DISQUS

Would it help to remind yourself that he has more wins & a better ERA, and has been more consistent than any of our other starting pitchers? And with that fickle knuckleball, no less! Even with two losses & a no-decision in 7 starts, he's really only had one bad one: last night's.

Living in the Tampa area (but still most CERTAINLY a Sox fan!) I have to tell you, I said the exact same thing!

OMG. This is so awful. I didn't want to laugh, but I just couldn't help myself! Save a spot in hell for me, I guess. ;-)

#5 just totally made my morning!

I live just outside of Tampa & I've been to a bunch of games at the Trop -- as a Sox fan of course, but that's neither here nor there. My point is that in a dome, everything sounds louder. The cowbells don't hurt either. I do agree that they showed up the Sox fans at Fenway in the ALCS. I was very disappointed in those crowds. My final thought, though, is they truly showed their baseball infancy when they booed every member of the Phillies as they were introduced. There was no need for that. Politely clapping, or even just silence, would have sufficed. I get why they boo Coco, but a team they have no history with? That made me sad. I am all for more people loving the game I love, but being surrounded by these fans, I have to say, they sure do have a lot to learn.

I have been saying the same thing about the Manny situation since before he was even traded. I am going to not only pretend (for my own sanity) that Lester will stay far away from that disgusting rat, but continue to hope that Tek has one thing in common with ARod: sending Boras packing. A girl can hope, right?

I just read somewhere that Boras is also Teixeira's agent and that the Angels front office is actively pursuing trying to make a deal to keep him in SoCal. Maybe that was why he was lurking & leering?

I know it sure did make me wonder if there is a backup plan on determining World Series home field advantage if the All Star Game is forced to end in a tie.

I come up with my best ideas when I cannot record them immediately, even if just with pen & paper. I will be in the shower or driving somewhere or at Disney World. By the time I get some place that I can jot down my thoughts, I've lost the exact wording. Drives.me.insane.

I only recently started reading your blog, so I probably am not the best person to offer opinions on content (although obviously I've come back so something must be working -- heh). I do think your design works well. It's very streamlined & easy to navigate. And I am very glad you have RSS activated. One of my biggest pet peeves about a blog is when it doesn't have it's feed turned on. Unless you're someone I really know, I am not going to take the time to frequently check your blog to see if you've updated. I am much more likely to stay an active reader if my Google Reader can give me the heads up that there is new content to be enjoyed!

(in addendum to the above comment):
*Especially* with the likelihood that 2008 will be Schill's last year pitching, and we'll be looking to fill a spot.

Oh my heck, NO. Santana, while talented, did not do all that much to impress me in 2007. Certainly not to the point that I would offer up Ellsbury & the cream of our rookie pitching crop! I agree with Patrick MacKenzie: wait til Santana becomes a free agent & make a play for him then, without giving up any of the young homegrown talent!

CK Dexter Haven:

In regard to: "I have to express some disagreement with a statement posted above, and one that is common in lots of sports discussions:
“Lowell: 2 World Series rings
ARod: none”

I was attempting to be succinct in giving my reasons, but I stand behind it. Some players bring a black cloud with them. What I see in Mike Lowell's two rings is that he can be part of a cohesive team, one that works together to get deep into October. What I see from ARod is that everywhere he goes, he makes a boatload of money, becomes an albatross, isn't liked by his teammates (which is a huge part of why the Sox team works so well together, because they are a well-knit group), and somehow the team he plays for falls on its face. If he could have succeeded anywhere in getting at least one ring, let's be honest: the Bronx should have been the place, with the amount of talent on that team, and the ability to be a team that "creates situations" for itself, yet there they sit since his arrival, a team in disarray. If *that* is what ARod brings to a ballclub, I absolutely don't want to see him in favor of Lowell, who has been described, on more than one occasion, as "the glue of the clubhouse." It's the guys like Lowell, who keep a team running on an even keel, that help bring home Championships, not the guys who suffer from a raging case of "me-ism." You're correct: a team wins a Championship, not a player, but in this case, I see a player (ARod) as detrimental to the team. As you said, "Things have to be seen in ‘context.’ Situations are just as important as talent."

Lowell: 2 World Series rings
ARod: none

Lowell: can not only hit the ball & play in the field but also help mentor & prepare your up-and-coming rookies
ARod: can't stop looking in the mirror long enough to realize that it's not all about him

Lowell: can handle playing in a pressure cooker atmosphere & you never hear a single negative thing about the man
ARod: yeah right

Lowell: an all-around stand-up MVP guy with class who is an intergral part of the organization to which he belongs but who never ever needs to be in the spotlight
ARod: chose someone else's moment to shine as the stage for screaming "pay attention to me!!"

Lowell: World Series MVP, Gold Glove third baseman who will play for a reasonable salary
ARod: determined to always be the highest paid athlete in MLB

Need I go on?

This just proves what I've been saying all season long about Lugo: He does something good in a game, then immediately negates it by something stupid. He hits a home run, then gets picked off on bad baserunning his next at bat. Or in this case, he makes a gravity-defying leap and gets Vernon Wells out at first, then kills the rally we so desperately needed. Never fails.

I wish I could remember who said it yesterday on ESPN, but the basic idea was: "If this truly provided an unfair advantage, wouldn't Patriots have won six straight Super Bowls & not just three out of six?" I think that any advantage was negligible, and that everyone acting like this is the only way the Patriots ever won are overstating this issue.

I *do* think that -- provided they are actually found guilty, since the League has yet to make an official statement -- there should be a good hard smack in consequence for breaking the rules (and yes, I am a Patriots fan). I don't know that a fine will be felt much. I honestly don't think a couple of revoked draft picks will even hurt *that* much -- seems like draft picks are a gamble anyway. I think that the ultimate punishment should fit the crime: The Patriots were trying to gain an edge & broke a rule doing so, I think the fitting punishment would be to lose an edge, by having Belichick sit out a game. A nice strong message for the rest of the NFL to knock off the nonsense, because the other side of this is that I don't believe for a second that the Patriots are the only ones doing it, just the only ones to get caught.

Just my humble opinion.

In my humble opinion, knuckler is as knuckler does.

I adore Tim Wakefield. He is, hands down, one of my favorite pitchers to watch. The way that knuckleball can dance mesmerizes me. And to see power hitters befuddled by it is almost comical. You know they want to take their bats & just beat that ball into the ground like an annoying little mosquito hovering around, flitting away, mocking your efforts to swat it -- and you just *know* that little pest is going to bite you before long. Not to mention the joy of watching the opponent try to readjust to Papelbon's heat after Wakey's slo-mo.

But the knuckle ball is fickle. And when it is uncooperative, things can get ugly in a hurry. This is the risk that is taken when you have a tool with the potential to be devastating, but no guarantees that it will show up.

Fickle or not, though, there have been only two starters this season -- especially post All Star Break -- that do not make me cringe when I see their name is up in the rotation. Beckett and Wakefield. I think this decision needs to be made based on Wakefield's health, and what we see from him these last three weeks of regular season. If he continues to make magic like he has to earn his sixteen wins, then I am all for some strategically-placed October flutterball. And there's always the Buchholz chaser that worked out well this last time through when Wakefield just wasn't feeling it. (Buchholz is available for post season, right? I can't seem to find a clear & direct answer to this anywhere.)

All I can say is that I was one of the biggest Pedroia skeptics going into and up through the first part of this season. I didn't think he'd ever hit, then when he started to, I thought it was a fluke, and it would die off again, JD Drew-esque. I remembered the seemingly apathetic way he played second base when he came up last season, and didn't think he had the guts to be a real gamer in the field. I am happily eating each & every one of those words. I thoroughly enjoy watching him play for Boston, and I can only imagine that with more experience, he's just going to get better.

We're freeing up some money with Clement's contract expiring after this season. I say add that to what they might be willing to pay Lowell and that would surely meet the 3 years for 30 million. Not like we've gotten anything out of that investment in Clement for the last two seasons anyway.

Lowell is a valuable part of the Red Sox, any way you look at it. He provides experience, both in years played, as well as post season. He's had a tougher year with his glove but has more than made up for it at the plate. He came back from a slumping season to only get better. He's stepped in handily as the clean up hitter with Manny out. He's leading the team in RBI & hits. Third in homers. He's a great presence among his teammates. You never hear anything negative about him that provides distractions.

So maybe we only get two more solid years out of him. That wouldn't be so terrible. That last year could be a transition year, platoon Mike with a rookie perhaps. I love Youk, but I am not in agreement that third base is his natural environment. He plays a mean first base, and doesn't look nearly as comfortable when he covers third. And I don't remember being impressed with his third base abilities when he was up in 2005. I would much rather see him stay at first, where his third baseman instincts serve him well.

Keep Mike Lowell!!

WMP out. (Yes, after his four hits last night. He's probably tapped out on production til the middle of September now.) Rent-a-slugger OF-er for the bench (and to spell Ortiz as DH if he's going to keep getting hurt). Bring up Ellsbury for next year. Other than that, I think they need to leave well enough alone!

I'm not sure I am ready to see Lester in the post-season (should we be so lucky -- I take nothing for granted, corn-and-raised a Sox fan & all) after just one outing. His command is still shaky. He seems to lose his confidence in the strike zone as soon as someone gets a big hit off him, just like he did last year. Sure, he pitched his way out of it last night. But he pitched his way into it too. Don't get me wrong. I am cheering for him every step of the way. But I think I need to see some more proof that he's harnessed his "real deal abilities" before I choose him over Gabbard in the rotation just yet. The last thing we need in October is a kid on the hill who gets nervous if he gives up a hit, no matter how much he's stolen our hearts & earned our support. Maybe that will change after a few more outings, but as of right now, I take your rotation and swap you Lester for Gabbard.

Roomeister:
As I recall, Papelbon *wanted* to be the closer. He wasn't just sent there to keep a slot open for Lester. And as far as Wakefield goes? Are you really going to say it's his fault when he pitches a game where he gets 8 Ks over 6.2 innings yet still loses 3-2? Does that mean it's Matsuzaka's fault he lost on Tuesday when he got 8 Ks over 7 innings yet lost 2-0? Or is that loss attributed to the offense, but Wakefield is on his own? I guess I feel that the offense is as accountable as the pitcher, but it takes both to do their job in order to win. A great pitching game without offense cannot guarantee a win, just as a great day at the plate with lousy pitching can still result in a loss.

Funny, I don't remember hearing anyone clamoring to get rid of Wakey when his ERA was the best in the AL. And I have no complaints about Tavarez as the Number Five starter -- he keeps Boston in the game more often than not, which is about all I expect from a Number Five, and of the ten starts he's made, whether or not he has a decision, the Sox have won five, and lost two more by only one run. What I think is that we got spoiled by a pace that was all but impossible to keep up. Even with a four-game skid, the Sox *still* have the best record in MLB. I don't even know that there is a problem now that hasn't existed all season anyway -- Lugo, Drew, Pena -- so much as this is a just one of those inevitable valleys every team is bound to face over the course of a six-month season. Don't get me wrong. I am very ready for them to win. But I am not so much worried as watchful at this point.

I guess I am in the minority on Wakefield, but I love when he pitches. The knuckleball fascinates me. I acknowledge that when it's not working, things get ugly fast, but when it's doing its thing, it's amazing what it does to mess with the opponent. What disturbs me more is that he can give up one or two runs & still lose more often than not, because the bats so rarely show up when he starts. Oh well. I will continue to be in the minority when it comes to Wakey, I guess, and that's ok with me.

As for Scott Kazmir's disappointing start to this season, well... let's just hope that keeps up when we face him.

wow! that is such a cool photo!