Most concerning issues with this team and the poor start.

[SCM33]

This is not a thread in which I am saying that the sky is falling. This thread is to strictly talk about the issues with this team that is leading to a bad/slow start.

 

Jacoby Ellsbury has been dreadful. He was also pretty bad last year although we can attribute that to injury. He has looked completely lost after looking pretty good in the opener. I think the question truly arises as to whether or not he is a true leadoff hitter. He sure as hell looked like one in 2009 but his last 100+ ab's have not.

 

I think most of the rest of the lineup will eventually hit their stide. Ortiz has looked better to start the season, better than he has in the previous 2 anyway. Crawford will hit his stride. His speed alone allows him to beat out hits. As he gets more comfortable he will produce better. He may not be a fit for this team, or their lineup but hes still a damn good player. Youkilis will also produce and I think he will do that sooner than later. His injury was a significant one and he has too good of an eye and contact skills to allow his slump to linger much longer.

 

Scutaro and Salty have been terrible. Its hard to say that Scutaros slump will continue as well. The guy makes contact too often and doesnt strike out much. Eventually the balls will start to drop for the guy.

 

Salty in my opinion is another issue. I was pissed off when they allowed Vmart to leave. Hes not making contact and has looked lost. Hes been up in some crucial situations and has not come through. The pitching staff has also been rocked during their 5 game losing streak. Now, we cannot blame Salty for all of this since he is not telling Lackey to throw meatballs over the heart of the plate, but he is the one who called for Beckett to throw 20+ changeups the other night. You have to wonder how much of an effect he is having on the staff though since he is the one throwing down the signs.

 

Lester is a slow starter, so we cannot panic with him. He has earned his keep and we all know he starts out a little slow.

 

Lackey was brutal. He has average at best last season and you have to wonder about the success he will have in the AL east, especially since Toronto and Baltimore are pretty strong offensive teams.

 

Buccholz was excellent last year so he at least has a small track record. He looked ok in his debut and pitched well enough to win the game.

 

Beckett, well you all know where I stand with him. He was regularly around 90/91 MPH. That is very concerning especially considering the fact he hasnt has a good curveball in almost 2 years. I have heard people say that he pitched ok the other night. Which game were they watching? After 5 innings he was already at 100 pitches and he had given up 3 ER.

 

Dice-K did pretty much what we expected of him. As the #5 all we can really hope for is that he keeps us in the game. He did that.

 

The bullpen has been just as bad, if not worse than the starting pitching. A major concern is that they are already getting overworked. In 4 of the 5 first games the starting pitcher has failed to make it out of the 5th inning. Reyes and Wheeler have already pitched in 3 games. Reyes has been brutal and I think we are close to seeing the return of Okajima. Reyes was a nice story and earned a roster spot but is pitching his way out of it. A couple more losses and bad performances will ultimately bring Okajima back to the bigs.

 

As a team, they currently have a 8.33 ERA after 5 games and have allowed 67 baserunners through 40 innings. They are only hitting .190 as a team. I think once the offense starts rolling and they take some of the pressure of the starting pitchers.

 

Bottom line, this team was supposed to be an offensive juggernaut. Its time to start hitting. Its time to start putting together long innings. Its time to start playing good baseball. This lineup is too good to start out the season 0-5. I think Lester stops the bleeding and this team scores 5-6 runs today.

[Emmz]

lol, no team, especially the Red Sox, is going to hit .190. And the ERA goes the same way. I'm not in the least bit concerned. after 5 games. I'm not saying that you're saying the sky is falling, I'm saying "eh, but it's five games, and you'd almost have to try to hit that poorly and give up that many runs, so I'm pretty sure the Sox will go on a huge run pretty soon".

[Palodios]

I think someone should make an Official Talksox Bitching and Whining thread where all these kinds of topics go to. So that way, everyone pissed about this garbage can vent to their heart's content, without sabtogaging all of the other threads.

[jacksonianmarch]

The sox will hit, the sox will pitch. Although I cannot say this isnt enjoyable

[SoxSport]

Well, something has to be wrong. Heck, they just lost two games to maybe the worst team in baseball.

The front office is spending $160 million a year on salaries. The ticket holders and cable subscribers are paying for it--plenty.

 

I've suggested maybe the problem might be complacency. Tito is a laissez-faire type guy. A nice guy.

A drill sargeant he is not. I remember Dick Williams in '67. Ex-Marine. No nonsense. That team overachieved, to put it mildly.

 

You got a lot of stars here. A lot of prima donnas? I don't know. Tough to tell. I think they just might have had too much hubris in spring training. Tito, too. Thought they didn't have to do much to bowl everybody over when the season started. Turns out Tito didn't spend enough time sorting out the lineup. Maybe also, some of the regulars didn't play enough to be sharp out of the gate. Not enough discipline, maybe.

 

The Sox lost their bench manager a couple of years ago--the guy who now manages the Astros, I believe.

Some think he was the taskmaster--the coach that paid attention to the details in spring training. Last year, an extraordinary number of injuries. This year, an unusually slow start. Maybe they miss him.

[Station 13]

The hitting will come. They're too talented. A-Gon homer was sweet after a 12 pitch battle. He also hit a opposite field 2B that's going to clear the monster.

 

Pitching is off to a slow start, each only made 1 start. Let's not jump on them yet.

[italstallianion]

I think someone should make an Official Talksox Bitching and Whining thread where all these kinds of topics go to. So that way' date=' everyone pissed about this garbage can vent to their heart's content, without sabtogaging all of the other threads.[/quote']

 

 

In addition, with all the bitching and moaning concentrated into one thread, we can quickly jettison it together once the Sox are playing well. You know, ditch the evidence in the thread graveyard.

[Cocos Disciples]

I think someone should make an Official Talksox Bitching and Whining thread where all these kinds of topics go to. So that way' date=' everyone pissed about this garbage can vent to their heart's content, without sabtogaging all of the other threads.[/quote']

 

This doesn't qualify as bitching or moaning. This thread seems pretty rational and reasonable to me. Saying there's something wrong with the team right now isn't necessarily freaking out.

[Palodios]

This doesn't qualify as bitching or moaning. This thread seems pretty rational and reasonable to me. Saying there's something wrong with the team right now isn't necessarily freaking out.

 

I definitely just skimmed the thread, and maybe "bitching and moaning" was not appropriate here. But I think having a place where people CAN say irritational things will help the general sanity of the board everywhere else.

 

I guess I'm not all that concerned yet-- the Rays are at the bottom too, Lackey and Lester both have sucked in April for their careers, Beckett and Dice-k only gave up 3 runs a piece, and Buch looked fine despite not getting that much work in ST. Half of the offense hasn't played since last June, and Ortiz isn't slumping.

[ORS]

I definitely just skimmed the thread, and maybe "bitching and moaning" was not appropriate here. But I think having a place where people CAN say irritational things will help the general sanity of the board everywhere else.

 

I guess I'm not all that concerned yet-- the Rays are at the bottom too, Lackey and Lester both have sucked in April for their careers, Beckett and Dice-k only gave up 3 runs a piece, and Buch looked fine despite not getting that much work in ST. Half of the offense hasn't played since last June, and Ortiz isn't slumping.

While I fully agree with the idea that it's way too early to get even mildly concerned, this isn't very useful as consolation. I expect them to be near the bottom come the end of the year given all that they lost during the offseason.

[Palodios]

While I fully agree with the idea that it's way too early to get even mildly concerned' date=' this isn't very useful as consolation. I expect them to be near the bottom come the end of the year given all that they lost during the offseason.[/quote']

 

They lost a lot, but they did win the AL East in 2010. Toronto lost Marcum and Wells, Baltimore only won 66 games in 2010. Unless the wildcard finally leaves the east, the Rays concern me the most of those three if only from their rotation.

[SCM33]

I think someone should make an Official Talksox Bitching and Whining thread where all these kinds of topics go to. So that way' date=' everyone pissed about this garbage can vent to their heart's content, without sabtogaging all of the other threads.[/quote']

 

I definitely just skimmed the thread, and maybe "bitching and moaning" was not appropriate here. But I think having a place where people CAN say irritational things will help the general sanity of the board everywhere else.

 

I guess I'm not all that concerned yet-- the Rays are at the bottom too, Lackey and Lester both have sucked in April for their careers, Beckett and Dice-k only gave up 3 runs a piece, and Buch looked fine despite not getting that much work in ST. Half of the offense hasn't played since last June, and Ortiz isn't slumping.

 

In addition' date=' with all the bitching and moaning concentrated into one thread, we can quickly jettison it together once the Sox are playing well. You know, ditch the evidence in the thread graveyard. [/quote']

 

 

 

Thanks for assuming that this thread was about something it wasnt. Additionally, thanks for trashing it without at least reading it and just assuming it was a panic thread, which clearly it is not.

 

Thank you (genuinely) everyone else for actually taking the time to read it, rather than dismiss it immediately after "skimming" it.

[Palodios]

This is not a thread in which I am saying that the sky is falling. This thread is to strictly talk about the issues with this team that is leading to a bad/slow start.

 

Jacoby Ellsbury has been dreadful. He was also pretty bad last year although we can attribute that to injury. He has looked completely lost after looking pretty good in the opener. I think the question truly arises as to whether or not he is a true leadoff hitter. He sure as hell looked like one in 2009 but his last 100+ ab's have not.

 

I think most of the rest of the lineup will eventually hit their stide. Ortiz has looked better to start the season, better than he has in the previous 2 anyway. Crawford will hit his stride. His speed alone allows him to beat out hits. As he gets more comfortable he will produce better. He may not be a fit for this team, or their lineup but hes still a damn good player. Youkilis will also produce and I think he will do that sooner than later. His injury was a significant one and he has too good of an eye and contact skills to allow his slump to linger much longer.

 

Scutaro and Salty have been terrible. Its hard to say that Scutaros slump will continue as well. The guy makes contact too often and doesnt strike out much. Eventually the balls will start to drop for the guy.

 

Salty in my opinion is another issue. I was pissed off when they allowed Vmart to leave. Hes not making contact and has looked lost. Hes been up in some crucial situations and has not come through. The pitching staff has also been rocked during their 5 game losing streak. Now, we cannot blame Salty for all of this since he is not telling Lackey to throw meatballs over the heart of the plate, but he is the one who called for Beckett to throw 20+ changeups the other night. You have to wonder how much of an effect he is having on the staff though since he is the one throwing down the signs.

 

Lester is a slow starter, so we cannot panic with him. He has earned his keep and we all know he starts out a little slow.

 

Lackey was brutal. He has average at best last season and you have to wonder about the success he will have in the AL east, especially since Toronto and Baltimore are pretty strong offensive teams.

 

Buccholz was excellent last year so he at least has a small track record. He looked ok in his debut and pitched well enough to win the game.

 

Beckett, well you all know where I stand with him. He was regularly around 90/91 MPH. That is very concerning especially considering the fact he hasnt has a good curveball in almost 2 years. I have heard people say that he pitched ok the other night. Which game were they watching? After 5 innings he was already at 100 pitches and he had given up 3 ER.

 

Dice-K did pretty much what we expected of him. As the #5 all we can really hope for is that he keeps us in the game. He did that.

 

The bullpen has been just as bad, if not worse than the starting pitching. A major concern is that they are already getting overworked. In 4 of the 5 first games the starting pitcher has failed to make it out of the 5th inning. Reyes and Wheeler have already pitched in 3 games. Reyes has been brutal and I think we are close to seeing the return of Okajima. Reyes was a nice story and earned a roster spot but is pitching his way out of it. A couple more losses and bad performances will ultimately bring Okajima back to the bigs.

 

 

These are the the things that stood out to me when skimming it. I didn't mean to diss you, but there have been so many people in this type of mood, that when I caught the bolded words, I wasn't in a rush to read it. Sorry about that.

[Dojji]

They'll still make the playoffs. But I'd really love to see them break the ice with a couple nice wins soon.

 

We have stretches like this all the time over a year, but I've never seen it happen for the first 6 games. Just a bit taken aback, but it hasn't shaken my convictions that this is a team that's going to wind up going into the postseason and making noise there.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Don't worry when we win you'll all be fine.

 

As for issues? OFFENSE. Terrible. You don't score you can't win.

[boston22407]

Im watching the Yankees game and they are taking about us and are problems

[MANNYHOF24]

Does anyone else think there is a correlation between how the Red Sox prepare in spring training and the really slow starts the last 3 years. Does Tito need to work the guys harder during the spring? Let's face it, starting slow puts a lot of pressure on the team, and can cost you later in the season if we end up losing a race by a game or 2.

[boston22407]

reading some of these tweets on twitter from the players it seems like it really starting to hit them

[yeszir]

reading some of these tweets on twitter from the players it seems like it really starting to hit them

 

Any examples?

[ORS]

I'm not sure. Perhaps we need another thread about the start to this season. Five doesn't feel like enough*.

 

*Just picked a number out of the air arbitrarily.

[Taz]

0-6... The worst record in all the majors... what the f*ck is going on? Iknow I'm a long way away from the action & have only been able to catch the one game thus far. The batting averages tell a tale & the pitching has had problems through spring that have carried over but seriously, can someone tell me, are the Sox really playing 0-6 ball?

[SoxSport]

Make that six.

[SoxSport]

Losing 3 to Cleveland doesn't make the Rangers look that great winning 3. It makes the Sox look that bad.

[SoxSport]

Youks may be frustrated, but he has to realize they are digging their own hole.

[boston22407]

Any examples?

 

one is in my sig.ill find more that i read and post them

[boston22407]

I’m frustrated. We all went to bed at 3 o’clock. We don’t just put our head on the pillow at 11:30 and go to sleep and say everything’s great. We’ve got 15 All-Stars or whatever the hell we’ve got on this team. That’s not how it is, man," said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "This is our lives. We’re going to get home right now and my wife’s going to look at me and say 'Expletive], you’re 0-6. You guys stink. We all bring this [expletive] home with us, man. We care. We’ll figure it out. We have to. We don’t want to let anyone down. That’s it."

[MANNYHOF24]

Can't you just let me be frustrated?

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Go ahead. Pick a thread I'm sure you'll find some.

[Palodios]

Agon, Pedroia, Youk, Varitek, Ortiz, Crawford, Drew, Papelbon, Jenks, 4 starters, Wakefield.

 

14 Pedroia, its 14.

[Lackeyfan38]

Yea it's Francona's fault they don't hit. Ellsbury Youkilis Crawford Saltalamacchia Scutaro Peds even aren't paid enough to hit above 250. Thats the problem not Tito.