Official 2012 Keep your shit together thread

[Elktonnick]

I don't think the game tonight will be blacked out if I live in Florida' date=' correct? I am not part of the local area network. I am assuming the games will be blacked out when we play Tampa, but I can always watch them on TV. I do not like how on Saturday and Sunday, some games are blacked out at certain times.[/quote']

 

That has to do with the Fox and Espn Sunday night contract with MLB. The only local blackouts are when the local sporrts channel runs the game. I live in Maryland. So when the Sox plays the O's I must watch on the O's network which is MASN. If you have the local sports channel you should be okay

[redsoxfan3]

That has to do with the Fox and Espn Sunday night contract with MLB. The only local blackouts are when the local sporrts channel runs the game. I live in Maryland. So when the Sox plays the O's I must watch on the O's network which is MASN. If you have the local sports channel you should be okay

 

That works. Thanks for the information. I just want to be able to watch the game tonight. I have the night off of work. I will be pissed if the game is blacked out.

[TheRightKost]

I'd love to be able to keep my s*** together, but right now thats kind of tough. When the pitching is decent, the batters suck... and vice versa. For Christ sake we can score 12 runs in a game... and our pitching finds a way to lose it, or we can have a solid outing, and our hitting blows.

 

Today, Lester gave us a solid outing (nothing stellar, but 8IP, 3 ER on 3 hits with 6K's is a quality start, and should be enough to propel this team to a win). When your 2-6 hitters, supposedly the "heart" and strength of the order... go a combined 0-18 you're not gonna be getting many W's.

[ORS]

You are right, you aren't going to win many, hell I'd go so far as to say any, games where the heart of the order goes 0-18. What this thread title should remind you of is that you should only lose your s*** if it is reasonable to expect that the talent you have at those positions will do that regularly.

[TheRightKost]

I know its still early and all that, so I'm not completely losing my s*** over it. But still... they have those commericals on NESN where they have all the players saying "Every game matters" and all that crap. It'd be nice if they played like every game really mattered.

 

In fact, every game really does matter, because if we had won one of those games in early April during our atrocious start last year... the collapse in September still wouldnt have kept us out of the playoffs.

 

Not quite panic time yet, but I mean c'mon lets start getting some wins here

[redsoxrules]

Red Sox offense for the most part sucks on the road .

I'm not suprised by the outcome of the first 6 games .

The offense will roll when they hit home as usual .

[scsoxsfan]

So after a 6 game series we are 1-5 compared to last years 0-6. So remain calm we have a lot of base ball left to play and how about Pedroia's play these last few games bats okay but d looks solid. cant wait to see what our offense looks like at home on friday, really excited about all of this. Thought Big P was gonna start early with the bats after the double in Detroit.

[NativeBostonian]

Red Sox offense for the most part sucks on the road .

I'm not suprised by the outcome of the first 6 games .

The offense will roll when they hit home as usual .

 

I hope they wake up at home. I'm taking the day off just so I can watch the home opener.

[scsoxsfan]

I hope they wake up at home. I'm taking the day off just so I can watch the home opener.

 

:thumbsup: i am right there with you man a win against the rays will be very nice to see.

[example1]

I'm the glass-half-full guy. Always. I'm also reasonable enough to know that seasons are long and this one has barely started.

 

That said, what the f*** is with this team's s***** starts the past few years? Francona was blamed for a lazy spring training. Valentine comes in with the crackin' whip and they start off nearly as shittily.

 

I really hoped the Sox wouldn't have to go through this s*** again this year. It's a frustrating way to start a season. Even playing .500 ball doesn't conjure images of 2011 all over again. Sheesh.

[redsoxfan3]

There are always ups and downs in baseball. You cannot win every game. I remember in college during my first year we started out 1-15. We bounced back and went 23-1. We finished the regular season going 24-16. We ended up winning our conference for the first time in 20 years and winning our third conference championship ever. You have to have a good short term memory in baseball. You also cannot let the negatives get to you too much and you cannot get too excited about the positives. You have to be on an even keel.

 

I think that logic is the same as a fan as it is a player. There are going to be games and streaks where we lose a couple of series in a row. We are 1-5 and we still have 156 games left to play this year. We are yet to even play our first game at Fenway. There wiill be a lot of excitement at Fenway this year. We play four home games in a row against the Rays. All it takes is a sweep to get us back to .500 and for us to even forget the start of the season. As of right now I don't know how realistic that is. We just have to take one game at a time. We have a tough schedule for the beginning of April. After we play the Yankees in April, I think I counted 21 games in a row where we play teams that we can beat. We could go on a real run to get this season turned around. Stay optimistic and if we lose a game, know it is not the end of the world.

 

I know that we started off horrible this year and last year. You also have to remember we have two new guys in our rotation, a virtually new bullpen, a new starting SS, a couple of new OF's, and a new manager. They are still learning and they are still building team chemistry. Crawford is not back yet. Hill, Dice-K, and Bailey are all coming back at some point. This team will grow and progressively get better. I knew that we were going to have our struggles this year. I am glad that it is at the beginning of the season. We are only six games in. If you are getting stressed out right now, then my only advice is to take it easy, there are even going to be more growing pains. Bobby V does not know everything about this team. Our offense will start to produce more.

 

There is a lot of hope and potential for this team. Just give it time. We will get things going. I am predicting us to be a little over .500 in the middle of May. You have to remember that we are playing extremely talented teams. Our first five series are teams that all have legitimate shots to make the playoffs. I know the Jays are probably the weakest of the 5 teams, but they are going to be tough this year, especially if Romero can pitch the way he did yesterday. The Rangers, Yankees, Tigers, and Rays are no doubt some of the toughest teams in baseball. Then we follow up with playing series against the Twins, White Sox, A's, Orioles, Guardians, and Royals. For those who are already tripping balls about being 1-5, it is going to be a long season for you guys. The pitching willl come together. The offense will start to produce. Things will get better.

[wyo-sox]

redsoxfan3, excellent post!

[kapsis21]

^^ amen to that redsoxfan3

[a700hitter]

You have to remember that we are playing extremely talented teams. Our first five series are teams that all have legitimate shots to make the playoffs. I know the Jays are probably the weakest of the 5 teams' date=' but they are going to be tough this year, especially if Romero can pitch the way he did yesterday. [b']The Rangers, Yankees, Tigers, and Rays are no doubt some of the toughest teams in baseball. [/b]

and with the exception of the Yankees, the Red Sox have a larger payroll than each of these 5 teams. What is wrong with this picture?

[SoxSport]

and with the exception of the Yankees' date=' the Red Sox have a larger payroll than each of these 5 teams. What is wrong with this picture?[/quote']

 

Which is why the old GM is now in Chicago. There are big chunks of the Red Sox payroll that are useless at this point.

[NZSox]

Funny what a couple of thumping wins does. I'm feeling good about our Sox. Even with 3 key personnel injured at the moment.

[redsoxfan3]

This thread has not been posted used in a week and I think that now is the best time to use it. It is frustrating losing some of the games that we have, especially the way we lost to the Yankees yesterday. I know we are 4-10 and it does not seem like we have much to look forward to this season. That is where I come in and tell you that you are wrong. Yes, the bullpen sucks and we need to change something, or do we? Aceves has sucked, but I know he will change things around. Morales will get back on the right track. We are going to have to get rid of this Thomas guy. Melancon is getting things back together in the minors and I could see him back with the major league squad in a couple of months once he proves himself again.

 

We have Rich Hill and Dice-K both coming back sometime around June. When Dice-K comes back, I think the only option we have is to put him as our 5th starter and move Bard back to the pen. Bard would then be our closer with a combo of Morales and Hill setting him up. Aceves moves back into the spot that he was in last year. Padilla will be in a similar role, but will be on a short leash. Depending on how Melancon progresses, he could be used in game situations where the game is not close until he proves himself. We then have a rotation of Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Doubront, and Matsuzaka. Our pen is built around Bard, Aceves, Morales, and Hill. My guess is that we will also actively pursue more bullpen help.

 

The outfield is the other situation. Let's hope Ells is not out more than two months since he does not need surgery. By the time Ells returns, we should have an OF that consists of Crawford, Ells, Ross, Byrd, and Sweeney. My guess is McDonald gets DFA'd or is in a trade package to potentially get a closer or some relief help. The OF will be a lot better, with less question marks.

 

Now for some more positive news. After tonight we will have our first 15 games out the way. We did play a tough schedule to start the year, but that is no excuse for starting off 4-10. Our next 22 games are games that are very winnable against teams that are mediocre at best. It is not time to start losing all hope this season. If we are only about 10-27 or several games below .500 after the span of the 22 upcoming games, then it is time to start freaking out. I think we will be over .500 by the time the 22 games are played. The teams we are playing are the Twins (3), White Sox (4), A's (3), Orioles (3), Royals (3), Guardians (4), and Mariners (2). The number of games we play against each are in parentheses.

 

When you take a look at that schedule, you cannot sit their and say you cannot be optimistic. Right now I know things are not looking too good, but by May 15th we should all have a new outlook on things. Let's start to make an actual run to turn this season around. Let's start tonight by beating the Yankees in the final game of the series. Keep the faith, because you are not a true fan if you don't.

[BornToRun]

This thread has not been posted used in a week and I think that now is the best time to use it. It is frustrating losing some of the games that we have, especially the way we lost to the Yankees yesterday. I know we are 4-10 and it does not seem like we have much to look forward to this season. That is where I come in and tell you that you are wrong. Yes, the bullpen sucks and we need to change something, or do we? Aceves has sucked, but I know he will change things around. Morales will get back on the right track. We are going to have to get rid of this Thomas guy. Melancon is getting things back together in the minors and I could see him back with the major league squad in a couple of months once he proves himself again.

 

We have Rich Hill and Dice-K both coming back sometime around June. When Dice-K comes back, I think the only option we have is to put him as our 5th starter and move Bard back to the pen. Bard would then be our closer with a combo of Morales and Hill setting him up. Aceves moves back into the spot that he was in last year. Padilla will be in a similar role, but will be on a short leash. Depending on how Melancon progresses, he could be used in game situations where the game is not close until he proves himself. We then have a rotation of Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Doubront, and Matsuzaka. Our pen is built around Bard, Aceves, Morales, and Hill. My guess is that we will also actively pursue more bullpen help.

 

The outfield is the other situation. Let's hope Ells is not out more than two months since he does not need surgery. By the time Ells returns, we should have an OF that consists of Crawford, Ells, Ross, Byrd, and Sweeney. My guess is McDonald gets DFA'd or is in a trade package to potentially get a closer or some relief help. The OF will be a lot better, with less question marks.

 

Now for some more positive news. After tonight we will have our first 15 games out the way. We did play a tough schedule to start the year, but that is no excuse for starting off 4-10. Our next 22 games are games that are very winnable against teams that are mediocre at best. It is not time to start losing all hope this season. If we are only about 10-27 or several games below .500 after the span of the 22 upcoming games, then it is time to start freaking out. I think we will be over .500 by the time the 22 games are played. The teams we are playing are the Twins (3), White Sox (4), A's (3), Orioles (3), Royals (3), Guardians (4), and Mariners (2). The number of games we play against each are in parentheses.

 

When you take a look at that schedule, you cannot sit their and say you cannot be optimistic. Right now I know things are not looking too good, but by May 15th we should all have a new outlook on things. Let's start to make an actual run to turn this season around. Let's start tonight by beating the Yankees in the final game of the series. Keep the faith, because you are not a true fan if you don't.

That awesome feeling where you realize someone's words gave you a raging erection.

 

 

 

This is it.

[SoxSport]

I think there's good reason for optimism, but I'm concerned about Vs relationship with the front office and the conflicts with personnel. I think V wants some young blood on the team and isn't getting his way.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Great article by Alex Speier on Adrian Gonzalez's slow start.

 

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2012/04/25/after-early-struggles-adrian-gonzalez-ready-re

 

That being the case, while the 4-for-5 game for Mike Aviles and the continued absurdity of David Ortiz’s great start (a 2-for-4 night with a homer now has him hitting .444 with a 1.200 OPS) headlined the Red Sox win on Tuesday, the bigger development may have been Gonzalez’s night. After entering the night 2-for-16 with five strikeouts in his prior four games, the first baseman went 3-for-3 with a walk to improve his line to .302/.338/.460/.798. He also drove in a pair of runs.

 

Perhaps that was the signal that he is ready to get hot. A year ago, after all, Gonzalez’ numbers looked very similar to the ones that he carried into this April 24 contest. Through April 23 of his first year with the Red Sox, Gonzalez was hitting .263/.344/.388/.732. He had three hits last April 24, and hit .349/.419/.571/.990 with 26 homers and 107 RBI the rest of the way.

 

Pretty amazing how this season replicates last season in terms of Gonzo's performance. I really think this team is about to go on an absolute tear right now, not only because they are playing better, but also because of the schedule they have ahead of them. Would not surprise me in the least if they are 11-11 on April 30th, and then go about 20-9 in May and are 31-20 (.608) and in 1st or 2nd in the East by June 1. Then you get guys like Ellsbury, Crawford, Hill, DiceK, and eventually Bailey coming back, and you can make a good run at it this year.

 

I'm very encouraged right now.