dannycater

Last year if they averaged 7 runs a game over a 25-game span, the team probably would have gone 22-3

I can't believe I'm saying this but if Rock the Cashner doesn't get 18 outs, I almost half-expect the fans to boo him if he gets shelled early.

Great post about connecting bad bullpen to offense not clutching up. That's also been a signature problem. At least in the Toronto win, the SP and the bullpen were in essence bailed out by the offense. So mark that one for the offense doing their job, maybe more so than it should have.

Really to expand on my last post, a lot of good innings by the bullpen in a lot of games, it's just they play Russian Roulette by having to throw a 4th reliever because the f***ing Starting Staff collectively can't go enough outs.

You ever notice on the Sox pen that it's usually just one guy who implodes when it's a string of 3 or 4 relievers (save for the Yankee debacle in London where it seemed everyone got hit). And it's almost always a different guy. One game it's Barnes, then it's Brasier, then it's Walden, etc.

HanRam, then Nunez, oh the humanity.

Should Wright make a joint apology to 1. his teammates, 2. his wife, 3. the game of baseball, 4. the organization, 5. Red Sox fans....he's running out of excuses

I don't know when it happened--maybe it was when he was sent in to pinch run in a harmless rout at LA Dodgers in a regular season game--but everything since that freak injury has been a Steven Wright Nightmare. He is a car wreck. A running joke who has done so many things to prematurely end his career off the field, and can't stay healthy on the field. Tim Wakefield pitched countless innings throwing the knuckler and never seemed to get hurt. Wright can't go 10 pitches without something happening to him. Yes, I know he got hit by a line drive, as he was batting practice v. Dodgers, but this guy was supposed to be a mainstay innings-eating SP, then an innings-eating reliever, and now he's a f***ing joke. I'm sick of him. Please end his run as a Sox. Waiting for him to either get healthy, get off of a self-enduced suspension, or pitch adequately is too much. Sick of watching him. He was fun to watch during the Farrell final season, but those days are over.

Bill Stoneman threw 2 no hitters too. And no one cared for his 54-85 career record.

Interesting that both '76 and this year were coming off of World Series Hangovers.

great post. nice fans out there, let's quit in July in a crappy AL where the wild card is right there for the taking.

More remarkable on JBJR's split is even with that he is hitting with a lousy overall batting average. It's like he is either 1.009 or .601 with no in between.

Ok, it's fun too.

I was a pitcher in college, yes the game is not quite baseball anymore. It's evolved into some sort of home run derby and let's see who can make the best highlight reel dive, leap, throw--which is great, but you wonder what happened to pitching in general and hitting for average too.

Like moon said, you just congratulate guys in general, it's part of the game and part of being a good teammate, and frankly good sportsmanship too.

denny, he knocked in a run, what does it matter that it was down 6, or up 6, or down 15. You can be personally mad at yourself, you can be happy to drive a ball, you can be whatever you want, but your teammates have your back, and the way we were all taught as teammates is congratulate your teammate regardless of outcome. You strike out, you still pat the guy on the back, get them next time. If you knock in a run, you high five him. It's all good.

I can't argue with the way the game has changed. Pitchers and the mentality of pitching has changed more so because SPs are expected to only get 15-18 outs when for more than a century they were give me a good 7, and if you throw a CG thank you very much. Relivers are now all throwing in the 90s. Hitters mentality changed to drive it out of the park when ever possible rather than hit a line drive, put the ball in play, or hit and run, etc. Hitters bat speeds are faster than ever and that's why if you do through a fastball down the middle, and now even a good curve, in all likelihood it could go out of the park against 9th hitters. Fooling hitters with breaking balls is not as easy as it was, and throwing a hard fastball better be on the corner or down at the low knees to be effective. Anyway, it's a different game today and it's become a strikeout, home run game and ESPN highlight reel for defense making more remarkable plays because players are more athletic than ever. The game has changed, the mentality, the coaching, the instruction, the video, the analytics, the scouting, the shifts. It's all check your index card in your pocket. Used to be hey move to the gap because want to prevent an extra base hit. Not anymore, you are scouted and thoroughly so to the point where the shift works more often than not. Guys are catching balls in what before would be considered outlandish areas to field a ball (shortstop 5 feet to his right of the 2nd base bag has to go to his left up the middle and makes play, and you go but he's the shortstop not the 2b??...all works). Tendencies of hitters, tendencies of pitchers, etc.

The last thing you need to criticize in sports is how you react after your team does a successful thing, in this case scoring a run. It's the goal of the game, score runs. Celebrating and how you go about it in your own dugout is not my concern and not a disrespectful thing unless you are taunting someone up 10 runs and you point scoreboard to the other dugout. Celebrate goals, touchdowns, baskets, great saves, diving stops, great throws and if you are down by 3 touchdowns, or 10 runs or 25 points, so what. Part of the game.

To further that same logic, you even congratulate pitchers who failed. Happens all the time. You are a reliever, you go through a 15-pitch at bat, and then the guy bloops a RBI single and the manager pulls you. Players are patting the pitcher on the butt, they are saying hey you did your best, and thank you for your hard work. People generally shake hands even with pitchers, it's baseball, it's sports.

galehouse made a statement that in itself questions players' attitudes or the way they act based on score of game. In football, again, I'm down 35-3 and I successfully score a touchdown or as a backup QB I get down the field and get my team into the end zone, I'm high-fiving, I'm excited to make a play and it's good for the team. Congratulate, high five, and do it because you are a good teammate and your team appreciates you doing something for your team--sac fly, move the runner over, home run, late PP goal, whatever. Score has nothing to do with anything regarding this area of appreciation.

Bruins trail in the 7th game, and Gryz scores with under a minute left for the team's only goal. The player gets high-fived, the B's play their goal music and the fans who are there cheer and stand. You are not allowed to be excited about the goal? It's the same logic. Players drive in a run, you get high-fived, or congratulated. It's not fun as much as it's part of the game, and about sportsmanship, team performance.

In general, you score a run, you can high five a teammate and say good job, it's part of the game, the score has zero to do with boosting your teammates. It's universal in any league.

Celebrating or congratulating. Was it that demonstrative (I did not see the play, for the record)?

There is no end-all on catchers except the Sox desperately brought Leon back after discovering that Swihart was not going to help the pitchers (or that's their assessment). Vasquez also has some issues with some of the SP, but in the overall it's a good tandem. Leon caught, team gave up 7 runs. How much is it the catcher's fault or just pitchers who are having trouble keeping the fort from being attacked, and doing it unsuccessfully. Even the best Sox relievers--Workman--still blew a save opportunity.

Marco is a big favorite of Alex, and having the manager's confidence results in pinch hit home runs or big hits off the bench. Nunez did that in the WS last year, you have an opportunity for a big hit from a guy not expected to come through, and they come through because the manager has their back. Cora's strength.