SB Nation User Blog: BoSox415

All-Star Rosters

BoSox415 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:25:07 -0000

For the entire All-Star Roster for both the American and National League, click here.

6 Red Sox made the roster, including Pedroia and Bay as the only position player starters, and Youk as a reserve. Beckett, Paps (!!!) and (drum roll please....) WAKEFIELD!

Everyone, take a shot at a line-up. Personally, I think both Pedroia and Bay may end up in the back half....

And one stupid question: Is Hamilton going to play? MLB.com has him on the 15-day DL, but I really don't know.

And don't forget the final vote. For the AL there is Chone Figgins, Brandon Inge, Ian Kinsler, Adam Lind, and Carlos Pena. for the NL the is Cristian (probably misspelled that) Guzman, Matt Kemp, Mark Reynolds, Pablo Sandoval, and Shane Victorino.

And lastly, did anyone hear Tito's take on the ASG selecting who gets home advantage in the World Series? I'm with him on this one. He says that shouldn't happen, because come on, the All-Star Game is all about fun, and beating the crap out of the National League. But when we get to the WS, everyone becomes deadly serious. It should be record in interleague play, or something.

Poll

Should the All-Star Game determine who gets home field advantage in the World Series?

Yes. It's the best of either league duking it out. Winner take all!

19 votes

No. The All-Star Game is about fun, and shouldn't influence something as intense as the World Series.

20 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

Baseless Speculation

BoSox415 — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:15:39 -0000

I am tired of seeing crappy shortstops. Lugo has been his usual non-clutch self but with some bright spots. Nick Green is returning to his usual level of suck-itude, although ahead of Lugo. The sad part is, both have exceeded expectations. Both have played horrendous defense. I know I should give Jed Lowrie a chance, but... any idea what's coming? If not, here's a hint.

Yup. Time to give the Marlins some bullpen relief. The Sox bullpen this year has been nothing short of magnificent (Ironic moment: within the last hour, Papelbon just gave away the game against the Mets, but that's beside the point. To be fair, Florida's bullpen is letting Tampa Bay increase its lead in the ninth) and we seem to have an excess of relievers. In the off-season, we tried the "Throw them against the wall to see who sticks" and it seems like everyone is trying they're best ready-pasta impersonation (Zing!.)

There is quite a few options for the Fish. Bard, MDC, Masterson, RamRam, Okajima, Paps.... Anyways, question: Any combination of relievers for Hanley? Or am I crazy? Think about it. Paps has been the least reliable out of the pen, I'd say, and he still is one of the better closers in baseball.

Poll

Should we trade for Hanley Ramirez?

YES. With Hanley, we would not only have a consistent shortstop, but an even deadlier line-up than before!

29 votes

No. What if our bullpen implodes? What if Jed comes back and Green and Lugo rebound? What if....

10 votes

Depends on who we send.

35 votes

74 votes | Poll has closed

Gator Ball rule?

BoSox415 — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:16:04 -0000

Maybe some of you have heard of Gator Ball. It is basically soccer, but if you can kick the ball in the air, then someone may touch it with their hands. I have Googled it up and it is played around the nation, mostly at high schools. But if you have heard of it, I have a question.

See, the Gator Ball championship was recently played at my school, and the score was tied 2-2 going into the fourth sudden death overtime. The ball was run downfield, and the player jumped and bounced the ball into the goal, which I thought was legal. Not so fast. Apparently, if you jump, it is an automatic turnover. The opposing team promptly scored to end the game. If it matters, we were using flags.

I may be completely dumb to post this, as the game may not be played nation-wide as I thought, but does anyone know the official ruling? Or as official as it can get? Thanks.

GT: Red Sox vs. Indians: REVENGE!

BoSox415 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:54:11 -0000

Second thread of the year. Hope that it turns out similar to the first. The line-ups:

1.	J. Ellsbury, CF	G. Sizemore, CF
2.	D. Pedroia, 2B	A. Cabrera, 2B
3.	D. Ortiz, DH	V. Martinez, C
4.	J. Bay, LF	S. Choo, RF
5.	M. Lowell, 3B	R. Garko, 1B
6.	J. Varitek, C	J. Peralta, SS
7.	J. Bailey, 1B	M. DeRosa, 3B
8.	J. Van Every, RF	B. Francisco, LF
9.	N. Green, SS	K. Shoppach, DH

Youk given the day off, so Bailey takes over at first. JD replaced with JvE, and (drumroll, please...) Green is our starting shortstop today.

And the pitching match-ups:

BOSTON		CLEVELAND
	Jon Lester 1-2, 4.88 Last appearance: 4/24 vs NYY 6.0 IP, 2 ER Dec = ND		Fausto Carmona 1-3, 7.36 Last appearance: 4/24 vs MIN 6.0 IP, 4 ER Dec = Loss

If both of these guys keep pitching like they have, we'll win the slugfest.

Ells stealing home against the MFY. Great overhead view at 1:06.

BoSox415 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:55:16 -0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P1b0RN2sB4

Ells stealing home against the MFY. Great overhead view at 1:06.

Panic Game Thread: Yankees vs. Red Sox

BoSox415 — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:50:54 -0000

Okay, I know, game just started, but in case Randy forgets the gamethread.

Pitching Matchup
NEW YORK		BOSTON
	Andy Pettitte 2-0, 2.53 Last appearance: 4/21 vs OAK 7.0 IP, 2 ER Dec = Win		Justin Masterson 1-0, 3.18 Last appearance: 4/20 vs BAL 5.1 IP, 1 ER Dec = Win

NO.	NEW YORK	BOSTON
1.	B. Gardner, CF	J. Ellsbury, CF
2.	D. Jeter, SS	D. Pedroia, 2B
3.	M. Teixeira, 1B	D. Ortiz, DH
4.	N. Swisher, LF	K. Youkilis, 1B
5.	R. Cano, 2B	J. Drew, RF
6.	J. Posada, C	J. Bay, LF
7.	H. Matsui, DH	M. Lowell, 3B
8.	M. Cabrera, RF	J. Varitek, C
9.	A. Berroa, 3B	N. Green, SS

Comment away. Go Sox.

Think we'll be better?

BoSox415 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:06:27 -0000

MFY. A phrase it seems we've used more than usual, thanks to the Yankees seemingly endless spending on Tex, CC, and Burnett. We made much smaller signings, while spending a fraction of the amount the Yanks spent.

Aww, screw it. I can't write.

To the point: Assuming the Red Sox don't sign any more major leaguers this offseason, do you think that we will be better than the 2008 Red Sox were?

I think we are. All the Manny drama is over. We have basically the same line-up, but Jed-I and Papi will have healthy wrists (hopefully) and we have Kotsay to cover first if Youk has to slide over to third if Lowell gets hurt. We signed quite a few relievers, along with Smoltz and Penny as back-up starters. Outlook good?

Poll

Do you think the 2009 Red Sox will be better than the 2008 Sox?

Yes. We rebuilt, everyone is healthy, and we are ready to take on the American League East!

36 votes

No. We didn't get any younger, and the Yankees signed big expensive scary names.

8 votes

It's about the same. No dramatic changes.

20 votes

64 votes | Poll has closed

AL East: Yankees vs. Red Sox

BoSox415 — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:36:26 -0000

OK, OTM has seemed dead lately, save maybe the discussions about who has the best rotation in the majors. I thought I'd write something that we could all comment on, agree and disagree. So I decided to compare the line-ups and rotations of the reborn Yankees and the Sox. I stole this idea from over here, when Dewey Finn wrote about the Rangers and Athletics prospects, except this will be about the Major-league roster.

Red Sox Yankees Advantage

SP Josh Beckett CC Sabathia Yankees. Rematch of the 2007 AL Cy Young. I'm feeling CC will be able to adjust to the AL again in time to have at least a 15-18 win season.

SP Jon Lester Chien-Ming Wang Red Sox. I have a feeling Lester will have a breakout year, finishing in the top three in Cy Young voting.

SP Daisuke Matsuzaka AJ Burnett Red Sox. AJ is a major injury risk, as we all know, and Daisuke has been improving every year. If he lowers his walks, then he will also finish high in Cy Young voting.

SP Tim Wakefield Joba Chamberlain Yankees. NG: Tim Wakefield is washed up, IMO!

SP Brad Penny Phil Hughes Red Sox. Penny is only 30, remember. And he is two years removed from a 16-4 season.

And now the line-ups....

C George Kottaras Jorge Posada Yankees. As of now.

1B Kevin Youkilis Mark Teixeira Yankees. Barely.

2B Dustin Pedroia Robinson Cano Red Sox. Is this one even close? Didn't think so.

3B Mike Lowell Alex Rodriguez Yankees. A-Rod resides over the injured vet.

SS Jed Lowrie Derek Jeter Yankees. Jed-I is not ready to dethrone Jeter.

OF Jason Bay Johnny Damon Red Sox. New guy wins over traitor. Non-biased.

OF Jacoby Ellsbury Melky Cabrera Red Sox. Jacoby will bounce back.

OF JD Drew Xavier Nady Red Sox. Ehh. Close one here. If JD stays healthy, then he'll get it.

DH David Ortiz Hideki Matsui Red Sox. Ortiz stays healthy, no signs of that wrist injury... it's all good.

So, final score:

Red Sox 8

Yankees 6

Call me biased, that is my opinion. Feel free to agree (or disagree, that is more fun) and give examples of what you would change.

Randy Johnson to the Giants

BoSox415 — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:47:55 -0000

Randy Johnson to the Giants

Not Red Sox-related in any way, really, but come on, he's one of the best pitchers. Ever. IMO, not very smart for the Giants to get old veterans, as they aren't really that close to competing, but whatever.

Merry Christmas!

BoSox415 — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:22:56 -0000

Merry Christmas all! Or happy holidays, to some of you, but anyway, I thought that everyone could make a list of their Red Sox wished for the offseason. I wouldn't recommend putting "Tex giving a big "hell no" to the Yankees and then coming to us for 10 mil a year", but, hey, it's your wish list.

Sign Derek Lowe
Trade for Teagarden
Sign Tek
Sign... Rocco!

And if you want, put some of the things you received for Christmas. I got a Wii!