example1

And there's Salty throwing the ball away instead of back to Lackey.

Bobby Cox isn't worried.

Pedroia is either pissed about the 45-degree rule with the front foot, or that the front foot crossed behind his pivot foot. He took off right away, so my guess is the later. As soon as that foot goes back he has to go to the plate.

Defintely a balk.

Lackey will still complain.

Lackey just said "Jesus Pedroia. Stop f***ing walking. Hit the goddamn ball!" He's a surly cuss.

It's amazing how confused RHH look against Anderson's CB.

...the "Lackey just said" mojo is in full effect

Lackey just said "Jesus Carl, catch it barehanded" Then he said "Salty you f***ing suck. Jesus."

For what it's worth Lackey also needs to act like a bit of a leader. I don't think he's capable of it, but all the shaking his head walking off the field, looking pissed off, etc., is grating and not at all what Salty needs to get better. If Lackey wants the Sox can bring up Federowicz and he can see a catcher who truly can't hit MLB pitching for power, has never been expected to, and probably doesn't belong in the bigs. Or he can try to support his teammate.

Lackey and Salty simply are not on the same page. I want to like Salty, but he's really struggling to put down the sign that the pitcher wants to throw... in multiple starts. It seems like a minor thing, but I remember from my pitching days what a difference it made when the catcher called the pitch I wanted to throw. I actually feel bad for Salty. He's trying to be the field general but he is too young and inexperienced to hold a candle to Varitek.

I wish I was a morning person. My daughter has forced me to be more of one, but I'm still not naturally inclined to get up early. Hence my preference for the Pacific zone. Back in the "good old days" I remember having to set the alarm to watch the Sox game at 10 or 11, which was great. Of cousre, I joke. Having a kid is the greatest thing ever. I think you're a parent and am pretty sure that you agree with that sentiment. Hawaii does have the added benefit of being... well, Hawaii. That beats Oregon in many respects.

This team would be well-served to have some of its higher upside prospects start to show it. Ranaudo and Brentz both come to mind. Good start so far.

Not if you live in Oregon! For those who don't live here, the West Coast is the best sports viewing time zone there is. College Football games starting at 9am. Weekend baseball starting at 10 or 10:30am. Red Sox games come on at 4pm--which means that I can DVR them, get home by 5 or 5:30, fast forward through commercials and finish the game live. It's great. Anytime I go back to the East coast I feel like it is such a chore to wait until 7pm for a game to start. Easily spoiled, I suppose. Go Sox.

Should Example1 keep doing gamethreads? I think I should. John Lackey vs. Brett Anderson Lackey career vs. Oakland: 17-5, 2.90 ERA, 151 K/202 IP Anderson career vs. Boston: 3-1, 2.61, 28K/31 IP I can't use B-R.com to look at comparable starts for bad teams... that's a good thing, but it ends my Optimism Thread trend. Sigh. Oh well. Enjoy the game. Go Sox!

Hey Folks, 2 wins in a row. Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-1, 3.80 ERA in 71.0 IP career vs Toronto) Ricky Romero (2-4, 7.20 ERA in 43.2 IP career vs. Red Sox) Going to add another team to the Reason for Optimism mojo: Teams that have been successful with 4-10 (or worse) records thru 14 games: 1951 New York Giants: Started 2-12 Finished 98-59 *NL Pennant* 1914 Boston Braves Started 3-11 Finished 94-59 **World Series Champs** 1991 Minnesota Twins Started 4-10 Finished 95-67 **World Series Champs** 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates Started 4-10 Finished 98-64 **World Series Champs** 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates Started 4-10 Finished 88-74 **Division Champs** 2001 Oakland A's Started 4-10 Finished 102-60 **Wildcard** 1982 Baltimore Orioles Started 4-10 Finished 94-68 **Second Place** (94 wins is good though) 2007 Philadelphia Phillies Started 4-10 Finished 89-73 **Division Champs** There might be others too... at this point, the Sox record is about ready to knock them out of the top 200 worst starts of all time group. How about a series win tomorrow Sox? A good Matsuzaka start could refresh the hopes of many in Sox Nation. Go Sox!

This team needs Saltalamacchia to be a productive member of the team and he needs to improve his catching skills with these pitchers. That's not going to happen if he sits on the bench. It is frustrating, but Salty is this team's catcher for better or worse.

I will subtract that 5 from my fictional total and keep track moving forward...

I don't know who is pitching and I don't care. The Sox need to win and they are the better team. Continuing with the theme from the Optimism Thread, with some NEW additions thanks to today's victory: Successful teams that started 3-10 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates Started 3-10 Finished 88-74 **Division Champs** 2001 Oakland A's Started 3-10 Finished 102-60 **Wildcard** 1982 Baltimore Orioles Started 3-10 Finished 94-68 **Second Place** (94 wins is good though) 1914 Boston Braves Started 3-10 Finished 94-59 **World Series Champs** 2007 Philadelphia Phillies Started 3-10 Finished 89-73 **Division Champs** Only ONE team has started 2-11 and made the playoffs, that was the 1951 Giants. In terms of historical precedent, today's (4/16) win was a big one. Let's keep the mojo going. Go Sox!

Clearly the win came, in part, because Example1 decided to start a game thread. Keeping it rolling with the 4/17 thread.

Tito has to stick him in DH, LF or behind the plate if he thinks Scutaro would be a better option at SS for a day.

I miss Scutaro.

Which they simply haven't done. Their shared speed has been non existent.

Yep, suprised that he didn't swing at that pitch by his face on 3-2. Ellsbury is a much better hitter than people give him credit for. He just hasn't shown it for an extended for awhile.

First time I've broken out the Ignore User feature since I ignored a700 for an extended period. Glad I stopped that.