trot4mvp

Is Pedro really going to pitch on Sunday?? That would make my weekend...I was able to score tix from the Red Sox box office yesterday afternoon and thought I'd have to suffer through another Derek Lowe outing...

Close call for Keith last night...made Bret Boone look foolish up there with that strike 3 changeup though. We're gonna be alright fella's....just waiting to see who Theo brings in for bullpen support. I have no interest in obtaining Larry Walker. He's an injury liability and is aging quickly. I just wanted to show you that BK Kim wasn't completely without value.

Wow...I'm so surprised!! More complaining on a Red Sox message board!!! Let's see...Red Sox are still in first place in the Wild Card standings, 7 games out on the Yankees. We've won 6 of our last 10 games, have the one of the hottest hitters in baseball (Ortiz), we split on the road (pretty decent for most teams), and we're about to start a home series (where we're 30-15) with arguably our best pitcher taking the mound...and we still have the nerve to trash our team? RedSox24...you're absolutely right. There's a huge difference between optimism and blind hope, but we really don't have a reason not to be optimistic right now. You wrote at length about what is wrong with the Red Sox' bullpen. By comparison, our bullpen is not as bad as you make them out to be. We are "middle of the road" in terms of blown saves (9, with a Sv% of 64%), and we still have the best ERA in the AL. By pointing out our flaws, are you implying that the rest of our competitors are flawless? The Yankees are not where they are because of their SPs...neither are the Angels or the Rangers. Oakland's offense is inconsistent at best and their bullpen is weaker than ours (17 BS). I can go on and on about how we are on equal or better playing ground than all of our closest competitors. And for these reasons, I will remain optimistic about this team. Blind hope would be like rooting for the Pirates this late in the season, and the Red Sox are just not in that position. We need to recognize that we're not going to win the rest of our games this season. We're also not going to win all of our games in convincing fashion (i.e. last night). Given these facts, the Nation should ease up next time the Sox lose and stop beating up on a team that hasn't done much wrong this season.

Do you work for Microsoft, Element? Can't imagine there's much else going on in Redmond.... I live in Chicago where I go to school, but am at home in Uxbridge, MA for the summer (my last summer as a "college student").

Or does he Crespo...? This is from Peter Gammons ESPN.com column...even though he's wrong a lot of the time, I still love this guy.

I'm relatively new, so I don't know if this has been brought up before, but does anyone think it would be a good idea to do a ticket exchange here? Only face value of course, and we could do any boston sports tix, not just Sox. Just an idea....

Ouch...elsrbueno...that last one stung, but unfortunately, its true. You're not a closet Yankee fan are you? Oh wait, you couldn't be...Yankee fans aren't intelligent enough to insult me like that.

Kim needs to shape and add 5 MPH to his fastball... Actually, we need to trade Kim's ass, I'm sick of that guy...and yes, I am still bitter about him flipping off the Fenway faithful last October.

We need Johnny to get hot again...STARTING TONIGHT. We need Lowe to start AND FINISH strong. Doesn't it seem he always cruises through innings 1-3 and then starts to lose it in the 4th? DLOWE: just get us to the 6th without too much damage!!! BDD is reporting that Nomar and Pokey are hurt, but Nomar will play tonight...if either goes down, you know who's coming up... Glad to see McCarty starting at 1B tonight....maybe Kentucky Fried Kevin will realize how "important" he is to the team and start producing. Not a "must win" situation tonight, but there's really no reason for the Sox to get swept by the M's, regardless of whether or not it's a 2 game series. The O's have given us enough trouble this season (and last!), so we need to start building some momentum for the Yankees series. If we're going to make a run at the AL East title, it starts this week.

I have to agree with RSR. Keith Foulke will be fine, give the guy a break. He's got a great ERA, he's just had a few missteps in the past few weeks. Besides, he's the best arm we have out of the bullpen. I can't believe someone actually put "Cut Keith Foulke" as an option. If the Sox aren't going to cut BK Kim, they are DEFINITELY not going to cut Foulke. Come on now!

Alright people, seriously. Let's ease up on all of the doomsday/apocolypse discussion going around on this board and put things into perspective: 1.) The Sox are not, and I repeat, ARE NOT in any emminent danger of being knocked out of the playoffs right now. We are only 7 games back on the Yanks (almost half of which can be erased in a good series this weekend) and we are tied for first in the Wild Card standings. Sure, we should have won last night, but we can't win every game, and if I have to read about how horrible this team is (including comments from myself), I don't think I could come to this board anymore. I'd much rather discuss why things went wrong then complain about what went wrong. 2.) We've got 3 players in the midst of career seasons. Manny is in the Triple Crown hunt, Ortiz has been flat out productive, and Schilling is pitching for a Cy Young. Pedro has been no slouch either, reeling of several starts without a loss. 3.) Not only are we in the hunt for the playoffs, but we've done it with a team still isn't even close to full strength!!! Nomar is starting to come into mid-season form, Trot is still working his way back, SWilly's out, etc. etc. Fact is, we've been one of the most competitive teams in baseball and we haven't even clicked on full cylinders yet. I know its hard, but let's try to steer clear of the complaining and focus on the many great aspects of this team (myself included)!!!! Let's start talking apocalypse if/when we get knocked out of the race.

I think you forgot one.... 6.) Thou shall make thy fans miserable from April through October.

gosox...you could argue that this year's Yankees team has a much different face than it did last year with the additions of Brown, Vazquez, Lofton, Sheffield, Quantrill, Gordon, Sturtze, etc. (hmmm...am I missing someone??? ) As long as the team's core (Ortiz, Manny, Pedro) stays intact, I think the Sox's chemistry will be fine. Chemistry is nice, but talent wins ball games, and if the Sox can improve on this year's talent, I'd be more than happy.

Playoff-caliber teams demolish teams like this year's Mariners...let's see what we're made of...

Not so fast there Ortiz...our series' against the A's and Rangers has shown us that a well-timed winning streak can put us right back in the thick of things. Though I would be concerned if we lost this series, the key to the season will be the Yankees series. If we can gain 2 or 3 on the Yanks between now and next week, then take 2 during the series, we're back within 4 and in contention for the AL East and Wild Card, with plenty of momentum. I'm one of the biggest doomsday-ers on the board, but a series loss will not kill these team's chances of postseason play.

See my comments in yesterday's gameday thread... I still can't believe they chose Terry Francona to manage this team. I'm so disgusted right now.

I think I'm starting to agree with you...after all, going into the break, the Sox already had the best ERA in the AL...

Crespo...I have to agree with ESB. From the looks of it, the only team with that is willing to move high quality prospects in exchange for a late summer rental would be the Cubs or White Sox, and enough rumors have been swirling for and against this rumor that give it any credibility. Money buys baseball players, and Georgie Porgie has plenty of it...remember the Raul Mondesi, Jeff Weaver, etc. deals? They got alot for nothing...I'm not saying AZ will be suckered the same way, but I wouldn't underestimate Steinbrenner's ability to bring RJ to NY (or prevent him from coming to NY).

I just realized that bringing Mendoza in to pitch the 9th last night was the only managerial decision that did not blow up in Terry Francona's face last night. CONGRATULATIONS TITO!!!

Despite all the media BS, who wouldn't want to play in Boston. We're quite simply the best fans in baseball (though StL fans are a close second, or so I hear). Where else do you have an electrified crowd going absolutely crazy with a full count in the bottom of the third against the Devil Rays in May???

Petey ready to play 3 hours before game time, but he doesn't start.... Manny starts the All-Star game, but not the first game of the 2nd half.... Trot doesn't start after a 4 day hiatus.... Kevin Millar plays left field (or Kevin Millar plays at all).... DLowe lets up 9 hits, 100+ pitches in less than 5 innings.... Alan Embree comes in for a long relief appearance.... Now guys, I'll be the first one to admit that I did not watch the game last night. I was long asleep before the game came on. However, I know I didn't miss out on any managerial prowess or slick Red Sox pitching. What a disheartening loss. WHAT THE f*** is going through Terry Francona's mind???? Why would you start your weakest pitchers against one of the hottest teams in a game that is supposed to set the tone for the second half? Now, with Pedro starting tonight, even though he was fully able to pitch last night, Pedro WILL NOT pitch against the Yankees next week in the most important series of the season, so far. What the hell is going on with Manny Ramirez??? All we heard about was how upset Francona was when Manny couldn't play last Sunday. Is our MVP candidate really hurt??? If he was, why the hell did he start the All-Star game???? What is going on with Trot Nixon???? The only reason he shouldn't start last night is because he's genuinely hurt again!!!! And Terry, WHY THE f*** do you bring in Alan Embree in the 5th inning? Never under any circumstances, do you bring in a lefty specialist when there is that much baseball left to play, PERIOD. There are no excuses for this...the bullpen was stocked and well rested. Guys, I am not feeling to great about this team's playoff chances, especially with Tito at the helm...I knew it was a mistake to bring in a manager with a losing career record, and I don't give a s*** about the quality of the team he managed.

I absolutely agree...just went people were starting to back off, the pressure has been piled back on him to produce. I can't help but to feel sorry for the guy! Alas, baseball is a business, and Nomar knows that all too well. Frankly, I just want to see this team win, with or without Nomar or Randy Johnson. JUST WIN BABY!

Jason...I have the same problem for about half the season. I got to school in Chicago and for much of April, May, June, and September, I'm forced to watch the games either by myself or with people who could care less about the Sox...I prefer watching by myself under these circumstances. Since you don't have a lot of options in StL, I suggest bostondirtdogs.com, sonsofsamhorn.com, and boston.com for half-decent Sox commentary/rumors/news/etc.

Crespo...do you have a source for this info??? You could argue that the Sox don't have the resources either, and they've supposedly been in talks with the Chicago teams for prospects....my question is, what is stopping the Yanks from pulling a similar 3-way deal? Stay tuned...

Do the Sox make a move? Would we have to pick up his old Mariners contract, or can we sign him to whatever? I see him as a great defensive upgrade at first, but I wouldn't pick him up unless we can be certain that he'd have greater offensive production than McCarty, which is possible. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up...I doubt he sits out the rest of the season or retires.