Hitting the Links - Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins
Red Sox
- To compensate for the 9:00 PM start times of Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals, the Sox-Orioles games taking place on Tuesday and Thursday have been bumped up to 6:05 PM.
- A whole slew of injury updates:
- Daisuke Matsuzaka made 60 to 70 tosses up to 180 feet yesterday as he continues his trip back from a fatigued shoulder. He'll play catch again today and throw a bullpen session tomorrow.
- Curt Schilling, whose rehab is said to be progressing better than expected, is scheduled to throw about 45 pitches in a bullpen session today.
- Jacoby Ellsbury (strained right wrist) took betting practice yesterday and the Sox are hopeful he can return to the lineup tonight.
- Rook Justin Masterson is making the most of his few opportunities in the bigs this season - in 4 starts, the 23-year-old's got a 3-0 record with a 2.59 ERA and 18 Ks.
- Kevin Youkilis, who broke Steve Garvey's record of 193 consecutive errorless games at first base in April, saw his own streak come to an end on Saturday. Youk had trouble scooping a low throw in the ninth (pretty routine for him these days), so his streak ends at 238 games.
- In MLB news, home teams are winning at a remarkable rate this season to the tune of a .577 winning percentage. The last time a season finished with such a high percentage was in 1931 when home teams won at a .583 clip. The Red Sox, of course, have the best home winning percentage in the Majors with a 25-6 record at Fenway Park.
- Viva Viagra! Roger Clemens and numerous other athletes pop the little blue pills to gain a "competitive edge" on game day. In fact, it's become such a pressing issue that the World Anti-Doping Agency is conducting a study to determine if it can be used to cheat in sports. I just hope none of his fellow Yankees dropped the soap in the showers after a Clemens start.
- Another day, another Patriot player involved in a drug-related incident. Right tackle Nick Kaczur was arrested on April 27th for possession of the prescription painkiller OxyContin. After being arrested, Kaczur allegedly agreed to wear a wire at three subsequent meetings in order to take down the dealer. It's all a bit hazy as Kaczur has since denied having any knowledge of this situation, but the Pats are clearly hedging their bets as they signed offensive tackle Oliver Ross on June 2nd.
- Defensive lineman Jarvis Green had minor shoulder surgery during the offseason and is participating in workouts in a limited fashion. He's expected to be back to 100% by training camp, though.
- ESPN reported on air that Leon Powe became the first player in NBA Finals history to come off the bench to record 20 or more points in under 20 minutes. I haven't been able to confirm this myself, but Powe's 21 point showing in just 15 minutes certainly stands as one of the best bench performances in Celtics Finals history. In a truly classless move, Lakers coach Phil Jackson intentionally mispronounced Powe's name in a postgame press conference; I'm sure Leon doesn't mind as he and the Celtics moved to within two wins of their first championship since 1985-86.
- With Sam Cassell day-to-day due to a sprained right wrist, backup guard Eddie House could see his first game action of the Finals tonight.
- The recently acquired Matt Marquardt has agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Bruins. He's expected to play on the Providence Bruins next season.
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