Hitting the Links - Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins
Red Sox
- Mike Lowell was activated from the DL and as expected, Bryan Corey was once again DFA'd, leaving many of us to wonder why they even bothered bringing him back to the big club in the first place.
- Jacoby Ellsbury, who has killed tonight's Jays starter Roy Halladay in his short career, has the night off due to a sore groin. Coco Crisp starts in center and will hopefully continue to up his trade value.
- After sweeping the Sox in the previous series, Tampa Bay Ray Carl Crawford says the Sox need to unleash Ellsbury on the base paths. Red Sox Nation agrees with you, Carl.
- Michael Silverman examines the key differences between the 2008 and 2007 Red Sox pitching staffs. A warning: the numbers aren't pretty, so this isn't for the faint of heart.
- Silverman also takes a look at the toll that the mind-numbing stretch of 20 in a row from April 8 to April 27 had on several players. Shield your children's eyes from Josh Beckett's quotations.
- Bartolo Colon agreed to push his opt-out clause back to June 1st. Colon has been sidelined recently due to an oblique strain, so it's a fair compromise on both sides.
- As expected, the Patriots released a couple long-shots to make room for new draftees. CB Tim Mixon was waived and LB T.J. Slaughter was cut, resulting in the collective anguish of Patriots fans hoping to eventually purchase a "Slaughter" player jersey.
- John Tomase breaks down the Patriots' cornerback situation and sees Fernando Bryant joining Ellis Hobbs as the team's two starting CBs. History is on their side, according to Tomase.
- New Patriot Matt Slater has good genes and doesn't mind deviating from his predecessor's NFL mold. Slater looks to break camp as a return specialist.
- No Celtics players will be suspended for last night's scuffle. Although Garnett threw an elbow that never landed (nice acting, Zaza Pachulia) and Kendrick Perkins allegedly left the bench area, the only action committed by a Celtic worthy of league action was Garnett's shoving of referee Ed Rush. Thankfully, Commissioner David Stern, who was in attendance, decided to be lenient.
- In another matter with league officials, Stern and Co. weren't so lenient with Paul Pierce two games back. Pierce and DeShawn Stevenson were fined $25,000 apiece for making "menacing gestures" with their hands. Pierce will appeal the decision.
- Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli says not to expect any drastic changes but doesn't rule out the possibility of adding a free agent or two next season. For starters, the B's have plenty of their own impending free agents to make decisions about, as Steve Conroy points out.
- Kevin Paul Dupont offers quite an in depth breakdown of the Bruins' offseason concerns. Reminiscent of what our hockey writers have been saying all season, Dupont explains that what this team needs to do is build around its solid core of rising youngsters and entrenched veterans as opposed to blowing up the roster and entering a true rebuilding phase.
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