jung

What a game...what a professional effort by the Bruins....just dominated OT after that tough game 1. Great win well deserved....what a great series this is shaping up to be.

I don't think the Sox ever officially mentioned anything about that tumble. So I think we are left to assume this is still the neck that he slept on funny. I hope he did not end up injuring something else because of the neck.

I would not be surprised to find Taz closing more games. I thought the Sox were at the point of deciding to have Bailey and Taz share the role but it looks more like Bailey is getting every opportunity at this point with Taz getting a shot if Bailey has just thrown too much. None of that has anything to do with Paps. I just don't think Bailey is going to grow a new elbow anytime soon. I don't think the Sox were satisfied with Bailey as Closer. If they were they would not have gone after Hanrahan. So I think they should feed Taz in more looking to at least have them actually share the role and eventually maybe give most of the opps to Taz...sort of the opposite of what they are doing now.

They stuck Chara back out on the point of the PP during the second half of that PP that crossed into the 3rd period and it completely killed that PP. Chara can't get the puck up through center ice and the Hanks are not allowing him to even get up to a point where he can dump it in. They are attacking Chara as soon as the puck touches him and he really does not have an answer for that. The minutes may have finally caught up to Chara as well.

Bruins started hitting again and I noticed they did take Chara off the point on the Power Play. They have to play their game and that means they have to win the battles in the corners and behind the goal.

Bruins need to get Chara off the Power Play. That is assuming they get another one during these finals. Chara at the point is just killing what is already a none to great Power Play. It is getting to the point where the Bruins are so defensive minded as a team that all they end up doing is playing defense. Well you can't just spend a whole game trying to stymie the other team's scoring chances. At some point you have to find some way to get the puck into the opponent's goal.

It is not all that unusual for a Closer to put a good deal of pressure on the ole' #1. Bailey does not have much for secondary pitches and that is not all that unusual either. Rodney has that mid to upper mid 90's FB and then a change that is as much as 10 and sometimes more than 10 mph slower. When he can throw the Change for strikes Rodney can be very tough. Bailey really does not have another pitch he can go to any longer as his secondary pitches put too much strain on his elbow. So he can't do what Rodney does. He has increasingly thrown more and more FB's since the 2009 season. Bailey can probably get away with just showing the curve. He just has to throw it enough to keep guys from being right on his FB. But if he can't do that or won't, hitters will just keep fouling off his FB until his pitch count gets up there leaving him truly exposed as he wears down. I remember Bailey having one super outing this year where his FB had so much movement on it that he was really tough on hitters. But he was really well rested going into that game and he was able to get that sort of result throwing FB's. Often however, when he does feel strong he has trouble throwing the FB for strikes and that drives his pitch count up as well. Plus even when he is having trouble getting the FB over the plate, he keeps showing that pitch to the hitters over and over again and eventually it is just too easy for the hitters to time that pitch. He is what he is but I would like to see him at least try to keep the hitters from being right on his FB like they were today.

Bailey might do himself a lotta' good throwing in a little off speed earlier than he does. Sure Closers like to blow guys away but there is no shame in trying to fool them a little. At least keep them from climbing all over the FB.

Holy s*** ...what a way to get outta' this game. Not at all sure Bailey could have pitched out of it. Although at least showing that curve helped him a little..... Not good for the opposition to be all over your closer's heat though.

Oh my God. Bailey is up to 17 pitches and not even close to out of the inning.

Boy Salty just missed his....should have crushed that.

Thank God they have started to bang out this jackass.

Same spot again...a ball twice...a strike once

These last two weeks might represent the high point so far in Salty's combined play (offense and defense) as a Red Sox Catcher. He has been nothing short of outstanding although still much better at the plate than behind it. Got to hand it to him. I can't beat him up when he is lousy and remain silent when he is not.

Now that does really piss me off. The f***ing ump just called a better pitch than that a ball, IN THE SAME AB. So Garcia throws is worse and gets a strike and ultimately gets out of the inning on that s***.

That was a BS strike call on Drew

Funny game baseball. If during ST you had told any of us that by mid-june, Iggy would be the hitting star of the team even if for only 5 minutes we would have had a good laugh.

Having indicated that they were going to keep WMB down there giving him a chance to resuscitate his hitting stroke I have to admit to being a bit surprised when they brought him back when they did. He is just groping up there at this point. Would love to be able to see what direction they are taking with him at this point. He appears completely lost now. No idea what he should be swinging at nor why.

zzzzzzzzzzz.....what???? Did something happen? No!??? I didn't think so.... zzzzzzzzzzz

I think Ells just beat that. Lousy feed in the middle of the DP attempt.

I really do think that WMB is the kind of player that takes his hitting issues out to the infield with him. He really did show improvement in the field earlier this year. As soon as he started to slump at the plate he began having fielding problems. He always seems to end up with a multiple error game as well which does not help matters.

Maybe in the future we are going to have to refer to this turn in the rotation as the Felix/Frankie turn....Felix to start it and Frankie to pick him up.

Jeez for a little while it almost looked like Feiix was going finally have a start where he did not hit the century mark so fast. Here he is though...97 pitches through 4 and 2/3rds

Anybody know...If Buch does come back on Tuesday for the DH, will he have missed two turns or three turns?

I don't think Farrell is baffled. I do think he is going to force Lester to attack the strike zone next time out and let the cards fall where they may. If Lester is tentative about that or just does not do it, then Farrell and Nieves may well be looking at a different set of issues. However based on what Lester has said (feel great, as in no physical issues) and based on what Nieves and Farrell have said (Lester cannot let hitters dictate whether or not he is going to attack the strike zone) Plan A appears to be attack the strike zone and see what happens. i don't think they see a specific mechanical flaw for Lester to work on which I can understand. Lester did not appear to do the same thing twice, good or bad last time out and being inconsistent is not a mechanical flaw. We have seen Lester fall into these blue funks before and that may be all that is going on here. Does not mean it will solve itself overnight but it might. Then again, it might not. Pitcher's complicated animals and Lester is on the complicated end of the pitcher spectrum.