Youk Of The Nation

Well...that sucked.

Bump

Bump for chronological order

I haven't started a GT in a while, so here we go. Pomeranz vs. Odorizzi. Win.

Archer won the first time he pitched against Boston, and is 0-8 since.

We call that the "Thunder Blunder"

There is no rule on who can start a GT after a loss. But if the Sox win, you need to keep starting them until they lose again. Last time you did not do that, so don't forget this time. There is an unofficial rule that people who forget to keep the streak going more than once are no longer allowed to start GTs. Good luck, and here's hoping for a long winning streak! (And perhaps shorter GT titles).

Makes sense. The Sox (and Yankees, sad to say) are always a big draw when they go to parks where attendance usually struggles to crack 10K (Tampa Bay, for example). And they even have an impact on attendance in otherwise decent places like Toronto and Baltimore. And on the flip side, being lower in home attendance makes sense as well, because Fenway seats about 15K less than any other stadium in baseball.

I vaguely recall celebrating that.

I can't watch the Olympics because I feel too bad for the losers. For things like basketball or soccer or whatever, it's different. The Olympics is just a feather in your cap, there are bigger stages on which to win (the World Cup, NBA championship, et cetera). But for things like the running or swimming events, the Olympics is the pinnacle of your sport. The big time. The absolute top competition in the world for your chosen field. These people spend most of their entire lives training and sacrificing and working their asses off to get to the day where they can compete in the games...and then they lose out on a medal by an amount of time measured in literally hundredths of seconds. In less time than it takes a human being to blink, a decade or more of pouring your heart and soul into your goal is flushed away. I'd almost rather lose by minutes than think that maybe if I'd cut my hair a little shorter or worn thinner socks, maybe it would have made the difference.

Hey, don't knock day games. I work at a 24-hour diner. I start at 6PM and work until any time between 12 and 4AM, depending on how busy it is. The owner refuses to put the TVs in the dining room on any channels that might show sports. So the only time I can follow the game is if I get my break before it ends and can go to my car to listen to the radio. So day games are awesome, I can actually listen to them live instead of having to wait until I get home to see if the Sox won.

Does it count as one officially?

Bumping to close threads in chronological order.

I like that idea! I'm going to change the thread title to that.

Well, I really, really didn't want to have to do this, but I am out of options. I tried politely asking, I tried politely asking again, I tried ignoring the problem in hopes that you guys would figure out how obnoxious you were being on your own, and I tried the message board equivalent of yelling at you. I wanted to avoid coming down hard and going the tin-god route, but this has gone on far, far too long. I am now getting PMs from some members, (and not just from those who have been here for years) about the proliferation of useless, stupid threads. So here goes: Anyone, and I mean anyone, who starts one of these threads, will be warned once through PM. The second offense will result in a 14-day period where you will be required to PM me your thread ideas and receive permission before starting them. The third offense will result in a one-week ban. Any further offenses after the conclusion of that ban will result in bannings increasing in length by one week. (Two weeks for the first, then three, et cetera). I really, really hate this. I want everyone to be clear about that. I rejected this option five months ago out of a desire not to be a dictator, but rather than attempt to modify ridiculous behavior, it's actually gotten worse. Here is a list of threads which will fall under the category above: - Threads whose opening post is something that clearly belongs in an active Gamethread. This includes things like: "I'm sick of our guys getting thrown out at home", "Wow, Mookie is really hitting well tonight", and the like. - Threads about individual players that ask hypothetical questions that are already being discussed in threads on the front page. This includes: Threads asking if a guy should be moved from the rotation to the pen, or vice versa, threads about where one specific guy is batting in the lineup, threads about how great a certain player is at something, and the like - Threads about broad, unspecific, or nebulous topics that would better fit within existing discussions. This includes things like hypothetical and unlikely trades that could easily be discussed in Hot Stove or Trade Deadline discussion threads. - Functionally useless threads, including: Threads in the Gamethread forum asking why there is no gamethread, threads suggesting new player nicknames, or threads for random video clips or quotes. This is by no means a complete list, so I will ask again, as I did months ago, that you seriously consider, even for a few friggin seconds, whether or not your new thread idea can be added to an existing discussion. Some of our newer members have been here for a little less than six months, and the first FIVE pages of threads in the TS subforum are made up almost of exclusively of threads started by you guys. And that is not even including the 150-200 threads I have deleted or merged in the past five months. And to any of you who believe that I am exaggerating, think again. I have deleted or merged at least one thread almost every day since you all joined, and sometimes more than one. If anything, that number is probably low. Now people are messaging me, asking me why I am not doing anything about the fact that people are flagrantly ignoring the repeated requests not to clutter up a formerly easily navigable forum with a bunch of threads with no points to make. When you are annoying me, sometimes I just have to suffer through it in noble silence. When you start annoying a few other people, you are on the path towards making this place unbearable. So enough is enough. One more thing: I am not unlocking this thread. Unlike the first time I asked, back on page 1 of this thread, this is not an invitation for people to argue with my decisions or explain why they believe they aren't doing anything wrong, or explain why maybe if I just thought of it this way I would be much happier just letting everyone keep doing what they're doing. I don't want a bunch of aggrieved PMs decrying my dictatorial cruelty in demanding that you be allowed to continue making four separate threads about Travis Shaw every week. That first page is still there for anyone who wants to dispute the fact that I tried doing this the polite way at first. Just stop.

I used to wish fondly for a bench-clearing brawl between the O's and Rays, which ended with Showalter punching Joe Maddon in the face so hard that Maddon's hipster glasses embedded themselves in Showalter's palms. Then he would die slowly of an excruciating bacterial infection.

"One would think" that Hanley wouldn't use the bereavement list to visit a relative who had the 24-hour flu or had recently stubbed their toe. I think the fact that he used it means that something serious is going on and I don't think the hot pennant race takes consideration over death or serious injury/illness in the family.

Also, haha, Joe Castiglione keeps calling Tomlin "Timlin".

Does anyone know why Hanley is on the BL? I was just curious about it and I can't find any details.

Did anyone here go to the game tonight, or know someone who did? I saw on MLB.com that Shatner threw out the first pitch and there was a giveaway of special Captain Kirk figurines. I'd love to get one from someone who might not want theirs...

No he did not. Not the best comeback we've seen around here.

Okay, yeah, I guess what I should have said was that everyone was right to only move up one base. If anyone had tried to go further there probably would have ended up being an out on the basepaths.

Just watched the highlights when I got home. I have three things to say: 1. Leon was smart to stay at first after that hit in the 8th. Yeah, it was far, but that ball went to CF really fast and the CF played the bounce perfectly and got it back in even faster. 2. Vin Scully is awesome. MLB.com had a clip of him reacting to one of Wright's seriously dancing pitches, it was hilarious. "Whoaaa. What was that?!" 3. Seriously, Pederson? At least try not to make it so obvious you were leaning into the pitch. You actually moved your leg into the path of the pitch, you weasel.

That's the spirit! Even after two consecutive wins and with the Sox only back from first by one game, keep being pessimistic! Nobody looks gift horses squarely in the mouth or determinedly searches for the cloud in every silver lining like Talksox does!

Which insiders are you hearing things from? Unless Pomeranz told you that himself or someone who played with him told you that, I wouldn't put a lot of stock in assessments like that.