I Think This Is the Year

Bobby Orr with the Stanley Cup

It's been a while since Boston Bruins fans have seen an image like the one to the right. In cases like mine, I haven't seen one at all, being born in '91. But with that being said, I think the 10-11 season is the year the the Bruins will make it to the finals (and in my mind, win it).

Now here's why: the Bruins have all they need to do so, and have proven themselves to be a great team. The team has 2 (2!) great goaltenders in Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask. The B's have a great defense (one thing that's proven whether we win or lose). The team also has a proven offense we all know can score. And don't forget the fact that the Bruins are a tough team (physically and playing-wise). With players like Shawn Thornton, Adam Mcquaid, and multiple others, everyone knows the Bruins know how to get down.

Overall, the B's have all they need for a Stanley Cup. I've been actually thinking this since December, but with the recent moves made before the trade deadline, it's been solidified in my brain. The Bruins will go farther into the playoffs than years past, and I'm already thinking of my place at the parade.

The Pitcher Catcher Relationship, 2011 Season

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

You know I'm a sucker for catchers. Jason Varitek is what got me interested in the Red Sox in the first place and I'll willingly embrace any catcher that comes along (except Kevin Cash, who I have an irrational dislike of). What intrigues me about catchers is the fact that more or less they're in charge of the pitcher out there. I know, I know, there is the school of thought that says that a catcher doesn't have much to do with how a pitcher pitches but I think that's a bunch of hooey. I think a pitcher can have a bad day with a good catcher but I think he's more likely to have a good day with a good catcher.

Last Spring I wrote about Josh Beckett trying to get along with Victor Martinez in anticipation of  Victor catching much more frequently than Varitek last season. Tek ended up catching Beckett a lot last year, not that that helped Beckett anyway (see above about bad days with good catchers). This year it is hoped that in Victor's absence, Josh can once again readjust to a new catcher, this time Jarrod Saltalamacchia While Josh has a lot of other issues to get over besides the catcher one, I was heartened to read this in the Extra Bases blog on Boston.com. That sounds a whole heck of a lot more positive than Josh was about Victor this time last year.

I'm eager to see Salty in action, not for his bat, but for his relationship with the pitchers. Because really, when it comes down to it, that's what I really want in a catcher. A guy who makes the pitcher comfortable and happy.

All Stars and a Hat Trick

Yesterday, players named to the NHL All-Star game. From the Boston Bruins, there were 3. Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara were the 2 players named to play in the game, and rookie Tyler Seguin was named to participate in the SuperSkills Competitons, along with 11 other rookies from the NHL. The All-Star festivities are to take place in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday, January 29 and Sunday, January 30. Both will be shown on Versus, with the SuperSkills competition on Saturday at 7, and the All-Star game on Sunday at 4.

After the All-Star players were announced, the Bruins took on the Ottawa Senators at home at the TD Garden. The Senators came into the game struggling, in the midst of a 5-game losing streak. On the other hand, the Bruins were coming off a win against the Pittburgh Penguins, where they scored 4 goals in the last few minutes of the 3rd period to win.

When the Bruins took on the Senators, they made everything look easy, scoring 6 goals, and not allowing Ottawa to score any. 3 of the 6 Bruins goals belonged to Patrice Bergeron, who earned his first career hat trick (which he celebrated twice, after the first hat trick goal he was credited to was actually Brad Marchand's goal). The other goal scorers for the Bruins were Blake Wheeler, Brad Marchand, and Tyler Seguin. Tim Thomas was his usual self, making 31 saves, earning his sixth shutout of the season (whcih leads the NHL).

Another note of the game: Mark Recchi played in his 1,613th game, passing Bruins legend Ray Borque for 8th place on the NHL career list. The three stars of the game were:
1)Patrice Bergeron
2)Brad Marchand
3)Tim Thomas
The next game for the Bruins is Thurday against the Flyers.

The Pap App

There have been some big doings for the Red Sox lately what with the signing of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. I'm sure you all know the details about that so I'm not going to bother to get into it beyond saying that those two things almost make up for the loss of Victor (although what a nice lineup that would have been with Victor in it too).

No, I want to talk about Papelbon. I read this article on WEEI last week where Tito told reporters that no, he hadn't talked to Pap about the offer the Red Sox made to Mariano Rivera saying “No, I will. I’d reach out to Pap from time to time, but he may not even know.” I told this story to my husband that evening and mentioned this one from ESPN where Pap had professed to know nothing about last year's off-season moves. My husband decided that what Pap needs is a Pap App to download. A simple app that will show him with stick figures and simple drawings what is going on.  For example, a picture of Adrian Gonzalez wearing a Red Sox shirt. A picture of Youk with an arrow going from first base to third. It can push him notifications every week to check it and keep up to date. I think it's a brilliant idea.

Up Shit Creek with a Salty, Yippy Paddle?

The news of Victor Martinez signing with the Tigers came as a big blow to me. I shouldn't have been surprised since all signs were pointing to him not signing with the Red Sox and had I not been as emotionally invested in Martinez I would have conceded defeat weeks before. As it was however, I spent the good part of Tuesday wondering what the heck Theo was thinking and lamenting the huge loss.

Now that a few days have passed and I've reluctantly made my peace with Victor not being with us next year I've turned my attention to who is currently in line to be our starting catcher next: none other than the man with the longest name in the MLB, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. I remember when Salty played with the Rangers (who can forget a name like that?) and I always admired the horseshoe shape his name made around his number on his jersey. That's really all I noticed about him. When he got traded to the Red Sox in July I hurried out to buy his shirt because I wanted that cool looking horseshoe name on the back of a shirt. To my dismay, MLB chose to shrink his name down to little letters and not give me a horseshoe shape.

That of course is neither here nor there when it comes to his playing and his ability to be our everyday catcher. The thing I find most fascinating and frightening about Salty is the fact that he had the yips last season. For those of you who don't know the yips  "is an expression used to describe the apparent loss of certain fine motor skills seemingly without explanation in one of a number of different sports." (wikipedia) Salty had shoulder surgery at some point last season and when he returned he had these yips. Apparently he could throw fine unless he was throwing to the pitcher. He exhibited no sign of these yips during his time with the Red Sox although he only played in 10 games with 19 at bats last season (with a .167 average) so I'm not sure that's a good indicator.

However, not all is lost. Lest you think I'm just sour grapes about Victor leaving, I do think that Salty could turn out OK. He was a highly touted prospect not that long ago. He has a career average of .248 which isn't great but isn't alarming either. It increases the chances that Tek will stay next with Red Sox next season. And Josh Beckett seems to like him. Anything that might help Beckett get back to his old Beckett-ness is fine in my book so I'm throwing my support behind Salty as of now, despite the yips and the lack of horseshoe shape on my Saltalamacchia shirt.

A (Short-lived) Goalies Duel

What started as a duel between goalies Tim Thomas and Michal Neuvirth of the Washington Capitals, ended with both goalies being pulled before an entertaining 3rd period. Neither goalie got the decision. That means that Thomas is still 7-0-0 in the season, even though he let up 3 goals, his most of the season.

Tuukka Rask took Timmy's place to start the 3rd period, and held the Capitals at bay to let his team score 3 goals in 7 minutes to tie the game. But even with that comeback, the Caps were able to score 2 goals on Rask, and win the game. One of those games was scored by Ovechkin, his first against the Bruins this season.

The 3 Bruins goals were scored by Michael Ryder, Nathan Horton, and Shawn Thornton, each in a time of 6 minutes and and 44 seconds. This was Thorton's 300th career game. In the meantime, it was also Rask's 3rd loss of the season.

Overall, it was a pretty lack-luster game for the Bruins. There wasn't much intensity until the 3rd period. And it definitely wasn't the same stye of play that was in the first 2 games against the Caps. With all the chances they had, the B's just didn't jump on anything. And therefore, the team ended up with the loss.

All In a Good Night's Work

All in one night, the Bruins honored a 92-year-old legend got honored, and they pulled a win against Phil Kessel and the Leafs. Before the puck dropped, the Boston Bruins held a ceremony for legend Milt Schmidt. Schmidt was honored for the 75th anniversary of his signing with the B's. In his time with the team, Schmidt was a player, captain, coach, and general manager for the B's.

After the ceremony, the puck dropped between the two rivals and the game started. Phil Kessel was welcomed to the garden to boo's and taunting from the fans. During the game, Kessel was not able to score a goal with Tim Thomas. With that, his scoreless streak against the B's still stands.

In the meantime, Thomas got his fifth straight win in row to start the season, the fist time a B's goalie has done this since the 1937-38 season. Also, in another milestone of the game, Patrice Bergeron scored the first goal of the game, his first goal of the season, and his 100th goal of his career.

The other Bruins goal was scored by rookie Tyler Seguin, his 2nd of the season. Right after he scored, the Garden crowd started taunting Phil Kessel in cheering "Thank You Kessel". For those who don't know the story, to make it short: Kessel used to play for the Bruins, but in the offseason of '09 he basically wanted to leave, so the B's traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs (our oponent of the night) for the second overall draft pick in this year's draft. That pick ended up being Tyler Seguin, who scored the goal and thus, the chant.

So in the end, it was a great night. A legend was honored for his service to the team, and he got to watch that team win in a 2-0 shutout against their rivals. Thats what I call a successfull night.