Boston RedSox 2010 performance/post game reaction thread.

[jacksonianmarch]

I think the magic is running out. We will get swept by Tampa. The Blue Jays are no push overs with their power. You can't expect the scrubs to keep up the pace forever. Just get us to the ASB

 

Mino has the right idea here. In 2008, we lost Posada, Matsui and Wang. Initially, Rasner and Co. picked up the slack, but the scrubs evened out to scrubs. It is inevitable that these career AAAAers or kids play like who they are. The goal is to get people back early enough to temper them falling off a cliff. Think about it, you have Niuman Romero taking meaningful cuts in a game vs your prime 2010 playoff rival.

[SoxSport]

They are getting injuried to death, and the lack of bench is exposing them. Lowell has been a dead weight on the roster, and the bullpen shuffle has deprived them of a bench. Last night was a typical example. They put a no-name triple A guy at 1B replacing Youks, and he killed them at bat--took the bat right out of Ortiz' hands. And Tito never noticed--or at least acted that way (the game ain't tied, Tito. Pinch hit for the guy.)

Tito is a great guy, great with the players and everybody else. He puts a lineup together really well, and rests his players. I wish he would do the same with his bullpen. When you throw 2 or 3 guys out there to finish an 8-1 win, you know something isn't right. Overworked is the word. No wonder the bullpen sucks. The other problem he has: he often gets outmanaged in close games. Not a great tactician. You won't hear this in the media, because the Sox have a winning record and Tito is popular.

[Dipre]

Mino says something negative about the Sox, and Jacko immediately finds a way to completely agree with him. Quite funny, and utterly unsurprising.

 

Now let me explain why Mino's premise is incorrect, the "magic" is not wearing out on the scrubs, the problem is that most of the year the scrubs have been replacing the production of two OF spots, allowing Tito to mix and match and put the guys in favorable situations but as soon as Pedey and V-Mart fell, then the lineup got completely exposed, because you're not covering for two spots, but four, so three guys that got rotated around in the OF are now all playing together, plus the massive downgrade with Kevin Cash at catcher, it's simply what's supposed to happen when you have Hall, McDonald, Nava and Cash in the lineup at the same time. You are, however, correct that the ASB should heal some of what ails this team.

 

Interesting note: The Red Sox have over a third of their initial 2010 25-man roster on the DL:

 

Beckett

Ellsbury

Delcarmen

Hermida

Martinez

Bucholz

Varitek

Pedroia

Lowell

 

I know Jacko "isn't scared of the Sox" and blablabla but they're within striking distance of

1st place even with the rash of injuries, so what happens if/when they get healthy?

 

@SoxSport: Dude, you keep bitching about the bullpen issue, and pitch counts, but while i agree with you that Tito's a terrible tactician, his bullpen use is mostly standard because this team's bullpen is currently poorly constructed. Too many one-inning relievers.

[Palodios]

Tito is getting a lot of attention for manager of the year because he's been keeping the team together, and I do personally think that its invaluable at a time when it seems the bleakest for the team.

 

The reserves of the team aren't the problem-- they have been playing great, but its the guys replacing the backups that have been failing. The team's top 4 catchers have been out, 3 of the top 4 outfielders have spent good time on the DL, 3 members of the starting 5 rotation have been on the the DL. Criticizing their depth at this point is like bitching about why the Pawsox can't beat the yankees.

[jacksonianmarch]

Dipre going nuclear again. TIME FOR A FIGHT!!

 

Nah, it's okay. I understand you hate watching a good team fall apart due to injury, but seriously, do you think this sox team can overcome the two best non-injured teams in the game for a playoff spot while Eric Patterson, Darnell McDonald, and Kevin Cash are playing major roles? The fact is, the sox have seen their non-injured starters play over their heads. They will come back down to earth, which seems to be happening over the past few games. When that happens, they have nobody to fall back on.

 

You have VMart out for another 4 games at minimum, and probably out of the catcher's position for more games, meaning Cash gets to play more. Varitek's absence hurts a lot as well, since he has been playing the backup card incredibly well, and now his offense isnt there when VMart cannot catch. Pedroia is out another 5 weeks at minimum, with him probably needing some rehab in that time as well. Beckett is probably out for another 15 days since they want to get him 3 rehab starts in the minors before he comes up, although that could be accelerated, AND who know what you are getting when he does return. Ellsbury is out for god knows how long. And now you have Youk with some sort of mystery ailment, who knows if he is gonna have a lingering issue with it. Face it Dipre, the sox team has been nothing short of miraculous to this point, but all scrubs revert to scrubitude (I wish to patent this word). And when the starters go into slumps, as all players do, the scrubs' effect will be amplified. These next 2 weeks are going to be humongous in terms of the sox future outlook, but the bloom looks to be coming off the rose

[TheMino007]

The this being a bridge year comment from Theo in the offseason really pissed me off, and he better not have that attitude at the trade deadline. We have seen what this team can do with half the team on the DL, and that is hang in there; when everyone is healthy, they Sox should be a contender for the pennant. Just get into the damn playoffs, who cares how you do it. Don't throw this year away by not making a trade, even when the team is all back, there are still needs, such as bullpen help or backup middle infielder

[Dipre]

Epically pathetic baiting attempt by Jacko. Then i tell him what he is, then he plays victim and pleads mercy to the mods "He needs to be banned, WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!". Par for the course.

 

Moving on:

 

You read it here first folks: Jacko is s***ing his pants at the prospect of what this team could achieve if it were healthy, and considering Ellsbury, Martinez, Beckett, and basically everyone but Pedey and Varitek will be back soon, i can't blame him.

 

May i suggest our Yankee fan friend visit the adult diaper area at his local store?

[yeszir]

This team is at it again with the subpar defense. 2 errors tonight and a few wild pitches. Starting to look like the beginning of the season all over again...

[Lester82]

Mino says something negative about the Sox, and Jacko immediately finds a way to completely agree with him. Quite funny, and utterly unsurprising.

 

I may be remembering incorrectly, it's been a long work day for me, but hasn't Jacko accused Dipre (someone else?) of being a homer during back-and-forth spit fests on this board? I mean it's hilarious when Jacko accuses anyone of being a homer. It's like Alex Rodriguez coming on the Today Show tomorrow to say how disgusted he is in Tiger Woods cheating on his wife.

[Lester82]

Epically pathetic baiting attempt by Jacko. Then i tell him what he is, then he plays victim and pleads mercy to the mods "He needs to be banned, WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!". Par for the course.

 

Moving on:

 

You read it here first folks: Jacko is s***ing his pants at the prospect of what this team could achieve if it were healthy, and considering Ellsbury, Martinez, Beckett, and basically everyone but Pedey and Varitek will be back soon, i can't blame him.

 

May i suggest our Yankee fan friend visit the adult diaper area at his local store?

 

Exactly. This is why Yankees228 doesn't get the same s*** that Jacko does for being a Yankees fan. Y228 is a Yankees fan that actually demonstrates some objectivity.

 

Stop seeming downright happy how injured the Red Sox are and practically saying "HAHAHAHA, Do you honestly think your Red Sox will win now -- you have injuries !!!!!!1 "

 

"I'm Jacko, I didn't want to admit the Red Sox were good BEFORE the injuries, now I get to declare their demise because of too many injuries."

[jacksonianmarch]

Epically pathetic baiting attempt by Jacko. Then i tell him what he is, then he plays victim and pleads mercy to the mods "He needs to be banned, WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!". Par for the course.

 

Moving on:

 

You read it here first folks: Jacko is s***ing his pants at the prospect of what this team could achieve if it were healthy, and considering Ellsbury, Martinez, Beckett, and basically everyone but Pedey and Varitek will be back soon, i can't blame him.

 

May i suggest our Yankee fan friend visit the adult diaper area at his local store?

 

You see Dipre, a baiting attempt requires me to care what you post. I dont need to bait you, the rest of the members coming around to the fact that the Pawsox arent as good as the Red Sox will probably get you pretty revved up. And objectivity? Really Lester? Cmon now, you and Dipre fit into the looney Sox apologist category. You wouldnt know objectivity if it hit you in the mouth.

 

And, is it really bias when my team is coming off a world championship AND they are currently the best team in baseball? Probably not

[Dipre]

Ah, it seems i have struck a nerve. See, one thing i've learned over the years is that when people put on this type of bravado "I'm not scared, i'm not scared, i'm not scared", I don't care what you say, i don't care what you say", it's usually ********. You're the classic example.

 

Anyways, feel free to keep selling every Worst-case scenario idea possible, it's what you're here for, right?

[yeszir]

Shut up people. Do you have to pick a fight about everything?

[jacksonianmarch]

Ah, it seems i have struck a nerve. See, one thing i've learned over the years is that when people put on this type of bravado "I'm not scared, i'm not scared, i'm not scared", I don't care what you say, i don't care what you say", it's usually ********. You're the classic example.

 

Anyways, feel free to keep selling every Worst-case scenario idea possible, it's what you're here for, right?

 

The worst case scenario already happened there captain.

 

Now, I am dropping it

[Yaz Sideburn]

this all-star break couldn't have come at a better time. replacing wakefield and doubront in the rotation with beckett and buchholz will do wonders for this team

[Yaz Sideburn]

another really tough series for the red sox starting tonight. they've had some horrible luck with opposing pitchers lately. in the 6 games prior to the break, they faced garza who kills them, nieman and price who are leading cy young candidates and romero who went into that game with a 3.39 era. now in this rangers series we get tommy hunter (5-0, 2.34 era), colby lewis (8-5, 3.33 era), cj wilson (7-5, 3.35 era) and cliff lee, another leading cy young candidate

[db41]

Didn't see it posted anywhere else, so I thought I put it here. My apologies if it's inappropriately placed.

 

Now the rant:

 

Why didn't Adrian Beltre start tonight's game?

 

It's rhetorical. Don't answer. I've read all the articles and what not. It seems pretty clear to me that being selected to play in the All-Star game was a higher priority than being ready to play in today's game.

 

As soon as he tweaked his hammy, he could have gone home to Boston and done the MRI thing and started the resting and rehab so that he would not miss one regular season game more than necessary. Tito and the FO supported his decision to fly to across the country to LA and play in a meaningless exhibition. I know, I know, it meant a lot for him to be selected-- his first time and all-- but isn't the primary goal to win as many games as you can during the regular season so that you qualify for the playoffs and a run at the World Series?

 

I'm not saying that the decision cost them the game. People will point to Hall's two nice stabs at third and his solo homerun; I'd remind them of the double play ball he booted while Wake was still in the game. However, this really isn't just about Beltre. There continues to be an appalling lack of urgency from Tito on down about the most important thing in your professional life: Tonight's game.

 

The line in the sand needs to be drawn sometime soon. If you are on the roster you need to make yourself available to play. You should never be "surprised" by a bunt in a bunting situation. Our defensive communication sucks ass. We don't know what each other are doing and we don't pay attention to details. Cameron needs a GPS device to find a flyball for chrissakes. I'm still spewing on the ball he "drifted" to instead of hustling back to its landing spot.

 

Baserunners lick their chops when aboard b/c our pitchers have decided, thanks to Mr. Farrell, that they aren't going to alter their delivery to the plate so as to protect their arms. We don't alter our looks, time in the set position, or set runners up. It took Lester three stolen bases a couple of weeks ago before he figured it out. Do we not have infielders to help out with this by reading a runner's body language? Catchers have and instinct when a guy is leaning? A coach in the dugout who's spent his life around the game? How can we continue to be reactive instead of proactive in not giving up the game in 90 foot increments?

 

When we do get a chance to throw someone out, our catchers s*** their pants instead of simply getting the ball out quickly and accurately. There seems to be an emphasis on receiving the ball first and then moving their feet to throw. I know of high school catchers with a faster and more accurate release than the bozos we have right know. I don't care if we're down to the 87th catcher in the organization, if you're a professional, you should know how to handle a game defensively.

 

And bunting. f***. Don't get me started on bunting. We can't do it for two reasons: one, it's not part of what we normally do and Tito asks a player to bunt only when the Perseid Meteor Showers are occurring. Two, we obviously don't teach it well in our organization, in spring training, or in the minor leagues. The baseball fundamentals of our young players are pathetic. They do a good job of working counts and seeing a lot of pitches, I'll give them that, but ask them to pop a bunt down and you might as well go by a lottery ticket.

 

We rarely hit and run and frequently miss opportunities to go from first to third. We don't slide well. Our third base coach looks like he's part of Obama's stimulus package for "on the job" training.

 

I better stop and go have a beer before I get carried away. Thanks for listening.

[jacksonianmarch]

db, I understand that the lack of fundamentals may be annoying, but every farm system emphasizes something. You said you were a pro as well, right? The bunt drills, the hit and run drills, the controlling the bat head drills, those took time. It isnt easy to get a bunt down or to shorten up and hit the ball to the right side if you havent practiced it. The sox' emphasis is clearly placed on working the count through the minors. There arent too many free swingers that rise through the sox system without gaining a unique appreciation of the strike zone. They dont need to walk 100 times a yr, but they need to show that they will hit strikes and are willing to work a pitcher. If a team doesnt emphasize it at the big league level, chances are it isnt emphasized in the lower levels either.

 

As for the pitcher's, that has been their motto since Farrell showed up. Farrell isnt concerned with the runner because it takes something from the batter to get that runner home. It is pretty hard to steal home. Some pitching coaches have that philosophy. Others are into shortening deliveries, slidesteps, quick delivery, etc. It is a philosophy thing. And it doesnt help that their current catchers (VMart and Tek) are definitely not in the arm category.

[Palodios]

Tito is manager of the year. There were issues at the beginning of the year because there were so many new players, which is reasonable, and there are issues now because so many players are being replaced by third stringers. When you have players in who hit .200, sometimes you need to have them bunt-- you'll almost never see guys like Youk/Beltre/Drew bunting.

 

However, anything negative said about Farrel is probably true. He's shown time and time again that if a pitcher has a technical problem, he can't diagnose it for his life.

[Yaz Sideburn]

something to keep in mind as we're getting into the second half of the year

 

lester was 7-2 with a 2.82 era and a 1.15 whip in the second half last year

lackey was 7-4 with a 3.05 era and a 1.14 whip in the second half last year

[TheMino007]

Wakefield needs to retire, he's nothing but pure garbage now. I could live with his mediocrity for 15 years, but now he just sucks. Thank god he's getting out of the rotation. As for Bowden, I don't know why he keeps getting shots b/c he is pure garbage also. I don't know how many chances and blown games this guy needs to prove to the FO that he isn't a major league quality pitcher

[Rdsxmbnt]

Wakefield needs to retire' date=' he's nothing but pure garbage now. I could live with his mediocrity for 15 years, but now he just sucks. Thank god he's getting out of the rotation. As for Bowden, I don't know why he keeps getting shots b/c he is pure garbage also. I don't know how many chances and blown games this guy needs to prove to the FO that he isn't a major league quality pitcher[/quote']

 

Horribly reactionary on Bowden

[Palodios]

Wakefield needs to retire' date=' he's nothing but pure garbage now. I could live with his mediocrity for 15 years, but now he just sucks. Thank god he's getting out of the rotation. As for Bowden, I don't know why he keeps getting shots b/c he is pure garbage also. I don't know how many chances and blown games this guy needs to prove to the FO that he isn't a major league quality pitcher[/quote']

 

He's pitched less than 25 major league innings. His career ERA in AAA is like 3.5-- that's the kind of stat that translates well to the majors. He gave up one single last night that lost the game because Ramon loaded the bases-- that's not enough to throw him under the bus. What do you expect is going to happen when you put a rookie in with the bases loaded with the game on the line?

[msubulldogs21]

What do you expect is going to happen when you put a rookie in with the bases loaded with the game on the line?

 

 

It was 1st and 2nd, but even more reason that it boggles the mind Francona went with Bowden instead of Papelbon in that situation.

[Palodios]

I looked at the stat line, and it said Ramon gave up a hit and two walks. Double play? Or maybe he didn't pitch the perfect first inning I thought he did. It really doesn't change a whole lot, Bowden gave up one single hit, and he's being crucified for it.

[TheMino007]

I've seen enough of Bowden in the last couple of years, trade the guy

[Palodios]

I don't know which game you're watching but he pitched another inning and a third last night without allowing a run.

[TheMino007]

Isn't Ortiz like 3 for something, like 25 since the ASB?

[Rdsxmbnt]

Isn't Ortiz like 3 for something' date=' like 25 since the ASB?[/quote']

 

Im sure Jacko will give the exact numbers, but yes he's been that bad lately

[jacksonianmarch]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?playerId=3748

 

Pretty easy to find. 3 for 25.

 

And of note, since the ASB, the sox offense has scored 21 runs in 7 games. Not coincidentally, they have gone 2-5 in those games while only allowing 4.7 runs per game. Getting Beckett and Buchholz back will help, but they'll need more than 3 runs per game to stick with it.