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Mahay is out there pitching like there's no batter in the box. Just warming up, throwing strikes with no fear of the ball being hit anywhere.

We need some goddamn baserunners.

Jesus dusty, that one was in the dirt. What are you swinging at man?

Perhaps WMP only gets to hit if Mirabelli is in the game.

C'mon, walk pedroia. Walk Lugo, Youk hit, Papi blast. Yeah, that's right.

At what point does WMP get up off his ass and take a swing?

He looks at SOMETHING, but it ain't Varitek. I wonder if anyone has talked to him about that: "Hideki (through translator) here in the United States we encourage pitchers to look at the plate when they deliver the pitch." I've never seen that before, to be honest. Does he just do that when he throws a curve, or all the time?

Good inning from Hideki in a non-pressure situation.

Ummm, the Sox threw Tavarez against Texas' #1 pitcher and it didn't work out for them. Meanwhile, Steroid Sosa hit a bomb, Michael Young had an inside the park "bomb" and the rest has just been sort of normal baseball stuff.

The Sox need to get out of the f***ing cold-weather road trip and get home to the friendly confines. Personally I hate watching games where they play Texas and KC (and ANA). They always seem to crap the bed in those stadiums.

Unfortunately the number is busy, thanks to the Yankees.

yay! One run through the heart of our order! Sweet jesus. Does it feel like we're in the middle of the season, in the middle of a long, bad roadtrip? Man, what happened to the beginning of the season?

K-moron Loe is close to getting out of this thing... goddamn it!

I just like it when he tries to pick guys off by running toward the bag. That was perhaps the funniest thing I've seen on a ball field before.

It certainly epitomized the type of game this is. As did the triple off the wall that coco could have been more conservative with. This game still could have been won down by a run going into the 7th inning. This past inning was really the bad part, but the Sox started off looking like they were going to be in control until that "HR". It's a minor point and not one I'm going to get caught up in talking about.

How can you tell? It is pretty much impossible to tell at this point because they're both pretty bad.

Plunk Sammy Sosa when he comes up again. That's what I say.

Hasnack isn't nearly as funny as Tavarez. Perhaps Tito opts for the comic relief? I really don't blame Tavarez for this "loss" (if it will be called that soon), just like I wouldn't have given him credit for the win--if he got one. Drews blunder in RF and the subsequent inside the park homerun was the beginning of the end for this game.

I just don't see a pressure situation here... Also, I'd rather keep 3 lefties in the pen and do something with Kyle Snyder (i.e, cut or send him down) than get rid of Romero/Lopez/Okajima. They're all about average, but at least R/L/O have the advantage of being left handed, if needed. It may mean they need to keep the extra pitcher but against certain teams it will be valuable.

I'm still willing to give him a break. He's pitched well the past few games. Why not use Pineiro in a long-relief situation though? Curious...

I don't remember saying "Broke the Yank's back." Maybe I did, but I can't find it. What I said is that the season hinged on a stolen base and a ground rule double, which is entirely true. You pointed out a number of other things that the season hinged on, all of which further prove my point. A number of things can go wrong/right to either continue a season or squash it. That same luck (or lack of it) is beyond the particular construction of a team and has more to do with the game played on the field. It doesn't take having Keith Foulke on your team to make the wall in RF shorter and to keep the runner at 3rd instead of scoring. It doesn't take having a great bullpen to make that difference, and it is those differences that determine who wins WS championships once teams have made the playoffs (you know, if you're willing to dismiss my argument that this team is better constructed to dominate pitching-wise in the playoffs). I'm done with this stupid discussion though. You keep being negative during the 5th game of the season and judge the potential of the team not on what they will do but on your personal opinion of them and their FO.

My definition of loaded, amid this stupid discussion ( ) is that they are one of the top 5 teams on paper in baseball. With Manny Ramirez, JD Drew and David Ortiz, Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka and Papelbon, this team is as loaded as it has been in any recent years. I wouldn't consider 04 Millar or Mueller or Todd Walker/Mark Bellhorn to be upgrades, nor would I consider Trot Nixon to be an upgrade. Damon would be, and 04 Tek would be; otherwise the team is well constructed and has a TON of potential to be great.

The only examples of loaded teams you provided were ones that won the WS. If winning a WS is a prerequisate to being loaded then you can't also say with any conviction whether this team is or isn't. I think this team certainly can win the WS. I think this team could have one of the top 5 offenses in the league and the top 5 pitching staffs in the league. Our definitions may differ, but the only reason we're even writing about this is because YOU questioned the term, not me. I simply believe that there can be a spectrum of loadedness in teams, and that this sox team can be seen as part of that spectrum. You said they can't because they have some questions (notice, those questions weren't starting pitching or hitting, but relief pitching). I questioned the criteria that you set.

It's not my prophecy, it is the hopes of the FO. I see no reason to think some of these guys can't come back and have a really good season. To expect the team to have the same construction, or that all WS teams have the same construction is incorrect. Each team has its own 'flavor' so-to-speak. This team is hoping to have an adequate bullpen, above average starting pitchers, above average offense and average to occasionally + defense. They plan to win 60% + games at home and be about .500 on the road, I bet. So what? That doesn't mean Foulke was objectively a LOCK to have a great season. He had a good season, but clearly he outpitched his stuff. After having the most IMPROBABLE comeback in sports history which hinged on a stolen base and a ground rule double. It is easy to pretend that somehow the sox were a lock that season, but that doesn't pay enough reverence to the "baseball gods" in my opinion. This team will need luck and good preparation if it is going to succeed, just like the 04 team needed to and the 03 team didn't quite have. Nothing new there. Do you think this team, as currently constructed, has a chance to make the playoffs? I bet you do. Will you be citing the 07 team as a great team if they DON'T win the WS? I doubt it. Making the playoffs is step one (and the main goal of the FO), winning in the playoffs is another thing altogether and it is something that I think this team is well constructed to do if it makes the playoffs. Would you rather have Wang, Pettitte and Mussina in the playoffs or Schilling, Beckett and Matsuzaka? The difference between the 03 and 04 sox was definitely the addition of a shut-down closer and a second ace. The 03 team was good enough to make the playoffs (as was the 06 team until injuries) and they added some pieces to push them beyond just 'making' the playoffs.