It's The End Of The World As We Know It: O's Sweep Red Sox
by Ben Buchanan on May 2, 2010 5:08 PM EDT
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PrintIf you were looking for some sign that April was a blip on the radar--that the Red Sox were going to turn it around and get back to winning--look elsewhere.
The Red Sox dropped the last game of the series to the Orioles today, 3-2 in extra innings, giving the Orioles (who had entered the series with a 4-18 record) the 3-game sweep.
In the first game, the culprit was the relief pitching, as Daniel Bard and Ramon Ramirez both gave up runs in the 8th and 10th innings respectively. In the second game, it was starter Daisuke Matsuzaka falling apart in the 5th, and Tim Wakefield doing no better in the 6th and 7th. Today, it was the offense's inability to turn 12 baserunners into more than 2 runs. As has been the case with the Red Sox this year, something is always wrong.
Though it was mostly the offense's fault, certain failures--very much characteristic of those that have failed the team so far this year--cannot go ignored. In today's game, it was a boneheaded play by Beltre with the bases loaded, allowing a run (and eventually 2 in the inning) to score instead of trying for a double play, or catching the runner at home. Also to blame is Tim Bogar, who made an inexplicable decision to try to score Jason Varitek from second on a Dustin Pedroia single when the left fielder had the ball before he even reached third base.
The Sox are back down to 3 under .500, and are digging themselves a big hole to fight out of if they want to compete in the AL East.
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less than average?
we are trying to stay out of 13th place in the AL.
our biggest al competitor are the o’s for the title of worst of 14 of the al.
and they just swept us by beating the red out of us
maybe, a lot more than less than average
Haven't been swept
at Camden Yards in a series of at least 3 games since 1998
Ben
as mad as i am right now we should give a tip of the cap to the O’s they played the game like we should have ……………………..tim boger is at fault on this one!
by RED SOX are #1 in my heart on May 2, 2010 5:18 PM EDT reply actions
Two things
1) Payback’s a bitch. On April 18 Ben posted:
Garza has so far dominatedcompetitionthe Orioles, allowing only 2 earned runs in 16 innings of work….
Why the cheap shot? Oh well, the Orioles just swept the competition Red Sox. Payback’s a bitch.
2) The O’s were projected to be a vastly improved team this year. Mind you, nobody was ever saying we’d contend, but our first .500 or better season in a decade was/is within reach. We just got off to an ATROCIOUS start. If you look at our admittedly pathetic record so far, you see a TON of late inning one-run losses, and a bunch of solid major leaguers (Markakis, Jones, Tejada) all hitting under .200. An insane group slump: the team was pressing like crazy. But look closely, and you’ll see that our starting pitching has been pretty awesome. Millwood and Matusz have been lights-out, and Guthrie has rebounded to his 2008 form. And now that the guys have remembered how to hit, voila! We are winning games. Seriously, did you think someone like Markakis was going to hit .198 for the rest of the year?
So my point is, we are not, “a very poor team”. On paper we’re a halfway decent team that’s had a horrendous start—much like you guys did, only worse.
All that said, I wish y’all the best and hope you pick it back up. Really can’t bear the thought of the Yankees running away again. We’ll do our best to inflict some pain on them this week.
"I doubt he could reach [second base]...mostly cuz his fucking arm was in Aybar's nuts." – twistedlogic
Considering we just got our asses handed to us
I cannot argue with this person.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I have a five-tool player in my pants.
ACTUALLY, advanced metrics show that that wasn't "premature".
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
and where would we put you?...................lol
by RED SOX are #1 in my heart on May 2, 2010 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly, we wiped his name off of our collective memories long ago.
And it should stay that way!
DFA Beckett
by South Coast Ghost on May 2, 2010 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
bring back bronson arrolla (sp)
one of our not better trades.
if all of our trades were fair or worst – bronson for willy mo would be considered an average trade
bring back Babe Ruth!
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea /
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown /
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
hey, that reminds me: today is the anniversary of the babe's
first dinger as a yankmee and of course it was against the sox. 6-0 was the fini
it's your fault
you did not come on till the game was over ……………shame shame!………..j/k
by RED SOX are #1 in my heart on May 2, 2010 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
The team isn't bad
It’s just struggling. And remember the Sox are missing 2 starters from the Offense.
This month
Is it. If the Sox don’t produce this month then they can kiss the season goodbye.
Why
Why the #@#k didn’t they run for Tek in the eighth ?
who would have caught?
they allready went thru v mart…………………it was a BAD call on boger AGAIN who cost us a run!
by RED SOX are #1 in my heart on May 2, 2010 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow. He really HAS learned from DeMarlo Hale.
“Always send the fat, slow ones.”
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I have a five-tool player in my pants.
ACTUALLY, advanced metrics show that that wasn't "premature".
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
i expected his learning curve would have been better
bogar, you are only coaching 3rd freaking base! 2 signs!!
go or stop.
if the runner is fast and a couple of other things line up – go!!!!!
if it’s a dang catcher, who was last timed running the forty with a calender – stop!!!!!!!
honest to whatever, believe it or not, george steinbrenner once fired his 3rd base coach for sending a runner who was out at the plate sliding.
I'm sorry. Did we just get swept by the @#$%ing ORIOLES?
Down is the new up.
Ahmo get back to drinkin’ now, thanks.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I have a five-tool player in my pants.
ACTUALLY, advanced metrics show that that wasn't "premature".
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
Fortunately, the schedule also includes some lousy teams we get to play.
Unfortunately, we don’t get to play the Red Sox anytime soon.
Sweep? Possibly?
World Series attitude, champagne bottle life, nothing every changes so tonight is like tomorrow night.
Yes we are a bad team
It just goes to show money can’t buy everything. On the bright side if we lose 100 games for a few years straight we may get a few first round draft picks and someday be as good as the Rays.
We are trying to play the Yankees money game and not doing too well.
I agree with the comment we have the most overpaid pitching staff in baseball, and a weak 1-9. I can’t think of a worse team defensively off the top of my head. On the bright side, we ….what was I thinking?
If you are not ready to play in the AL East
You get your head handed to you. A few weeks ago I mentioned this team has no chemistry. Now I will change that to this team has no leaders. They either can’t lead, or they don’t see anything worth leading. We have assembled a group you would expect to see in Cleveland.
over rated stuff - for people who "feel" baseball
if watching baseball makes you feel good – you are missing the point.
besides all of that, now that baseball has started to revolutionize itself with major business organizations:
coaches report to gm’s, who are reporting to presidents, who are reporting to the owner, etc.
bottom line: tito is responsible for peace, harmony and the men’s room of the team. he is the front line leader.
theo gets the firepower for tito to lead.
I think the problem is that that innate belief that the Sox would prevail, that has existed post-2004 (probably post-Game 4 ALCS 2004), has disappeared.
The snap-shot would be Big Papi. Even when he slumped, as every player does during the season, the belief remained. I think that after last year, he doesn’t believe in himself anymore, and without that enormous personality, the same syndrome has infected the rest of the clubhouse. You could argue the same case for Papelbon, etc.
I think the problem is we have a $170m payroll
and somehow everyone sucks.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
it's a "bridge year"
the yankmees missed the 2008 party in october.
dumped the dead heads, got some newbies via free agency. that was their “bridge year”
this is ours.
when you pay the big bucks and guarantee the long term to folks in their thirty’s, you sign the fa’s.
however, you will have bridge years.
the rays will have their bridge year next year
We were supposed to have bridged the bridge year.
But our bridges are burning. Cameron is on the DL, and Beltre seems to make the costliest of mistakes. Throw in Drew and Martinez going to hell in a handbasket…
USG
by Ben Buchanan on May 3, 2010 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh, no doubt things are going horribly wrong.
But again, who could have predicted even half the schlock we’ve been watching?
USG
that was totally not what was meant by bridge year
he meant “year to span the gap to younger players by signing short term contracts” rather than “the sox aren’t trying to win this year”
'Zactly
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on May 3, 2010 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions
The last time we lost 4 games in a row to Baltimore
was the World Championship Team of 2004. It’s the small ray of light to be found in this dark weekend with the Orioles.
Good news is we are back at Fenway for a 10 game homestand. The pinstripes play the “red hot Orioles” ;-), then 7 games on the road against us again in Fenway and also against the Tigers, who are playing some good baseball.
The Rays take the show on the road to the West Coast for a 9 game swing.
If we don’t have success at home, major changes will follow.
Go Sox.
" Play Ball "
i'm beginning to think "major changes" at the end of may
means we might move beltre in the batting order.
is there a freaking rule that you have to bat the same line up strategy every freaking game until we are in 13th place?
seperate ortiz & drew
move vmart down
move beltre up
move mcdonalds up.
consider batting peddy 3rd
why can’t a hot hitter move up?
a cold hitter move down?
is there a rule? heli we can change it back, later, without an act from congress.
tito, don’t worry about hurting anyone’s feelings. if they pout, they may hit/pitch.
we are letting this season slip
Pedroia seems to screw up batting 3rd.
Other than that, send VMart down to 6th or 7th, yeah, but keep Drew up so long as he doesn’t start disappearing again.
USG
by Ben Buchanan on May 3, 2010 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Argh
We can’t do anything right!
Sodomize Intolerance
by sonicdeathmonkey on May 2, 2010 10:55 PM EDT reply actions
Dice K stinking it up
he seems to be right back where he left off last season. put Wakefield bavckin th erotation
yep his his appearance was really that great to justify getting his spot back
by German Red Sox Fan on May 3, 2010 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
haha exactly my thought
Dice K actually left last season looking pretty awesome, it was the beginning and middle he was terrible.
i guess you can interpret it that way
but it was actually a sarcastic remark that wake also stunk it up in the same game as dice k did
by German Red Sox Fan on May 3, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Matsuzaka is a starter starting a game
Wakefield is a starter relieving.
Building Fenway from the ground up - Virtual Fenway
so what?
it was Matsuzakas first start this year after being on the dl. It was Wake’s first game out of the pen. How much difference is there? Its not like Wakefield was pitching better than Dice-K in the last 3 years.
by German Red Sox Fan on May 3, 2010 1:02 PM EDT up reply actions
oh no i know
the body of my comment was really responding to the post above you, when i think about it.
He only needed one inning to do that THIS year.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I have a five-tool player in my pants.
ACTUALLY, advanced metrics show that that wasn't "premature".
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
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