a700hitter

The manager always takes a hit in these situations, and the manager here was clearly not part of any solution, but this team has a lot more problems than Bobby V. They also need to get a real professional GM who has had success. Promoting an intern to head your organization is just not a good idea. He has no clue how to turn this around, and he has no balls to stand up to LL.

I know that it is irrational emotion, but I hope their soccer team sucks it big time.

In order to win 88 games this season, the Red Sox need to play at a .636 clip until the end of the season. I don't think they have that kind of run in them. They just don't have the starting horses to send to the mound necessary to get on a prolonged good run. When the FO didn't get a starter for this team, they were sending a message that they didn't believe in the team.

I went to opening day at Citifield this year. On the way back from the game, I was listening to WFAN the NY sports talk station. The host (I forget his name) was talking about the Red Sox, and on opening day he predicted that we would not be a .500 team this season. He said that the Sox would not make the play offs an that this eas just not a good team-- bad pitching and just not very good. I remember being shocked that this guy was going out on a limb like this on Opening Day. He was emphatic about it. I had big concerns about the pitching myself, and I was still shell shocked from last September. Still, I had not considered the possibility of being under .500. I remember thinking that if this guy was right, it would be a miserable season. He dissected the whole team very objectively and compared us to our division and the Angels, Tigers etc. It was like he took off my fan glasses and made me look at what they are and not what I as a fan thought about them. What I heard really bothered me. I put it out of my mind and put back on my fan glasses. Each day as the season wears on. his words echo louder and louder.

Under .500 and fighting hard for last place on August 3rd.

Pitching, pitching, pitching!!!

The little guy is having a big off year with the bat and he did a lot of damage early with his mouth.

When a team is bad and completely boring to boot, the Press needs to create drama.

Bobby V tried sending a message to the locker room early on. The comments at Youk we intended to target a veteran who had respect in the locker room. The comments were intended to piss off Youk. He picked a guy who he thought it would motivate, because Youk has always been a hard worker who struggled against the odds. That's how a new boss sends a message. They think if he will go after Youk, he'll think nothing of coming after me. They don't like the comments, and they may even think the comments are unfair, but if he has the backing of management, it can be very effective to make the guys sit up and take notice of the new manager. Well, as soon as he made the remarks a bunch of things happened--- all cutting against the Bobby V and not only neutralizing the effect of the comments but turning the comments and the team against him in a disdainful manner. First Pedroia opened his flapping yap with his we don't do things that way here. He showed leadership by showing the rest of the clubhouse that they don't have to take Bobby V's s***. Next, the GM in the form of that weasel Cherington made Bobby V. apologize. From that point on, it was over for Bobby V. First, Cherington should have called in Pedroia and explained to him that his comments were detrimental and that they undermined the authority of the manager. Maybe he'd learn to stop flapping his gums so indiscriminately. Second, Benny the Boob, LL and John Henry all should have said that they support the manager in response to any question about the incident. The players and the locker room are his domain. They didn't do those things and they neutered the manager. What a combination to start the season: the same spoiled, entitled, out of shape chicken eating beer swilling group of unmotivated players that imploded in 2011 (less the best closer in team history and the really good 8th inning pitcher) led by a neutered manager. Was there any chance for success from this collection? No

An ace would tear through that lineup without Mauer.

356 would be in the second deck at the band box in the Bronx.

They set Valentine up to fail. They gave him the same team as last year less a few key parts. The only shot of winning would have been to change the lazy entitled culture, get these guys in shape and make them accountable. There's no way he could accomplish that with his hands tied behind his back.

Wow, this was just reported, but it happened earlier in the year. I can't believe that the FO talked to Bobby V about this. No wonder he has been acting like an abused puppy this season. They have cut his balls off at every turn. It's a little hard to change a clubhouse culture, when the bosses make it clear that they don't have the managers back. How would these twits and wusses have dealt with a real tough manager like Dick Williams who would have said harsher stuff to his veterans and stars. Rookies were scared to death of Williams. The pansy owners need to get real baseball people in the FO and stay out of their business.

We are so used to our starters getting completely trashed that many fans think Lester pitched a really good game. He did not. He pitched an average game for an ace. If he had pitched a good game for an ace, he would have matched that kid on the Twins and shutdown the Mauerless Twins lineup. I realize that you can't win by scoring 0 runs, but an offensive approach is much diiferent in the late innings if you are down only by a run. Being down 3 runs elininates the usefulness of small ball. It takes away the threat of bringing the tying run to the plate every time you get a baserunner. Lester did not pitch a good game for an ace. It was an average game. The teams that we are battling against have multiple starting pitchers with ERA's in the 3's. Even the O's I believe have a couple of starters with under 4 ERA's. Until last night. The Angels had 2 starters with ERA's under 3. Their average outing is better than what many are calling a good outing by Lester. Don't get me wrong. It was not a bad outing. It just wasn't a good outing for an ace. The steroid era is over. Pitching ERA's are down. Yes the offense did not perform last night, but neither did the pitching. Giving up 5 runs to a Twin team without Mauer is a bad job. The offense has bailed out poor pitching many times this year, but the pitching has almost never bailed out the offense.

Clinging to a position that is clearly wrong erodes your credibility. This guy will finish the season with more than 30 bombs playing in a ballpark that is tough to hit HRs, plus he has a gun for an arm. His OPS is higher than our $22 million slugger. But yes he sucks, because our FO has no patience with young players.

Reddick hit his 23rd Home Run tonight.

If I had zero hope, I wouldn't watch. It's baseball. Anything can happen, but I am not expecting it to happen.

The first 35 thousand go very quickly.

I'm trying to cling to some hope.

That will be too late.

And in the next 3 games our pitchers will get to face Joe Mauer who will hit balls all over the park. This team is just a mediocre mess.