No Foolin', KG and Ainge Out for the Playoffs

April is now the cruelest month for Celtics' fans. Not only is All-Star Kevin Garnett out for the Celtics' 2009 play-off run but word is that Celtics' General Manager Danny Ainge suffered a heart attack as well.

I'm really not sure which is more surreal. On one hand, Celtics' GM Danny Ainge is only 50 years old and a former 3-sport athlete who is still in great shape for his age. On top of that, he is a Mormon who doesn't smoke or drink alchohol, yet after falling ill the other night, they found out that his artery was 100% clogged!

On the other hand, we were told all along that Kevin Garnett was going to be fine. His injury was mild and he could have come back sooner but that the Celtics were just giving him more time to be safe. They said he was going to be back for the last week of the season but since the playoff seed was solidified they thought starting up again in the playoffs would be the best just to get a couple extra days of treatment. Now Coach Doc Rivers tells everyone that he saw KG in practice on Thursday and there is no way he can go in the playoffs and probably will need surgery after the season!

Much like last year's injury to Andrew Bynum, Laker players and their fans were told repeatedly that Bynum would be ready for the play-offs until it was finally declared that he was done for the rest of the season. Now Celtic fans are left with a lot of questions. With the best medical expertise at their disposal, how is it that Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge didn't know how serious KG's injury was and who really gained from this non-disclosure? Their players? The opponent? Certainly not the fans who have all year for another successful playoff run and now must pray for a Willis Reed-like apearance late in the play-offs by Kevin Garnett.

As Rick Pitino once said, "Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish aren't going to be walking through that door"...And now neither will Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, so it appears that the Celtics and their fans will need a lot more than the the luck of the Irish to repeat as World Champions this year.

Does Bob Watson Hate the Red Sox?

Terry Francona and Theo Epstein were shocked at the recent 6 game suspension levied by MLB Disciplinarian Bob Watson. Especially since Watson basically overruled the umpires' decision on the field. Umpire Joe West neither ejected or warned Beckett after his errant pitch came in high and tight on the Angels' Bobby Abreau. In fact, West stated that he actually thought Beckett "handled himself well" during the altercation.

That said, behind closed doors I'm sure the Red Sox brass aren't all that surprised at Watson's decision. After all, this isn't the first time Bob Watson has used his power unfairly against the Sox organization.

Bob Watson's Timeline of Tyranny:

• June 1979: After a mid-season trade with Houston, Bob Watson plays 84 games with the Red Sox before signing with the New York Yankees in the off-season and claiming that Boston was not accepting of black players
• October 1995: Watson is named General Manager of the New York Yankees
• February 2002: Major League Baseball names him Vice President in Charge of Rules and Discipline
• May 2002: Watson penalizes both the Sox Trot Nixon and Frank Castillo of the Rays for fighting yet only consults with Rays' Manager Hal McRae (not the Red Sox) before handing down the fines and suspensions
• July 2002: Tampa Bay Ray's Pitcher Estaban Yan hits Sox Manny Ramirez with a pitch yet Yan is neither fined or suspended by Watson even though both benches were already warned earlier in the same game.
• October 2003: During game 3 of the ALCS, Sox Pedro Martinez hits Karim Garcia with a pitch inciting one of the game's most famous brawls. Then Yankees' Pitcher Roger Clemens threw one up and in on Manny Ramirez, the benches cleared and New York Coach Don Zimmer charger at Martinez angrily. Watson fines Pedro Martinez $50,000 for the incident, and Ramirez $25,000 but Don Zimmer receives only a $5,000 penalty.
• October 2003: Also, neither Yankee Outfielder Karim Garcia nor Yankee Pitcher Jeff Nelson are fined by Watson for what Boston Police called an "unprovoked attack" on a Red Sox employee in the Yankees' bullpen near the end of that same game. Both were later charged with assault, but the MLB Disciplinarian saw no reason to fine or suspend the players.
• July 2004: Yankees' Pitcher Tanyon Sturtze sucker punches Red Sox Outfielder Gabe Kapler. Kapler responds with clearly less force than Sturtze, but Watson gives them equal fines and suspendions even though Sturtze had started the altercation with Kapler. On top of that, Trot Nixon, who rushed to the aid of Kapler and pulled Sturtze off of him, is also suspended for 3 games and fined. Then, only after appeals to the ridiculous sentences did Watson relent on Nixon and Kapler's suspensions.
• April 2005: Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is suspended 3 games for his role in a beanball incident with the Tampa Bay rays, yet a month later Yankee's Manager Joe Torre receives only a one game ban after a similar incident between New York and Detroit
• August 2007: Watson sends one of his underlings into the Boston dugout during a game to make sure that Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is wearing his uniform correctly. Fancona is shocked because he is wearing the proper attire but he is also being distracted from during a very important game. Watson later passes the 'Francona Rule', banning managers from wearing pullovers instead of their team jersey.
• April 2008: Finally, in light of the recent 6 game suspension of Josh Beckett, it is interesting to note that Watson only suspended Yankee Pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Kyle Farnsworth 2 and 3 games respectively for throwing at Red Sox player's (Youkilis & Ramirez) heads!
  

Manny? Happy? Returns?

Sure you can warn Dodger fans about the frustration of life with Manny Ramirez and what the saying "Manny being Manny" really refers to, but until they experience it for themselves, they just think you're crazy. They'll say that the guy is just fun-loving and a monster at the plate, so what's not to love? Well, now Dodgertown is getting a taste of what life is really like rooting for the mercurial hitting savant.

Without any other suitors this off season, the Dodgers were still generous enough to give Manny a 2 year/$45 million contract including a player option in the second year! But now less than 2 months later, the ever-grateful Ramirez has come out and said that he really wants to finish his career where it all began, in Cleveland. All this while the Dodger's unveil their new campaign where Manny claims that Los Angeles is the place where he belongs and his town now.

Welcome to 'Planet Manny' Angelinos! He's your problem child now!

Bird was the Word in the Summer of '76

Northbourogh, MA native and 1976 AL Rookie of Year Award Winner Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych found dead at age 54. Born in Worcester, MA, the two-time All Star became an instant folk hero for his pitching prowess and his quirky behavior on the mound but like his career, his life ended much too early.

Notes from the Coast:

There were a lot of 'uglies' this past week, but leading the way was the Red Sox anemic offensive performance against their postseason rivals Tampa and Anaheim. The Sox have lost the first two series of the season mainly because they are hitting only .240 as a team with the main culprits being Jacoby Ellsbury (5 for 24), David Ortiz (4-20), Mike Lowell (4 for 23), J.D. Drew (2 for 16), and Jed Lowrie (1 for 18). Even Josh Beckett's bravado and a mini-brawl with the Angels couldn't fire up the Sox' bats in Anaheim.

Yikes! - The Cleveland Cavaliers spanked the Celtics by 31 points on National TV and the Cav players had to turn to dancing during timeouts to keep themselves interested in the blowout. Fortunately, the Orlando Magic lost 2 games which assured the Celtics would have the second best record going into the postseason. However, now with only 2 games left in the season, the Celtics must somehow integrate their injured players and secure a play-off rotation or a lack of chemistry and cohesiveness could be their downfall in the quest for Banner #18.

Yikes! - The affable Argentine, Angel Cabrera, wins the Masters only after Kenny Perry and Tiger Woods both bogey the last two holes and Phil Mickelson once again self-destructs on the back 9 with poor shot choices, missed putts, and a shirt that looked to be two sizes too small.

Yikes! - The Miami of Ohio Hockey team had a 3-1 lead with less than a minute to go in the NCAA Championship game only to lose 4-3 in overtime. The good news is that Coach Jackie Parker and the Boston University Terriers won their 5th NCAA Hockey Title with a comeback for the ages!

Yikes! - The Boston Bruins fell just short of the getting the best record in the NHL but even more troublesome is that they will open the play-offs against their nemesis, the Montreal Canadiens. Granted the Bruins are the #1 seed and the Canadiens are #8, but anything can happen with these rivals. In post season play, the Canadiens have won 24 of 31 playoff rounds (including 18 in a row from 1946-1987), and 13 times in club history, the Canadiens have gone on to win the Stanley Cup after meeting the Bruins in the playoffs. Need I remind you what happened in 1971, 1979, or 2004?

# 9 On the New Year's Wish List Fulfilled!

The Boston Bruins will host the next NHL Winter Classic outdoors at Fenway Park on January 1st, 2010.

Why I Dislike the Rays More than the Yankees

1. For some reason the Rays always play with a chip on their shoulder against the Red Sox even though the Yankees should be their main rival since Tampa is where the Yanks' Spring training home is located
2. They beat the Sox in the ALCS only to lose the World Series to a Phillies team with only 92 wins
3. They have stockpiled young talent because they have always drafted so high and are now able to attract complementary veterans like Pat Burrell and Gabe Kapler because Tampa is not the worst place to live
4. They have Carol Pena who was raised in Boston but couldn't hit with the Sox, and and now he may be the next David Ortiz with the Rays
5. At $43 mill, their payroll is the second lowest in MLB
6. With Joe Maddon as their manager, they play 'small ball' better than the Angels and are a tough match-up for the Sox
7. They don't even have a passionate fan base and average less than 10,000 fans a game
8. Before this offseason, their highest paid player only made $6 million per year!
9. Their window before having to pay and/or possibly lose their young talent unfortunately coincides with Sox' own window with David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek.
10. They just don't seem to know any better and fearlessly keep winning

Let The Games Begin -- Sox Open 2009 with 5-3 win over Rays!

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Curt Schilling hangs up his spikes after 20 years.

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