hankhill Blog Posts

Red Sox Get Much Needed Win and End a 6 Game Losing Streak

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:49:32 PDT

Last Night B. Penny and the Sox came out on a mission and that was to break this losing streak and they did. But I personally was more concerned about our hitting. After getting swept by the Yankees in a 4 game series which has not happened in over 20 years, I wasn't concerned about our pitching (except Smoltz which the Sox dealt with after that 1st game massacre and giving up 9 earned, they put him on assignment) I was worried about our line-up.

Pappi and Bay have been off and Pedroia and Youk just couldn't hit against NY and that went for our whole line up except Ellsbury who was able to be consistant. So when the Sox came out last night and scored 2 runs in the 1st on a Ellsbury double then a Pedroia homer (9) starting off the game with a lead, the Sox looked like the team we know. In the 2nd the Sox would score a run on a hit by Pappi, then followed by a N. Green homer (6) giving the Sox a early 4-0 lead. This was a great sign for me just seeing the Sox making great contact and scoring runs but Detroit would rally. After a Bay homer (22) in the 5th the Sox led 5-3 heading into the 7th when Delcarman came in for Penny and Detroit would tie the game at 5 all!!

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Red Sox Get a Much Needed Win and a Much Needed Player

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:18:04 PDT

Boston Red Sox-- Get a Much Needed Win and a Much Needed Player.
Friday being the trade deadline you knew the Sox were going to make some kind of move(because they always do) and they did. The Sox got the big bat they were looking for, by acquiring all-star slugger Victor Martinez from Cleveland for J. Masterson, and minor league pitcher N. Hagadone and B. Price. The 30 year old Martinez plays both catcher and 1st base and is a switch hitter and should be a huge help in the Sox lineup. Knowing Martinez is an every day player Boston sent A. LaRoche who was just traded here and had a hit in his 3 games, back to his former team the Braves for C. Kotchman who will be a solid backup to Youkilis and now Martinez. So overall this should help our offense and we didn't have to give up Clay so let's see how it plays out in the east.
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Red Sox Fall Out of First Place

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:19:40 PDT

MLB Boston Red Sox; Beckett goes for his 12th win, close but no Support!!
The Red Sox had lost 3 in a row and went into this game versus the Texas Rangers with their ace Josh Beckett on the mound, so Sox Nation was expecting to take this one, especially being tied for first with the dreaded Yankees. With Texas is sending their 2 game starter rookie T. Hunter at us who is 1-1 this year, so the odds had to be on the Sox.After Hunter had a 1,2,3 inning Beckett came out and looked tired in the 1st inning allowing 2 earned runs and his fastball was only reaching 91, which is unlike Beckett. So the Sox would head out of the 1st inning down 2-0 and on this night this is all the Rangers would need-- because the Red Sox offense didn't show!! Hunter shut us down and held the lead until th

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Buchholz Gets First Win

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:24:51 PDT

Clay Buchholz Would get his First Start of the Year- and it would be a good one.

This being the first game since returning from the all-star break the Sox looked to stay in command in the East. Not knowing if Beckett and Wake would pitch in the all-star game(which they didn't and I personally thought they really should have got Wake in the game)so they made this move. The Sox brought up Clay Buchholz (7-2 in minors this year) for this one start knowing no matter how good he did, he would be sent back to the minors after the game. This did not matter to Clay Buchholz, he came out gunning, he threw 103 pitches, only allowed 4 hits and 1 earned run and had 3 strikeouts--Nasty!! He went into the 6th and was relieved by Bard who ended the inning and looked great also. Makes you think should we keep Clay up here and sit Smoltz, what does Sox Nation think??? Log in and let me know!!!

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Buchholz gets First Start of the Season

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:03:31 PDT

Clay Buchholz Would get his First Start of the Year- and it would be a good one.

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BoSox Bullpen Blows a 9 Run Lead

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:49:42 PDT

Boston Red Sox Bullpen Blows a 9 Run Lead!!
So last night the 42 year old John Smoltz would get his second start of the year!! In the last game he pitched he gave up 3 runs in the first inning, but then he was lights out. So I believe it was because it was his the first start and 1st inning jitters, so I didn't know what to expect. Well he was on point again and looked great. He only gave up 3 hits, 1 earned run and had 2 strikeout-- awesome! But the story is far from over. Meanwhile the Red Sox bats looked like they where going to explode, scoring 9 runs giving Smoltz a 9-1 lead, but that's when the rain came and this was big trouble for Smoltz and the Sox.(rain always seems to be trouble for the Sox).
After the rain came and went, a delay for about a hour and 20 minutes had gone by, Smoltz couldn't come back out, leaving a 9-1 lead up to the bullpen. At this point all of Red Sox Nation, including me, were thinking it's over, we got this in the bag and when it came to the 7th and the Sox now had a 10-1 lead I thought it's definitely over, but I was way off!! The Orioles would put our bullpen to work-- Masterson then Delcarmen and Okajima would allow 7 hits and 5 runs in the 7th making it a 10-6 game heading into the 8th!! Okajimia would start the 8th gave up a quick 2 runs with runners on, so the Sox would bring in Saito who gave up another run making it 10-9 with men on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, BIG trouble!!! So of course the Sox would bring in Papelbon who is looking for the save which would set a new franchise record by moving past B. Stanley for No. 1 in saves, but after getting a strikeout and the 2nd out of the inning he would give up a double which rolled all the way to the wall allowing both runners to score giving Baltimore a 11-10 lead and the win. This was a hard one to watch and definitely write about, well we got Beckett going today at 1:35 for a day game, so let's get a win!! Sox Nation here.
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NBA Finals Lakers are 2009 Champs

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:36:20 PDT

Being from Boston, it's hard to even say that the Lakers are the champs; we wish the Celtics were in their shoes. But even a die-hard Celtics fan needs to admit that the Lakers earned the title and so did KOBE and PHIL.
The game meanwhile was strange. Orlando came out playing like no matter what, they were sending this to game 6 and, from the very beginning, it looked like it was going to happen! They hit every shot and played amazing defense. The 1st ended with Orlando up by 2. Then within minutes in the 2nd, Kobe and LA took over and it went from a 9 point lead for Orlando to a 9 point lead for the Lakers. They would go into the half up 56-46, and Orlando needed to step it back up or this was over.
The second half started just how the 1st ended with the Lakers putting the pedal to the medal and you could see the determination in their eyes that they were ending this tonight. After losing to the Celtics last year, I think Kobe had something to prove, and he did. He would not only put up 30 but he was making the right passes, a game high 5 assists, and involved his whole team and when he does that it's trouble for the other teams as we saw against Houston and Denver and now Orlando!!! Before this playoff I believe Kobe was always doing too much and not finding the open guys and not using teamwork. Since the Houston series, everything changed and Kobe started making those right team decisions and this would lead to everything going right for LA. I think that exceptional teamwork is the reason why they are the 2009 champs!!!

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Lakers in Overtime

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:10:39 PDT

NBA FINALS; Orlando Magic give LA a Battle of a Game, but Lakers Take It in Overtime!!!!
Orlando came out of the gate a little sloppy, but so did the Lakers. Last night LA did not control the paint. This game was was a real fight and a really good game. After the 1st period it was 15-15, an even game. The Magic really shut down Kobe in the first half, and played really great defense all around. D. Howard was getting his rebounds, 16 a game high and made some nice moves to help out the Magic's offense, scoring 17-points and 4 assists, a lot better than last game, and at half it was a 5 point LA lead.
In the third period Lewis would step up, some big shots scoring a game high 34-points, also had 11-rebounds and 7 assists!!! This along with Turkoglu scoring 22-points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists got Orlando on pace and made this a back and fourth match from there on out. The score would just go Magic up buy 1, then LA up by 1 and on and on like this for the rest of the game. Orlando had a 2 point lead heading into the 4th and were looking like they were going to take this one. But then it was "Kobe" time and he would get a lead for LA, then the Magic would tie it, and Kobe was making the smart decisions with passing, leading in assists again with 8, counting on his team mates. This is exactly what I wrote after the Denver series, K. Bryant did what he needed to do for the Lakers to stay in this game and take it, and along with his 29 points and all his team mates, including the bench where on point, getting LA this tough win.
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LA Blows Out The Magic

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:54:59 PDT

NBA FINALS GAME 1; Kobe and the LA Lakers Show the Orlando Magic their on a Mission!!
I thought that this was going to be a close game and a battle, even Vegas had the spread at 6 thinking it would be close, but it ended up being a blowout!!
It started out like it was going to be a good one, the score going back and forth and at the end of the 1st it was 24-22 Orlando. But that would be the last lead the Magic would have because K. Bryant came out in the second and took control of the flow of the game and the Lakers would not look back!! It was strange because in the 1st Orlando was hitting the shots, but then they couldn't get a bounce or a stop leading to a melt down. D. Howard who just scored 40 against Cleveland was held to one hoop and only scored 10 points from the free throw line ending with only 12 points. While Lewis only had 8 points, Turkoglu 13 points(8 in the 1st) and Lee 7 and was not able to control Kobe on the defensive end. This will give the Lakers the game when Howard can't score and the threes are not dropping, Orlando was done, even with a little spurt off the bench by Nelson who was an all star, but has been out for over a month(played well for 15 min). The Lakers also took control of the paint with Gasol scoring 16-points and 14 rebounds, Bynum 9 points and 9 rebounds and Odom with 11 points and 14 rebounds. With all that happening and then you have K. Bryant scoring a game high 40 points, 8 rebounds and a game high 8 assists the Lakers may be impossible to beat when they have it all working for them "good team work wins" and that why Orlando lost 100-75 in game 1. Even though in this one Kobe was the man and dominated the game LA put on a show as a team. So the only good news for the Magic is, it's game 1!! They have already been in this situation in this playoff series, so I'm sure they are going to come back stronger than ever and probably take game 2!! That's just what I believe, and log in and let me know what you think-- but either way we will see Sunday Night at 8 in LA. Go Red Sox, I mean Celtics no....what do you expect I'm from Boston!!!!!

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NBA Finals Orlando Magic vs LA Lakers

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:42:40 PDT

This should be a good match up, bringing us fans some entertaining finals games. I called Orlando beating Cleveland and that was because the Magic played as a team throughout the whole playoffs; they didn't count on any individual, as Cleveland has to depend on L.James. So this series could be very similar to that of the Magic/Cleveland series. Orlando just wanted it more and took Cleveland 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and now they are headed to LA!! I mistakenly called Denver beating LA and that was for the same reasons -- "teamwork" (Kobe) passing or trying to score 81!! But if Kobe passes, drives to the hoop and kicks it to his teammates for open shots, this leads to him eventually getting his own open shots. This ability win

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