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Lester, Sox Take Another From The Rays

May 26, 2010 By

Shhh…don’t look now, but the Red Sox are getting their act together…

Jon Lester and the Red Sox only allowed one hit to the Tampa Rays last night, defeating the first place squad for the second straight night, this time by the score of 2-0. David Ortiz drove in both Red Sox runs with a double off Rays starter James Shields. Get the complete coverage over at RedSoxLinks.com.

One-hit wondrous - Amalie Benjamin has Lester continuing a stretch of dominance for the Red Sox starters.

A reminder regarding how far Jon Lester has come - Rob Bradford says that the five walks given up by the lefty were a reminder of what he used to be.

Problem with steals put on hold - Peter Abraham has a look at how the Red Sox have solved their issues with opponents stolen bases.

It’s like he never left (he didn’t) - Gordon Edes has Darnell McDonald getting a quick call back to the Sox after Jacoby Ellsbury reported soreness in his side.

Don Zimmer is getting his due, 30 years after a turbulent time in Boston - Ron Chimelis looks at the former Red Sox manager (and Yankees bench coach) being inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

The Celtics get another chance to close out the Magic tonight (ESPN, 8:30), though it will be in a much tougher environment, down in Orlando. I still think this series comes back to Boston for game six - I hope I’m wrong.

C’s can’t get picked apart again - Chris Forsberg says that the Celtics defense on pick-and-rolls will be crucial tonight.

Total team effort - Steve Bulpett says that the Celtics don’t want to keep Dave Cowens waiting any longer.

The Bruin who shaped the Celtics’ series - Kirk Minihane with a look at how the Bruins director of collegiate scouting played a big role in building the current Magic club.

OT loss aside, C’s aren’t new B’s - Ron Borges dismisses talk that the Celtics could follow the lead of the Bruins.

Celtics look to deliver knock-out punch - Kevin McNamara has the final win always the toughest to get.

Apparently Jameer Nelson is well-liked and respected by a number of media folks, and the Magic point guard played a great game Monday night, and has been one of the few Magic players who seems to have shown up for the entire series, but the fawning article by Chris Gasper today went just a bit too far for my taste. It’s OK to pump up Nelson, but trying to put down Rajon Rondo in the process, doesn’t seem to do Nelson any favors.

I’m not a fan of this Boston Herald front page:

The teaser for the Borges article is also completely misleading.

The Patriots OTA session is open to the media today, and they’ll get their first look at the team that has been put together thus far in the offseason.

Jon Morris belongs in Pats’ Hall of Fame - Jim Donaldson gives his endorsement to the former center.

Big appetite meets Bon Appetite! - Karen Guregian with a look at Dan Connolly, his love of food, and his older brother, a high-profile chef.

Game getting lost in the gizmos - Mark Farinella with a look at the good and bad that new technology could bring to Gillette.

Bruins need to try a little Taylor-ing - Michael Felger with a few thoughts on the Boston sports scene.

Idle thought of the day:  Is there a thinner-skinned sports media member in Boston than that wacky goofball, Mikey Adams? I think not.

Filed Under: Morning Links
  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Lance_ Lance_

    Bruce, in response to your Idle though, I'd put up Felger and CHB as candidates. I don't mind Adams (in very small doses) as it's clear his shtick is just shtick and I think he genuinely loves his job. Go ahead and throw stones at me for not hating him…

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/bruceallen Bruce Allen

      Felger has always been good at letting criticism roll off him. The stories of Shaughnessy's responses to emails and calls are legendary, but Adams is the worst. Trust me on this.

      • http://intensedebate.com/people/Lance_ Lance_

        Bruce, when I listened to Felger (in the ESPN days) whenever he'd get an email from someone questioning his perspective, thin-skinned Felger would give that person's email over the air. One of the worst, most petty things I've heard on the radio. Maybe he's better now but I haven't listened to him since that time.

      • Jason Coyote

        You're more than entitled to your opinions Bruce, but I think it rings a little hollow if you're going to say Adams is thin-skinned and then merely follow up with 'trust me on this' without offering some anecdotal evidence. I've always thought of Mikey as an immature goof who resorts to using too much junior high school-type humor, but I never really thought of him as thin-skinned. Then again, it's been awhile since I've listened to him regularly.

        • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/bruceallen Bruce Allen

          OK, here's just the latest in a long line. Last Friday, I "slammed" Adams by saying "fair warning, Mike Adams hosted the Big Show yesterday"

          Later that day, Adams posted my picture on his FaceBook page with the caption "This clown is a douche."

          This same night, Adams posted in the BSMW forum a picture giving the finger.

          If you've listened to his nighttime show after I've criticized him (even lightly) you've heard an angry rant against me and the site, using every insult the FCC will allow. This has happened on multiple occasions.

    • Jon

      One of the biggest turnoffs for me is that Mikey really really can not handle people who disagree with him. He's worse than Callahan or Serandis in this regard. On yesterday's Big Show he bit off a co-hosts head when he dismissed Mikey's accusation that Dwight Howard is on steroids. Which of course Mikey pulled out of his arse.

  • Tony

    I've never contacted Felger, but Dan "I'm sure you're at the top of your profession" Shaughnessy retired the thin-skinned scribe trophy years ago. Others can be pretty bad about responding to criticism, but the CHB is the all-time champ.

    • J.R.

      Total agreement at this address. The CHB wins this "award" in a landslide.

  • mandb97

    So I was listening to Gresh and Zo because I lost the coverage for Dale and Holley for a few minutes throughout the day. The first thing that went through my head for some reason was if there was any change in the ratings since Gresh took over for Tanguay. I would have to find it hard to believe that they have made a dent because the program is horrible. Gresh literally just yells and says things which come out sounding like a foreign language. He has become dreadful and Zo has dumbed himself down to Gresh's level. I really believe that Hardy and Troupiano would be much better in the 10-2 slot. It is good intelligent talk. They are not blowhards who try to outscream each other. Hardy's impersonation of Troup is almost scary in likeness. I honestly believe they could knock a few ratings points from D&H and force them to up their game even more.

    What made G&Z even worse was Dan Shaughnessy was on for the second half of the show and they spent two hours talking about Ortiz's slow homerun trot against Tampa. Wow. Frankly, I agree with Shaughnessy that the trot was slow but do you honestly believe Dan really cared or was he just upset that he looked like a fool because Ortiz is tearing the cover off the ball when Shaughnessy believed two games in that Ortiz was done. Dan believes that if he can't get you on skills he'll get you on sportsmanship. By the way Dale and Holley were talking about the Celtics in a calm and well thought out manner. Holley said first and foremost Orlando deserves credit because they played well. What a novel concept, compliment the local teams opponent. The three stooges at BZ were in a lather over homerun trots.

    I just read Michael Felger's piece on CSNNE.com I agree with both his hockey takes. After watching Taylor Hall in the junior tournament there is no question he will be the #1 pick. The kid has amazing skill and a lot of grit. Unless the Bruins give up a lot. He will be playing for Edmonton. He is also correct on Jeremy and Charlie Jacobs not saying anything about the loss to Philly. I agree with Felger when he says Kraft, Henry or Grousbeck would have faced the cameras and talked about the loss. The Jacobs go into hiding. As Felger said if there is a serious personal reason for not talking then I apologize. Pete Shepherd's finest hour came when hosting the big show and he shredded Charlie Jacobs. The Bruins had again been eliminated from playoff contention and all Charlie Jacobs could talk about were the improvments to club seating. Pete said, "Who gives a damn! When are you going to make improvements to your team?"

    The problem with Felger's article came in the middle when he said Ortiz was more upset with the fans than the media. I'm sure Ortiz is a little ticked with the fans but I'm sure the media was a much bigger target because their seemed to be more venom with some of them. Felger says that the media has given Ortiz a pass on steroids. If Felger wants to know why this is the case I will paraphrase him. In 2007 he said on FSNE, everybody is taking roids it's just our (Red SoX) roiders are better than theirs. I think people, other than Peter Gammons, would be more stunned if someone had not been doping. Basically PEDs in sports are slowely becoming a non-story. The story came across as more a defense of the media then giving any fact. It was similar to what he did with Tomase.

    Finally Bruce, what got Mikey Adams all hot an bothered? Did someone tell him to shutup about Manny Ramirez not hitting more triples?

    • PeteinRI

      Where does Dale fall in the thinskinned argument?

      He's overwhelmingly annoying.

      NO ONE – plays the "I think the Celtics will lose tonight, but I wouldn't be surprised if they won" card like Dale.

      The other station has struck out twice in regards to the midday show. Their fascination with Scott Zolak can only be driven by the Kraft Family.

      From everything I've read – Merloni was the 1st choice to be Felger's sidekick – which means that Tony Mazz was passed over for Bob Neumier, Michael Holley and Lou Merloni at one time or another.

      As someone on the board said, "Mike and the Lap Dog"

      Another thing that I could not figure out about the radio home of the Boston Bruins is why they choose to debut Mazz's Baseball Show at the beginning of the B's playoff season? Why not have an hour or half-hour (depending on start time) of hockey talk leading into the B's pre-game/game?

      What's the fascination with Dan Roche?

    • Jon

      Dale and Holley are by a wide margin the best weekday show on WEEI. I'm with you on Gresh.

  • Snuffy Smith

    You need to see Mikey on Facebook to really understand the him. Every time there's a negative comment here, he responds in the most juvenile manner. And, of course, his resident sycophants chime right in with venom. Anyone who remotely criticizes him there gets a good dose, too.

    You've got to wonder if it is just his shtick, or if he is extremely insecure.

    • Drew

      Let's go with insecure……the best evidence of that is the fact he went out and got a HAIR WEAVE/HAIR TRANSPLANT…….if that ain't a sign of being insecure I don't know what is……hey Mikey, you got a full head of hair but your face still looks like a dried up prune….

  • mallen

    I think I finally figured it out with Felger when I went through my grad school gradebook, Boston University, early 90s. I saw the name "Felger, M." for a class section. My comments to myself were something like this: "Good written work, highly opionated in class. Conspiracy theory for everything."

    When you read his words, they are relatively neutral. When he speaks them with such finality, it is really off-putting, to say the least. Lots of "Period, end of story" type comments that make you think that all of human existance is filtered through him somehow. Yet, when he changes his mind, he is equally vehement going 180 degrees the other way.

    • cakes_are_cooking

      I think your remarks provide as good a description of Felger as I've read. His self-assuredness doesn't waver when he discusses sports such as baseball and basketball in which his knowledge is limited, to say the least.

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