With the score tied at 1-1, Jonathan Papelbon gave up a home run to Curtis Granderson in the tenth inning, and the Yankees tacked on another run in the inning as Red Sox fell to the New York Yankees 3-1at Fenway Park.

David Ortiz drove in the Red Sox only run with a third inning single, but the vultures are still circling around Big Papi. We’ll try to avoid the terrible stuff, and give you a couple more reasoned takes on Ortiz. Papelbon has also joined the ranks of media “worries” on the Red Sox.

The Celtics pulled one out in Toronto last night, beating the Raptors 115-104. Michael Finley scored 14 points in the second half, including four three-pointers to help the Celtics to the win.

For the full coverage, check RedSoxLinks.com and  CelticsLinks.com.

Good start (for Lackey), bad finish (for Papelbon) – Sean McAdam has the good and the bad, but leaves out the ugly. (he must not have seen Steven Tyler and Peter Wolf on the NESN broadcast promoting the concert at Fenway this summer.)

All we’re saying is give Papi a chance – Chad Finn’s mind is spinning at a certain element of Sox fans’ mindset when it comes to David Ortiz.

 An Ortiz Treatise: Red Sox Game 3 (NYY, 3-1 / 10) Reloaded – Jon Couture has the wrapup from last night, and wonders where, when we’re talking about something like David Ortiz’s “slow start,” the actual handwringing ends and the presumed handwringing begins. As Couture observes, the Boston Herald seems to have abandoned the traditional “game story” for something similiar to what he’s been doing for the last two seasons.

Ace mixed on deal – Peter Abraham has CC Sabathia talking about former teammate Mike Cameron, and how much he can bring to the Red Sox. Sabathia is also close friends with Bill Hall and Victor Martinez.

Five Things We Learned: What to make of these Red Sox, Yankees – Rob Bradford looks at what we know know about these two teams after the first series of the season.

The good and bad from Yankees series – Gordon Edes tops Bradford with six items from this series.

Curtis Granderson can’t join ’em, so he beat ’em – The Herald notebook reports that the Red Sox and Tigers had some had some very preliminary discussions about a trade last offseason that would’ve had Granderson playing for the Red Sox last night.

Lackey puts a nice spin on new rotation – The Globe notebook has John Lackey looking good in his first start with the Red Sox.

Finley and Allen carry the Celtics to victory – Rich Levine has Finley and Ray Allen keying a fourth quarter run that led to the win for Boston.

The Three-Pointer: A needed win – Paul Flannery has the Celtics getting a much-needed victory despite not always playing like it.

Smoke and mirrors – Bill Simmons (and his dad) blast Rasheed Wallace and the Celtics. They deserve it. Simmons was right about Rasheed right from the start.

Perkins believes it’s in their heads – Gary Washburn’s notebook has the Celtics center saying that the team’s problems are all mental.

Bruins’ playoff bid tested by loss of defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. – Mike Loftus has the Bruins suffering a big setback with the loss of Seidenberg.

Bruins can’t ask much more from Recchi – Matt Kalman looks at how much the 42-year-old has meant to the Bruins.

Eagles’ Steve Donahue hits recruiting trail – Dan Duggan has the new coach hitting the ground running.

A couple other items:

Chris Warner has a Q&A With Central Michigan University WR Antonio Brown over on Patriots Daily this morning.

Pete Sheppard may net ‘Sports Hub’ gig – Jessica Heslam has the former WEEI afternoon flash guy hoping for a gig at 98.5FM.

The question is, where would Sheppard fit in at 98.5? At the moment there doesn’t seem to be a spot during weekdays for him, although perhaps Andy Gresh is just a temporary fill-in beside Scott Zolak. Coule the show end up being Sheppard and Zolak? I can picture Sheppard being involved with the Patriots programming as the year goes on, otherwise, does he become the “swing host” that Gresh was originally hired to become, and take on a weekend show as well?

A commenter mentioned this the other day, and I have to admit that I’ve had the same thought in recent weeks, and it is that The Big Show on WEEI has not been the same without Sheppard. I’ll admit to having a hard time believing it myself, but the show really isn’t the same. I can’t say I was a huge fan of Sheppard on The Big Show, but it’s definitely different without him. Pete brought a bit of an edge, some passion, emotion, which is totally non-existant these days on the program.

With a regular rotation of low-tier talent like Butch Stearns, Steve Burton and Larry Johnson making regular appearances alongside Glenn Ordway, I find myself doing a lot of jumping between WEEI and 98.5’s Felger & Massarotti – depending on the topic. Ironically, each show is awful at talking about the teams that their station broadcasts. I can’t listen to Red Sox talk on the Big Show unless someone like Sean McAdam or Rob Bradford is on, and there’s no way I’m listening to Felger and Massarotti talking about the Patriots.

Bob Ekstrom’s Week Log will be off this week, but will return next Thursday.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

29 thoughts on “Papelbon Gives It Up To Yanks”

    1. Amen, brother.

      The only time I ever listen to Fraudway’s show is late Monday afternoons during football season when Bill B. is on. Otherwise, I have too much respect for both my time and intelligence to waste either on hearing O’s all-knowing and authoritative “here’s the problem” proclamations. Ugh!

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      1. Yeah, what J.R. & Tony wrote. Tis better to listen to soothing, comfortable music in the car than the pompous exclamations of desperate radio sports talk show hosts and lonely listeners.

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        1. I wonder what David Alan Boucher would be like if he were a sports talk show host? At least he’d be less bombastic.

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    2. As much as Pete liked to go off on callers and accuse them of working at fast food restaurants and refer to them as “turds”, he had a better rapport with them than Ordway, who seems to look down on every one. Half of that show seems to be Smerlas talking over people or fat people eating sandwiches.

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  2. I gave-up on EEI back in August ’09 (un-related to the start-up of 98.5 – just a clean break from moron radio), so I haven’t heard the Big Show since Pete-the-Meat departed. I have since become of big fan of Toucher & Rich and a moderate fan of Felger & Mazz.

    I agree w/ your sentiments about the edge/passion/emotion that Sheppard brought to the show. I think he would be a good addition to 98.5 during the mid-day slot, as anything and anyone would be better than Gresh. Fortunately, I’m not listening too much during the 10am-2pm hours so I won’t hear much of Gresh & Zo, but they aren’t very good.

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  3. Bruce, I remember the topic of Sheppard was brought up a couple of days ago when there were inklings of him possibly going to 98.5. I agree that the most likely scenario is that he will replace Gresh as a vacation/weekend guy. I still think there is a chance he could replace DA which would bother me but facts are facts DA is still getting smocked by Adams, inexplicably (As an aside, DA stop being like the rest of the blithering knuckleheads locally in asking Francona to bench Ortiz. Dale Arnold, yes Dale, has been the only clear headed person on the topic saying we should wait and see). You mention he could be an overnight host which I think could be great. Boston should have one by now. The only problem is if he were to go until T&R that would be a seven hour show. My guess is that he would go from 11:00pm to 3:00am. Unfortunately that would mean 3:00am to 6:00am would be the horrendous David Stein, sorry early risers.

    One item from the brief article on Sheppard that I noticed was that he listens to 98.5 more than EEI. His reasoning was that he already knows what the other hosts think. I’m not sure that I entirely believe him. I have caught Ordway for a few brief moments the past couple of weeks. He and DeOssie both mentioned how Pete had been invited to a couple of events that they were a part of and Pete has declined the invitations. I would have to believe that Pete is a little more upset than we are to believe. It’s just an opinion though. By the way, I think the issue with the Big Show is not so much Pete being gone. It was just screaming when he was with the Big O. It is still the same cast of characters that Ordway brings in as co-host. Why would anyone care what Butch Stearns has to say about anything?

    Finally, I will throw my two cents in on Ortiz. I can’t believe all the writers and talkers who already want Ortiz platooned with Mike Lowell. Now is this the same Mike Lowell that the organization so desperately tried to get rid of not because he was a bad guy but because he basically needs a walker to move around? Is this the same Mike Lowell the Red Sox were going to eat $9 million of his contract and yet the trade could not be completed because Lowell failed his physical? This time because of a thumb. Is this the same Mike Lowell that all of these writers and talkers all said looked like an 80 year old man during spring training? It can’t be it be another Mike Lowell who is the second coming of Roy Hobbs.

    Randy Whitehouse of the Lewiston Sun Journal, one of the best writers in New England, wrote a great article on the Red Sox back on April 4th. Bruce I promise I will be more vigilant when Whitehouse writes his “Huddle Up” article. It is brilliant stuff.
    http://www.sunjournal.com/node/822356
    If you want a kneejerk reaction his prediction of the bullpen being a potential issue and not Ortiz was spot on.

    Finally it looks like the umps have had enough of 3:30 Red Sox vs. Yankee games. Joe West sounded off about it last night.
    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5066650

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  4. I’m willing to give Stearns a boost up from the low level talent types like LJ and Burton. I’m actually liking him as a host when he subs on weekends, but as a guest he doesn’t bring much to the table. He can moderate discussions and is respectful to callers (what a change for an ‘eei host).

    I’m thinking he is a regular guy without the super ego found in most ‘eei types. Makes me wonder how he fits in?

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    1. Snuffy, I do not have any problems with Stearns as a person but as someone who is supposed to be an expert in sports he and you are right Burton seem to make way too many mistakes.

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      1. That’s my perception too, Stearns might be a helluva nice guy, but he doesn’t know anything about sports.

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    2. Stearns is a nice guy, but he’s such an idiot about anything and everything to do with Boston sports that he, more than anyone else on the radio airwaves, causes me to instantly change the channel if I hear that he’s on.

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      1. Ok, I can agreed that he’s may not be the most knowledgeable person on sports but that was never his job. At Fox he was (and most other TV sports guys) a “video” flash guy. There to give the news, scores and show clips.

        As a host I can deal with him because he does not have to be the expert (like McAdam or Curran), and he does have the ability to pull information out of people in a respectful way whether they be callers or guests.

        Contrast him to Ordway or some of the other buffoons at ‘eei who think they are experts on every sports issue. They should become GM’s of the home teams, we’d win championships every year.

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        1. Maybe he didn’t need to know sports to do the highlights on the news, but then WEEI puts him on the air to specifically talk sports…I guess it speaks more of them than him, perhaps, but shouldn’t he at least have a basic knowledge if he is going to be portrayed as a sports guy?

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          1. Stearns being called on for his “expertise” is less his fault than the lazy mindset at ‘eei. They give us the same old, same old “experts” week after week (can I take much more of Merloni???) In a sports rich environment like Boston there are plenty of writers (most of whom you showcase here) and ex-athletes that could offer more varied views. But, ‘eei chooses not to work a little harder to develop more guests and continue to go back to the same tired acts.

            Agreed as a guest he should have more sports knowledge, but as a host he can do with less. I guess I just don’t find him a offensive as others.

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  5. The Big Show effectively removed the last gasp of having an actual sports fan when they terminated Sheppard. WEEI could insert any genre of talk topics into the 2-6 slot and the format, passion, and delivery would be the same as it is now.

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    1. Okay, that’s hilarious. You turd!!!!

      Pete is probably making a killing on the poker tour while this is going on… (hee hee)

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  7. Back to the Ty Duffy blog on Gerry Callahan in the Big Lead. Here is the article in case you missed it. http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/04/06/josh-beckett-no-pedro-martinez-says-boston-columnist-with-racist-past/#more-44179 Warning, you will have to hold your nose through most of it. The one part where Duffy is completely correct is showing Callahan’s hypocrisy. In the article Callahan compares Beckett to Pedro. Beckett, great guy who was team first because he would not wait to see if he could get a fifth year. By the way Beckett is not going to be needing food stamps because he “settled” for 17 mil. per season over four years. Pedro is selfish and self-absorbed because he would not take a hometown discount.
    Callahan is essentially the pot calling the kettle black. Why was Callahan and Dennis out for about a couple of months a year or two ago? I believe it was because of a contract issue. If Gerry was such a team player why didn’t he just accept the first offer made by Entercom? But no, he wanted to get as much money as he could. He was selfish. He put his employer in a bind by having them get Meter and “insert co-host” to run the show. Gerry, shame on you for wanting to hold out for as much money as possible.

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  8. Of all of the Big Show guest hosts, Larry Johnson brings the least to the table. All of the others have some background, as either a player, announcer, or writer. Larry traces(as pointed out by Bruce Allen) pictures of athletes. He has a horrible, effeminate sounding voice, an annoying Boston accent, bad grammar, and, worst of all, seems to think he’s funny.

    Entercomm should be embarrassed to have him on the air.

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    1. Steve “Empty Suit” Burton is worse than Larry Johnson. He sucks up to a few athletes and gets personal, and offers … nothing, really.
      How is Mo Vaughn these days?

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  9. I feel that I have already heard everything the Big Show has to say lo these many years. There is nothing fresh there anymore; Glenn is in his comfort zone and the cohosts are all Masters Of The Obvious (MOTO). At least Felger is bringing an amazing passion every day. He does beat a subject into the ground sometimes but he is fearless.

    I belong to the I Hate Mike club of course, but after 6 if I am in my car I have to admit I get a chuckle out of him once in a while as opposed to the humorless DA. Evening radio should be the province of the whacky, after all day examining the ‘serious’ issues of sport.

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    1. “At least Felger is bringing an amazing passion every day. He does beat a subject into the ground sometimes but he is fearless.”

      Are you serious? His m.o. is to do anything to come up with something original no matter how fake or stupid. And his callers have got to be the single most unintelligent group of sports fans on earth. When I’ve listened to him I’ve felt I’ve just taken a shower in b.s. and feel dirty. The only thing “amazing” about Felger is his vacuousness.

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      1. I’d beg to differ, Lance. It’s incredibly amazing that he is able to fill twenty hours of radio time every week.

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  10. Pete was the Big Show. I love how he knew when callers called other shows the same day and told them to pump his gas. He called Glen to the carpet when he changed his mind 20 times.

    I listen to the radio to be entertained not to be told that Ortiz sucks, Pete entertained me.

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  11. Pete Sheppard actually fit in well on The Big Show. But does he really have the “talent” to go off on his own and thrive in a different environment.
    The suits at 98.6 didn’t like Tanguay and Zolak, and canned Tanguay. Anyone think that if there was a problem that it really was Zo that should have been replaced?

    The Connecticut School of Broadcasting’s worst nightmare (beside their own financial problems): a radio show of Sheppard AND Gresh!
    Pass the gasoline and cigarettes.

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    1. Guy, whether your listing the frequency as 98.6 was intentional or not, I think a great marketing campaign for the Sports Hub would be, “You’re tuned to 98.5 the Sports Hub, where the hosts are slightly less than normal.”

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  12. I’m willing to give Stearns a boost up from the low level talent types like LJ and Burton. I’m actually liking him as a host when he subs on weekends, but as a guest he doesn’t bring much to the table. He can moderate discussions and is respectful to callers (what a change for an ‘eei host).

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