Thursday 4/25/24
The Celtics. That's what it always comes back to, doesn't it? Not being ready, not getting it, not enough urgency, not enough focus. You lose the second game of the playoffs at home to the eighth seed down their top player. That's just so Tatum-Brown era Celtics. Can't say I'm surprised.
Brad Marchand's play in Game 2 against the Leafs and some of his comments after made me think that he didn't believe the Bruins were going to win this round, so was encouraging to see he came out strong and had a nice game in the Game 3 win. Jeremy Swayman has started two games and the Bruins have won both, so the Bruins, being the Bruins, will likely sit him for the next one.
Red Sox thumped the Guardians in Cleveland, 8-0. 14-11 on the season. Not awful, not that good. Maybe they'll be a .500 team? I just don't think there's enough on the roster, though. Casas is out indefinitely, which means Bobby Dalbec at first. It's hard to watch him. He strikes out, what, more than half the time? He was 1 for 5 last night with only a single strikeout, which is better than he usually does. You wonder how he did as well as he did in 2021, when it seemed like maybe he could be a poor man's Brian Daubach. The Sox' starting pitching can only get worse, I figure. Bello is hurt. Pitchers just get injured now, because pitchers are babied and treated like none of them are good enough to face a guy three times, and then they're expected to pitch like they're ripping their arms off for the short amount of time they're out there with velocity and spin rates, and then stuff happens. Yesterday's winning pitcher for the Sox was one Cooper Criswell, which makes him sound like he's part cask maker, part prognosticator.
Kings beat the Oilers in OT. The Oilers don't change. They play fast and loose, trading chances for chances. I don't see how you win a Cup with their style in this era. In the 1980s, maybe.
