2nd Half Schedule

[ORS]

The Sox have about a month and a half to patch up the leaks and get the ship righted after the break. If they play around .600 ball during this stretch, then they will have a shot at making the post-season. If not, I don't think they will make it.

 

From July 14-September 1, the Red Sox play 7 series against contenders for playoff spots (NYY, ANA, TEX, CWS twice, MIN twice). That's the bad news. The good news is that most of those series are laced between some series against weaker opponents (KC twice, DET twice, TB thrice). They really need to win each series against the teams they "should" beat.

 

The reason I stress this patch in the schedule is because after Sept 1, if they aren't sailing smoothly, they will hit some really rough water on the way in. September 2-October 2 is a bear. Two series against the O's, who they are 5-7 against this year, and who will be getting Eric Bedard back. Two series with Toronto, who they are 3-8 against this year. Two series with the Yankees, who they are 5-4 against this year. A series with the Angels. A series with the A's, who started off rough, but are getting some fabulous pitching now. And, luckily, a series with the Rays.

 

This team needs to take advantage of the the next month and a half, because I don't see them coming from behind in the month of September. I know anything can happen, but the cards don't look like they will be in our favor if they are chasing down the stretch.

[soxie thefangirl]

I agree with you. We need to hold onto to our current spot.

[JeterWifey213]

Also if the division stays the way it is, it might be decided the last days of the season. We play you guys the last days. I don't want it to come down to it, but knowing the dramatics these two team produce it probably will.

[soxie thefangirl]

I don't know. I don't think it'll come down to that.

[JeterWifey213]

I said might. It may not come down to that, but you never know.

[mosox]

Even with alot of home games in the second half, there are two big road trips. The ten game trip in late August to Det, LAA, and KC, the four games in Anaheim could hurt, and the KC series is one they'll need a sweep, anything less would be regrettable. Then a six game trip in September to NY and Toronto, Halladay will be back in the rotation by then.

The NY series at Fenway to end the season could be an all-out war with the winner taking the division and the loser missing out on the wild card.

[riverside sluggers]

why is everyone on here worrying about games in september and such? we are in 1st place, lets just ease through the all star break and take one game at a time

[yankthis]

Yeah. Only in Boston. The team is in first place halfway through the season and the "I wonder if the Red Sox will do OK this season" syndrome is ubiquitous.

 

Not to mention that most of the few teams who have better records than the Red Sox (in both leagues) are in very weak divisions (N.L.Central in particular), so their numbers are misleading.

 

The Sox may go all the way this season, or they may not. I don't see anything to be overly concerned about.

 

Let the New York sissy boys worry about it.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

The team needs to keep a sense of urgency....i hate this "we are in the lead and everyone acts like we are way behind" crap. Being in the lead this point of the season means absolutly nothing. Yes the teams in this division are better which means you need to stay on your toes. I'd rather have a team looking at what needs to be improved and look for a way to get hot then a team that sits at first and becomes relaxed if they form a big gap.

 

That being said....its perfect we are in the mix this point of the season since we usually play our worst baseball at this time.

[elsrbueno]

The team needs to keep a sense of urgency....i hate this "we are in the lead and everyone acts like we are way behind" crap. Being in the lead this point of the season means absolutly nothing. Yes the teams in this division are better which means you need to stay on your toes. I'd rather have a team looking at what needs to be improved and look for a way to get hot then a team that sits at first and becomes relaxed if they form a big gap.

 

That being said....its perfect we are in the mix this point of the season since we usually play our worst baseball at this time.

 

I agree with Schilling here. The second this team gets complacent (which it looks like they are with their "we're in first place" crap), they're in deep s***. What separates good teams from great teams is the ability to put the opponents away when you're ahead. Why couldn't the 2004 Yankees put us away? They didn't have that killer instinct. They just assumed they'd win. This 2005 Red Sox team just can't accept that they're 2 games up and expect to win.

 

They need to forget the first half, and play like they've got to win every game. If they take that s*****-ass complacent attitude into the Yankee series, we could be looking up at THEM in a week.

[NoPepper]

I agree with Schilling here. The second this team gets complacent (which it looks like they are with their "we're in first place" crap), they're in deep s***.

 

Having suffered through the 2ed half of 1978, I cannot agree with you more.

[riverside sluggers]

would everybody stop with this 1978 s*** and acting as if the season is over, f*** man theres still like 75 games left--taking one game at a time is a more healthy approach

[Are U Kidding Me]

Yeah WTF? The redsox are in first place so why is everyone all worried? The yankees starting rotation is in shambles. nuff said

[ARod2212]

It has been in shambles for a while now, and we're only 2.5 back. It's going to get back together soon, so yes there is reason to be concerned in Boston.

[riverside sluggers]

riiight, just reason enough for us to be concerned when in May yanks went on a 10 game winning streak, but faltered again

[ORS]

I didn't create this post with a Chicken Little "The sky is falling......." attitude. However, sustained mediocre spells, like the one we just witnessed, will put this team in a place that will make a playoff run a difficult uphill battle.

[elsrbueno]

Boys and Girls,

Why in the hell are you so confident?

 

The Boston Red Sox, considering that they haven't had ANY contributions from Kevin Millar, Keith Foulke, Alan Embree, or Curt Schilling-- two key guys -- have overacheived by a TON right now. How many people would predict that the Red Sox would still be in first place without those 4 guys? Nobody.

 

While that'd be great news if the Red Sox were prepared to start the second half with these guys ready to go, that's simply not the case. Foulke's out at least 6 weeks, Embree and Millar have shown no signs of snapping season long slumps, and at BEST Curt Schilling is a dominant closer for the next month. So the Red Sox are going to have to survive with just about no production from their first or second baseman, a below average third baseman, no bullpen, and a rotation with no real ace. Sorry, but does Matt Clement really stack up with the Mark Buerle/Roy Halladay/Randy Johnson type pitchers? In my opinion he doesn't.

 

The Red Sox could be poised for another run in late August/Early September if Foulke comes back strong, the team adds another bullpen arm or two, and Curt Schilling rejoins the rotation and is the dominant ace we've expected him to be. Otherwise, it could be a very long and frustrating second half.

[soxie thefangirl]

Wow. So many things wrong there. A below average 3rd baseman? Where do you get your information?

[riverside sluggers]

i agree with soxie very much so. ok well im just saying if you people keep talkin like this, im gonna have to see a lot of posts from yankee fans on here praising you guys for saying the red sox is going to falter and its better off next year. tell me how many people thought the season was over when sox lost first 2 to cardinals and first 2 to cubs. just about everybody had thought so and look at what happened, sox won 12 out of 13 to reclaim the division lead. and bill mueller with his defensive players, batting 9 for 14 with bases load (leads the majors in that!!) he is below average!!?? and about Foulke whos contributed nothing, im glad he will be out for 6 weeks or more, so we really didnt lose anything

 

Clement has not been our ace?, im sorry but that is pure ******** right there. in 13 of the 18 games hes pitched hes allowed 3 runs or fewer, allowed only 8 homeruns halfway. He leads the rotation in ERA of 3.85 and leads also with 97 strikeouts thus far, 10-2 record. This guy is all star material and did in fact become our ace when schilling had left for the DL

[elsrbueno]

i agree with soxie very much so. ok well im just saying if you people keep talkin like this, im gonna have to see a lot of posts from yankee fans on here praising you guys for saying the red sox is going to falter and its better off next year. tell me how many people thought the season was over when sox lost first 2 to cardinals and first 2 to cubs. just about everybody had thought so and look at what happened, sox won 12 out of 13 to reclaim the division lead. and bill mueller with his defensive players, batting 9 for 14 with bases load (leads the majors in that!!) he is below average!!?? and about Foulke whos contributed nothing, im glad he will be out for 6 weeks or more, so we really didnt lose anything

 

Clement has not been our ace?, im sorry but that is pure ******** right there. in 13 of the 18 games hes pitched hes allowed 3 runs or fewer, allowed only 8 homeruns halfway. He leads the rotation in ERA of 3.85 and leads also with 97 strikeouts thus far, 10-2 record. This guy is all star material and did in fact become our ace when schilling had left for the DL

 

You've completely misinterpreted what I said. First of all, I in no way implied the season was over. I'm just a bit surprised you guys are so confident considering that this team has some pretty glaring holes. Second, no doubt Clement's been OUR ace, that again wasn't what I said. What I said was that he doesn't stack up with OTHER team's aces.

 

Clement vs Halladay: Edge Halladay

Clement vs Buerle: Edge Buerle

Clement vs Johnson: Edge Johnson

Clement vs R. Lopez: Edge Lopez (he effing dominates us)

Clement vs Santana: Edge Santana

Clement vs Colon: Draw. Although Colon is capable of falt-out dominance as well.

Clement vs Rogers: Edge Rogers

 

Clement as a #2 or #3 starter and he's among the best in baseball facing off against these teams lesser pitchers, but the fact that Clement and his 3.89 ERA is our ACE scares me. I wouldn't be confident putting Clement up against any other contender's ace.

 

Bill Mueller has been fantastic for the Red Sox, but look at his overall numbers. Then look at the number of third baseman outperforming Bill Mueller: Troy Glaus, Joe Randa, Morgan Ensburg, Jorge Cantu, Melvin Mora, Alex Rodriguez, Eric Chavez, Hank Blalock, Shea Hillenbrand, Aramis Ramirez. Then look at two All-Star third baseman who are better than Billy but have lost time to injury: Scott Rolen and Chipper Jones.

 

I love Bill Mueller. He is one of those no BS players who plays hard and puts the team above himself. But performance wise, he's behind at least 12 third baseman, which AT BEST makes him average.

 

My point in the last post is that we've been playing OVER OUR HEADS the first half. When a team overacheives, chances are that they fall off at some point. The Orioles have also been overacheiving, so they should falter a bit in the second half too. The Yankees are a sleeping giant in this division. They've been underperforming to date, which I'm implying means they'll have a better second half than their first.

 

NOW, if Curt Schilling either becomes a dominant closer OR a dominant starter, that would boost the chances of having a good second half, but this Red Sox team without Schilling, without Foulke, without a good offensive first baseman-- will NOT walk away with the division as some people are implying.

 

That's ALL I'm saying. Come down to earth a little bit.

[riverside sluggers]

ok im not saying outright sox win it all. have you seen my posts before, im taking one game at a time, that doesnt mean "i should come down to earth". theres nothing wrong at all with doin that

[elsrbueno]

ok im not saying outright sox win it all. have you seen my posts before, im taking one game at a time, that doesnt mean "i should come down to earth". theres nothing wrong at all with doin that

 

I'm not accusing any ONE person of anything. I've been noticing a strange overconfidence in Sox fans on this board and was expressing my opinion as to why I thought their cofidence was a bit premature.

[ORS]

Clement vs. R. Lopez = edge Lopez (he effing kills us)

And he's not even their ace, wait until they get Bedard back. You know how well we hit hard throwing lefties.

[elsrbueno]

And he's not even their ace, wait until they get Bedard back. You know how well we hit hard throwing lefties.

 

I'm not completely sold on Bedard as the ace. He had an incredible first half, but he hasn't established himself as a dominant pitcher in the Major Leagues yet. He was 6-10 last year, including 3-7 after the All Star break.

 

That being said-- you get my point. The Red Sox still need an ace. Might Clement establish himself as an ace and prove me wrong? Absolutely. He just hasn't shown in my eyes that he compares favorably to the other the elite pitchers in the American League (listed a few posts above) YET.

[yankeessuck013]

lets wait until the trading deadline before making all this assumptions, by then hopefully schilling will be starting...an 85% schilling is better than most teams aces...and I can almost guarantee that theo will bolster the bullpen, and I don't know why you are complaining that we need an offensive 1st basemen beacuse we are leading the league in virtually every offensive category, and that considering that Edgar is not even playing close to what he is capable of.

 

Let's wait!

[soxie thefangirl]

Edgar won't get any better. Trust me.

 

You think Schilling will be starting by July 31st? I doubt that.

[yankeessuck013]

if we see the edgar that was playing in that series in the bronx a couple months back, I'll be happy....as for schilling I don't think he will be starting by July 31st, but he will when foulke gets back sometime in august.

[elsrbueno]

lets wait until the trading deadline before making all this assumptions, by then hopefully schilling will be starting...an 85% schilling is better than most teams aces...and I can almost guarantee that theo will bolster the bullpen, and I don't know why you are complaining that we need an offensive 1st basemen beacuse we are leading the league in virtually every offensive category, and that considering that Edgar is not even playing close to what he is capable of.

 

Let's wait!

 

If the rumors are true, Theo has already worked out a deal to bring Chad Bradford into the fold. I'm willing to wait to see what Theo pulls out, but for now-- I'm not as confident as some other folks on this board.

 

Why am I complaining about Kevin Millar? Because he plays one of the most offensive oriented positions in the game, and he can't hit for s***. Someone else said it (I don't know who) that even if you have great offensive performance elsewhere, you're selling yourself short by having a first baseman THIS bad. The worst thing about Millar is that he doesn't contribute on the field in ANY way. He can't run, he can't field.... and he can't hit.

 

WHY oh WHY give this guy 3-5 ABS every game?!? I see no benefit here, and nobody has convinced me otherwise.

[yankeessuck013]

If the rumors are true, Theo has already worked out a deal to bring Chad Bradford into the fold. I'm willing to wait to see what Theo pulls out, but for now-- I'm not as confident as some other folks on this board.

 

Why am I complaining about Kevin Millar? Because he plays one of the most offensive oriented positions in the game, and he can't hit for s***. Someone else said it (I don't know who) that even if you have great offensive performance elsewhere, you're selling yourself short by having a first baseman THIS bad. The worst thing about Millar is that he doesn't contribute on the field in ANY way. He can't run, he can't field.... and he can't hit.

 

WHY oh WHY give this guy 3-5 ABS every game?!? I see no benefit here, and nobody has convinced me otherwise.

 

ok, I see what you're getting at but who would we get through a trade of some sort;

 

-Dunn

-Huff

-Helton

-others?

 

or within the organization we have:

 

-olerud (not great offensive numbers though)

-petagine (producing at minor leagues, but not big on him)

- youk (move hime to first)

[elsrbueno]

ok, I see what you're getting at but who would we get through a trade of some sort;

 

-Dunn

-Huff

-Helton

-others?

 

or within the organization we have:

 

-olerud (not great offensive numbers though)

-petagine (producing at minor leagues, but not big on him)

- youk (move hime to first)

 

To be perfectly honest I'd be completely satisfied with Olerud/Youk platoon at first with Ortiz thrown in for good measure. With Olerud, at least he's consistent and has a great glove-- he contributes with the glove so it's easier for me to accept his offensive numbers.