Taz

G'day. http://www.talkceltic.net/forum/images/smilies/83.gif

G'day mate. http://www.talkceltic.net/forum/images/smilies/83.gif

G'day mate. Good to have another Aussie on here. Helps bring a degree of common sense to our American brethren.

I've been a huge admirer of Wakefield for years. One of my alltime fav players to watch & he has virtually carried a dying art singlehandedly for a generation. That said, I think even he knows that he has achieved everything there is to in the game & that this season has been far from his best. His velocity is well down even compared to 2-3 years ago & I am pretty sure that Wake will know in himself it's time to step aside. I really hope that there are young blokes out there who have watched him pitch all these years & been inspired to throw the knuckleball, and that there is a resurgence in this craft. That would be a fitting testiment to his years of service to the game. Thanks for the memories.

Gutted that Francona has departed. Not only short memory, but I think it's pretty short sighted, TBH. I would hope that the front office has had specific someone in mind.

G'day Vaughny - I'm an Aussie, but have been living in Scotland for the past 10 years & there are a few that I know of that live here - including 2 on this board, so you're not alone.

One word: Pitching. This needs sorted big time. Thanks for all the memories to some of the old guard; guys like Varitek & Wakefield have been absolutely stellar servants to the club for a very long time, but time it is for them to move on whilst they still are remembered for the fine work they have done over many years, and not let that be spoilt by trying to hold on for too long. I, for one, hold both of these men in the highest regard. Personally am really going to miss watching Wakefield in action. By far the finest exponant of what seems to be a dying art for virtually his entire career. Much respect.

There is never a divine right to qualify for play-offs. It takes hard work over the whole seaso & the truth is that inconsistency ended up costing the Sox big time. Woeful start to the season & the worst September I can remember in a long time are the product of a number of factors that will need to be examined at all levels, from the owners & front office to Terry & the players themselves. Let the post mortum begin.

I've never been of the opinion that the Sox have a divine right to win anything & certainly don't take for granted the successes of the past decade in general. That said, I guess one of the biggest questions has to be asked of John Henry et al, is, considering how much money they have invested, first in taking over the ownership of Liverpool FC in England, followed by a net spend on player transfers alone of over US$200m - that's before wages etc come into the equation. Whilst Liverpool fans no doubt will be delighted to see this type of investment the question has to be asked, despite the high profile captures of Crawford etc during the last off-season, should not more work have been done on strengthening the Sox in what has clearly been the major weakpoint all season; the pitching. Everyone knows going into every season that there are 160-odd games to get through, before you can start talking about October. That is alot of baseball & a hell of alot of pitches that need to be thrown. So why was the planning not done to ensure that there were the arms available to throw them?

Considering it wasn't all that long ago that the play-off spots all appeared but a forgone conclusion in both leagues, at least the Red Sox are going to have plenty to play for over the remaining few weeks.

Was discussing with a mate of mine, who is not overly knowledgeable about baseball in general (I live in Scotland) about knuckleballs, why it does what it does etc & naturally enough I was using Wakefield as the prime example, but it got me to thinking, is there any knuckleballers in the Red Sox organization and if so what standard are they playing at? etc. Anyone that has any insight, this info would be appreciated, as I've always really enjoyed watching knuckleballers pitch & normally makes for good entertainment.

Lackey is struggling, no question & think he really needs to be taken out of the rotation for a spell... but who to promote, either from the bullpen or from AAA... that's the dilemma. Being way over here in the UK, I've not much idea of who is available on the Sox minor league books, much less what the form is like.

The way the entire Hoops support has rallied around Lenny has been quite remarkable, and makes me very proud to be a Tim. Hail, Hail!

Certainly this side of the pond there are Scousers that have started to take a bit more of a shine to baseball & the Red Sox in particular... though TBH, think they are just grateful to John W Henry for taking over, getting rid of the 2 scumbags Hicks & Gillett, and getting the club heading in the right direction again. Because of this, they are taking a bit more notice in his other interests, such as the Sox. Don't see any harm in it; for example, Celtic & Liverpool have a number of mutual supporters and it doesn't hurt to have good relations.

G'day mate. Welcome to TSox.

G'day mate. Welcome to TalkSox.

It is my understanding that the end of the 2011 season coincides with the end of the current MLB collective bargaining arrangement. Now whilst this could be re-endorsed for a few more years, it is quite conceivable, indeed a genuine possibility, that that it will not. This could see a number of fundamental changes being made. Included amongst these are the bias for divisional play (for example, the teams in the same division playing each other less often within the same division & spread out more across the league) & the redistribution of the 30 teams across MLB. If this were to happen it is most likely to be the Astros moving from NL C to AL W, making it 15 in each league, which would also effectively mean there would have to be at least 1 game of interleague play all season long. Although this is speculation at the moment, what are people's thoughts on this?

The offence just keeps getting better & better... To pinch a phrase from my beloved Hoops, 'Just Can't Get Enough'.

Surely Wakefield will be heading to Cooperstown in due course. His work both on & off the park are impeccible.

Was talking to a Wankees fan over here last week after the Wakefield start v NYY & we were discussing is it the crap pitching of the Wankees or the offense of the Sox. It was my position that it's the Sox bats that are doing the damage & tonight's reult v the Jays is just further affirmation of this.

G'day mate.

That was some story. Great read!

Great start by Wake - Really hope he can rack up a few more W's. The guy is a legend!

Re the catching, am I the only one concerned about how Saltalamacchia seems to be one-hopping the ball to 2B all the time? It's giving anyone who gets to 1B a real chance of stealing. Surely someone in the organization can help sort this out?

G'day mate. Just what is needed on here, some more proper Aussie perspectives, that perhaps can work out what is up with the Sox, lol.