Perfection, Again?

     Roy Halladay made history last night by throwing the 20th perfect game in MLB history, an accomplishment that only a few can say they did. In 2010, we have seen two perfect games in only two months! Roy Halladay always has the ability to go nine innings. In a baseball culture surrounded by pitch counts, Halladay still amazes fans and foes with his ability to go nine innings. Major League Baseball executives probably jumped for joy when Halladay finished his masterpiece.
     On May 29, 2010 Roy Halladay showcased his ability to get people out even in tough situations. His ability to get out of trouble when the count went 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2 showcases why Philadelphia traded Clif Lee for him.   As the 7th inning started nervous Phillies fans held their breathe every time Roy threw to catcher Carlos Ruiz, but Halladay painted the wide strike zone with his two-seam fastball and curveball. Florida Marlins batters complained about a wide strike zone, but the strike zone was wide throughout the game and the Marlins didn't adjust. A possible perfect game wasn't going to be denied to arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Overall, all baseball fans should excited for Halladay except if you support the Marlins or the Blue Jays.

Lovin' Summer!

The Turc Report has kicked into summer drive. With a new design and a new Twitter account, The Turc Report has been redesigned to fit into your summer needs. Here are a couple of upcoming topics for The Turc Report!

Red Dead Redemption Review Podcast: Watch and listen to our review the best Western game to date!

Iron Man 2 Review: Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, but is the sequel better than the original?

Oil Spill Consequences: How BP's inability to stop the oil leak will affect future energy in the USA.





 

Two Different Teams, One Result: Game 5 in Orlando

        Game 4 was a classic example of two teams with different mindsets throughout the game. The Magic played with a sense of desperation and the Celtics played like they were up 3-0. However, this does not mean the Celtics will lose this series, like the Bruins. For the first time in this series Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy out coached Doc Rivers. The Magic had a great game plan: run the floor, get Rashard Lewis started early, and throw a thousand alley-oops to Dwight Howard. JJ Redick hit clutch threes late in the fourth quarter and Jameer Nelson outplayed Rajon Rondo. I was impressed with the Magic, but they still could have lost that game. The Celtics' mental toughness typically shown throughout the playoffs was lagging. The Celtics argued every foul and no call, to their credit the refs made a couple of terrible calls, but they needed to stay focus. They could have theoretically won the game if Rasheed Wallace didn't get a technical foul.
         Finally, the Celtics offense execution was atrocious throughout the game, especially when the game mattered most. Paul Pierce over dribbled and missed a wide open (how?) Ray Allen at the end of regulation. In overtime; did Rondo know they were down by 4 with 10 seconds remaining? With great confidence, I believe the Celtics will win this series, but Game 4 was important for both teams. The Magic only needed one game to get going and Game 4 was just that.

Dice-K: Finally!

After three years and $150 million has Daisuke Matsuzaka finally shown his potential? Last night he allowed one hit over eight innings. He did walk four batters and the Red Sox defense was stellar. However, Dice-K looked more confident on the mound and was working faster. It wasn't a typical Dice-K outing where he goes 5 innings, walks 6, and throws over 100 pitches. Red Sox Nation doesn't like players who don't show their emotions such as JD Drew and Dice-K. A man while I was driving home from work said, "Dice-K doesn't have any emotions so he doesn't care." Last night Dice-K trusted his defense and it paid off. Adrian Beltre and Dustin Pedroia made great plays and David Ortiz looked confident playing first play. He and Dice-K made a great play and Matsuzaka gave a little smile to Big Papi. If Dice-K can continue similar pitching performances like last night and John Lackey starts earning his money, we can make a run for the Wild Card. The Red Sox need to win series and beat sub .500 to get back in the race. Also, they also have 118 games remaining in the season.

What Happened?: The Story of the 2010 Red Sox

     On my 21st birthday a Red Sox victory apparently seems to much to ask for. The Red Sox were leading throughout the game, but the final score doesn't speak that truth. David Ortiz has found his bat, finally. For the first time all season while watching the Sox I didn't think Ortiz was going to strike out at every at bat. Their offense seems to be finding some equilibrium except at one stop, the three hole. The spot in the order who drives in runs and protects the clean up hitter. Victor Martinez has not slumping throughout the start of the season. He's a great hitter and helped dearly last year, however; Francona needs to sit Martinez for a couple of games to get Victor focused on his bat. Martinez's struggles behind the plate have made forget about his bat. He's so concerned about his catching duties; he forgets about his bat. Like the classical philosopher Aristotle put it; we can't live our lives in excesses or deficiencies, rather a mean between those two extremes. Maybe Martinez should buy Aristotle's Ethics and get back to hitting.
    At 19-18, this seems like the record the 2010 Red Sox will have unless they make a major change; Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder would help the struggling offense. The pitching will come around, however; this team's current format will lead to a record around 87-75. An addition like A-Gon or Prince would push it up to around 97-65. As the Nation watches their Red Sox, we expect Theo Epstein to make a big move to help this team. We'll see.

The End of a Dynasty: Law & Order

A premiere television show that produced great actors and stories will end this May. Law & Order will end on May 24 with great applause from their faithful audience. They cultivated great stories and characters, but what set Law & Order apart was their attention to realism. By shooting their show in New York City with live camera action, they were able to capture realism that no hand built stages could ever do. Law & Order was fortunate to have great acting. Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston, Jesse L. Martin, Benjamin Bratt and Fred Thompson all captivated audiences with their great performances. What a television series, but all great things must come to an end.

Dethroning King James: Game 6 in Boston

             LeBron James has never had adversity since he entered the league as "The Chosen One". Everything he touches turns to gold and the Cavaliers have become an elite team in the NBA. However, Game 6 tonight will be toughest battle James will ever have to fight. This seems like a bold prediction, but hear the argument. First, if the Cavs lose then James leaves as a free agent and goes to a big market team that sucks ( Knicks, Nets, or Heat). Therefore, the whole Cavaliers organization needs to play their heart out tonight to keep James from leaving. They have provided a solid supporting cast around James, however; could the problem in Cleveland be caused by LeBron? If the Cavs win the series and then lose to the Magic which would probably happen, then LeBron leaves. See the pattern here. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to win the championship to keep the King in Camelot. I stated earlier that LeBron could be the problem in Cleveland.
             LeBron is the greatest regular season player over the past 7 years, however; his playoff performances suggests he doesn't have what it takes to win in the playoffs. He's probably too good for himself, but great players need great coaches. Michael Jordan didn't win until he was forced to trust his teammates with the triangle offense put in place by Tex Winter and Phil Jackson. Kobe Bryant was a young dunker with a great fro, but he didn't know how to win. Then Jackson came along and they won the championship. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is a solid coach, but he's not an elite coach. He's similar to former Bulls coach Doug Collins, because they both allow their superstar to run the show and sit back. This does not mean they don't coach, but it shows it takes a great coach to change a star. LeBron needs a great coach to teach him.
            Tonight's game will feature James scoring 40 points and dishing 10 dimes. That equals 60 to 70 points depending on the amount of 3 pointers made. The Celtics now have a big 4, they share the basketball and have one goal. It's not about winning their second championship for themselves, but for the team. It feels like LeBron wants to win a championship for himself and not his team. Until that changes LeBron won't be celebrating with the Larry O'Brien Trophy anytime soon.

Our 2nd Podcast

Click on the link below to hear The Turc Report's review on Splinter Cell: Conviction and lots more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBNTTjl02CY

Jonny Be Good

Jon Lester has always been considered as one of the top left handed pitchers in the MLB. The Red Sox almost traded him with Jacoby Ellsbury for Johan Santana a couple of seasons ago. Now, sometimes the trades you don't make are best ones. On Mother's Day, a day when pink bats and arm bands were seen throughout Major League Baseball to symbolize the fight against breast cancer. Lester took the mound and started to work his magic. His cutter was untouchable to right handed hitter and his curveball was untouchable for left handed pitchers. He did surrender 2 solo home runs to Nick Swisher and A-Rod, but he went 7 strong and allowed only 2 runs.
At the beginning of the season, Red Sox Nation was told that pitching and defense was going to be the focus of this 2010 Red Sox team. Well, this hasn't happened yet. Josh Beckett's ERA is over 7 and Dice-K hasn't looked great. In order for the Red Sox to compete with the Yanks and Rays, their starting pitching needs to improve dramatically. A great start by Lester could kick start a .500 team.

The Boston Massacre

As a Boston sports fan, Friday literally was The Boston Massacre. Celtics were killed by the elbow, Sox were creamed by the Yanks, and the Bruins lost in overtime. I was most disappointed with the Celtics. The NBA has developed this new playoff scheduling to help their older superstars get healthy. The Celtics had three full days to get ready for LeBron and the Cavs. Maybe the rest helped the Cavs more than the C's, but man that game was frustrating. Especially, watching Paul Pierce play like Gary Trent (Google him). Pierce has not played up to the level he performed at in 2008, when he was matching James point for point. Apparently he can't play defense on LeBron, but he played defense on James for all regular season games. I was pissed as a Celtics fan watching Pierce as the 3rd Quarter started joke with Shaq. Where's the fire or the willingness to win Game 3? Game 3 means a lot in the NBA playoffs. Now, the Celtics have to win Game 4, then go back to Cleveland and win Game 5. Nice job Boston, James outplayed everyone. However, this does not mean the series is over. But, damn I'm pissed I watched my Boston Celtics look like crap. They deserved to be booed, because they played like crap. JTT