Brooklyn Nets Preview

At the beginning of free agency, the East looked like a three horse race this year, with Indy and Boston coming behind Miami. That all changed when Joe Johnson was traded to the Nets, and Dwight Howard was kept in Orlando for the time being. If you ask me, the Nets may be a better team without the superstar. They were able to hold onto two big men, a low post scorer in Brook Lopez, and a double digit machine in Kris Humphries. They were also able to keep a hold of the young scorer Marshon Brooks from Providence, who looks like he could blossom into a 20 points a night guy.

So, lets look at the Nets roster for this year. 

PG: Williams/Watson/Taylor

SG: Johnson/Brooks/Bogans

SF: Wallace/Stackhouse/Shengelia

PF: Humprhies/Evans/Teletovic

C: Lopez

Aside from Center, every position is extremely deep. The starting five is as good as any in the league with Deron Williams leading from the point and Johnson and Gerald Wallace scoring from the wings. The team doesn't have a legitimate "big three" but Williams is the second best PG in the league, while Johnson is probably a tier two or three shooting guard. You know what you're going to get from Lopez and Humphries, but they both are solid players who do what they're asked of (Lopez scores, Humphries rebounds).

Deron Williams had many people thinking he was taking a hike to Dallas, but he had a change of heart and decided to sign a 5 year/98 million dollar deal. Williams had a fantastic year last season having a final stat line of 21 points and 9 dimes a game. Williams is a player who knows when he has to be selfish for the team to be successful, he frequently takes the ball to the hoop and draws quite a few fouls. Williams has two reliable backups one in the form of ex-Bull C.J. Watson. Watson put up solid numbers last year in Chicago, scoring 10 points and dishing out 4 times a game. Keep in mind the numbers are inflated due to Derrick Rose's injury last year, but Watson won't do more than spell Williams for 10-15 minutes a game. Tyshawn Taylor was a star in Kansas during their national title run, but he won't get many minutes in Brooklyn. Taylor is a developing prospect who won't see much floor time. 

Joe Johnson went from the quietest star in the NBA to having one of the worst contracts in basketball history at 6 years/119 million and being labeled a bust. That doesn't mean Johnson isn't useful anymore; he's still a bulls eye shooter (39% from outside the arc in 2011-12, 19 points a game) and he also records 4 rebounds and 4 assists per. Johnson will likely be expected to be the Nets go to scorer, and with a point guard like Deron Williams getting him the rock, Johnson could explode this year. His backup, second year player Marshon Brooks, will be the sixth man this year for the Nets. Brooks is a pure scorer, puting up 13 points a game last season as a rookie; you won't get much else out of Marshon aside from points. The Nets brought in Bogans to add some veteran leadership, he will get next to zero minutes.

The Nets thought they were going to lose Gerald Wallace in free agency but managed to snatch him back with a 4 year/40 million $ deal. Wallace is a reliable scorer with 14 points a night, but more importantly he rebounds; last year he grabbed 7 boards per game. Wallace's all around ability will be extremely helpful for Brooklyn these next few years. Behind Wallace, the Nets don't have much, Jerry Stackhouse is too old to be playing in the NBA and Tornike Shengelia won't do much in his first year in the NBA.

The Nets are two guys deep at PF with Kris Humphries and Reggie Evans. Both guys are rebounding machines, but neither will put up a lot of points. Evans is a defensive bruiser down low, and Humphries is also a tower at 6'9. At center the Nets have Brook Lopez, a guy who signed a 4 year/60 million $ deal in July. Lopez will put up close to 20 points a game, but will need to get a lot better at rebounding and defensive for the contract to be justifiable. Mirza Teletovic, the Nets first round pick, is a highly touted big man out of Serbia. Nets fans are optimistic that he has a chance to be big off the bench, I disagree. Teletovic will need his first year to adjust in the NBA. 

The Brooklyn Nets look good on paper, they have a star point guard, two solid wing scorers, and two big guys who can battle down low. The problems that lie with them are that they are an average defensive team, and they don't have a lot of reliable players off the bench (they traded most of them in the Joe Johnson deal. 

When comparing a team like the Nets to the Celtics, I look at the experience factoid. Most of Brooklyn's players have little playoff experience and haven't made it out of the second round of the playoffs. In a seven game series against Boston I would pick the Celtics in 6 games, they're deeper, they have experience and they have a solid core that has been in Boston for the last five years. The battle between Rondo and Williams would be a duel, but in the end Rondo has more guys to pass to then Williams does. The only problem I could see is the height factor of Lopez and Humphries. The C's don't play with a traditional center, KG is the tallest guy on the floor at 6'11 while Lopez and Humprhies are both big bodies. That being said the Nets don't have much behind those two while Boston has Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox and Jared Sullinger. Depth would prevail at the end of the day. 

 The Nets will only get better as the years go by, and if they pick up a few solid bench options in free agency next year they could be right in the NBA title debate, but right now they aren't ready. At this point I would rank Boston, Indy, maybe New York, and Miami ahead of the Nets. I would say you can expect 45-50 wins in Brooklyn this season, with the four or five seed in the east and a second round playoff appearance. Thats as high as I'll go... for now.

Picture Source:
http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/mac-engel/2012/07/the-reason-deron-williams-stayed-with-brooklyn.html

How Dwight to the Lakers Shakes Up the League

The saga has ended. For now. At this point in time, nobody really cares.

Dwight Howard is set to be the next big center for the LA Lakers, after being dealt in a four team trade that included the Nuggets, Sixers and of course the Orlando Magic. What would have been a mind blowing front page story last year is now somewhat of a backstory leaving most people thinking "its about time".




Howard heads to LA along with Earl Clark and Chris Duhon, while the 76ers received Andrew Bynum along with Jason Richardson and his hefty contract. The nuggets made out well in acquiring Andre Iguodala, while the Magic received Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington (from the Nuggets) , Moe Harkless and Nikola Vucevic (from the Sixers) and Christian Eyegna and Josh McRoberts (from LA).

It is strongly perceived by many that a coup was pulled on Orlando; they gave up a franchise player and most likely future Hall of Famer, for a bunch of spare parts that they may not even keep. Moe Harkless may turn into a solid scorer, and Aaron Afflalo can put up decent numbers, but outside of those two, the Magic may not keep the other four. One has to look at the trades Orlando passed up earlier, trades that could have made the Magic a playoff team in 2012. The Magic had a shot at a stockpile of talent in Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries and Mashon Brooks or up to three of four first round draft picks. This trade wreaks of desperation on the part of the Orlando front office. It will take a minimum of five years for this team to be competitive, and a star Orlando center has flown the coup, yet again.

On the other hand the Nuggets got a significant from Afflalo to Iguodala, an outstanding defender who still may have his best ball ahead of him. Iguodala puts the Nuggets at around the five seed, seeing as thought they already have quality pieces in Ty Lawson, Kenneth Farried and Javahle McGee.

The Sixers part of the deal may be overlooked because of the hype behind D12, but Andrew Bynum to Philly is a big deal! The Sixers could make some serious noise in the EC playoffs this season, as they now have a star big man in Bynum as well as young players like Jrue Holiday, Thad Young and Evan Turner. Philly hopped into the upper echelon of the East along with the likes of Indy, Boston and Miami, and will be expected to challenge Boston for the Atlantic division title.

The big part of the trade is obviously Howard finally moving to LA, and this certainly does not bode well for the rest of the NBA. Howard to the Lakers gives the Lakers a big three of their own in Kobe, Nash and Howard. This will most likely pit the Lakers with the Thunder for the Western Conference Title. The only concern I have with the Lakers is that they have little depth on the Wings. Ron Artest is no longer the player he was and rarely puts in a good offensive contribution. The Lakers desperately need a good small forward, but won't likely find one for at least another year. That means Kevin Durant will likely roam the perimeter stroking threes like he has been. Not to mention Steve Nash isn't fast enough to contain someone like Russell Westbrook. The good news is that we won't have to listen to anything regarding Dwight Howard trade/free agency rumors...at least for a year.

Image Source:
http://www.businessinsider.com/lakers-dwight-howard-luxury-tax-2012-8

A Sense of Defeat

The greatest part of being a sports fan is thinking about the stuff you don't know, rather than the facts that you do. Who is going to start at shooting guard tonight? I wonder if so and so will be able to perform as well as last night...who do you think will come out of the bullpen first tonight? My favorite part of the game is before it starts, I have no nerves; I contemplate how the game will be decided and who will win. When the going gets tough I often start to shake and begin to imagine all the horrible outcomes, no matter how far fetched they are.

These feelings were ever present before and during the game 7 loss to Miami in last years ECF. Living in Germany, I am not able to watch every Celtics game for the sole purpose that they are played at very late hours (6 hour time difference). I woke up the morning after game six had been played and turned on my blackberry to check the score. I fully expected to see the headline read something like "Celtics Earn Trip to Finals After Embarrassing Miami Once More". It was however, nothing close to this. A huge picture of Lebron James filled the cover of ESPN.com and I immediately began thinking of game 7. I started reading analysis of game 6 and a look ahead to game 7 and the C's were unanimously picked to lose. I had no problem with this because as I've said before I'm a fan, not a realist. I thought the C's had just as good a chance as they did in game 6, there was no way Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and KG were going to play as bad as they did in south beach the next evening. "Lets take it to those south beach pricks, and make them the laughingstock of the league again" I thought. I welcomed a game 7, just because of the thrill of it. Game 7's contain the most tantalizing moments in sports.

I stayed awake for the entire morning and at 2:30 AM, the game began. I was watching on my school laptop on a streaming website.The American Airlines arena was packed with Heat bandwagon jumpers from left to right. The game began and the Celtics pulled up to an early 9 point lead, but the Celtics followed the "Big Three Era Big Game Script" down to a science. They jumped out to an early lead, stretched the lead in the second quarter, took their foot off the gas in the third, and got wiped in the fourth. Brandon Bass was playing the game of his life in the first half connecting on all 6 of his shots and going for 16 points, while playing fantastic D on Lebron and posterizing Wade right before the half. He was finished though, and in the second he didn't score a single point. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen both looked spectacular for much of the first half, connecting on treys while also taking the ball to the cup, something Allen rarely does as a 38 year old on his last legs. KG never really found that rhythm that had made him such a factor in the postseason, and he was noticeably off target.

As the third quarter ended I prayed for a miracle, but nothing was to come. Despite Rajon Rondo's amazing triple double, talent prevailed and Lebron carried the Heat to victory. I came to grips with the end when Lebron hit a three from the nosebleed section, that resulted in the C's losing any wind left in their sails. As I watched Lebron drain the three I put my laptop down and sat up on my couch; I was defeated. I put my face in my hand and wondered how it had come to this.

The worst feeling in sports is watching the team you love get slaughtered in a crucial playoff game in front of a phony fan based crowd such as Miami's.Coming to grips with the fact that the opposing team is noticeably better than yours is an awful feeling that I associate in moments such as the game 7 losses to Miami and of course the debacle in LA in 2010. Watching Garnett, my favorite player since I was six, walk off the court without a second ring for the fourth time in as many years was terrible. Of all the players in the league KG deserves a second ring.

If I were 10 and this had happened, I would be outraged; how could we let this one get away? Now, I realize that those guys did everything they can and just didn't have enough left in the tank. But its these moments that make you love the team even more (unless you're a Red Sox fan), the moments that make you dream of what it will be like when they walk off the court victorious, in front of the raucous Miami crowd. It brings you closer to the group of guys that you idolize as a kid, a feeling that only can be shared in a loss.

And thats what makes me all the more excited for this season, I actually believe that the Celts can pull one last title off with the core of guys they have now. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how we feel at the end of the year...

Image Source:
http://www.bballbreakdown.com/celtics-vs-heat-game-7-in-game-tweets/

New York Knicks Preview

The Knicks are in my opinion,  the most interesting team. The Knicks, given their talent, could have a serious claim for the NBA title, but at the same time the Knicks, given their inconsistency, may bow out in the first round to a team like the Heat or Celtics (the two teams who have eliminated New York the past two seasons). Jeremy Lin made the most noise coming out of New York as he left for Houston, but the Knickerbockers have made some quality pickups that could help them finally make a deep run into the playoffs, and reward their fans who have been starving for a championship for so long.

The Knicks are unquestionably led by Carmelo Anthony, the most important cog in the team, and one of the best scorers in the NBA. Melo has been one of the strongest players on this years Olympic squad and he isn't even starting, most notably his 37 point performance against Nigeria, which included 10 treys in just 14 minutes of action. Anthony said that he would be the next to get his ring after Lebron won his in game 5 this season. Anthony posted 22 points a game, a line that is down from Melo's usual 28 points a game.

Anthony does have help however, with Tyson Chandler anchoring the defense, Amare Stoudamire still an able bodied offensive player. Chandler won't contribute a whole lot on the offensive end, but he has officially transformed the Knicks from a disgraceful defensive unit, to a respectable group. Stoudamire is definitely past his prime, and would likely be better off being traded rather than staying in New York, where the pressure is on and the fans are getting sick of him. That being said, Stat can still put up 20 points a contest, that is if he is able to keep his second hand. Marcus Camby was also brought to NY to strengthen the front court. Camby will grab a lot of boards with Chandler at second, which is great for the Knicks, because of the fact that it will give guys like Melo and the Steve Novak more bullets and second chance points from the three point line.

 The Knicks are iffy at the guard position, especially after the departure of Landry Fields and Jeremy Lin. The Knicks did acquire Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton, plus holdovers J.R. Smith and possibly Iman Shumpert, if hes healthy enough after tearing his ACL against Miami in last years first round playoffs. If Shump is indeed good to go, he could take a huge leap and potentially become a starter. Shumpert is a tenacious defender who also holds his own on the offensive end with some major ups when driving to the hoop. Steve Novak is also a decent holdover who can shoot lights out from 3 point range.

As for Kidd, he took a U-turn and signed for the Knicks rather than returning to the Mavs. Kidd can still distribute the rock and make all his teammates around him better offensive basketball players. Kidd can also play some defense, which is good news for the Knicks, who are always looking for better defensive players. He won't average 10 assists per game, but he will be a playmaker and thats what the front office is asking him to do.

Ray Felton is looking forward to his second stint in the big apple, primarily because he was pretty successful in his first. Felton averaged 15 points and around 6 assists during his time in New York, until being traded in which he moved to two different teams in the space of two years (Nuggets, Blazers). Felton will be asked to play solid defense, and make a good all around contribution on the offensive end in the 25 or so minutes behind Jason Kidd. We have all been waiting for J.R. Smith to blow up and become one of the best players in the league, but he hasn't. Smith may get the starting nod at the 2 if Shumpert isn't able to play at the start of the season, and the front office will look to him for offensive explosiveness.

PG: Kidd/Felton
SG: Shumpert/Smith
SF: Anthony/Novak/White/Copeland
PF: Stoudamire/Thomas
C: Chandler/Camby

Expectations for the Knicks are always high in New York, and they will be around the States this year as well. The Knicks have a loaded roster and a solid coach in Mike Woodson, so the sky is the limit for this team. Call me crazy, but I could see the Knicks hoisting the Larry O'brien trophy at the end of the season, with Melo carrying them on the offensive end and Chandler carrying them on the defensive side of things. I wouldn't mind it either, Melo is a fantastic player; it wouldn't hurt that he would be remembered as the player who finally brought a title to New York.

The 2012-2013 Boston Celtics from a Boston natives point of view

          My name is Matt Bird, a close personal friend of the editor of this blog. As a Boston native, I too am a longtime Celtics fan. Last year's loss to the Miami Heat was rough, but expected because our bench was not very deep and I was actually pleasantly surprised at the huge impact the Celtics had in the playoffs.

The Re-signings:

Going into the offseason, I expected the Celtics to undergo a serious transformation. However, I could not have been more mistaken. The offseason kicked off with Kevin Garnett being resigned to a 3 year deal. At the beginning, I was quite skeptical for two reasons: 

1. I strongly believed that while Garnett may still retain that competitive fire that fueled his excellent postseason play, he was slowing down and it would only go downhill from here.

2. The money they were offering him (33 million) was simply too much for a guy that would likely average a 13 and 9 the first season and steadily get worse.

However, Ainge justified the resigning by drafting Ohio State's accomplished big man Jared Sullinger and a raw 7 footer out of Syracuse, Fab Melo. I immediately understood part of the reason that Garnett had been resigned. Over the past seasons, Kevin Garnett has been viewed as the backbone of the Celtics but more importantly his impact on his teammates has been tremendous, especially the big men. Brandon Bass had a career year with the Celtics, and he attributes much of his success to Garnett, who acted as a positive influence on him. Garnett's impact on rookies as been equally as visceral as Avery Bradley took over the starting role for the Boston Celtics in only his second year with them, despite being a late first round draft pick and Greg Stiemsma, became a great defensive player. One can only imagine how Garnett will help mold the raw talent of Fab Melo and how he will help Jared Sullinger adjust to the NBA game and lifestyle. 

The next resigning was that of Jeff Green. This signing is the only move of the offseason that I am a little disappointed with. I understand that it had to be done or else we would have gotten absolutely nothing in return for trading Perkins and Green, when healthy, is certainly a very talented and versatile player who would help fill in Pierce's spot as Pierce begins to slow down. However, we have to remember that Green hasn't played for a whole season and that while the health reports give Green a clean bill of health, we must take in account that his heart condition was serious and this had a major impact on his body in the season he didn't play. I could have understood paying Green, a fair contract that hinged on his health and his play. However, Green and his agent the infamous David Falk (Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson's former agent)  proceeded to absolutely rob the Boston Celtics for a four year 36 million dollar deal. This is way too much a player with a lot of question marks. However, we must have faith in the Celtic's front office and assume that they are certain that Green can assume a big role on the roster and have an immediate impact on the Celtics.

The third major resigning was Brandon Bass. I liked this resigning as Bass is an athletic forward who fit in well with the Celtics and connected with Rondo and Garnett. He is a reliable player who had a career year with the Celtics and will likely continue to improve. The money they paid Bass (20 million) was also reasonable so the Celtics came off on top in all aspects.

The two final re-signings of the offseason were Keyon Dooling and Chris Wilcox. I also like both of these re-signings because Chris Wilcox, before he got injured, was a good bench player who had good chemistry with Rondo. Keyon Dooling's play was average this past season but he had a few marquee games and there's no denying the positive influence he holds over Rondo. 

Offseason Acquisitions:
The first offseason acquisition was Jason Terry. I was very happy with this signing because Jason Terry is an accomplished scorer and a proven winner who would fit right into the Boston mentality who we could count on for a solid 15 ppg/game. Unfortunately, I knew the signing meant it was all but certain that Ray Allen would leave. As I expected, a few days later Ray Allen left to the Miami Heat. As a brief side note I would like to give my opinion on the matter. Ray Allen was one of my favorite player and one of the few really good guys in the NBA and all of professional sports for that matter. I hope that Boston fans show him the respect he deserves and while they may not agree with his choice of a team, they have to understand that Boston treated him absolutely awfully. Ainge had him on the trading block before every deadline and was nearly traded All-Star weekend for OJ Mayo before it fell apart in the last minute. His relationship with Rondo was also sour and when they signed Terry, it was the last straw. He treated his departure with respect, which included taking a full-page ad out of the Boston Globe thanking the Celtics fans for the support they had shown him and his family over the years.

The second offseason acquisition was a sign and trade for the Houston Rocket's Courtney Lee. I also really like this acquisition. It allows Jason Terry to keep his role as a sixth man and provides the Celtics with a young athletic shooting guard who can play solid defense. He averaged 11 PPG last season but he never played with a gifted point guard like Rajon Rondo. This means that Lee's efficiency will only increase.

The Rookies:
This was my personal favorite part of the offseason. The Celtics filled their need of big men by drafting one of the best college basketball players, Jared Sullinger (18 ppg, 9 rpg) and the raw 7 foot, Fab Melo. Sullinger was a lottery pick before a medical red flag dropped him to the 21st pick in the Draft. He immediately dispelled any doubts about his effectiveness by making a big splash during summer league. His consistent good play was a reassuring sign for Celtic's fan and as I have stated above Garnett and Bass will help Sullinger continue to improve. Fab Melo had an underwhelming summer league, however his big 7 foot presence will be enough to justify drafting him. Once again, Kevin Garnett will help him and teach him how to harness his size and talent. The final draft pick was used on Syracuse's top scorer Kris Joseph. Kris Joseph will have an opportunity to make the final roster who can be a good role player for the Celtics.

Full Overview:
This is how the 2012-2013 Boston Celtic's roster will look:

PG- Rajon Rondo
SG- Courtney Lee
SF- Paul Pierce
PF- Brandon Bass
C- Kevin Garnett

Bench
G- Jason Terry
G- Keyon Dooling
F- Jared Sullinger
F- Jeff Green
F- Kris Joseph
C- Fab Melo
C- Chris Wilcox

The starting lineup is virtually the same as last year's conference final starting lineup (except Lee is an upgrade over Ray Allen). However, this year the Celtics bench is a lot deeper and poses a serious threat for any NBA team. I think that they will have a tough time beating the Miami Heat but it is certainly within the realm of possibility that they beat the Heat.

Final Prediction:
Regular Season- 3rd seed
Postseason- Lose in 7 games to the Miami Heat in the conference finals

Indiana Pacers Preview

The Indiana Pacers are a curious team. They should have finished off the Heat in the second round of last years playoffs, but eventually fell in six games after poor tactics involving Roy Hibbert, their 7'2 center. Here's a look at how the Pacers would stack up against the C's.

PG: Hill/Augustin
SG: George/Stephenson/Johnson
SF: Granger/Green
PF: West/Hansbrough/ Pendergraph
C: Hibbert/Mahini/Plumlee

The Pacers have very strong depth in their team all across the board. The point guard spot is fortified with George Hill, a solid player whom the Pacers massively overpaid at 4 yrs/40 million. The Pacers expect him to take the reins from Darren Collison last year, and have a bigger all around impact on the game. Indy brought in DJ Augustin in free agency to back up Hill, and I like this move a lot. Augustin has NBA experience starting for the Bobcats, and is a solid distributor who can also put in around 10 points a night.

The Pacers shooting guard position has the potential to be stacked, or could end up being a complete flop depending on the young players and how they fare this season. Paul George has the tools and the build to be the next big superstar in the NBA, but so far he has somewhat underachieved. George is extremely lengthy for a shooting guard at 6'10, and he also possesses the ability to shoot the three ball. If George can turn into the stud that he is meant to be, the Pacers will have a legitimate superstar who can carry the team through the playoffs. Lance Stephenson and Orlando Johnson are both promising youngsters, especially Stephenson who was one of the leading scorers in summer league this season. Look for Stephenson to get some decent minutes off the bench.

Danny Granger has always been a *good* scorer for the Pacers, but he has definitely lost a step, his points were one of his career lows at 18.7 points a game. That's down from the 25 he was averaging two seasons ago. Granger is a very strong shooter, and also a solid defender, but he needs to regain his confidence to be able to score late in games. A theory for why his points dropped was because the Pacers were a very good team last season, so others were able to take some of the load. That being said, there are times when Granger will be needed to be selfish and take it upon himself to carry the team. The Pacers dipped into the free agency market and acquired the services of Gerald Green, a 5th year 6'8 swingman from the Nets. Green will likely get a good amount of minutes to spell Granger, and will be asked to go for 10 to 15 points off the bench.

The Pacers are deep at power forward with two reliable options: one with veteran David West, and two with the tenacious and intense Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough has come a long way from when the Pacers selected him in the first round three drafts ago, and will hope to become a key cog in the Pacers machine this upcoming season. West is a veteran and a large contributor on both sides of the ball.

The Pacers are strong in depth at center after re-signing Roy Hibbert and trading for Ian Mahini. Hibbert continues to improve after being named to his first all star team this past season. Mahini is a solid back-up to Hibbert and will not be expected to produce any big numbers, aside from rebounds.

Looking at the Pacers roster, and the fact that they have a good coach in Frank Vogel, it all comes down to the development of a key group of their players. If George takes the leap that he is capable of and Granger gets to 20 points a game than this team will be scary good. While they still lack experience that comes with going deep in the playoffs this team plays fantastic defense and has eight or nine players who are double digit scoring threats on any given night.

The Pacers stack up quite well against the C's, they are two somewhat similar teams in that they play tough D. The one big advantage for Boston is that they have Rajon Rondo and Indy doesn't. Rondo is a playmaker especially on the offensive side of the ball and he would likely take George Hill to school in a best of seven series.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment in the comment box below or email me at asorianofan@hotmail.com. My next team preview will be of the New York Knicks.

Sox Take Another in 6 Innings

The Sox beat up Justin Verlander and the Tigers 4-1 in a rain shortened game to add to up their current win streak to four and reduce the Yanks lead in the East to 7.5. The Red Sox also are only 3.5 game out of the wildcard, and have a lot of recent momentum to build on.

The Sox beat Detroit off of Pedro Ciriaco's RBI single that scored Cody Ross, and then a bases loaded walk that scored Salty. The final blow came when Carl Crawford had an infield single that scored Kelly Shoppach, followed by Omar Infante's error that allowed Ciriaco to score from second.

The lone run came off of a bases loaded walk in the third, at which point Josh Beckett was still pitching. Beckett left the game soon after with back spasms.

The Sox finish off their series with the Tigers on Wednesday at 7:00 with Rick Porcello taking the mound for Detroit and Aaron Cook taking the hill for the Sox.