RedSoxRooter

.11 is so not drunk.

I'd rather see Abe in there instead of Pauley.

I love it when the Sox come to Atlanta. Unfortunately it's too damn hot for anyone I know to go to the game. It should get down to the mid 80's by gametime.

Game Info: Date: Friday, June 16th, 2006 First Pitch: 7:35pm EST Location: Turner Field, Atlanta GA TV: NESN/TBS Starting Pitchers: http://bellsouthpwp.net/c/h/chinigor/talksox/jlester.jpghttp://bellsouthpwp.net/c/h/chinigor/TALKSOX/VS.GIFhttp://i.a.cnn.net/si/images/baseball/mlb/players/6245.jpg http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/sml/trans/bos.gif#62 Jon Lester (0-0, 6.23) http://espn-att.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/sml/trans/atl.gif#15 Tim Hudson (6-4, 3.79) Game Preview The Atlanta Braves ' string of 14 straight division titles has never been in greater jeopardy. The Braves look to take advantage of a struggling Boston team when they open a three-game series with the Red Sox on Friday at Turner Field. Atlanta (30-37) lost 3-2 to Florida on Thursday, capping a three-game sweep. The Braves finished their road trip 1-6 and have dropped 14 of their last 17. ''You can't go 1-6 and gain ground, that's for sure,'' manager Bobby Cox said. ''Yeah, it is disappointing.'' Atlanta is seven games under .500 for the first time since May 26, 1992 and 13 games out of first place in the NL East, the furthest back they've been in a division since the end of 1990. Atlanta's stretch of division titles began in 1991. ''We haven't done this in 15 years,'' Cox said. ''So it's a little different.'' Adam LaRoche homered for the Braves, who have not scored more than five runs in their last 11 games and have been swept four times this season. Atlanta has lost five in a row twice this year, most recently June 1-5. ''Every year, every team goes through ups and downs - right now we're just on a down,'' center fielder Andruw Jones said. ''We just continue to play bad baseball, and we're not correcting our mistakes.'' Second baseman Marcus Giles was a late scratch Thursday because of a fever, and outfielder Ryan Langerhans missed his third straight game with a strained hip flexor. The Red Sox (36-28) have lost four straight, including Thursday's 5-3 defeat to Minnesota that capped a three-game sweep. Boston had not dropped four in a row since May 24-27, 2005, and hasn't endured a five-game losing streak since May 1-4, 2004. ''It's not a lack of trying. It's trying too hard,'' manager Terry Francona said. ''It's a quality you admire in your players, but at the same time you have to fight it.'' The Red Sox , who had not been swept by the Twins since 1994, missed a chance to move back into a tie for first place in the AL East with New York. Mike Lowell went 3-for-4 with an RBI and left-hander Javier Lopez , acquired earlier in the day from the Chicago White Sox for David Riske , gave up a hit in one inning of relief. Jon Lester (0-0, 6.23 ERA) will try to help Boston end its slide. He made his major league debut Saturday, allowing three runs and five hits in 4 1-3 innings of Boston's 7-4 loss to Texas. Lester struck out the first batter he faced, Gary Matthews Jr., before giving up a pair of first-inning runs. ''I threw a lot of pitches in four innings. That's the biggest thing right now, to try to keep my pitching efficiency to a minimum,'' said Lester, who threw 102 pitches. ''I was just happy to get the first (game) under my belt and get it done with.'' Atlanta will counter with Tim Hudson (6-4, 3.79), who allowed two runs and three hits in eight innings of a 4-2 win over Houston on Saturday. He improved to 90-6 when he receives four or more runs of support and 88-14 when he pitches beyond the seventh inning - which he did for the 131st time in 226 career starts. Hudson is 3-6 with a 5.88 ERA in nine starts against the Red Sox . He has lost his last three starts against Boston, allowing 16 runs in 13 innings. I got money on every game this weekend so LET'S GO SOX!

I call dibs on tomorrow's game thread. It's the Braves with Hudson against the Rookie. The Sox are due (and I got money on the line). I want that game.

I know. I'd like to see Manny up there again.

AND f***ING TAVAREZ IS IN!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That may have been the game right there. Ortiz is up 4th in the 9th.

That was big for Wake and the game. Now lets take some pitches!

Jesus. Where the hell did the offense go? THREE runs in the last 25 innings???

Hi. Welcome. Stop screaming. This thread is probably going to be moved to the introductions section of the site. They try to keep the game threads about games.

This is why MDC was not in last night. If you're gonna hang a loss on a guy, let it be a Tavaras.

Alright all you MDC fans. Lets see what he can do in a real game situation. These are not his runners so this is a good test.

And Nixon behind Manny.

Lonely

It's probably just because of all the errors. If he were struggling at the plate but playing Gold Glove defense then they may not boo. Look at Gonzo at SS in Boston. If he played average defense like Bellhorn did, he'd probably already be booed out of town. I think Arod's got like 10 errors so far. And there is no way Jeter should stand up and tell the fans to stop booing. That would make Arod look like a pussy.

God, you really could smell this coming. Tavarez sucks. But Tito emptied his bullpen in the correct order. It's just 1 game - and a damn good one at that (until the end).

When I said "win or lose", I wasn't thinking of Tavarez on the mound.

fast game. 10.5 in less than 3 hrs.

Yes.

Papelbon is so f***ing intense

Schill pitched great. Great job.

Why do we only see the Twins like once a year? This game is a classic. MANNY! Win or lose, this game has been one of the best of the year so far. I love Baseball.

This Santana start is like watching Pedro in his prime. Awesome.

Anyone else notice that Santana steps off the rubber toward 3rd base before he starts his windup? Is that legal?