How to Fix This Team?

[ellsburyforMVP]

You guys have your heads in your asses if you think we arent playing much better. We are 3 over .500 and 2 games back of TB and Baltimore in the L column with Pettitte coming through the pipe on Sunday. Plus' date=' I am not sure you have figured out, but we actually have an ace, as well as a guy who has lost 2 games in a calendar yr (Nova) as well as a guy with a sub 4 ERA on the season in Kuroda. Plus, we actually have a pen, even with Mo out, and our offense has been dead most of the yr even though we are third in the AL in runs scored with minimal contribution from Cano or Tex. I have said this once and I will say it again, we are winning the AL East[/quote']

 

I don't need a whole paragraph to explain this...17-14, 4th place, lost your hall of famer closer..... Is that any where near Yankee " standards" ?? So, yes you guys aren't playing much better

[XxNicki MinajxX]

Injuries hurt them, they will be back

[Laser Show]

Beckett for Zito?

[Station 13]

Beckett for Zito?

 

Zito throws 85, at Fenway he'd get creamed.

[a700hitter]

Zito throws 85' date=' at Fenway he'd get creamed.[/quote']He gets creamed everywhere.

[redsoxbeatz]

I like the input Jacksonian, I do! Really in-depth stuff.

 

Too bad anything & everything we say doesn't matter in the least.

 

But, still, an interesting analysis. Just too much coming from a Yanks fan, you know?

 

I would take Zito for Beckett just to see Beckett go. Even if Zito does get creamed. Beckett is a headache.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Beckett for Zito?

 

 

 

 

fix /fɪks/

verb (used with object)

1. to repair; mend.

2. to put in order or in good condition

3. to make fast, firm, or stable.

4. to place definitely and more or less permanently

5. to settle definitely; determine: to fix a price.

 

 

In case that was too subtle (and in case that was too sardonic), I highly doubt Zito would be an improvement. Plus, it's unlikely SF will be willing to pick up any of the approximately eighty billion dollars they spent on him, and the Sox sure as hell aren't going to eat any of his remaining salary from SF.

[jacksonianmarch]

I don't need a whole paragraph to explain this...17-14' date=' 4th place, lost your hall of famer closer..... Is that any where near Yankee " standards" ?? So, yes you guys aren't playing much better[/quote']

 

18-14, one game back of the real leaders in the division, the Rays. But yeah, we are playing like s*** and are destined to miss the POs

[SoxSport]

I don't think it's trades that will do it. I think the problem is about attitude--the management is too easy on the players and not really dedicated to winning. Abraham's article this morning in the Globe about Beckett implies as much.

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2012/05/12/for_josh_beckett_issue_is_par_for_the_course/

 

I never appreciated Tito bailing out of games when the Sox fell behind by 7-8 runs (it happened), nor did I like his "fielders indifference" calls which more than once generated important runs for the opposition in close games. That stuff used to make me wonder about the team's dedication to winning. You don't see that kind of crap on the Yankees.

 

My conclusion last September was the Red Sox were soft--from the owner down. In my view, they are still soft. The owner hasn't changed, and neither really has the management--or the attitude.

[Ghost Of Theo]

You need to be able to see things from the other side sometimes too.

 

I agree. The "rivalry" is fake (minus 2003 & 2004). If you are a Red Sox fan that is constantly checking on the Yankees because you "hate" them means you are nothing more than a lamb going to slaughter. The media created this nonsense and you just feed right into it, taking all your kids with you and teaching them fairy tales about curses and how the Yankees just buy championships.

 

Be mad at YOUR team Red Sox fans. They DO have the money to make this team work. They just choose to buy soccer teams, racing teams, and s*** sports channels.

[example1]

18-14' date=' one game back of the real leaders in the division, the Rays. But yeah, we are playing like s*** and are destined to miss the POs[/quote']

 

In the past the Yankees were the odds-on favorite to win the WS every year. That hasn't been the case for a few seasons. Why the sudden complacency with not being the best?

[a700hitter]

I agree. The "rivalry" is fake (minus 2003 & 2004). If you are a Red Sox fan that is constantly checking on the Yankees because you "hate" them means you are nothing more than a lamb going to slaughter. The media created this nonsense and you just feed right into it, taking all your kids with you and teaching them fairy tales about curses and how the Yankees just buy championships.

 

Be mad at YOUR team Red Sox fans. They DO have the money to make this team work. They just choose to buy soccer teams, racing teams, and s*** sports channels.

Speaking for myself, I hate the Yankees, because they have been our toughest competition for as long as I can remember. Speaking of nonsense, what the hell are you talking about with regard to lambs to slaughter, teaching fairy tales etc.?

[Ghost Of Theo]

Speaking for myself' date=' I hate the Yankees, because they have been our toughest competition for as long as I can remember. Speaking of nonsense, what the hell are you talking about with regard to lambs to slaughter, teaching fairy tales etc.?[/quote']

 

It's all about the sheep that follow the Red Sox that wax poetic about how in 1919 we lost the Bambino to those damn Yankees and before 2004 we were CURSED. Fathers tell their kids that nonsense all the time and the kids eat it up, spouting off lines like, "I love 2 teams, the Red Sox and who ever beats the Yankees". That's lame.

 

Can't fathers tell their kids the truth about the Red Sox? Can't they talk about how Yawkey was a racist piece of s*** yet they still call the street where the ball park is located Yawkey Way? How about the fact that his racism kept him from getting the likes of Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, AND Willie Mays, leaving the Red Sox as a piece of s*** from 1947 until 1967?

 

That NEVER comes up. It's only about the Bambino.

 

I think the Yankees are a tough opponent and I dislike them as much as any other difficult opponent, but to have your entire MEAGER history based on a f***ing MYTH is ridiculous.

 

John Henry and company DID do two decent things: the 2007 championship (2004 will FOREVER belong to Dan Duquette, a discussion for another time) and he was a good human being when it comes to the matter of Boston's infamous history regarding race relations and trying to fix past mistakes made by that motherf***er Tom Yawkey.

[JohnGreen2004]

The team needs to acquire high level pitching prospects to build toward 2013 and beyond. The reason they suck is simple, the pitching sucks.

 

It's less about the "attitude" and "leadership" of this team. Are those things important? Yes. Are they why the Sox suck right now? No. It all comes down to horrendous pitching.

[a700hitter]

It's all about the sheep that follow the Red Sox that wax poetic about how in 1919 we lost the Bambino to those damn Yankees and before 2004 we were CURSED. Fathers tell their kids that nonsense all the time and the kids eat it up, spouting off lines like, "I love 2 teams, the Red Sox and who ever beats the Yankees". That's lame.

 

Can't fathers tell their kids the truth about the Red Sox? Can't they talk about how Yawkey was a racist piece of s*** yet they still call the street where the ball park is located Yawkey Way? How about the fact that his racism kept him from getting the likes of Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, AND Willie Mays, leaving the Red Sox as a piece of s*** from 1947 until 1967?

 

That NEVER comes up. It's only about the Bambino.

 

I think the Yankees are a tough opponent and I dislike them as much as any other difficult opponent, but to have your entire MEAGER history based on a f***ing MYTH is ridiculous.

 

John Henry and company DID do two decent things: the 2007 championship (2004 will FOREVER belong to Dan Duquette, a discussion for another time) and he was a good human being when it comes to the matter of Boston's infamous history regarding race relations and trying to fix past mistakes made by that motherf***er Tom Yawkey.

Oh, the entire history of the Red Sox is dominated by racism. Who are you Obama? The history of the Red Sox is about the players on the field. For me that history started in 1967. There was no Babe. There was no curse. BTW: "I love 2 teams, the Red Sox and who ever beats the Yankees". is a great line. It has been my philosophy for many years.

[VA Sox Fan]

Oh' date=' the entire history of the Red Sox is dominated by racism. Who are you Obama? The history of the Red Sox is about the players on the field. For me that history started in 1967. There was no Babe. There was no curse. BTW: "I love 2 teams, the Red Sox and who ever beats the Yankees". is a great line. It has been my philosophy for many years.[/quote']

 

I never believed in that stupid curse crap and I think it was non-Red Sox fans who bought into more than Red Sox fans. Shank came up with that ficticious crap, consider the source.

 

I love that line too 700!

[jung]

No question that the horrific performance of 1, 2, 3 in the rotation is the real problem with this team. Why it was expected that they would perform as a solid group before the season started is beyond me. I did not see it and said so. Now, they are pitching so poorly that they are not even meeting my rather low expectations.

 

This is why I don't much consider Ells and CC coming back to be all that significant. It adds to the talent pool but does not fix the problem. dice is a more direct response to the problem but dice is what at this point, maybe a 3 in a rotation.....more likely a 4. How does that help.

 

So the #1 problem is the pitching by the 1,2 and 3 in the rotation for which there is no quick fix and while the next issue to fix is down the road from 1,2 3 in the rotation it is also obvious that they play s***** baseball. They make rotten plate appearances as a group. They make stupid mistakes on the base paths and they suck in the field. The Guardians game that was a win on Friday night was the best baseball this team has played in weeks....it is the best baseball packed into one game that this team has played in weeks. However I would be remise if I did not point out that much of that difference was provided by Nava, a journeyman just up from Pawtucket. That by itself makes a hell of a statement. As for CC coming back, rotten plate appearances and poor performance in the field described his entire 2011. The only thing that he did not do that poorly is make that many bad decisions on the base paths....cause he was never on the base paths. However he would fit into this group perfectly and until he proves otherwise to me, his return does not resolve any of the issues his team has got.

[JohnGreen2004]

No question that the horrific performance of 1, 2, 3 in the rotation is the real problem with this team. Why it was expected that they would perform as a solid group before the season started is beyond me. I did not see it and said so. Now, they are pitching so poorly that they are not even meeting my rather low expectations.

 

This is why I don't much consider Ells and CC coming back to be all that significant. It adds to the talent pool but does not fix the problem. dice is a more direct response to the problem but dice is what at this point, maybe a 3 in a rotation.....more likely a 4. How does that help.

 

So the #1 problem is the pitching by the 1,2 and 3 in the rotation for which there is no quick fix and while the next issue to fix is down the road from 1,2 3 in the rotation it is also obvious that they play s***** baseball. They make rotten plate appearances as a group. They make stupid mistakes on the base paths and they suck in the field. The Guardians game that was a win on Friday night was the best baseball this team has played in weeks....it is the best baseball packed into one game that this team has played in weeks. However I would be remise if I did not point out that much of that difference was provided by Nava, a journeyman just up from Pawtucket. That by itself makes a hell of a statement. As for CC coming back, rotten plate appearances and poor performance in the field described his entire 2011. The only thing that he did not do that poorly is make that many bad decisions on the base paths....cause he was never on the base paths. However he would fit into this group perfectly and until he proves otherwise to me, his return does not resolve any of the issues his team has got.

 

 

I agree with you, definitely on Crawford. I knew this team was headed for the gutter when people started pegging has return as vital. That's only the case if he's '10 CC, a side of him we haven't seen yet and may not see.

[example1]

While pitching is the main problem, I don't see how getting Ellsbury (most valuable offensive player in the AL in 2011) and Crawford couldn't make the team better. They still have to score more runs than their opponents to win games, whether that is 2-1 or 10-9. They need pitching to win it all, but right now they are simply losing so much that it is driving all of us nuts. Just winning more games would be a good start from my point of view.

 

I still think Crawford has a chance to return to form. He was just out of sorts last year, but I would be surprised if that meant his productive days are entirely behind him.

[mvp 78]

Oh' date=' the entire history of the Red Sox is dominated by racism. Who are you Obama? The history of the Red Sox is about the players on the field. For me that history started in 1967. There was no Babe. There was no curse. BTW: "I love 2 teams, the Red Sox and who ever beats the Yankees". is a great line. It has been my philosophy for many years.[/quote']

 

Obama? Really?

 

That was dumber than the post you quoted.

[NZSox]

To be perfectly honest, this team is not even close to the same team as last season. Of today's lineup arguably only Salty, Ortiz, Pedey and Gonzo were mainstays last season. Plus possibly Aviles, but he arrived late on, and was outshone by Scutaro largely anyway. Any team that goes through this many changes is going to struggle; losing your elite closer, replacing him with an injured player, losing the runner-up MVP to injury, and losing a $20m per year outfielder with bags of potential to injury. The key to fixing this team in my opinion starts with getting everyone healthy. We just don't know how good this team is until we do.

 

Take a look at the attached image of today's lineup, the circled guys are the regular players from last season. Then take a look at our outfield - Ross, Nava, Sweeney (who has been excellent mind you) - and it says it all.

 

We obviously need to add some arms to the bullpen also, and get better production out of our starters, but for me this is secondary to getting everyone healthy.

[Bellhorn04]

While pitching is the main problem, I don't see how getting Ellsbury (most valuable offensive player in the AL in 2011) and Crawford couldn't make the team better. They still have to score more runs than their opponents to win games, whether that is 2-1 or 10-9. They need pitching to win it all, but right now they are simply losing so much that it is driving all of us nuts. Just winning more games would be a good start from my point of view.

 

I still think Crawford has a chance to return to form. He was just out of sorts last year, but I would be surprised if that meant his productive days are entirely behind him.

 

Absolutely we'd be a better team with Ellsbury and a productive Crawford.

[RedSoxNC84]

Crawford over Ross, Ellsbury over Nava/Byrd.. Keep Sweeney up though.

[a700hitter]

To be perfectly honest, this team is not even close to the same team as last season. Of today's lineup arguably only Salty, Ortiz, Pedey and Gonzo were mainstays last season. Plus possibly Aviles, but he arrived late on, and was outshone by Scutaro largely anyway. Any team that goes through this many changes is going to struggle; losing your elite closer, replacing him with an injured player, losing the runner-up MVP to injury, and losing a $20m per year outfielder with bags of potential to injury. The key to fixing this team in my opinion starts with getting everyone healthy. We just don't know how good this team is until we do.

 

Take a look at the attached image of today's lineup, the circled guys are the regular players from last season. Then take a look at our outfield - Ross, Nava, Sweeney (who has been excellent mind you) - and it says it all.

 

We obviously need to add some arms to the bullpen also, and get better production out of our starters, but for me this is secondary to getting everyone healthy.

Getting the team healthy will not happen until possibly July. By that time we could be well entrenched in last place in too deep a hole.

[SoxSport]

Cafardo's latest article this morning at the Globe hits the nail on the head about what's wrong with the Red Sox:

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2012/05/13/time_for_the_red_sox_to_toughen_up/

 

If you read this article carefully, you'll see he's saying it's a management problem. All the way up the line. He's also implying there is conflict between the manager and the FO which may be altering Valentine's usual way of doing things. Having a FO which wants control over a manager is not an uncommon problem in MLB these days. As well as the difficulty for a manager to supervise players who make as much as 10X more money than him. Nowhere else in business is that true--to my knowledge. A crazy situation.

 

This article is a real insight into what's wrong with the Red Sox, as seen from someone who is much closer to the scene than the fan. Read it and weep.

[mvp 78]

SoxSport, please stop. We get it. He's your man crush.