767 replies to this topic

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Hey Carl. If you tie it up here I'll take back every negative thing I've ever said about you. All two of them.

[MoGator71]

Nice RH bat off the bench. Jesus fuck me.

Varitek would be a better option. Seriously.

[aksoxfan]

I don't agree that D-Mac was a better option than Reddick.

[ivanvamp]

What really worries me is they can't seem to beat ANYONE now.

I'm worried too, but keep a couple of things in mind...

1. The Sox are still closer to the Yankees (and closer to the best record in the AL) than the Rays are to the Red Sox.

2. Let's assume, for the sake of discussion, that the Sox lose tonight. They'd be up 4.5 with 17 to play for Boston and 18 to play for Tampa. That would mean that...

- if the Sox go 9-8, the Rays would have to go 14-4 to catch them. Both are possible, but that's a great run for Tampa.
- if the Sox go 10-7, the Rays would have to go 15-3 to catch them. That ain't happening.
- if the Sox go 11-6, the Rays would need to 16-2 to catch them. No way.
- and if the Sox just go 7-10, the Rays would have to go 12-6 to catch them. That's very possible, but still, not too likely.

All the Sox have to do, presuming they lose tonight, is take 2 of the next 4 from Tampa to, I believe, salt this thing away.

[judyb]

Padres blew a huge lead last season, Sox are on the verge of doing so, too. It's the Adrian Gonzalez curse.

Not that I'm not worried, but through the same number of games last year, the Giants were only a half game behind the Padres.

[Sprowl]

I think the larger problem is that there is no cut-off play given the arrangement of the players, no?

Pedroia chased the ball. Scut covered the bag. Weiland's backing up third.

The whole thing is sorta a clusterfrick. Maybe Reddick threw to 3rd because there was no cutoff man, but if Pedey's in short right... I'm actually trying to figure out what should have happened.

It's up to Scutaro to judge the situation, but I think part of that judgment is that the cutoff man is the first job, and covering second is the last job. First things first, and all that...

I just don't want Reddick to catch flak when he made a very good throw in both line and trajectory.

Also, where does the pitcher go in all this mess? To back up 3B?

[greek_gawd_of_walks]

Nice RH bat off the bench. Jesus fuck me.

Lavarnway would have been a better choice.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Varitek would be a better option. Seriously.

Eh, Darnell has an .820 OPS since the ASB and an .899 in the last 7 days. I'm OK with him as the RHH off the bench.

[InsideTheParker]

Is Francona obviously right to remove Reddick every time a LHP shows up? Is he that much worse against them than Crawfid, for example?

[patinorange]

Nice RH bat off the bench. Jesus fuck me.

If your going to pinch hit for the lefty, pinch hit for Crawford for Christ sake.

[Jack Rabbit Slim]

His ERA in August was 1.23 and his opponent's OBP was 267. He's pitching better than his numbers indicate.

Don't bother me with stats when I'm trying to be optimistic

[P'tucket, rhymes with...]

Ball four.

[AimingForYoko]

Fuck pretending. I hate you.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Hey Carl. If you tie it up here I'll take back every negative thing I've ever said about you. All two of them.

Guess the ration stands at 198 positive to 2 negative.

[aksoxfan]

Sigh....

[ShaneTrot]

Rays fans miss Crawford, Red Sox fans have not seen him.

[Rudy Pemberton]

- if the Sox go 9-8, the Rays would have to go 14-4 to catch them. Both are possible, but that's a great run for Tampa.

Sox go 9-8, they'll make the playoffs.

But, what if they go 6-11, or 5-12? Then the Rays (or Angels, or Rangers) need to go 12-6 to catch them.

Not likely...but again, any game started by a pitcher not named Lester, Beckett, or Bedard is going to be ugly.

[derekson]

Is Francona obviously right to remove Reddick every time a LHP shows up? Is he that much worse against them than Crawfid, for example?

No. But no team is going to admit spending $142M on a platoon player, so Crawford gets to take his hacks.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Why did they pinch-hit for the better hitter?

[MoGator71]

Eh, Darnell has an .820 OPS since the ASB and an .899 in the last 7 days. I'm OK with him as the RHH off the bench.

He has been better. But you could also hit Tek for Crawford, who's putrid vs. lefties. Like, Trot-level putrid.

[InsideTheParker]

Jorge Posada is catching in Anaheim!

[Rudy Pemberton]

Good luck to Crawford and Lackey if the Sox somehow miss the playoffs.

[scotian1]

I'm trying but it sure is hard to like Carl Crawford.

[Hee-Seop's Fable]

Eh, Darnell has an .820 OPS since the ASB and an .899 in the last 7 days. I'm OK with him as the RHH off the bench.

I agree, but I'd like to see Lavarway get some opportunities to see what he can do. Now's the time to find out.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Sox go 9-8, they'll make the playoffs.

But, what if they go 6-11, or 5-12? Then the Rays (or Angels, or Rangers) need to go 12-6 to catch them.

Not likely...but again, any game started by a pitcher not named Lester, Beckett, or Bedard is going to be ugly.

If the Sox go 6-11 they'll have finished the season on a 9-19 run... by far their worst of the season. Granted 2-10 is worse percentage wise, but 9-19 is such an extended run of bad play it would have to qualify as the worst run of the year.

I just can't see that happening. They're too talented, even with the rotation being Lester and the island of misfit toys.

[BucketOBalls]

He has been better. But you could also hit Tek for Crawford, who's putrid vs. lefties. Like, Trot-level putrid.

We probably won't see Crawford pinch hit for often till at least next year. Got to get him going and all that. although after you yank the starter 3 or 4 hundread times, you should probably realize something is wrong.

[reggiecleveland]

Nice at bat Jed

[strek1]

Sox go 9-8, they'll make the playoffs.

But, what if they go 6-11, or 5-12? Then the Rays (or Angels, or Rangers) need to go 12-6 to catch them.

Not likely...but again, any game started by a pitcher not named Lester, Beckett, or Bedard is going to be ugly.

The way this team is going I'll be thrilled if they can manage 9-8 to finish up, but.....

[ShaneTrot]

Good luck to Crawford and Lackey if the Sox somehow miss the playoffs.

They should be crucified. Career.average seasons from both equals division lead+.

[BoSoxFink]

I hate Lowrie

[Fragile Freddie]

I'm trying but it sure is hard to like Carl Crawford.

I'm finding it hard not to wish him dead.

[absintheofmalaise]

It's up to Scutaro to judge the situation, but I think part of that judgment is that the cutoff man is the first job, and covering second is the last job. First things first, and all that...

I just don't want Reddick to catch flak when he made a very good throw in both line and trajectory.

Also, where does the pitcher go in all this mess? To back up 3B?

I beg to differ. The only place that throw should have gone was to 2B. Reddick made a bad decision to throw to 3B. There was zero chance of getting him there. Scutaro moved over to the line that the ball was thrown on to try and cut it off, but Reddick threw it to high to do that. He was where he was supposed to be. There was zero need for a cutoff man. Reddick was shallow enough to get the throw to second easily.

[reggiecleveland]

This is like a late season 2006, piece of shit starting every fucking game.

[hrbrendan]

If the Sox go 6-11 they'll have finished the season on a 9-19 run... by far their worst of the season. Granted 2-10 is worse percentage wise, but 9-19 is such an extended run of bad play it would have to qualify as the worst run of the year.

I just can't see that happening. They're too talented, even with the rotation being Lester and the island of misfit toys.

If they go 6-11 they'll have finished the season on a 6-11 run. The rest has already happened, proving that they are quite capable of pulling it off the way they are playing.

[Rudy Pemberton]

If the Sox go 6-11 they'll have finished the season on a 9-19 run... by far their worst of the season. Granted 2-10 is worse percentage wise, but 9-19 is such an extended run of bad play it would have to qualify as the worst run of the year.

I just can't see that happening. They're too talented, even with the rotation being Lester and the island of misfit toys.

I dunno, lets say Beckett and Bedard each miss 1 more start. Is it inconceivable that Lackey, Wakefield, Miller, and Weiland continue to each get rocked? I mean, these guys are among the worst starters in the league, aren't they?

[ivanvamp]

Sox go 9-8, they'll make the playoffs.

But, what if they go 6-11, or 5-12? Then the Rays (or Angels, or Rangers) need to go 12-6 to catch them.

Yes, I think I mentioned that.

Not likely...but again, any game started by a pitcher not named Lester, Beckett, or Bedard is going to be ugly.

Listen, I already said I'm worried, and there's good cause for concern here. But with just 17 games left, a *LOT* has to go wrong for the Sox to miss the playoffs. Doesn't mean it can't go wrong, but not only do the Sox have to continue to play horrific baseball (if they went 7-10 over their last 17, it would mean they would be on a 10-18 stretch to end the year. I think, even with the injuries, this team is too good to basically have a month like that.
And even if they do that, another team has to play .667 ball from here on out, which is possible given the smallish number of games, but still, that's a really good stretch for anybody.

All they have to do is take a couple from Tampa and essentially play .500 ball the rest of the season and they're in. Dear God, just get into the playoffs!

[reggiecleveland]

What fucking tailspin.

[greek_gawd_of_walks]

LH Lowrie has an OPS of 570. What's the point of trying to do something you can't do.

I'd give up the "switch hitting" ghost.

[bosockboy]

The Rays just continually get mileage out of washouts like Cruz, Peralta, Farnsworth, Pena, Kotchman...the list is endless.

Theory....Friedman targets players with legit talent but can only thrive in low pressure environments like the Flying Saucer.

[Rudy Pemberton]

Just a long outing for Aceves, or stretching him out to start?

[kartvelo]

Just a long outing for Aceves, or stretching him out to start?

Papelbon has a migraine, Bard has dead arm, and the rest of the pen sucks.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

If they go 6-11 they'll have finished the season on a 6-11 run. The rest has already happened, proving that they are quite capable of pulling it off the way they are playing.

What they haven't done, however, is play that poorly for that long at any point in the season... which was my point. You don't simply lop off the previous 11 games as if they didn't happen when talking about the likelihood of them continuing to play this poorly. Previous play counts and has to be taken into account when predicting future performance. And I just can't see them extending this poor run that long. It would be the worst run of the season, by far.

[Rudy Pemberton]

I don't think it's really important that this would "be the worst run of the season by far". In no other part of the season were they regularly starting pitchers as awful as the ones who are in the rotation now.

[kartvelo]

What they haven't done, however, is play that poorly for that long at any point in the season... which was my point. You don't simply lop off the previous 11 games as if they didn't happen when talking about the likelihood of them continuing to play this poorly. Previous play counts and has to be taken into account when predicting future performance. And I just can't see them extending this poor run that long. It would be the worst run of the season, by far.

Well,... prior to their hottest streak this year, thay hadn't played that well before, either, and yet they did.

[Sprowl]

Alfredo's Looee imitation needs some work.

[reggiecleveland]

Kinds sad we don't have guy in the pen that could come in a get one RH hitter out here.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

I dunno, lets say Beckett and Bedard each miss 1 more start. Is it inconceivable that Lackey, Wakefield, Miller, and Weiland continue to each get rocked? I mean, these guys are among the worst starters in the league, aren't they?

It's not inconceivable, but I think the team losing that many games is certainly unlikely. The offense can win more than 6 games on their own.

[kartvelo]

Three outs to get two runs.

Edit: looking forward to the offense winning this game on their own....

Edited by kartvelo, 10 September 2011 - 09:12 PM.

[Sprowl]

Marco's Pedroier imitation came off very smoothly.

[scotian1]

Scutaro keeps slim hope alive. Great play!