Random Thoughts

I made the 45 minute drive from my house to Pawtucket last night to take in Jon Lester's start for the PawSox. Lester looked very good, consistently hitting 90-91 mph on the radar gun and topping out at 94 mph. He allowed one run on three hits in five innings (he was restricted to five innings or 70-75 pitches). According to this mornings Boston Herald, Lester was not allowed to use his cut fastball due to some minor concerns of the arm cramps he sustained in early May. Also shining for the PawSox last night were center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and relief pitcher Craig Hansen. Ellsbury showed off his awesome speed twice in this game. In one at-bat, Ellsbury drove a hard ground ball up the middle that was knocked down by the Syracuse Chiefs pitcher John Thomson. Before Thomson could pick the ball up and turn to first, Ellsbury was streaking through the first base bag. The center fielder of the future in Boston also tracked down a hard hit fly ball by Howie Clark, the first batter Hansen faced. The ball screamed to the right-center gap but Ellsbury easily covered the ground and made a possible extra base hit into a routine out. Hansen pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh inning in relief of Lester. He pitched with confidence and mixed in an 88 mph slider with his 95-96 mph fastball. Hopefully he can get his mind and his stuff on track so he can be a positive force in the Boston bullpen sometime this summer... Driving around the other day, I saw a 30-something woman jogging. No big deal, right? Well she was jogging while chatting on her cellphone. Was the person on the other end of that conversation as dumb as her? I wonder... The Red Sox need to bounce back from dropping 2-of-3 to the Yankees by winning their series in Texas this weekend. The losses to the the Yanks will not mean as much if they take care of business elsewhere... I know he's a Mormon and doesn't gamble but wouldn't you just love to play Blackjack against Danny Ainge? He's about as lucky as Rick Pitino... Back when the Original Six were the rulers of the (North American) hockey world, did anyone ever think that Anaheim and Ottawa would be playing in June for Lord Stanley's Cup? While I'm wasting your time and mine on hockey, would it be too much to ask for the Bruins to contend sometime in the next decade? Chris Drury -- a free agent Mr. Peter Chiarelli -- would be a great fit in Black & Gold... If he lasts to No. 5, get used to the sight of Yi Jianlian in Green... Speaking of the NBA Draft, if you believe the 1985 Lottery -- which delivered Patrick Ewing to New York -- was fixed than the 2007 Lottery will forever offer proof that it wasn't and that it is totally random. There is no way David Stern wanted his next two megastars to begin their careers playing in Portland and Seattle...