elsrbueno

not so fast. Kasmir IS a top prospect, and the Red Sox got dominated TWICE by Seattle pitchers they should have hit. It's a bit early to be posting for tomorrow's game, isn't it? With NY playing KC, Anaheim playing Seattle, and Oakland playing Texas, it's highly likely that the Sox will lose ground if they don't sweep Tampa Bay in this series.

Again, until it is MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for either Anaheim or Oakland to catch up.... I'm not saying ANYthing is locked up. Does it HELP that we're guaranteed 6 losses (combined) from those 2 teams? Yes. Boston's magic # (for the Wild Card) is 16 games. Assuming that we're guaranteed 6 losses, we can lower that to 10 games. BUT, Oakland's got 10 games BEFORE that series. So does Anaheim. In fact, so do the Red Sox (3 against New York). SO, if Oakland wins 10 straight, Anaheim wins 10 straight, and Boston loses 10 straight, Oakland and Anaheim could BOTH pass the Red Sox. Is it likely? No. Do I EXPECT that to happen? No. But it's possible. and as long as that possibility is still there, I'm not prepared to declare the Red Sox wild card winners.

But doesn't that seem to be what he does?

I'm with Yeszir.... Yes, it's going to be difficult for Anaheim to catch up IF Boston plays well.... But Boston's GOTTA play well. The Red Sox have certainly given up bigger leads before...I wouldn't say this thing is locked up by any means.

I just want to say that I'm surprised San Fransisco, Houston, and Anaheim are missing from this list despite the very real possibility that any of these three teams still might make the playoffs. Florida and San Diego too aren't too far back (closer than we are to the Yankees) of the Wild Card. Anyway, that being said, I voted Cardinals, because I believe they have the best team in the NL, and possibly the best team in baseball. It's hard to vote for a team with inferior pitching to the Red Sox, but I did it anyway. I've been a Red Sox fan too long to think we're going to win the World Series until the final out is recorded. Will I cheer my ass off for them until the bitter, bitter end? Of course... but I'm one of the few people who doesn't believe the wild card is locked up for Boston until we're up 6 games with 5 to play.

I agree with you guys. The reason I'd throw Pedro and Schilling 1-2 in the playoffs too is so they have the opportunity to come back later in the series. In a 5 game set, you have your 1-2, day off, 3-4, day off, and in game # 5 BOTH your 1 and 2 guys can pitch in game 5. In a 7 game series though, your #3 man would line up and start game 7 (if there is one). This depends (of course) on how a 5 game series goes, and how much rest your big guns get before game 1. Ideally, you'd want Pedro/Schilling to each get 2 starts in a 7 game series, which means you'd want both of them in your top 3. I still have faith in Wake, and wouldn't be upset if Terry gave him the ball in the playoffs... But we can't forget who got us this far in the rotation (Pedro and Schilling). Give them the ball as much as possible.

um...Curt scared? I highly doubt that. Francona hasn't ONCE re-arranged the rotation to get desired matchups. He just goes with the flow, and sees what happens. This isn't any different.

No no no no no. Please don't trade Nixon. Nixon is the kind of guy you should be KEEPING. Doesn't cause trouble, plays hard every day, is a team player... all you have to do to realize what he means to this team is look at his comments this season. He's willing to sit because he KNOWS that's what's best for the TEAM. Nixon destroys righthanded pitchers. He struggles a bit vs lefties, so maybe Kapler could platoon with him. Nixon is a clutch, hard-nosed baseball player. At $6.5 mil / year, he's a bargain. I really appreciate what Kapler and Roberts have done this season, and they are invaluable to this team....but don't trade Nixon.

I actually changed my vote from last time when I voted "Yankees," and went with the Sox this time. As I said in the old thread, the schedule won't be an excuse for either team since the average winning percentage is the same. It's very discouraging that we split the Mariners series, and that we're 3.5 back. I realize how difficult it will be for the Red Sox to actually take it, but we are the stronger team, and I think we can take 4 of 6 of the remaining games. If we can stay close (2.5 - 3.5 games out), we can make up some ground head to head, and hope from some help from Minnesota late in September.

I can't believe you just posted this.... Empire, 99.9% of your posts have no factual information in them.

Hey Empire you dipshit, A loss is a loss. It doesn't make any difference how many games in the standings the Red Sox lost by that ONE loss. The fact that the Yankees won 2 games in the same day DOESN'T change the fact that the Red Sox lost ONE game. The Red Sox gained half a game when the Yankees were rained out, so does that somehow make the Red Sox win against Oakland MORE important? NO!! The only thing that matters is the record after 162 games. NO ONE GAME is any more important than any other. All games count equally. dipshit.

He's right you know. Take it from the retard himself.

Loaiza was a great pickup for you guys!

I agree with Zenny. As much as I hate to admit it, Jeter's a classy ballplayer, a clubhouse leader, and a very good clutch hitter. I'd sign him and move him to second...because as I've said in the past, Jeter's not even the best shortstop on his TEAM.

I think he can do it. He had 2 hits last night, which puts him needing 28 more hits. He's such a good player, and has a lot of speed, which creates more opportunities for hits. Hit .400 though? I don't think so.

It's true, empire changes his mind at least 10 times a day. He's gone from "Red Sox will win the division," to "Red Sox will miss the playoffs," and then he says both the Cardinals and Stros are hotter than the Red Sox without any proof, and at the first sign of an argument, he either says "you're wrong," or he changes his mind. Empire: If you say something, please have some facts to back it up, and also have some conviction with your arguments. What's the point in posting something if you simply retract it later?

Nope.... Manny was on the cover of SI, wasn't he? Anyway, if I believed in curses, I might think this was a bad omen...but since I believe the Red Sox simply got outplayed in seasons past.... This doesn't concern me.

As I've stated in past posts, I don't believe in curses. If we lose, it's because the other team played a better game than us, plain and simple.

Crespo said it perfectly. I'd much rather lose Johnny now for 2-3 games than in 2 weeks for the rest of the season. He's VERY important to the success of this team. The addition of Roberts only makes it EASIER to bench Johnny right now. Dave has done a fantastic job filling in. Dave won't match Johnny's offensive numbers, but certainly has played good defense and held his own with the bat. There's no reason to rush Johnny back if he's not ready. Do we need him? Absolutely, he's a big reason why we're still in the hunt for the playoffs. Is it imperative that he's out there every day despite his injury? Heck no. On the other hand, the Sox don't seem to have made a move to put Johnny on the DL....But what's the motivation? It's September, which means the Sox are carrying extra players anyway. Normally, you DL someone if they aren't going to play and you need an extra player. However, the Red Sox already are carrying extra outfielders (McCarty, Hyzdu, Millar, Kapler, Roberts for 2 spots)...Plus if you DL him, he's out of service for 15 days....what if he gets better in 5? you're stuck without a healthy Damon for 10 days in that senario. Honestly, I haven't seen anywhere other than the above post reporting a Johnny -> DL move... so I'm starting to believe that report was false.... Get well soon, Johnny!

I hate late games.....I caught the first 4 innings, Kotsay's 2 homers, Manny and Damon goin back to back to tie it....fell asleep, woke up when it was 4-2, then had to turn the radio off. Anyway, great to see the Sox getting a win against a contender (Oakland), a good lefty pitcher (Zito), especially when Arroyo didn't have his best stuff. So far, we're 6-1 on our most important 9 game stint of the season. We've got to keep the pace! Go Sox!

It would suck to lose Damon, but like shillingouttheks said....Dave Roberts is an able replacement. Dave's been awesome so far for us, and I'm confident he can fill in until Johnny gets healthy!

That IS pretty low, man. Anyway, the MLB rule (according to ESPN) is that the game is considered a forfeit if they don't show up by 5 minutes after the umpire says "play" and the delay is unavoidable. Tell me, how are they gunna avoid a freakin' huricane?!? They were supposedly staying in Tampa over the weekend to be with their families during a national disaster.... In my mind, this is grounds for being late for a BASEBALL GAME.... This is people's lives at stake.... The Yankees are *******s.

I hate to see players injured, but Brown deserved that one...he did it to himself? I heard on WEEI the Yankees were thinking about trying to void his contract?!? Seems like they realize they wasted money on him...When he's healthy he's good, but he's not worth $15 mil.

I'm away from my computer this weekend (starting now) so no detailed game previews from me this weekend. Next would be Tuesday's game. Anyway, Let's hope for a Sox sweep!

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