Boston

Red Sox manager John Farrell does not go to the mound to counsel his pitchers. That is the job of pitching coach Juan Nieves.

Was I dreaming or did I just see J Mascis, Kim Gordon, Carrie Brownstein, and Steve Jones on SNL? It's kinda cool that when the current "people in charge of stuff" think "all-stars" they think Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, and the Sex Pistols. Or maybe Fred Armisen just asked if he could have some friends on and they said Sure.And here I am thinking that the "young" generation is finally taking over...before realizing that those four bands started in 1984, 1981, 1975, and 1994. It gets late early around here, I guess.As for the Red Sox game, it went from "sweet, we're gonna blow 'em out" to "they've stranded a lot of runners but we've got the lead" to "we're pulling away, time to turn it off and go do something else knowing we've won" to "oh jesus h. christ how is this a two-run game and how is it still only the fifth???" to "woohoo, we finally actually pulled far enough ahead and it's late enough in the game to feel like it's a definite win" to "we win 12-5 and if you missed it damn you for not having to go through what I did!"12-5 was your final. Papi hit two dongs. Everybody had at least one hit except Ciriaco. Nava also donged. The play of the game was when Pedroia made an over-the-shoulder catch in short right and whirled and fired home to easily get the tagging runner to end the inning, as Lavarnway was bowled over but hung on to the ball and got right up. This was in a bases loaded, one out situation with us only ahead by 2 in the 6th and things looking bleak. But right after that play we put up four quick runs turning a 7-5 game into an 11-5 game.So we stay 1 back of New Y., and we're now 2.5 up on Baltim.Sunday at 2:10 we go for the sweep of Minneso.

It has been said that living well is the best revenge. For David Ortiz, that has meant reminding the Minnesota Twins what a big mistake they made.

Jaromir Jagr is in the longest postseason scoring drought of his career. The Bruins forward hasn’t scored in the last 17 postseason games, which dates all the way back to his time with the Flyers. Despite not scoring in eight playoff games so far with the Bruins, Jagr is still finding a way to impact the score sheet. Jagr has had four assists this postseason, and head coach Claude Julien said Jager has been a good addition to the team. To see what else Julien had to say, check out the video above or check it out on NESN’s YouTube channel

During the regular season, the Bruins were savaged for blowing third-period leads so often one wondered if their game plan was only 40 minutes long.One season after they were a perfect 32-0-0 when leading after two periods, the B’s went just 15-4-4 while trying to protect a lead in the last session in 2013.

For two minutes in overtime of Game 1 against the New York Rangers, the Bruins’ power play looked much different than it had in the past. After a season-long struggle, they looked efficient.Led by Zdeno Chara, the group kept the puck in the offensive zone and continuously put pressure on Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Though they didn’t score, the momentum carried over for the rest of the extra period and was capped off with a Brad Marchand game-winner.

Exuberant Bruins fans are advised to cool their jets just a bit.Yes, the Bruins had an overall edge in play in their second-round series opener against the New York Rangers — won by the B’s on Brad Marchand’s overtime goal. Yes, they were able to do some things somewhat more easily than anticipated.But for fans assuming that game was a certain indication of how this series will go, take a look at all or part of two recent B’s games:

It’s about time the Bruins and Rangers got off the schneid and contributed something meaningful to the sports Border War between Boston and New York that has been going on for more than 100 years.Maybe, and we can only hope, this Eastern Conference semifinal showdown between the Bruins and Rangers, with Game 2 scheduled for this afternoon at TD Garden, will make its mark in the history books.

There were some signs of improvement in the health of a couple of the Bruins’ injured defensemen yesterday as the team reconvened for practice at TD Garden in preparation for today’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Rangers.Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden all missed Game 1 with undisclosed injuries. The only certain no-go for today is Ference, who’s been missing since Game 5 against Toronto. Bruins coach Claude Julien said Ference is yet to skate.

May 16, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins forward David Krejci (46) faces off against New York Rangers forward Brian Boyle (22) during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Michal Ivins-USA TODAY Sports Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. With a victory on Sunday, Boston would go up 2-0 in the series and be in total control over the Rangers. Boston’s banged up defensemen are taking a step in the right direction toward being back in the lineup. On Saturday, Dennis Seidenberg skated before practice and Wade Redden practiced with the team for the first time since being in the lineup for Game 6 against Toronto. Andrew Ference still hasn’t skated since his undisclosed injury. Although it looks like all are improving, it still doesn’t look like they will be available for Game 2 on Sunday. In Game 1, the three young defensemen stepped up big time. Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug all looked very comfortable for having such little playoff experience. On Thursday night, Krug scored his first career goal to tie the game in the third period. Bartkowski has shown he is a very good puck handler and is growing in confidence each game he plays. Although sometimes shaky, Hamilton looked very good on the power play. He was putting shots on net and moving the puck efficiently, which is what the Bruins want. Good things happen when you shoot the puck, and Boston will have to continue to put pucks on net if they want to beat Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers are going to come out with high energy Sunday afternoon and the Bruins will have to match it. New York found themselves down 0-2 against the Capitals and even though they still won the series, I can guarantee that they do not want to put themselves back in that situation. Every game between Boston and New York this season has been a one-goal game and I would expect nothing less then another thriller on Sunday afternoon.