Sox are NOT done yet

[mosox]

The next four weeks will be the toughest stretch of the schedule.

 

DET 3 games at home

NYY 5 games at home

LAA 3 games on the road

SEA 3 games on the road

OAK 3 games on the road

TOR 4 games at home

CWS 3 games at home

 

Just one off day in that stretch. Playing 500 won't cut it.

[Cocos Disciples]

We're going to sweep the Tigers.

[riverside sluggers]

Beckett vs Robertson-- Edge, Red Sox

Schilling vs Bonderman-- Edge, Red Sox

Wells vs Verlander-- toss up

[ORS]

I really hope you are joking. Robertson has been much better than Nuke LaLoosh this year because he has been consistent. I like our chances in the Schilling/Bonderman game, but Bonderman gives this team fits. Verlander is much better than Wells. Much.

[riverside sluggers]

Beckett can sometimes show brief stints of brilliance, I just have a good feeling about tonights game

 

Thats why I said game 3 is a toss up, meaning it could go either way. I do realize that he has been better than Wells, dont need to be told that at all. Just calling it a toss-up because this season the Sox havent been that much affected by rookie pitchers they have faced for the first time. Maybe they'll keep this offensive surge going. Wells has been good in his last 2 starts, good test to see if he can continue

[jacksonianmarch]

Beckett vs Robertson-- Edge, Red Sox

Schilling vs Bonderman-- Edge, Red Sox

Wells vs Verlander-- toss up

 

This has to be one of the funniest posts I have ever seen. Robertson is a lefty and the sox have much more trouble against lefties this season. He is also a good lefty which is even harder on the offense. The tigers are a power hitting team, as evidenced by their #9 hitter leading the team in HRs. They like the fastball, they hit HRs and they are not patient. Beckett vs the tigers is like blood in the water to a shark. Beckett better have his curve working, because if it isnt he is toast.

 

One thing people keep forgetting is the Tigers bullpen. Walker, Rodney, Zumaya and Jones have been absolutely lights out. The red sox bullpen aside from Papelbon has not. So even if you matchup with the starter, you still have to hit 100+ mph heat out of Zumaya and Rodney before you get to face their lefty specialist or their closer who leads the MLB in saves.

 

Schilling against impatient offenses is money. I expect him to shut them down......assuming he comes to play. He has been bad in his last 5 starts and will need to miss bats. The tigers are mostly right handed, so he should have an advantage. But with that comes the disadvantage that Fenway is a real nice righty hitting ballpark. Bonderman is nasty. He is an ace and will not easily be disposed.

 

Verlander is a rookie, and not only that, but likely the cy young front runner. The sox have trouble against rookies so wells will have to step up. The problem is that Wells is facing a righty loaded lineup.

 

Overall, the sox at home are a better team than they are on the road, but their pitching has been terrible. The tigers are a more complete team with better pitching overall. To blatantly say that the sox will sweep them is not advised, because you will likely be eating some crow at some point.

[riverside sluggers]

I didnt say a sweep

 

game 3- toss up (doesnt mean im betting on a win)

 

Im thinking it could be 2 out of 3. This season Sox have done unexpectedly well against rookie pitchers for the first time.

[jacksonianmarch]

I didnt say a sweep

 

game 3- toss up (doesnt mean a win)

 

Im thinking it could be 2 out of 3. This season Sox have done unexpectedly well against rookie pitchers for the first time.

 

I guess I don't understand how you can have an edge when the other team has 3 starters with lower era's than the starters they are facing. Thus far this season.

 

Robertson >> Beckett

Bonderman = Schilling

Verlander >>>>>>>>>>>>>Wells

 

2 of 3 is if the sun is shining on the dog's ass. 1 of 3 is serviceable, you just better hope you don't get swept.

[ORS]

I'm not ashamed to admit this series has me a bit worried, and it's because of these pitching matchups.

 

Beckett/Robertson: Good lefties give the Sox fits. Hell, even mediocre lefties do -- Hi, Casey Fossum. The Tigers are a pretty good FB hitting team, so Nuke needs to take advantage of their aggressiveness with a good amount of hooks. If he gets FB stubborn, it could be another BP night for him.

 

Schilling/Bonderman: I feel best about this one. Bonderman has given this team fits with his exploding FB and nasty slider combo, but once they see this type of pitcher more than a couple of times, our 3/4 go to town. Schilling is a student of the game, so he knows their tendancies and should take advantage. If he executes, he'll be fine.

 

Wells/Verlander: A pitcher with nasty stuff the Sox have never seen before, need I say more? We should hope his dead arm period still has him missing spots like he did against CWS on Friday. The best bats on the Tigers are righties, so that doesn't bode well for Boomer. That said, he pitches to contact well with his control and if he can get them to chase, he might limit the quality of their contact. Fingers crossed.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

Mussina and Randy Johnson carved up the Tigers when they faced them in Detroit. Both took advantage of their aggressiveness and Mussina pitched a complete game (should have been a shutout but an A-Rod error prevented that). A veteran pitcher like Schilling will take note and eat them alive. Thats one of the reasons why I'm still not in love with the Tigers.

[Dana Kiecker]

I believe the Sox will play 700 ball..

 

And if you lay all those guys down.. the AL East will be rightfully ours.

 

 

[noonanberg]

i still am not 100% sold on Detroit. yes their pitching staff is good and will give us problems. but at the same time, none of their pitchers (yet) is what i'd call a dominant pitcher. curt schilling is. let's also not forget this is a team that hasnt exactly thrived against better opponents. a good chunk of their wins have come at the hands of minnesota (and most of those wins were earlier in the year before the twins found their groove) and KC. they have been mortal against the white sox. mortal against the yankees. .500 against oakland. and let's not forget they've already dropped two of three to us. so giving them to much credit is foolish. i also dont think they're hitting is any better than ours. casey is a good new addition, but he's not unbeatable. shelton is back in the minors. guillen and ordonez are a threat, but not as deadly as ortiz manny (obviously). the tigers are a pretty good defensive team, and do have some speed. yes, they are a good team, but they've been built up a lot better than they really are. let's also not forget the sox are a better home team than road team. i think we can take 2 of 3.

[jacksonianmarch]

i still am not 100% sold on Detroit. yes their pitching staff is good and will give us problems. but at the same time, none of their pitchers (yet) is what i'd call a dominant pitcher. curt schilling is. let's also not forget this is a team that hasnt exactly thrived against better opponents. a good chunk of their wins have come at the hands of minnesota (and most of those wins were earlier in the year before the twins found their groove) and KC. they have been mortal against the white sox. mortal against the yankees. .500 against oakland. and let's not forget they've already dropped two of three to us. so giving them to much credit is foolish. i also dont think they're hitting is any better than ours. casey is a good new addition, but he's not unbeatable. shelton is back in the minors. guillen and ordonez are a threat, but not as deadly as ortiz manny (obviously). the tigers are a pretty good defensive team, and do have some speed. yes, they are a good team, but they've been built up a lot better than they really are. let's also not forget the sox are a better home team than road team. i think we can take 2 of 3.

 

The red sox team that they lost 2 out of 3 to is not around currently. This is a version that cannot pitch. And to say that there is no dominant pitcher on their staff, look at these stats of the 3 starters in this series

 

Verlander 14-5 140.1IP 132H 96K 38BB 2.95ERA

Robertson 10-8 148.1IP 145H 98K 49BB 3.82ERA

Bonderman 11-5 158IP 144H 151K 41BB 3.76ERA

 

vs

 

Schilling 14-5 166.2IP 172H 149K 22BB 3.89ERA

Beckett 13-6 146.1IP 138H 120K 46BB 4.92ERA

Wells 1-2 26IP 40H 13K 5BB 6.23ERA

 

All 3 of their starters in this series have a lower era than the sox best pitcher. Their 4 is Rogers who is pretty good, their 5 is a rookie who has been lights out and they have Maroth coming back soon. You really cannot discredit this team's pitching, they have been fabulous.

[noonanberg]

okay, while Robertson's ERA is good, his record shows he can be hit. Verland COULD be a dominant pitcher in a few years or two, but i would never give a rookie that title. Papelbon PROBABLY will be a dominant pitcher. Liriano PROBABLY will be a dominant pitcher. Weaver PROBABLY will be a dominant pitcher. but i'm not giving that title to a rookie. who's to say any of them aren't one hit wonders? verlander has been riding a nice wave, but could hit a wall. maybe it will start tonight. and bonderman is very good too, but i also remember when he was kind of bad. yes, Bonderman CAN be dominant. Verlander CAN be dominant. hell, Beckett CAN be dominant. but of them all, only schilling has maintained a high level over a long career. and yes, i know he's a lot older. verlander has not had a good game against a really good opponent. he is 0-3 against the white sox with a 9.88 ERA. he is 0-1 against Anaheim. 1-1 against Oakland. he didnt get the loss against the yanks, but his ERA is over 10. given that track record, you would think the sox will crush him tonight. bonderman hasn't had the same results, but has got shelled once or twice, most notably by Cincy. and i dont buy the 'different red sox' malarchy. if the red sox could do it in june, they can do it in august. it is pretty much the same lineup. just because they aren't doing well, doesnt mean they wont, and we've seen what they can do when they're on their game. it's the beauty of sports, you just never know. like who would have said we would get swept by KC? but we went out, barely showed up, and they beat us. we could sweep we could get swept. all i'm saying is i think we're putting detroit on a higher pedestal than they are worth right now. this is a team that hasnt really struggled this year, and almost every team does at some point. maybe this is detroit's time. it's a long season, and while detroit has been really good for the first 2/3, doesnt mean they'll stay that way for the last 1/3.

[ORS]

Lots of would, could, should, maybe, and if in that statement. In other words, you use a lot of hypotheticals to explain why someone isn't dominant. Sorry, not buying it. Verlander has been dominant this year, and no speculation about the future will change that.

[jacksonianmarch]

Lots of would, could, should, maybe, and if in that statement. In other words, you use a lot of hypotheticals to explain why someone isn't dominant. Sorry, not buying it. Verlander has been dominant this year, and no speculation about the future will change that.

 

Are we long lost brothers? We seem to have the same stance on everything, lol.

[ORS]

Great minds, my friend, great minds.

 

However, I think I just disagreed with you in the Papelbon as closer thread.

[MC Hammer]

We really don't need this thread. Of course we're not dont we're 1 game back of the Yankees. Stop watching ESPN.

[jacksonianmarch]

Great minds, my friend, great minds.

 

However, I think I just disagreed with you in the Papelbon as closer thread.

 

will check, I enjoy some disagreement here and there.

[TheKilo]

will check, I enjoy some disagreement here and there.

 

 

Get a room.

[jacksonianmarch]

hahaha, yeah whatever

[noonanberg]

all i'm saying ORS is that you're making verlander sound so much better than beckett when in reality he's not. look at papelbon as an example. he has been shaky the last few outings, and now a lot of fans aren't as deadset that he's lights out. for the most part we still have faith in him, but we don't feel 100% confident the game is over anymore. that's because he's young and still hasn't completely defined himself yet. the same theory works the other way, if an aging veteran has a rough strecth it's 'hes getting old, doesnt have it anymore.' people still fear mariano rivera because he's been one of the best for years. that's the same reason people fear pedro, curt, maddux, halladay, santana, etc. etc. even when those guys have bad stretches or a down year, fans still believe in them because they have such a good track record and have been amongst the best for years. when verlander (or papelbon or liriano, etc. etc.) has two or three years like this one, yes, i will give them their due respect, and fear them as they should be. until then i'm not going to bet on any of them over any top three starter who has been around and been through the trials and tribulations. as much as i love paps i would still bet on rivera over him. paps may one day be better than rivera, but until he proves he can be consistent over a couple of years, i'm weary.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

all i'm saying ORS is that you're making verlander sound so much better than beckett when in reality he's not.

Have you watched both pitchers? Verlander is in the race for the Cy Young. Beckett is in the race for most HR's given up this season.

[jacksonianmarch]

all i'm saying ORS is that you're making verlander sound so much better than beckett when in reality he's not. look at papelbon as an example. he has been shaky the last few outings, and now a lot of fans aren't as deadset that he's lights out. for the most part we still have faith in him, but we don't feel 100% confident the game is over anymore. that's because he's young and still hasn't completely defined himself yet. the same theory works the other way, if an aging veteran has a rough strecth it's 'hes getting old, doesnt have it anymore.' people still fear mariano rivera because he's been one of the best for years. that's the same reason people fear pedro, curt, maddux, halladay, santana, etc. etc. even when those guys have bad stretches or a down year, fans still believe in them because they have such a good track record and have been amongst the best for years. when verlander (or papelbon or liriano, etc. etc.) has two or three years like this one, yes, i will give them their due respect, and fear them as they should be. until then i'm not going to bet on any of them over any top three starter who has been around and been through the trials and tribulations. as much as i love paps i would still bet on rivera over him. paps may one day be better than rivera, but until he proves he can be consistent over a couple of years, i'm weary.

 

It's called reality. Come back to it. Verlander's era is 2 points lower than Beckett's. I think that would qualify as being better, much, much better.

[jacksonianmarch]

all i'm saying ORS is that you're making verlander sound so much better than beckett when in reality he's not. look at papelbon as an example. he has been shaky the last few outings, and now a lot of fans aren't as deadset that he's lights out. for the most part we still have faith in him, but we don't feel 100% confident the game is over anymore. that's because he's young and still hasn't completely defined himself yet. the same theory works the other way, if an aging veteran has a rough strecth it's 'hes getting old, doesnt have it anymore.' people still fear mariano rivera because he's been one of the best for years. that's the same reason people fear pedro, curt, maddux, halladay, santana, etc. etc. even when those guys have bad stretches or a down year, fans still believe in them because they have such a good track record and have been amongst the best for years. when verlander (or papelbon or liriano, etc. etc.) has two or three years like this one, yes, i will give them their due respect, and fear them as they should be. until then i'm not going to bet on any of them over any top three starter who has been around and been through the trials and tribulations. as much as i love paps i would still bet on rivera over him. paps may one day be better than rivera, but until he proves he can be consistent over a couple of years, i'm weary.

 

come again?

[TheKilo]

come again?

 

 

You quoted the same post twice?

 

 

For the record, I agree with you. Verlander > Beckett.

[MANNYHOF24]

I change my mind, we're done.

[yeszir]

Let's just say this team is rounding medium-well full steam ahead.

[a700hitter]

The Red Sox will win one title in 2006. They will be the team with the highest payroll not to make the playoffs. If the Angels an Dodgers make the Playoffs, 5 of the 6 highest payroll teams will make the playoffs. The Red Sox at # 2 in payroll will be watching from their couches. This team was put together very poorly from the get go and the FO didn't even take the opportunity fix some of their mistakes at the trading deadline. To have the second largest payroll and not even make the post season is an embarrassment for the FO and hopefully a wakeup call that they need to get their s*** together. Lsst year's off-season hissy fit by Theo was unprofessional and more disruptive than we imagined at the time.

[MANNYHOF24]

The Red Sox will win one title in 2006. They will be the team with the highest payroll not to make the playoffs. If the Angels an Dodgers make the Playoffs, 5 of the 6 highest payroll teams will make the playoffs. The Red Sox at # 2 in payroll will be watching from their couches. This team was put together very poorly from the get go and the FO didn't even take the opportunity fix some of their mistakes at the trading deadline. To have the second largest payroll and not even make the post season is an embarrassment for the FO and hopefully a wakeup call that they need to get their s*** together. Lsst year's off-season hissy fit by Theo was unprofessional and more disruptive than we imagined at the time.

 

agreed.