Tag Archives: boston sports blog

Sox Recieve Chris Carpenter in Return for Theo

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Tuck it in Red Sox nation, not this Chris Carpenter.

Today, the Red Sox finally received some compensation for Theo leaving to go to the Cubbies. We received 26 year old righthander Chris Carpenter. Carpenter is a 6’4″ former third round pick that has spent the majority of his time in the minors as a starting pitcher. He had Tommy John surgery his freshman year at Kent State and had another elbow procedure his sophomore year. His medical history scared off a lot of teams on draft day and that is mostly why he dropped to the Cubs in the third round.He has consistently been ranked as one of the top 10-15 prospects in the Cubs farm, but has had control issues that have kept him from reaching the big leagues. Carpenter projects to be better suited out of the bullpen in the major leagues due to his pitching repertoire. He has a mid-upper 90’s fastball that can top out in triple digits. Although there isn’t much movement on his pitch, his height still makes a fastball coming at that speed difficult to handle for batters. Carpenter also has a solid slider, but frequently has trouble controlling it. Unless he can develop better secondary pitches, Carpenter won’t be much more than a 7th or 8th inning guy in the big leagues. In 10 major league appearances last year, Carpenter had a solid ERA (2.79), but allowed nearly 2 baserunners per inning.

I’m looking forward to see how Carpenter can develop in our farm system and hopefully get a shot in the majors this year. The key to him being successful this year is not working on developing a third pitch, but instead ensuring control of his fastball and slider and limit his walks (7 BB in 9.2 innings in the majors last year).I’m just glad to see we got some sort of compensation for Theo leaving as I really think the Sox butchered this one. I think they lost all power when they let Theo go before they had any compensation.

 

March Madness Preview Day 2

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With Selection Sunday less than 3 weeks away, I thought it would be a good idea to look into the top teams to try to figure out who will be rewarded the #1 seeds in each bracket. So each day this week, I will be putting up a short summary of each team’s top players, remaining schedule, and other projections.

Kentucky | Syracuse |

#2 Syracuse

Remaining opponents: South Florida, UConn, #17 Louisville

Prediction:  They should be able to handle the first two with ease, just as they have throughout the season.  They already beat the Huskies by 18 points a few weeks back.   Their toughest competition is going to be Louisville, who they beat by 1 point last week, and could have easily lost if Louisville didn’t turn the ball over with 2 seconds left.  However, this time, the Orange are home.  Marquette is 2nd in the Big East, sitting two games behind Syracuse so they should have a number one seed when playoff time comes around.

Senior Kris Joseph (from Canada?) is averaging exactly 14.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG.  He is 6”7 and uses his length to his advantage.  He also averages 30.9 minutes per game which is the most on the team by far.  The next closes is C.J. Fair at 26.9.

Sophomore Dion Waiters throws in 12.0 PPG himself, and adds 2.2 RPG and 2.7 APG to go along with it.  Plus, he only plays 23.6 minutes per game.

Junior Brandon Triche is a 6”4 Guard who scores 9.4 PPG and shoots 86% from the free throw line.

Sophomore C.J. Fair is a 6”8 Forward from Baltimore that puts in 9.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG and is second in minutes per game with 26.9.

Senior Scoop Jardine adds 8.7 PPG and 5 assists per game.

Fab Melo, the 7 footer from Brazil, adds 7.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG to the Orange’s artillery.

They are a strong team that knows how to win games.  I see them as a sure-fire #1 seed when Selection Sunday comes. Their only loss came against Notre Dame, exactly a month ago today.  Notre Dame has also beaten teams such as Marquette and Louisville.

Celtics-Mavericks Recap

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The Celtics lost their fourth straight game last night to the Mavericks in a game that was never really close. Without Kevin Garnett the Celtics had no defensive answer for Dirk Nowitzki as he went for 21 first half points and cruised to a 26-16 night in only 31 minutes on the floor. The Mavericks were up by as much as 26 in the game.

Rajon Rondo was suspended by the NBA for the Celtics final two games before the All-Star break for his altercation with a referee. Without Rondo, the Celtics looked lost on offense and having a tough time to truly find a way to play. Other than Avery Bradley in the first quarter the Celtics only scored 9 points. Avery and Paul were the only two Celtics to score in the first 8 minutes of the game.

The Celtics tough season with injuries continued as both Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox went out with minor injuries in the third quarter. The turnovers were again a major issue for the Celtics as they turned over the ball 17 times. It ended up turning in 25 Maverick’s points. Both Pierce and Ray continued to struggle shooting from three combining for a 2-8 night from beyond the arc. But they both attacked the rim in ways that we haven’t seen from either of them this season. With no real interior scoring presence tonight most of the Celtics 18 points in the paint came off of Paul and Ray’s ability to attack the hoop.

The Celtics look to end their losing streak Wednesday at 7:00pm against the Thunder.

Extra Notes:

Kevin Garnett missed his second straight game for personal reasons; Dirk past Robert Parish to become number 20 on the all time scoring list; Garnett is 19 on the list; Jason Kidd had three steals to pass Michael Jordan as second on the all time list; in a battle of whose leg’s have deteriorated more Vince Carter got rejected by Jermaine O’Neal on a fast break early in the game, hard to imagine that happening to Vincesanity in his prime.

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley was a bright spot for the Celtics hitting outside jumpers when the Mavericks were giving him room. Finished 6-11 for the night but he missed a few bunny lay-ups; picked the pocket of future hall of famer Jason Kidd. He scored 6 out of the first 8 points for the Celtics and was basically the entire offense in the first quarter.

Much Needed All-Star Break

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20120221-082353.jpgAfter a stretch of wins starting in late January where the C’s won 10 of 12 contests, capped with a big win at home vs. Chicago last week, things have began to fall apart in Boston. The Celtics found themselves spiraling downhill in the past week, losing four straight as of last night against the Mavs. Whenever things start to look up, the cards just seem to stack up against the C’s. As if losing Brandon Bass to a knee injury and KG to family issues wasn’t enough, the Celts lost Rondo for last night’s matchup and Wednesday’s due to a two game suspension. Adding insult to injury, literally, Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox both left the game in the third last night with injuries. Don’t get me wrong, I love my boy Stiemsma, but unfortunately I don’t see him being the X-factor in the paint for the C’s, at least not yet. I think it’s safe to say no one needs the All-Star break to come sooner than the Celts. A week off from play after Wednesday’s game vs. the Thunder is just what the team needs to regroup and get back to their winning ways.

Celtics Mavericks – Keys to Game, Rondo Suspension

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The Celtics (15-15) look to rebound as they have lost their last three as they take on the defending champs the Dallas Mavericks (20-12). Both teams are coming off of losses yesterday as the Celtics lost to the Detroit Pistons 96-81 in a game where Kevin Garnett did not play due to undisclosed personal reasons and Rajon Rondo was ejected. The Mavericks are looking to recover as they were the latest to be hit by Linsanity as the Harvard grad went for 28-14 against them. This is the 3rd game for the Celtics on a 5 game road trip. The Celtics will be without Rondo (suspended), Bass (Knee) , and may also be missing Kevin Garnett for a second straight game. The Celtics are 4-7 on the road this season while the Mavs are 12-5 at home.

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Rondo Suspension

David Stern isn’t winning many fans over this season, and his suspension of Rondo 2:30 hours before game time surely will not win him over any more in Boston. The Celtics point guard has been suspended for the next two games after he was given a technical and then tossed a ball at a referee and finally ejected. While tossing a ball at a referee is of course not acceptable, the referees officiating the game were horrible and Stern should account for that. The suspension was to be expected though and the Celtics will likely go with Avery Bradley in Rondo’s place for the next two games. They are 13-4 when he plays over 10 minutes.

Keys to the Game

Turnovers

The Celtics turned the ball over 24 times against the Pistons, shooting any chance they had of getting a victory in the first half. They have to take better care of the ball against a great Dallas defense

Rebounding

The Celtics have been getting killed by teams with offensive rebounds and second chance points. They gave up 16 offensive rebounds to the Pistons the night before, when the Pistons were using two or three point guards on the floor at the same time. The Celtics need to start boxing out and preventing the opportunity for second chance buckets.

Pushing the Pace

Even with Rondo out for the game, the Celtics need to push the ball. The Mavericks have one of the best half-court defenses in the NBA. According to Synergy Sports they are ranked fourth right behind the Celtics. The Celtics are averaging about 97 offensive possessions per game and I would like to see that number climb up past 105. The half-court offense has struggled and especially without Rondo, the Celtics should look to push the pace.

Ball Movement

Finally the Celtics have been getting way to stagnant with the ball. They have been taking tough shots at the end of the clock. Players are deferring to each other way too much and the chemistry especially with the second unit has been lacking. The Celtics need to start passing the ball and moving it around to have a good game.

March Madness Preview Day 1

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With Selection Sunday less than 3 weeks away, I thought it would be a good idea to look into the top teams to try to figure out who will be rewarded the #1 seeds in each bracket. So each day this week, I will be putting up a short summary of each team’s top players, remaining schedule, and other projections.

#1 Kentucky

Remaining opponents: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Georgia, #11 Florida

Prediction: Barring some fluke, I do not see the Wildcats losing another game this season. They beat Florida by 20 points two weeks ago, and Anthony Davis and company should be able to win their conference with ease. In fact, the only one close to them in the standings is Florida, and they are 3 games behind.

Super star Freshman Anthony Davis is averaging just shy of 14 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and a huge number of blocks per game at 4.9. He is clearly the best player on this star-studded line up.

Doron Lamb is a Sophomore Guard for the Wildcats. He is averaging 13.8 points and 3.2 rebounds but is a defensive presence on the floor. He has dropped over 20 points in 3 games this season.

Sophomore Terrence Jones is averaging 12.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and shoots 50% from the field. He is 6”9 and is a force when he gets in the paint.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a freshman from Jersey who is also very long at 6”7. He is averaging 12 PPG, grabbing 7.7 boards per game and 2.1 assists per game.

Darius Miller is the senior presence on the floor, averaging 9.9 PPG and 2.1 APG, but does so in only 25.2 minutes per game. That is less than any of the other stars on the team.

Freshman Marquis Teague is the last person who will be mentioned. He is a 6”2 Point Guard who puts up 9.6 PPG and dishes out 4.8 APG.

There are not too many teams who will have 6 people that can do what these Wildcats have done. They have lost only one game this season. That was to Indiana, by 1 point, in December. They are surely going to be a #1 seed come March 11th. But knowing the history of Kentucky, most of these players will not be back next season.

Manny Being Manny

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20120220-160038.jpgThe big news around the MLB today is good old Manny Ramirez coming back to play for the Oakland A’s. Regardless of whether you’re a Manny fan or not here in Boston, this is good for baseball. How could it not be? Manny puts people in seats. The Dodgers basically marketed their entire first season with him on the roster around his “Manny being Manny” brand, ie. Mannywood. Unfortunately for us in Boston, the three times Manny would’ve been at Fenway this year, he’ll be on the bench serving out a 50 game suspension from the league. But you can’t even tell me the old ballpark wouldn’t have been sold out those three games. Who knows if Ramirez still has the swing, but with a one year deal worth about $500,000, I guess you could say the A’s are playing Moneyball.

Personally, I like Manny. Don’t get me wrong, he took a turn for the worst in his final days in a Sox uniform and no can argue that, but he helped bring us two world championships. He was there to break the Curse of the Bambino. In his prime, Red Sox Nation loved Manny. In the time since, a lot of people lost that love with his over the top antics, and I don’t blame them. So I’m interested to see what you guys think about him now. What does Red Sox Nation think of Manny Ramirez now?

 

 

Thornton Embodies the Black and Gold

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20120220-145108.jpgIf Shawn Thornton is not one of your favorite Bruins players then you probably are not a big fan of hockey. This guy is laying his ass on the line night in and night out. In terms of skill he is limited. But he is willing to out-work, out-hussle, and out-physical other players. I’m glad Claude brought the fourth line (Campbell, Paille, Thornton) back together against the Wild, because they bring an energy this team has clearly lacked since the calendar flipped to 2012.

 

Check out Shawn’s fight against a much bigger Matt Kassian (6’4” 232 lbs) who keeps his helmet on for the whole fight. Thornton hangs in after a quick start by Kassian and gets a few shots in. He is literally not afraid of any player in the NHL, but he knows the right time to get involved. Claude trusts his judgement and usually Thornton rewards him with a well-timed fight that raises the energy of the rest of the team to where it needs to be. He is a throwback hockey player that is fun to watch. Next time you are watching a B’s game, pay attention when the fourth line comes out and you will see constantly these guys out working the other team.

College Weekend Recap

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It was a good day to watch college basketball on Saturday with barely anything else on as a Boston sports fan.  #14 Murray State was able to beat #16 Saint Mary’s by double digits,  while #1 Kentucky, #5 Kansas, & #7 North Carolina were all able to do the same in their games.  #6 Ohio State was upset by rival #19 Michigan 56-51.  #15 San Diego St was also upset for the 3rd straight game against Air Force.

On Sunday, there were few good games on.  For a while, unranked Rutgers was able to keep it close against #2 Syracuse but the Orange proved to be too much in the Big Ten conference battle as they beat them by 10.  #4 Duke also ran right over BC with a final score of 75-50.

March Madness is right around the corner!

Celtics-Pistons Recap

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Celtics lost their third straight game, second in under a week to the Detroit Pistons, 96-81. Kevin Garnett did not play due to personal reasons in his family. Rajon Rondo was also ejected in the 3rd quarter after the referees missed a layup where he was clearly hacked. He got up and had some choice words for the referee, which got him the first technical. As the ref was signaling the technical, Rondo threw an underhand chest pass to the ref. Unlike the assist that usually follows, Rondo was ejected from the game and the Celtics were left down 13 without their motor.

Nice to see Paul in a little bit more of an attack mode tonight, especially when the Celtics were trailing in the fourth quarter. The ref’s weren’t giving a lot of calls but he was getting into the paint and getting his shots off. He had 18 points on 6-11 shooting. Before the ejection, Rondo was 1-6 with 5 points and 10 assists. Pistons outshot the Celtics from the line 46 to 15. The Celtics committed 22 turnovers and gave up 31 points of their turnovers. The Pistons were all over the place tonight, they went to a 3 guard lineup for a majority of the game. The players were just ball hawking all night and the Celtics were way to lazy passing the ball.

The Celtics have the 3rd game of their 5 game road trip at Dallas tomorrow night 8:00.

Extra Notes:

Tommy was so angry after the game that he wouldn’t appear on the initial postgame show. He later said that “I can’t blame Rondo, but he’s going to lose a lot of money for a simple pass to the Referee”. Rodney Stuckey had the same amount of free throws as the Celtics; Game could have been a lot worse, the Pistons missed 17 free throws;

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley played relatively well tonight; he was 3-8 from the floor with 7 points and 2 assists. While his defense at one or two points was overaggressive from his defense, he still played well and pushed the pace for the Celtics. I would like to see him help set the tone of the game earlier as he did in the Magic games this season. Nice stat from Comcast sports network, when Bradley plays +10 minutes, the Celtics are 13-4.