Beaneater

Thanks to all for the info. Now I can sleep peacefully rather than staring at the ceiling for 3 hours thinking, "Why has this vile fate been visited upon me?" BTW, the ultimate of staring-at-the-ceiling-trying-to-go-to-sleep for me (as I suppose it was for many of you) was ALCS Game 7 last year. I was watching the game in Africa and it was about, oh, 5 AM local time when the game finally ended. I wandered dazedly back to bed, my heart thrashing against my ribs, head empty of all but tired expletives. I'm pretty sure there was no sleep in Mudville that night. All that to say, looks like a sound night's sleep tonight (as soon as I finish my Greek homework...).

Thank you, CrespoBlows, you are a scholar and a gentleman. What's up with Damon's K? Was it really strike 3 or did he get jobbed? Nice work by the bottom of the lineup and the pitch-hitting Greek god of walks. Oh, yeah, Bellhorn too.

Sorry, must have posted this while you were all typing WIIIINNNN!!!! Anyone want to give me a little play-by-play?

Could we get a clue here for those not watching the game... please?

Wait a minute... that can't really be, I mean, it's not THAT Wasdin, is it? As in 'John "Wayback" Wasdin'? That's too funny. Anecdotally, I was with my then-fiancee now-beloved-wife at a Sox game at (what was then) Arlington Stadium. This was when Wasdin was still a member of the Sox. I don't remember what the game situation was, but Boston pulled their starter (Wakefield, I think) and put in Wasdin. I made the required "This next pitch is going to go way back" remark to my partner, and then all happened according to the script. The next Rangers batter (Kapler, I think, in an odd sort of coincidence) did indeed take Wasdin way back. Not out, just solidly to the wall. It was hilarious (or would have been if it hadn't added to an already sound thrashing for Boston). Seriously, though, I remember when Wasdin was with us that some intelligent-sounding Sox fans were saying that he had the makeup to be a good starter, but that we were horribly misusing him out of the pen. Any thoughts on that? His ERA as posted by element doesn't exactly inspire awe, but has Texas been using him regularly as a starter? (I wouldn't think so judging from his W-L stats.) So maybe Texas has likewise been misusing him in relief, thus inflating his ERA, but deep down inside there's a formidable starter tucked away...? And now back to the regularly scheduled game-centered thread. Amateur prediction... um, it's Martinez in Fenway pitching for what is undeniably the hottest team in baseball vs. Wasdin. I'm thinking about it... thinking... still weighing the data...

Actually, yeszir, any chance you could stay in France... through October?

Empire, are you admitting that the 2003 Yankees were pretty much lousy, but that Soriano made all the difference? That's what carry means in this context, I think. And as much as I enjoy the mental image of the Yankees being pathetic, they were clearly a good team last year, with or without Soriano. Anyway, it's got to be Pudge. Tigers would not be within smelling range of .500 without him. Obviously he's a pretty good hitter, and he's not a bad catcher either. This is anecdotal evidence, and it dates from a few years back, so maybe things have changed since then. But I sort of followed the Rangers a while back when I lived in TX, and I remember that he basically shut down opposing teams' running games. He's just an all around stud. I think he makes a bigger difference for the Tigers than any other single player for any team. On the other hand, if it were the Most Valuable Players award... can you imagine where we'd be without Ortiz and Ramirez? We as fans would be occasionally checking the Wild Card standings just out of curiosity, working on our golf swings, waiting for the Patriots to start playing again-- instead of agonizing and obsessing over every game the way we do now. Hmmmm...

Someone help me out here. I'm "watching" this game play-by-play on the Net, so I can't always see what's going on. It's top 9th, 0 out, guys at the corners and Mueller up. Next time I hit refresh, there are two outs, none scored, guys still at the corners (but different guys), and Damon up. Then it's game over. What happened?

I actually got to see this game through the miracle of modern television -- probably only about the 4th Sox game I've seen all year, and the only one we've actually won. Excellent. Sweet defense in this game, except for the McCarty Show on a late (and mercifully meaningless) pop-up. I'm starting to like the idea of having some D in the infield. And if Millar stays hot, this lineup will have no problem racking up the runs once Ortiz gets out on parole. And you really do have to love winning a game on the offensive contributions of McCarty and Youk. Good gravy, what a laser beam homer that was from Dave. And some fine pitching from all involved. Fine win and maybe we'll actually win a road series for the first since 1918... uh, or something like that.

Thanks, Zenny, that was useful. I do have some appreciation for the positive aspects of the trade now. Allow me to be bitter and pessimistic for just one more moment. If what you say is accurate, then we've picked up two guys who can play well as long as they aren't discouraged by adverse circumstances. Seems to me that Boston can be one the world's most discouraging places to play baseball. Hmmmm.... Maybe that's not fair to Cabrera, who was apparently discouraged because the Expos generally suck, which isn't the case in Boston. But if Dougie feels down when he has to share playing time, he's at the wrong position on the wrong team. The Red Sox have been MLB's greatest line-up churners for several seasons now, to the point where even our best players share significant playing time. And as I previously noted, Dougie's now the 4th 1B on our team. Is he really the starter most of the time? If so, that leaves Ortiz at DH (fine), McCarty on the bench (also no big change), and Millar... in RF? Or next to McCarty on the bench? It seems like the wrong time to bench Millar, who is seriously hot. And I still want to know how Roberts fits into the new Sox equation. I appreciate that Nomar was likely (if not certainly) leaving at the end of the season, and that complicates how I need to think about this.

I may be publicly displaying my ignorance here, but can someone explain how this helps us? In place of certified heavy hitter Nomar, we have a SS batting 75 points lower than Nomar this year, a SS who apparently wouldn't know an extra-base hit if someone chucked one at his solar plexus. Admittedly I know absolutely nothing about Cabrera other than the '04 stats that I just looked up, but this seems far from an upgrade to me. How many runs is Cabrera going to save us at SS instead of Nomar? OK, now how many fewer runs are we going to score with Cabrera hitting instead of Nomar? Seems to me that we lose there. And we get Doug Mientkiewicz as our 4th, repeat 4th 1B. Again, I'm almost totally ignorant about Dougie, but a quick look at his stats suggests to me that he's not even in Ortiz's universe offensively, which is probably not fair since Ortiz isn't really a 1B. But Dougie isn't even within smelling distance of Millar at the plate either. So we traded for... another McCarty? And is Roberts going to replace Damon in CF? Tee hee hee. Maybe he'll replace Trot in RF while he's injured. So I'm feeling a little befuddled about this trade, baseball-wise. But perhaps more importantly, the Nomar trade sucks for any fans who feel the same way I do. Nomar has been the face of the Red Sox for many years. Think Sox, and who do you think? I'm willing to bet that Nomar is at or near the top of just about everyone's list. And he's a personal favorite of mine, for what that's worth (right after Jim Ed, of course). Maybe I'm just bitter and sleep-deprived, but I'm having a hard time seeing the upside here.

7-0 and Lohse's ERA is doing its SpaceShip One impression. Excellent, Smithers.

And while I'm posting and seeking the benefits of your grand wisdom, let me ask what you mean by "Nomie's ankle hurts". Little twinge? Bad sprain? Virtual dismemberment?

I don't really get to watch the games, but the impression I get is that Arroyo is a big stud recently. True? If so, is this a hot streak or the real deal?

Sweet.

I find myself confused (happens pretty frequently, actually...). Anyway, can someone explain who Gutierrez is? He appears to be playing SS for the Sox tonight. Did Nomar change his last name? Seriously, it seems like Nomar has been sitting out quite often recently. I would have understood that 2 months ago when Nomar was batting about .008, but isn't he around .320 right now? Is he semi-injured and I haven't heard about it? Signed, Confused in Michigan

I don't often get to actually see games, but I follow the post-game commentary pretty closely. My impression is that Arroyo is really pitching quite well recently, but maybe someone who actually sees the games (i.e. anyone else on this site) can help me understand 1) if that's in fact true and 2) why we always seem to lose his starts. I know he's gotten lousy run support, but does he contribute to the losses (for example, pitching well enough to impress everyone for 4-5 innings and then self-destructing)?

I think it's only appropriate that one of talksox.com's heaviest users (check out that immense post total!!) be the first to welcome you. But seriously, hello and welcome.

Hello all-- I posted a couple of times already without seeing this Introduction category, so some of this info is repeated from a previous post. I work most of the time in the little-known country of Benin in West Africa, but my wife and I are back in the States until June '05 or so. (If you're looking for Benin on the map, it's just west of Nigeria, two countries east of Ghana. Pretty obscure.) Our time in the States will hopefully allow me to see more baseball than I do in Africa, which is pretty close to zero. I acquired the Red Sox gene during my formative years in Maine, went through a few years of not caring much about baseball in general, and then reacquired the habit during the Sox' 1986 WS run. Sad to say, there does exist a photograph of me at about age 8 wearing a Yankees cap, but I assure you that it was just a tragic misunderstanding. I'm in West Michigan now, which does mean that I get to see live baseball since the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers' AA team) play about 25 minutes from here. Yeah, it's not Fenway, but it does provide a regular baseball fix when needed. Don't ask why I called myself Beaneater -- it has no significance whatsoever. I was up too late and the synapses were firing at random.

I don't know about 5 years from now, but here's the lineup for the year 2025: 1B: Joe Blow 2B: Somebody SS: Other Guy 3B: Somebody Else C: Random Shmoe LF: Etc. CF: Etc. RF: Etc. And the Opening Day starting pitcher? SP: Tim Wakefield Yes, at the ripe old age of 50-something Wakefield will still be throwing rotation-free 65 mph floaters to a whole new generation of hitters. Seriously, how much wear and tear does he put on his arm? Has he ever been on the DL with rotator cuff issues? Phil Niekro threw knucklers well into his 40's, as I recall (anyone know the actual numbers?). Maybe we should just sign Wakefield to about a 15-year contract now. He might give us a bulk discount special -- you know, 15 years for the price of 12 or something like that, with super-size fries thrown in for good measure.

Thanks for the hearty welcome. To answer the questions in the previous posts, I work in Benin, a tiny country just to the west of Nigeria. We'll be in the States 'til June '05, and part of that time we'll be close to Arlington Stadium, so we might be able to see the Sox when they come through. (But did I see somewhere that Arlington Stadium had been renamed? Ameriquest Field or something like that? If so, how vomit-inducing. But maybe I have my facts wrong.) And, no, they don't play baseball in Africa. Some of the expatriates get together to play softball which would be a decent substitute, but we sort of live out in the boonies, so I haven't been able to get into that. The Beninese people play soccer, soccer, occasionally basketball, and soccer. Yeah, Australia would beat me distance-wise, I think. Australia is just about as far from Boston as you can get without leaving the planet. Well, off to do something constructive, uh, I mean... something ELSE constructive.

Hello all-- I am a moderately active Sox fan -- enough so to be posting here in the first place, I guess. I just wanted to say that you are all very fortunate folks. I work in Africa and thus suffer regularly from Baseball Deprivation Syndrome. Catching a ball game where I work in Africa is about as easy as viewing a whole week of NBC without seeing any useless reality TV. One of my neighbors does have a satellite dish, so I can occasionally catch a game on ESPN -- for instance, I did watch pretty much every ALCS game last year, though the time differential meant that the games started at about 2 AM. But it was worth it. Now I'm back in the States for a while and trying to re-integrate myself into the world of MLB. But I'm also thinking how cool it is for you who can go to Fenway and have ESPN and the internet and NESN and... Baseball isn't my life (do I get kicked off the board for saying that?) but it is a very enjoyable aspect of life, even when it's as deeply neurotic as rooting for the Sox. Anyway, just another blessing for you to count if you feel so inclined.