schillingouttheks

I love Rowand. And Jacko, as far as the pitching goes, Lester will step into the '08 rotation so there are really only 2 possible holes in the lineup. I would like the Sox to save a bit of money this offseason so they can go hard after Johan Santana or another big pitcher... For the RHRP, as crazy as it sounds, Kyle Farnsworth is exactly what the Sox need. He can obviously be better with work, but when he's dealing he can be untouchable. Great velocity and such. But I have a feeling Steiny would never let Cashman deal with us so...yeah.

So GKL, have you learned how to spell "Jealousy?" Hah. Haha, sorry, I don't mean to be a dick. It's just kind of funny to go through the old threads.

They completely shut him down for games 1 and 2 and he comes out firing for 3 straight. The guy's a freak of nature... No one was hitting anything besides Lebron. They should have trapped him a lot more at half court and forced someone else to do something. He got too many one on ones and just made some Pistons look silly. I want Cleveland to close it out and I want to see Lebron up against the Spurs. I think they'd get handled, but it would be fun to see a team OTHER THAN THE PISTONS be successful in the playoffs.

Gah make a new question. And you guys aren't phrasing the questions right if we're playing Jeopardy!

Well then, he did break the rules. Even better. Whatever. I don't care anymore. The league knows that A-Rod's a dirty player, and next time he faces a Toronto pitcher you can guarantee he'll be thrown at. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also getting confused by all the people who say this happens all the time. Are you on the field? Do you know what happens? I've been on the field many times playing high school ball and sure, opposing fans will yell but players on the field don't. It just doesn't happen. It happens all the time when you're playing a fun pick-up game and messing around, but it does NOT happen all the time on the professional level.

Oh whoops, didn't see this convo going on, lol. I went right for the NBA thread. What a friggin' game.

Lebron has been putting on a Jordan-esque performance. Scoring 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points. 109-107 Cleveland in double OT with 2.2 to go. I f***ing hate the Pistons. Something rubs me the wrong way about them. I would love nothing more than to see Cleveland pull away in this series. Cavs win!!! 3-2 going back to Cleveland. Probably one of the greatest performances I've ever seen put on by anyone in the playoffs by King James tonight.

I have no idea what this guy is capable of...any insight would be great. Thanks.

Good God. Here we go with the rules thing again. No one's saying it was CHEATING. No one. That was made clear many times. But it's a lack of maturity and common decency. Even some of the Yankees fans on here are saying it was poor judgment. Are you saying A-Rod was right to do it? Can you tell me why every Yankee is acting like it's a big secret and why A-Rod lied about what he yelled? What's the big secret here? If it's not a big deal, why are the Yankees themselves treating it like it is? And you're blaming Clark for being pissed at A-Rod for yelling "MINE" at him? If it was done to you and you messed it up, you'd plant blame on him as well and be pissed. I'm not saying you've never actually shown hatred for the Yankees, it's just that when they were doing well it seemed like you were all over their dicks praising their ability and achievements. It was never just a "good job," it was always like a "wow, Sox fans who chant Yankees suck are stupid because the Yankees are the best team in baseball year after year."

Is it just me or does it seem like BoSox34 likes to ballwash the Yanks for some reason? BoSox, this doesn't happen all the time. It just doesn't. It doesn't even happen in high school as much anymore. Everyone on this board, minus one or two, have said it hasn't happened to them. Yeah, he should have caught the ball, but for some reason it seems like you love to glorify the Yanks despite your Red Sox fandom. Am I the only person that's noticed this? Anyway, what ORS said is right on the money.

Fair enough. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I just don't agree at all with Lugo and Crisp 8/9, but to each his own. If we're in a big position to rally and we have the bottom of our lineup coming up, I want to know that we have a bat like Pedroia that can get it done. I don't want the sinking feeling of having Lugo and Crisp back to back. I know about Lowell, I just like him in the 6 hole because of the inevitable regression. Youk won't be as hot either most likely, but I have a feeling his regression will be a bit less than Lowell's. For the record, I know I come off as pretty hostile sometimes when I'm debating, but it's nothing personal I just don't want to scare you off from debating with me in the future and thinking I don't respect your view. Just understand that I can get pretty passionate, lol. Oh, I also completely agree with you as far as the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy goes.

No, I've seen him throw that pitch a lot in most of the clips I've seen. I think it's possible that he's hiding it until he gets more control over the new ball. I know exactly the pitch you're talking about (I think that batter was in fact Iguchi). I believe the pitch you're referring to is the one where he threw it as if he were a football quarterback? Regardless, it's a dirty pitch. I've never seen it before I watched Matsuzaka throw it. I remember him (well, his translator) explicity stating that the ball was a bit more slick in America. He may be saving his best pitch(es) for when he gets better overall control of the ball with, of course, his basic pitches (fastball, changeup, etc.)

I think he said the MLB baseball is a bit more slick than the ball he used in Japan. Given a full year with the different ball I think he'll look like the pitcher that was advertised next year. We've seen glimpses of what he was in Japan, but there's obviously still a lot to be seen.

Well, A-Rod's own actions in the past have gotten him where he is. If this was the first time he did something, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

You do know that Drew's OBP is about 30ish points above average, right? I don't care how he gets on base. You don't need a good average to get on base. When you have Ortiz and Ramirez hitting behind you, you just need to find a way on. That's exactly what he's been doing despite the poor batting average. This is why using BA as a statistic to back up a point isn't a good method.

No, I just think that most people are more mature by then. This kind of stuff happens with 10-12 year olds. It doesn't happen with high school/college/professional baseball. It just doesn't. I've played A LOT of baseball. It hasn't happened to me, any of my teammates, or any other friends since little league days.

Whatever you want. I'm pretty sure anything could be submitted, but the moderating team would have to approve it. But yes, I'm pretty sure what we're getting at is anything baseball and Red Sox related. If it's your first hand account of a game you attended, I'm sure that would be fine. It would also be nice to fluctuate the styles of writing a bit. A first hand account could be a nice relief from an analysis, for example. Not that analysis is bad, it's just nice to have different types of writing.

I'd rather have him give up the long ball than give up hit after hit after hit...

What we can not do is place Lugo and Crisp as the 8 and 9 hitters. That makes our lineup at the bottom as weak as an NL lineup. I like Pedroia at the bottom because he keeps the lineup alive throughout. An 8/9 of Lugo and Crisp would kill anything we had going. However, the only reason that I haven't completely lost my patience with Lugo is because when he gets on base, he doesn't get thrown out (even if he doesn't get on as much as we want him to). He's also driven in some runs from the leadoff position and he can work counts. If he works counts and doesn't get on, it's not the end of the world. As the leadoff hitter he's supposed to be a tough out, and at times he really can be. You can't tell me you liked seeing Crisp instead of Lugo up there in the 7th last night. I think Lugo will get better if we just stick with him. Crisp isn't meant to sniff the top of our lineup. I want Pena in the lineup in CF, but Crisp has kept us in games because of his glove and we can't drop that. He's saved 2 or 3 games for us with his speed out there. Lugo Drew Ortiz Ramirez Youkilis Lowell Varitek Crisp Pedroia The only thing that should be changed is Drew hitting second and Youkilis to 5th. Despite his average, Drew is still getting on base through walks. Youk has been getting on as well, but he's better suited as a 5 hitter than Drew is at the moment. Like Youk said last night, your position in the order shouldn't matter. You have to go to the plate and hit. If you can't do that, you're not meant to be in the lineup.

Funny...hasn't happened to me or any of my teammates in the games I've played in since 6th grade little league.