The 2006 Boston Red Sox Thread | Page 90 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

The 2006 Boston Red Sox Thread

Red Sox back in first after the Yankees blew a huge lead against Washington...:sidelol:

and Mariano with the loss!
 
Rocky Raccoon said:
Red Sox back in first after the Yankees blew a huge lead against Washington...:sidelol:

and Mariano with the loss!
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? i think its even again buddy...
 
That is good news. Lester will assume Clements spot and Pauly the 4th or vice versa.

I see Lester having a good year being a ground ball pitcher with an MLB best defense behind hm. THe bullpen doesn't worry me as much with Timlin back. Delcarmen/Seanez/Foulke/Lopez/Tavarez will be a toss up with Delcarmen holding the big edge in effectiveness. I don't expect much more out of Foulke this year but Seanez might turn a corner and I know that's what Francona is assuming.

In my non-bias opinion, the Sox and Jays are primed for the stretch run and the Yankees will the ones on the outside looking in. The Sox just have too much depth right now and barring injuries I don't see how they don't make the playoffs. Too soon to say I know because there are other teams in the AL looking good for a WC spot.
 
FiN.in.RI said:
In my non-bias opinion, the Sox and Jays are primed for the stretch run and the Yankees will the ones on the outside looking in. The Sox just have too much depth right now and barring injuries I don't see how they don't make the playoffs. Too soon to say I know because there are other teams in the AL looking good for a WC spot.
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I'm not sure that I'm buying the Blue Jays as legit contenders at the moment. Alex Rios who got off to absurd start has slowly been coming back to earth over the past few weeks which will no doubt make a significant impact to the offensive production of that lineup. Regardless, they still feature a fantastic lineup that destroys lefties.

However when I look at this team, I'm not questioning the lineup.. I have issues with their pitching, mainly the starters. Sure they have Halladay whom I consider to be one of the two best pitchers in the American League, right behind Johan Santana... but who else do they have behind him to fill out the staff? Listen, Gustavo Chacin had an outstanding rookie year, and I think he has a really bright future, but lets not overract when we're talking about this kid. Yes he does in fact sport a 6-2 record, but his ERA is over 5 and he's 2nd in the league in run support. Lets face it, if you can't win on a consistent basis when you're getting that kind of support from your offense, then you shouldn't be in the big leagues. JP Ricciardi overpaid for AJ Burnett, a guy who couldn't the job done for the Marlins last year as he went winless down the stretch. He's got considerable arm issues and there's talk he could be done for good. Ted Lilly? Please, if he's anymore than a number 5 starter on any staff, then that staff is in serious trouble.

I don't question the Blue Jays ability to play with the big boys, the Red Sox or Yankees, they proved last year they have what it takes to knock off the Red Sox on a pretty regular basis and they're proving that again this year. I'm not sure they can win the games they're supposed to win and that's where I have a problem considering them legit. They've already dropped the series to the Marlins this weekend, and like last year when they beat up on us pretty good, they were still only a .500 club. That to me points to the inability to win the games that a team SHOULD win.

I guess we'll see how it shakes out, but right now I still think they're a 3rd place team. Either way, it should be an entertaining stretch run. I'm very much looking forward to having a 3-team race into September.
 
FIPL, I think about it the other way...I'm not sure the sox can get it done this year. In the past 4 years, I'm least confident this year.

Other then 3 and 4 we have no power. Pena will help when he's back, but if Manny or Ortiz get into a real slump (Like A-rod who's ruining my fantasy team) then we're really in trouble. Beyond that is our pen. Other then Tims and Paps, I dread seeing anyone else (Foulke is dunzo too). We need help there. And our starting rotation is awful. Schilling is Schiling, and Beckett is inconsistant (Nice win tonight though). Beyond that we've got Wakefield who's close to dunzo, and young guns. Clement and Wells I'd rather not talk about.

We need help in to many places... Roger would have been huge (he can go to hell now). I'm not saying we can't get better, but I am a bit worried to say the least.
 
Clark Kent said:
FIPL, I think about it the other way...I'm not sure the sox can get it done this year. In the past 4 years, I'm least confident this year.

Other then 3 and 4 we have no power. Pena will help when he's back, but if Manny or Ortiz get into a real slump (Like A-rod who's ruining my fantasy team) then we're really in trouble. Beyond that is our pen. Other then Tims and Paps, I dread seeing anyone else (Foulke is dunzo too). We need help there. And our starting rotation is awful. Schilling is Schiling, and Beckett is inconsistant (Nice win tonight though). Beyond that we've got Wakefield who's close to dunzo, and young guns. Clement and Wells I'd rather not talk about.

We need help in to many places... Roger would have been huge (he can go to hell now). I'm not saying we can't get better, but I am a bit worried to say the least.
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I understand what you're saying, and no doubt they're all legitimate concerns but I just don't view the offense as a problem. We're 10 games over .500 while not getting the expected production out of Ortiz, I mean he is hitting .260. Yes we lost a good amount of power, but I think we're a more balanced offense because of it. We don't rely nearly as much on the long ball as we have in the past, and believe it or not, I think that's a positive thing. We have a very deep lineup, meaning you don't know where the production is going to be coming from on any given night. Ortiz, Ramirez, Youkilis, Lowell, Loretta and Crisp are all capable of coming up with a big hit. In addition to creating a more balanced lineup, we just so happen to field the best defensive team in baseball. That will continue to pay dividends.

I'm not really concerned when it comes to the rotation. Schilling is having a very good year, and while Beckett has struggled at times, more often then not he's been very good. I'm not a big Wakefield fan at all because his inconsistency from start to start is maddening, but there's not much to complain about this year numbers wise. The offense hasn't shown up for him on several occasions and as a result, his W-L record is not indicitive of how he's pitched. If you told me before the year started that Wakefield would have an ERA under 4, I'd have jumped all over that proposition. Jon Lester is proving to be a very servicable pitcher in the backend of the rotation, so there's not much to be complaining about in terms of the staff outside of the fact that Matt Clement sucks.

Now the bullpen is a legitimate concern, I'm in complete agreement with you here. Yes the numbers out of our pen overall this year look pretty decent, but that's because Papelbon and Timlin have been lights out. For the most part, everyone else has sucked. Who knows about this Lopez kid that was just brought in this weekend, only time will tell with him. If Hansen or Delcarmen step up, I just can't see this bullpen holding us back from a playoff appearence.
 
Jays are a good team. Don't count them out.

The Marlins just happen to be better. Hottest team in baseball? You could make an argument. Hehehe...
 
RWhitney014 said:
Jays are a good team. Don't count them out.

The Marlins just happen to be better. Hottest team in baseball? You could make an argument. Hehehe...
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Marlins > Yankees
 
RWhitney014 said:
Jays are a good team. Don't count them out.

The Marlins just happen to be better. Hottest team in baseball? You could make an argument. Hehehe...
Click to expand...

You're preaching to the choir, brother. They've owned us for 2 straight years now.
 
Rocky Raccoon said:
Marlins > Yankees
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lol you're brutal, u cant be serious? Trust me i have doubts in the yanks for this year certainly but this statement may be a stretch.....
 
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