Sox are NOT done yet

[MANNYHOF24]

I know we just got swept by the Royals and lost 2 out of 3 to the D-rays, but I still think we can overtake the Yankees or win the Wild card. Firstly we have Curt Schilling, who will have much more good starts than bad starts. Josh Beckett has to turn it around now, he obviously has the stuff to do it. We have a huge week coming up starting with the O's tonight, a team we do great against. I think D-wells will continue to get better and be big down the strech. We are only 3 games out of the Divison and 2 Out of the wild Card, and we have 5 games with the Yankees next weekend, say we win 4-5 or something, we would be right back in the race. Also Wake will be back soon (I think, and hope) and V-tek should be back on september 1. All I'm saying is this team is not dead yet

[Pesky]

I know we just got swept by the Royals and lost 2 out of 3 to the D-rays, but I still think we can overtake the Yankees or win the Wild card. Firstly we have Curt Schilling, who will have much more good starts than bad starts. Josh Beckett has to turn it around now, he obviously has the stuff to do it. We have a huge week coming up starting with the O's tonight, a team we do great against. I think D-wells will continue to get better and be big down the strech. We are only 3 games out of the Divison and 2 Out of the wild Card, and we have 5 games with the Yankees next weekend, say we win 4-5 or something, we would be right back in the race. Also Wake will be back soon (I think, and hope) and V-tek should be back on september 1. All I'm saying is this team is not dead yet

 

I totally agree.

 

First off, the Twins are going to struggle. They have been overachieving all year, and now that Liriano is down, for perhaps the whole year, that hurts. I don't think they have the longevity.

 

The White Sox have just as many pitching issues as we do. They will be tough to top, but they have a tough schedule.

 

I think that the AL East may be close to out of reach, but it isn't over yet. We play 9 games verse the Yankees.

 

This is the worst stretch of baseball we have played all year. You can't take everything from this series. Every team has had its lows, and luckily, and hopefully, we are just getting this out of our system early. It doesn't get worse than this, which is a good thing.

 

There is a lot of baseball left. THis is just a two week period that has sucked. Baseball is a game of streaks. The Sox will get healthy, go on some runs. 3 games and 2 games aren't much at all.

 

It's far from over.

[redsoxlover24]

Well said. Its NOT over yet!!

[mtbykr]

It's not over, let's just get our crap together before it's too late for a comeback. I guess if there is a bright side to all of this, it's that they have crapped the bed playing TB and KC----if we did this in the coming weeks we could be even farther out...at least the sox and yanks have played each other and helped minimize the damage.

 

Come on guys, just win tonight!

[mtbykr]

We can also look at it this way, if we happen to get our heads out of our rear and sweep this weekend, we could easily be looking at a tie for the WC and a game out of 1st as the yanks are playing the angels and the sox are playing the tigers. Bottom line is we need to winB)

[jacksonianmarch]

I know we just got swept by the Royals and lost 2 out of 3 to the D-rays, but I still think we can overtake the Yankees or win the Wild card. Firstly we have Curt Schilling, who will have much more good starts than bad starts. Josh Beckett has to turn it around now, he obviously has the stuff to do it. We have a huge week coming up starting with the O's tonight, a team we do great against. I think D-wells will continue to get better and be big down the strech. We are only 3 games out of the Divison and 2 Out of the wild Card, and we have 5 games with the Yankees next weekend, say we win 4-5 or something, we would be right back in the race. Also Wake will be back soon (I think, and hope) and V-tek should be back on september 1. All I'm saying is this team is not dead yet

 

 

By no means is it over, not by a long shot. That being said, some things in your post are a bit optimistic in my opinion. Varitek, on the short end of the scale, was to be out until at least September 1. That is the short end. If you consider that he just had significant knee surgery and he is a catcher who lives on his knee, you have to consider that he'll be out for the full 6. That brings him back for mid september.

 

I totally agree on Schilling. If the sox had any semblance of a bridge to Papelbon, Schilling doesnt sniff the 8th and the sox win by 2. He should be a force down the stretch. The only thing I am worried about with him is that he has now had 2 of his last 3 starts where he was hit well. 10XBH in one night is not very good, especially for the ace of the staff.

 

Josh Beckett may have the "stuff" to do it, but does he have the brains. He seems to really like to show off that fastball and good fastball hitting teams or very patient teams can wait him out. Also, his curve has been far too inconsistent, and when it is not working he gets destroyed. I think he's too dumb to let this get to him, but he also may be too dumb to pitch up to his stuff.

 

Wells pitched okay in his last game, but it still is David Wells at 43 with a lead leg that is totally screwed up. Anything the sox get out of him is a bonus.

 

As for Wake, I heard about him throwing from 90 feet long toss yesterday. It sounds like, barring any setbacks, he could be back in 2-3 weeks. That being said, he is such a finesse guy with that knuckler that nobody really knows how he will fare.

 

Overall, good initial rosey post. The sox are not out of it, but they are certainly reeling. A home series vs the pushovers in Baltimore should do the trick while the CWS are in DET and the Yankee play 4 against their nemesis from LA. This is the stretch to gain, and if they don't, then they are in even more trouble.

[Cityofchampions33]

Ill go 1-5 vs the Rays and Royals as long as we get hot for the Tigers, Yanks, and Angels. If we can win every series coming up and sweep the Os, we'll be back in it, meaning we need to go 10-4 in our next 14. That in my mind is do-able, so long as Schill, Beckett, and Lester get back in it and fast. The Yankees meanwhile face the Angels for four then the Os.

[Cityofchampions33]

However, if we're gunna get hot, nows teh tiem to do it, and hope to ride it out as long as we can. And now is the only time we can make up ground, because the Yankees ony really ahve 2 tough opponents in September in us and the Jays.

[noonanberg]

A lot depends on how we do against the Yanks in next week's five game series. Also the games before that as well, but if we can take 3 of 5 or 4 of 5 from the Yanks next week we're back in it.

 

As for the Twins, I wouldn't expect them to fade. I don't expect another 32-8 run either, but I think they got their crappy play out of their system in April and May. I'd expect them to hang in their.

[SCM33]

Ahhh....yeah its pretty much over. They arent good enough to win anything this year, and they wont be next year either.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Im not putting them down, I just dont expect anything from them this year.....they were a nice little surprise early on, but many of the players who were playing so well have fallen back to earth.

 

The injury of Varitek has apparently sealed the deal. Who knew a .240 hitting catcher meant so much to the team. I guess I still take him for granted.

[jsinger121]

I don't think they can turn this around. Too many injuries to key players like wakefield and varitek along with wells and clement thinning out the pitching staff have the made the bullpen look alot worse because they are taxed. It also doesn't help that coco got hurt for alot of the year and no one is hitting outside of manny and ortiz.

[redsoxrules]

mike lowel needs to step it up he is only hiting 200 since the all star game and whoever is playing catcher other than that the bats are good they are just not getting the clutch hit when they need them , now on the pitching side lester leads the team with an ERA of over 4.5 thats not good ,schilling and beckett needs to step it up big time in the stretch . if we miss the playoffs its gonna be because of pitching not the bats,

[schillingouttheks]

Actually, Lester has a 3.86 ERA. Beckett is the one that has been disappointing with an ERA of 4.92. He's the one that needs to step up. Wells hasn't pitched enough for me to make a statement, and this goes without saying, but Jason Johnson sucks.

 

Though, Lester needs to get his s*** together. I know he's a rookie, but his last few outings have been horrendous. I have nothing to complain about with Schilling.

[redsoxrules]

Actually, Lester has a 3.86 ERA. Beckett is the one that has been disappointing with an ERA of 4.92. He's the one that needs to step up. Wells hasn't pitched enough for me to make a statement, and this goes without saying, but Jason Johnson sucks.

 

Though, Lester needs to get his s*** together. I know he's a rookie, but his last few outings have been horrendous. I have nothing to complain about with Schilling.

 

NO lester has a 4.58 since the break wich is what im talking about ,and schilling hasent pitched that great either since the break, but i agree with you the big problem is beckett

[schillingouttheks]

Oh ok, I thought you were talking about the whole season. My bad.

 

I agree with you that Lester needs to get his s*** together. Rookie struggles or not, his struggles have gone on long enough.

[jsinger121]

Lester is struggling but not having tek back there will hurt his development a bit.

[redsoxrules]

the problem with lester is his walks, in just 67 IP he has walked 34 batters ,thats WAY too much ,cause as we noticed most of his starts he only goes 5,6 innings , now earlier in the year he would get away with all the walks but now hitters are making him pay for it

[schillingouttheks]

Not having Tek back there has hurt everyone, not just Lester.

 

Lester has gone into the 7th twice while he's been up. He got 1 out and then got pulled, and then pitched through the 8th against KC at home. He has to go deeper into games and help our bullpen out a little bit, especially after Wells and Johnson had just pitched the previous two games.

[Dana Kiecker]

Not having Tek back there has hurt everyone, not just Lester.

 

 

Wow you really believe the whole " Tek calls a good game" jive?

 

This staff has been rocky all year, do you blame Tek for that?

 

Or just when he gets hurt do you suddenly proclaim his worth.

 

I say its the difference between poor ( with Tek). And over a very small sample size, very poor without him.

 

Do you work PR for the Sox?

[noonanberg]

Well let's see. Papelbon has blown two saves since Tek's injury. The Sox have only won twice. Lester had what was arguably his worst outing. And the Sox have blown a few late leads. Yes, Varitek does play a big part. From pitch calling, to his calming presence, Tek is a big reason for our success. Granted he's not the only factor, but he is a part. The other part has been execution. The Sox aren't scoring when they have the chances. They are stranding too many runners. Solo home runs are great, but two run singles are better. Hopefully tonight's game will get them back on track, and give them a little morale boost.

[a700hitter]

Well let's see. Papelbon has blown two saves since Tek's injury. The Sox have only won twice. Lester had what was arguably his worst outing. And the Sox have blown a few late leads. Yes, Varitek does play a big part. From pitch calling, to his calming presence, Tek is a big reason for our success. Granted he's not the only factor, but he is a part. The other part has been execution. The Sox aren't scoring when they have the chances. They are stranding too many runners. Solo home runs are great, but two run singles are better. Hopefully tonight's game will get them back on track, and give them a little morale boost.

Your are never as bad as you look when you are in a losing streak, and the Yankees are not as good as they have looked in their recent good streak.

[schillingouttheks]

Wow you really believe the whole " Tek calls a good game" jive?

 

This staff has been rocky all year, do you blame Tek for that?

 

Or just when he gets hurt do you suddenly proclaim his worth.

 

I say its the difference between poor ( with Tek). And over a very small sample size, very poor without him.

 

Do you work PR for the Sox?

Don't put words in my mouth. I never said he was worthless, and yes, I do buy into the "Tek calls a good game" theory. I believe Tek made Papelbon into the superhuman force he was (of course, it's Papelbon himself too, but I do believe if he had Javy, Corky, or 'Belli catching him all year, he wouldn't be anywhere close to this). I buy into it because of his work ethic off the field. He does his research on opposing players better than any other catcher in the league. Do you really think it's a coincidence that Papelbon's started to look rocky right around the time that Tek went down? I don't. I know it's nothing to worry about, but if Tek was catching him I am 99.9% certain that Papelbon never would have blown back to back save opportunities.

 

Beckett has been disappointing this year because, IMO, he's going through a transition year. Besides, can Tek be held responsible for all of the homeruns that Beckett has given up? No, that's Beckett being s***** himself. I think Tek calls a good game, but it's up to the pitchers to deliver, and that's why I think Tek is a major reason that our pitching has hit rock bottom (minus tonight, Wells was amazing). It's great to see Lopez look more comfortable with the pitching staff. I think once or twice through the rotation helped him adjust quite well.

[SCM33]

Wow you really believe the whole " Tek calls a good game" jive?

 

This staff has been rocky all year, do you blame Tek for that?

 

Or just when he gets hurt do you suddenly proclaim his worth.

 

I say its the difference between poor ( with Tek). And over a very small sample size, very poor without him.

 

Do you work PR for the Sox?

 

 

Actually, I do happen to believe Tek calls a great game. I also believe he is the reason for development of MDC, Paps, Hansen and Lester.

 

The staff has struggled, but please remember the arms he is dealing with, I would say hes gotten the most out of a pretty sad bunch.

 

Heres why:

 

Schilling has pitched well

Beckett has done alright and is still developing in the AL

Clement is a frigin head case

Wells was hurt all year

Johnson was a bum before he even came here

Snyder is a bum

Lester is a rookie

Paps is essentially a rookie

MDC is a rookie

Hansen is a rookie

Tavarez is a bum

Seanez has been inconsistent

Foulke is a bum for 2 years now, hurt or not

Timlin is 40 years old

Gabbard is a rookie

Pauley is a rookie

Van Buren is essentially a rookie

Wakefield doesn't factor with Tek

 

If you ask me hes done a pretty good job with that list. Ill tell you what, its not his fault that they arent a dominating pitching staff, if anything he has made that sorry list better.

[Teddyballgame10]

Wow you really believe the whole " Tek calls a good game" jive?

 

This staff has been rocky all year, do you blame Tek for that?

 

Or just when he gets hurt do you suddenly proclaim his worth.

 

I say its the difference between poor ( with Tek). And over a very small sample size, very poor without him.

 

Do you work PR for the Sox?

 

Uh, yes it hurts he calls every pitch and prepares more then anyone. Its not just varitek if any other team lost a leader like that they'de be in trouble too, espically at cactcher.

[26 to 6]

I really dont mean to cramp your thread guys, but I just wanted to acknowledge something that was said.

 

I know we just got swept by the Royals and lost 2 out of 3 to the D-rays, but I still think we can overtake the Yankees or win the Wild card.

Us Yankee fans have taken a lot of s*** about the Royals sweeping us last year. I won't do any taunting because this isn't the place or time, but I hope you all feel ridiculously stupid after that. As for us being in first place, we've had to hear that s*** from you guys all year about us being in second place. We had to deal with it, and so will you guys. However, I will wait until we wrap it up and clinch before I taunt you guys regarding the division standings that way if we don't pull it off I won't look dumb like you guys have made yourselves look in the past week.

 

Sorry guys, just been waiting to get that off my chest.

[ORS]

I really dont mean to cramp your thread guys, but I just wanted to acknowledge something that was said.

 

 

Us Yankee fans have taken a lot of s*** about the Royals sweeping us last year. I won't do any taunting because this isn't the place or time, but I hope you all feel ridiculously stupid after that. As for us being in first place, we've had to hear that s*** from you guys all year about us being in second place. We had to deal with it, and so will you guys. However, I will wait until we wrap it up and clinch before I taunt you guys regarding the division standings that way if we don't pull it off I won't look dumb like you guys have made yourselves look in the past week.

 

Sorry guys, just been waiting to get that off my chest.

Translation: I will continue to fit squarely into the definition of hypocrite by doing exactly what I call you classless for doing.

[Cityofchampions33]

Well, yeah, anytime you lose 1-5 to a etam your gunna get a bit of s***, but considering we're only 2 games out it's not like it's the end of teh world. Also we kinda kicked ourselves anyway, I even sed this teamw as disgusting

[SCM33]

The staff has been pretty bad since Tek has been out.

 

I just did a quick search on it....

 

Since July31st, when he was injured.....

August

1

vs CLE

L 3-6

 

2

vs CLE

W 6-5

 

3

vs CLE

L 6-7

 

4

@ TB

W 3-2

 

5

@ TB

L 5-8

 

6

@ TB

L 6-7

 

7 No Game

 

8

@ KC

L 4-6

 

9

@ KC

L 4-5

 

10

@ KC

L 4-5

 

11

vs BAL

W 9-2

 

12

vs BAL

W 8-7

 

13

vs BAL

W 11-9

 

Thats 69 runs in 12 games....or 5.75 per game average for a 5-7 record.

[MANNYHOF24]

1 game back, huge week coming up

[pudge]

I know we just got swept by the Royals and lost 2 out of 3 to the D-rays, but I still think we can overtake the Yankees or win the Wild card. Firstly we have Curt Schilling, who will have much more good starts than bad starts. Josh Beckett has to turn it around now, he obviously has the stuff to do it. We have a huge week coming up starting with the O's tonight, a team we do great against. I think D-wells will continue to get better and be big down the strech. We are only 3 games out of the Divison and 2 Out of the wild Card, and we have 5 games with the Yankees next weekend, say we win 4-5 or something, we would be right back in the race. Also Wake will be back soon (I think, and hope) and V-tek should be back on september 1. All I'm saying is this team is not dead yet

Unless the pitching gets better the sox are done .We will know alot more by the time the stinkees series is over.