SchillingIsTheNatural

I mentioned this before but one thing people will recognize about Ortiz: he will be one of the biggest Red Sox legends when he retires. Not only is he one of the best hitters in Red Sox history, one of the best DH hitters in history, helped guide this team to its first World Series in 86 years, but he is one of the most loved characters in New England. Everybody loves this guy and how could you not? Name one player in baseball history who hits like he does to win ball games? Forget about it!......he will be even more recognized for his heroics 30 years from now when we all look back upon it.

Well I must say I haven't seen this from the Red Sox in a long time. Starting with Papelbon obviously. This kid can pitch and is huge out of the bullpen, he could make a big difference in the series against the Yanks. He is doing so well I wonder if he should be a starter down the line or if being in the bullpen is his true calling. Craig Hansen has certainly shown he has electric stuff. Now what he needs is experience and although this isn't the primetime for him to do that...I believe he is still a boost and has shown he will one day be the closer. Lenny Dinardo, although 26 years old, had a great season in Pawtucket and really showed me something the other night when he got through 4 strong innings. Manny Delcarmen hasn't been able to pitch much...but he hasn't given up a hit in September and has the stuff to strikeout major league batters. In the month of September these guys have combined for 30.2 inning and given up a total of 5 earned runs. That is deffinitly and upgrade and these guys should all be on the team at the start of next season.

and I thought it was Keith Foulke the whole time

In general....the pitching staff of the 2005 Boston Red Sox has been a joke

I think we should trade Mike Stanton for Alan Embree ....wait just kidding

All this "resting Olerud" crap needs to stop.....4 games left....if Johnny Helmet can't make it through 4 games then whats the use. The reason he used Millar was cause a lefty was on the mound. I don't think that is a good reason...play Olerud anyways...he can hit lefty and righty pitchers. I can see Olerud delivering with 2 out and men on base....I cannot see Millar doing it

It certainly is important. If the Yanks win...it might be over...I did see us come back being down 3 games to 0 (not sure if anyone saw that last year?). I think the Yanks have a good fight on there hands tonight though with Bedard...he is a good pitcher. Meanwhile I don't know what to expect from Clement but if he can get to 7 innings...I like our chances tonight. I can't imagine the Blue Jays keep hitting like this. That along with the fact we didn't score runs yesturday which means we are due. The Yanks are throwing out Small who I'm still waiting to see blow up....at this point I don't think its going to happen. Guardians have Sabathia but the Devil Rays offense can score and Fossum is no push over. ....lets just play the games

I have to agree with that and if we could get out of that inning....I would immediatly go to Papelbon and Timlin again even though they pitched earlier....I have heard some things about keeping those guys fresh.....WHAT THE HELL IS THAT.....there aren't enough games to worry about being fresh. Francona can be questioned on how he coached this game.

I would want the Guardians to make it.....I think they are a better team but mostly I just want the Yanks to miss the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Then sit back and watch how many guys get fired.

Yea after this much time...injury or not...he isn't producing when it counts the most. It just doesn't seem to be coming around and I'm nervous as hell with him making the last start of the year. If the Sox can sneak into the playoffs....I'm not sure who the starting three would be at this moment.

Good!! .....I hope the Red Sox see it

You can say all you want about coaching and what not but the fact is the kid has better stuff than most others in the bullpen. He will obviously be better down the road but for right now he may be what we need to get through the rest of the season. I'm not giving him the hall of fame by any means....the fact is our bullpen is weak and even a young, inexperienced, not reached his full potential Craig Hansen is better than most options. He is a strikeout pitcher and thats something the Sox don't have a lot of. Now when something like this occurs you have to wonder will the kid be the same if he gets roughed up a little bit. I think this is why he was labeled "most prepared for the MLB" because of his attitude and mental understanding of the game.

Does anyone think Nomar is going to the hall of fame??

I've seen enough to know he will be awesome....wow did he make Matos look stupid at the plate. Yeah Mora took advantage but my guess was something obviously didn't go right with that pitch. I think it was supposed to be up but its certainly nothing to worry about. He has some serious heat and he looked fine after the game. I would kinda like to see Tito get him back on the mound again quickly to keep him going. Something tells me the more comfortable he gets...the more dominating he will be. Tito still needs to wait for the right time to use him so mostly I want the Sox to get some runs. Huge win today though....you need those kinda wins and its nice to not be on the other side. Besides Hansen...Clement finally looked a little better just very wild....at least he didn't leave anything over the plate.

its strange but out of the teams in contension for the playoffs in the AL...the Guardians are the one team I don't want to face.

If we didn't have Timlin I would guess that Schilling might still be in that role. Either that or to this point Papelbon might have made a case for himself. They may have brought Hansen up sooner or made a trade...who knows...no question Mike Timlin has been fantastic and deserves the reward. He wasn't the only stable part but he was the biggest part. Myers and Bradford have done well as situational relievers and Jeremi Gonzalez (although hit hard recently) has reached way beyond my expectations. I agree that Timlin will move on next year cause the Sox are stuck with Foulke to give him another shot and the young guys are moving up. I would expect Hansen, Delcarmen, DiNardo, and Alvarez (two lefty and two righty) to be a bigger part of the bullpen next season. Considering how teams are struggling for closers I would expect someone to sign him for that role...most likely in the NL.

That could be very well be the case. I don't know a thing about the guy. The few stats I saw look good but that doesn't mean a thing in MLB. We shall see though he would certainly be a nice suprise.

I would have to agree with that. I think Lester, Papelbon, and Hansen are the core future of this team. A righty starter and a lefty starter with a dominate closer. But that leaves people like Sanchez, Arroyo, Foulke, maybe even Matt Clement who will have two years left on his contract, Alvarez, Buccholz, etc. I'm sure mixing and matching could be put together but I deffinitly think we have the depth to possibly figure something out.

You can't replace David Ortiz...nobody can...cause nobody has a player like him....maybe stat wise but when it counts....you can't beat him. He is making a huge mark in Red Sox history and has already established himself as one of the greatest Red Sox hitters of all time.....that says a LOT. Not to mention he might be the biggest hero in Boston history with his playoff shots. You may not see it now....but when Ortiz is retired years from now and people look back...David Ortiz is going to be a legend. He is the MVP of the Red Sox and the MVP of the league. not to take anything away from Timlin...he has had a good season....next year it will probably be someone else

Well this is just an idea.... One of the most difficult things is trying to predict a trade. However, I think this one could set up nicely. The Texas Rangers need to sign Teixeira to a long term deal which means this must be his last season of his contract. As awesome as he is the Rangers are loaded with power hitters and desperately need pitching. Theo should deffinitly jump in and try to work out a trade. We have 7 possible starting pitchers (depending on the situation with Miller and Wells) along with an excellent farm system for pitching. If the Red Sox can somehow dump off Manny and his salary for someone like Beltran then this looks like a move Theo should look into as a replacement bat. Not to mention it could free up money to get a contract worked out with Teixeira and solve our 1B headache for a long time. Obviously he would come at a high price for players and cost a lot of money but I think he would be worth it. If this was the case I would consider letting the free agents walk and going with a semi youth movement.

Edgar is a very very very streaky hitter. You certainly can't expect a move in replace of Edgar.....will not happen. I hear Hanely though plays better in a big crowd and craves the opportunity to do great things....seems like Edgar is getting used to messing up. So on one hand you have a guy looking to prove himself and the other who has no confidence.....tough...hopefully the head coach can help out the situation. Yes I was impressed with Manny Delcarmen and Dinardo. Makes things more difficult when it comes time to figure out who will make the playoff roster. If I had to choose 5 guys right now I would have to go with Timlin, Papelbon, Hansen, Myers, Bradford, and possibly DiNardo (we need another lefty). Long relief situations could be taken care of by Arroyo. Gonzo has been hit hard lately (might be getting tired), Harville has shown me nothing as I expected, and this can't be Keith Foulke can it??

Theo Epstein is a business man. No question Manny is a fantastic baseball player and a great hitter....but it was a horrendous decision to sign him to a deal so big. It has really held down what Theo can do which is why they want to get rid of him. I'm sure its nothing personal.

haha good point

I don't think its about teaching them stuff. Being home grown means you go through the system. Certain players are more prepared then others. He was more prepared and advanced quickly. Like Middle school, High school, College...thats growing...Gulf Coast League, Portland, skipped Pawtucket....thats growing...you don't necessarily have to learn going through it....just get through it and get to the show for the one team you were a part of.

I don't really agree with that. Just because the guy chooses to get an education, has talent, and moves through the system quickly does not mean he isn't a product of the Boston Red Sox. He played in the Gulf Coast League (right?) and jumped up quickly. Made Portland look simple and moves right into the Red Sox playoff run. Just because a player doesn't grow up (literally) in the Red Sox farm system since he was 17 or whatever...doesn't mean he wasn't home grown. Everyones growing process is different and his was quick. But he still went through our system meaning...he is a home grown Red Sox player. This is just my opinion.