Thomas proves he's still a backup at heart

By Chris Maza

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

There can be no doubt about it - the better goalie won the trip to the Eastern Conference semis and a date with the Penguins.
Put aside save percentages. Forget the goals against average. When it came right down to it in Game 7, Cam Ward was a rock while Tim Thomas had Bruins fans pulling out their hair all night.
It all came to a bitter end with a terrific play by Scott Walker, but that was only made possible by a terrible play by Thomas on a routine shot that hit him right in the B on his sweater. Instead of smothering the puck, Thomas was unable to gather it and Walker smacked it out of the air and into the net.
But long before this, Thomas was making everything an adventure, showing the same inability to control the puck he has displayed the entire season. Long rebound after long rebound gave Carolina chances that had a better team been opposing the Bruins, this one could have turned into a laugher very quickly.
So now the question is raised - is Tim Thomas as good as New England seems to think he is or was his success this season the product of a much-improved defense?
The latter most certainly is the case. Fundamentally, Thomas is one of the most frustrating goalies to watch at any level. NESN should run a disclaimer on the bottom of the screen warning those with pacemakers and serious heart or anxiety disorders to watch at their own risk. On top of his inability to control the puck, Thomas makes things look harder than it really should be. Like Rey Ordonez used to do at shortstop for the Mets, Thomas makes easy plays into adventures and then is heralded as a great, athletic goaltender. However, more often than not, his sprawling saves are nothing but a byproduct of poor positioning or an inability to read a rush. A half-step slower and Thomas would be the second-worst goaltender in the AHL.
Thomas is a grinder. He's tough as nails and this doesn't mean he hasn't done great things this season, but make no mistake - he's a backup performing a starter's duties.

Where Have You Gone, Papi?

By Erik Pesta
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


I get it, Tito. I really do. You are a player's manager and you let your guys work themselves out of slumps. You've won two World Series trophies and probably have forgotten more about baseball than I will ever know. I admit this up front. But please, for the love of all things holy, get David Ortiz out of the three-hole in the lineup. He is officially killing your team. In yesterday's excruciating extra-inning loss to the Angels, Ortiz left 12 men on base. Twelve!!! Whole teams don't leave that many men on base in an entire game. I keep looking at that stat and can't stop shaking my head. I've been writing for weeks now that Ortiz needs to be moved down in the order. This is not an "I told you so", and I wish I was wrong. But he can't catch up to a fastball and teams don't fear him anymore. He has nothing left. Zip. Nada. Bupkus. His 2009 numbers: .220 batting average, 15 RBI, 0 homeruns, .317 slugging percentage and .650 OPS. Those are utility infielder numbers, not, "cornerstone of our lineup/we always have a chance with this guy" numbers. He used to be the hitter teams never wanted to see in the late innings of close games. Now, they are happy it's him and not Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay or Lowell stepping into the box with runners on. It used to be so different. He used to have swagger. Sox fans knew they were never out of a game with Papi looming in the next inning. I remember a game a few years ago against Cleveland. The Sox were down at home and Fausto Carmona came in to pitch for the Tribe. The specifics of the situation escape me now, but I remember imploring the Sox, saying over and over, "Just get to Papi. Just get to Papi." Well, they did. Fenway fans rose to their feet, he hit a bomb to center to win it, and I ran around my apartment, screamed like a fool and woke up my sleeping, pregnant wife. Things like that happened on a regular basis. But they don't happen anymore, and nobody misses the old Papi more than I do. These days, I'll take any signs of life out of a guy who looks to be completely overmatched at the plate. With each passing at bat, I feel more and more like it's not going to happen. I dread seeing him come up in big spots, because it hurts to watch him fail over and over again. If yesterday's game wasn't a huge red flag to Francona, telling him something needs to be done about the situation, then he'll never move Ortiz out of the third spot in the batting order. I just hope it doesn't de-rail a season in which the Sox look like they have a legitimate shot at the World Series.

The Hurricanes deserved to win the series!

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Yes, that's right the Carolina Hurricanes should be the team moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals. They outplayed, out shot, and out hit the Boston Bruins throughout the seven games series. The Boston Bruins should be ashamed of themselves. They were supposed to be the better team, and they were supposed to have more depth on offense. Both showed to be false throughout the series. 

The worst part of all was seeing Scott Walker score the game winner in overtime of Game 7. I haven't felt that sick to my stomach over a sports loss since the Patriots lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl. I still maintain that Colin Campbell should have suspended Walker for the remainder of the series, much less one game, so it feels like a total slap in the face to see him clinch the series for the Canes. 

I guess there's not much else to say other than the Bruins blew it. This was supposed to be the year they get back to the Cup finals. Now the season just seems to be an utter disappointment. The Bruins front office has a tough off season ahead of them with a couple of major decisions to make. I am sick and tired of being let down by this organization year after year. Unfortunately for me, I'll be right back in front of the television come the Fall.

Fantasy Baseball: Frozen Ropes

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Welcome once again for the weekly recap of the best and worst fantasy hitters over the past week.

The Good:

Hanley Ramirez has been ruling the roost this past week. He's about as hot as a hitter could be with a .625 average, 3 homers, 6 RBI, 9 runs and 3 stolen bases. Talk about a complete week. Wow! There is definitely a reason why he was the preseason #1 overall fantasy player. Right behind him is a player I love for his versatility. Jerry Hairston Jr has put up similar numbers to Hanley this week. He's hitting .429, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 11 R & 3 SB. He's healthy and eligible for 2B, SS & OF. He started the season slowly, but has obviously turned it around. If he can stay healthy, he's a very valuable player. At #3 this week, we'll stay with the burners. Willy Taveras is hitting and even .500 this past week. He's also helped out with 1 HR, 5 RBI, 9 R & 4 SB. He's only owned in 57% of leagues and already has 26 runs and 10 stolen bases. He doesn't usually hit for average, but so far he's hitting at a .322 clip. I've always been a Jason Werth fan since his days with the Dodgers. Now that he's healthy and playing full time, he's turned into a very good player. He's had a tremendous week hitting ..563 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, 7 R and 5 stolen bases. Of course 4 of those came in the same game against his former team. Jose Reyes will round out to top 5 performers this past week. The speedy shortstop hit .419 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R & 4 SB. He's starting to turn his season around so watch out if he stays hot.  

The Bad:

Corey Hart leads the list of the players struggling this past week.  He's only 4 for 23 with o homers and 2 RBI. He's only hitting .264 on the season, so his struggles aren't something new. If you can, bench him for now until he turns around. Jose Lopez has had a really tough start to the 09' season. This week has been even worse with a .125 average, with a homer, 2 RBI and 3 runs. Normally I'd say he's going to turn it around, but I'm not sure. He was poised for a big season after pounding the ball in the WBC, but now just looks like another example of that tournament wearing down players.  I've had Russell Branyan on so many of my positive articles this year, but now he joins the bad crowd. He's only hitting .174 this week with 1 HR & 1 RBI. He needs to break out of this slump to maintain his playing time. I'd love to see him put together a complete season, but I fear that will never happen. I still think he's worth picking up just for his cheap home runs.  I have never been a Khalil Greene fan. For some weird reason I get a jolt out of his struggles. His average this past week is the same as it is on the season, .217. He has pretty much zero production on the season as well. I would never pick him up and put him in my lineup, and I think you should do the same. It was only a matter of time before Nick Swisher came back to reality. A .143 average this week will certainly do it. Don't give up on him though. He'll get plenty of playing time and is hitting in one of the most hitter friendly parks in the New Yankee Stadium. He should bounce back in a week or two. I usually stop at 5 players in these columns, but am going to nominate David Ortiz for a special award as he could have been in this portion every single week this season. I don't want to waste any of my time on his stats, so you can go check them out for yourself. 

Under the Radar:

In case  you didn't realize it, but Rickie Weeks is actually having a good season. The former top prospect is hitting .286 with 9 HR & 24 RBI. That is very good production for a second baseman. I doubt he'll keep up the production, but would be pleasantly surprise if he did. Mike Cameron is another Brewer having a good year. His .297 Average is 45 points higher than his career average. He also has 7 home runs.  Elijah Dukes may not be the most mature person, but it looks like he'll end up being a pretty good ball player. He's hitting .280, 4, 23 on the season and has been able to keep his cool. If he can start becoming a man, he may just end up one heck of a player. Watch out for James Loney. He's struggled with his average and power to start the season, but has hit a homer in each of the last two games, already has 27 RBI. He's been working with Don Mattingly so both of his average and power should come back. This may be a good time to trade for him on the cheap. If Carlos Delgado hits the DL, Fernando Tatis should be the one getting the most playing time despite what Jerry Manuel says. He's been a GREAT part time player hitting .358 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in only 53 at bats. All he's done is hit since he joined the Mets last year. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the info.

(Check out Chin Music by Chad Garner on Monday)

Turkoglu channels his inner Andrew Toney, forces Game 7

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Text message tonight from my good friend Brian Comeau, who works at the Hotel Commonwealth, two hours before tonight's tipoff:

"Have the Celtics and Bruins ever advanced to the next round on the same night?"

Spoke too soon...and to answer the question, not in our lifetime.

The Celtics will be playing what has got to feel like the 17th Game 7 after tonight's 83-75 loss to the Orlando Magic.

Dwight Howard's 23 points and 22 rebounds will be the biggest headline in tomorrow's papers, because of the way he went out and backed up his comments after calling out the coaching, but please heed the sweet stroke of Hedo Turkoglu. The big man lives for these dagger moments against the Celtics, and tonight he got his. Forget that he only had seven points. His wide-open 3-pointer from near the top of the arc made it a six-point game for Orlando with a minute to go. And while that's an eternity, this one had that "aw, crap" feeling. Beat the traffic, and let's hope for a win in Game 7.

As for Dwight, this is how an All-NBA First Teamer is supposed to respond. That's the difference between superstars like Howard and above-average guys like Gilbert Arenas. When you chirp, you've got to back it up. Does it prove anything from a coach's standpoint? I beg to differ. Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston and Rashard Lewis were in there at the end to close it out. I think ultimately the legacy of Howard's Game 5 comments will be that he shook up what had become complacent. The Magic were playing loose tonight.

Tonight was a low-scoring, defensive affair; the kind of game you can't play with your best player sitting on the sidelines. As athletic as the Magic starting five is, the Celtics can run the floor better. Running a break, I'll take Rajon Rondo over Alston any day of the week.

Ray Allen's five points on 2 of 11 shooting -- including 0 for 7 -- is startling. I fully expect him to recover in Game 7.

It all ends Sunday night. Let's hope none of us get any jinx-worthy text messages.