5/25 vs Rays

[Bellhorn04]

The point is that we have been playing well and we haven't picked up ground or moved up the standings. There are no patsies in the ALE, so it will be hard to move quickly up the standings. I don't think anyone expected that the Sox would be in last place as we go into the last week of May.

They dug themselves a huge hole, a 12-19 hole, and this season that kind of start could be fatal.

[jacksonianmarch]

EVeryone knew the division was going to be tough. At the beginning, we knew Toronto was going to be over .500 and that the Yankees and the Rays would be playoff contenders. Right now, the big problem for the sox is that the one team that we all thought would be patsies have started off hot and have gotten pitching. The big thing about the O's run a few yrs back when they were in first into June was that their offense caught fire together for 2 months and their pitching was marginal. Not anymore. Their offense has rallied around Adam Jones, but their offense has been balanced and sustainable. The big thing has been the formation of a suddenly solid pitching staff behind Hammel, Chen and Arrieta. If those guys can continue pitching well, then the O's are gonna be around until the end. I obviously don't think they will win 100 games like they are on pace for, but they easily could be in the mid 80s or higher, which would put a huge crimp in all of our plans.

[User Name?]

The O's starting pitching staff is a fluke, and the numbers show it. The BP, specially the closer, is tough as hell though.

[User Name?]

I disagree. I think their players play harder than ours do. Our guys have already secured huge contracts, many of them at least. They are still trying to get there and they try harder. I don't see the Rays' pitchers staring in at the umpire when they miss a call either. And the management keeps finding value-type players. Ours finds misfits, has-beens, and washed up relics to go along with the MEFIRSTS that have been here for a long time. I respect their franchise a great deal too.

You and your fellow old-timers love bashing on this point, even though it's just conjecture. Good times.

[a700hitter]

They dug themselves a huge hole, a 12-19 hole, and this season that kind of start could be fatal.

Yep. the one thing they needed to avoid after last season's debacle was a bad start. As you say, with an improved division, a slow start could prove to be fatal. Secondly, it would conjure up all the negativity from last September. That chapter needed to be put in the past and those ghosts needed to be buried. Those are the reasons why I was certain that we would see an active and bold off season. They decided not to go in that direction. They got the slow start that I am sure they wanted to avoid. Please don't talk to me about injuries. I don't want to hear it. Tampa has been without Longo and Jennings for most of the season and Farnsworth. The Yankees have had some key injuries too. The Sox were not improved upon from last year. The solw start had zero to do with injuries. We were playing like shit with Ellsbury in the lineup.

[a700hitter]

EVeryone knew the division was going to be tough. At the beginning, we knew Toronto was going to be over .500 and that the Yankees and the Rays would be playoff contenders. Right now, the big problem for the sox is that the one team that we all thought would be patsies have started off hot and have gotten pitching. The big thing about the O's run a few yrs back when they were in first into June was that their offense caught fire together for 2 months and their pitching was marginal. Not anymore. Their offense has rallied around Adam Jones, but their offense has been balanced and sustainable. The big thing has been the formation of a suddenly solid pitching staff behind Hammel, Chen and Arrieta. If those guys can continue pitching well, then the O's are gonna be around until the end. I obviously don't think they will win 100 games like they are on pace for, but they easily could be in the mid 80s or higher, which would put a huge crimp in all of our plans.

People on this forum don't take the O's seriously. They are definitely not patsies anymore. Are they serious contenders. If they stay near the top through June, of course they are, and they should be taken seriously.

[redsoxrules]

Yep. the one thing they needed to avoid after last season's debacle was a bad start. As you say, with an improved division, a slow start could prove to be fatal. Secondly, it would conjure up all the negativity from last September. That chapter needed to be put in the past and those ghosts needed to be buried. Those are the reasons why I was certain that we would see an active and bold off season. They decided not to go in that direction. They got the slow start that I am sure they wanted to avoid. Please don't talk to me about injuries. I don't want to hear it. Tampa has been without Longo and Jennings for most of the season and Farnsworth. The Yankees have had some key injuries too. The Sox were not improved upon from last year. The solw start had zero to do with injuries. We were playing like shit with Ellsbury in the lineup.

WTF?

The Sox have a bunch of Injuries themselves.

Crawford, Ellsbury, Bailey , Youk and 50 other outfielders

[d-money]

Lester literally crapped his pants last night.Dude needs to get his priorities straight and start pitching well and consistently.

[pumpsie green]

They dug themselves a huge hole, a 12-19 hole, and this season that kind of start could be fatal.

It already is fatal IMO. And its not because of the hole they dug for themselves, and its not because its nearly June and we are still in last place with a losing record. And its not because the ALE is tough. Its the pitching; thats the real reason for lack of hope. In particular, the starting pitching. It all starts with that. There is no hope because our pitching ERA still ranks 13th in the AL and has not improved relative to the rest of the AL pitching in weeks, if not more. You just cannot function with the likes of Bard, Buchholtz, Lester, and Doubront and, to a lesser extent, Beckett-who is too inconsistent to be considered an ace. The fact of it is that this issue was known during the offseason. In fact, it was known during last season, and it was not addressed by our GMs. Bad combination: bad pitching, bad front office.

[a700hitter]

WTF?

The Sox have a bunch of Injuries themselves.

Crawford, Ellsbury, Bailey , Youk and 50 other outfielders

Yup, the key word in your post is "themselves". The yanks and Rays have had key injuries too, but they are not stuck in last place. Also, we were playing our worst before Ellsbury and Youk went down.

[Bellhorn04]

I have to agree with Pumpsie, our problems are mainly with the starting pitching. Our offense is pretty good and the bullpen has really come around. Lester and Buchholz are the guys who are really not getting it done. Between the two of them they have 6 quality starts out of 19.

One more bad start from Buchholz and I think he has to go on hiatus. Even if we have to replace him with a piggyback team like Atchison and Tazawa.

[BornToRun]

I have to agree with Pumpsie, our problems are mainly with the starting pitching. Our offense is pretty good and the bullpen has really come around. Lester and Buchholz are the guys who are really not getting it done. Between the two of them they have 6 quality starts out of 19.

One more bad start from Buchholz and I think he has to go on hiatus. Even if we have to replace him with a piggyback team like Atchison and Tazawa.

I know that they're both better than what they've shown so far. I'm hoping that they can figure it out soon.