Tonight: MFY@ Rays for 3. Who you rooting for?

[Hank Scorpio]

I prefer Yankees 2, Rays 1.

While a Yankees sweep would help us more in the standings, I don’t want them to get any kind of momentum.

 

[YTF]

It's like some of you can't remember all the way back to Saturday when Tampa had a share of the AL East lead.

 

[NYCSox]

Tonight was not good. And Spin Doctor tomorrow against Wacha who is awful. Then they have Miami, Baltimore and an overrated Seattle team that regularly bends the knee to them.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Tonight was not good. And Spin Doctor tomorrow against Wacha who is awful. Then they have Miami, Baltimore and an overrated Seattle team that regularly bends the knee to them.

Yep ... but don't try to convince folks that a couple of July losses by the Rays aren't more important

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

Tonight was not good. And Spin Doctor tomorrow against Wacha who is awful. Then they have Miami, Baltimore and an overrated Seattle team that regularly bends the knee to them.

16 games left vs the last place Orioles, Twins and Rangers.

 

[NYCSox]

Mariners, A's, Halos and Tribe all lose or are certain to lose. Couldn't have been any better for them tonight.

 

[BroodsSexton]

Three pages and no one has answered “Injuries”?

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

So by tjevlo

Three pages and no one has answered “Injuries”?

Pretty sure that has been suggested

 

[Archer1979]

Yep ... but don't try to convince folks that a couple of July losses by the Rays aren't more important

But here's the thing...

Rationally, I understand that if I root for the Yankees, that it will neither contribute to or take away from their success as any actions or behavior of mine at home will have absolutely no influence whatsoever on a ball-field miles away in either the player's performance or good fortune.

Deeper down, like Remo said in Casino... why take a chance?

Was I rooting for the Yankees to win last night? No. I didn't want to have to take a shower before going to bed.
Am I upset that they beat the Rays? No. Sox are up 2 in the loss column.

Will I root for them to sweep? No. I'll end up with an eating disorder.
Will I be upset if they sweep? No. It will ensure that the Sox have at least have the lead in the AL East going into the series at TB.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

I know that the Rays winning makes the Sox taking the division more difficult, but I just can't abide the Yankees having any hope of making the postseason. Have the Rays go 3-0 on the Yanks, then the Sox go 3-0 on the Rays.

This. Yes. Just take care of business. Sox win. Yankees lose. Everything else will work out.

 

[YTF]

This. Yes. Just take care of business. Sox win. Yankees lose. Everything else will work out.

And this makes you feel good if the Sox lose the next 3 to Toronto? You don't want the largest possible possible lead vs TB heading into their series?

 

[JoePoulson]

And this makes you feel good if the Sox lose the next 3 to Toronto? You don't want the largest possible possible lead vs TB heading into their series?

The Sox losing their next isn't taking care of business. Of course having the biggest possible lead is ideal, but if the Sox lose / don't care of business first and foremost, nothing else matters anyway.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

The Sox losing their next isn't taking care of business. Of course having the biggest possible lead is ideal, but if the Sox lose / don't care of business first and foremost, nothing else matters anyway.

Well, having a bigger margin for error makes it a lot easier to ‘take care of business’?

They’re not going to win all of their remaining games or even all of their remaining series, so every net game they can gain in the standings now is critical.

 

[YTF]

The Sox losing their next isn't taking care of business. Of course having the biggest possible lead is ideal, but if the Sox lose / don't care of business first and foremost, nothing else matters anyway.

To date no one in the AL has "taken care of business" better than the Sox yet they hold just a 2 game lead in the division. IMO anyone who sees where NY sits in the standings and is hoping for Tampa to take care of their business against the MFY is some kinda' fucked up.

 

[NYCSox]

To date no one in the AL has "taken care of business" better than the Sox yet they hold just a 2 game lead in the division. IMO anyone who sees where NY sits in the standings and is hoping for Tampa to take care of their business against the MFY is some kinda' fucked up.

The MFYs are going to clean up after this series. See above - Marlins, O's and Mariners (overrated smoke and mirrors team). They are going to make up a ton of ground so it would be helpful if they lost a couple now.

 

[JoePoulson]

To date no one in the AL has "taken care of business" better than the Sox yet they hold just a 2 game lead in the division. IMO anyone who sees where NY sits in the standings and is hoping for Tampa to take care of their business against the MFY is some kinda' fucked up.

Oh I'm rooting 100% for the Yankees to sweep and last night was an excellent start. Give the Sox all the breathing room they can get while they continue to win.

 

[Beale13]

Isn't the choice here between whether you'd rather the Sox get a WC spot and have the Yankees miss the playoffs, or the Sox win the division but the Yankees get a WC spot? And as much as we all hate the Yankees, wouldn't most of us prefer the latter?

 

[YTF]

The MFYs are going to clean up after this series. See above - Marlins, O's and Mariners (overrated smoke and mirrors team). They are going to make up a ton of ground so it would be helpful if they lost a couple now.

Look, i recognize that NY is not out of this and that while they are struggling to get their shit together they still have some good talent on this team. But it's not like the Sox don't have nearly half of their games left with the likes of Baltimore (9), Cleveland (6), Detroit, (3) Minnesota, (3) Seattle (3), Texas, (3) and Washington (3) who is just 2.5 games out of the cellar and shopping Scherzer and Turner. The MFY have a similar amount of games vs opponents similar stature as do the Rays, so if some of you feel better about the team that is 2 games behind the Sox winning the next 2 games vs the team that trails by 9 games then I don't know what to say.

 

[OurF'ingCity]

Yeah, it’s 100% understandable to root for the Rays because you just hate the Yankees and never want them to succeed under any circumstances.

But it’s not really understandable to root for the Rays because you think that helps the Sox’ chances this season - unless you think that, sitting here today, the Yankees have a better chance of winning the division than the Rays do, which seems like an extreme stretch even factoring in remaining schedules.

 

[bankshot1]

I think the math and logic are simple. We (Sox fans) want to win the division and avoid the WC play-in 50/50 bullshit.

If the Rays-MFY eventually duke it out as WC, that's the way it is, but in the interim, I want as big a lead as possible, gained in any manner possible, to get me to the goal., and accepting that's the preferable outcome, if it means rooting (wanting) for the MFY to provide the insurance, BFD, I'll pay the emotional premium. Its cheap.

As for '78, I could have used '67, or '48 or '49 to use as examples for tight Sox seasons that came down to the last regular season game of the year, but '78 seemed the most likely to resonate and be understood by posters.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

Yeah, it’s 100% understandable to root for the Rays because you just hate the Yankees and never want them to succeed under any circumstances.

But it’s not really understandable to root for the Rays because you think that helps the Sox’ chances this season - unless you think that, sitting here today, the Yankees have a better chance of winning the division than the Rays do, which seems like an extreme stretch even factoring in remaining schedules.

If the unis were flipped, I’m not sure folks would be more fearful of some late season charge from the team with essentially a .500 Pythag. The Rays are a better team, and they’re much closer to the Sox in the standings.

 

[BroodsSexton]

Root for the Yankees. Justify it by the fact that it gets their fans more excited, just to be crushed again. Curse of the Fruitbat and everything. You want them engaged—not tuning out.

 

[54thMA]

My dad keeps talking about 1978 too. Seems to have left a permanent scar on the older gen of Sox fans.

'78 was excrutiating and cruel self-inflicted torture.

Many of us, like a moth to the flame, were consumed, and chose to watch the best team in baseball, and they were, implode, then re-engage and fight back, only to lose in a one-game win or go home game. The elation of watching Luis pitch us back into a 1-game play-off and scoreboard watch/listen to Rick Waits shutting down the MFY was soon erased by a blinded by the light Lou Pinella's game saving wild guess, of what might have been a pennant winning Remy inside the parker..

I find it fascinating that as we evolve as a fandom, the pain long associated with said fandom, can't be really passed down, but has to be felt. I heard bout Pesky as a kid, but really didn't understand until Aparicio tripped at 3rd.

I'm not sure I need to feel it again.

Win the division

THIS.

Unless you lived through it, you cannot imagine the feeling watching that team steamroll along, build a huge lead against those assholes who had just won a WS the year before, then blow it, fight back to tie it, only to lose a nut punch playoff game.

And fucking Pinella to this day still has not clue where that ball was, arguably THE luckiest play in MLB history.

My preference would be to bury them once and for all, then deal with that scrappy pack of pains in the ass in Tampa; my Yankee hate is only matched by my Rays hate.

Fuck both of those teams.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Will I be upset if they sweep? No. It will ensure that the Sox have at least have the lead in the AL East going into the series at TB.

See, there you go. What's the harm of giving the Yankees momentum, as long as it gives the Red Sox a temporary advantage? What's the worst that could happen?

 

[bluefenderstrat]

See, there you go. What's the harm of giving the Yankees momentum, as long as it gives the Red Sox a temporary advantage? What's the worst that could happen?

Go stick some needles in your Jeter voodoo doll or something.

 

[Archer1979]

Go stick some needles in your Jeter voodoo doll or something.

No. He needs to go outside, spit to the north, and spin himself in a circle three times... and this is the rational me talking.

 

[RobertS975]

Although a wild card team can go on a streak and win the WS, like the Nationals a couple of years ago, the real key to everything is clinching the division early enough to allow for some starters to rest up any injuries and to line up your post-season pitching optimally. This division will be between the Ray's and the Sox... it would be great to open up a 5+ game lead towards the end of the regular season.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

If you're rooting for the Yankees to win, you're rooting for a potential Yankees vs Sox WC game. I'll be looking back to this thread if that should ever happen.

Edit: To lose

 

[E5 Yaz]

If you're rooting for the Yankees to win, you're rooting for a potential Yankees vs Sox WC game. I'll be looking back to this thread if that should ever happen.

Pigs have flown, Hell has frozen over ... and you and I agree on something

 

[bankshot1]

If you're rooting for the Yankees to win, you're rooting for a potential Yankees vs Sox WC game. I'll be looking back to this thread if that should ever happen.

You can draw that conclusion, but only if you use some high-grade convoluted logic.

 

[E5 Yaz]

No. He needs to go outside, spit to the north, and spin himself in a circle three times... and this is the rational me talking.

I did that the morning of my wedding

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

MFY is a common acronym here. TFB? Not so much.

I don’t want either team to win. I‘d prefer that they both be damned to .500 hell, never good enough to win, or bad enough to tank and get good prospects. For the rest of my existence, plus 10 years, just to be safe.

But for TB, that’s mostly just because they’ve been a thorn in our side. A few douchebags on the field, but mostly it’s been their maddeningly effective front office. The MFY, on the other hand, have 27 titles and nearly a century of big brothering us, while TB is still looking for it’s first title. They’re not in the same hate category.

Now, we’ve corrected course this century. We’ve bested the Yankees. It’s been great. Cathartic. Just. But I still want more, and I want them to have nothing. (And no, the scars of ‘78 will never go away, they’re just a little less noticed.)

 

[Bowhemian]

MFY is a common acronym here. TFB? Not so much.

I don’t want either team to win. I‘d prefer that they both be damned to .500 hell, never good enough to win, or bad enough to tank and get good prospects. For the rest of my existence, plus 10 years, just to be safe.

But for TB, that’s mostly just because they’ve been a thorn in our side. A few douchebags on the field, but mostly it’s been their maddeningly effective front office. The MFY, on the other hand, have 27 titles and nearly a century of big brothering us, while TB is still looking for it’s first title. They’re not in the same hate category.

Now, we’ve corrected course this century. We’ve bested the Yankees. It’s been great. Cathartic. Just. But I still want more, and I want them to have nothing. (And no, the scars of ‘78 will never go away, they’re just a little less noticed.)

Why are you dragging Tom Brady into this?

 

[JM3]

I can't root for the Yankees, but casually being indifferent that they beat the Rays will suffice.

I voted for climate change because my ex-wife still lives in St. Pete, though.

 

[NYCSox]

So now that the sweep is a done deal here is what's next for the MFYs - Z. Thompson, TBD, Holloway (Marlins) followed by Lopez, Wells, Harvey (Orioles). What was 51-47 after Sunday's meltdown will be something like 60-48. Let's see how many are added to the Sox 40 in the loss column between now and next Thursday. Hint it will be a few more than 40.

Kill the MFYs off so they don't acquire Gallo and maybe Story for pu pu platters of good but not great prospects. But no we have to worry about a team that can't hit for shit because ... reasons.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

So now that the sweep is a done deal...

There's one more game in the series.

(Edit: I guess the take is that Cole's a lock today)

 

[NYCSox]

There's one more game in the series.

(Edit: I guess the take is that Cole's a lock today)

Yup. Though after posting it looks like Marlins may shift a bit and have Rogers and Alcantara for games 2 and 3. Maybe they can barely avoid the sweep in that case.

 

[The Raccoon]

And Cole has just given up 4 ER in the 1st inning while the MFY are scoreless through 3 innings against Patiño.
It's baseball, there are no locks.

 

[donutogre]

And Cole has just given up 4 ER in the 1st inning while the MFY are scoreless through 3 innings against Patiño.
It's baseball, there are no locks.

I too was wondering about all the "sweep" talk.

 

[brandonchristensen]

Win 2, get confident, lose 1 with your ace

that‘a about as ideal as it gets.

 

[NYCSox]

And Cole has just given up 4 ER in the 1st inning while the MFY are scoreless through 3 innings against Patiño.
It's baseball, there are no locks.

Sure but the damage has been done .Rays win the first two maybe no Gallo or anything else. Now all bets are off.

 

[brandonchristensen]

6 ER For Cole with room for more.

 

[brandonchristensen]

10-0
7ER for Cole.

 

[Max Power]

6 ER For Cole with room for more.

And there was.

 

[Bergs]

Win 2, get confident, lose 1 with your ace

that‘a about as ideal as it gets.

Right?

 

[E5 Yaz]

Right?

Two losses shy of ideal

 

[Bergs]

Two losses shy of ideal

Lol. I got to root against the MFY 2 games in a row, yet be OK they won because TB losing is good for us. Then the MFY get curbstomped today. That seems pretty ideal to me.

 

[Archer1979]

Lol. I got to root against the MFY 2 games in a row, yet be OK they won because TB losing is good for us. Then the MFY get curbstomped today. That seems pretty ideal to me.

You're going to be pissed when they come up with 15 in the top of the 7th.

 

[RobertS975]

How about the pitching line for Abreau... 0.0 IP, 4H, 2 BB, 6ER!

 

[bankshot1]

Hopefully the Sox can pluck the Blue Jays tonight

But that outcome aside (I understand a lot of rain is in the offing in 617-land) if the MFY-Rays score holds

we have picked up 1.0 game on the Rays with no loss of lead over the MFY.

That's a good outcome