SoxFanForsyth

I guess I don't understand what the people who claim Theo did a poor job wanted him to do at the trade deadline. You want him to trade for Ubaldo, the player whose shoulder the Rox refused to let NYY test extensively? And the Guardians offered far more than the Red Sox could have offered. Plus, since going to CLE, Ubaldo has posted a 4.98 ERA. And that's in the AL Central. You want him to trade for Pence? Reddick was hitting .331 with a .935 OPS on 7/31. Most people on here agreed that we shouldn't sell the farm when we have "the future" in RF as it is. Oh, and by the way, during this 2-8 streak the Sox are on, Reddick is hitting .394/.412/.606/1.018. You can't argue that he is to blame for this recent collapse. You want him to trade for Harden? Since the ASB, he's got a 5.08 ERA. I don't see how he would be any kind of an upgrade. So again, I ask, who the hell should Theo have mortgaged the farm to trade for? This argument is complete horseshit.

Also Josh Hamilton. Another Rule 5 draft pick. Low risk, high reward.

Two words. David Ortiz. That completely debunks this argument. He was a Rule 5 draft pick. Low risk, high reward.

All indications are that Beckett and Bedard will both be throwing by the BAL series, Beckett probably before.

Josh Beckett had a good side session today in the bullpen,and the Red Sox are hopeful of lining him up in the Tampa Bay series this weekend. Per Buster Olney

Also - Look at the past few times we had a bad streak, and how the team responded. Started 2-10, after that, went on a 8-1 streak. In IL Play, 3-7, after that, went on a 17-3 streak. Went 2-5 @MIN, @ SEA, v TB. After that, went on an 8-3 run. We're getting Youk back tomorrow. He plays 4X better at home than on the road. Beckett's throwing a BP session today, could possibly throw this week vs TB, and I guarantee you if he feels halfway decent, he's not going to take No for an answer. Aceves will almost undoubtedly start for Weiland or Miller this week. He gives us a much better chance to win. Plain and simple, we've been through this before. We came out of it on top, and we'll do the same again. Pitching should be getting healthy by the end of this week. Bedard will get the ball next week while the Yankees and Rays are playing. Obviously this isn't how we drew it up, but this team is fine.

I'm not saying that I'm not concerned, but I also watched the Yankees the past few games, and they are not playing any better than the Red Sox right now. Outside of a Bourjos error, the Yankees could well have been swept in Anaheim. What I'm saying is that either the division won't be decided by the time the Yankees and Rays play, which means the Yankees will still be playing their best to win the division, and it won't just be a cakewalk. Or the Sox will have padded their lead over the Rays, making the final series borderline meaningless. Plain and simple, the Red Sox are 3.5 up on the Rays, and 3.5 down on the Yankees. And the Rays and Yankees play each other 7 more times this season. There are two probable scenarios that could play out here. 1. The Rays make a push. They will beat the Yankees in at least 3/4 games at NYY. The Sox (who are facing the Orioles at the time) will likely gain ground on the Yankees. Barring a NYY sweep of BOS, this makes the division undecided heading into the final series of the year, and thus the Yankees will throw their guns at the Rays and not just roll over. 2. The Yankees run away with the division. They beat the Rays in 3/4, and the Red Sox pad a bit of a lead on them (again, playing the Orioles, likely will win 3/4), which means it doesn't matter how the Yankees face the Rays, because the Sox will probably be clinched by that series.

You call me irrational for my comments? Can you possibly be any more pessimistic about the situation? The Yankees are 1-4 in their last 5 games, have a 3 games set @SEA where, tonight, you've got Hughes going up against Felix. Then tomorrow the Yankees have Burnett going, and could very easily be down 0-2 in that series in an instant. Furbush is a rookie who the Yankees have never seen, and we all know that the Yankees and Red Sox share a flaw in the inability to hit rookies. So you're promoting all of this pessimism against the Sox when you've got a team who is 1-4 in their last 5, couldn't touch Haren or Weaver and is facing Felix tonight, and could very easily only be 2 games up on the Sox come Wednesday night. Sure the Sox have some pitching flaws right now, but I can almost guarantee you that Aceves gets a start against the Rays, along with Lester and potentially Beckett. Sox have a day off today, they could easily come back tomorrow and the offense could be clicking. The Sox are 5-2 against the Blue Jays when playing at Fenway this year, and they've averaged 6.15 runs per game, and the first series came after the 2-10 start. They've crushed Romero. They've crushed Morrow. This could, quite easily, be a series where the offense gains some life and starts to take off.

I'd be a lot more worried if our schedules were reversed, but as it stands, the Sox have 7 vs BAL, 2 vs TOR, 4 vs TB, and 3 vs NYY. We play 10 of our remaining 16 games at home, whereas the Rays play 6 of their remaining 17 games at home. The Rays will play 8 of those games @NYY and @BOS, as well.

Went to bed last night, so I didn't get a good chance to respond to this. Anyway - comparing hitters and pitchers is comparing apples and oranges. Hitters need repetition to get into groves, so sitting one player (even though I referenced Gonzo sitting vs Romero bc of poor numbers, which Crawford also sat in that game bc of poor numbers, not solely for rest) doesn't compare to pitching. A better comparison would be when managers re-create the rotation so that the matchups are favorable for the upcoming series. For example, you see Lackey in almost every series vs the Mariners and A's. Why? Well, the M's and A's suck, but also because he's got so much experience against them, and he's got a lot of good numbers. The question of "Who is a better pitcher" is a lot different than asking "Is Pitcher A better vs the Red Sox than Pitcher B is vs the Blue Jays?"

Managers actually do this all of the time. Gonzalez sat vs Romero last time because he struggles vs him.

And Romero's 11.42 ERA at Fenway in 2011 doesn't exactly strike fear in my eyes, even if Lackey has struggled vs TOR in the past EDIT: Romero has a career 7.63 ERA vs BOS, Lackey has a career 5.58 ERA vs TOR, I'd say that's a significant advantage.

Red Sox offense vs Romero and Morrow are extremely favorable, I don't care who is on the mound.

When I look at it irrationally and reactionary, this is what I was saying. Then I began to think rationally, and this is what I was saying. So yes, I am looking at it rationally. I never said there's no chance that the Sox miss the post season. I said I think the Sox will come back and start playing well and winning again.

Personal attacks because I called him out for a ******** comment? Hmm. Sorry. Is this better? Hey Jackso. I know you've got the best of intentions, but I just wanted to correct you. Romero let up 3 ER in 6.2 IP last outing, which I don't consider to be a dominant outing. Also, the Red Sox have extremely good career numbers against both him and Morrow for that matter. Again, I know you meant nothing but good, encouraging things in your comments, just wanted to correct you. Oh, wait, you're both Yankee fans posting on a Red Sox thread. Get bent.

Dominated?? 6.2 IP, 3 ER is hardly "dominating". Dude. Even after that 1 decent start, 8.22 ERA vs BOS this year. 11.42 ERA at Fenway this year. Seriously?? You're going to hang your hat on that? Career OPS Vs. Romero: Ellsbury: 1.171 Pedroia: 1.108 Youkilis: 1.556 Ortiz: 1.045 Lowrie: 1.318 Scutaro: .812 I mean...the Sox basically destroy the guy. Good try. Try to look up stats before you spew s*** out of your ass.