Walking a fine line in Seattle

I am amazed that this story made it to a newspaper. Ramirez did something I think everyone in this country has done. This writer from Seattle is a JOKE!!! Next we'll be hearing what time Ramirez went to the bathroom.

More importantly Ramirez is locked in at the plate. Going the other way alot lately. Always a good sign when Ramirez goes the other way. Just in time with Ortiz coming back. I am looking forward to a consisent Boston hitting attack!!

I've only been to Seattle once. Pretty nice town, you can find a lot of good food in and around that market downtown. Ian, I bet you eat nothing but raw fish, eh? Anyway, there was a nice little French pastry shop and a tea shop where they made their own crumpets. Great tea and crumpets in a city obsessed with coffee! Like Joachim Andujar said "You never know". You can eat yourself to death there. I don't remember the jay-walking issue. When I go somewhere I experience it through the food, hehehe.

Anyway, Brian, those are some eye-popping stats re the Sox bullpen. This team'd be sprinting to another layup of an AL East title if not for the bullpen follies. That's baseball for ya.

Brian, I never did a background check on you. Are you telling me you are a criminal J-Walker? You shouldn't have mentioned that here. Dave will be all over you. In Tampa if you J-Walk, you are confined in the same cell with Joe Migrane for 24 hours.

Manny should have slipped the cop $100...... LOL! Then he could have been arrested for attempted bribary and we'd have something to talk about. Enough time wasted on that.

Rays are losing 7-1 in the 9th. Yankees are winning big. Sox need to win tonight. It would be a great thing for Dice-K to find his command tonight and give the Sox 7 or 8 good innings.

I was flipping to the Rays game every once in a while. The old Dome is very quiet, and very empty. I wonder what the Rays have to do to draw a crowd besides have the Sox or Yankees in there. Pretty sad!

Come on Francona. Ellsbury needs rest

Ellsbury can rest when he's dead. Ellsbury needs to get on base.

Let us all now bow our heads and pray that Lowrie can stay above .280 and not make a ton of errors. Please God. Anything to keep Lugo out... Honestly, I thought it was a lost cause until our good fortune with that injury.

Ellsbury doesn't need a rest. He just had an all star break. He needs to start hitting.

Very nice first inning by Dice-K. Maybe 10 pitches.

Gsm,

My background isn't the prettiest, lol. I am the Pacman Jones on here. lol. If I am in a cell with Migrane for 24 hours, further charges will occur. lol. I don't think I would last 24 minutes with him.

I agree with you about the dome. A very small gathering of people there tonight. The A's aren't a draw. People around here are more fired up about the Bucs reporting to camp this weekend. A lot of empty blue seats tonight.

Good job by Crisp with the bunt.

That's the best 1st inning Dice-K has ever had!!!

Ian,

Were the Red Sox ever in the hunt for Jon Rauch? The D-Backs gave up a top infield prospect to get him. Rauch sure would look good in that Sox pen. Imagine a guy that could come into a game and throw strikes, lol.

Ellsbury has to do better than that with runners on second and third with one out. He has to get a run in. That's unacceptable.

OK Pacman...... we need to start thinking about the September series. Anyone want to join us?

Gsm,

Hopefully I have my get out of jail card by September, lol. I'm counting on you.

Crisp did his job, he got the runners to 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Red Sox come up empty. No surprise!! So far so good from Dice-K.

4 strikeouts in 2 innings for Dice-K. Best stat so far, NO WALKS!

I heard Rausch's name recently, but I think the cost was iply too high, brian.

Ian,

Thanks for getting back to me. D-Backs need him bad. I assume he'll eventually be the Az. closer. Lyon has done well but we all know he isn't the answer. Good move by Theo's old asst. Josh Byrnes.

Nice play by Lowrie. I wish Lugo never will come back

How senile is this Mariners announcer. He's gotten the count wrong twice, the Rays score wrong, and he called Varitek the Yankee captain. Good lord, somebody put this old fool out to pasture.

3 fly outs to the warning track through 3 1/3. We find a new way to not score and leave runners on base on the road every game.

.....and don't forget he said the Rays won 1-0 when they lost 8-1.

Hey is that Sandy Koufax pitching for the Mariners? He's the best pitcher I've ever seen.

A leadoff walk oh no.

4 pitch walk to the leadoff batter. That's the Dice K we're used to seeing. Well, see if he pulls another Houdini.

Crisp and Lugo for a decent arm in the bullpen to get us to Pappelbon. Now to find a team willing to take on those two bloated salaries!!!!

Hold on to your seats... Dice-K looks like he left his mojo in the dugout after seeing that 3-0 pitch.

Right now there is no bridge to Papelbon, not even a ferry!!! lol.

Dice-K in trouble in the 4th. Leadoff walks always comeback and bite you.

Dice-K gets into trouble, gets out of it just as quick. This punchless lineup in Seattle. A lineup of outs!!!

That was close

To the Mariners scoring a run.
BosoxBrian,
You are right about the seattle lineup

Yeah Pacman, but he's been Houdini all year long and he was again this inning.

Okay, (Ranter, until I earn enough to purchase one, may I PLEASE borrow your soapbox again??, Thank you)
I'm REALLY tired of hearing that damned train horn, and tired of Machine Gun Charlie (Mr One Name) Ichiro.. I've said it before, he's got only one name now Like Cher and Madonna, (oops don't make me go there about A-Rods \affair of the heart\)When will Ichiro give his farewell tour?? Cher has had about 3 or 4..
The RedSox need to get this thing GOING!!!! You know, you stand at the plate, hit the ball and BEAT the freakin throw to the base. (one run has scored since I started this.. and Manny just got a hit). String together a couple of those and THERE YOU GO!!!!
I'll give the podium back.... for now

Gsm,

Please call me Adam, lol. He does walk the tightrope. It looks like Dice-K will go at least 7 innings. Let's hope by then Boston will have a cushion. We don't have too see this bullpen in a tight game.

Oh, just so I don't make Jeff mad, GREAT SLUGGIN JD!!

Ellen,

Your like E.F. Hutton on here. lol. I also look forward to sharing r.f. with you. Just to let you know, I move better to my left so look out, lol. Great rant!!!

Classic stuff Ellen. However, great ranters don't need soapboxes. They just stand tall and rant on. You are three credits from earning your BS Artist Degree in Ranting.

Sorry Pacman, if I call you Adam, I'll forget you're really Brian. You're stuck with Pacman.

What a great freaking play by Pedroia. I am amazed by how much he can get on his throws while going away from from first base. He is amazing........ potential gold glover maybe?

Ellsbury bunted that ball just a hair too hard, but it was a good idea. Using his speed is a good way to break out of a slump. It took a perfect play by Beltre to get him out.

Another leadoff walk. Thank Pacman for a four run lead.

Is this game a product of a very sharp Dice-K or a lame-hitting Seattle team?

Arthur Rhodes strikes out the side in relief. Maybe the Sox should inquire about his availability. After all, he's only about 39 years old.

Six more outs to get -- let's see how many of them Dice-K can account for.

I think it's a combination of both Ian. Dice-K has great stuff, but the Mariners have certainly helped him out by swinging at some bad pitches. A more disciplined team may have worked Dice-K for at least two or three more walks which changes the whole complexion of how he would have to approach pitching his game.

There's one -- 5 more to go!

Time to pull Dice-K. He went more than he normally goes. Don't stick with him for loyalty. Let's win ballgames.

Too bad........ Dice-K made some good pitches and they got hit. Not much you can do about that. He did a nice job tonight. I'm a little surprised Tito is yanking him. He's probably just now right around 100 pitches. Let's see if Okie Dokie can give us a little deja vu from last year.

Four pitches, and Oki Doki gets an out -- 4 to go, and it closes the book on Dice-K, who for the 2nd consecutive time goes 7 1/3, giving up 2 earned runs. Nice job.

Now!! I take a little time to myself and we give up 2!!!!!!!??? Wrap this package up and lets get on with tomorrows early game..
get your stuff together and end this thing!!
I'm sure we all remember the chant!!
OKEY DOKEY!! OKEY DOKEY! OKEY DOKEY!!
GO REDSOX, NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good job by Okie. He pitched to contact and didn't give up any freebies. Perfect.

Oki Doki gets the 3rd out in the 8th -- I assume it will be Pap in the 9th with at least a 2 run lead facing Adrian Beltre and the bottom of the Seattle order. Boy oh boy, these are an ordeal.

Hey BosoxBrian -- did you hear about your boy Carson Palmer calling out the Buckeyes over the USC game -- boy he learned his lessons well from you!! (lol)

Oh, and heres my other little biotch!!, I'm tired of ranting!! I like looking htrough my rose colored glasses and knowing that things are fine!! I say to the Sox: "GET YOUR POOP TOGHETHER".
just a p.s.:: I freakin HATE west coast games!! I liked them better when we didnt have the internet and all i had was the afternoon paper to check things out!!

Let's hope that Oki does well and regains some of the confidence like he had last year. This would be a good time for it to happen in preparation for the Yankees.

These West Coast games are killing me. I'm way too old for this. I'm not getting my beauty sleep and believe me, I need all I can get. So, I'm going to watch Pap close this thing out and turn out the lights. Good night Pacman, good night Ellen, good night Johnboy.

I think the ballpark helped Dice-K tonight too. there were some deep flyballs that would have found wall or seats at Fenway. But all in all, you'll take this. By the way, Papelbon two outs away from becoming the first Sox pitcher in history with 30 saves in a season three times.

And 3 outs from Pap and its over, the way it should be. After tonight, it looks like the Sox will move past the Rays for 6th best Team ERA in MLB, and it looks like they have the best Team batting Average in MLB. That's quite a combination -- along with 3rd best in runs scored. After tomorrow, 59 games left, and only 26 of those on the road. Although he didn't get any hits tonight in Portland, ME, hopefully Big Papi comes back Friday night ready to do some Yankee killing.

The way it lines up, Sidney Ponson should pitch the Sunday game against Jon L. Hopefully, the Sox can keep from slobbering all over themselves at the thought of that match-up!!!

A gratifying win especially the Yanks won again and Rays' rare lost at home. It was a pleasant surprise the way Dice-K won the game; pitched into 7.1 inning, 3 BBs, 6 Ks, and the economical 99 pitches. Glad to see the old Oki/Papelbon combo of '07. A win is a win albeit against a lowly Seattle.
Let's pray for Buccholtz to get over the early inning woes and get enough run support for him to win.
Is there a good reason not to start Dice-K in the Yanks series? Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K. Beck has an extra day rest and Lester and Dice-K each has the regular 4 days. Be mindful that the Yanks are a surging second half team. Their patience at the plate would give Wake a difficult time.
Would you like to see the pitching match up of Lester/Pettite or Wake/Pettite on national TV?

007chow:

When Tito has been asked questions like yours in the past, his response has typically been that he does not vary his rotation for any particular series. Once the rotation is set, each pitcher gets his turn. BosoxBrian and I queried why the post-AllStar game rotation was set with Buchholz, their No. 5 starter leading off (after a minimum of 4 days rest allowing anyone to pitch) and their 2 most effective starters, Jon L. and Dice-K coming out 4th and 5th. Over the past few days, Francona has indicated this was done intentionally to give the 2 of them more rest, and he seems to feel it has benefitted them (and they both pitched good winning ballgames in Seattle). He could have changed the rotation after the AS break, so that when the Sox got back to Boston, it would have naturally fallen that Lester and Dice-K would have pitched vs. the Yanks, but Francona is a quintessential "what's good for the long haul" guy. It is frustrating in the short run, but you can't argue with his success, particularly having a "fresh" pitching staff for the play-offs. Hopefully, it pays dividends again this Fall.

dbenjamin:
It is true that Tito wanted to rest Lester and Dice-K. The true resaon that Tito pitched Buchholtz leading off after the ASG was for Beck to pitch in the NY series in Fenway. Otherwise Beck will be pitching this afternonn and Buchholtz pitching leading off the NY series. Obviously we do not want to see Buccholtz pitch against the surging Yankees.

As much as I loe Wake, I think that you are right about the Yankees patience and their ability to hit him. I think it should be Lester.

Today's game is going to be a HUGE test to see if we are actually improving on the road. We have our worst pitcher vs. their best pitcher. Hernandez has dominated us in the past, so this really is a big challenge. A nice win here plus a day off would be a great lead in to the Yankee series.

Dbenjamin,

Carson Palmer is my new hero!!! lol. We kill athletes when they say the same thing and then when they really tell you how they feel, fans kill them for that. Speak the truth and I have no issue. Same old same old is boring. Schilling was quite refreshing, I didn't agree with everything he said but he gave his opinion. Unlike others!!!

Match up for Rays and Yanks looks good today, not so for us, unless Buckholtz can break out -- we may looking at a 2 game differential between us and the Yanks by close of day.

I sure hope the sentimentality of the last year in historic stadium doesn't galvanize those Yanks, give them some kind of cause to play for, or that if it does, we can squash it.

Hey guys,

The reason why the Sox won the last two games was of three things:

1) The Seattle Mariners -- need I say more. If this was L.A.A. -- five in a row in the loss column. When you can't hit against Oki Jokey...that should tell you something.
2) Two good starting pitchers who held the other team to shutouts which is what you need to do with the Red Sox hitting like Lugo with the batting helmet on backwards.
3) Papelbon as a closer.

As much as LIKE these two wins...I'm also aware that they are playing the lousiest team in the league right now and still score seven runs in two games with a high LOB. This is laughable. We can cheer all we want but the Sox can't win on the road any better...they are just playing on a team that is managed by Lugo.

Buckholz is like Lester without the determination. He's Lester light. He has great talent but not the tenacity to get the job done. Buckholz is too worried about impressing everyone instead of saying "f**k this. I have to do this because I'm not letting anyone take charge of my game." Until Buck figures out why he's there, he will pitch like Lugo wearing a bikini and flowers in his hair.

Finally, after spending hours with a harsh bleach solution cleaning the tile in the bathroom and sitting like Jason Varitek at the plate -- I now appreciate how hard it is to be a catcher -- whew -- my body still aches a bit today.

Cheers -- great ranting last night Ellen. My body was so sore after spending the entire week working on our master bathroom I could barely move -- so much for my week off (LOL)

One more thing ---

Great job by Lowrie and Dice K. As much as Dice - K has no talent for anything but walking players -- he still gets them out. Oh -- it feels weird to compliment the Sox.

Tito in a recent interview looks EXHAUSTED. I'm not talking tired --- I'm talking EXHAUSTED. Baggy eyes, crusty voice and a worn out flavor. I'm actually worried about him. I think the team has worn him out.

I think I know the real reason of Tito's tiring -- he's been hanging out with Lugo!

Forget about it. Dave, the Sox are going to lose today because: A. They have their worst starter going against Seattle's best starter. B. If they win today they would have swept a series on the road and that just isn't their style. C. They seem to have this insane notion that it would be cool to have some of the best stats in MLB, really a dazzling resume!, and end up in third, or maybe 4th, place. D. I have a day off and I will get to see a frustrating loss from start to finish. E. Lugo says he is feeling great and hopes to be in the lineup today. (Gotta get Julio in there, time's running out for him with the trading deadline looming). F. Well, the Sox will earn an "F" today making three errors(without Lugo) and batting .000 with RISP.
I don't know what letter comes after F so I'll have to stop there.

Dave, just wanted to give you a little rant back-up as the Sox really have their work cut out for them today and I am hoping beyond all hope that they will go back to Fenway in first place. Can they do it????