Examiner

It just does. Just when exactly is Matt Barnes going to stop beginning every single outing with a walk and a single that leads to run(s) scoring? You can set your clocks by it. As soon as he went 2-0 I literally sat here and said game over. You know exactly what's going to happen, and by the way Vasquez, Bogaerts and the coaches had to go out repeatedly to try to prop him up tonight, you know the worst is going down. And it's also a miracle if the Ex-Cardinal doesn't get scored on. 100 mph blazing heater that goes straigh in and does absolutely nothing. When he does manage to work his way out of Barnes' jam, he gives up his own runs in the next inning. I don't care what the ERA's are, the eyeball test says this bullpen is not going to hold up much longer, and is becoming a bigger joke every night. Who's going to take over? Scott? Hembree? Good luck to Carson Smith.....

That's easy, I pick both. It's a desperation move because they don't want to spend the money they should have spent in the offseason to beef up an anemic offense, hence, we rush the kid to the top sooner than we otherwise planned knowing it's a crap shoot at best whether he'll turn out to be as good as a veteran bat that we need. It's both, that's what makes it so pathetic.

Doing more in the offseason would have been the first step. David Ortiz was never replaced, and even if you argue he couldn't be replaced, it wasn't even attempted. From day one I've said this team didn't have enough hitting. Ortiz is gone, and the ancillary players are not only not replacing him, they aren't even doing what they normally do. No hitter in that lineup is playing to potential. Pedroia maybe, but even he's experiencing a power outage. This is the most pathetic, non-clutch offense I've seen on the Red Sox in a long long time--and we all saw this coming since last October, and virtually nothing was done to forestall it.

Sorry, but this looks like a desperation move to me. Also makes it looke like Dombrowski isn't really serious about winning this year, but I wasn't sure he was before the season started. Mooreland is decent, but he's no replacement for Ortiz, and we're paying the price nightly.

The Sox have hitters?

Todd Frazier at third please.

Never understood this move from day one. Guy is an overweight slob who made his rep with a few playoff games. His numbers overall are not that great, decent, respectable, but not great. Since he got here he's been a bigger disaster than Carl Crawford.

Sandoval is a total bust IMO. Didn't understand it when we signed him, still don't get it.

David Ortiz is almost irreplaceable. That being said, the team did very little to even attempt to replace him. Moreland is a respectable hitter, may have a better than average year, but he ain't David Ortiz and neither is HanRam.

This forum sucks, sucks out loud and it's as boring as all get out. BDC was 1000% better. More entertaining, more traffic, more interesting, just better. I'm rarely even in here because about every time I come I see another boring stat cast type thread arguing sabermetrics or what the Sox fifth round pick should be. It's late April and I'm still on the Pats forum more than in here. There are threads on the FRONT PAGE in here that were posted last July. Enough said.

I'm more concerned it's going to be one of thos nagging things that lingers all spring causing him to be ineffective, then about May they decide to "shut him down for a while", then about July we're told he needs TJ surgery.

Operative phrase being "during that 11 game streak". The other 151 games they did virtually nothing. That offense was a joke, I said so all year and also said they were not to be taken seriously. I said it from April on. They'd out score their opponents 22-6 in a four game series, but split 4 because they won 12-1 in game one, 8-0 in game 2, then lost the next two 2-0 and 3-2. If you want to see a clutch team that knew how to come from behind late, and do it consistently all year long, just look at 2013. That was the perfect team. This 2016 team was all show and no go, they did not have what it takes, I'm in record as saying so all summer long. In 2013 I knew from opening day that team was destined for greatness, if not a championship. It was obvious from the very first game.

Well, that pitching better pan out, because I'm not sure about the offense. The big numbers last year were very deceptive, I said that during the season. They rarely came from behind and were very inconsistent.

Me either, in fact, I don't get it. Is this supposed to replace Papi? Moreland is supposed to get time at first so HanRam can go DH? Uh uh, that ain't gonna work long term, we need a REAL hitter in the middle of this order to at least somewhat replace Ortiz. Moreland is too expensive for a backup/complimentary piece, and too tame for an Ortiz replacement. Don't get this move.

Nobody said Papi was distracted, at least not until the NY series and the last week. I don't think there's any question he was pressing at the end. My gripe is against the whole tour period, and the fact that the team never gelled like the 2013 team did, and it SHOULD have, the talent was there. I think the tour was PART of the problem, not necessarily all. I think it may have hurt more than it helped to be honest.

I don't blame him per say, but at the same time I think the goodbye tour thing is ridiculous and should be stopped. He looked awful at NY, and that's where it all started. He was trying to hit a HR every at bat to show off to Yankees fans, very UN-Ortiz-like. I don't think there's any question whatsoever that in the same way the Marathon bombing worked as a cohesive, this retirement tour worked as a distraction, or at least got the guys all saying "we gotta win for Papi" instead of focusing on what needed to be done on the field in order to make it actually happen. Never once in this entire season did the team have a laser focus that led to any consistency. I've seen this for months and because of it have said all along that they are pretenders. But when Kimbrel blew that save in NY that kept them from clinching on the YS field, I knew it was over and started thread that same night that said as much. Pretenders.

It's sad that this team was so pathetic that they let Papi go out like this. I thought it from opening day, and have rarely said anything else, and have posted threads about it on this site: this team is not a champion, they do not have what it takes like the '13 team did. They were done before they even started. I suspected it all along, but the moment I really knew it was when Kimbrel blew that save in New York. That was the final red flag that this is a team of pretenders with plastic numbers that meant very little because other than the winning streak, they almost never came back late in the game. And, in all honesty, not believing they had it, I'd rather see them go out as soon as possible or not make it at all. I'm not one of those fans who says they'd love to see their team in the World Series even if they lose. No way, win it all or go home, and not from day one have I thought this team would win it all. What really bothers me is that we will never see Papi again, and it's like these guys either didn't care, or cared so much that they were unable to focus on doing what it takes, bad both ways. They were an inconsistent team with no real cohesive identity who showed occasional signs of cohesion--just enough to torment you. Like I said, always suspected as much, but knew it in NY, and my Kimbrel and Price thread proves it. Mostly I feel bad for Papi, he's a true champion and will be missed. It will never be the same without him.

True, but there are big differences. 1. The 2013 team did enough to clinch top seed, and won every game near the end needed to do so. 2. They had a season long pedigree of walk off wins, late inning comebacks and winning close games, this team has done none of that consistently, in fact, before the winning streak they almost never did it at all. Whoever scored first in a Sox game was usually the winner. 3. A team winning 11 then losing 4/5 is usually the sign of an inconsistent team, just as teams who struggle on offense will have spells of winning 13-1. I disagree that this is the sign of a good team. Their record in one run/close games is right around .500, while they win many blowout games. Come playoff time, that will not fly. 4. The intangibles are not here like they were in 2013. It's like it starts to coalesce, and then sputters out. No team I've ever rooted for in any sport has won a chamionship without having that in order. Some teams like the 2006 Cardinals struggle and look awful in the season then flip a switch, but usually not.

It's possible, I've even had that thought myself, you know, like maybe it's just all my lack of belief in them. Honestly, I hope that's the case, but in over 30 years of watching sports, I've just learned to recognize a champion when I see them. The 2013 team was special from the first day, you could just see it. I doubted them once in August right before they got Peavey, and then when they were down 2-1 in the WS, but by and large I always believed in them, because every time they HAD to win, they won. These guys? I'm not seeing it yet. We will know a lot more by next weekend.

Well, we saw some signs of it for a while, but are reverting now. This team peaked a little too soon, which was what I was afraid of. Never from opening day have I once believed in this team, they don't have what it takes, the magic is simply not there. In fact, teams that have huge winning streaks like that end up going flat more often than going on to win. It's just one more sign that they cannot be consistent. Win 11 in a row, then lose 4 out of the next 5, and it will be 5/6 if they lose today. They win 13-1 in the first game of a series, then score 3 runs combined in the last two, losing 4-2 and 2-1. The "high powered offense" is outscoring opponents at a 16-7 clip, but they are 1-2. That in a nutshell is the 2016 Red Sox. Time to watch football guys, they're done.

Agree 100% on all counts. CB was awesome tonight. I used to say John Lester was a choker too, and for a while he was. In 2013 he shut me up, and I could not have been any happier about it.

And btw, this wasn't the biggest dose of confidence for Joe Kelly either, although he was handed a horrible mess and did ok for a while.

For a Red Sox pitcher is was the clutch of clutches for a regular season game. Guys, I'm telling you, this is bad, it's very, very bad. It reminds me of a smaller version of when the Houston closer--whatshisname gave up the HR to Pujols in the 05 NLCS when they were one out from the WS. It didn't matter that they won at Stl next game. It took him 2-3 years to really get past that, the team and fans were robbed of celebrating at home, and other than 2008 he was never the same again.

Yip, and we will never get that moment back because he couldn't do his job at the one moment we most needed him to. I'm so angry about this I might not even watch the game tomorrow night. The weather is nice, I may get my fire pit out and say screw them. I have said from day one that this team is not to be trusted, they are too inconsistent, They score 13 one night, then score 3 combined in losing the next two, and the stats show they're outscoring their opponents 16-6. Every single time you think they've turned a corner and solidified, they do something stupid like the last two games. I would not be shocked at all if they lose again tomorrow, then lose 2/3 against Toronto.

This WAS a save situation, and he blew it. If it was just a run of the mill game I'd smh and move on. This was different. This was a moment they will NEVER get back again! Not ever--and he knew that when he left the bullpen tonight. They had the chance to clinch the 2016 ALE at Yankee stadium, to run on the field and pile on in front of their biggest rival, and it didn't happen because clunkhead couldn't get three outs. Not only did it not happen, they walked off and piled on in front of US! For a Red Sox pitcher, it doesn't get any worse than that. HUGE red flag, he choked in the biggest moment of his season.