Boston Red Sox-- 1st Half of the Season

[Newc]

Manny needs to calm down at the plate, he is really pressing to get things going. You can't really blame a guy for wanting to be a big producer, but what the Sox need him to do is settle down and get back into that good ole manny rythm.

I do like the fact that the Sox have been playing some good small ball, last night I think they said that the Sox have 8 sac bunts this year, which is more than all the other teams in the AL East combined. With Crisp and Lugo we can really benefit by playing small ball, because we know eventually Manny, Papi, Drew, Lowell, and Youk will be hitting like we all know they can and drive in those runs.

Its only May and we do have a sizeable lead so we really shouldn't be too anxious with the play of our guys, but as all Sox fans know we aren't satisfied unless we win every game, its a passion for baseball and our team that very few understand.

 

[Sureal]

Amen to that...

 

[notredomer23]

Good game so far....expect the yankees to fight back hard....they need these games.

 

[notredomer23]

Manny needs to calm down at the plate, he is really pressing to get things going. QUOTE]


he calmed down...


in a big way

 

[Sureal]

we needed that. Okajima looked human last night. I hope he didn't peek too early. Papelbon is the man.

Pettite-NY
Schill-Boston

 

[Newc]

Nice, I love that homerun swing of Manny's, its pure beauty. Tavarez pitched a pretty good game, we've gotta give some props to him for picking us up after Wake's outing. Still not liking so many walks, but I've gotta say, they are always more tolerable after a win.

I was surprised that Jeter let that third strike go from Paps to finish the game. It was in the same exact location as the first called strike and I would have thought he would have atleast tried to fight it off, nevertheless, though I really do respect Jeter as a player, theres nothing better than seeing Paps sit him down.

My money is on Schill tonight, he loves pitching in this kind of spotlight against the Yanks, lets hope he rises to the occasion. I hope the bats stay hot and we take this one to take the series, it would be huge to take 4 of 6 from the yankees in NY and I think it will be significant when september rolls around.

 

[Sureal]

Ok so he absolutely stunk that one up. Never seen Schill get smacked up like that. Just wasn't his night. By the way Youk is the man. Every AB he has goes full it seems. This guy is an all-star in the making IMO

Off day today

 

[Newc]

That was pathetic. I don't know what is going on with Schill this year but he is really struggling. Last night used to be the kind of game that he would get amped up for and throw 6 to 7 strong innings. Now, 6 runs in 4 innings?

I understand that its Yanks/Sox and that the yankees get up for these games big time, but the Sox need to learn how to step on the throttle when we are in these positions. I was really hoping that taking 2 of 3 would help continue the yanks slide through to the all-star break. It would have been nice to have a 14 or 15 game lead on them by the break, but I really think this will be a motivating series for the yanks and I wouldn't be surprised to see them reel off some winning streaks here now. Lets hope their trip to see the angels can slow them back down.

 

[ACamp1900]

I love how much unsolicited hate the Sox get from other fans...must mean we are doing something right, dominating the AL may just be that.

nothing negative that comes bo sox fans way is EVER unsolicited... just thought i'd clear that up

 

[Newc]

Maybe so, but the Sox fans on this site have been nothing but civil and respectful, so maybe your arguments would hold more water on other forums.

 

[Sureal]

Anyway back to baseball again,

we are 12.5 games up as of Today. I been away so I have to check on who is pitching tonight...

 

[Newc]

Beckett is back on the bump for the Sox tonight facing off against a struggling Sowers, so hopefully we can put up another win and continue our roll.

By the way, Schilling looked incredible last night, its been a while since Schill has put up 10 Ks like that.

If the Sox stay on this roll, with Clemens not looking to come back till after the Sox/Yanks series coming up, I really think we can put the yankees away for good at Fenway. 13.5 game lead is quite nice and if we take 2 or 3 at fenway I really think the yanks will no longer be in the picture.

 

[Newc]

14.5 game lead over whatever you call that thing in new york...Youk hitting in 21 straight....Beckett goes to 8-0. This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen

 

[Sureal]

Youk is the man!!! Beckett did a great job. I am thinking he is going to be consistant throughout the year...

By the end of the season, maybe even during the all-star break, Cashman will be packing up his office...

Dice-K is up tonight.

 

[Newc]

Beckett will easily get 20 wins this year for sure, talk about rediscovering yourself as a pitcher and really molding your abilities to fit the AL.

As far as Cashman, rumors have been floatiing around that it could be sooner than the all-star break. I don't think I could disagree with his firing either. Like George said, Cashman wanted all the power and has not provided the results that the Yankees want. Instead of construcitng a winning team (like the ones with Brosius, O'Neill, Jeter of the late 90s) he went out and nabbed all the all-stars he could get but they don't play very well together.

While I do love the huge lead we have, I do kinda wish that we could have battled it out to the end with the Yanks, it just brings so much more excitement to the game.

Heres hoping Daisuke nabs another win and Youk continues the streak. Lets Go Sox!!

 

[Sureal]

I know this is off the subject but it isn't worth a new thread but, I'm wondering if I should get Youk starting on my fantasy team in the place of Monreau... Any advice?

 

[Newc]

Yikes, thats a hard one. Morneau is a good ball player with probably more power than Youk, but Youk is the prototypical slasher, which I personally love. You have to understand that during this streak Youk is hitting over .400 so his stats are looking pretty inflated, though he is a great piece on our team I doubt he can keep this going after the all-star break. Maybe pick him up and ride ths success out.

 

[Newc]

I love how ESPN made a big deal about the Tribe winning last night. I'll take 2 of 3 from an AL Division leader every time. My only complaint was that bases loaded no out situation and we couldn't get anyone home, that hurts, but I can't complain about much more, we are on an absolute roll and these games are bound to happen every now and again.

 

[Sureal]

Yeah it's difficult to get too angry about one loss. I'd rather take 3 out of 4 anyday against Cleveland.

Empire/ Sox this weekend. Let's take 2 out of 3 from them. They are an absolute mess over there. Their third baseman is not a true Yankee.
Even though I detest the very sight of their uniform, I still respect the way they play the game.
He is an idiot. He screams at the Jays third baseman 'mine' and the third baseman drops the ball. I wonder what Jeter thinks.
What is so bad is that we almost had him. Can you imagine?
I'm starting to dislike Schilling and I am DIE HARD Sox. Imagine if their third baseman was on our team. That guy is a creep...

 

[Newc]

Haha...we'll sweep the Yanks when they come into Fenway. Thats a tough place to play and we have all the momentum and confidence now.

As for A-Rod, we did that stuff when we were kids playing at recess, I didn't know that pro ballplayers would try that kind of thing too. I guess when you are extremely desperate for a win you'll do anything.

Whats wrong with Schilling? Yea he is outspoken, but its not like he comes out and says incredibly stupid, irrelevant or untrue things. I wonder if Buster Olney still thinks his comments that the Sox don't need Clemens is ubsurd? After seeing Roger pitch those warm-up minor league games I think it is clear that he is aged quite a bit. He doesn't even look as good as he did last year and how is he going to react if he gets shelled in his first outing, I doubt the NY media will let him slide too much.

Oh well, heres to Youk keepin it going. Lets Go Sox!!

 

[Sureal]

My beef with Schilling is that I get the feeling that he needs all the attention all the time so he will say stuff so that he can get it. I just want him to focus on the task at hand and keep his fastball down in the zone.

The Clemens comment wasn't obsurd it was the truth.

I know it's old news but the Barry Bonds comment about the infedility is the one that irritated me. Yeah we know that Bonds is guilty of using cow-ball juice. Ok. But leave his family out of it. What goes on in Barry BigHead's personal life is his business. By no means am I a Barry Bonds apologist but I won't go there with his family. That incident and the microphone loving-soapbox speeches irritates me as a pessimistic BoSox fan. I want a championship this year as I do every year. I don't want to hear about nothing else but strikes and wins from him. I'm know Tito told him to keep a lid on it. Hopefully he will for the rest of the season.

 

[Newc]

The true, the Bonds comments were a little concerning. I just think Schilling, like most of us, are so sick of the whole steriod thing that he lashed out at who the public has made the steroid poster boy.

But more important than that, we have the yanks comin in this weekend for a three game series. Any predictions?

 

[Sureal]

2 out of 3 from the bombers. Again they are a mess over there and I will be surprised if they take 2. I am hoping for a sweep but then being as pessimistic as I am...

Wake tonight against Wang--Tonight
Schill against Moose--Saturday
Pettite against Beckett--Sunday

 

[notredomer23]

what happened?

 

[Sureal]

Crap.

ND23-- Good hitting on the Yankee's part is what happened. Your third baseman did a heckuva job muscling out a good pitch from Papelbon. What are you going to do? Good game. I expect the Yankees to make a run by the end of the season.

The Oakland series is going to be an important series this week. We need to rebound and win this series.

 

[Newc]

Yea, that stings pretty bad. Our big guys just weren't hitting the ball. Going into the bottom of the 9th down by one with Papi, Manny and Youk due up you would think we were sitting pretty, but what can you do? We'll rebound, its not like we are in a bad position here or anything. To put it in perspective, they only made up one game on us, so its not all that horrible. Lets hope we put a little win streak on now to pump up the confidence once again.

 

[Sureal]

Ok. Enough already. The bullpen choked for the second game in a row.

Question: Should we bring up Ellsbury in the place of Crisp? Or is it too late?

Dice-K is up tonight.

 

[Newc]

I'm not sure if I would rush Ellsbury right now. We still hold an very commanding lead in the division so I think we need to give Coco some more time to come around. He was a threat at the plate in Cleveland so hopefully he can find himself at the plate and return to that kind of player. And besides, there really is no pressing need to rush Ellsbury along, he'll be more usefull to the Sox next year after some more development.

This is the kind of game where Daisuke really needs to earn his paycheck. He's getting paid to be the kind of pitcher who can come in and right the ship and get Boston back on track, lets hope he really dominates out there tonight.

 

[Sureal]

Still 10 up on the Toronto so a two game streak ain't too bad. I just do not want June to be a .500 month. We need to beat this team the next two games and restore some order. I wonder if Hideki is a little fatigued...

 

[Sureal]

5 friggin double plays...

That is all I am saying today.