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The Official 2011 Boston Red Sox Thread

Discussion in 'Other Sports Forum' started by Ray Finkle, Nov 10, 2010.

  1. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    I wouldn't be shocked if today was a 10 to 8 game. Between Lackey and Hughes it seems like we're going to see a lot of Bartolo Colon and Alfredo Aceves today.

    Now watch it be a 2-1 game or something like that.
     
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  2. FaninPatsyLand

    FaninPatsyLand The Truth

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    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Conuficus

    Conuficus Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Well away from here
    If the Sox don't play well this weekend, Beantown will explode. Everything is magnified when it happens against the Yanks. Everything. If the Sox get swept, the pressure would be ramped up to ridiculous levels. I don't think get swept, but even going 1-2 isn't going to please many people. It will be interesting to see if this rookie the Yankees have implodes in Fenway or not.
     
  4. FaninPatsyLand

    FaninPatsyLand The Truth

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    No way the leash is that long (through the weekend), the boo-birds come out this afternoon if the team lays another egg. And rightfully so.

    This was dubbed the greatest team ever by the Boston media a mere 2 weeks ago. Talk radio is already UGLY.
     
  5. finyank13

    finyank13 Reality Check

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    The Red Sox arent going anywhere, they could get swept this weekend, and they still arent going anywhere, they will quickly roll off 10-14 games in a row in June and all will be forgotten...there will be no pressure for the Red Sox....even after a 0-9 start if by some crazy reason it were to happen....the season is to early...and there are too many veteran professionals on that team....

    ohh and funny how Fenway cures the Red Sox batting ills...lol 6 runs in 2 innings...
     
  6. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Or Phil Hughes' 88 mph BP flat fastball.

    This game is FAR from over though.
     
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  7. finyank13

    finyank13 Reality Check

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    Something is up with Hughes, I hope it isnt cuff, or elbow problems, but to take a kid who throws normally 92-95 with movement, and now he cant break 90MPH....red flag on health...

    However there isnt anything wrong with Lackey health wise....that is concerning so early in the season....
     
  8. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Not just the velo on Hughes' pitches but there's zero movement on it. Something has to be up with that arm. A mid 20 year old doesn't lose it overnight like that.

    Yeah for all the talk about Lackey losing 15 pounds it sure hasn't helped him much.
     
  9. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Manny Ramirez announced his retirement, as he had failed a drug test in spring training and instead of facing a 100 game suspension he decided to hang it up. No matter what you say about PEDs the guy was just a great hitter and it was a pleasure to watch him hit those 8 years in Fenway. Too bad it ended the way it ended though it's kind of sad.
     
  10. FaninPatsyLand

    FaninPatsyLand The Truth

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    Lets talk about the rotation -- is this simply a rough stretch or is there more to it? Through 8 games, they've generated exactly 1 quality start.

    Some stats to consider:

    32 walks, most in the AL. Just behind the Pirates for the worst in baseball.
    44 strikeouts, lower third of pitching staffs.
    19 home runs, worst in baseball. No other team is even close.

    We have a clear stud in Lester and then...

    Lackey has seen his strikeout rate plummet, his walk rate increase and his stuff isn't missing opposing bats with any consistency.
    Beckett has also seen his K and BB rates go the wrong way while losing some velocity on his fastball (94 to 92).
    Buchholz was lucky in 2010. Based on peripherals he was a 4.00 ERA pitcher. There's also some regression to the mean based on his FB/HR numbers having already given up 5 HRs through 2 starts (he gave up 9 all of last year).

    So, what do we make of it? Also, what role, if any, have Saltalamacchia and Young played in the sub-par performances to date?
     
  11. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Small sample sizes I'd say right now. Way too early to try and really and figure out the impact (either positive or negative) of Saltalamacchia and/or Young. I think Lackey is going to be a problem and I think Buchholz will be fine. I don't think he'll ever have a sub 3.00 ERA again but I don't think he's going to be this bad. We need to remember that the Sox have faced 2 top offenses in Texas and the Yankees so far and got hammered by each. We also need to remember that each pitcher so far has only had 2 starts (except for Beckett and Matsuzaka). I think we need to give them a few more starts. But I am worried. Ranuado had a good first start last night, maybe he can move up the system quickly, since I don't think there are going to be any good pitchers available on the trade market that will be worth giving up prospects for.

    On the plus side Jenks and Papelbon looked good so far.
     
  12. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Apparently Theo and Co. aren't concerned about Buchholz either as they just agreed with him to a 4 year extension worth around 30 million.
     
  13. Topdawg13

    Topdawg13 New Member

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    Indiana

    -Link-



     
  14. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Hard for me to believe that Young is the problem after he was successful in Oakland with less talent. However time will tell. With Salt I think his problems are much more on the offensive side of the ball.


    Beckett pitched great last nigh (Unless I am mistaken and he really pitched terrible and only had a good stat line) and that was really what we need to do. I think I was scared to death when Gonzalez got drilled on his fingers which could easily be a break. Hope he is ok.

    Tampa (1-8) v.s. Boston (2-7) One team has to win. Interesting to see if Carl Crawford can get anything going tonight vs former team. Was surprised to see him lead off last night going against one of the top LH in the league.
     
  15. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    No Beckett was fantastic last night (Sabathia had a good stat line but didn't pitch like it). It was like he pitched in the 2003 and 2007 playoffs good. If he pitches even 80% as well as he did last night he's going to have a big year. He had everything working for him and he was hitting 93-94 consistently on his 4 seamer and 2 seam and his curve had bite to it. And so far Papelbon has looked very good too so that's encouraging.

    Gonzalez says he's fine and he could move the pinky and ring fingers. There are no x-rays being planned but yes I was scared to death too when I saw him get hit.

    As for Crawford he hit the ball well/hard in 4 of his at bats but had nothing to show for it. I think he's about to get hot. Those hits are going to start to fall in. I was always surprised to see Crawford leading off against one of the best lefties in the game but he didn't look overmatched (although Sabathia was far from being on his game) like the few few games in Texas.

    The Sox need to take 2 out of 3 against Tampa Bay and start the march towards .500. Baby steps.
     
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  16. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    That game was hard to watch. Starting pitching isn't giving us a chance to win many games.
     
  17. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Yeah that was just an awful game. I left the TV for literally 5 minutes in the 2nd inning and come back and it's 7-0. Matsuzaka is awful, I'll be so glad when he's gone from this team. Well as long as the Sox win the next two games all will be forgotten. Hopefully the Rays got all the hits out of those bats tonight.
     
  18. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Well we have Lackey starting game 3 of the series so The Rays will at least take two :pity:
     
  19. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Well we just lost this series. Hopefully Lackey can have a quality start and we can rebound tho
     
  20. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Yeah this is starting to get painful to watch. Either the pitchers pitch great and the bats do nothing or the pitchers get bombed and the hitters can't score enough. I'm not giving up on the team because they have way too much talent but they need to start winning baseball games.

    I also think Lowrie needs to start everyday.
     
  21. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Lowrie has looked fantastic so I agree. Seriously tho WTF is Carl Crawford doing batting lead off v.s. LH ?!?!? Him getting picked off was pretty bad as well. Just for the record I love Crawford and what he brings he is just in a huge slump.


    I also thought David Ortiz hit a HR in the final at bat. When I heard it I thought it was gone.
     
  22. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Well in last night's game who should have been batting lead off instead? Pedroia? McDonald? There weren't a lot of options available especially with Price on the mound. Crawford will be fine, it's 11 games. Does anyone notice Gonzalez hasn't done much since the 1st series against Texas? Slumps happen. Unfortunately everyone but Pedroia is slumping at the same time.
     
  23. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    I think that Ellsbury should have been leading off however I realize he wasn't starting. Ellsbury could have been DH had Lowerie been at SS and Youk been at 3rd. Given the people who started tho it was either Crawford or Scutaro. I never said Crawford wouldn't be fine but has been struggling for far more than 11 games. You can ignore spring training if you want but he struggled there too. Gonzalez has not done as much but he gives good at bats. Crawford avg .152, obp .204, slg 174 while Gonzalez avg .268, obp .368, slg .506. Gonzalez hasn't been tearing it up but he is holding his own. I think Crawford will be fine but he has had some terrible at bats. At this point Crawford has more K's (8) than hits (7). I am truthfully much more worried about our pitching staff than our bats. Crawford and Gonzalez both bring a gold glove so they help in other areas too.
     
  24. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    In the least shocking news of the season so far the Red Sox announced they have reached a contract extension with Adrian Gonzalez for 7 years at $154 million.
     
  25. Roman529

    Roman529 Senior Member

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    Wow, that is alot of lettuce. I know A-Gone had a geat career in San Diego, but will he put up the same numbers in Boston? The same question has to be asked of Crawford. Sometimes you add a bunch of talent and you have too many Indian Chiefs and not enough squaws who do all the work. Theo and Epstein have to be on the hot seat if things don't get straightened out soon. I think the main problem has been pitching, but when hitting and pitching both disappear it could become a long year.
     
  26. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    A-Gon put those numbers up in a pitchers park and brings a gold glove. Hard for me to believe that he will be a bust.
     
  27. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    It's hard for me to believe that after 12 games anyone is a bust. Albert Pujols hasn't hit at all this year either, is he done? I mean come on, small sample sizes people. Let's let them play a few more games first.
     
  28. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Carl Crawford benched for today. Its coming vs a LH pitcher as well.
     
  29. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Felix Doubront sent down, Hideki Okajima up. It's the smart move as Doubront hasn't been real effective this year and hasn't really had a ST since he was injuried, he was probably rushed up to Boston due to Dennys Reyes sucking. Rich Hill is pitching lights out in Triple A but he pitched 2 innings yesterday so he wouldn't be available for today's game and he's not on the 40 man roster so a spot would have to be cleared for him to come up. Matt Albers is due to come off the DL Thursday so it will be interesting to see who gets sent down/shipped out. My guess would be Aceves because he has options and the Sox can give him a few starts in Triple A.

    Anyway today's game is big in my opinion as Matsuzaka needs to have a good game and it would be nice to win 3 in a row with the team heading out to the west coast next.

    Also it's interesting that Jed Lowrie is yet again playing SS today, he's one of the few that is actually hitting so I'm glad Francona is sticking with him. I said it numerous times that I think Lowrie should be the starting SS for this team. Hopefully he keeps it up.
     
  30. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    WINNING STREAK!!!!!

    And the "Legend of Jed Lowrie" continues to grow.
     
  31. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    I picked him up in Fantasy baseball and had him in my starting line-up. Jackpot!!!!!!!!


    What a ****ing game by Dice-K. He literally was half way out the door and he pitches a gem like that. Wow.


    Crawford hit his 2nd double yesterday and had good at bats. 5 at bats he was only 1 for 5 however 22 pitches in those at bats.
     
  32. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    The story of Dice-K's career. You never know what you're going to get with him. He can easily get bombed and last 2 innings as he could throw 120 pitches in 5 innings as he could spin 7 innings pretending he's playing wiffle ball in the backyard with his breaking pitches. I still don't like him and never will but it's nice to see him pitch well.

    Crawford has been in the league for 9 years and has been an All-Star facing both the Red Sox and Yankees pitching 18 to 19 times per season. He's going to hit and play well. He's just off to a slow start, it happens sometimes but to write him off or boo him because of a handful of games is just plain old silly. I'm sure there is an adjustment period moving from any team to a new team. I think him going out to the West coast will really help him relax and break out. Out of all the things to worry about, Crawford is one of my least worries.
     
  33. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Geez the umps were just as bad as Okajima was last night on the balk/non interference/Ellsbury out at 2nd plays. Seriously though, Okajima's days have to be numbers, I know it was only 1 appearance but he was hitting mid 80s with his fastball and wasn't fooling anyone. The Rich Hill Era needs to start soon.

    At least Lackey pitched well last night, unfortunately Brett Anderson owns the Sox and pitched better.
     
  34. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Dice K keep it up and you will win the Cy Young. Lol
     
  35. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Where the heck did this come from from Matsuzaka? That was a huge game especially with both Jenks and Papelbon unavailable. I figured the Sox most likely would split the series with both Oakland and the Angels but taking 3 already from LA is big, hopefully Lackey has a good game too and the Sox sweep the series. The team is slowly climbing towards that .500 mark.
     
  36. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    Lmao we couldn't pitch in the college baseball 2 weeks ago now we look like unhittable in MLB. Dice K with back to back performances of 8 ip and only 1 hit. Lackey joining him and picking up his game. Crawford hitting and A Gon too. This team is putting it together. Can't believe we swept the Angels. We have won 8 out of 9. Not bad for a team who couldn't do anything right to start the year.
     
  37. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    The difference for Matsuzaka has been his use of his change up and a splitter. His change up was always considered a plus pitch but he rarely used it for some reason. I'm just glad he's being more aggressive now too and stopping with the nibbling crap. Don't get me wrong who knows what we're going to get from him the rest of the season as he could easily get bombed next outing but it's nice to see he's comparable of this. Hopefully this gives him confidence to keep it up.

    As for Lackey, it's nice to see him string together 2 nice starts in a row. He said he was mad he was skipped over and that motivated him, so hopefully he keeps that chip on his shoulder.

    It was great seeing Crawford hit a homer yesterday, especially off of a LHP. The smile on his face said it all, and hopefully now he can just go back to playing baseball. Looks like Youkilis is starting to break out of it too.

    Yeah taking 8 out of 9 against good pitching teams like Oakland and LA is great, hopefully they can take 2 out of 3 against Baltimore. That would be an impressive road trip for sure.
     
  38. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Well not everything is great, Ryan Kalish hurt his left throwing shoulder a few days ago diving for a ball in the OF. He's going to try and rehab it but he may need season ending surgery. If he does need it, it not only hurts the Sox for this year, as he would have been the first OFer called up if there was an injury to one of the starters but next year too. With JD Drew out many have plugged him in as the RFer in 2012 but with losing a year of development I doubt the Sox would be comfortable giving him the job. Josh Reddick, who is killing the ball right now and taking walks, could become an important piece to the team now. Hopefully Kalish won't need the surgery though.
     
  39. Skeet84

    Skeet84 New Member

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    The Red Sox need to play Lowrie more. No way he should sit and maybe even play Scutaro at 2B and give Pedoria the DH spot. Lowrie has been killing the ball all year. He is hitting .431 and with his limited playing time he has the most runs on the team. Not to mention 3 HR's with 12 rbi
     
  40. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Scutaro becomes a bench player now. Pedroia is a better defender at 2B, if anything it might make more sense to DH Youkilis and stick Lowrie at 3B on days the Sox want to play Scutaro but want to keep everyone else in the line up. I wouldn't take Ortiz's bat out of the line up in favor of Scutaro unless the team is facing a tough LHP.
     

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