Could The Bruins Trade Thomas This Summer?

Could Timmy's White House Snub lead to a blockbuster trade this summer?

So everyone knows about Tim Thomas totally dissing Obama by not going to the Stanley Cup Ceremony at the White House where President Obama honored the Bruins for their victory in the Stanley Cup Finals last June. While I won't go on and on about Thomas' reasons, I will say that an honorary ceremony at the White House with all of your teammates (as well as two former teammates, Dr. Recchi and No Shot Kaberle were also in attendance) is not the event to skip in order to make a political statement. If you want to do that, just come right out and say you disagree with the way the President is running the country.

Now, to the real topic of this post. According to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe, there are many people who are unhappy with Thomas snubbing the White House visit, and it could lead to something bigger. Shinzawa says, "Thomas' decision, however, may be the first step in goalie and team parting ways. His no-movement clause expires at the conclusion of this season. Thomas has one year remaining on his four year, $20M contract. Tuukka Rask, a restricted free agent at season's end, should be ready to assume the starting job in 2012-13."

The Bruins could get a HUGE haul for Thomas if they do decide to trade him. I'm talking like top line sniper, top 3 D, and an elite prospect or a top 10 draft pick. Now, I'm not saying that I think he should be traded, nor am I saying they they shouldn't trade him. Thomas is still an elite goaltender, but Tuukka has been playing stellar this season (he currently leads the league in Save Percentage) and it wouldn't be a surprise to me if he was given the starting job next season. They can't keep Rask as a backup forever, and this may be the time to trade Thomas while his value is at it's absolute highest.

Any extensive questions/comments, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at dirtywaterbuzz@gmail.com. If you have questions/comments that can be asked and answered in less than 140 characters, then tweet me at @DirtyWaterBuzz.

Red Sox Sign Cody Ross

Free Agent outfielder Cody Ross and the Red Sox have agreed on a one year contract

Um....What?

Yesterday the Red Sox signed outfielder Cody Ross to a one year contract worth $3M plus incentives. The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham first reported that the two sides were "making progress". Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement, while the Boston Globe's Michael Silverman and ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes filled in the details on the contract length and amount respectively.

I'm done trying to figure out what the hell Cherington is doing. When they traded Scutaro's $6M, I assumed, like most baseball fans who are somewhat knowledgable, that they would spend that money on a starting pitcher. But nope, instead they go out and sign Cody Freaking Ross to platoon in right field with Ryan Sweeney. Not to bash Ross or anything, he's a good addition, but there's a time to make moves of this sort, and this was not the time to sign an outfielder.

Listen Ben, you're not Billy Beane trying to build a winning team in Oakland. It's not like there's "fifty feet of crap" above you. You have the money and the resources to make necessary additions, and if that mean you go over the Luxury Tax threshold a bit, then so be it. No one's asking you to go out and spend like your Brian Cashman working with the deep pockets of George Steinbrunner, we're just asking that if you're going to spend money, spend it wisely.

Anyways, forgetting all of that, Cody Ross should be decent addition. Solid fielder and decent hitter, that's all you really need in a platoon. It'll be interesting to see how this team shapes out.

Also, Peter Abraham says that a source tells him that the Sox will try and add a starting pitcher with the money saved from the Scutaro deal. This confuses me, because I'm pretty sure if you want someone like Roy Oswalt (who they've apparently intensified their pursuit of) you need to have more than $3M to offer. That is unless Old Man Lucchino has some extra money up his sleeves to keep the team under the Luxury Tax threshold.

Red Sox Trade Marco Scutaro

The Red Sox today traded shortstop Marco Scutaro to the Rockies

The Red Sox have traded shortstop Marco Scutaro to the Colorado Rockies for minor league starter Clayton Mortensen, who was part of the package that the Cardinals traded to acquire Matt Holliday from the Athletics. The move was reported to be finalized by Jim Bowden of ESPN (Twitter link). Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says that the Red Sox will now platoon Mike Aviles and Nick Punto at shortstop next year (via Twitter).

While this move may not make sense to you "fans" out there, I actually think this is a good deal that makes all the sense in the world. No seriously, I actually believe that.

Look at the facts. All reports on the Red Sox and starting pitching is that in order to sign a player such as Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson, they would have to move salary to avoid going over the Luxury Tax threshold. Trading Scutaro relieves the team of $6M in salary, and frees up space to sign a starter. They now have $6M to work with in negotiations. Not only that, but Mortensen could turn out to be a decent middle of the rotation starter. And right now, the Sox will need all the pitching depth they can get, especially when Beckett takes every other start off with a boo boo.

With this salary room, expect Cherington to lock up a starter in the coming weeks. If you ask me, it's gonna be Roy Oswalt. His asking price is low and the Sox have been talking to him and his agent a lot recently. So when the Sox sign him, you can tell everyone that I called it first.

Theo Esptein Talks Red Sox

Welcome back to Boston, Boy Wonder.

Former Red Sox GM and current Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein joined WEEI's resident assclowns Dennis and Callahan yesterday morning, talking about both the Cubs and the Red Sox. Here's what Pearl Jam had to say about the Sox...

• Theo said that he and current Red Sox GM Ben Cherington had discussed Epstein's possible departure from the organization for years.
• Epstein on last season's off-field issues: "There were periods that were just as unproductive and contentious in 2004".
• On the subject of Jonathan Papelbon's departure to the Phillies, Theo said, "You can get in trouble sometimes giving huge four-year deals to closers". Epstein said that Papelbon will be missed in Boston, but the additions of Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon should help the bullpen recover from the loss.
• Theo also said that Carl Crawford didn't let his athleticism translate into success last season, but he expects Crawford to have better results in 2012 and beyond.
• Epstein said that Red Sox owner John Henry "wasn't a proponent" of the Crawford deal, but Theo wanted to sign him.
• Epstein also said that the Red Sox should obtain compensation for his departure, but referred to Andy MacPhail's move to the Cubs in 1994 and said that they shouldn't get much from Chicago.

Everything else he talked about had to do with the Cubs, and I don't know about you guys, but I really don't care about the Cubs. Not one bit. So, I won't post anything he said about the Cubs. If you want to see what else he had to say, check out the story on MLB Trade Rumors.

And Now We Have a War of Words

Great look eh? Suits them well.

The Bruins and Canucks, both players, coaches, and GM's, are getting into a war of words, and I frigging love it. These teams HATE each other and it's awesome to see not only Julien, but Chiarelli, spitting serious fire at Vancouver. First, let's take a look at what Canada's National Dive Team has had to say:

• GM Mike Gillis on Marchand hit on Sami Salo: "Dirty hit by a dirty player"
• Divers Head Coach Alain Vigneault on Marchand: "Marchand - and this is just my feeling - but someday he's going to get it. Someday, someone's going to say 'enough is enough' and hurt the kid because he plays to hurt other players. And if the league doesn't care, someone else will." Am I the only one who sees that as a threat? Where are you on this one Shanahan? 
• Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa (despicable player) on Marchand's hit: "It's very, very cheap. I can't think of a cheaper hit you can do on the ice. That and a slew-foot kind of go hand in hand (um, explain that to me Kevin, that makes no sense). Twenty seconds before that, [Marchand] and Sami have a pretty good collision in the exact same spot. Sami probably gets the better of him. Then the second time, Marchand comes back and loses his will and goes down low. A cheap shot from him and I hope he gets a phone call from the league."
• Mike Gillis once again: "You talk about unacceptable plays in hockey, that's clearly one I'm not going to comment any further (said before he came back and made more comments)"
• Gillis and Vigneault also stated that the Bruins' stance that Marchand was defending himself is "stupid".

Here's what the Bruins have to say:

• Official Statement From GM Peter Chiarelli: "While we respect the process The Department of Player Safety took to reach their decision regarding Brad's hit on Sami Salo, we are very dissapointed by their ruling. While we understand that the Department of Safety is an evolving entity, it is frustrating that their are clear comparable situations that have not been penalized or sanctioned in the past. it is equally dissapointing that Brad sought the counsel of the Department this past Fall for an explanation and clarification regarding this type of scenario so as to adjust his game if necessary. He was advised that such an incident would not be sanctionable if he was protecting his own safety. Given our feeling that Brad was indeed protecting himself and certainly did not clip the player as he contacted the player nowhere near the knee or quadricep, today's ruling is not consistent with what the Department of Player Safety communicated to Brad."
• Peter Chiarelli to the Media:"It's not normally my style to respond in the media to stuff like that, especially when there's a hearing coming up. I would like to respond in the spirit of protecting our player. the comments made about our player, I don't like that. Brad does play on the edge, but he's no dirtier than maybe two or three of their players. So I think in general, after a game like that, an incident like that, you see all the high-handed propoganda and I feel the need to respond. Whether it's from coaches, GM's, or players, I don't like to hear that type of stuff. Certainly I think there's a lobbying element to it. 
• Head Coach Claude Julien: "They can say whatever they want, but everything that happens, whether it's Zdeno Chara last year, him in Montreal, we saw how many clips of that happening to everybody else, and yet the focus was on Chara. The focus is on Marchand right now. Why isn't it on [Mayson] Raymond for last year? Why isn't it on other people? There's [Keith] Ballard on [Jamie] McGinn. There's all kinds of examples, but somehow the Bruins happen to be the team that people prefer to pick on and think we're the bruisers and the example of the league. We have to live with that, bt one thing we won't do is change our style of play. Our team is built that way. I think we play pretty entertaining hockey. We're a fast team. We're a skilled team. We're also a physical team, and we're Stanley Cup Champions, so I don't see why we should change."
• More From Julien: "I think it's pretty hypocritical, everything that's been going on, it's unfortunate. Sometimes you've got to look in your backyard. We all know he's got the same type of players on his team, and they've done all the same thing. You just have to look at Burrows putting his blade in Thornton's throat."
• Even More From Julien: "It's so hypocritical. It's unfortunate. I guess we're stupid. I guess we're idiots and they're the smartest team in the league. I guess we need to listen to all the gab they say."
• From Honey Badger himself: "I've seen the replay. I did go under him, but I felt the base contact was about the hip point. That's usually a pretty legal hit, from what I've seen in the past. I have no idea how the league feels about it, so we'll see. It's a hit in the game. Guys on our team use it. Guys on other teams use it. I had no intention of hurting Salo on the play. I was just trying to protect myself. He's a very big body coming in, and I'm not the biggest guy. I've done that a lot in the past. I've never been punished for it before."
• More From Marchand: "The puck was going around the boards, and I went to pick it up. I looked over my shoulder and saw Salo coming. I just kind of went down. When you see a guy that's 6-foot-3 coming in on you, your instincts are to protect yourself. It was very unfortunate that he was hurt on the play. In a game like last night, where there was a lot of emotion and guys running around a bit, you're definitely watching out a little bit more. You want to try to protect yourself. When you have a guy coming in on you, you have no idea what his intentions are or what the outcome may be."

Geez, the Bruins seem pretty fired up.

Hey Vancouver, did you enjoy your banner raising cere- oh crap, that's right! You don't have a ceremony for winning the President's Trophy. Toolbags. They are the whiniest, dirtiest, and weakest team in the league, yet they call the Bruins a dirty team? Look in the mirror guys, you're far from the perfect little angels you claim to be. I wonder how hard it would be to get Chara to fire a bomb straight at Vigneault's big mouth. I'm pretty sure Bruins fans across the country/continent would gladly pick up the fine, along with every other fan that hates the Canucks. And if no one on the Bruins will do it, I'll make sure I go to the next Bruins-Divers game and whip a puck straight at the back of Vigneault's head.

Marchand Suspended 5 Games

Bruins Forward Brad Marchand was just suspended 5 games for his hit on Vancouver's Sami Salo

Are you shitting me?

Brad Marchand was literally just suspended for five games for what league disciplinarian Brendan Shannahan calls a "low and predatory hit" that was "neither instinctive nor defensive". What the hell was he watching? If you read the previous post, you'll notice that I very clearly point out where and when Salo prepares himself to make contact with Marchand's head. I don't know about "Shanny", but if I saw some asshole coming at me like that I would duck on him exactly like Marchand did.

It's funny how this was done the exact same way in a much more clear and obvious predatory manner by Dan Hamhuis last June in the Stanley Cup Finals to Lucic and the league ruled the exact same hit clean and legal. But when the short guy who's an expert at being a pain in the ass does it it's worthy of 5 games?

The league discipline office still sucks even without Colin Campbell. Shannahan has done an extremely poor job when it comes to consistency. Players continue to run around and deliver head shots (ahem, Raffi Torres) and get away with it for two games before being given a light suspension (Torres got two games for three hits to the head. Seriously?) I bet Salo will come out in 2 games, perhaps even 1, and say he doesn't even have a concussion. How's that going to look Shanny?

I still don't understand the ruling, it really makes no sense. 5 games for ducking a hit on a guy who's very clearly trying to rattle his brain? How about the 7 on 1? That's 6 third man in penalties that were not called. And how about Burrows' spear to Thornton's throat? Is that not considered a dangerous play? How about Dale Weise instigating Thornton into fighting and then backing out (not a suspendable offense, but still something to say wtf about)? How about Alain Vigneault's very clear verbal threat to Marchand? I didn't realize you were allowed to threaten players as a coach. If that's allowed someone hire me as a Bruins assistant coach so I can threaten all the Canucks players not named Ryan Kesler or Cory Schneider, Matt Cooke, Raffi Torres, Sean Avery, and any other player that I hate. Are none of those things to review? How about the clear official bias towards Vancouver? How the hell does Vancouver get to fight 7 on 1 and then go on a 5 on 3 powerplay?

And am I the only one who recognizes that there was no clear injury on the play? 'Cause Salo sure as hell didn't look concussed when he squirmed around on his knees and threw his stick around like a baby. He didn't look concussed when he skated as fast as he could to the bench under his own power either. I've had concussions before, and when you get your brain scrambled, you're too out of it and too dizzy to even move. You don't throw things around and then skate all on your own to the bench. This is eerily similiar to Ryan Miller's "concussion" earlier in the year.

Anyways, I guess Marchand will just have to sit and stare at his cup ring for 5 games. All while telling Vancouver to suck it.

Bruins vs Canucks = Complete Corruption From Referees

Can someone explain to me how this results in a 5 on 3 powerplay for Vancouver? That game was ridiculously lopsided towards the Canucks when it came to penalties and making calls. If I had to guess, Alain Vigneault, Mr. "My Team is a bunch of Saints and the Bruins are big meanies", probably gave the refs blowjobs before the game. Let me break this down for you guys, bit by bit.

• First off, they don't show it in the video, but while skating to the bench, everyone's favorite Canuck Alex Burrows decides to give Daniel Paille and nice stick blade to the back of the knees (You'll notice that around 2:04). Resident kicker of ass Shawn Thornton took exception to that and went after Burrows by giving him a little hack at the legs in return. Then, former Scab Maxime Lapierre (still a pussy)/Burrows thinks it'd be funny to spear Thornton in the throat. Clearly he has no common sense whatsoever, because Thornton would kick the crap out of him any day of the week. So, obviously Thornton decides he's gonna kick Lapierre's ass. Then he's stuck in a 7 on 1. First off, the Canucks have too many men on the ice, as Louise Sedin was the extra man on that shouldn't have been there (of course this wasn't noticed because he backed away and hid like a little girl). Second, how do the refs allow 6 Canucks to play pig pile on Thornton? That in itself is ridiculous. And then you have Cody Hodgson getting into it FROM THE BENCH. That in itself is a game misconduct. But, shockingly enough, this too goes completely unnoticed (seriously, my theory of Vigneault blowing the refs is looking pretty solid right now).
• Milan Lucic, our other resident kicker of ass, is getting off the bench for a line change, and in the process sees this pig pile and does what any teammate would do, jump into the middle of it and kick everyone's ass until they get off of Thornton. Apparently this is a no-no, 'cause the refs gave him a misconduct for leaving the bench to engage in a fight (I really miss the days when guys like Neely would just jump onto the ice and kick someone's ass 'cause they hated them). That was bullshit, because even if he wasn't in the middle of a line change anyways, what is he supposed to do when he's halfway onto the ice? Stand there and say "I think he's got this."? Of course not. I would've done the same thing Lucic did, jump in there and get them the hell off of my teammate.
• Stop the video at 0:04. You see that on the right? Is that? Yes, it is indeed Kevin Bieksa pulling the linesman off of the pile so he can get into it. How the hell is that not called a penalty? Since when are players allowed to put their hands on an official? If that's legal then hell I'm gonna do that every time I get a penalty when I play. the refs didn't see that, but that linesman sure knew what was happening, and he decided not to say a word to the referees. (Maybe Vigneault blew the linesmen too) That's definitely suspension worthy, and if nothing comes of that, then it just proves the league is on Vancouver's side.
• Nathan Horton, ass kicker incognito as a 20+ goal scorer, doesn't like what he sees from Dale Weise. Can you blame him? So, he decides to pull him out and kick his ass. That was an awesome fight. I give Weise a small bit of credit for actually engaging with Horton, but he probably thought it would be an easy win for him. Wrong! Horton kicked the holy living hell out of him. That really was an awesome fight.
• Notice how during the Horton-Weise fight the refs are completely ignoring the fact that Burrows and Bieksa are still trying to get Lucic to go. How can you just stand there and watch them tie him up and continue to chirp?
• Stop at 1:15. See Bieksa trying to get into it with Chara? Yeah, and then notice how Lucic throws him into a headlock and pulls him away. If you ask me, he's being a little too nice, I would've loved to see Chara kick the shit out that little turd.

Now this is another thing that annoys the living hell out of me. Let's analyze this one too.

• As per Rule 44.1 of the NHL Rulebook, Marchand was assessed a penalty for clipping, the act of hitting an opposing player at or below the knees. This is a minor penalty automatically. Ok, I see that. I would understand if Marchand was given 2:00 for clipping, but they gave him a major penalty.
• As per Rule 44.3, a major penalty is assessed for clipping if there is an injury as a direct result of the act of clipping. So, Marchand was given a major. My question is why. There was no confirmation of an injury, and it wasn't like Salo was out cold. He sure didn't look hurt when he squirmed around on his knees. He sure didn't look hurt when he threw his stick around like a little baby. And he sure as hell didn't look hurt when he got up and skated to the bench UNDER HIS OWN POWER WITH NO HELP WHATSOEVER. He didn't look hurt until he got to the bench and then decided he couldn't go anywhere on his own. There was no clear injury on the play, therefore Marchand should have only received a minor penalty for clipping. The game misconduct was assessed automatically, because as per Rule 44.5, any time a major penalty is given for clipping, a game misconduct must also be assessed. 
• Now watch this in slow motion. Watch Salo carefully. Notice how, just as Marchand is about to duck, he raises his upper body so he's in position to deliver an elbow to the head? Yep, so do I. It looks to me like Marchand was defending himself from getting his brain rattled. I agree with Julien's comment on the Marchand call (Comments below). Salo was going head hunting and Marchand was trying to avoid getting his head smashed into the boards. And for all you Vancouver fans who decide to read this, first of all I say F*ck you for stalking me and trying to rip me apart on Twitter (and thanks to the asshole who called me gay), and if Salo has "never taken a run in his career" as some troll tweeted me yesterday, make sure you tell him I said congratulations on his first career run next time you see him.

Start right around 6:55. Can you believe what a bitch Dale Weise is? Seriously, grow a pair and fight for the love of Bobby Orr.


Julien on Marchand: "We all have our opinions on what is going on in the game with the hits and everything else. All I'm going to tell you is that I always told my players that they need to protect themselves. The last thing I want my players to do is get hit and end up with a concussion, and they have to protect themselves. Whether it's the right way or the wrong way, it'll depend on how the league looks at it. I'd rather have a guy take a two minute penalty than turn his back to the play, stand up straight, and get his face knocked into the glass and be out for maybe the rest of the year with a concussion, or maybe end his career like [Marc] Savard. So I think we have to really look at those kinds of things. In my opinion, if guys start protecting themselves the way Marchand did, maybe guys will stop taking runs at other guys, because that's the conseuqences you end up paying for taking runs at guys, too. Who knows where we're going to go with this. I know we're all trying hard to fix that part of the game, but it's still there, and it's still not fixed."  

Joe Torre Resigns From MLB, Will Pursue the Purchase of the Dodgers



Former Yankees Manager Joe Torre resigned from his position with the MLB on Wednesday to pursue purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers

 Well, this is some interesting news.

On Wednesday, Joe Torre resigned from his position as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the MLB to join a group attempting to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. The group is headed by real estate developer Rick Caruso, and will be competing with several other suitors for the team, including the well known Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, Magnolia Pictures, and chairman of HDNet.

In a statement, Torre said, "''In Rick I found a partner who understands consumers and fully appreciates that the Dodgers are a treasured LA institution. Since moving to Los Angeles, I have seen firsthand Rick's dedication to business and the people of Los Angeles."

This is an extremely ballsy move on Torre's part. First off, nothing guarantees that he and Caruso will even win the bidding for the team. Second, if they do win the bidding and are granted ownership rights, the Dodgers are such a trainwreck and are in so much debt (they still owe Manny Ramirez a ton of money...) that there's no guarantees they'll be able to pull that franchise out of the shitter. But, if he and Caruso do win the team and do pull it out of its extreme debt, this could turn out to be one of the greatest investments you'll ever see. In a market as big as Los Angeles, all you need to do is field a winning team and the fans will come pouring in. Ticket sales will go up dramatically, TV ratings would spike, and merchandise sales would spike. Not to mention that as long as you have fans in the stadium, profits from concessions will come pouring in as well.

This is definitely something you'll want to keep an eye on, regardless of who buys the Dodgers. It will be interesting to see what the new owner does to get this team out of the league basement.