Red Sox ...

[wayne1218]

I have openly admitted recently that i just get the feeling they are DONE!

I hope i'm wrong. The Pitching leaves me with NO CONFIDENCE right now. Earlier when we had Wells, Clement & Wakefield on the DL, i had confidence in the bats picking them up a little. Now, with Nixon, Lowell, Varitek & Mirabelli hurt, i have alot of doubts. I don't care about Varitek's average either. His BIGGEST Contribution to this team was catching and calling a good game. Yes, his bat has been very helpful in past seasons and even at times this year BUT everyone on the team even says his importance is most valued in the "Field".

I know the argument from Yankee fans is "Hey, we had big time injuries too and we held together" ....... WRONG!!!!

The difference in payroll is much clearer when this happens. The yankees were still putting 100-110 million on the field EVERY night and i mentioned that awhile back in another thread. Well, when that is Boston's TEAM payroll and the Sox LOSE 52 Million of that to injuries, it's alot tougher to sustain.

I'm not cryin' cause i still think we have alot of talent and time left to get things fixed. After all, didn't the Yanks fall 3-4 games back at one point after the injuries too?

With all that said, i looked at the standings this morning and the Red Sox still have the 3rd BEST record in MLB behind Detroit & NYY. It's funny how i can be so down along with others up here.We still have a pretty solid team i guess!

[savage1]

As a long time Sox fan, I pretty much agree.
Its going to be tough for the next month or so with so many players out.
Obviously the next week or so is VERY important with games against TB, KC and Baltimore before a tough stretch with Tigers and Yankees.
Right now, if someone asked me who will make it to playoffs, I would say Yanks, Detroit and White Sox as wildcard;I have feeling Minn.'s great run will peter out a bit in next month or so. West is too close to call.
Sure hope I (and you) are wrong about the Sox.

[jcindaville]

It could be worst, i am a Braves fan. What do i have to look forward too, other than football season

[wayne1218]

It could be worst, i am a Braves fan. What do i have to look forward too, other than football season

You had one hell of a run winning the N.L. East though!

[TwoTonTony]

i am also a sox fan and i do not have the same beliefs....I think they hold it together and stay in this thing until they can get straightened out.....

varitek is a big loss for sure...but the other catchers are professionals and i do not believe it will be the difference in many games....Also he should be back around labor day with plenty of baseball to play......Looking at the upside and remaining positive..maybe Lopez's bat makes up for the loss of leadership on the defensive side...Also in professional sports teams rally around the player filling in and elevate their performances to cover it...at least for the short term

Also i disagree with the Yanks assessment....They had horrific injuries and all at once.....Matsui and Sheffield in my mind are waaay more important than jason varitek and theys till won.....You poked 2 gigantic holes and they filled in with the likes of melky cabrera and other no name characters and held the ship together.......Sure, they went and got abreu, but they remained competitive with the roster they had.....And sure they spend a heck alot of money, but as Sox fans we should not complain, since it is within the rules......I think the rules suck about spending, but until they are changed it is useless to bitch......

Logically the sox should fall apart...but sports are never logical....The yanks nutted up and did it what they had to do when everyone (many on this board) counted them out.....So the way i see it we as sox fans should not panic and see where the chips fall and let our players character come through

[TMAC951]

First off TTT, i agree with you 100% on the injuries of the Yanks being far more severe than with what Boston has right now.. 2nd off Wayne, I talk alot of shit but if you go back into threads you will see where I have told tin time after time we have the lead but its far from over because the 2 teams still have 9 games with each other.. When it comes down to Boston and the Yanks ANYTHING can happen..

[wayne1218]

i am also a sox fan and i do not have the same beliefs....I think they hold it together and stay in this thing until they can get straightened out.....

varitek is a big loss for sure...but the other catchers are professionals and i do not believe it will be the difference in many games....Also he should be back around labor day with plenty of baseball to play......Looking at the upside and remaining positive..maybe Lopez's bat makes up for the loss of leadership on the defensive side...Also in professional sports teams rally around the player filling in and elevate their performances to cover it...at least for the short term

Also i disagree with the Yanks assessment....They had horrific injuries and all at once.....Matsui and Sheffield in my mind are waaay more important than jason varitek and theys till won.....You poked 2 gigantic holes and they filled in with the likes of melky cabrera and other no name characters and held the ship together.......Sure, they went and got abreu, but they remained competitive with the roster they had.....And sure they spend a heck alot of money, but as Sox fans we should not complain, since it is within the rules......I think the rules suck about spending, but until they are changed it is useless to bitch......

Logically the sox should fall apart...but sports are never logical....The yanks nutted up and did it what they had to do when everyone (many on this board) counted them out.....So the way i see it we as sox fans should not panic and see where the chips fall and let our players character come through

I simply couldn't disagree with you more!

Yes, they were huge losses for N.Y. but the fact remains that all those injuries did was bring them down to the Sox level in payroll and in the standings. It has been nip & tuck since those injuries happened. Without those injuries, the Yanks would have simply done what they have for the last SEVERAL years and Won the Division. The injuries equalled alot of things out and it could not have been more obvious than it was going back & forth.

Now, they get another All Star in Abreu and the Injured Matsui and Sheff will come back. Add that to the many Sox injuries and it CLEARLY puts NY back in control again thanks to the strangle hold of MONEY!

Who cares about the Sheff & Matsui injuries tony when you have MVP's STILL in there every day in A-Rod & Giambi and you add people like Jeter, Johnson, Posada, Mussina & Rivera in the mix. It was STILL probably one of the top 3 talented teams in the league at that time.

Saying what you said simply makes zero sense unless you ignore what has ruled the Yankees for years and that is payroll.

[wayne1218]

First off TTT, i agree with you 100% on the injuries of the Yanks being far more severe than with what Boston has right now.. 2nd off Wayne, I talk alot of shit but if you go back into threads you will see where I have told tin time after time we have the lead but its far from over because the 2 teams still have 9 games with each other.. When it comes down to Boston and the Yanks ANYTHING can happen..

Shocking yet again!

[TwoTonTony]

the injuries we have other than varitek seem to be day to day...they say maribelli will be out a few days and lowell's xray were negative...so let's not jump off a bridge about that.....

Also matsui and sheffield injuries are wrist injuries, which for a baseball player could be catastrophic...you never know how they heal at all....

i think the guy we will miss the most is wakefield....he at least gave us a shot....

i also think my man wells turns in a good performance today.....

the yankee fans showed resiliency when their team was down...i expect us to do the same and quit with the gloom and doom.....

GO SOX

[wayne1218]

the injuries we have other than varitek seem to be day to day...they say maribelli will be out a few days and lowell's xray were negative...so let's not jump off a bridge about that.....

Also matsui and sheffield injuries are wrist injuries, which for a baseball player could be catastrophic...you never know how they heal at all....

i think the guy we will miss the most is wakefield....he at least gave us a shot....

i also think my man wells turns in a good performance today.....

the yankee fans showed resiliency when their team was down...i expect us to do the same and quit with the gloom and doom.....

GO SOX

A guy that was 7-8 and played every 5th day over someone who was the Captain and QB on the field??? I guess we disagree on just about everything when it comes to this team.

[TwoTonTony]

I simply couldn't disagree with you more!

Yes, they were huge losses for N.Y. but the fact remains that all those injuries did was bring them down to the Sox level in payroll and in the standings. It has been nip & tuck since those injuries happened. Without those injuries, the Yanks would have simply done what they have for the last SEVERAL years and Won the Division. The injuries equalled alot of things out and it could not have been more obvious than it was going back & forth.

Now, they get another All Star in Abreu and the Injured Matsui and Sheff will come back. Add that to the many Sox injuries and it CLEARLY puts NY back in control again thanks to the strangle hold of MONEY!


but why cry about an issue (payroll) that you can not control and has been there forever.....I say nut up, quit the excuse making and lets try yo win.....Why worry and complain about things that can not be controlled......Going to your payroll analysis is fruitless since the sox have spent $120 million and the yankees have not won a world series with their bloated payroll or huge acquisitions in years....There is no correlation between payroll and titles.....Who cares about the Sheff & Matsui injuries tony when you have MVP's STILL in there every day in A-Rod & Giambi and you add people like Jeter, Johnson, Posada, Mussina & Rivera in the mix. It was STILL probably one of the top 3 talented teams in the league at that time.

Saying what you said simply makes zero sense unless you ignore what has ruled the Yankees for years and that is payroll.

i do not think what i said makes zero sense....I think when the going gets tough you are making excuses...

[wayne1218]

i do not think what i said makes zero sense....I think when the going gets tough you are making excuses...

I made no excuses tony. Every non Yankee fan i've ever talked to believes the non salary cap payroll in baseball is a disgrace.

You sound more like a Yankee fan than you do a Sox fan every time you skirt the payroll issue or deny it's there. Give an NFL team TWICE the payroll of everyone else and see what happens.

I said that wasn't right even when we won the WS. What was that an excuse too?

[TwoTonTony]

A guy that was 7-8 and played every 5th day over someone who was the Captain and QB on the field??? I guess we disagree on just about everything when it comes to this team.

well i am saying that we have not been able to replace wakefield with another starter, whereas i think we can replace varitek in the short term....

i am the type of guy to not make excuses

[TwoTonTony]

I made no excuses tony. Every non Yankee fan i've ever talked to believes the non salary cap payroll in baseball is a disgrace.

You sound more like a Yankee fan than you do a Sox fan every time you skirt the payroll issue or deny it's there. Give an NFL team TWICE the payroll of everyone else and see what happens.

I said that wasn't right even when we won the WS. What was that an excuse too?

I agree with the salary cap being unfair....But why bitch about it as an excuse...There is nothing you can do about it.....You and I and the Sox have known this.....You still have to play the games and win.......I am not a Yanks fan, but i am not going to bitch about an uncontrollable predicament either.....The rules are their and they follow them and pay the luxury tax....Does it Suck?? YES.....but teams still have to spend wisely (not necessarily the most) and compete and win......To me it is not the dollar amount, but the type of player.....

[TwoTonTony]

every other team in baseball could bitch about the sox payroll too that is around $120 million....How much is the tigers, twins and chisox???

lets just root the sox on with who they have.....