1518 replies to this topic

[BellhornIsGod]

After the game tonight I took a dump. We were out of toilet paper and there was nothing in the bathroom so I had to waddle with my pants half up (or half down- I don't fucking know) down two flights of stairs. I tripped and smashed my knee of of the bottom stair. Then I looked around frantically and found nothing to wipe with. Literally no paper towels, kleenex..nothing (I live with 5 other dudes in their mid-20's). I had to take a somewhat used Subway napkin out of the trash and use that. Everything about this 10 minute span of time was terrible. This was my rock bottom.

But you see..the thing about rock bottom is that it is the lowest point. Just like I wiped my ass with that old Subway napkin and limped back upstairs to write this, the Red Sox will pick themselves up tomorrow and wipe their ass with Tommy Hunter. Beckett will go 7+ strong.

And we will go to New York with a small amount of momentum.

And we will make the playoffs.

And I will buy toilet paper tomorrow.

WIN

[jippaman]

Summer ends, Fall begins.
A new season for Red Sox wins.

Seven left, O's and Yanks.
To end the charge of those blue skanks.

It starts tonight, Beckett's cry.
It's not yet time to say goodbye.

Edited by jippaman, 20 September 2011 - 11:03 PM.

[greek_gawd_of_walks]

I'm shaving tomorrow. And picking up an addiction (I'm between mescaline and gambling; maybe both). Have to do something to shake things up.

Edited by greek_gawd_of_walks, 20 September 2011 - 11:25 PM.

[Blue Monkey]

Sometimes you shit your pants... sometimes you dont. But if you make it to the finish line before the rest who gives a fuck.... thats determination!

Edited by Blue Monkey, 20 September 2011 - 11:29 PM.

[kieckeredinthehead]

There are 7 days left in the season. The Red Sox magic number is 7. Every day that their magic number goes down by one is a good day. Tuesday was a good day. Wednesday will be better.

[paulb0t]

Losing is a disease... as contagious as bubonic plague. Attacking one, but infecting all.

You know who didn't buy that? Roy Hobbs, that's who. It's time to loosen the fuck up and hit the cover off the ball.

[mikeford]

[E5 Yaz]

You know who didn't buy that? Roy Hobbs, that's who. It's time to loosen the fuck up and hit the cover off the ball.

They changed the ending for the movie

[SoFloSoxFan]

I've been a fan of Josh Beckett since 1999 when he was drafted by the Marlins. The 2003 Marlins backed into the playoffs as a wildcard and won the championship. They climbed on Beckett's back. In the world series, game 6, on 3 days rest, he was on fumes, but he still gutted out a 5 hit complete game shutout against the yankees. They had no right to win the championship that year, but they did.

Back then JFB had days when he would throw 98, 99, even 100 mph (then leave the game with blisters). He's a better pitcher now than he ever was with the Marlins.

But I grew up in Acton, and I was born into a family of, and have always been first and foremost, a Red Sox fan.

Josh Fuckin' Beckett is sleeping well tonight. He knows what comes tomorrow. JFB is not worried.

The O's are in a world of shit.

[BucketOBalls]

Beckett is pitching. So it is actually possible that they win this game. Yeah!

[sachmoney]

Spongebob theme?

[Old Fart Tree]

Well, thought Belacqua, it's a quick death, God help us all.

It is not.

[shepard50]

We need to win and keep winning. Not to make the playoffs, but to sail into the playoffs.

New September, all previous sins forgiven, starting.......NOW.

[TheoShmeo]

I received the following e-mail late last night from one of my law partners, an ardent Yankee fan: "Keeping you alive--tough double header tomorrow."

Rooting for the MFYs and getting supportive (whether real or feigned) e-mails from Yankee fans...rock bottom indeed.

[ivanvamp]

Let's be clear: a 2-game lead with 7 to go is not "rock bottom". As sucky as things are - and they suck pretty bad - they are still in the driver's seat. Rock bottom is when they're out of the playoffs. They are not there yet. And hopefully we'll never hit rock bottom.

Win today, have Tampa split, and by midnight tonight they have a 2.5 game lead with 6 to go. I could live with that.

[LynnRice75]

Forget Rock Bottom.
I'm going with a non-Sponge Bob- Bikini Bottom theme for good luck,
Who's with me?
The juxtaposition of "end-of-the world posts" and tantalizing images will make for an awesome thread!
(I have to be at a banquet this evening and will have to read through the thread post game.)
Make it an enjoyable one for me.

[fenwaypaul]

It's not obvious to me that the Sox have reached rock bottom yet, but in the spirit of the game thread theme:

[ivanvamp]

Well this



is certainly better than this



On that, I think we can all agree.

[JFS7]

it's gotta get better 'cause it cant get much worse:

Alex Speier
The state of redsox pitching: Sox are 1-15 in Sept when scoring < 12 runs.

Starters averaging 4.2IP this month

[bosockboy]

Win tonight, coupled with at minimum a NYY/TB split today, I think should be enough.

[24JoshuaPoint]

Rock Bottom would be Lackey pitching tonight.

Bring the pain JFB!!

[Foulkey Reese]

Win tonight, coupled with at minimum a NYY/TB split today, I think should be enough.

Yep. As bad as things have been, it really isn't going to take much to take the WC.

[Worst Trade Evah]

Even a little dinged up, with replacement level pitchers, this is not the crappy 5-15 team we've been watching. They will turn this thing around and be a threat in the post-season. For a few months this team was an absolute monster. They may not be monsters anymore, but they're still pretty good.

Relax, they got this.

[LeoCarrillo]

"I am in a world of shit, yes. But I am alive. And I am not afraid." -- Pvt. Joker

Edited by LeoCarrillo, 21 September 2011 - 09:57 AM.

[rembrat]

Even a little dinged up, with replacement level pitchers, this is not the crappy 5-15 team we've been watching. They will turn this thing around and be a threat in the post-season. For a few months this team was an absolute monster. They may not be monsters anymore, but they're still pretty good.

Relax, they got this.

This.

Also once they clinch and their buttholes return to normal they'll play a lot better.

[ivanvamp]

Even a little dinged up, with replacement level pitchers, this is not the crappy 5-15 team we've been watching. They will turn this thing around and be a threat in the post-season. For a few months this team was an absolute monster. They may not be monsters anymore, but they're still pretty good.

Relax, they got this.

I agree - they're better than how they've played recently. But suppose the Sox lose a 3-2 game today and, incredibly, TB sweeps NY. The Sox would be up by just 1/2 a game and it's full-scale panic.

But if they win and even if TB splits today, it's 2 1/2 up with six games remaining. Not a bad place to be.

The problem is that the starting pitching after Beckett and Lester has been just so hideously awful, it's almost hard to fathom. Here's what the non-Beckett/Lester starters have done in September:

Lackey: 17.2 ip, 31 h, 21 er, 9 bb, 10 k, 10.70 era, 2.26 whip
Wakefield: 20.0 ip, 18 h, 11 er, 6 bb, 17 k, 4.95 era, 1.20 whip
A. Miller: 9.0 ip, 16 h, 13 er, 8 bb, 10 k, 13.00 era, 2.67 whip
Bedard: 8.2 ip, 10 h, 4 er, 6 bb, 6 k, 4.15 era, 1.85 whip
Weiland: 13.2 ip, 15 h, 12 er, 7 bb, 7 k, 7.90 era, 1.61 whip

TOTALS: 69.0 ip, 90 h, 61 er, 36 bb, 50 k, 7.96 era, 1.83 whip

I mean, that is a list of suck, super suck, and infinite suck. The *best* guy in the group has been Wakefield. And as we know he's been brutal. It's almost impossible to imagine them continuing to suck like this. After all, Lackey, Wakefield, and Bedard, at least, have pitched in the major leagues for a while and have been capable of having a good game at least every now and then. But these guys are sucking *EVERY TIME OUT*.

And to be fair, even Lester's last two times out have been bad: 11.0 ip, 13 h, 8 er, 7 bb, 7 k, 6.55 era, 1.82 whip. So let's not just say that as long as Beckett and Lester are pitching we'll be fine. We could really have used two good Lester performances. Had he done his job, the Sox could be up 5 games right now over Tampa.

So there's good reason for pessimism, but also good reason for optimism....surely this heaping pile of pitching suck cannot continue every game, can it?

No, it cannot. Sox win tonight.

[OnWisc]

Rock Bottom would be Lackey pitching tonight.

Rock bottom would be Beckett pitching like Lackey tonight.

[OnWisc]

But if they win and even if TB splits today, it's 2 1/2 up with six games remaining. Not a bad place to be.

Yup. As small as the margin for error is at this point, there's arguably even less that needs to go right.

[ivanvamp]

Yup. As small as the margin for error is at this point, there's arguably even less that needs to go right.

Other pieces of good news...

1. CC goes tonight for NY, against Hellickson. Hellickson is a really good pitcher, but that's a game NY should win. So they *should* get at least one of these two today, and if they win the first game (against Shields), then they're set up beautifully for a sweep.

2. The weekend pitching matchups against the Yanks aren't bad, all things considered.

Fri - Lester/Garcia - huge edge (in theory anyway) for the Sox
Sat - Wake/Burnett - Wake has been, as I demonstrated a few posts ago, our best non-Beckett/Lester starting pitcher. I mean, he's been really bad, but just not cosmically bad. AJ has the capability of shutting the Sox down, but he also has the capability of being cosmically bad. This is a wash.
Sun - Lackey/Nova - clear edge to NY here, but hey, you never know

Obviously if the Sox lose the Lester game, it sets up well for a NY sweep. But if the Sox get the one game they should win, I think they have a shot at least in game 2.

[cheekydave]

We got this....a bird just shi t on me in a park.100% lock.

Edited by cheekydave, 21 September 2011 - 10:28 AM.

[SoxinPA]

We got this....a bird just shi t on me in a park.100% lock.

wait a minute, I've heard this story before...and it's from an SOSH fave!!
http://sports.espn.g...=simmons/041012

[LeoCarrillo]

Other pieces of good news...

Obviously if the Sox lose the Lester game, it sets up well for a NY sweep. But if the Sox get the one game they should win, I think they have a shot at least in game 2.

With Detroit's loss last night, Yankees' magic number to clinch the shit out of everything (home field) is 5. Theoretically, that could happen before we even arrive in NYC.

So, for anyone fretting MFY resting starters in Tampa, there's a chance they do the same for all or part of the series vs. us. Less likely, but another wild-card wild card to cloud the crystal ball.

[rajendra82]

Other pieces of good news...

1. CC goes tonight for NY, against Hellickson. Hellickson is a really good pitcher, but that's a game NY should win. So they *should* get at least one of these two today, and if they win the first game (against Shields), then they're set up beautifully for a sweep.

2. The weekend pitching matchups against the Yanks aren't bad, all things considered.

Fri - Lester/Garcia - huge edge (in theory anyway) for the Sox
Sat - Wake/Burnett - Wake has been, as I demonstrated a few posts ago, our best non-Beckett/Lester starting pitcher. I mean, he's been really bad, but just not cosmically bad. AJ has the capability of shutting the Sox down, but he also has the capability of being cosmically bad. This is a wash.
Sun - Lackey/Nova - clear edge to NY here, but hey, you never know

Obviously if the Sox lose the Lester game, it sets up well for a NY sweep. But if the Sox get the one game they should win, I think they have a shot at least in game 2.

I though they were considering flipping Bedard and Lackey so Sun should be Bedard/Nova. A significant upgrade IMO. As bad as Bedard was last night, Lackey is the worst pitcher in the majors in that spot, bar none.

[mikepelfrey]

someoneanywhere wrote:
"Wrong. I am rooting for this team to take care of its own business: this week, this weekend, next week. Win, and you need no one. Not even those chumps. "

what a fool, doesnt he realize that if the yankees had laid down for the rays and go 0-7 against them even if the Sox lose one game to the yankees the Season could be over?

its nice to be confident but with Lackey on this team its foolish to kick a gift horse in the mouth

if Tampa had won last night, i shudder to think what would have happened

Edited by mikepelfrey, 21 September 2011 - 11:00 AM.

[mikepelfrey]

I though they were considering flipping Bedard and Lackey so Sun should be Bedard/Nova. A significant upgrade IMO. As bad as Bedard was last night, Lackey is the worst pitcher in the majors in that spot, bar none.

AGREED

Lackey in a big spot is the pitching equivalent of Chernobyl

[tims4wins]

Hughes scratched from the afternoon MFY game, Noesi to start in his place. Dammit.

[ObstructedView]

Nevermind

Edited by ObstructedView, 21 September 2011 - 12:59 PM.

[mikepelfrey]

It'll be interesting to watch how the mood changes in here if/when the Rays light up Noesi and the Yankees in Game 1 this afternoon to draw even in the loss column. What a slow-motion train wreck this has been.

Noesi has actually been pretty good, only thing is,hes not stretched out, and Hughes has had back spasms, so theyd light him up if he pitched, he'll likely start against the Sox now, and get bombed

[TheoShmeo]

Hughes scratched from the afternoon MFY game, Noesi to start in his place. Dammit.

Then again, Hughes blows.

As to the "I'm not rooting for the Yankees, just take care of business" mantra, I agree, that's the height of lunacy. The Sox are getting routinely beaten about the nose and face. 5-15. They need all the help they can get. From anyone or anything, even a force as despicable as the MFYs. Go NY, go. Rah.

And Ivankamp,

(1) whether Wake has been our second best pitcher or not, he's still awful, as you wrote...I don't get why his relative Sox suck matters...suck is suck; and

(2) Why does what happens in game one relate to game two? Really, it doesn't.

[DukeSox]

[rembrat]

Hughes stinks. Noesi is a better option at this point.

[Rasputin]

Lackey: 17.2 ip, 31 h, 21 er, 9 bb, 10 k, 10.70 era, 2.26 whip
Wakefield: 20.0 ip, 18 h, 11 er, 6 bb, 17 k, 4.95 era, 1.20 whip
A. Miller: 9.0 ip, 16 h, 13 er, 8 bb, 10 k, 13.00 era, 2.67 whip
Bedard: 8.2 ip, 10 h, 4 er, 6 bb, 6 k, 4.15 era, 1.85 whip
Weiland: 13.2 ip, 15 h, 12 er, 7 bb, 7 k, 7.90 era, 1.61 whip

TOTALS: 69.0 ip, 90 h, 61 er, 36 bb, 50 k, 7.96 era, 1.83 whip

Take this, combine it with one game lost 1-0 in extra innings on the road and three games blown by two of the most reliable relievers in the game and two games where a good team beat Lester and that's why we are where we are.

It's not even just the injury situation, it's the injury situation coupled with some other relatively random bad luck.

[Rasputin]

I suppose hoping Noesi outdoes Shields today would be greedy right?

[TheoShmeo]

I suppose hoping Noesi outdoes Shields today would be greedy right?

[YouDownWithOBP?]

Can someone explain to me why Lackey is scheduled to go Sunday or Monday, with Beckett Tuesday? Heres how I see it should be:

Wed 9/21- Beckett
Thu- Off Day
Fri 9/23- Lester
Sat 9/24- Wake
Sun 9/25- Bedard
Mon 9/26-Beckett- normal rest with the off day
Tues 9/27- Lackey- or one of Miller, Weiland, Aceves, etc
Wed 9/28- Lester (hopefully not needed)

By pitching Beckett on Tuesday it guarantees he wont be available until a possible Game 3. Cant they just skip Lackey altogether?

[Red Lunar Eclipse]

Hughes stinks. Noesi is a better option at this point.

Why is Granderson scratched?

[TheoShmeo]

Why is Granderson scratched?

Because the Yankees organization hates the Sox?

Ducking while expecting the inevitable replies:

- Yankees are confident that they're in so they've begun to rest guys;

- Yankees would logically rather face Boston than Tampa in the ALCS so quit being so paranoid; and

- They're playing two games today and this will allow Granderson to play tonight, especially if he's a little dinged up.

[mikepelfrey]

Then again, Hughes blows.

As to the "I'm not rooting for the Yankees, just take care of business" mantra, I agree, that's the height of lunacy. The Sox are getting routinely beaten about the nose and face. 5-15. They need all the help they can get. From anyone or anything, even a force as despicable as the MFYs. Go NY, go. Rah.

And Ivankamp,

(1) whether Wake has been our second best pitcher or not, he's still awful, as you wrote...I don't get why his relative Sox suck matters...suck is suck; and

(2) Why does what happens in game one relate to game two? Really, it doesn't.

agreed, let Beckett do his business and the Yankees win one of the 2 games today, that will put some of the heat back on tampa, because 2 games in the loss column makes it much harder on them to afford even one more loss

[Rasputin]

agreed, let Beckett do his business and the Yankees win one of the 2 games today, that will put some of the heat back on tampa, because 2 games in the loss column makes it much harder on them to afford even one more loss

Repeat after me until nobody ever has to say it again.

The loss column is no more important than the win column.

[went9]

It'll be interesting to watch how the mood changes in here if/when the Rays light up Noesi and the Yankees in Game 1 this afternoon to draw even in the loss column. What a slow-motion train wreck this has been.

fyi, a Rays win this afternoon does not draw them even in the loss column.

Playoff magic number is at 7 with 16 Sox and Rays win/loss outcomes remaining.



Let's go Beckett... clap, clap, clapclapclap.