Spudboy

With this years Sox nothing has been easy. Sure, if the entire team hits consistently more runs will score and more wins will result. Many people are acting as if the Sox have turned some corner because of a series win in NY. Not much has changed!! I hope that Peavy can do his job a lot more effectively tonight. If he can keep the damage to 3 or less runs and go a solid 6 innings the Sox may prevail. Of course if the Sox batting order comes out smoking it may not even matter that much. GO SOX!!!!

Hashtag coincidence.

I learned last night that Betts is 5'9", 165. That may be taller than Pedroia but still smaller than most MLB players. As long as he can play well it does not matter.

Yup. So far, so good. He sure is small!!!

I am not happy that Peavy will start yet another game. This reminds me of watching Tim Wakefield at the end of his career.

I hope the Sox sign him but I have a feeling that they won't. One of my closest friends is a Yankees fan. When I saw him Sunday morning I mentioned the pitching battle between Tanaka and Lester the night before and how good Lester performed. His answer: "They will make a heck of a one-two next season." I hope that I don't have to see Lester wearing pinstripes.

There was an abundant supply of them in the stands too. Losers.

The ESPN guys were bag lapping Jeter and the Yankees all night. It was excruciating to listen to so I had the game on in the background and sort of tuned out until I heard elevated volume of some kind. Then I moved back to the tv to see what had happened. Those of us who have the good fortune to watch the NESN feeds each game have it pretty good. Even with all the stupid text polls and corporate sponsorship crap.

Obnoxious Yankee fans. Ugh.

I have never started a flame war on this board to the best of my knowledge. So I am inclined not to question your reading comprehension Fred. I respectfully ask you to read the two bold parts of our posts.

The Sox can not afford to continue starting Drew if he does not come around very soon. He remains the best defensive option at SS the Sox have but his value there is negated by his putrid performance at the plate. I still think that with the luxury of about 60-80 AB in Pawtucket Drew would have been better prepared to actually get hits and not strike out so much. But for some reason ( as I said on another thread, most likely a Boras / Drew refusal or a contract clause ) the decision was made to have him start with only a handful of at bats prior to being brought up. This was really stupid. They had to know that he was not ready yet. Again, I don't believe the move to 3rd base is the cause of X's misfortunes at the plate. It may have shaken him some, but I believe that he is just slumping and or pitchers know what to throw to him and he has not adjusted yet. This is what many rookies go through. I have hope and faith that whatever position he is playing that he will figure it out and start to hit again. Maybe we all just expected too much from the kid in the first place? Strangely, throughout this mess, Herrera seems to have played well both defensively and offensively. Maybe the Sox should play him more often. I have zero hope or faith that either Middlebrooks or Victorino will contribute to a resurgence this year. I've been one of those who advocated giving WMB the job at 3rd this year to finally see if he has learned how to hit consistently in the majors. Mostly because I realize how bereft the Sox organization is of power hitters. His 32 HR in about 600 PA were and remain tantalizing. But, he is continually doing nothing to contribute because of one thing or another. I've lost patience with him almost entirely. I say move on without him at the 3rd. I, like a700, have seen Victorino play CF many times in the NL. I agree that he WAS a great defensive player at that position THEN. Now he can not even run to first base without tweaking a hammy. I keep saying this. Hamstring injuries usually never go away. His game was largely dependent on speed and bursts of speed. I do not think that he will ever be capable of this again. The Sox should plan on not having him full time this season. I still like his game when he is healthy, though.

For anyone asking "what are they waiting for?" in regards to getting rid of Drew, maybe the Sox think that his value will be greater sometime closer to the deadline. If they simply cut the guy they will be on the hook for his salary. If they wait, they may be able to lessen the financial hit and possibly get something for him. Maybe I just don't understand how things work when looking to move a player. Just seems common sense to me.

Go Sox!!!

I have no theory. I was just voicing something that I had heard an announcer say during one of his starts. I still have not seen him pitch more than a few highlights. His stats make him look like an ace. Other than that, I have drawn no conclusions of my own.

Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!1!!

This is exciting. I hope that he does well and that there is no bad ending for him.

Has this been announced / confirmed?

We will see what he has in the majors pretty soon.

Is it regression or just one of his prolonged slumps? His BA and OBP are way down and he is not getting as many extra base hits. We have seen him slump before. Either way, he is under performing. 18 /49 is nice and is consistent with his usual 30 /100 season. But there can be no sugar coating the fact that he is not producing as much. The same can be said for Pedroia. And with Pedroia one can make a strong case for regression over the past 3 seasons ( mostly attributable to injuries, I think ).

This team is in a terrible offensive funk. Some of the results can be attributed to how the team was comprised ( relying on two "rookies" in the lineup - Middlebrooks while not a rookie remains unproven and Bradley ), injuries, and unexplained low output from established players like Nava, Pedroia, and Ortiz. I have confidence that Nava will be fairly productive but I worry that both Pedroia and Ortiz are way off their games. I have zero confidence that Victorino will return this season and add much. And so Fred will not get too excited by my post, the addition of a non-hitting Drew has been a drain too. In a perfect world, Drew would have remained in Pawtucket untill he got his batting in order. Sort of a late spring training. I'm not sure if the Bargaining Agreement allows that or if Drew / Boras would not go along with it. In any case, Drew sucks at the plate and that is not acceptable on this team. I have mentioned "a losing culture" before. I fear that the Sox now have a losing culture. I hope that I am wrong and that the Sox flip a switch and start winning. Until they start scoring over 5 runs each game the wins will be few and far between.

Fred to be fair Napoli was doing pretty well when he hurt his finger sliding into second base. That was ugly. The finger was displaced about 90 degrees. When he made his recent return from rehab he was hitting very well and with power. The last few games, not so much. I don't know what his problem is now. Maybe the finger? Maybe the toe that he fouled a pitch off recently? In any case, he's been okay most of the season when he's been healthy from what I have seen. The unproductive culprits are Pedroia and Poopie. Both are 30-50 points down in BA from their career averages and OBP, OPS are down too. Poopie is still hitting opportunistic bombs to drive in runs but his hitting is way off. Boston fans don't like to hear their heroes criticized but much of the blame is on those two guys. Oh, Poopie was sliding before Napoli went on the DL so I don't think that is a valid explanation for his poor performance.

Today I did something that I rarely do anymore. While driving I listened to WEEI sports radio. Here is what I "learned", lol. Dooby is pisssed about being demoted to the bullpen and wishes to be traded. Grow up you overpaid stiff!!! Be thankful that you have been getting paid to play a game instead of walking barefoot and going hungry as so many of your country people do. How about doing what your manager wants you to do. You know. Pitch better! Farrell also noted that Betts is now playing right field because of the Victorino situation. It is suspected that Betts will be up with the big boys much sooner than expected. I wish that the Sox were producing offensively so Betts could remain in Pawtucket and hone his game. Unfortunately the Sox are desperate for hits and he keeps being hot. I hope that he comes up and continues to hit at a torrid pace. That would help ease the sting of the Sox sucky season.

Yes he did. I thought I saw Drew line uot to right but he just came up and got the double!!! I'm getting old. Down goes Bradley with another K. Oye.

Well VA we love you too. Even if you are a die hard feminist!!!