dustcover

Thank you Dojji

OK, but how is his recovery and rehab coming along?

To follow protocol and not skip over an existing thread I've come all the way back to this thread. So can anyone inform me as to Panda's current status?

You are absolutely right. My bad. I realized my faux pas just a few minutes after I clicked to post it. But I could not figure out how to transfer it to the already existing thread. Please except my apology for causing you this discomfort.

Wake Up with Wilbur made an interesting case that the Red Sox should have gone after Shields, particularly given the fact that the Padres ate a lot of his salary in the deal with the White Sox. There are certainly a lot of pro's & con's as to what Shields may or may not have left in the tank. But the question still remains as to whether Shields would be better than what the Red Sox have available presently in the way of starting pitchers who can be rolled out and consistently pitch effectively every fifth day.

Although this is not Sox related, I'm taking the liberty to post here because the incident occurred on this site. If you see the message at the top of the page '(You have 2 new messages)', I caution you not to click on to it. Otherwise a message appears that your computer is at risk and you should call a certain telephone number. The problem then occurs that your screen is frozen and you can't 'cancel' the message nor can you 'X' out of the page. I've found that the only way out is to shut down your computer totally, wait a few minutes and then restart the computer. Totally a pain in the arse. I'd like to hear if others have experienced the same or similar problem regarding this issue.

Here's an interesting situation regarding the catcher's position. With both Hannigan and Swihart out for 15 days, the Sox naturally reached out to Pawtucket to bring up Sandy Leon as backup catcher. So who gets the enviable task of corralling Wright's knuckle ball over his next 3 or 4 starts?

At the same at bat, the ball girl along the third base line, (and what a cutey she is, great smile,) makes an astounding grab of a line drive foul ball, and Dennis's response, " She makes it look easy". He's just great with his observations and makes the games so much more fun.

I just love Eckersley, after Swihart injury, with Saunders still at bat, Barnes throws 96 mph fastball over everything to the backstop, and Dennis gives it the Bob Uecker line "A little outside." He really makes me laugh with his commentary. Good stuff.

baseball-reference is definitely a handy tool to look up baseball info, but http://www.backtobaseball.com/gamesiteregularseason.php?IDindex=CIN199106280 also provides 'visual play by play' for specific games and a host of other interesting features such as 'game simulations' by teams of different eras . Just thought I'd pass this along for something to try on one of the Sox off-days, and it's raining out and you're not inclined to tackle the in house chores on the wife's to-do-list!

http://i.imgur.com/7NlFkZA.jpg

Click on: http://www.backtobaseball.com/gamesiteregularseason.php?IDindex=CIN199106280

Hey bosoxmal, perhaps this will refresh your memory. In 1948, the Yankees and Red Sox played but eight games in September. In only one of those games did Joltin Joe homer. And it was a doozy. Yankees won 11-6! Friday September 10, 1948 – DiMaggio went 3 for 5 including his 34th homer of the season with 3 on in the 10th inning off Earl Caldwell. If you would like to replay that game, click onto: http://www.backtobaseball.com/gamesi...x=BOS194809100 Caution: Leave the knitting needles or any other sharp objects out of reach so as not to stab yourself during the final inning.

My first visit to Fenway was, as best I can recall, in 1949. It was a doubleheader against the Yankees. Vic Raschi was on the mound for the Yankees in one game and Allie Reynolds in the other. Johnny Mize made an appearance as a pinch hitter and naturally hit a home run. Sox lost both ends of the twin bill, resulting in me loathing forever those damn Yankees!

I'm waiting!!!!! When is someone going to suggest moving Mookie up in the batting order to take more advantage of his power-hitting? http://i.imgur.com/FCRkQ5A.gif

It's a little early to guess which Sox players will hit 20 or more home runs this season, but I find it a tantalizing thought. Imagine my surprise when I learned that five teams have had 7 players on their roster hit 20 homers in the same season. Anyone care to venture a guess as to the five teams?

My apologies if I over stepped the boundaries of the Forum guidelines. I do indeed care about cooperating and helping to keep the Forum such an enjoyable environment within which to share with others one's love of the Red Sox. However, as a septuagenarian, I sometimes wonder if overall my thoughts or views are even relevant. Keeping up with where or how my random thoughts or generalized views should be entered, I sometimes find daunting. Given the fine job the moderators are doing by minimizing the intrusion of certain unwelcome trolls, who dragged down the BDC forum, I welcome their oversight in managing this forum. In this regard, I will try to make their job a bit easier by being more observant of my posts overlapping other already established topics. I must admit, however, that sometimes the more astute members have discussions, the substance of which goes way beyond my pay grade, and my posts are more of a conversational nature often in an idiom one might use while seated next to a stranger in the twenty-second row of the bleachers in between innings. I look forward to the continued fine play of the Sox and the opportunity to share the experience with all the other true-fans here on TalkSox.

It sure is a heck of a lot more enjoyable watching the Sox this year than last year. The guys are playing with a lot of enthusiasm, and it seems for the most part they are individually playing with a 'team first' attitude. And although one can reasonably expect the likes of Bogaerts, Bradley, Pedroia, and of course Big Papi to have consistently good at-bats, it is topping on the cake when less heralded players like Shaw, Swihart, Hannigan, Rutledge, or Fernandez, as he did today, get a big hit that impacts the game's outcome. And knowing that an impact player like Hanley can take a day off now and again to keep him fresh and healthy throughout the long rigorous season without giving up substantial offensive output because of the strong and flexible bench cannot be overlooked. And how about that defense? Who, if they had been told back in February that Shaw was to be the regular 3B, Hanley the 1B, and Swihart the regular LF, would of imagined that we'd be lauding the team defense? And I'll close with this observation. A rotation of Price, Porcello, Wright, Kelly, & Rodriguez, barring injuries, may well be good enough to get the Sox deep into the playoffs, perhaps all the way to the WS.

Rather odd that Smith is not having Dr. Andrews do the Tommy John surgery. Andrews is the renowned surgeon who originated this surgical procedure on Tommy John, and seems to generally be the go-to-guy, when players experience arm problems, particularly pitchers. Smith may want to talk to his catcher, CV, as to how his arm has responded after Dr. Andrews did his thing.

You are absolutely spot on! 2003 was a monster year for Mueller.

Sorry about that Youk of the Nation, but the topic I was going for was identifying and remembering the fantastic season that Billy Mueller had in 2003. Using JBJ in that context was not intended to derail your excellent post on his contributions to the present Sox.

Who can deny that JBJ is on a tear, but it begs the question as to whether it's one of his hot streaks against AAA-quality pitching presented by the A's or whether he will sustain his new found plate presence throughout the season putting him in the running for the AL Batting title. Which brings us to the question of when a player batting ninth in the order last won the AL Batting Title? The guy I'm thinking of also displayed a bit of pop in his bat as he became the only player in major league history to hit one grand slam from both sides of the plate in the same game. He's presently with the Cardinals. Let's hope that JBJ can come close to having a similar type year.

Also, can someone please tell me why my avatar is not displayed?

As a former Globe forum 'poster', I would often rant about making the 3rd out of an inning at 3rd base. So here we go again. 4th inning, scoreless game, runners on 1st and 2nd, one out. Holt strikes out and Shaw is thrown out at 3B to end the inning. I cannot bring myself to believe that Shaw was attempting to steal 3B on his own. Which leaves it on the manager. Or, perhaps, the manager had the hit and run on. Either way instead of runners on 1B & 2B with two outs following the strikeout, the Sox were out of the inning. It's basic Baseball Strategy 101! I just can't stand it when the 3rd out in an inning is made at 3B. Will someone in the dugout get a clue!