Let's Go Red Sox!!

[FRITOLAYGUY]

Well WHAT THE F#%K was that, thats gotta be the flattest ive seen that team ever play a playoff game before, they sucked big monkey dick tonite

 

[Swamp Dog]

well, that totally sucked.....

gonna torture myself some more with Dodgers & Phillies.

 

[deadheadskier]

bummer

figures the one work night a game doesn't end at midnight, the sox get freakin' smacked.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

The Red Sox were really bad tonight..looking more and more like Phillies and the Rays in the series..

 

[Paul]

Argh.... If the Sox don't make it, I'll hafta see if I still have my old Sillies hat anywhere...

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

The Red Sox were really bad tonight..looking more and more like Phillies and the Rays in the series..

they were horrible, the philly game is getting mighty interesting right now with manny up and 2 on and nobody out

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

wow and manny delivers again the guy when he has his head on is just not human

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

Sox definitely didn't bring it, but, to be fair, the Rays are pretty friggin' good....

I'd say both the Red Sox and Yankees have got to be feeling quesy about their chances in the AL East over the next couple of years. There's only so much money each team can throw at the problem.

Next year the Rays will/should feature David Price in their rotation, too....Man, the team could be real good for at least a few years (before salary demands get to be too high for their market).

 

[Geoff]

Sox definitely didn't bring it, but, to be fair, the Rays are pretty friggin' good....

I'd say both the Red Sox and Yankees have got to be feeling quesy about their chances in the AL East over the next couple of years. There's only so much money each team can throw at the problem.

Next year the Rays will/should feature David Price in their rotation, too....Man, the team could be real good for at least a few years (before salary demands get to be too high for their market).

The Rays will start having a player exodus in 2 years. They don't have the TV revenue to retain many of those players once they hit free agency and demand $10 million/year+ multi year contracts. When they hit arbitration, they're going to have to start trading some of them. It does show that the MLB draft does work after a fashion. 10 years of suckdom created an amazing talent pool of #1 draft picks.

 

[deadheadskier]

I would think that the Rays success would be short term, but then you have teams like the Marlins, Twins and A's who have been pretty competitive this decade despite having some of the lowest payrolls in the league. There have been plenty of other teams at the other end of the spectrum with large payrolls that have played performed poorly, most notably the Mets. So, the Rays despite player exodus could be competitive for more than a couple of years. It's hard to tell.

I feel the Red Sox are set up to be solid barring major injuries for the next five years. I do think regardless of the outcome of the post season, the team will need to make some economically and emotionally painful decisions with certain veteran players to maintain their current level or improve. Can Ortiz return to be at least a 30 homer guy and great in the clutch? Is Varitek your full time catcher next season? Will Mike Lowell return to at least 90% of his 07 form? Will JD Drew continue to be an injury liability?

I think for the next five years though, you've got solid pitching in Lester, Dice-K, Beckett, Masterson, Delcarmen and Papplebon and solid position players in Youk, Pedroia, Lowrie, Bay and Elsbury.

 

[Johnskiismore]

They better come out tonight with bats blazing!

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

Tampa is a weird situation, tropicana field is a dump ive been to 2 games there this year and players all agree, its just weird and in the middle of a ghetto, that being said they had a vote to build this sweet ballpark right on the water in St Pete, 34K seating, this weird like tarp roof kinda thing that keeps the heating down and rain out, really quite impressive looking http://www.faniq.com/poll_results.php?poll_id=189706&rnum= in anycase i guess they voted against it and now word down here is even if the Rays go onto the world series and win it they will probably be relocating in the next 5yrs to a different market.

If you have never been there, this place is 25miles from Tampa in St Pete, one long bridge to get there kinda in the middle of nowhere, if there was an accident on the way to the game theres no other way to get there. They would have been smarter to build this right in Tampa, it would be more attractive plus more daytrippers from the orlando area like myself would go, its 2hrs to st pete for me , under 90minutes to downtown tampa. Baseball is tough, any city can sell out 8 games a year for football home games but for 81 baseball games its tough unless you live in a huge market or just are winning all the time, unfortunately for the rays neither is going to help them.

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

Well i have seen the redsox do this twice in the last 4yrs, and under normal circumstances i would like having Dice going who already beat the rays and sending this back to tampa with all the pressure on them, and if beckett was beckett and got us to a game 7, and lester was lester well i could see it , but even i dont, the sox just look well like the yankees of the last 8yrs, slow, less athletic than the opponent and overmatched to be honest. Unlike Colorado last year tampa plays in the toughest division on baseball, after getting their teeth kicked in for years they finally stood up to the bullies in the division, and oddly enough i think the redsox and yankees are to thank for how the Rays are confident to do what they are doing. Im not giving up hope, one game at a time, but its looks like Fox will be getting the ratings nightmare philly/tampa, yuck

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

Having an off day is huge for the Sox....Dice-K is a 5 or 6 inning pitcher (just a comment on length, not quality), so giving the bullpen a chance to rest is key.

Phils/Rays is full of interesting storylines for some, but, for me, a Yankees fans, having both Torre and the Sox out will free me to focus on the hot stove season.

 

[deadheadskier]

the sox just look well like the yankees of the last 8yrs, slow, less athletic than the opponent and overmatched to be honest.

yep, only dominating pitching performances would/will give the Sox a shot against the Rays. In terms of position players, Tampa just seems far hungrier and proficient. Their offense numbers have been staggering, in that area they are playing well above their abilities.

....ain't over til it's over, but things are not looking good.

 

[MichaelJ]

Tampa just announced that Kazmir will pitch game 5, Shields has been bumped to game 6.

 

[Swamp Dog]

Tampa just announced that Kazmir will pitch game 5, Shields has been bumped to game 6.

speaking of Kazmir and Shields, what are the chances they could be heading north when TB cannot longer afford their World Series winning contracts? Sox definitely need to shore up the pitching.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

speaking of Kazmir and Shields, what are the chances they could be heading north when TB cannot longer afford their World Series winning contracts? Sox definitely need to shore up the pitching.

LOL.....Spoken like a Yankees fan!! Welcome to the dark side.

 

[Swamp Dog]

LOL.....Spoken like a Yankees fan!! Welcome to the dark side.

ouch, that's rough! Just the realities of small market vs. large market teams. Although I suppose a World Series win for TB could expand their market somewhat.

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

speaking of Kazmir and Shields, what are the chances they could be heading north when TB cannot longer afford their World Series winning contracts? Sox definitely need to shore up the pitching.

How soon we forget Scott Kazmir already played in NY, remember he was shipped south for Victorr Zambrano.