Boston Sports Then and Now

New Jersey Devils forward #11 Stephen Gionta continues to be an unlikely hero in the Devils unlikely playoff run

The New Jersey Devils have had a Cinderella type run to the Stanley Cup Finals this season. While the Devils’ big guns Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, and Martin Brodeur are doing their part, it is the role players like Steve Bernier, Ryan Carter, and Boston College alum Stephen Gionta who are coming up big. The 5’7″ Rochester, New York native is what some people may call a late bloomer and did not start the season on the Devils roster; in fact he only played one regular season game this season. After being given a chance to start for the team in the playoffs Stephen has been part of a dominant New Jersey fourth line that has played a major role in the felling of the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, and the rival New York Rangers.

The younger brother of Montreal Canadiens’ captain Brian Gionta; Stephen’s road to the NHL was a long one. After a solid 4 years at Boston College with 33 goals, 57 assists, and a plus 61 in 149 games he was signed as a College free agent by the Devils. His brother Brian was a Devils’ mainstay at the time of the signing and the influence that his brother had on the Devils’ acquisition of him is unclear though implied. Stephen has been a career minor league player up until this point in his career, save for a small stint with the big club last season. Having spent most if not all of his professional career with the Albany/Lowell Devils his play has been seen throughout all of New England as well as the Northeast. In 363 AHL games he has 61 goals, 80 assists, and a minus 10. He has also never really participated in any college playoff tournament nor any pro hockey playoff situations making his performance in this current Devils run impressive.

Though his size will always be an issue at the NHL level, he has shown a ton of grit, poise, and perseverance throughout the playoffs. For me it is an inspiration to watch someone of such small stature compete with some of the biggest baddest NHLers in the world. Simply put; Stephen Gionta has heart you can’t teach, you can’t learn, and you can’t fake. Size doesn’t matter to him, he has been an underdog since day one and though it has taken him some time to get his shot, he is certainly making the most of it. I personally believe he, along with his line-mates, were the x-factor against the heavily favored New York Rangers. With 3 goals, 4 assists, and a plus 6 in all 19 of the Devils playoff games Stephen Gionta keeps impressing everyone. Not bad for a former BC Eagle or as the fans have lovingly come to call him “The Rochester Pocket Rocket”

After Jonathan Papelbon left Boston for the bigger contract in Philadelphia, the Red Sox went right to the trade market to find a new closer to replace the greatest closer in Red Sox history. Ben Cherington and company went to the Oakland Athletics and pulled the trigger on a trade to bring A’s closer, Andrew Bailey to Boston.

Josh Reddick

In return for Bailey, the Red Sox sent outfielder Josh Reddick along with 2 minor league prospects while also receiving outfielder, Ryan Sweeney. At the time not many people second guessed the trade as fans knew having a reliable closer to replace Papelbon was crucial. 50 games into the season, the A’s seem to have come up on top in the trade.

Bailey hasn’t pitched a single ball for the Red Sox this season as he placed on the 60-day disabled list prior to the start of the season, and Sweeney has played in 37 games hitting .315 with 12 RBI’s and no homeruns and has spent time on the disabled list like much of the Red Sox outfield.

In Oakland, Reddick has played in 49 out of 51 games and leads the A’s in batting average, homeruns, runs, and RBI’s. Reddick is hitting .266 with 14 homeruns, 9 more than any other A’s player, 27 RBI’s and he has crossed the plate 32 times this season. What makes Reddick’s power numbers even more impressive is he has hit half of his homeruns at Oakland-Almeda Coliseum, one of the best “pitchers ballparks.”

During short stints for the Red Sox in 2009 and 2010, Reddick Struggled at the plate hitting only .169 in 27 games in 2009, and .194 in 29 games in 2010. If that’s all the Red Sox had to go off, the trade would seem like a steal for the Red Sox, but with more playing time in 2011, Reddick proved his worth by hitting .280 in 87 games with 7 homeruns.

Even when Reddick first got called up to Boston in 2009, I thought he had great potential, and thought the Red Sox sent him down too early without giving him a long enough chance in the big leagues. He was never given a chance to fully play on an everyday basis with the Red Sox, and therefore his numbers were deceiving.

Although Sweeney is playing well for Boston in his first 37 games, having Reddick this year would have been huge for the Red Sox with their injury woes in the outfield, and if he was able to hit 7 homeruns in the Coliseum it makes fans wonder what kind of power he could have delivered at “hitter friendly” Fenway Park.

Along with the power hitting Reddick has brought to Oakland, they haven’t seemed to miss Bailey too much as the team is 11 for 18 in save opportunities, after going 38 for 50 in save opportunities in 2011.

As of right now it’s too early to call the trade a bust for the Red Sox. Bailey could come back later this year and be dominant in the Red Sox bullpen, and could potentially be a dominant closer in upcoming years. 50 games into the 2012 season, the Red Sox biggest struggle has been the bullpen and if Bailey was healthy that might have been completely different.

Rondo's career-high 44 points wash't enough Wednesday night.

On a night when Rajon Rondo played the entire 53 minutes, his career-high 44 points wasn’t enough for the Boston Celtics.

Behind a surprisingly strong effort from Mario Chalmers, the Miami Heat escaped South Beach with a 115-111 victory, and more importantly a 2-0 series lead.

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It’s not an easy thing to replace a captain of 7 years on a professional sports team.  A guy like Jason Varitek, a rock for the organization and team leader from 1997-2011, is hard to replicate.  In particular in this era in major league baseball versatile catchers who contain top notch leadership skills are hard to come by.  It almost mirrors the old adage in the NFL that franchise quarterbacks are nearly impossible to find and you should savior them while you have one.  Varitek’s career started to dwindle a few seasons ago and the Sox even brought in a big name, former Indians catcher Victor Martinez, to split time with him.  When Martinez was allowed to walk in free agency a year and a half after he was acquired it was back to the drawing board for the Red Sox.

Saltalamacchia is becoming the player the Sox hoped for when they traded for him

Enter Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  Salty was acquired at the trade deadline during the 2010 season for spare parts and was placed in Pawtucket for the remainder of the year.  Salty was a big prospect coming up with Atlanta but hit a wall in Texas after he was acquired in a trade that sent Mark Teixeira packing.  Saltalamacchia was stuck in the minors and couldn’t even throw the ball to second base accurately when the Sox picked him up.  At the end of the year when Martinez walked to Detroit the Red Sox gave Saltalamacchia the keys to the car to at least share with Varitek for a year.  Many thought that a year playing with Jason Varitek would be vital.  Although he wasn’t the same player physically that he once was he had not lost anything mentally and could be a wealth of knowledge for a young guy playing under him.  It seems that those thoughts are coming to fruition.

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Looks Bruins sniper Tyler Seguin has been pretty busy with his extended off-season (DAMN YOU WASHINGTON!). He just recently got this tattoo of…….I really have NO FRIGGIN’ idea what it is.

Is it a heart with fire rising out of it?

At the end of the day, who the F*CK really cares. He better net 40 for the Black & Gold this upcoming season!

UPDATE: The Explanation from “The Kid” himself via Twitter:

Tattoo- Dad always told me to wear my heart on my sleeve so there’s a heart with bdates of my family connecting to my seguin tattoo.

— Tyler Seguin (@tylerseguin92) May 30, 2012

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce cannot be dominated by the Miami Heat's LeBron James like he was in Game 1.

“No playoff series truly begins until the road team wins a game.” This is an old saying made famous by Pat Riley in 1987 when he was coaching the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the Boston Celtics to win in Miami on Wednesday night, they will have to improve in several categories for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference final showdown with the Heat.

One area is at the free throw line. The Celtics are going to have nights where they do not shoot well from the floor because they are a jump-shooting team. There is no reason the Celtics should make just one more free throw than they miss. The Celtics were 11-of-21 from the charity stripe and Ray Allen was a miserable 3-of-7. Allen does not appear to have any balance in his stroke even from the line.

Another area where the Celtics have to improve is on defense. The Celtics let LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have their way with them. The Heat had too many easy paths to the basket whether they were layups or short jumpers. Shane Battier, Mike Miller, and Mario Chalmers all had their share of good looks at the basket. The Heat shot an absurd 21-of-27 inside the paint and they blocked 11 Celtics shots. The Celtics must keep James and Wade on the outside. They need to force the Heat to beat them from the perimeter. The Celtics were getting killed on the pick-and-roll and they were not rotating, especially inside the paint. This allowed the Heat to score untouched on the inside.

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