8/17-8/19 Red Sox vs. Indians Series Thread

In case anyone missed this, Francona is going to go with Farrell for his first chemo treatment. We're lucky to have so many great people who work/worked/play/played for this organization. I miss Tito a lot.

Tito was one of a kind. Hands down the best manager the Sox have ever had in my 40 something years. And it's quite possible, he's the best the Sox have ever had. Given their history, that's not saying much - it's a low bar to clear, and I don't know how good Bill Carrigan was, etc, and I know Dick Williams did an incredible job in 1967, but Francona was fantastic. I really wish he and Theo were still in the organization.

The fans all love Tito, I think that's all that really matters. People don't think of Tito's days as they were when he left, they remember 2004-2007. The way his tenure ended wasn't fun, but the guy is still a legendary coach/managing figure in Boston. I think with LL gone soon, it will truly be water under the bridge.

So with most of the Indians' rotation having been floated as potential Red Sox trade targets before the deadline, can we assume that Mookie, Swihart, Rodriguez, JBJ, etc. are getting #showcased?

I don't think many blame Tito for the September 2011 collapse. That team had absolutely no starting pitching by then and the pen had worn down by then. The offense stopped hitting. I don't remember thinking, "Man if only we didn't have a stupid manager, the Sox would be in the playoffs". There was a perfect storm of a lot of things going wrong, most I would think out of his control.

The rotation featured Lester who was struggling, Miller who clearly wasn't who he is today, the remains of Erik Bedard, Kyle Weiland (WHO?), and I think Lackey who had no business pitching given his injuries, make up the rotation, and Beckett was injured and struggled a bit when he came back. Buchholz was injured.

Papelbon melted down at the worst times down the stretch, the defense was awful, and the lineup stopped hitting. They basically were the 62 Mets at that point. I think that mess was more on Theo (or perhaps LL?) than it was on the manager.

The team lacked depth.

The only gripes I really ever had with Tito was that he kept Beckett in too long during Game 2 of the 2008 ALCS, and he kept Pedro in way too long in Game 5 of the ALCS in 2004 (although the results could have been a lot worse if not for Nixon's sliding catch.)

Everything else, for the most part, seemed like a reasonable choice, as far as his managerial skills. And he always came off as a decent person, in relation to how he managed the team, anyways. Between him and Theo I don't think it was an accident that the team averaged over 90 wins over a long period of time.

I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted out anyway.  The roster was a complete mess and they knew they weren't getting out of it quickly until they could clear the dead weight out, which graciously happened with the Punto trade.  2012 was punted on purpose just with the hiring of He Who Shall Not Be Named and not seriously filling any of the gaping holes in the roster.   They knew he was a one-year manager.  I think they didn't want to double down on the stupidity with their spending.

If we could get a relief pitcher with a couple years left before free agency id take it.

Fixed that for you. One month of De Aza is not going to get you much of value, so I'd set expectations low. Think Joe Gunkel.

I actually think De Aza is a perfect 4th OF. Decent defense, can play all 3 outfield spots, good base runner and is a decent hitter. I would never count on him to start because he's at the age he could drop off quickly, but as a 4th OF, it wouldn't hurt even if he did. He has a long way to drop to be a liability. He has already put up 1.5 fWAR for the Red Sox in just 1/3rd of a season with a lot of that attributed to a .371 BABIP, but his power is way up and his strikeouts are down from his career averages. His BABIP is .331 for his career though so it's not absurdly high.  He probably wants to start though and I wouldn't blame him. Could see him getting $8-10M per season as a free agent.

True, but there's also guys who don't get a shot for LA that would probably be one of our better relievers. If there's demand from multiple teams, maybe we could net one. I would be fine with a AA relief prospect too. Someone who could break into a MLB bullpen with a good spring/offseason.

Nice play Shaw. Like to see the D save Barnes a run this inning and give him some confidence. Id like to see him succeed and start pitching with some "swag".

So awful. STFU. I wish the stadiums would do something about those guys. Random taunts can be fun, especially if clever, but drunken idiots spewing the same lame heckles to every player is just obnoxious.