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Bruins Continue Playoff Warmups, Beat Lightning

March 28, 2012 By

The Bruins continued to show signs that they’re rounding into playoff form as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 at TD Garden last night.

Bruins look ready for revival – Joe McDonald says that the team’s confidence is growing as the postseason nears.

Big night for Zdeno Chara, Bruins – Steve Conroy looks at a special night before and during the game for the Bruins captain.

Are Bruins getting where they need to be for the playoffs? – DJ Bean examines whether the Bruins are truly warming up for another long playoff run.

Ageless Rolston playing like a kid – Christopher Smith looks at the surprise contributions of 39-year-old Brian Rolston.

Approach here isn’t very defensible – Nick Cafardo is NOT happy that Mike Aviles has won the starting shortstop job for the Red Sox. He stomps his feet to make sure you hear his outrage. However, Chad Finn, Michael Silverman, Gordon Edes and Sean McAdam says that the Red Sox made the right move in sending Jose Iglesias to the minors to begin the season.

It’s time to give this Mike Aviles guy a chance – Rob Bradford makes the case that Aviles is a better player than Marco Scutaro, and that there wouldn’t be hand-wringing over sending Iglesias to the minors if Scutaro were still here.

Lineup may be preview of opener – Michael Silverman’s notebook has Bobby Valentine experimenting with a lineup that has Aviles leading off. The Globe notebook from eager and worthy cub reporter Dan Shaughnessy has Josh Beckett looking good yesterday.

Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley form winning combo – Mark Murphy looks at how the backcourt combination has been a winning one in the last two games with Ray Allen sidelined.

Celtics’ playoff possibilities plentiful – Chris Forsberg looks at the state of the Celtics as we head down the stretch.

Celtics not putting teams away when given the chance – A. Sherrod Blakely says that closing has been an issue for Boston.

Leftovers from breakfast with Belichick – Tom E Curran looks at some of the reluctant and expansive answers given by the Patriots coach yesterday.

A housekeeping note here – You likely noticed the post below from Chris Warner, which traditionally would be the property of Patriots Daily. Some technical issues with Patriots Daily, as well as an attempt to streamline and reorganize some of my publishing led me to consider publishing columns of that sort here, albeit in a slightly different format. As this blog is mainly devoted to keeping track of what’s being written and said in the local sports media, any sports-related columns will be posted as that one yesterday was – a short blurb with a link to click in order to read the entire post. Regular posts such as this one you are currently reading will continue to be displayed in their entirety.

At this point, it appears we will not be adding new posts to Patriots Daily, though the site will remain up, as it is a fine resource with eight seasons worth of work in it. There are many draft interviews that may become relevant, such as the one with new Patriots fullback Tony Fiammetta from 2009.

Thank you for your continued support. The 10th anniversary of BSMW is only a couple of weeks away. (April 8th)

Filed Under: Morning Links, Site News
  • Lance

    I find it interesting that Mike Reiss hasn’t mentioned anything about Chris Simms joining the Pats. Any idea why?

  • latetodinner

    George…

    I am not sure I understand your point. Let me see if I have it correct. You think the major media story from now until football is going to be Bobby V and this is a negative because you think it should be about the play on the field or maybe the Celtics or Bruins?

    I think it will be all about Bobby V because that was the calculated move the Red Sox brass made when bringing him in on a two year lame duck contract. They knew they had to get the media off the Chicken and Beer stories and more importantly they had to get the press off the “John Henry is a babbling idiot” stories…so they hire a self absorbed egotistical, self described baseball savant over the objections of their home/grown/crafted rookie GM. I don’t see how anyone could imagine a situation where everything is not all about Bobby V for as long as he is employed here or until football starts. The last thing the Sox management wants is the light being shined on how they do things or the results on the field. Let it be all about Bobby V is their stated mantra at this point because having all the attention on him covers up the plethora of faults they refuse to address, apologize for or acknowledge.

    As for what it will take for the Sox to do well…to quote the Big O “Its always about the pitching”. The mistake any Sox fan will make this year is having high expectations for this team. Senior management has zero interest is fielding the best team possible…they are only interested in fielding a team that makes the Fenway experience either on TV or live in person profitable.

    • Atreyu Jones

      What brand tin-foil do you use for your hats?

  • latetodinner

    We patently disagree that Sox management wants to win and be an entertainment show…they want neither..they want the team to be well performing portfolio piece…neither the quality of play nor the quality of the entertainment it provides mean anything…all they care about is how it performs as part of their portfolio. They went to bed last night and learned their $700 mill investment is probably worth $2 bill (it is worth every bit as much as the Dodgers). That made them smile. Whether Josh Beckett threw 4 innings of shutout baseball or not is irrelevant to them. Likewise the NESN ratings are far more important than the quality of the game being shown.

    Where you and I do agree is that with a $186 mill payroll the expectation that this team should succeed should be high. They aren’t because the Sox shed a starting SS in the off season for “money” reasons. That single act defined what Ben Cherrington has been told to do this year. What I find fascinating is the only media people in town who have not bought the company spin hook, line and sinker are Felger and Mazz. I think their righteous indignation is spot on (using an English idiom for the futbol followers in the Sox organization). I am amazed that the beat writers and commentators are embracing Bobby V as the second coming. That they are optimistic about the new attitude sox. Did they not just hear John Lackey condescend to everyone by calling people retards for asking about the beer in the clubhouse issue. Nothing has changed but the window dressing (manager).

    So…could Dubront go out and win 15…sure. Could Bucholz be healthy all year and win 20…sure. Could Beckett bounce back after a lousy August…sure. But none of it will matter any to Sox ownership…unless jerseys are selling, hot dogs are consumed and the portfolio increases.

    • bsmfan

      From reading various Sports Economists, it was overpaid and no way worth that. If the Dodgers are worth 2B, the Yankees would have to be over 2-3x that. I think they’ll either have to reject/restructure or adjust this:

      @LATimesfarmer Hearing Dodgers sold for $2B is like watching somebody bid $500K for a locker on Storage Wars.

      • latetodinner

        I read the WSJ account of the sale today and they think $2 bill is about right. If you look closely at the deal it was for the total holdings …all 9 shell companies that owned all the land around the stadium, the merchandizing and a bunch of other things. If you were to value the Red Sox, NESN, Fenway Park I bet you would be well north of $1.3 bill. If you valued the yankees, Yes, the Stadium and the land around it I am sure you would be somewhere around $3 bill. The Dodgers deal will be interesting to follow because there is at least $3 bill in TV money guaranteed by fox over the next 20 years which will easily finance this deal. If the rumors are true that the new owners are thinking of starting their own regional network which will buy the rights…they make that money back even sooner.

    • Doc Michaels

      “Likewise the NESN ratings are far more important than the quality of the game being shown.”

      But winning and NESN ratings go hand in hand with one another. They lagged all season a year ago.

  • Atreyu Jones

    Do you think the owners of the other 29 teams are pure-hearted fans who are risking their personal livelihoods to ensure that their team wins? Do you think that runs don’t count on the scoreboard for the Red Sox because John Henry supposedly doesn’t care enough in his heart? Are you really crying about Marco Scutaro and pretending that he was one of the key pieces to this team?

    • latetodinner

      No…I am saying that to win consistently in MLB you need an owner who cares about winning and holds senior management accountable about wins and losses. I think John Henry holds senior management accountable for dollars won and lost…as such I don’t think the product on the field matters to him like it does us fans. I could care less about Marco Scutaro…I care very deeply that the reason the move was made was not for baseball purposes but for financial ones. That tells me senior management has different priorities than winning.

      By the way…I think that there are only about 10 owners in MLB who care about winning more than the financial success of the team. They consistently field good teams and have a good organization. I don’t put the Red Sox in that category and won’t until Larry Lucchino is gone. it took Harry Sinden leaving the Bruins for Jeromy Jacobs to become a decent owner…there is hop for Henry.

      • Atreyu Jones

        If you “need” an owner who cares about winning, how did the Sox manage to be successful on the field so often in the past 10 years? If this ownership hasn’t consistently fielded good teams, what are the approx 10 owners that have over the same time? If their are so many bad owners out there, why are you pessimistic about the Sox given that their competition shares their supposed disinterest in winning? If the Scutaro trade supposedly indicated that the senior management doesn’t care about winning, what do the Gonzalez, Crawford, Lackey, V Martinez, Bedard, Gagne, Lowell, Becket etc acquisitions indicate to you?

        Why be a fan if you don’t even enjoy the glory days?

        • Atreyu Jones

          Also, how SPECIFICALLY was John Henry supposed to “hold senior management” accountable about wins and losses? They let their GM go. They have a new manager. Did you want Henry to fire himself or buy out Lucchino and Werner because the players screwed the pooch in September?

        • latetodinner

          I think the Sox got lucky in 2004 and 2007. Manny on steroids coupled with Shilling and his desire/ talent got the Sox two championships. It was great. At no point did I ever get the warm fuzzy feeling that the Sox ownership cared about the product on the field. They did however care about the resulting good fortune to the bottom line. I think their actions since 2007 have proven me out. They are reactive rather than active. They sign Crawford and Gonzo last year without thinking about how either will fit into the park, the team or Boston…they were the shiniest baubles at the store, the teams TV ratings were taking a hit, merchandising and in stadium revenue were down so they decided to “make a splash” regardless of what the baseball people we telling them. They spent close to $200 mill for third place.

          You asked what I would have done if I were John Henry…it is fire Larry Lucchino. He is not an owner, does not have an ownership stake…does not need to be bought out. He is Harry SInden only with a bigger budget and less knowledge. The guy looks at everything through the eyes of a lawyer or a pr master. Everything spoken is conditional, the backstabbing of Tito (who I thought deserved to be fired) was unprofessional, unethical and unconscionable. As long as Tom Warner and John Henry insulate themselves from the general public with the layer that i Larry Lucchino then there will be no passion to win nor accountability.

          Lastly, you are right I have had a hard time being a fan with this ownership regardless of the winning. They are not like the Krafts…they don’t care about the fans or our experience. They do not live and die on the wins and losses of the team…yet they expect their fans to do so…they are snake oil salesmen and a lot of fans have fallen for it.

        • Atreyu Jones

          If you expect your owners to live and die with the team like hardcore fans and not try to make money, you are a naive sap and are in for a lifetime of disappointment.

      • whitey b

        -1. Someone put this shyster out of his misery, before I do it myself.

        • Tmurph13

          “I think the Sox got lucky in 2004 and 2007″ I’m sorry that is thinking? How? Arsewipe!

  • bsmfan

    So, beyond Felger shaving his head, he’s apparently debating on PatsFans.com the salary cap?

    http://www.patsfans.com/blogs/russ/2012/03/28/michael-felger-and-marc-bertrand-on-tonights-episode-of-patriots-fourth-and-two/

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