledon is, as with any other overseas sporting event, the time difference. The second semi-final match of the day at the All-England Club (or whatever) started around 3pm local time. This means, in order for NBC to show it live, they would've had to cut out of the oh-so-popular midday hours of the Today show and lose all of those viewers. Maybe Kathy Lee Gifford has some clause in her contract that overrides showing anything good instead of her (probably for job security), but they've gone to Wimbledon coverage at 10am every other day this week. So what gives?

The real problem has to be that some dumb executive somewhere looked at the calendar and thought, "Oh, July 3rd. I bet a lot of people are getting out of work early to enjoy the holiday weekend. They are all going to come home after being shut off from any outside media at and on the way home from work and rush immediately to the couch and turn on NBC. Why not show Roddick-Murray then?" Then he/she proceeds to pitch this huge ratings boom to advertisers who normally laugh at paying for space during anything but a grand slam final, and it's done.

Come to find out, though, this strange piece of technology has been invented called "the Internet." What's more? People have it at home, work, and even on their cell phones now. Let's say a Wimbledon semi-final can normally bring in 20% of television viewers when it's up against soap operas and, my personal favorite, Maury. Because it's popularity is hit or miss among your average sports watcher and the casual fan may not be swayed to miss Dr. Phil and Opera. 75% of your 20% audience, therefore, are most likely above-average tennis fans or more. The other 25% are either watching it because they don't get other channels or because it's not worth looking for the remote to change. Do you think even the moderate tennis fan would not, oh I don't know, check the score online or even look at the freaking news? Do you think they are going to be glued to their TVs when they already know the results? All of a sudden, while trying to boom viewership from 20% to 30% by showing at a more optimal hour (on delay), you've lost 15% viewership because we already know what freaking happened!

NBC is just lucky I'm too lazy to pick up the remote. This is probably the worst sports coverage I've seen since VS ruined the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but at least they are only basic cable. Pick it up peacocks.

Mariano Rivera, RBI Specialist?

On a day when I had already been punched the gut multiple times, first by Brazil dashing U.S. Soccer hopes, then while watching the Braves do everything they could to try to give the game to the Sox in the 9th, the Yankees game was a great relief for me.

I warned my fiance back on Wednesday that I would be glued to the TV for the Confederations Cup Final and then Sunday Night Baseball. The former was pretty painful, and while I could go on and on about soccer in the States, I think a quote by Landon Donovan sums it up well: "We're at the point where we don't want respect anymore. We want to win." Still, the fact that U.S. made it to their first final in a FIFA tournament is a sign of progress that should not be taken lightly. All major U.S. sports outlets were glued to Johannesburg, and all were scrambling to come up with their best movie analogy where the hero dies at the end.

But when one hero dies we look for another storyline to fill the void that's left in our hearts. For me, that came a few hours later when the Yankees went for the sweep against the Mets. Now, to be honest, for all intents and purposes I had come to terms with a Yankees loss. I mean, the Sox had lost so we wouldn't be giving up any ground sending Wang to the mound. So why not? What I didn't expect was for good old Wanger to put aside his 14+ ERA and 0-6 record as a starter and pitch 5.1 innings, his longest outting of the year.

The Yankees scored 3 runs in the top of the first, and that's all they need when they allow only 2 in 8 innings (or 7.2). If a team waits until their last 3-4 outs to come back against the Yankees, they're met with by the most dominating closer ever.

Mariano Rivera lived up to the spectacle that is to be expected coming into a 3-2 game between the Yankees and Mets going for save number 500. Despite some half-hearted trickery by the Yankees in the top of the 9th, K-Rod ends up intentionally passing Jeter to give Mo the third at-bat of his career. Now after watching tape of Mo cut against the Braves just last week, K-Rod starts pitching around his closing counterpart. Despite taking the count full, the Mets stopper misses one too many times, allowing Rivera to reach base with no where to put him, driving in a run.

The bottom of the 9th went the way we expect it, and the legend that is Mariano Rivera grows; the final pitch from his hand hit off the end of the bat of ex-Red Sox stud Alex Cora, from Cano to Texiera, and back to Mo's glove where it can find its way to his award mantle next to his World Series MVP trophy and his 4 Championship rings.

Ditch Kessel?

Post #2:

This is a close call for me. I know all the bloggers out there with any creditability get it by having strong opinions. They either really like something or they don't. Well, the Kessel situation facing the Bruins this off-season is something I just can't pick a side on.

The story being rumored around today (from TSN) is in regards to trade talks between the Boston and Toronto clubs that would send young standout winger Phil Kessel and a later Bruins draft pick to the Leafs in exchange for defender Tomas Kaberle. Kaberle, who contributed to the Leafs with 27 helpers in 52 games, could substantially improve the Bruins power play. However, how much are they willing to sacrafice? I think Kessel's price is up after his 36 goal season, so this may be the best time to see what the Bruins can get for him, but if he can score 30-40 points every season why not keep him around?

Going into this off-season I knew there might be some hard trades to deal with, and it didn't help that young stars Kessel and David Krejci are in need of more substantial contracts in order to remain on board. Once they signed Krejci, I feared they'd have to make a decision like this with Kessel. Do they want to risk a larger contract on their young gun or go with a slightly more proven defender?

UPDATE: No trade as of yet, but who knows. Now that the Boston GM has floated that type of deal out there, watch out Kessel. It would be kind of a shame to see any talent like Kess go, especially for Kaberle, but if we were going to get someone like Jay Bouwmeester to secure our blue line, maybe I'd be in favor. At any rate, Kessel's free agency goes unrestricted next week. Hopefully the newly imposed cap won't hurt this young gun.

Yankees Outlook

So I haven't posted in more than a week so I decided to let a couple fly today...

After losing a couple inter-league series against the abysmal Nats and Fish squads, the Yankees pulled out a series victory in ATL. The bad news is: the bottom half+ of the N.L. east we should be sweeping. The good news is: A-Rod had 6 RBIs in the Yankees last two wins and is hopefully coming out of his slump just in time for a push to the All-Star break.

The next few weeks are definitely something the Yankees need to take advantage of as they stand four games back of the Sox in the division. After the Mets series, which are more head games than ball games nowadays, the boys have a day off before Seattle, Toronto, Minnesota, and Anaheim to round up the first half. I'd love to see some momentum picked up and even a division lead picked up before the break and then start off distancing ourselves so that by the time the Sox hit their typical August slump we can rest a little and coast into the postseason.

But hey, who's looking ahead?

How the Yanks won't win a regular season game against the Sox and still win the division...

Hurray for nationally televised games! The Yankees have been on television five of the last six days which has given me a good chance to postpone ponying up for MLB.tv. Needless to say, they could have had a better week. They lost three more to Boston which has really excited the pink hats. Apart from probably the most heartbreaking dropped ball so far this year, the Yankees would be fighting off two consecutive series sweeps from both their cross-town and cross-gender rivals. (I don't care if you root for or against the Empire; that drop was pretty gut-wrenching.)

But as I look at the box scores today, I'm not that afraid as a Yankee fan. I'm not doubting them at all actually. The scary thing is that I think this is the best chance in years the Yankees have at adding their 27th title. The Yankees are currently crushing the Mets and Philly has jumped out to a lead over the Sox late in their game. This would put the Yankees back at 2 games back of Boston in the division. Amazing if you consider that they haven't beaten Boston at all this year. Even more amazing if you've paid attention to their schedule lately.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they started the season in a slump; unsure of what kind of outfield rotation to use, unaware of how ineffective Wang would be, and unable to play one of the most feared number four hitters in the majors. This made them look atrocious against teams like Baltimore and Cleveland, teams that are rounding out their respective divisions in last place.

Since A-Rod's return in mid-May, the Yankees have looked like a whole different team. No, they're not getting the type of pitching out of Wang that they want and everyone but C.C. seems inconsistent, but they still made it to first place. In the past month they've had to struggle scheduling starters around a red-hot Texas team, the reigning A.L. Champs, and a Mets team that has dominated the last 5 years of inter-league play in the Big Apple (not to mention a surprisingly well hitting Sox team).

So, when Boston celebrates loudly and gets their usual ignorant arrogance about them after beating the Yankees in June, I can just sit back content knowing a two game lead in the division will not last a spotting pitching staff, overrated bullpen (with the exception of Papelbon), and the Dominican Republic's version of Jason Giambi all won't be able to hold up against the Yankees with all their talent just waiting for a post-season run to show off.

Yankees pitching still worries me

Yankees pitching still worries me. Don't get me wrong; they've got stuff. The problem is i don't think the coaches have any idea who to put in as 4th or 5th starter. They've announced Wang (0-3) will go back into the starter's role and throw against the Rangers Thursday afternoon. This means a trip to the pen for Phil Hughes. This comes despite Hughes having apparently gotten some of the kinks out of his game.
To make room for Wang, it was either gonna be Hughes or Joba. Joba, who was originally supposed to be the setup man for Mo, has been pitching too good lately. Monday night against the Indians, Joba fought off the bugs that haunted the Yankees' postseason two years ago to throw 8 strong. When he can hit 97 on the gun in the 7th and 8th, they almost have to let him go in the rotation.
Don't look for this to happen for long. I think this may be what Hughes needs to switch from reasonably good stuff to the incredible stuff we know he's capable of. Maybe the Burnett suspension will give Hughes a chance to come back, throw a gem, and put Joba back in the pen as one of the best 7th/8th inning guys in the majors.
Burnett's suspension for throwing over the head of Rangers' Nelson Cruz after A.J.'s teammate Mark Texiera was plunked twice by Vicente Padilla. However, I'm not exactly sure this will stand after the precedent the MLB set earlier this year with Beckett's suspension. A.J. probably won't even miss a start.

Over the Bruins

As the Yankees bound into a tie for first place tonight with a big win over the AL West's best coupled with a Red Sox loss, I can now say I'm officially over the Bruins for the year. They had a great season, and I'll hold my breath for NESN to show any past season highlights among Sox coverage (however unlikely that is), but I am now fully involved in baseball.

On a night when I'm watching ARod and Tex return to their old stomping grounds in Texas they are surprisingly not the story. Yes, Texiera went yard but so did a couple other Yankees. The rest of the team is putting it together despite being out Posada, Nady, and a recognizable Wang (as I'm writing this, Wang is pitching in the 9th, out of the bullpen, with no problems).

It has all culminated in a well-deserved day off Thursday as they've rolled for the past couple weeks without an ARod steroid headline (thanks, Manny) and without Joba getting pulled over for a DUI. Now tied with the Red Sox for first in the East, they'll face probably one of the toughest weeks of their season after a couple bunny series against last place Cleveland and a Texas team they can apparently handle. The test of Tampa Bay followed by the Sox followed by a subway series. We'll see how the team handles that challenge, as it will probably be a sign of if the Yankees truly have arrived this season.

Yankees

It's tough being a Yankees fan living a Johnny Damon toss away from Boston. I know what you're thinking: "Oh, he must get picked on a lot." No that's not what makes it tough. What's really tough is not being able to get the YES network broadcasts of every Yankees game. I've got to go out of my way to find out if ESPN/Fox/TBS are going to show a Yankees game on Boston Area television and plan my whole schedule around it.

When I do mysteriously stumble across a national broadcast of a Yankees game (i.e. yesterday on Fox), I'm rooting for a win so badly. If this win is capped off by an A-Rod home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and a walk off single by Melky a couple batters later, then I'm really excited. If the night is capped off by watching the Mets (on one of the three days a year when I root for them as they play Boston) perform their own bit of 9th inning heroics to crush the souls of Papsmear and the rest of Red Sox Nation, I feel bliss.

It's this type of bliss that can help get me over a tragic ending to the Bruins season. A couple Thursdays ago when I got the news via my BlackBerry (I was in San Fran) that the Bruins season had ended, I was crushed, especially considering that Scott Walker (see previous posts) got the season-ending goal in OT. I was so torn up about it that I couldn't enjoy unpacking my clothes at the resort I stayed at in Newport Beach, CA because of all of the Bruins t-shirts I had planned on wearing that were now going to have to stay in the back of a dresser drawer.

This clouded mindset I was in blurred my view of a streaking Yankees team last weekend. Friday - Melky walk-off single. Saturday - A-Rod walk-off homer. Sunday - Damon walk-off homer. These wins would have definitely been more fitting if I was in a good mood waiting for the Bruins second round opponent, but maybe not as appreciated. I needed to get to a point where I hated one sport (Colin Campbell is still a moron) in order to get involved with another. Well, I'm involved now.

As the Yankees pull to a tie with the Red Sox for 2nd int he A.L. East and a half game back of the Jays in 1st, it's now time for me to devote every cheering muscle in my body to the Bronx. I'm predicting a long run this year even into October. Err, well, I'm at least hoping they can hold my attention until the NHL season starts again...