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Pregame Notes: Matsuzaka doing ‘fairly well’ day after early exit 04.30.11 at 5:27 pm ET
By Sam Dykstra

When Daisuke Matsuzaka was taken out of the fifth inning of Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Mariners due to elbow concerns, Terry Francona hoped that the concern would only be temporary and that his fifth starter would be able to make his next available start. After another day for the team doctors to examine any possible injury, the Red Sox manager continued to echo his original sentiments.

“He was examined fairly extensively last night after he came out and actually did fairly well. So that’s good,” Francona said. “He’s going through his normal Day One activities. Certainly we want to keep an eye on him, but hopefully we just overreacted.”

Matsuzaka had seen his velocity dip from the low-90s at the game’s outset to the mid-to-high-80s by the fifth, forcing Francona and catcher Jason Varitek to rush to the mound to make sure everything was as it should be. After Matsuzaka noted that he had some stiffness in his elbow, the team decided that they would rather go to the bullpen than risk anything more serious.

Although the Sox eventually fell to the Mariners, the cautionary move seems, at least for now, to have paid off in the long run.

“Just kind of a bad day and move on,” said Francona. “I think that’s what Daisuke thinks. The trainers have said nothing different. They’re upbeat about this.”

Other notes:

-Sox corner infielder Kevin Youkilis has certainly had his ups and downs in the early going, and you don’t have to look much further than his strikeout and walk totals to understand that. He is third in the American League with 20 free passes but is also eighth in the junior circuit in strikeouts with 25. Youkilis remains the only player in either league to be in the top 10 of both categories.

Francona noted that, although nothing truly hurts, Youkilis’s thumb surgery that ended his 2010 campaign last August may have some lingering effects on the seven-year veteran. However, he doesn’t have much concern for how Youkilis will perform going forward.

“He’s got a high on-base percentage,” Francona said. “Now on the flipside of that, he’s probably swung at more pitches out of the zone early this year than we’ve seen in a while. We depend on Youk so much for our offense. He’s right smack in the middle, but I’ll bet my bottom dollar he’ll be right back to where he’s supposed to be. He’s too good a hitter.”

-Another struggling infielder for the Sox has been second basemen Dustin Pedroia. In his last seven games, the former AL MVP is hitting just .107 with six strikeouts. Along with Adrian Gonzalez, Pedroia is one of only two Boston players to not miss a start thus far in 2011, but don’t expect Francona to give him a day off necessarily any time soon.

“He expects so much out of himself. If he’s 0-for-1, he’s frustrated.

“I probably shouldn’t even say this, but I don’t even look at his batting average because he’s going to be in there. He’s going to play, and he’s going to do well. That’s just how I feel. If he isn’t going to get a hit, he’s going to save a run with the glove or do something else, that’s just the way he’s built.”

-In more positive hitting news, David Ortiz is set to sign off on arguably his best month of April since 2007. The Sox designated hitter has a batting line of .280/.388/.415 to go with two home runs and 11 RBI in 24 games during the past month. Compare that to last season’s opening month when Ortiz hit just .143 with only four men driven in.

Francona said that the reason behind the better jump this season has something to do with Ortiz just being more comfortable at the plate than in Aprils past.

“I think swinging at strikes and the ability to stay balanced so that he can hit the ball to left field [have helped]. . . Last couple springs, you saw a lot of check swings, a lot of balls in the dirt where he wasn’t making pitchers throw fastballs. Now, he’s making pitchers earn it.”

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  • 123

    You Lost get over it

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/LRG7DRYO7GPUWT3QM7PO3MC7MY ConnArch

    cry baby claude whines again… whaaaahhhhh!

  • Greasylunch

    i feel sorry for malcolm being drafted by this classless organization

  • Tim

    Good for Claude. Montreal is a joke of a team.

  • bruinsarecrap

    wow!  With Marchand and Ference diving away, Julien should just shut up and take the loss like a man.  Chara got what he deserved. he did INSTIGATE the fight.

    Bruins were classless crosschecking guys AFTER goals and not getting called by the refs.  If anything the bruins got off lucky fromt he refs.

  • Mustafa MC

    Claude missed class again today

  • CJ_Hypocrite

    I hope someone can somehow get this video in front of Julien.  Goes to show how big of a hypocrite he is!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npn0dyhSyr0

  • Papichulo

    Excuses just so he doesn’t have to answer the real questions like why did Chara lose it like that. They hit and rough up everybody and then cry when they do get a penalty.

  • LUC248

    SO FUNNY COMING FROM A GOON TEAM

  • LUC248

    INSTEGATOR RULE IS WHY YOU GOT SO MANY MINUTES MON CLAUDE AND UNSPORTMAN LIKE CONDUCT

  • Papichulo

    Claude Julien will complain to Peter Chiarelli. Then Ciarelli will complain to Jeremy Jacobs. Then Jabobs will complain to Gary Bettman. Then Gary Bettman will complain to Terry Gregson (Director of officiating). Then Gregson will complain to all refs and THEN the game will change the the Bruins’ liking

  • Ruins

    Somebody call the WHAAAAAM-BULANCE!
    You have a goony team…with divers on it to boot!
    Take care of your own business before making ridiculous comments like this.

  • Canadiens are pussies

    How about all you Canadiens’ fans go take a long walk off a tall building. You bunch of hose bag douch es. Love all the IDs that probably equate to about 3 bozos.

  • Tom

    Montreal plays hockey like Europeans play soccer… They fall down and cry holding themselves like they’ve had a career ending injury and then they’re up playing like nothing happened.

  • M16

    so many habs fans crawled outta the garbage. go cry somewhere else, no one cares. soccer is on another channel

  • guest

    You know what else is an embarassement to the game Claude? Dirty players/hits and beeing immuned from suspensions for brown nosing the disciplinarians. You win some, you loose some, now be a man about it

  • guest

    what was the score again?

  • Julien the Hutt

     Rasha Naba Doe-ah Gola Wookiee Nipple Pinchy

  • Phil the douch e

     Good one eh, you hoser. Now go drink your Molson and go to a Montreal site idiot. No one cares what you say. BTW how did that game go up in Montreal?!? Oh right the officials must not have given your team enough pp chances.

  • Thehipster7

    wtf…is he going senile!

  • guest

    difference is, habs management, coaching staff and players didnt invent any excuses after their loss ;) … something, maybe, that the bruins organization should try and learn from!

  • guest is a butt pirate

     Who won the last game in Montreal? Let’s see who’s in first after the 3 games in hand.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mckenny.stleger McKenny St-Leger

    Really Claude? Really? Nevermind that your team has no discipline and shows thuggish tactics, right? it’sembellishment!

  • Julien the Hutt

     How about that Seguin guy?? Dropping like a puss.

  • guest

    Subban didn’t moan when he got pushed in the BACK by “Horty” (what a fag nickname btw) neither did he moan when “I get concussions when i fight” Thornton ran him into the boards while the puck was no where around… nice try though

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/CBHTLCTRLABSSUYZ2AOYXS3LJE ToeDrag

    Dear Hab Fans,

    Ta mere suce des ours dans la foret. Faut péter dans l’eau pour faire des bulles.

  • HumptyDumpty

    don’t you have a second cousin you should be screwing you consanguineous idiot

  • Rebecca

    He needs to get over it, he has a crappy team and a joke of a reputation. Montreal earned this win. sorry but not sorry.

  • Old Time Hockey

    Bruins dominated every phase of that game. Sometimes you lose those games. Montreal your not even in the same league. One game doesn’t mean a thing. Enjoy your regular season victory we have Stanley Cups to win.

  • Montreal eats shi t

     The strip joints all closed douch e?

  • Mbernard83

    Jaba no happy.

  • HumptyDumpty

    Im sorry, I didnt get the impression that the Bruins dominated the scoreboard, but I might be mistaken, what was the score again?

  • guest

    Lol funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WigPio6Wk7Y

  • guest
  • guest

    Jean LeClair, je pense que t’a un problème d’identité, à moins que tu ais été adopté

  • Mbernard83

    Not sure what the hang up is on the strip clubs. Do the rejects in Boston not like naked women?

  • HumptyDumpty

    they do, but only when these women are their sisters/cousins/mothers

  • Hayahhhhaj

    Awwwww julienne is giving good excuses well your team sucks

  • Montreal eats shi t

     Here’s a better one going all the way back to 2004..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNw8ZZT8tOU

  • Montreal eats shi t
  • Brian

    Maybe you are just a biased fairy.

  • Montreal eats shi t

     Another typical Canadien loser.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhShrOAMZ-E

    Great example of diving

  • Montreal eats shi t

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ReHL49eB5A

  • guest

    Claude Julien was the Habs coach in 2004 when Ribeiro made that dive. hahahaha

  • http://www.facebook.com/mckenny.stleger McKenny St-Leger

     I see your familiar with the clubs here! Your team lost fair and square…can’t keep whining about perceived diving just because you can’t away with the crap the The bruins pull on the ice. Not happy with the officiating? Tell your team to Stay disciplined. That’s how the Habs won! Now go do what ever it is you do in Baaahston!

  • http://www.facebook.com/mckenny.stleger McKenny St-Leger

     et ta mere fait just sucer!

  • Charlie

    Hahaha yeah alright Claude, its never YOUR teams fault… its always someone else

  • Ellis

    Certainly those of this belief are entitled to their opinion, however I do challenge you to show me concrete examples from this game to back up your statement.

  • Aaaa

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WigPio6Wk7Y

  • Molson Beer

     Already been posted dick breath..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AquDMuIS0

  • b.p

    I think what happened to Claude Julien is what has happened  to many hockey  people and fans  as soon as they have  anything to do with the bruins  they become the biggest hypocrites in the sport world .

  • Guest

    It’s not generally my nature to post on comments sections, but I would just like to say from a logical perspective that there is absolutely to merit to the diving accusations tonight. This followed by Bruins fans showing a compilation of plays dating all the way back to 2004, almost a decade. I mean common. However I am curious to know what some bruins fans think about these plays :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9cp2CuCVY

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WigPio6Wk7Y

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

  • guest

    Not saying there isn’t some whining on the Bruins part, and let’s face it, every coach on every team needs to explain afterwards why their team lost( Claude also points out that 3/4 of his lines weren’t producing being a major problem too just fyi). If Montreal had lost, we all know that Canadiens fans would be whining and their coach making excuses, and Boston fans would be say stop whining you lost. 
    That said, Claude’s point is still valid. A team that leads the league in power plays is more than likely embellishing hits more often than other teams. You could argue the Bruins(along with every other team) do it too, but yet compared to the Canadiens, the Bruins have nearly 40 fewer power plays, so the Bruins are doing it far less often.   

  • Kicks267

    Classic delusional Bruins. I’m not saying Montreal doesn’t embellish, but Claude Julien needs to look at his own team before going on a rant like that. 

    Marchand is probably the biggest diver in the league. There’s even footage of him where you can clearly read his lips where he dives and then tells his trainer, “I was trying to draw a 5 minute major.” 

    Seguin isn’t far behind him as well. A perfectly example being that little nudge that Emelin gave him tonight. That was hardly a cross check and an enormous embellishment. Also, there was no need for Chara to go crazy like that over a nudge to the shoulder. 

    Bottom line is that the Bruins are a bunch of hypocrites. They have some tough players, but there are just as guilty, if not more guilty, than most NHL teams in the diving/embellishment department.

  • Molson Beer

     Hey idiot all those videos were in direct reply to a Montreal fan posting a video about the 2011 Cup run by the Bruins saying they were diving. BTW no one on here even mentioned that the Canadiens didn’t deserve to win the game I find if highly hypocritical not one Montreal fan came on these boards a few weeks ago after Boston beat Montreal on the road. Tonight the boards are overrun by Johnny come latelys trolling after a win.

  • Sicko

    Another ID?!? What have you posted under about 5 or 6 different ones tonight?

  • Marthalemondick

    fatty still bitter about getting canned

  • Innovator

    Since you don’t mind hiding behind your keyboard calling someone a faggot,then you shouldn’t have an issue with me calling you a dumb frog…..Internet tough guy…

  • Innovator

    You saying that Marchand is the worst diver in the league when PK Subban  actually has a pulse, absolutely discredits and takes away any credibility in what you said….To think that Subban isn’t the most obvious habitual diver in the history of the league is delusional…

  • Innovator

    So Canadien fans really just came on board tonight and talked some of the most horrific trash on a Bruins Board?? Really?? Why?? Does it make you feel that good about yourself to hide behind your computer and say things that you would NEVER,EVER,EVER say to anyones face?? How about a nice OBJECTIVE conversation pointing out facts instead of diharreah of the mouth…What happened to maturity?…Maybe we could learn somethinghere… 

  • Sicko

     Amazing isn’t it? Got to love all the frauds and trolls jumping on board. Weird after the Bruins beat them up in Montreal not a troll was to be seen. What a bunch frauds Montreal fans are. Known around the league as the most fair weather fans in the NHL. Let’s see who’s in first after all the games the Bruins have in hand are played.

  • Mkettle9

    Lets break a stick in your ribs and see how you like it???

  • Jackthestripper

    Stop turning the puck over in the neutral zone and allowing the Habs to take you out of your game.  

  • http://twitter.com/ltcmiked Mike Donahue

    Julien’s excatly right … the Habs flop like South American soccer players.

  • Coltzone555

    You honestly think the bruins embellish as much as Montreal ?

  • benchwarmer

    canadians are tough, they kill baby seals with clubs when they come up for air.

  • benchwarmer

    Is it not time for john dennis to retire before he gets fired.

  • Hockey Fan

    This will get called after they start calling all the cheap shots that Marchand gets away with!  People in glass houses should not throw stones!

  • mike

    Stay classy Montreal–keep up the diving..:)

  • Seanrogers64

    You guys are out of your mind! It’s not a European style of hockey. North American hockey has and always will be a hitting style of hockey. So slow down you pus_y’s. Classless? Classless is when your try to get a power play advantage when it is not warranted. The Canadiens no they will lose when they play at even strength. The numbers show this! You clowns have to be Canadien fans. They whine and always will whine. Go back to Canada you DB’s. 

  • Hockey Fan

    People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.  Funny Claude, look at the video of Marchand hitting Prust in the face with his stick after the whistle while he was down!  CLASSLESS.  Respect the game, the players and your team.  Funny how you whine about other teams’ act, clean up yours first!

  • Theghostoftito

    Eat a donut you fat turd and stop whining. Watch your own players including Marchand and Ference who dive all of the time…What a tool.

  • Bruinman86

    Well, I have to agree with Claude on this one.  The Habs could play a much more of a classier game and still win.  But they Dive and fake stuff all night.  Much of that falls on the league by not punishing them when they do it.  The rest is on the coach for using that style of play. It’s up to the Bruins to use better discipline in these situations.  Having Chara and Lucic (2 star players on this teams) do all the heavywork  – and getting extra penalties for how they went about it was what cost them the game.  Reminds me of that Vancouver game last season in Boston.  The reffing was a little one sided, but you can’t rely on that every night to go your way.  

  • Patrick Roy

    classless orginization??? The Canadians have been pulling this flopping BS for years and every team in the league knows it!!

  • Patrick Roy

    123…..I think your classless and whiny

  • SoxinLast2013

    So we all know if this had been the other way around and happened in Montreal, these same Canadiens fans would be calling for a Police Investigation led by Inspector Clouseau.

  • The Truth

    Bottom line: the Bruins looked sluggish from the start, turned the puck over WAY too much in the neutral and defensive zones,  and flat out got out-played.  And this might not be popular opinion, but Dougie Hamilton looks like he might need some time back down at Providence.  Had he not scored last night, we’d be talking about his poor play.  

  • Uncle_butt

    Coming from brad marchands coach this is too funny he is one of the dirtiest players in the game

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