MNSoxChief102

Winning is all that matters. Take care of our own business and everything else will fall into place

Hell to the yes. Win. That is all.

I understand your POV and respect it, but I guess I'm just not that kind of fan. I care deeply about this franchise and want nothing more than to see them win every single year, but I also understand that me getting angry and upset is essentially stupid, as nothing I say or do has any bearing whatsoever on the way the Red Sox are run and only affects me and my state of mind. Negativity isn't my cup of tea I suppose. I curse and shout at them as much as anyone else, but once the game is over I rarely if ever continue to be upset... no reason to keep it rolling after the fact. Doesn't make me any less of a fan... just means I'd rather spend my time elsewhere instead of wallowing in anger over a pro sports team that I have no control over. If I were on the team or worked for them in some capacity, I would likely feel different.

+1 :thumbsup:

The Yanks are a bad example IMO... they bet big and won this time. But if they tried to do it again next year, it could just as easily backfire on them, as it did in the past with the Sox when we tried to resurrect Colon, Smoltz, et al. Sometimes you just get lucky... the Yanks certainly have been with the way Colon and their over the hill vets have performed.

It is what it is. A f***load of teams would have loved to have gotten Carl Crawford in the off-season. Did we overpay for him? As it stands now, absolutely. But no one could have predicted how bad of a year he has had. His career stats laid out a compelling argument to the contrary. Was it a bad decision to sign him? Perhaps. He still has a long way to go in a Sox uni and if he goes out next year and dominates like he's capable of, I doubt anyone will give a s*** about how bad he was this year. A-Gon has been exactly what we thought he would be and more. He's earned every penny of the money we paid him. Mistakes happen. No one is perfect. Not you, not me, not Theo. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be criticized for them and held accountable, but it doesn't mean he's an idiot like some around here seem to believe either. The alternative to Theo could be much worse...

That's the problem with expectations... they're always too high, especially the ones set by fans and the pundits at ESPN. On paper we were the team to beat in the AL at the start of the year. But the reality was different. We have had issues with depth, especially in our starting pitching and in the bullpen, all season long and the injuries have only compounded that going into this final stretch. It's easy for us as fans and for the pundits to say that Theo failed big time by not addressing those areas, but the reality is that none of us really know what went on at the trade deadline or at the waiver deal deadline behind closed doors. All the signs pointed towards the Sox doing what they could to make a deal happen, going right down to the wire on Jiminez and trading for Harden after that fell through, only to pull the plug on it when medical concerns came up. Sometimes things just don't work out the way we envision them. It's not an excuse and it shouldn't absolve Theo and Co. from absorbing criticism, but it is what it is. You can't predict the future, you can only do your best to prepare for it. I think Theo tried to do that and unfortunately things have happened to exacerbate the problems rather than solve them. The one thing I do know is that before Theo and Francona got here, we hadn't won a Series for 86 years... we now have two in the past decade with them at the helm. That has bought them more than enough goodwill to carry them through this debacle and into next year at the very least. Winning it all every year should be the goal but realistically that's not going to happen. This year is a perfect example of that. Only thing we can do is put out all our effort to win these next two weeks... after that, we'll hopefully be in the dance, but if not, it's back to the drawing board. I have no doubt that Theo and Co. will do everything they can to rectify this year's issues and put out a team to be proud of next year. That's all I can ask as a fan really...

I really don't know what to say anymore with regard to this team. This entire month has been abysmal to say the least, and yet somehow we're still in position to back our way into the playoffs, where history has proven that anything can happen. I remain optimistic, although it's definitely waning, and I refuse to believe this team doesn't want it or that they're rolling over and dying or any of the other ******** that's been tossed around as of late. They all want to win just as bad if not more than we do. But for a myriad of reasons it's just not happening. The main thing that's holding this club back right now is starting pitching. If we could get just one solid outing, we have the offense to score enough runs to win, especially against the Orioles. Tonight's loss was a perfect example of that... Bedard goes out and lays a 2 and 2/3 crapper on everyone, forcing Tito to pitch Bard early and bring in Pap early as well. The result was sadly predictable. All of that said, I still remain faithful to this team and those in charge of it, believing they have it within them to make a run, turning things around just as we did after the horrific start of our season. Only when the Sox are officially eliminated will I stop believing that this year can be special. Call me a homer or whatever you like... I don't care. I will always believe and have faith that the Sox can make it happen.

So sick of games like this... would give anything to have a shutout win

Andino has absolutely killed us in this series

Hey hey hey... it's FAAAT Albers...

I agree.

No doubt.

Don't get your panties in a wad... the stands and the surrounding area would be spared. I'm only interested in the players being swallowed whole.

Perhaps I overstated it a bit. I'd be excited just to see him out there and pitching well, even it's just for an inning or two.

From the Pete Abe at the Globe yesterday:

I think I heard somewhere that the plan was to try and get him in. Especially in light of how well things went in the last BP session. I could be wrong though.

Not at all. Showalter is a piece of s***. Always has been and always will. Not much more I enjoy than watching him get his ass kicked in repeatedly.

If his bullpen session was any indicator, he should be alright. We'll know for sure next week when he gets a start in Baltimore. I'm hoping for 5 innings or more.

Dirty Water. 2 game lead restored with two more games in the books.

While I agree he's more effective as a BP arm, Aceves is still better than Weiland, Wake, and/or Lackey right now. They made a mistake not stretching him out two weeks ago. That ship has sailed now. I doubt we'll see him in the rotation if we do end up making the playoffs (of which I'm still confident)