Cityofchampions33

u guys think that when he retired he'll sign a 1 day contract or sumthin with us? or does he hav hard feelings about the Sox?

I just remembered that The Yanks were once in last place... If they keep on winning though, its gunna be tough for us to gain anything and that means we'll have to sweep, so its very important we do very good and take advantage of these average teams.

This is all with low budget players and a terrible offense, Tito has won one only because of our talent. Hell, I'd bet macha would win 2 with us if he started out w/ pedro and Schill

schillinggouthecks if u mean between Macha and Beane Id have to go w/ Beane, the guy is just amazing with how he analyzes players and he basically invented the Moneyball approach, which proved even when ur re-building u can win.

RSN Interview: Signed by the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent this past June, Zak Farkes is in his first professional season with the Lowell Spinners. A native of Boston who played three seasons at Harvard, Farkes was taken by his hometown team in last year's draft but elected to return for his junior year. Harvard's all-time home run hitter, the 22-year-old Farkas played five different positions this season for the Crimson, earning first-team All-Ivy League honors for the second year in a row. We talked to Zak about his versatility, his decision to sign with the Red Sox, and learning about "The Great White Whale." RSN: The Red Sox drafted you in the 39th round last year, but you elected not to sign. Why did you go back to Harvard instead? ZF: I was a sophomore, but was eligible because I turned 21 right before the draft. I mostly wanted to get familiar with the process, but may have taken the right opportunity. As it turned out, the Sox asked me to play on the Cape last summer, and I hurt my arm a little. So I decided to have minor surgery -- just a scope -- and go back for my junior year. I had some really good friends on the Harvard team. We were also coming off two relatively disappointing seasons, and I wanted to help atone for that. So while it was a hard decision, I went back rather than sign. RSN: This year you went undrafted. Might you have gone back for your senior year had the Red Sox not offered you a contract, and another team had? ZF: That would have been a consideration, because there's no doubt a senior year would have been great. But my goal has always been to play pro ball, and I'm healthy and as prepared as I feel I'll be. Both mentally and physically, I'm ready now. RSN: While going undrafted was probably disappointing, it did mean you were free to sign anywhere. In retrospect, was that good? ZF: I'd like to think so, and time will tell. There was a little disappointment, but I'm obviously thrilled to be with the Sox. I guess that if this is how I was meant to begin my pro career…that's the way it is. RSN: Tell us a little about your arm injury. ZF: It was basically a nagging injury from a few years ago that got worse down on the Cape. The throws I was making down there took their toll, and the aggressive non-invasive methods I tried didn't do the job. So I opted for the surgery, and the important thing is that it's 100% now. RSN: You hit 14 home runs two years ago. Why only six this year? ZF: I was still recovering from surgery, and was probably only about 75 or 80% the first half of the season. To be honest, I probably pushed too hard to get back early. It's a short season in the Northeast as it is, and I wanted to be in the line-up. Once I got my strength back, I started to hit. All six of my home runs came in the second half. RSN: How would you describe yourself as a hitter? ZF: I'm very aggressive. I like to attack fastballs early in the count. I'll hit the ball to all fields, and I pride myself on being a tough out, regardless of the situation. I just simply love to hit. RSN: The Red Sox organizational philosophy is to work counts and see a lot of pitches. Are you too aggressive to fit into that mold? ZF: There's a happy medium between working pitchers and attacking pitches, and being aggressive doesn't mean swinging at everything. It's more about going after my pitch when it comes, and not being tentative. RSN: How would you describe your defensive game? ZF: I have the ability to play all of the infield and outfield positions. At Harvard I played all over, most of the time because of team need. The Sox want me to focus more on one position, though; primarily second base. As far as skills go, I think I'm pretty much MLB average across the board with the glove. RSN: Which position do you feel you're best suited for? ZF: I'd say second or third. Third base can be tough mentally. It's a reaction position -- the hot corner -- and you have to be willing to move in for the bunt. You also need a strong arm. Second is a different game. It allows your range and athleticism to take over, but you want to know tendencies too, so you can be in the right position. I think I handle both positions pretty well. RSN: Tell us a little about your history as a Red Sox fan. ZF: I grew up four blocks from Fenway, and my family has had season tickets in section 16 since I was about six years old. I grew up walking over for games. Watching the Sox win the Series was certainly a great thrill. RSN: I understand that you have a brother playing college ball? ZF: I have a brother at UConn, who is 18 months younger than I am. He's an outfielder with a great arm and physique. He had a great year, and will be draft eligible next year. Right now he's playing in the NECBL with the Concord Quarry Dogs. RSN: What went into your decision to attend Harvard? ZF: A lot of things. I have three younger brothers, and we all have similar interests and hobbies -- we do a lot together -- so I wanted to stay close to home. And along with the great academics, Harvard has an excellent baseball program. My parents wanted me to have an opportunity to experience both. Academically, I was in the English and American Literature and Language program RSN: What are some of the things you like to read? ZF: I like to vary my reading a lot; all types from ancient Greek to modern. Hemingway is a favorite. I like a lot of non-fiction. Something I read recently was a book about “The Essex,” which was the boat Moby Dick was based on. RSN: What are your other off-the-field interests? ZF: My other passion is fishing. My brothers and I own an 18-foot center console boat that we have docked in Winthrop. We love fishing for striped bass and bluefish. RSN: To close, how would you assess your first month of pro ball? ZF: I've obviously gotten off to a slow start at the plate, but I'm dealing with it. I'm not having any doubts. A slump looks a little more drastic when you go 0 for your first 15 at-bats, but baseball is a long season. I know I can hit, and I'm confident that by the end of the year I'll be where I should be.

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/05.13/photos/sportsart.jpg Age: 22 Born: May 30, 1983 (Boston, MA) Height: 5-11 Weight: 195 Bats: Both Throws: Right Drafted: 39th round, 2003 How Acquired: Undrafted free agent (Jun. 2005) College: Harvard High School: BB&N Scouting Report: Good, smart athlete.* Average speed and power. Aggressive hitter. Able to play all infield and outfield positions. Lifelong Red Sox fan. Current stats: 40 GMs, 132 ABs, 23 Hits, .232 OBP, .273 SLG, and .174 AVG Idk if he'll be a big part of the Sox future but I know his brother, as does schillingoutthecks.

I claim Zak Farkes for personal reasons.

ouch

Pal, your preachin to the choir lol

At least we got to rest today and the Yanks have to keep on playin, hopefully theyll tire and start makin mistakes. Do the Yanks have another day off? Also who do they play until they get to us?

If we were to meet in the playoffs it basically be a battle of the bullpens, whoever can hold a lead in the series would win.

7-5 Yankees last I checked. Idk though, Im lookin at yankees.com for the score.

Well, if we want to win the division, it's crucial we take advantage of the sinking O's and not get beaten by these average pitchers. Luckily we don't have to face Lopez, who always kills us, but if we lose 2/3 here my prediction is it's over. However if we sweep here, it's likely that the Yanks will lose at least 1 in the next series, they can't win forever. Also we need to gain at least 1 game on them before going into the final series with them. That way we can try winning 2/3 instead of sweeping.

Trust me, I'm not an idiot like you, I've been here longer than you think I have, try lookin up my old account "Chitalian Stallion". I post here because I love the red sox and baseball, so don't lecture me and talk down to me becuase I know just as much, if not more, baseball as you do. That's all I'm gunna say, and as schillingoutthecks said: back to Timlin.

I'd much rather have Macha over Tito. It's amazing what macha's done with the A's REBUILDING, hes taken this team of rookies and no-names into playoff contention, I would LOVE to see what he could do with the Sox, he has basically turned Huston Street into the MLB's next promising closer and has total confidence in all his players, plus, i'm sure he wouldn't have loyalty issues as Tito seems to have (cough) Millar (cough).

I think a big part of this race will come down to the final series, whoever comes up bigger, between the two, should win the MVP award.

Listen, this guy over here said something that opposed my, and many others opinions, I DEALT with it by using his quotes aginst him, but he kept on going on about how he "misworded" a post. Hell, your tryin to shut me up now, almost everyone on this board tries to shut people up, you can see it in most of the threads in almost all the categories. So please, don't blame me for something everyone does.

Pal, forget you, your comin up with nonsense after everyone just shut u up, and no, i havent, always re-read before i post. Plus what you did was not bad wording, it was just a bad post, you can check all 32 of my posts, go ahead. Also, I've never gotten on anyone like this before, You just keep on sayin s*** to get the last word in, all i did was tell you stop wat u have already lost.

"He has been probably the MVP of this team I would say..." I honestly don't see any other ways to word it....

Please, just stop

Oh, and Timlin did SOO much better last night.

Please, just quit right now

In the MVP awrds history, a pitcher has won 17/146 times, a 11% clip if u do the math, Eckersley won in '92, and hes the last pitcher to win. Even if a pitcher doesn't win that much, if Ortiz played 1st base and played average defense, he would win, it honestly wasn't an issue when miguel tejada issued 21 errors in 2002, Frank Thomas' 15 errors in 1993, Barry Bonds .968 FP in 2002, or Ken Caminiti's 20 errors and low FP of .954 in 1996. BTW, when Papi played 70 games at 1b in 1998, he only made 6 errors w/ a .989 FP. Since then, he's never gotten the chance to play the position. Why? Becuase former Yankee Ron Coomer took over that job and went to the All-star game that year. Taking over that position into 2000 and then handing the job off to Doug Mientkiewicz

LOL, yea, thats a given

After this month, there is no dought in my mind David "Big Papi" Ortiz is the AL's MVP, as u have shown in those stats he's back at .300, and is leading the other categories, RBI's by 20. W/o him this month we're back 3 games by now at least. He almost got us another win against the Devil Rays in the 1st game but since our bullpen sux we didn't complete the comeback. Olerud brought up a good point when he said "If a pitcher can win an MVP award, why can't a DH?" if you think about it a pitcher only goes out every 5th day and doesn't hit in the AL then he contributes less then Ortiz does. You say, well since he doesn;t play defense he can focus on hitting, same thing for a pitcher, and they have 4 days to prep for any game they play. Also, he's done this all by himself, Nixon has been injured, Varitek on a cold streak, Damon injured, Manny hitting singles, and theyre starting to walk Ortiz intentionally now in tight spots, thats why ARod has a measly 1 more RBI than Papi. He's broken the HR record for DHs and has anchored this team for the past couple of months. Not ARod, he has help from his whole team, Johnson is back to his old self, Crosby and Lawton are winnin games now, where we cant get any pitchin help, and if a SP of ours does go deep, its not garunteed w/ our bullpen.