I’m Not Crazy. You’re The One Who’s Crazy.

Do you have any suggestions on where I should read about the Sox, if not the Globe?  I like to keep up with what's going on.

*doesn't get NESN*

Ted Williams was an extreme case, and I suspect his relationship with the media was a prickly as it was with the fans. You are the one who who chose to quote Extra Bases, and beat Paps up for what was reported there. I live in Boston a mile from Fenway, the Globe is my hometown paper. But I do not read the local sports page to get a quote from Papelbon. I think most of what I find there leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I saw everything I needed to see watching the game last night - when it was over I turned it off. I'll be at Fenway tonight, I'll enjoy the sight of the green field as I come up the ramp. I'll enjoy my hot dog on a gorgeous late-summer evening. As BB said yesterday, I'll root-root-root for the home team and I'll add that if they don't win it's a shame. I don't care about the rest. I don't care how much some guy is paid in today's market. I'm not signing the check. If that's reflected in my ticket price, no one is holding a gun to my head to buy it.  I'll get my money's worth and if my team doesn't make it into the post season, I won't spend a minute of my time trying to place blame, run somebody out of town or skewer some FO guy who knows much more about the game than I do. After a long winter, if I'm lucky and live to see it (unlike some other good sox fans I knew), there's always next year.

MLB.com - click "stats."  - you'll be able to find it there.
they won't be listed as 'blown' saves. 
you'll have to subtract the number of saves from the number of save opportunities.

From what I read in the Ted Williams biography, the press were no picnic back then either. :-D   Different technology, same rabid nature, I think.

Would a journo today get away with saying "What sort of man doesn't go home to see his mother in the offseason?", as one of them famously said of Williams?

Interesting stats.  Can you get his saves/blown saves season by season?  I'd be interested to see those.

When the front office goes back to selecting players that aren't second rate or softer than puppy shit we most certainly can. 

For those who have asked about my niece.
She is out of ICU! and been moved to a room. Physical therapy twice a day while she regains her strength.
She is not moving her left side much. She is awake, alert and
answering mostly with nods and a few words. Thanks for your prayers...

 
Johnny Pesky probably didn't get a microphone shoved into his face every time he walked off the field, either. The media is rabid these days whipping up the "fans" in its wake. When Pesky played I suspect that the journalists were a bit friendlier and not out for a game of "gotcha" to one up the next guy.

chew on this -
2010 saves
1. R Soriano TB 41/43
2. B Wilson SF 40/44
3. H Bell SD 37/40
3. J Soria    KC 37/39
5. F Cordero CIN 35/41
5. J Papelbon BOS 35/42 (186 career saves 2006-2010)**
7. N Feliz TEX 34/37
8. B Wagner ATL 32/39
9. K Gregg TOR 30/35
10. L Nunez FLA 29/37
10. M Rivera NYY 29/31 (555 career saves - 1997-2010)
** Papelbon holds the Sox record for saves (#2 Bob Stanley 132)

fruitbat: 555 saves/13 years = 42.6 per year
pbon:    186 saves/4 years = 46.5 per year (and he was shut down for part of 2006)

Ya - I'd say paplebon is a pretty fucking good closer, and a damn fine dancer.

I love Mike Lowell :)

I guess we're all a bit hypocritical on the players thing - like family, it's one thing if you call a member of your family out, but you don't want anyone else to do it.  I admit there are times when we have players who do toolish things, and that aggravates me, and maybe I'll say they're being an asshat, but when it comes down to it, well, they're all my team and I'd defend them against someone else saying the same thing. 

Losing puts everyone in a crap mood, so I just don't see the point in poking at other fans for how they choose to deal with that mood.  But I have faith in Jon Lester getting us out of this funk tonight.

Johnny Pesky wasn't prone to shooting his mouth off about how good he was, I bet.

As I said before, I don't have a problem with players' mistakes.  It happens.  I wouldn't have a problem with Papelbon's mistakes either, if he wasn't so keen on telling people how great he is, how he's worth so much more money than the Sox want to pay him, how he's going to be Mariano's successor, etc etc. 

If you talk big, you better be able to back it up.  Lately, he's not.  He seems to be declining season by season, from what I can tell. 

As I also said earlier, I've seen a real change in him since we won the WS in 2007.  It really seems to have gone to his head.  Some of the shit that comes out of his mouth is downright embarrassing.

He's very talented, but he is nowhere near as great as he seems to think he is.   My personal opinion of him has gradually changed since 2007.  No matter how talented he may be - and that talent seems to be declining - I think he's a dick, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be happy to see him traded. 

I support the team through thick and thin, but I don't think that means the players can't be criticised when they deserve it.  In my opinion, he deserves it.

*doesn't expect we'll ever agree on this one*

Can we please stop hating on our players????? 
PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHLeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeZZZZZZZZZZ???

Great team-mate, eh?  Seriously - what a tool. 

OK, now I want to dump him. Is there anyone worth a shit we can get for him? 

From Extra Bases:

Then in the ninth inning, Papelbon failed to cover second when the center fielder, shortstop and second baseman converged on a shallow pop that fell in. Carlos Quentin, the tying run, took second and eventually scored on a single.

“He got caught watching. Everybody’s going after it and he needs to get back to second,” Terry Francona said. “That ends up being huge.”

Papelbon dismissed that comment, saying Quentin would have been safe anyway. Regardless, you're supposed to play the game correctly.

Then came a memorable sequence. Papelbon walked Alexi Ramirez. Dustin Richardson walked Mark Teahen. Robert Manuel walked Gordon Beckham. Then Manuel walked Juen Pierre.

Four walks by three different pitchers with the score tied in the ninth inning. That's hard to do.

Manuel and Richardson never expected to be in that game. Manuel, who is known for his control, couldn't remember walking two batters in a row.

Tough spot for those guys, eh Pap?

“No, no I don’t feel for them,’’ he said. “Their job is to try and come in and get outs just like everybody else. To sit here and say you feel sorry for them or feel bad that they had to come into that situation, no, I don’t feel sorry for them at all.’’

Yikes.

Yes, with a World Series ring.  2007 was where it all started going to his head, in my opinion.  
 
He should just shut his mouth and concentrate on pitching, because he doesn't seem to have noticed that it needs work.

*doesn't think his hero Mariano would spend time shooting his mouth off and acting the fool when he should be working on his game*

Unfortunately our starters didn't exactly perform to expectations either (Lackey and Beckett)

What were your expectations for these guys? Beckett's reputation was based on one post-season he pitched for the Marlins seven years ago, and since he came here he's had one good season. Lackey, as has been pointed out many times before, isn't great at Fenway and isn't great against the AL east. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those negativist fans who is always waiting for disaster to strike. This team does have two great pitchers it can rebuild around, but their names are Lester and Bucholz, not Lackey and Beckett. Fans get mad because they can't afford tickets and their team has an enormous payroll, but when they look at how the money is being spent, they see Lackey, Beckett, Drew, etc.

Agree, the pen was an issue, but the absolutely inconsistent Lackey and Beckett really has caused games to go into the toilet. As I pointed out before, how many times were they good through 6 (Matsuzaka too), then fell apart in the 7th? 

Now, I hope that in the offseason, Lackey, Beckett, and Matsuzaka get to the weights and stop eating chowdah and crab cakes all day. Join Pedie out there in Arizona and be in shape to kick ass from day 1. Clay bulked up over the winter and look what he is doing? Jon was good as well, but slipped a bit in the second half. I think that and getting our healthy Youk and Pedie back will work out. 

Tek, well, he's a gamer and he played pretty well given he was a backup. If Salty can hold water and play to his potential, then he needs to be on board. But Paps, well, I'd love to keep him around IF he can do a few things. 

1. STFU about how great you are. Yes, he throws better than me, but he needs to not blow games that are in hand.

2. He thinks his fastball is the only tool in the shed. He needs to be a 3 pitch guy to be really effective. Have an out pitch, not throw three fastballs. And that seemed to be his MO this season. 

And Theo, help the bullpen. Please. Okajima should be healthy for next year, and if he's effective, then that is a huge help. 

Just thoughts from this side of the world. 

And Tek and Ellsbury and Youk and Cameron and. . . too many to count with the injuries!

Our pen was always going to be a problem.  During ST people were yapping about lack of offense, but I was concerned about the bullpen - it always seemed thin.  Unfortunately our starters didn't exactly perform to expectations either (Lackey and Beckett) not to mention the DL stints for Beckett and Dice K.  For whatever reason, this year has just not worked out the way we all hoped.  Get everyone healthy and come back next season better than ever, and have Theo restock that pen.

none of them play the way they are paid.
- bard probably makes $400,000. 
they (none of them) actually 'earn' what they are paid, the money bullshit ruins the game, always has.

//you get jaded//  - maybe "you" do - i don't.
i didn't pass judgement on anyone, i made an observation.
don't like it?  tough shit.

you have to admit the fan base dramatically increased in 2003 (yes, i meant 2003 not 2004) and again in 2004 and got HUGE in 2007, lots of fuckos jumped on the bandwagon, as soon as they figure out that the sox ain't the mfy and don't always make it to the post season - the better.

And the suck part is Tampa lost too...... Chicago seems like a team playing for it's playoff lives, and we're not. 

Have to say, as a fan who pays money for the team stuff (everything with a B on it or Ed Sox gives them money), who has been to games, I want them not to suck. They are playing a game. If they go to the media and say they are the second coming, then fall on their face I'm going to say something. 

BB, no entitlement. Reserve that for the MFY idiots. I just want some of the players to play the way they are paid. Bard makes peanuts compared to Paps, and Bard is kicking some ass. Paps is mostly getting it done, but an  "elite" closer (as he calls himself) should not have nearly every save opportunity turn into a little shop of horrors waiting to happen. 

When you watch games like this again and again and again and again and again and again etc etc etc etc you tend to get jaded.  If you think yo can judge my or anybody elses fan hood go fuck yorself.  It wasnt us that sucked today ot was the PLAYERS.

sounds like a bunch of entitled mfy fans in here today.
what's with the hatin' on the players crap?
what ever happend to "...and we'll root-root-root for the home team...."

maybe this will be the season that the fairweather fuckos jump ship.  ... and if this post pisses you off, you're probably one of the fuckos i'm talking about.

 
Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back. 
    ----Al Swearengen

Swing and a pop up.  And were done

the boys are killing me this season.  just killing me.

Look at his face.  Not so cocky now.  Tell us again how great you are Papelbon.  Tell us how much more money you're worth.  Tell us how you're Mariano's natural successor. 

This game is a snapshot of the whole bleeping season.  2 outs and nobody can get it done.

Agreed. 

*thinks Wake is worth ten of Papelbon*

You know I'm sure if we asked it of Wake, he'd try his hardest to deliver.  Without running his fucking mouth about setting the market standard for closers when he's a FA.

Just fuck off Papelbon. 

*wants him traded, the too-big-for-his-boots tosser*

he's a boy.  they never listen.

thank god for the insurance run.

Paps, please.  No excitment.

It's the errors.  You would have thought after Clay's Tampa debacle, we'd stop fucking throwing the ball over.

oh and fuck the motherfucking yankees.  just because

I agree with Denton.  My math says it would take a literal miracle.  Each day they lose, the chances lessen.  In 2004, they had the kind of team to pull a miracle out of a situation like this, but this team does not have that spark.  Not even close!  And listening to the "Well, they have 3 games with the Rays, and then if we take those and the yankees's plane crashes..." is at the level of delusional.  Come on guys, are there not plenty of other red sox shenanigans you can post entertaining things about?

My math says you're a fucking idiot. 

...stupid bastard. 

<3

Johnny Pesky probably didn't get a microphone shoved into his face every time he walked off the field, either. The media is rabid these days whipping up the "fans" in its wake. When Pesky played I suspect that the journalists were a bit friendlier and not out for a game of "gotcha" to one up the next guy.

//you get jaded//  - maybe "you" do - i don't.
i didn't pass judgement on anyone, i made an observation.
don't like it?  tough shit.

you have to admit the fan base dramatically increased in 2003 (yes, i meant 2003 not 2004) and again in 2004 and got HUGE in 2007, lots of fuckos jumped on the bandwagon, as soon as they figure out that the sox ain't the mfy and don't always make it to the post season - the better.

sounds like a bunch of entitled mfy fans in here today.
what's with the hatin' on the players crap?
what ever happend to "...and we'll root-root-root for the home team...."

maybe this will be the season that the fairweather fuckos jump ship.  ... and if this post pisses you off, you're probably one of the fuckos i'm talking about.

i'm with ya Red - 100%
anyone who gives up now can take a flyin' fuck off a rollin' donut.

My math says you're a fucking idiot. 

...stupid bastard. 

<3

Do you have any suggestions on where I should read about the Sox, if not the Globe?u00c2u00a0 I like to keep up with what's going on.

*doesn't get NESN*

Ted Williams was an extreme case, and I suspect his relationship with the media was a prickly as it was with the fans. You are the one who who chose to quote Extra Bases, and beat Paps up for what was reported there. I live in Boston a mile from Fenway, the Globe is my hometown paper. But I do not read the local sports page to get a quote from Papelbon. I think most of what I find there leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I saw everything I needed to see watching the game last night - when it was over I turned it off. I'll be at Fenway tonight, I'll enjoy the sight of the green field as I come up the ramp. I'll enjoy my hot dog on a gorgeous late-summer evening. As BB said yesterday, I'll root-root-root for the home team and I'll add that if they don't win it's a shame. I don't care about the rest. I don't care how much some guy is paid in today's market. I'm not signing the check. If that's reflected in my ticket price, no one is holding a gun to my head to buy it. u00c2u00a0I'll get my money's worth and if my team doesn't make it into the post season, I won't spend a minute of my time trying to place blame, run somebody out of town or skewer some FO guy who knows much more about the game than I do.u00c2u00a0After a long winter, if I'm lucky and live to see it (unlike some other good sox fans I knew), there's always next year.

MLB.com - click "stats."u00c2u00a0 - you'll be able to find it there.
they won't be listed as 'blown' saves.u00c2u00a0
you'll have to subtract the number of saves from the number of save opportunities.

From what I read in the Ted Williams biography, the press were no picnic back then either. :-D u00c2u00a0 Different technology, same rabid nature, I think.

Would a journo today get away with saying "What sort of man doesn't go home to see his mother in the offseason?", as one of them famously said of Williams?

Interesting stats.u00c2u00a0 Can you get his saves/blown saves season by season?u00c2u00a0 I'd be interested to see those.

When the front office goes back to selecting players that aren't second rate or softer than puppy shit we most certainly can.u00c2u00a0