Red Sox (Giolito) vs Yankees (Gil): 8/21/25, 7:15pm

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

Another thing I've tried to start doing this year is agree with people I have often disagreed with.  And what I have found is that.....sometimes I actually agree with them alot. 

Try it sometime, try to agree with someone you've argued with a lot here.  Find something you agree with them on and talk about it.  It will make you feel better I promise. 

 

The thing is, I agreed with Fred that we have been "flops," and it unleashed a tidal wave. He was right about us being flops, but thinks the Sox teams of the past are these Sox, today.

Take a look at the rosters from year to year. The amou nt of turnover each year is astounding, and when you count guys out all year or nearly all year being replaced by some new pick-up or call up, it's even more extreme.

This may be a crude approach, but just look at our 40 man roster by seniority on it.

#1 is Houck. He was added late 2020!

Wong and Whitlock are next and started on the 40 for the 2021 season. That's less than 5 years ago, but because the 2022 team were flops, so are these guys. The idea is absurd.

Duran was added summer '21 and 26 others were added right before or after the 2022 season.

Casas was a Sept call-up in '22, and counting him, 30 guys were added for 2023 or later. Now, consider this: out of those 10 guys, Casas, Houck, Crawford and Wink were on the IL all year or almost all year! Another is Zach Kelly and another a platoon player currently on the IL (Refsnyder.)

I'm not upset with Fred and some others for being so negative. Most of the time, they make me laugh. I fully enjoyed the win, last night and felt the desire to call out the doom & gloomers, as they so readily and frequently call out those of us trying to be realistic or optimistic about a team that has looked much better than those past Sox teams.

[Hugh2]

12 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe?!?!? People on here would rather fight about it I guess. 

Well, let me rephrase.  I'm sure the Red Sox fans in here all feel very good about beating the Yankees. 

[moonslav59]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't entirely know what your problem is lately, but you like calling me out a lot. You have a history of having pages and pages of nonstop fights with other posters. I don't have that issue. For the betterment of the board, chill out. 

You must not even realize how much you do what you accuse others of doing, often more than they (and I)  do. You might be a little more subtle than some of us, but you are no better.

I'm totally chill, so stop trying to tell me what to do or say. I said nothing to or about Fred that wasn't true or that was offensive. I have no issues with how Fred has treated me, and I'm not sure he has any with me, or not, but his responses indicate he has none. (Red was another story, and I admit I should have let that go years ago, but I'm not able to easily let go, when people lie about my positions. I made it my issue, when I should have just ignored it all.)

I know I go overboard, too much. It doesn't make it any better by admitting it and often apologizing, when I do, but please stop pretending you are above it all.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Well, let me rephrase.  I'm sure the Red Sox fans in here all feel very good about beating the Yankees. 

That win, last night was great! It was also badly needed. No doubt, it looked like we might be headed for another major letdown, and maybe we still are.

I'm glad everyone is not the same. I expect negativity, and I have been negative and overly negative at times and about many things, too. When I go too far, I'm called out, and rightfully so. When other do, or I think they do, I and others call them out. In situations like this, we tend to call out what we perceive are mistakes or areas that need clarification, more than telling people they are right. That is human nature, or at least is becoming it, more and more, these days.

That homer by Anthony, and the cool bat flip reminded me of the Devers homer vs the Yanks. It was thrilling. Fred has called a lot of losses, this year, way before they were sure losses, and of course the odds are on the side of the team that is ahead. He was wrong, last night. He's been letting us know how wrong we have been, night after night, for believing in our team, even when hoping against hope. We won, and I let him have it. perhaps I went overboard, but unlike my situation with Red, where I apologized many times, while never seeing one returned, I don't think I owe Fred one, so I'm not sure why a mod is telling me to chill.

[mvp 78]

26 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm totally chill, so stop trying to tell me what to do or say.

Take my suggestion of not directly calling out other posters or don't. 🫠

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Take my suggestion of not directly calling out other posters or don't. 🫠

I suggest you stop suggesting others to stop doing what you do as much as anyone or more.

[Maxbialystock]

10 hours ago, FredLynn said:

I use to be smart-but that was a long time ago

Anyway, we need to win two of the next three at least. We have pretty favorable pitching matchups so we have a shot at it. Especially if we can start plating our lobsters. 
Isn’t owning the Yankees a treat?

 

 I agree the Sox have a real shot at the next 3 games with Bello, Crochet, and May--yes, May. 

I like what moonslav says about these Sox--they are pretty good on 2 of the essentials, hitting and pitching.  I think the defense and baserunning are also good,  That does not mean they can't have mini-slumps like the recent 3 losses to Miami and Baltimore. 

On the other hand, last night I expected the newly hot Yankees to demolish Sox pitching, but it didn't happen thanks to the bullpen.  Meanwhile--surprise,surprise--the top 5 in the Sox lineup had 8 of the Sox 10 hits, and all 5 rbi's.  And Hamilton had a hit, 2 walks, and scored 2 runs. 

With 36 games to go, I like the Sox chances, but absolutely nothing is guaranteed.   

Their  last six games are 3 @ Toronto (who are 42-21 at home) and 3 at Fenway against Detroit (34-29 on the road).    

 

 

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe?!?!? People on here would rather fight about it I guess. 

I think that's inevitable given the three recent losses to Miami and especially Baltimore and the schedule up ahead.

Last night was huge and encouraging, but the next 36 games are a tough row to hoe.  The last 6 are against Division leaders Toronto and Detroit.  

I'm with moonslav in believing the 2025 Sox are actually pretty good--hitting, rotation, bullpen, defense, and baserunning--even if they can also be inconsistent.  

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

 I agree the Sox have a real shot at the next 3 games with Bello, Crochet, and May--yes, May. 

I like what moonslav says about these Sox--they are pretty good on 2 of the essentials, hitting and pitching.  I think the defense and baserunning are also good,  That does not mean they can't have mini-slumps like the recent 3 losses to Miami and Baltimore. 

On the other hand, last night I expected the newly hot Yankees to demolish Sox pitching, but it didn't happen thanks to the bullpen.  Meanwhile--surprise,surprise--the top 5 in the Sox lineup had 8 of the Sox 10 hits, and all 5 rbi's.  And Hamilton had a hit, 2 walks, and scored 2 runs. 

With 36 games to go, I like the Sox chances, but absolutely nothing is guaranteed.   

Their  last six games are 3 @ Toronto (who are 42-21 at home) and 3 at Fenway against Detroit (34-29 on the road).    

Our deense should be doing better than the results showing more unearned runs allowed than anyone else.

Our baserunning is above average, before you factor in bonehead blunders running into outs.

Our SP'ers are above average and maybe top 5 in the AL. If we make the playoffs, our top 3-4 SP'er match up pretty well with just about anyone.

Our pen looks like top 2-3 by many numbers, but it feels more like top 5-7 in MLB and top 2-3 in the AL.

Our offense has struggled, lately but is still top 3-4 in the AL.

That should be enough to make the playoffs, and as we saw last night, other AL contenders, like the Yanks, make the same or more mistakes than we do, very often.

The Yanks have played well, over the past week or two, but have been under .500 over a long stretch and look more like "flops" than we do.

I guess we'll find out, soon.

I like our chances.

I like watching this team. They have spunk, spark and grit.

I may be more optimistic about our extended future than this year, but the AL has no clear great teams. Roll the dice and think, "Yes, we can!"

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I think that's inevitable given the three recent losses to Miami and especially Baltimore and the schedule up ahead.

Last night was huge and encouraging, but the next 36 games are a tough row to hoe.  The last 6 are against Division leaders Toronto and Detroit.  

I'm with moonslav in believing the 2025 Sox are actually pretty good--hitting, rotation, bullpen, defense, and baserunning--even if they can also be inconsistent.  

DET will have clinched it's division and may be resting their starters. Maybe, TOR might, too, but not 4-6 days before the final day.

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Take my suggestion of not directly calling out other posters or don't. 🫠

This is the nicest blog site I've ever been on--especially with the new regime and actual mods.

I'm almost always on moonslav's side in any discussion because he mostly sees what I see and never fails to provide good discussion points and/or stats. 

As for FredLynn, these days I borrow from the American strategy during the Cuban missile crisis.  They got two messages from Moscow--one workable and one not.  So they simply ignored the cable they didn't like and answered the one they could work with.  

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

IMHO, Moon is the biggest Sox fan on this forum. And arguably the most knowledgeable. He, also, takes the time to back up his opinions with stats. I don't always agree with Moon, but there's no disputing he loves his Sox.

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

IMHO, Moon is the biggest Sox fan on this forum. And arguably the most knowledgeable. He, also, takes the time to back up his opinions with stats. I don't always agree with Moon, but there's no disputing he loves his Sox.

Thanks. I'm not disputing anyone's fandom, although I have sounded like I have in the past. I do think Fred loves the Sox, and I can remember feeling a lot of the same type of negativity towards the Sox for several decades, but it was never all-consuming, like it appears to be with him.

I get that the heat of the moment anger and frustration makes people say some things they really don't believe, but Fred doubles down on it and I think he actually thinks more than "half our team sucks," Cora and Brez are "idiots" and we will "flop again, this year, because it's who we are." (I paraphrased the last one.) I know there are extreme views on just about everything, and to me, this is overboard. I said he was "trolling" and maybe that was a step, too far, but it does seem like he enjoys getting under posters' skin.

He really does not bother me as much as he seems to bother others. We have been "flops," and many of us have been very angry about that and the apparent and actual factual willingness of our management team to allow it to happen.

I just don't see why what a near totally different team did 2, 3, 4 or 5 years ago means this team will do the same. I see that as a flaw in logic and call it out as such. Hell, this team is even way different from the 2024 team! 3 of the 5 opening day SP'ers are gone or out for the season (Pivetta, Crawford and Houck) and one is in the pen, now (Whitlock,) where most of us felt he belonged from day one. Our 1-2 RP'er are gone (Jansen & Martin) along with Wink, Joely, and Chase. I Campbell was just demoted. That's 6 of 8 RP'ers changed out. While Story started the 2024 season at SS, he was out for most of the year. The entire rest of the infield is new: Casas> Lowe, EValdez/Reyes> Romy/Dham and Devers>Bregman. We swapped out O'Neill for Anthony and have had a revolving DH, instead of Yoshida FT. Then, Narvaez> McGuire/Jansen.

Way more than half this team was not a major part of the 2024 team.

Okay: same manager and same CBO, but some different coaches and farm guys.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

20 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Thanks. I'm not disputing anyone's fandom, although I have sounded like I have in the past. I do think Fred loves the Sox, and I can remember feeling a lot of the same type of negativity towards the Sox for several decades, but it was never all-consuming, like it appears to be with him.

I get that the heat of the moment anger and frustration makes people say some things they really don't believe, but Fred doubles down on it and I think he actually thinks more than "half our team sucks," Cora and Brez are "idiots" and we will "flop again, this year, because it's who we are." (I paraphrased the last one.) I know there are extreme views on just about everything, and to me, this is overboard. I said he was "trolling" and maybe that was a step, too far, but it does seem like he enjoys getting under posters' skin.

He really does not bother me as much as he seems to bother others. We have been "flops," and many of us have been very angry about that and the apparent and actual factual willingness of our management team to allow it to happen.

I just don't see why what a near totally different team did 2, 3, 4 or 5 years ago means this team will do the same. I see that as a flaw in logic and call it out as such. Hell, this team is even way different from the 2024 team! 3 of the 5 opening day SP'ers are gone or out for the season (Pivetta, Crawford and Houck) and one is in the pen, now (Whitlock,) where most of us felt he belonged from day one. Our 1-2 RP'er are gone (Jansen & Martin) along with Wink, Joely, and Chase. I Campbell was just demoted. That's 6 of 8 RP'ers changed out. While Story started the 2024 season at SS, he was out for most of the year. The entire rest of the infield is new: Casas> Lowe, EValdez/Reyes> Romy/Dham and Devers>Bregman. We swapped out O'Neill for Anthony and have had a revolving DH, instead of Yoshida FT. Then, Narvaez> McGuire/Jansen.

Way more than half this team was not a major part of the 2024 team.

Okay: same manager and same CBO, but some different coaches and farm guys.

And who knows, the Sox may have the 2018 version of Steve Pearce. Stay tuned.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

And who knows, the Sox may have the 2018 version of Steve Pearce. Stay tuned.

Good pull!

I doubt May becomes Nate, but he's doing very well, so far.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Good pull!

I doubt May becomes Nate, but he's doing very well, so far.

Yes he is. As is Matz.

[drewski6]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

There’s just been a little too much calling out of other posters and moon went out of his way to start some nonsense instead of celebrate a win. Some people are more negative about the Sox. Some people are more positive about the Sox. Every game can’t be a referendum on which side needs to eat crap the next day. Fred/Pumpsie is NOT the only negative poster in the gamethreads, but he gets called out. I believe Hitch said that Fred/Pumpsie is more desperate to prove that he knows more than anyone else. We KNOW that there are other posters on here (at least one) that are far worse.

The Sox are playing their best baseball in years. People should try to enjoy it. If another poster really bothers them that much, just put them on ignore.

I was wondering if you guys knew that he was obviously pumpsie. I didnt want to fully dox him, so I started calling him puntsie.

[drewski6]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe?!?!? People on here would rather fight about it I guess. 

Friday is smackdown day

[drewski6]

"Fred" is a medical doctor and a hero who volunteers a lot of his time and helps a lot of people. He can be dense in his baseball opinions, and quick to punt on an entire decade if the team has 2-3 players he dislikes - but thats not the type of stuff that goes on your gravestone

[moonslav59]

26 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

"Fred" is a medical doctor and a hero who volunteers a lot of his time and helps a lot of people. He can be dense in his baseball opinions, and quick to punt on an entire decade if the team has 2-3 players he dislikes - but thats not the type of stuff that goes on your gravestone

An interesting thing is, I was being called out for defending/supporting Fred, because I said he was right about the team flopping for so many years.

I'm not sure about the 2-3 players thing, as he apparently believes more than half this team sucks- even a guy with a 3.1 fWAR.

[vegasbob]

Final Forty update: 3-3, essential and critical win for Sox

Who dares call this a .500 team?

[drewski6]

I remember on BDC , Moon had a bitter enemy. And they would go back and forth and back and forth.  And every time it seemed like it was dying down, it would kick up again.  And everyone was like why do you go back and forth with this guy so much. It gets annoying.  And hes not so bad where you are justified in your forever war with this dude.  I was one of the people telling Moon to chill and that the dude he was arguing with wasnt worth it.  

Then that dude started dropping hard N's with the full "er" .... My fiancé is Black.  I went from annoyed that Moon followed around this dude kicking his "softlaw" butt all over BDC to rooting Moon on to "hit him again" and "bury this fool".

Obvs I havent seen anyone here like that but you wont catch me telling Moon to chill.  Unless hes coming at me.

[notin]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

"Fred" is a medical doctor and a hero who volunteers a lot of his time and helps a lot of people. He can be dense in his baseball opinions, and quick to punt on an entire decade if the team has 2-3 players he dislikes - but thats not the type of stuff that goes on your gravestone

“Here lies Fred.
1960-2050.  

Annoyed to Death by Red Sox management”

 

I let him turn 90 (actually 89, just two weeks shy of his birthday) so he can’t be too annoyed by his tombstone jokes…

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I remember on BDC , Moon had a bitter enemy. And they would go back and forth and back and forth.  And every time it seemed like it was dying down, it would kick up again.  And everyone was like why do you go back and forth with this guy so much. It gets annoying.  And hes not so bad where you are justified in your forever war with this dude.  I was one of the people telling Moon to chill and that the dude he was arguing with wasnt worth it.  

Then that dude started dropping hard N's with the full "er" .... My fiancé is Black.  I went from annoyed that Moon followed around this dude kicking his "softlaw" butt all over BDC to rooting Moon on to "hit him again" and "bury this fool".

Obvs I havent seen anyone here like that but you wont catch me telling Moon to chill.  Unless hes coming at me.

softlaw was a real character. I recall, he was a big "Jake" hater. He called Theo supporters "pink hat fans." He said he was a lawyer, but I can't imagine seeing his logic used in a courtroom.

There was a guy who later gave out my real life info and contact info and was banned for it.

I'm not  proud of everything I've ever done in the past. (Is anybody?) I go overboard. I don't give up. I'm a last-worder guy. Maybe being raised by a college English professor and with 5 out-spoken sisters, I was fated for this. My OCD doesn't help, but I'm not making excuses, I take full blame for my ill actions and words.

I can't "let it go" way too often, but I don't need to tell you and others that. LOL!

[notin]

3 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I was wondering if you guys knew that he was obviously pumpsie. I didnt want to fully dox him, so I started calling him puntsie.

I don’t think equating two anonymous Internet forum monikers counts as doxxing. But then bear in mind that last sentence was the first time I ever used the word “doxxing”, and this sentence is the second.  So what do I know?  I’m not even sure I spelled it right, let alone used it properly…

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I was wondering if you guys knew that he was obviously pumpsie. I didnt want to fully dox him, so I started calling him puntsie.

Was Pumpsie on the old BDC site? Maybe he was from before my time, there (2005.) I remember hearing about him, all the time, but don't recall interacting with him.

I joined BDC after I moved to Mexico in DEC 2004 and missed the day-to-day Sox banter I had with friends, family and co-workers. Little did I know what I got myself into.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

1 hour ago, notin said:

I don’t think equating two anonymous Internet forum monikers counts as doxxing. But then bear in mind that last sentence was the first time I ever used the word “doxxing”, and this sentence is the second.  So what do I know?  I’m not even sure I spelled it right, let alone used it properly…

Ah, what's up Dox?

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

...

[bkzwhitestrican]

On 8/21/2025 at 12:36 PM, bkzwhitestrican said:

I guess we'll see what prevails this series then: 

The Yanks' recent propensity to wilt during an important series, or the Sox recent suckage 

 

I see the Yankees have won out!