seabeachfred

Tal, thanks for the update. The started at 4:05 out here on the West Coast so I was a little late tuning in, you might say. I'm not sure if you meant the transplants litrerally or figurately, but I know I got a bad case of sciatica two days after the World Series and was home f or six-and-a-half weeks hardly unable to walk. Took my almost two months to be able to got out and celebrate the Red Sox WS Title.

s***, I would have loved to have seen that. Had to be a real hoot for the fans. I remember Bonds calling Boston a racist town so I would have thought the fans could get on him for more than just being a cheater. Did Roberts get a good reception, though? I hope he did. That memory of his stealing that base in the ninth inning of the 4th game of the 2004 will stay with me until I leave the Earth.

Today I wore by Navy blue Big Papi shirt thinking it might give us some luck, then David gets run out of the game in the first inning. Stupid move on his part. We need his bat the way we've hit lately. That cannot happen again; he has to cool it. I wonder where all those anti-Pedroia fans have gone? I think most of them have converted. The guy has performed well everywhere he's played, high school, Arizona State, the minors. Now all I want to to remind Francona that I don't want to see any more of his stupid match-ups keeping Pedroia on the pine. He plays all the time unless he need's a day's rest. Taverez has come through for us lately, hasn't he? Hopefully, this gets us going again, but it would be great if someone besides Drew and Pedroia got hits. Oh, yes, Coco got a solid hit in the eighth, and Lugo got on base twice. Don't get any ideas Tito if you're perusing this site. Lugo and Crisp stay right where they are.

Jacoby Ellsbury my friend. Jacoby Ellsbury. Bring the kid up and no more ******** talk about his not being ready. He is more ready to hit and run and field for us than Crisp or Lugo or Drew seem to be at the present time. What a bummer from where I sit because I was one of the loudest supporters of the signing of these two players. God, I hope they can turn it around.

It's going to get a lot worse unless we straighten things out. I have another suggestion to make, one that still is meeting with great resistance from most of the crew here. Bring up Jacoby Ellsbury right away and install him in the leadoff position and be done with it. The guy is talented enough and resourceful enough and intelligent enough to learn on the job and give us the spark and enery we need very badly right now. I think Tito was trying to inject some spark into the lineup tonight but it didn't work as he wanted. The fact is we need a leadoff man and we don't have one now. It is also mandatory we get Crisp out of the lineup and Drew and Lugo hitting.

Kilo, right you are. I'm going to do something I haven't done in awhile and had when I was down. I'm going to watch the movie "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World". It has always made me laugh in the past and hopefully it will now. Nothing we can do but chill out and hope for better things tomorrow. Things have got to start getting better for us.

Just tuned in guys. I knew when I saw Crisp and Lugo's names in the lineup it would be like the sky falling on us. Get those two bums out of our batting order tomorrow and we will start winning again. Those two are like bad curses befalling our team. I'm out.

If that is the lineup we will win tonight.

You're probably right Schill, but consider this. Suppose we were to go on a nine or ten game winning streak now or in a week or two. It could happen. First things first, though---a win tonight. I think we will get it.

You know redrules, that's a good question and one that I ought to take to heart. No, I am NOT usually this negative; mostly I'm an optimistic person, always was when I was a coach. Perhaps, though, it is the one trait I did not pick up when I became a Red Sox fan seven years ago. Red Sox fans have gone through hell and back over the years but for the most part they have stayed optimistic year in and year out, and I think maybe I have a little to learn about that. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I just got through watching the special feature section of "The Brooklyn Dodgers--The Original America's Team" for the first time, and it shows how Pee Wee Reese is dying of cancer, Carl Erskine is getting very old, many of my childhood heroes dead or dying, and it brings you to reality that there might be more important things that a Red Sox win or a loss. I think you nabbed me at the right time, and, here goes. I promise I will do all I can to be more positive from here on in. Thanks for helping to wake me up.

We need some stalwart hitting tonight--which means Crisp and Lugo must not be in the lineup.

We all know what they are but with the Dodgers having swept the Mets their spirit is probably sky high right now awaiting the Angels, who may or may not bring them down to earth. Then we see the slumping Mets at the wrong time going into Yankee Stadium on Friday. Great timing, right? What's the solution for that or to shut the DB invasion of his board???? Well, I think if we start winning games on a regular basis again, that would be a good step in the right direction. If the Angels take the Dodgers two of three that might shut up the Dodger crowd, but it all comes down to how we play and what Epstein and his pal Francona can do about getting our team up to speed. Here's what we can do starting tonight. Manny starts hitting some bombs, stops staking third strikes; Drew gets two or three hits with a bomb thrown in and drives in four runs; Youk and Lowell get two hits and score a couple of runs apiece; Pedroia gets back in the lineup to stay and gets a hit or two; Tek drives in couple of runs and Josh Beckett throws one of his best games of the year. Oh yes, Crisp and Lugo are sitting on the pine.

Nonsense. Robinson Cano had very little AAA experience when he was brought up in 2005. From what I remember that worked out OK. Ellsbury is a rare gem; he can thrive because he is a good player, pliable, resourceful and very talented. Like I was on the mark with Pedroia, Ellsbury is the same kind of player. We need him and now. Crisp has got to go.

Bravo Ex. My thinking exactly. There is no way Ellsbury could be worse than Crisp has been. No way!!!!! He will also give us a legitimate leadoff man. I don't understand this over-protection of our young players with this mantra of they are too inexperienced, they have to get their feet warm. ********!!!!! They can do the job better than the guys we have. I also happen to think Bucholz COULD make the jump. He is that good, that poised, that talented. However, as long as you have an ******* manager who clings to his veterans and has to be pushed by trades or releases to give a young player a chance, I don't this is going to get done and we just might have to have our faces smelling the Yankee asses again this year because of Francona and his pea-in-a-pod partner, Epstein.

El Moderino, you mentioned the guy we need to revamp our team and his name is David Eckstein. Don't let anyone ******** you about being a National Leaguer or his arm being suspect. The little bastard can play baseball, has been a focul point of two WS Titles, hits in the clutch, plays with real heart and somehow always seems to get the job done. Don't mention Izturis unless you love a little squirt hitting fly balls to the leftfielder. As for the moment, put Cora there and hope he gives us some consisistency. As for Crisp, I am one of the few voices screaming in the wilderness--bring ellsbury up and put him at the leadoff spot He cannot possibly be worse at the plate than Crisp has been and with some new youthful energy this young and winning ballplayer could be a big help to us. Crisp has got to go and Lugo has to be benched. Eckstein and Ellsbury and a call-up of Lester as soon as he's ready gives us the kind of club that will win the AL East and advance deep in the Playoffs. The only problem??? Crisp and Lugo are Theo's boys, and with Pena, he will try and hold on to them with all his might trying to justify their acquisition. I think he has a terrifying fear of being shown that he has been wrong. Just my opinion.

Gentlemen, at the rate we're going our lead will be wiped out by the end of the month. Perhaps yesterday was a lost cause because of Schilling's poor outing, insistence on shaking Tek off, and the hot Rockies bats, but I have insisted that ourt team as presently constituted is not good enough to win the division. From what I see Francona is still wedded to his ridiculous matchups, forgetting that what matched up three years ago doesn't hold up now, benching a hot Pedroia for a slumping Cora is a perfect example of his shoddy thinking. Then we have Crisp as leadoff. How come all of us here know this guy cannot not only hit for us but is an abomination at leadoff, yet Francona cannot or will see it? I suppose the best thing to conclude with is to put this game behind us and hope we brace ourselves and win tonight. That and the fact that Epstein has got to upgrade us as soon as possible. Crisp has got to go.

Red Sox fans deserve better than this Schill. We seem to be in a trance and why the hell was Crisp leading off in the first place? Isn't it becoming clear that he can't do the job for us no matter where he bats, but at leadoff? I'm telling you to shitcan all this talk about Francona being patient; he is not, he is just plain stubborn and what the hell is Theo going to do now. Can we really keep sending Crisp and Lugo out there? Something has to be done or our lead will disappear like a fart in the wind.

No Rodney, I'm not forgetting the Dodgers sweep of the Giants in SF back in April, but you might remind Metropolitan Cowboy about it. He thinks the Dodgers swept the Giants at Dodger Stadium. Why? Well I'll keep my opinions to myself. At present the Mets are no better than the Dodgers; you are right about that. Perhaps they are waiting to take on the Yankees.

Since the Giants have been having trouble beating anybody except the Dodgers I wouldn't be too concerned for our safety. Something tells me we're going to be fine when the week ends. You might start concerning yourself with the Mets. After being embarrassed by the laughable Dodgers twice already this week they will be angry enough to want to dismantle Yankee Stadium when they get there this weekend. But thank's for the warning anyway.

From the looks of things I'd say so far, so good.

You bench a 300 hitter who might make the All Star Team for a guy who has not hit well in a few weeks? I hope it works. What will not work is putting Crisp back at the leadoff spot. Francona just cannot help pushing the envelope, can he? Hasn't he learned by now that Crisp cannot hit very well for us at all and cannot hit at all or get on base at the leadoff spot. That's probably an 0 for 4 right there. It was this kind of stubborness that got his ass fired in Philadelphia. Hopefully, the rest of the gang with go wild and Schill will give us the pitching he is capable of and we'll smile tonight even as Terry tries to help gum up the works.