The Official 2011 Boston Red Sox Thread

"Nappy Roots wrote:

If they do its not going to have anything to do with Red Sox choking, Rays will have to earn it. Next 4 games are against the Saux, then they have the Yankees in 7 of their final 10 games. And then another decent in in the Jays the other 3....

Sounds stupid but I wonder if the Yankees "rest" people if the Sox and TB are w/in a game of each other in that last series.....or any of the 7 games left they have against each other...

I wonder who the Yankees would rather face in the ALCS, provided they get that far...

"BlameItOnTheHenne wrote:

Sorry, but there is always some choking involved when a team as good as Boston is (or supposed to be) blows a lead like their doing.

I don't disagree at all. I just feel that the team that wins doesn't get enough credit for winning. Instead it's more focused on the team that does poorly.

"finyank13 wrote:

Sounds stupid but I wonder if the Yankees "rest" people if the Sox and TB are w/in a game of each other in that last series.....or any of the 7 games left they have against each other...

I wonder who the Yankees would rather face in the ALCS, provided they get that far...

Not stupid at all. Once the Yankees clinch a playoff spot they're going to rest their players and they should but I don't think the Yankees or any team would purposely try to throw games or put out a weaker team on the field to simply keep another team out of the playoffs.

I bet the Yankees would rather face the Red Sox simply because their team right now is pretty beat up and their starting rotation is much weaker. That Yankee line up can do a lot of damage to the Lackeys and Bedards on the Sox. That line up (and any line up really) is going to have problems with Price, Shields, Hellickson, Nieman/Davis. It's always about the pitching come October.

They are not the Mets...

"Ray Finkle wrote:

I don't disagree at all. I just feel that the team that wins doesn't get enough credit for winning. Instead it's more focused on the team that does poorly.

Not stupid at all. Once the Yankees clinch a playoff spot they're going to rest their players and they should but I don't think the Yankees or any team would purposely try to throw games or put out a weaker team on the field to simply keep another team out of the playoffs.

I bet the Yankees would rather face the Red Sox simply because their team right now is pretty beat up and their starting rotation is much weaker. That Yankee line up can do a lot of damage to the Lackeys and Bedards on the Sox. That line up (and any line up really) is going to have problems with Price, Shields, Hellickson, Nieman/Davis. It's always about the pitching come October.

Jab number 2 BDH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ohhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

:couch:

"finyank13 wrote:

Jab number 2 BDH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ohhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

:couch:

Only in your mind.....:tongue2:

"finyank13 wrote:

Jab number 2 BDH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ohhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

:couch:

"BigDogsHunt wrote:

Only in your mind.....:tongue2:

Hey in the regular season give me the big boy bats. Come October I want the big boy arms.

Its shown true time and time again....

God Longoria is a Red Sox killer......

Pressure starts to mount against them if they lose tonight....3 games is manageable, 2 games is close...sounds weird but it isnt.....at least you have the edge with 3 games.....with 2 you are one game from the tie...

Red Sox manager Terry Francona says Kevin Youkilis (hip, hernia) is "nowhere near pulling the plug on the season or anything like that."

Youkilis is batting just .167/.302/.222 this month as he plays through pain, and will be out of the lineup on Friday. Had the Rays not caught fire and began pressuring the Red Sox for the American League wild card, they would have likely shut their star third baseman down for a spell in hopes of getting him healthy for the playoffs. Now, it's looking more and more like Youkilis won't be right for the postseason if the Red Sox can hold off the Rays and make it.

Is he doing more harm then good though? I mean he looks like a mere shell of himself....

"finyank13 wrote:

God Longoria is a Red Sox killer......

Pressure starts to mount against them if they lose tonight....3 games is manageable, 2 games is close...sounds weird but it isnt.....at least you have the edge with 3 games.....with 2 you are one game from the tie...

At least the Sox are in the driver's seat, they control their own destiny. I do think tonight's game is big only in the sense that Saturday's pitching match up is a wash but Sunday's is almost an automatic W for Tampa. Plus it would ease everyone's minds if Beckett pitched well and the team won.

"finyank13 wrote:

Is he doing more harm then good though? I mean he looks like a mere shell of himself....

Youkilis looks hurt and yeah it is probably more harm than good right now. He came up in a key spot in the 3rd or 4th inning and just looked awful at the plate. I'd seriously consider putting Iglesias' at SS and sticking Scutaro at 3rd for the time being. Yes Iglesias has a weak bat but he's unreal in the field, which has been a big issue all year for the Sox at the SS position. Plus with the way the pitching staff is right now a little defense wouldn't be a bad idea.

Beckett showed the wannabe "Big Game" Pitcher who the real big game pitcher is.....GTFO....

"finyank13 wrote:

Beckett showed the wannabe "Big Game" Pitcher who the real big game pitcher is.....GTFO....

Shields is a very good pitcher no doubt but his "Big Game" nickname is a bit much, especially if you look at his post season numbers. I still don't get how he got that nickname, I guess because it rhymes.

But BIG win last night for the Sox. Beckett pitched pretty well not having pitched in 10 days and it was good to see old Bard return.

And I still don't understand how or why Cashman let Aceves go. The guy isn't a superstar by any means but he's been a pretty important piece of this Sox team this year. Remains me of the job Julian Taveraz did for us back in 2007 between starting, long man, set up guy etc.

Lester needs to pitch a good game today and Niemann has owned the Sox all year so maybe he's due to get hit hard today.

No clue bro, no clue, I was shocked when they released him in the first place, and then just mad just the Red Sox got him......one of Cashman's big bludders...

How do you let a guy go who was 14-1 with a 3.21 ERA for you in 3 seasons IN THE AL EAST...I mean I know wins, and ERA are not the end all be all of pitching stats, but just on that alone is the reason you keep him to me....baffling....

Red Sox manager Terry Francona has revealed that Adrian Gonzalez has only been taking batting practice every other day "for about a month and a half" due to weakness in his surgically-repaired right shoulder.

FOX Sports reported Saturday that A-Gone did not take BP Saturday due to the issue, but evidently that's been the routine for the first baseman for a while now. "Gonzi has been taking BP every other day on the field for about a month and a half," Francona said. "When Fox comes in and announces that, they could have announced it in July, and then I have to answer it. That's not any big surprise. He's backed off for a long time." Though he's struggled a bit over the last week, the shoulder doesn't appear to really be affecting Gonzalez's production at the plate. The bigger worry is that it seems this may be a long-term issue. When asked about his condition, A-Gone responded, "Fine. It's the end of the year."

...

Terrible game yesterday, one of the worst I've ever been too. The team just looked flat, there was no emotion on the field or in the stands, it was like everyone saw the pitching match up and said screw it. They really backed themselves into a corner but they have the perfect opponent to beat in Baltimore. If they can't beat that team they don't deserve to get in.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Terrible game yesterday, one of the worst I've ever been too. The team just looked flat, there was no emotion on the field or in the stands, it was like everyone saw the pitching match up and said screw it. They really backed themselves into a corner but they have the perfect opponent to beat in Baltimore. If they can't beat that team they don't deserve to get in.

^ I will say, the F'ing line drive that "knocked" Price from qualifying for the WIN killed me in my Fantasy League.

Now I am playing for 3rd place, instead of the Championship. Curses and a Pox on your houses.:tongue2:

Baseball Gods or just a bunch of stupid umps hurt the Sox last inning. Ortiz clearly hit that ball fair but it was ruled foul. But that's the way things have been going since September with this team. The pitching has just been beyond awful.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Terrible game yesterday, one of the worst I've ever been too. The team just looked flat, there was no emotion on the field or in the stands, it was like everyone saw the pitching match up and said screw it. They really backed themselves into a corner but they have the perfect opponent to beat in Baltimore. If they can't beat that team they don't deserve to get in.

0-1 this go round so far...ouch!

"BigDogsHunt wrote:

0-1 this go round so far...ouch!

Kyle Weiland and Darnell McDonald being big factors in big games in September tells you all you need to know about this team right now.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Shields is a very good pitcher no doubt but his "Big Game" nickname is a bit much, especially if you look at his post season numbers. I still don't get how he got that nickname, I guess because it rhymes.

They made t-shirts that said it too. smh

"finyank13 wrote:

Beckett showed the wannabe "Big Game" Pitcher who the real big game pitcher is.....GTFO....

Wow. Get Beckett and the red sox dick out of your mouth. :rolleyes: aren't you a Yankees fan?

Shields got that nickname during and after the 2008 season in which we won the division and went to the world series, maybe you remember that year? When Shields in the middle of a very tight division race went 2-0 with a 2.97 ERA in September and posting 2.88 ERA in the playoffs and world series, including 5 shutout innings in the lone world series start.

BTW, the same "real big game pitcher" went 9.1 innings giving up 10 earned runs to the rays while shields pitched 13 innings giving up 5 earned runs. But your right Fridays game was much more important then those games.

Look everyone knows Beckeyt is a big time pitcher but lets not deminish the fact that shields was the #1 starter on a very young team that went from last to the world series the next season, led by James going deep into a lot of games and pitching well when it mattered.

Also if you want to go by post season numbers, he hasnt been the best pitcher out there, and he may not have had the success while younger like Beckett, but if you want to compare post season stats since 2008 Big Game James comes out on top of the "real big game pitcher"

Atlanta and Boston are in very similar situations right now. Atlanta is going up against a team they should be able to take two from but it's a mystery whether they actually will. They just can't avoid costly September injuries. Stopped them from making it to the NLCS last season at a minimum and it's jeopardizing their postseason lives again this year.

The O's are pretty terrible but I read in the Baltimore Sun today that they've won four straight against postseason contenders. Bad teams really get pumped up for spoiling the party for their rivals.

"Nappy Roots wrote:

Wow. Get Beckett and the red sox dick out of your mouth. :rolleyes: aren't you a Yankees fan?

Shields got that nickname during and after the 2008 season in which we won the division and went to the world series, maybe you remember that year? When Shields in the middle of a very tight division race went 2-0 with a 2.97 ERA in September and posting 2.88 ERA in the playoffs and world series, including 5 shutout innings in the lone world series start.

BTW, the same "real big game pitcher" went 9.1 innings giving up 10 earned runs to the rays while shields pitched 13 innings giving up 5 earned runs. But your right Fridays game was much more important then those games.

Look everyone knows Beckeyt is a big time pitcher but lets not deminish the fact that shields was the #1 starter on a very young team that went from last to the world series the next season, led by James going deep into a lot of games and pitching well when it mattered.

Also if you want to go by post season numbers, he hasnt been the best pitcher out there, and he may not have had the success while younger like Beckett, but if you want to compare post season stats since 2008 Big Game James comes out on top of the "real big game pitcher"

Why stop at '08? Shields will never be a better big game pitcher. Beckett was inhuman during his 2 WS runs.

"BlameItOnTheHenne wrote:

Why stop at '08? Shields will never be a better big game pitcher. Beckett was inhuman during his 2 WS runs.

I didn't stop in 08. People were debating and making fun of a nickname, a name he was given and deserved for in 2008. But incase you were un aware of, Shields has been with the rays his whole career. A team that has finished dead last in its division 9 out of 14 years of its existence and only competed for a playoff spot 3 times in its history; 08 in which I showed he was very good and pitched very BIG for us; last year in which he was not himself and had a terrible season all around and this year in which if you really want to bring up James is 6-2 with a 2.22 ERA in august in September(you know, when the big games are. At least regular season ones).

Its kind of ridiculous really, you hear the nickname big game and its almost like you hear "Best big game pitcher in baseball" James Shields. Hate to burst your bubble but no one is claiming that.

Also, there's no doubt in anyone's minds that Beckett was the best big game pircher in the two world series runs time span, but guess what that was in 2007. ARod was the best home run hitter in baseball in 07 and he certainly is not now. Becket hasn't been the best big game pitcher in baseball since 07, In fact hes been overall not good in big games since. That's a span of 4 years, lets not act like that was just yesterday.

"Ray Finkle wrote:

Terrible game yesterday, one of the worst I've ever been too. The team just looked flat, there was no emotion on the field or in the stands, it was like everyone saw the pitching match up and said screw it. They really backed themselves into a corner but they have the perfect opponent to beat in Baltimore. If they can't beat that team they don't deserve to get in.

that and I love that ALL of Red Sox Nation are Yankees fans right now .....