Josh Beckett Nearly Perfect on a Night Tim Thomas Was

If Josh Beckett pitches a one hit shutout for Boston on a night the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup, does anyone notice?  The Bruins won the Cup 39 years after Bobby Orr lead them to their last championship in 1972.  All eyes of New England were glued to the Bruins last night, which means Beckett’s one hitter went almost unnoticed. 

The only blemish on the scorecard last night was a single by the Rays #9 hitter, Reid Brignac, in the third inning.  Beckett pitched to the one over the minimum 28 batters last night to lock down his sixth win of the season and keep the Sox 1 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the standings.  It appears that Beckett is getting better and better each time he takes the mound.  Beckett is now the Major League leader with a minuscule 1.86 ERA.   Also over looked last night was the performance by rookie Rays pitcher, Jeremy Hellickson.  Hellickson only mistake was a pitch to Kevin Youkilis that Youk went yard on to drive in the only three runs of the game.  Rays Manager Joe Maddon, gambled by intentionally walking Adrian Gonzalez to get to Youk.  Youkilis made Maddon pay dearly for this decision.

As great as Beckett and the Sox looked, last night belonged to the Bruins.  Tim Thomas shut down the Vancouver Canucks en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.   Patrice Bergeron started off the scoring and rookie Brad Marchand finished it as both players scored two goals each to bring the Cup back to Boston.

While the Red Sox celebrated Beckett’s performance and the Bruins celebrating a championship, the Vancouver fans were busy burnging their city to the ground.  I never understand that kind of behavior.

I think it is pretty safe to assume that Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have secured their spot on the 2011 All-Star team.  Clay Buchholz could get invited to the party if he can outpitch, Rays Ace David Price , tonight.

Almost forgot, I will give you three guesses who was behind the plate last night?  Who else but their Captain and resident “MVBC.”  Most Valuable Beckett Catcher, Jason Varitek.

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