Balta1701

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 09:29 AM) I'm not trying to discredit the guy, I just get a bit of an uneasy feeling when he is behind the plate. But I put that more as a credit to AJ than as a full discredit to Widger. I think AJ just makes out guys that much better. I agree with you that AJ just does a number on our pitching staff, and he's not too shabby with the bat either...which is why Widger is in fact so important. When you can give your catcher an off day every 3 or 4 games because your backup catcher is not a gigantic downgrade (Ben Davis), that keeps your starting catcher a lot healthier. Considering how much of a pounding a catcher's body can take during a year, just keeping AJ healthy has been a great contribution from the Widge. Plus, he beat Zito earlier this year

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 09:35 AM) I don't even think we have to do that much. If we take 2 of 3 against them the first series, that would leave them 6 out with about two weeks to go. That would mean to even make it possible to win the division, they'd have to gain at least three games before the last series, and even then they'd have to sweep us. All this, however, is predicated on us not letting the Indians gain any more ground before we play them. In other words, we actually have to win today and play well against Minnesota this weekend, otherwise, it could be a lot closer than this before we even meet the Indians.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 09:19 AM) Well on the stupid news front, Ozzie is resting starters again. Gooch who has a day off tomorrow is being rested so we can get the electric willie f***ing harris in the lineup. Keep resting the starters Ozzie and keep watching the lead go down. If nothing else, you do have to give Ozzie some credit for 1 thing...aside from Podsednik (and of course Thomas)...he's managed to keep basically the entire starting lineup from hurting themselves on stupid plays. Yeah, you have the occasional Crede/Uribe hit by pitch injury, but in terms of people overworking themselves and pulling a muscle or something like that, he's managed to avoid it. Especially when you have a guy as injury-prone as Dye on your roster, that is something we should give him some props for, even if it has cost us a few games. What would cost us more games...giving people a day off every week or two, or having a guy go on the 15 day DL because he overworked himself and sprained/twisted something or he just didn't give a small tweak time to heal properly?

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 08:49 AM) Just don't feed it that Beefy Food Kramer did to Rusty. I'm so keen-o On Beefarino What a delicious Cuisine-o Fit for king and queen-o

Is there any chance that regulatory hurdles could shut this down? Even though we have the incredibly lax Bush enforcement team running the government, would they allow Microsoft to buy up that much of an internet access company? Or is there any chance the Europeans could block the sale over on their side of the pond? They've already hit on Microsoft for anti-trust violations this year.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 08:33 AM) The folks at GSUSA are making too much money to ever merge. Those cookies are an amazing fundraising deal. BTW, if anyone would like to order some Boy Scout popcorn, I can set you up. Man...did I ever sell a lot of that stuff. Very good popcorn, I might add. Got myself a free 10 speed bike when I was in 3rd grade from selling that.

QUOTE(JimH @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 06:11 AM) This is one of the two games in hand the Sox have so it's very important. Not sure why this team would be "done" if they lose today though. It wouldn't help, but unless you're mathematically eliminated you're not "done" I thought. It's entirely psychological. It's like 2 years ago when we couldn't get it done against Detroit at the end of the season and they were the worst team in baseball. When you can't get it done in crunch time against teams that you need to beat, with another team clawing its way back against you, how can you expect to get it done when you have to face that team?

The trouble with looking at AJ is that there isn't really a single statistic that we can point to in order to demonstrate his value to this team. Why? Because the most important thing he's done is call pitches all year. He has done a phenomenal job of calling games...probably either the best in the league or certainly the second best behind Varitek. In some teams, you can look at pitcher's ERA with 1 catcher compared to another, but with Widger on this team and him catching Buehrle a lot, that won't really work too well in this case. The best number I could tell you to look at then would be team ERA...and we are tied with Oakland for the best number in the AL.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 08:38 AM) Manny Ramirez Best DH in the league. Trouble is, the Red Sox already have one.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Sep 15, 2005 -> 01:41 AM) Idonno he just seems so streaky on the basepaths 2 me. He will steal 10 in a row than get caught like 5 times in a row or something on those lines. He also has hurt his back so that probably is affecting his baserunning some though. Last year he had more SB's and less CS so I think him being hurt is a big part of it. I think you're right that there must be a serious injury component to Pods's performance lately...remember, at one point this season, he stole something like 22 in a row, and that was after he already had 30 stolen bases or so. Everyone on the field knew that he was running when he was on base, but he was still getting them stolen anyway. Then, say around the All Star Break or shortly thereafter, he couldn't buy a stolen base, and then wound up on the DL. I think that there has to be a major injury component to Pods's caught stealings, just because there's no way he's suddenly forgotten how to get a jump or that pitchers have suddenly figured him out.

When I got back from Wyoming, I heard via Hawk that Frank actually dropped by the team during the last Texas series, kicked a few butts, and, for example, got the kinks worked out of Uribe's swing (something that has worked pretty well for us, I'd say). Last I read, Frank was seen living it up again in Vegas. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if he dropped by to kick a few butts.

Ok, here's my on the bright side post... On the bright side, I'm heading home and grabbing some dinner. G'd night all.

QUOTE(SoxFanForever @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 09:05 PM) When is Qwerty not sarcastic? Presumably...when he doesn't use green?

QUOTE(qwerty @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 09:01 PM) Podsednik is bad at defense? News to me. He is so fast he can get to everything in the field. Podsednik is a bad base stealer and bad on the base paths period? Liar! You are just a podsednik hater! Um...was there supposed to be some green in that post? I'll just assume not and respond to it... Pods is not a terrible defensive player, but he is no where near as good as he should be with his speed. While he has improved during the year, he has a reputation for getting extremely bad jumps on balls hit his direction (case in point...the ball ARow caught behind him). He also makes some poor judgement calls around the wall, case in point tonight's error. With his speed, there shouldn't be able to be a ball hit to left field that he can't get unless he's playing in left center and it's hit down the line. He should be a vacuum cleaner. But I think that you'd find almost everyone on this board in agreement if you said that ARow, who is not as fast as Pods, is a much better defender than Pods.

As far as I'm concerned, both the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts are private organizations, totally free to set their own rules. And to the best of my knowledge, the Supreme Court upheld that belief a few years ago when they ruled that the Boy Scouts could ban homosexual scoutmasters. Therefore...the Boy Scouts can admit or bar girls if they want, and the girl scouts can admit or bar boys if they want, and I see no problem at all either way. This is coming from an Eagle Scout, btw.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:54 PM) I'm seeing a lot of posts that say "If we lose tomorrow, we're done". Says who? There's a definite chance we'll lose the game tomorrow. You know what, even if we do....we still lead the Indians by 4.5 games. It's been obvious for a few days now that our playoff situation would revolve around how we do against the Indians. It's up to Ozzie to keep this team together. Don't give up on this team though. They're going to need our support more than ever next week against a superior team in the Indians. I noticed 1 thing in your post there...you called the Indians a "Superior" team, despite the fact that we've beaten up on the Indians a lot this year. That says something. I think the fact is that if we lose tomorrow, not only will we all be in panic mode, either the Sox themselves will have to be in panic mode, or they simply won't care at all. Either way, it would be a very bad sign.

Some things in life are bad They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle Don't grumble, give a whistle And this'll help things turn out for the best... And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life... If life seems jolly rotten There's something you've forgotten And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing. When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing. And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life... For life is quite absurd And death's the final word You must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow. So always look on the bright side of death Just before you draw your terminal breath Life's a piece of s*** When you look at it Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true. You'll see it's all a show Keep 'em laughing as you go Just remember that the last laugh is on you. And always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the right side of life... (Come on guys, cheer up!) Always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the bright side of life... (Worse things happen at sea, you know.) Always look on the bright side of life... (I mean - what have you got to lose?) (You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!) Always look on the right side of life...

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:51 PM) Oddly Cotts can pitch more than an inning. But we use him as a f***ing LOOGY. Jenks should be the closer. Stop burning him for more than an inning. Cotts did not have it tonight. Cotts gave up a deep fly ball for a sac fly that nearly left the park, and a base hit right before Sweeney came up. Viz sure seemed like the right choice to me, and he was.

First point...Jenks pitched 2 innings last night...who knows if he was even able to go tonight. But more importantly, let me say this...if Hermanson's back is putting him in such dire straits that he gives up 4 straight singles to the Royals in a save situation, he should not be closing games. If tonight was some sign of rust because he's gotten extra rest lately because of the back...well, I can tolerate that. But that coaching staff right now needs to sit down with Hermanson and ask him if he can keep going, or if tonight is a harbinger of what we'll see the rest of the year. If he can't go...then it's Bobby's turn. I don't think that's as much loyalty as it is the guy having proved he could do it all year long until now. If he's healthy enough, he still gives us the best chance to win, because he's given us the best chance to win all year. But if he ain't healthy, he needs to step aside.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:42 PM) The Sox are not the same team we saw rack up a 15 game lead in the central and there is absolutely no indication that they will be again, no matter how hard we wish it. I'm not conceding dick. I have no way of predicting the future. But something has really gone south on this team...BAD. I just don't know what it is. :banghead Right now, all I can do is sit there and hope that this game was just so bad, that it hurt that team so much to watch it as it crumbled beneath them, that it will give them the swift kick in the ass that they need right now. There's no fire in this team. Not when your starting pitcher surrenders 7 runs to the Royals. These guys need a wake up call. Maybe tonight will be it. 1 of 2 things will start to happen tomorrow. This game will be the rallying point that makes this team re-focus and slam back on the accelerator, or this game will mark the beginning of the end for this team. It has to be gut check time right now. For the whole group. Either stand up and be counted, or sit down on your couch in October.

QUOTE(SnB @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:41 PM) i swear to god, this excuse gets worse and worse everytime i hear it. NO ONE DID ANYTHING. kw is not superman and is not 10000x smarter than everyone else. there was obviously no market for anyone. And almost everyone who came calling reportedly wanted Jenks to be part of any deal.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:41 PM) Have some dip...that a quote from a George Carlin standup? For some reason that stands out to me. I'm impressed.

QUOTE(sayitaintso @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:35 PM) Where was Jenks tonight? if hermey's back still bothers him then don't effing use him. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH :banghead Jenks pitched 2 shutout innings last night...who knows if he told Ozzie he could go or not.

QUOTE(rudylaw @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:37 PM) I we get killed tomorrow, I will kill myself. But that does sound about right for this team. I'm sure with a day game we will see the b team tomorrow. Ok...calm down...have some dip. It'll be ok. Do we have a suicide hotline thread here @ soxtalk? SS2K5 sits there and racks up posts by trying to tell people life is still worth living?

QUOTE(JimH @ Sep 14, 2005 -> 08:35 PM) This loss is due to Dustin Hermanson not executing in the 9th inning. They had a two run lead, a two run lead is a two run lead, whether it's 9-7 or 2-0. He fell behind hitters and then left everything up in the zone. 4 consecutive hard hit balls, game over. This falls on Dustin Hermanson's shoulders, and Dustin Hermanson will likely be the first one to say so. This ballgame was lost at about 9 different points. This ballgame was lost when Pods misplayed that ball in left. This ballgame was lost when our hitters fell silent against the Royals last few relief pitchers. This ballgame was lost when Ozzie left Freddie out for the 6th. This ballgame was lost when Freddy had his classic first inning meltdown. This ballgame was lost when Freddy couldn't hold the lead. This ballgame was lost when Hermanson couldn't get the ball down. This ballgame was lost when Pods couldn't knock in a run with the bases juiced. This Ballgame was lost when Dye booted the ball. The reason this ballgame was so f*cking ugly was that it was lost at a dozen different places (some of which I didn't mention).