fathom

AJ's throwing the ball better recently.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Sep 2, 2006 -> 12:39 AM) What other teams would Pods start on? I honestly can't think of any. Schaumburg Flyers

Contreras drops down on his fastball, and it gets crushed up the middle.

PK in pull mode extreme.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 2, 2006 -> 12:27 AM) I'd like for one of the people who are continually apalled by the "fire Ozzie" comments to please attempt to defend Ozzie's misuse of Mackowiak in CF and his overuse of Pods in LF. For the 100th time, good posters don't participate in game threads anymore.

Iguchi is hitting in one of the easiest spots in all of baseball. Not many other guys have the protection he has. Especially since Pods isn't getting on base, he's not having to sacrifice his at-bats a lot. Iguchi's numbers aren't terrible, but he's been very inconsistent. He has a ton of 3 hit games this year, and that's boosted his batting average up to the .280 area all year.

We keep playing into Grudz's swing by throwing everything outside to him.

Our 1-2 are just such tough outs.

The night gets even better, as Ozzie said Sweeney wasn't brought up to play LF for the Sox. He might get a start or two in CF this season.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:46 PM) Although it was a better gamble than earlier failures, Joey Cora has another guy thrown out at home today. It has to be getting close to a record. And like clockwork, the guy who would have been up next got a hit.

QUOTE(redandwhite @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:35 PM) Yea, I'm praying for Lester. It's unimaginable to consider what happened to this Red Sox team in such a short amount of time. Nixon, Varitek, Wakefield, Ortiz, Ramirez, Beckett, Lester, Pena and now Wells is being traded. This is a good pick-up for San Diego. I just can't wait to see for whom. I know Ortiz is scheduled to be back on Saturday. Do you know who will be facing the Sox next week, and if Manny will be back? Also...am I correct in assuming that the Red Sox are concerned that Lester might have a lymphomic cancer? QUOTE(The Critic @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:37 PM) Maybe they're cursed again??? It's a good thing they won the WS in 2004, because ESPN would be devoting 120 minute long Outside the Lines dealing with this stuff and the curse.

QUOTE(My Dixie Normus @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:11 PM) Yeah, me too. Anderson has been great scince the ASG given the opportunity. But that is the problem, he doesn't get enough playing time. When I think of great, I think of what Dye's doing, and how Jenks has been as a closer and Garland since the 2nd month of the season.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:16 PM) Who's that imposter posing as fathom? Anyway, good post. This is it. It's September. Last month of the year. The time is now. This month will determine if we were just a fluke, flash-in-the-pan team that just got career years from 80% of our pitching staff to go along with plenty of breaks, or if we're a legitimate championship contender that can rise to the occassion when the stakes are the highest. And might I add that it's time for Ozzie to also put up or shut up. Every game really counts, and we need him to lead this team.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:06 PM) I disagree with you on Anderson. I know he's your messiah, and he's been very solid in the 2nd half of the season. However, he still hasn't been what I would call a "difference maker" on offense. Of course, when you bat in front of the pitcher, it's hard to really produce big numbers. As I've said in other threads, Anderson is the least of our issues right now. I'm so proud of his improvements this season.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 11:00 PM) Face it, this team is incapable of playing any better than what we've seen in the second half. We do not have a lead off hitter and our pitching - starting and relief - is terribly inconsistent. If they get into the playoffs it will be with help from the Twins and/or Tigers, not because they're going to go on some epic tear. I'm not saying we're going to back in to the playoffs, but get in by the hair of our chinny-chin-chins (if at all). We're basically a 6 or 7 man team right now. If Crede, Dye, Garland, MacDougal, or Thornton don't play a big part in the game, we haven't been very good. Guys like PK, Anderson, Thome, and Thornton have had their moments, but they've either been too inconsistent or failed in clutch situations.

What a shocker....Tony and Rowand come into an optimistic thread and try to make it negative.

I'm excited to add some speed to our bench. It will give us more versatility late in the games, and the 3rd catcher will help us be a little more proactive also.

It's the end of August.....and we're 1/2 game up in the Wild Card. If I were to take a step back, I would realize how fortunate we are to be in this position. This has been a very frustrating season so far....but we're still in a much better position than we've been in any of the last five years besides for 2005. We control our own destiny, and that's a lot better than having to hope that teams can beat the Twins like we've had to hope for in previous seasons. By no means is this team clicking on all cylinders right now, but they still find ways to win games. Just as last year where a 2 run lead in the 3rd inning seemed like a guaranteed victory, the games this leads this year don't feel safe even after Jenks retires the 26th out of the game. It's time for some solid September play...and it would be nice to see us get off to a good start by not making Runelvys Hernandez look like Cy Young/McCarthy.

QUOTE(loltrain @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 10:29 PM) San Diego for Kottaras is the rumor I have heard, which would be quite a good deal for Boston in my opinion. The Padres would be nuts for giving him up for a month of Wells.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 10:10 PM) How could the team name not be out yet? Anyone think it might be the Twins?

What's the latest on Lester? Sounds scary...hope it's not Hodgkins.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 09:44 PM) I say play Pods every day and upgrade this offseason. We can't win a pennant with the other options out there. We're still in the race with a month to go. Those other guys are all scrubs. You've got to play Pods. The other guys are not MLB starters. Pods is absolutely not a MLB caliber starter. At least Gload and/or Mackowiak have certain skills that aren't mediocre. Maybe Ozzie will try to loosen up this team, and he'll give Sweeney a shot.

QUOTE(PlunketChris @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 09:43 PM) We're playing the Royals.. the worst team in Baseball (though, I think most of you would pin that on the White Sox..) And our two main worries are playing the Yankees and the Angels, both good teams. Yes, I've watched this team all year, and when we go into games against teams like the Royals, I usually feel like we've got a good chance of winning. And when I see our competition playing teams like the Yankees or Angels, I feel like they've got a better chance to lose. I still feel that these next 3 days will make or break what happens the rest of the year because we're going to need a buffer on atleast the Twins to be able to make it into the playoffs. The problem is that we have 3 games left with KC...and then we have a killer schedule the rest of the way. The Twins and Tigers have a much easier schedule than we do the rest of this season. If we go on the west coast and play the way we're doing now, we won't win a game against the Angels or A's. QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 09:44 PM) Since the allstar break Lets take 2 players. Pods is batting .230 with a .289 OBP. He only gets substituted against tough lefties. He should be benched, but gets trotted out there, like this is 2005. Anderson his hitting .297 with a .347 OBP. He gets pinch hit for, and is in a platoon. Ozzie needs his Marlin like guy or he cant function. AJ is hitting .250 since the ASB, including .216 for the month of August. Since he went into power mode. What can I say....no one knows this team better than Ozzie.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Aug 31, 2006 -> 09:31 PM) We can lose with the best of them. 8-9-1 currently is about the most pathetic stretch I can recall in Sox uniforms. I did say as long as we win 7/8 series, we'd get in, and we won this series, but it feels like we gave one away. #2 has been just as bad, outside of last night's homer.

Everyone keeps throwing out the standings right now as proof of one thing or another. It's real simple...we have a very tough schedule starting on Labor Day, and if this team doesn't improve in nearly every aspect, they're not going to make the playoffs. We're not going to be able to back into the playoffs. Either these guys start playing with intensity and intelligence....or they're going home.