Gom

I wonder how many people actually didn't get it.

I like this chick. Is she hot? I can dig O's fans. For many, many reasons.

No. It was a good hard play. Cano is a pussy for whining. I like Lowell, came up with the Yankees, learned how to play the game right, hard-nosed player who plays hard, but not dirty. Arod caused a play to occur in his team's favor. Tell me seriously...is it any different than as a baserunner blocking the fielders view on a groundball by slowing up? Nope. In both cases, you are distracting the fielder without making contact. Now if Arod, or anyone, plowed into the fielder, even if he was in the baseline, that's a dirty play. To me, a dirty play is one that can or does cause an injury and is intentional. Lowell knocking out Mientkiewicz wasn't dirty because it was unintentional. However, if he stuck his elbow out, it would be dirty. Explain to me how shielding a fielder's view is fair, but yelling as you go past a fielder isn't. Both are outlined in the rulebook specifically, but both distract the fielders. I do it nearly every weekend. As long as she leaves by morning, it's a great night.

I knew you would get it Shillingouttheks.

I think that is a ludicrous statement, my friend. Why would a pitcher hide a pitch. It may take a couple of sessions to get used to the ball, but seasons? Come on, buddy. To think that one day he can suddenly "grip" the ball better is a little far-fetched, don't you think? He doesn't have a magical pitch, fellas. In fact the pitches he has aren't all that special. It's the fact that he has so many of them that makes his potential high. His fastball, curve, etc., are all average/slightly above average, but the fact that he can throw 5 or 6 pitches makes him a very solid pitcher.

I remember Reggie not getting out of the way and throwing his rear end into a potential double play in 1978 in the World Series. Lasorda came out to argue, and many say it was a turning point in the series. Good show. If it happened to my team, I would be annoyed, more because they lost then the act.

Yes. As of right now, he is in my opinion a slightly above average pitcher. Even that is a bit of a stretch if you look at his numbers. I think, like I said, that he will be a solid pitcher. Not a true ace in the mold of Halladay, Santana, Oswalt, etc. [fine, no Wang], but a very solid pitcher. I think he will end up with better numbers this year than what he has, but I don't think he will be that Cy Young candidate you are all hoping for this year.

I say Papelbon. He obviously gives up the big hit [see Arod last week in Boston] and doesn't have the closer's mentality. His shoulder is suspect and it's just a matter of time before his shoulder goes out and he causes the Sox's season to implode. stoidi rettu dna etelpmoc era uoy siht eveileb yllautca uoy fo yna fi

Were you abused as a child? How can you grow up in New York and support the Red Sox? That's like being an orthodox jew in Mecca. Or a female rights advocate in Tehran. Or a republican who isn't staunch. Or ORS being objective and making sense. The list goes on...and on....and on.... [This is my way of saying welcome]

I love my Wang! I wondered how many of you would actually focus on that rather than the very well-written analysis of Japanese starting pitchers. Regardless of where you wanna put my Wang, even if you take my Wang out and put it somewhere else, the point I was trying to make is that Dice-K, no matter how well or poorly he does, will probably have slightly decreased numbers next year.

Solid pitcher, a poor man's Mike Mussina [old Mussina, not current]. Not an elite level pitcher, not at the talent level of a Halliday, Santana, Oswalt, Shilling/RJ in their days, Wang, Carpenter, etc., but more along the lines of a Beckett, Pettitte, Glavine, etc. Solid, very solid, but not spectacular. Unlike hitters, pitchers usually don't improve by coming here from Japan. This is an analysis of starting pitchers who came over from Japan and their numbers the first two seasons. Irabu [first full season]: 1998 4.06 ERA 1999 4.84 ERA Lifetime ERA 5.15 Nomo 1995 2.54 ERA 1996 3.19 ERA Lifetime 4.21 ERA Masato Yoshii 1998: 3.93 ERA 1999: 4.40 Lifetime ERA 4.62 Tomo Ohka 2001: 5.47 ERA [only 107 IP] 2002: 3.18 ERA [192 IP IP] 2003: 4.16 ERA [199.2 IP] Lifetime ERA: 4.10 ERA These are the pitchers I remember. I'm sure there are other starters, but I believe that if you look into it, you will see this trend continue. Mainly because no one has seen the pitchers. Unfamiliarity always favors the pitchers. The more a hitter sees a pitcher, the better the chance of success against the pitcher, no matter how good that pitcher is. All you have to look at how we beat the crap out of each other's pitching staff over the years. The Red Sox are pretty much the only team that has hit Rivera in his career. Imagine if Manny and Ortiz only saw Rivera three times a year. Look at what we do to Wakefield. It's pretty much common knowledge. I think that when the season is done, you can expect a slight decrease in Dice-K's numbers in year two. To expect him to do the opposite is bucking the trend.

Whatever happened to this game? It used to be played by men. Now it seems like everyone, fans included, wants this game to be played by a bunch of pussies. This whole media-driven Arod pop-fly fiasco. Give me a break. It's called gamesmanship. Glad he did it. I like plays like that. Before you label me as a Yankee lover, which I am, it's not just about Arod or my team. Four games for Piniella for arguing with an umpire? Get real. I used to love, absolutely love Earl Weaver's antics. As a kid, I would argue a call with my friends and turn my cap around like Earl. Billy Martin used to go nuts too, and I loved out. Now they would be suspended for a month. Baseball is a sport, but it's also entertainment. The antics of the manager always fired up the crowd, no matter if it was the opposing or the home team manager. I loved how Bob Gibson used to say that the strike zone and batters box belonged to the hitter, but the six inches between the batters box and the plate belonged to him. Now pitchers can't pitch inside. Batters wear all this armor. Take away the armor, and you won't get the hitters diving into the pitch. One of my favorite players, Jeter, does this, but it takes away from the game. I can't stand it when umpires warn players after one hit batsman. Give the opposing team the opportunity to hit the other team, then warn both benches. Warning both benches before the original hit team isn't fair, and harbors resentment. Let the players police themselves. I miss the way baseball used to be. Anyone else feel the same way?

It's not DIRTY. Dirty is head-hunting. Dirty is sliding in spikes high to hurt someone. Dirty is taking a catcher's legs out from under him as he is taking a throw and blocking the plate. Distracting an infielder by yelling out "Ha!" or "mine!" is not dirty. I would hate to think what you think of players who steal signs. You must have a coronary every time a pitcher throws a brushback pitch.

Come on, it's not like a surprise with Drew is it? The book on him was immense talent and no heart. This was Theo's big mistake this offseason. I'm sure if you polled most Sox fans at the beginning of the season, even before spring training, as to who would be the big bust among the offseason moves, if there was one, it would have been Drew. It's like us with Abreu. Afraid of the wall, not one to depend on but a cog in the wheel. We got spoiled with the half season he had with us, and now he reverts back to form. Makes me wish we had Sheffield back.

I swear, the next time a Red Sox player goes the extra mile and uses some trickery to win the game, I will never let you guys hear the end of it.

You have to admit...when my team is 14 1/2 games out, that's one thing to throw in the towel. When you are 11 1/2 team ahead with the best record in all of baseball and then you lose 3 of 4, and you start to panic, that's a little absurd. Good to be back.

Is it part of the Sox fans mentality to come apart? I swear, Yankee fans have more optimism than you guys, and take a look at the standings.

I've been away for two weeks [and my boys go on a little run too, so I didn't get to enjoy it on here], but I just don't get it with this Arod thing. HE PLAYS TO WIN. Even if he said "mine" which it doesn't look like he did on replays, IT IS PART OF THE GAME. Pitchers who throw at batters, batters who crowd the plate, hitters who peek back at the game or runners on second who steal signs...it's all part of the game. You know, I have ripped Arod more than most Yankee fans, but I always appreciated that no matter what, he plays hard. I'm glad he tricked the third baseman. If it was Ortiz who did it, you would love him for it. If the idiotic New York media didn't have it in for this guy, or if it was Jeter who did it, it would be a heads up play. Trickery is part of the game. For all you historians of the game, [Chance, of Tinkers to Evers to Chance fame] used to hook his finger in the belt of baserunners to slow them down when they were on first base. Players constantly try to dupe runners on fly balls, playing it off as a ground ball, the hidden ball trick has often been used to success, etc. He made a good play. I wasn't aware that baseball players weren't supposed to try to take advantage of stupid players on the other team. Enough already. Lowell went in hard against Cano. Good play. Arod did the same to Pedroia. Dirty play. Get real. This is a sport played by men. I swear, we had it harder playing high school ball. I knew as a second baseman that if I was anywhere near the base turning a double play, I would be taken out. If he did, as long as it was clean, I brushed myself off and found myself usually congratulating the opposing player on a good play. If you hate Arod that is one thing. However to castigate him for a play that you would love your own favorite player to do is another. I for one, couldn't stop laughing when he did it. P.S. 6.5 games out of the wild card. One game at a time, lol. I hope.

Yup. I will say the say the same if Abreu gets hot too. However, I never thought the deal for Drew made fiscal sense for the Sox. I said this with him coming over his good season last year. At least Abreu punished you guys last year. That being said, I will pull a John Kerry and flip-flop again. I think Abreu has been the bigger flop, but seeing how you guys are on the rope for four more years after this one, I think Drew sucks more. Nothing beats Igawa for the worst post-season signing. We have the richest man to ever play A Ball in history! GO CASHMAN!

Did you read the article? His son was a priviledged drunk who is lucky he only killed himself. I couldn't believe that he is suing the driver for being negligent and letting his car break down on the road. Like his son wasn't being negligent by being drunk twice over the legal limit. f*** him, and his son.

I used to bartend in college, and it is asking a lot to make a bartender responsible. Also, it is a completely unenforceable law. All a bartender has to say is that he looked fine to me. That's not to say he didn't drink elsewhere, or even have it hit him later on. God knows it's hit me after the bar on many occasions. ORS, I couldn't agree with you more on this point. What a piece of s*** his father is. I hope they counter-sue him and take every penny of his son's money that he left to his family. What a complete *******.