fathom

You can look at things however you want....but the one thing that's obvious is that the Indians are peaking, and the Sox are slumping. If this happens again in September, we're not making the playoffs.

And Ozzie, pitchers usually wear down the last month of the season, especially if they've been throwing a lot of pitches all season. Feel free to take them out an inning early once in a while. We have the best reliever in baseball who hasn't been used much at all recently (Cotts) and some other very competent relievers.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:51 PM) Well we dropped 3 out of 4. Our top 3 pitchers got destroyed. Our offense came alive for 2 games. Ozzie making sunday lineups on a Wednesday. Timo is leading off again. Carl not being good enough to pinch hit for Timo with men on. Vizcaino pitching like he did earlier. I see a lot to be positive about. But we beat up on a pitcher making his MLB debut! That means our offense is back.

QUOTE(infohawk @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:46 PM) I still question why El Duque was left in to start the sixth, but this game is officially off of Ozzie's shoulders. Just bad pitching and no offense. One more day until September. Hopefully we can put August behind us and get back to our winning ways. I don't have a problem with Duque starting the 6th. However, he should have been pulled after Young's homer. With our offense, there's a HUGE difference between being down 1 and being down 4 or 5. It just makes me so mad when Ozzie seems to try to milk his pitcher as long as possible, and frequently leaves his pitcher in way too long.

It would be nice to see KC finish off the Twins in the 9th. It's never a bad thing to see them lose (besides when they face the Indians).

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:41 PM) He can start by getting pissed at himself. Fielding a crappy lineup and leaving El Duque in too long. This might be the best post I've seen on here in a long time. Concise, and 100 pct accurate. Our slumps starts at the top, and that's with Ozzie.

QUOTE(Mr. Showtime @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:33 PM) Gooch needs the break, but when Harris the answer that's bad. Iguchi has had plenty of rest. Having him sit out 2 or 3 times a week isn't going to make him magically better the rest of the way. He even says he loses his feel at the plate when he sits out too much.

QUOTE(Steff @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:32 PM) Bruce Levine has a new nickname... Mr. Zero is my new nickname for him.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:28 PM) If we blow a 15-game lead, it's going to become a big national story. I'm not too concerned about it becoming a big story. First of all, we would deserve every last bashing we received. Next, by the time we would have collapsed, it would be the playoff time....which means all the media cares about is the Yanks/Red Sox.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:30 PM) I can't believe Ozzie field this lineup today. What is his obsession with playing Blum at first? To give PK a day off from the field. I completely understand that. However, benching 3 starters is total B.S.

QUOTE(Misplaced_Sox @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:29 PM) ESPN thinks a deal will be made...... whatever that means take it for what its worth Please explain?

QUOTE(infohawk @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:28 PM) If we didn't win the division, we would almost certainly be front-runners for the wild card barring a total collapse. No we wouldn't. If we don't win the division, it would be because of a poor record the rest of the way. If the Indians catch us, it's very likely that the Angels or Yankees would have had a good record the rest of the way.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 04:38 PM) That 7 game losing streak was something we all knew was going to happen. It happens to just about every team during the course of a season. That was our 'bump in the road'. Since it ended we are playing .600 ball. The slump is over. We aren't choking. We've now had two of our worst slumps (7 straight losses and 4 out of 5 losses) in the past few weeks. I'm not so sure this is a bump in the road anymore. We have absolutely no swagger, and this team has no chance to come back in games now.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:23 PM) You think the difference in everyone's AVG in August is due to Podsednik being on the DL? Oh boy... Some fans are in massive denial about this team's problems. It's ok though, that's the way they view things.

BTW, any other info on the Todd Walker rumor? Seems like that's died down.

QUOTE(Misplaced_Sox @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:22 PM) I really like the game threads though guys. I only get to see like 15% of the Sox games because im in Charlotte now and the game threads help me feel involved in the game. I know a lot of people hate these threads cause of the optimism/pessimism fights. As one of the pessimists on the board, I still have a lot of respect for everyone on this board. Think about this....we're all Sox fans! We all want the same thing at the end of the night....a WIN!

QUOTE(CYGarland @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:21 PM) This month has been painful to watch no doubt. HOPEFULLY they will turn the page in September and get there s*** together. Exactly. Everything on and off the field (HAWK!) have been extremely painful. To think that we're 6 games up right now is actually uplifting, because the way we've played in August, we don't deserve that big of a lead. If the Indians don't cool off, we won't make the playoffs. That's my prediction, and I'm sticking to it!

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:18 PM) Score? Notice how Hawk has that same tone in his voice that he's had the past 4 Septembers? He's a company man, so he may not say it, but he's also a former player, so we can all guess what he's thinking. I pray that we don't completely choke and miss the playoffs. However, if we do, Hawk is going to make a complete fool out of himself, and have excuse after excuse.

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:17 PM) The same thing happened last week against Seattle. I feel he left him in one inning too long. What happened? Seattle tied it up. Ozzie usually wants his starters to get the victory, but most of the time it backfires and it ends up putting them in a deep hole. When you're struggling like we are, you need all the help you can get from your manager. Did Ozzie really think that this lineup today was going to score a lot of runs? Did Ozzie really think that after Duque allows 4 straight base runners to start the 6th inning, he should leave Duque in for another batter? All I know is that I'm happy the new rules are in place, or else this would have gotten really, really ugly.

I'll give Ozzie this: In games where he manages poorly, he goes all out to manage poorly. This game, and the Angels debacle with Timo at first and using Walker in a crucial situation were sure dandies.

QUOTE(CYGarland @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:13 PM) This post has been edited to remove objectionable material. Soxtalk encourages a free discussion between its members, but does not allow personal attacks, threats, graphic sexual material, nudity, or any other materials judged offensive by the Administrators and Moderators. Thank you. Buddy, you're going to get suspended if you don't delete this quick.

QUOTE(AirScott @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:08 PM) like I've said, we didn't have Podsednik in those games. he comes back, goes 0-5 and we lose, then goes 3-5 and we win, and currently is not playing and we're losing. it's more of an unfortunate time to play those playoff-caliber teams. This Rangers team we're about to lose 3 out of 4 to had just pathetic starting pitching. There's no excuses for losing 3 out of 4 to them.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 31, 2005 -> 08:09 PM) This resting of the starters in large amounts is getting to complete joke level. Manuel only did it once a week. Ozzie does it like 2 to 3 times a week. What's Ozzie doing, resting our starters for the stretch run? Well, last time I looked, these games right now are as important as any game in September. How many times can we basically play a game with 6 starters and 3 benchers? You know we're doing the same thing Monday in Boston. I guarantee you that Boston will have their A squad playing.

BTW, before anyone says that we were saving our bullpen by letting Duque get knocked around, tomorrow is September 1st. We can assure ourself we'll have available arms if needed. I just can't the attitude I see by our manager.

Well, I went to the car to listen to the 6th inning...and all I have to say is Ozzie proves once again he's the worst in-game manager in baseball. It's fine Duque started the 6th, but once Young hit that homer, take him out of the f'n game. Against the Rangers, we actually have the chance to come back in a one run ballgame. However, Ozzie NEVER, EVER plays to try to keep the deficit close in situations like this. He'd rather let our starting pitcher throw 110 pitches than to try and get some damage control. For a good starting rotation, we sure do have a lot of games where our starters allow like 6 or 7 runs. Maybe, just maybe Ozzie...you should pull them before all that damage is done.