8/16-8/18 Red Sox vs. Yankees Series Thread

I cant help but think that the way the Sox have been playing lately is what they truly are. An average team that has overachieved and that their lack of talent is catching up to them. Also Farrell is not a good game manager. I love the rejuvenated clubhouse he has helped build but he needs to improve his game managing skills.

What lack of talent? There's plenty of it on the roster, even if there is a lack of $100 million contracts this season.

They're a really good team that's playing dreadful right now. That's it.

(That and, well, Demspter blows.)

Just because most major league managers are crap doesn't mean it is acceptable.

Please tell us Farrell, how throwing at arod helps you win this game?

Please also explain how an out-of-gas Dempster had to go one more to just give the thing away?

They are going to the Coast at a crucial time and this stupid atmosphere is the sendoff to getting buried in the dog days of August. Goodbye and Goodluck in SF.

As unhappy as I am with Farrell's management, I doubt that he made this decision.

First thing, it's doubtful the Sox will play much more than .500 ball from here on out. They aren't a 97 win team. This Sox team reminds me of the Morgan Magic Era Red Sox. They're plucky, but not that good. They have decent starting pitching, but with Buchholz unlikely to be pitching like he did early on, they have a bunch of middle of the rotation starters. They have a three man bullpen. The kids are starting to struggle and the Sox probably need an experienced RH setup pitcher to take the burden off of Tazawa.

Their offense is deep which is why they have been among the best offenses in baseball but they have one hitter that scares you - Ortiz. That's it. A good Fenway offense, but certainly vulnerable to lefty starters and hardly the same on the road. Against good pitching in the playoffs I would think this offense would struggle pretty mightily.

They are a much better team that I would have anticipated. I only picked them to win 75 games so no matter what happens they have certainly been much better than expected and they have been a gutsy team worthy of respect.

That said, I see this team as a wild card team. I think they'll make it interesting but I do think the Sox will come away with a Wild Card (I don't have a sense of them being chokers like they were in 2011), and then they'll probably get knocked out in the 1 game Wild Card playoff.

That's what I think will happen anyways. I don't have any real sense that this team is going to win a World Series, but I do think this is a good bridge team that gets the franchise pointed in the right direction after several years of going the wrong way.

And as far as Tito vs Farrell goes, I watched Tito pretty closely and honestly he was nowhere near this bad tactically. He was much better than Farrell. Certainly not perfect. He certainly kept Pedro in too long against the Yankees a couple of times in 2004 and he got away with it in Game 5 of the ALCS unlike Grady the year before. He certainly kept Beckett in way too long in Game 2 of the 2008 ALCS, but for the most part I think he was a much better game manager than Farrell. Not even close. He usually had a decent reason for the moves he made even if I didn't necessarily agree with them. Farrell, OTOH, I have no idea why he does what he does.

This team needs Pedroia to start hitting again, and Buccholz to replace Dempster in the rotation. Those two changes and this team is fine.

This team did NOT overachieve for the first four months. No team in baseball history has ever overachieved for four months. They are simply in a very normal slump. Unless the team is a 105 game winner, it will ho through a stretch like this.


All that said, Dempster has been lousy for awhile. I hate how Farrell used the bullpen this weekend.

station13,

He lets his feelings for the veteran SP play into the game far more than he should. -0- rason to stay with Dempster after Arod had homered and 1st runner had reached, everything was up and then got worse, yet he allowed the bases to get loaded before pulling. We have seen a pattern of this and it needs to cease. Workman could have gone multiple innings today. It was all about trying to get a pitcher with nothing today a garbage win when the team is fighting for a win. Foolish play.

Seems like 2/3 of the relievers could use a demotion.

Any idea when Thornton will return?

Question, what do you guys think of Britton? I thought his stuff would play up in relief but so far he leaves a lot to be desired.

" I doubt that he made this decision."
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Farrell should have made clear that they had a 2-0 lead and there was no need to disrupt things in the second inning with aroid coming to bat.
If he didn't, he wasn't managing.

What are the odds AROD is juicing right now? we know he was doing something recently. Can he be tested while he's appealing a suspension? I apologize if this is off topic. Wasn't sure were to ask and considering we were just playing the Yankees and AROD was hitting us I figured it was at least semi-related.