Beecke

But I really don´t get that. It´s not as if the Red Sox have been the only ones trying to tell us how good those prospects are /were, they were hyped by pretty much everyone that cared to make a statement on them. So are they really overrated or is something going wrong when they are brought up to play with the big boys? I really don´t know and I still hope that over time we will see some improvements in at least one or two of them, but to go 0 for on all your hyped up prospects certainly is not a common thing, even if you take statistics out of it. Anyway, shut out again. Listening to these games on WEEI at night I really have a lot of respect for commentating day in day out on this kind of suck without goign apopleptic with rage. When Middlebrooks provided the Pirates with another double play it felt kind of unreal because it was so, so predictable, everyone seemed to just be waiting for it and sure enough he came through. If you don´t laugh you´d have to cry.

Tough to be here watching them play meaningless games in August again. I had hoped that 2012 would be an outlier in terms of being out of it that early. Anyway, its not necessarily the being bad part that I hate as is the hopelessnessthis early in the season, it really makes the off season a bit too long when I have to start watching for roster building that early. However, decent recovery today, hope it holds up.

So basically he got traded for a bag of chips. Quite remarkable considering how he entered this season and it seemingly always was only about him taking the "next step" to become more than a #4/5 starter, which was supposed to be his floor. He totally bombed and looked like a d-bag to boot. Wonderful.

Theycertainly are in no position to waste an outing by Lackey like that, but what do I know. They wasted Peavysrare decent start a few daysago, so maybe it is what it is.

Apart from two or three starts this season Lackey has been so consistent, will be really interesting to see if he holds that up the secondhalf of the season. The same can be said about the offense, though. Just that their consistency is more of the worrying degree. I guess you can't expect this team to be great at offense every year, but this drop from one year to another is something else, what is happening?

The thing is that I want to believe this as well and I find it hard to believe that being "clutch" doesn´t exist, especially since it is a narrative often used throughout sports to describe all-time greats. But I am not aware of any statistical analysis coming out with data backing this up in any sport, it merely seems like the real good players stand out because they stay real good, not because they elevate their play in specific situations. I will happily be wrong, if someone can point me in the direction of studies that suggest otherwise, because sometimes I really like the the whole "clutch" narrative.

You have said that a number of times on this board and I really, really struggle to get on board with this kind of thinking. I have yet to read any statistical analysis that shows batting with RISP to be a special tool, that certain players have and others don´t. As far as I understand it, it´s not that big of a deal, deviating only slightly from your typical BA and potentially changing wildly from season to season with the same player. So making hitting with RISP out to be a skill, that will have to be learned or whatever is not making a lot of sense to me. So you either slight Bogaerts for his batting, his approach or whatever you want to critizice, but going about his hitting "in the clutch" is arbitrary IMO and proves nothing.

If by the end of the season you want to point to a game or two that is showing why this season unfolded in that particular way, then this 4 game set against the Guardians is probably the most fitting example. They can´t quite get over the hump in so many ways, it´s mediocrity through and through. I still think in the long run this season will be a helpful one and they will reap the benefits and I am not sure how much the FO should or could have done differently.

There is no big rush here IMO. He will see good money, of that I have no doubt and I do think he will stay with the Sox. The way he is pitching right now and has done ever since TJS is well good enough to warrant another contract with decent money attached to it. He seems to be a good clubhouse guy, dedicated and driven to stay a competitive pitcher, so even if he tails off a bit, he will be a valuable piece to the rotation. From his standpoint I think it makes a lot of sense, too. Fenway suits him IMO, after being kind of a villain at the start of his time here he has seriously turned things around and become a bit of a cult hero, so he is well liked in Boston. At his age he won´t be playing too long anymore, so why go somewhere else, unfamiliar and risk playing in an environment that doesn´t appreciate you? Also, I´ve always had a mancrush on him, even before he became all skinny :-), so I want him to stay.

I don´t know about Buchholz, he certainly is a big reason for this seasons struggles, just imagine him putting up his projected numbers and bumping Lackey and Peavy down one spot in the rotation, things would look pretty good then and things would fit quite well. Finding a #5 starter is not a difficult task right now and the rotation would be set nicely. Anyway, doesn´t look like Buchholz will come around anytime soon, so what´s there to do? His trade value will be too low to be useful, so you pretty much either decide to just give up on him anyway or give him a shot to build some value back up. Frustrating stuff, but having watched him for so many years now with the Red Sox I am at the point, where I don´t care that much anymore, just find someone to replace him, please.

I don´t know why, but for some reason I enjoy watching the Red Sox right now, the success isn´t really there, but every so often I get the feeling that something is coming together here and sooner or later the benefits of this season will show. If they want to have a shot at the postseason though, they will need to convert games like yesterday. On another day Peavy playing like this will give up 7 ER, so they should have taken that bit of good fortune and run with it.

Calling a 15 pitch, 1 hit, no runs inning by Peavy here.

I dare Peavy to ruin a second night this post season all by himself, it's 3 effing am here. He will settle down, the end. The bats need to do something tonight though. I already hate Kelly.

tHey got this, shouldn't be this close, but this is not September of 11 or last season. They will scrape by here.

Gardner is a guy you could punch all day long, he has that look on his face.

Just f*** the Yankees, and then some. Show no mercy, put another ten runs up and slaughter them again tomorrow.

Like others have already mentioned, I am still waiting for this team to go on an utter tear, even before the ASB they have not been on a huge tear, so in my book they are due. Let´s win tonight and start a run, with the starting pitching they have at the moment they can totally do it, just need to get the bats going accordingly.

I guess with 93 losses it had to happen anyway. But for the future I can only hope that we will have a team to watch again, where the players keep their heads down and just do their job. I really didn?t like the supposed unrest in the locker room these last two years, in fact I despised it, especially since their on-field play did not warrant any kind of talk. What is a good way to go now for a replacement? I have no idea what the plan is now in terms of how exactly they want to do the whole rebuild.

Well, season finally officially over. Anyway, all I want now is for the Red Sox to take the franchise into the right direction this offseason. Not expecting any miracles, just wanting to watch a TEAM again next season with upside.

I don?t think there ever is a reason to not stick with your team, but this Red Sox edition makes it hard to truly root for them IMO. All I want from my team is being sensible. I want to look at the way the team was build, the way the players play, and the FO acts and think to myself that they all are pursuing a strategy that means well. You won?t win all the time and I don?t expect that. I just want to watch a team that is honest and hard-working and see them progress and deal with the inevitable struggles. However, this season it is tough. There is not a lot of stuff to really watch out for because you want to see the progression or maturation of a player or a team or the likes. It?s just a struggle with no purpose.

A win, nice. I think the team can now stop sending out a message to the FO regarding how bad they can be and that they need reinforcements. We have seen it all and now they can go and play at least a decent September. Above .500 anyone?

See, the thing is I am as frustrated as anyone about this team and its production purely on baseball terms and for a long time to me it looked like they just lost their ways and stopped building a baseball TEAM on all fronts. However, when I look at this team now, even after they got rid of Beckett and then some, it looks to me as if there is still a lot of bad blood in that team. Which is not what I expected after the trade, I thought that would help everyone move on, start fresh and at least bring this season to a decent finish and see how this team looks in the process. But in reality they still are unlikeable to me, and it doesn?t look as if they are that interested either. So do the FO and the Coaches have any authority over these players at all anymore? Where does it all end? How can there be two seasons in a row where things go totally tits up and everyone is in there for himself? IMO the FO has completely lost the plot as well for letting this happen again this season. So why should I trust them to get anything right?

Of course they will need a philosophy on their offensive approach and what kind of team they want and who they want to be. But right now I really am lost for words. What exactly is happening here? I think it goes well beyond finally trying to be a cohesive unit on offense again or finally fixing our pitching problems and NOT just throw money at every problem. To me it looks like back to the drawing board, but the start all over kind of drawing board. On every level this Red Sox organization seems to be dysfunctional. Where do you really not lay any blame? Front Office? Coaching? Players? Offense? Pitching? Everything is one giant clusterf***. So what I want to see is an answer to this first. I would like to know why they were so passive last off-season? Was it a kind of one last roll of the dice kind of thing? See if it really was only a hickup last September, because after all we have so much money invested in this team so let?s wait if it comes together again? Because if that is it, then I expect a major house cleaning on every level because we clearly see that this is not working. Otherwise just tell me what the eff it is that is the Red Sox intention for the next 12 months.

This team is so unlikeable. But it ultimately comes down to the management and the Front Office. Never in a million years should your players be allowed to go over the coaches head in that way, especially when they are playing like s***. And then complaining about Lester having to do his job despite sucking, f*** me. A healthy organisation would not let this happen, at least not in this way. If the players are unhappy with something it should be clear who is the boss, and that ultimately only management decides and if the players don?t like it they can go f*** themselves, after all they get paid handsomely here while underachieving for the most part. But the 2012 Red Sox certainly have no leadership on any level, not on the park, not in the dugout and least of all in the Front Office. How it can come to the point that the players are allowed to publicly call their coach out, to complain about the coach behind his back to his superiors is beyond me. Either management backs BV, after all they chose him, then they can listen to the players pulling that kind of stuff but make it very clear that BV is the boss and this season we are all doing it his way. Why else would you appoint him? If that however isn?t the case and they don?t back BV then by god just sack him already. Why give these prima donnas another excuse for their poor performances? I don?t believe for a second that BV is one of the important reasons for this team being sub .500. It?s straight up unbelievable how this organization is being run right now. No leadership whatsoever and the lunatics are allowed to run the asylum. I also hate how Cherrington is able to confirm this meeting without even uttering 3 words to support BV. A total clusterf***. Good organizations are not going about business this way IMO (at least I can?t see it.)

We can certainly hope so. But come on, something?s got to give here. This is atrocious on so many levels. After missing the playoffs 3 straight seasons there should be no question anymore, that there is a problem here. So either they think it is a problem on the players front (and I find myseld pushed hard to like any of them at the moment), then clean the house. And I mean proper, with a plan that is layed out early and that they stick to throughout the time until it is finished and communicate what they are trying to achieve. Or they think it is a problem with the coaches, the management, whatever. Then clean house there. Whatever you do, no half-assed crap this time. Something is very wrong here and I am sick to the back of my teeth about the hesitation that has been shown by the Red Sox to properly address anything. I am not feeling entitled to the Red Sox winning, all I want is to have a TEAM to root for, where from the outside I can at least vaguely see what they are trying to do and where everything is supposed to lead.