Boston Red Sox: 2007

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

You know Mussina has lost something when Varitek gets a hit off of him.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

You know Mussina has lost something when Varitek gets a hit off of him.

Yah I don't know how much he can blow people away with the blazing 85mph fastball.

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

His fastball has been going down in velocity every season, but 85 is still very surprising. Admittedly I haven't seen any of Mussina's previous starts this year but I don't see how he can miss bats with the stuff he's throwing tonight. He's the type of guy who has a wide enough arsenal that he can still be successful without much heat but definitely not the guy he used to be.

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Mussina is just too predictable with speed at first, and doesn't have the velocity on the fastball to compensate. With Crisp and Lugo at first, I was able to correctly predict every pitch he threw to Lugo and Youkilis. Chances are, if I could so could they. He didn't want Crisp or Lugo to steal second, so he tried to throw the fastball by the hitters. He got Pedroia to fly out to right, but both Lugo and Youk produced hard hit balls and now the lead is 6-2.

[Beantown]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Nice job by Papelbon to buckle down after those two walks.

Good win by the Sox tonight. Maybe Manny will finally keep hitting.

[eXperiment63]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia was upset after the game because he thought Alex Rodriguez hit him with an elbow while breaking up a double play in the eighth.

"He went in late and threw an elbow, but it's no big deal," Pedroia said. "I know now that when he's going in, my arm slot drops to the floor. Some people play like that, and some people come in with hard, clean slides."

I like Pedroia. =)

You know you're a sour ****in sport when EVERYONE hates you, even rookies. For all the talent a-rod has, he surely is a dirty friggin player.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Yah, that was a bitch move by Arod. Wouldn't be surprised to see Schilling plunk him tonight, if he gets a chance.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Arod said it wasn't intentional

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2007/05/arod_speaks_out.html

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Gutsy outing by Daisuke last night. You could tell something was off and he wasn't finishing a lot of his pitches. And a great performance by the bullpen. The only black mark for last night, - JD Drew 0 for 4 with a BB.

[ILLCHILL]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Dice-K had a stomach flu possibly I'm hearing.
Wakefield needs to bounce back, but I don't see it happening in Texas.

[RockyTop1]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Looks like DiceK is doing better and Beckett is back early and will start Tuesday. He threw a 70 pitch bullpen session today.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2883775

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

I was out of the country for a couple weeks and got back only recently. I must say, it was extremely nice to check the standings from the Middle East and see a 10.5 game lead over the Yankees.

I think a lot of credit has to be given to the coaches on this team so far. They really seem to be guiding these players in the right direction and pushing the right buttons so far. Take DeMarlo Hale for instance. In the year+ since he has been the 3rd base coach, can anybody even recall a time when the fans questioned one of his decisions? I can't, and that is a really good sign. I think the Red Sox are fortunate to have him.

Of course, the players with hot first halves to the season are the real story so far. If you look back to much of this thread before the season started, I and many others, were absolutely terrified of this team's bullpen. Okajima has been a stunning surprise though and is probably the team MVP so far. We really had no idea what to expect from Okajima before the season started, but whatever unique characteristics he now holds is working.

[Dispatch]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Looks like Manny is starting to get hot, he went 4-4 last night. If he gets going I feel bad for any pitcher that has to face the Red Sox.

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

His AB's have looked much better the last few nights. He's got that opposite field stroke working real well right now. And he came into last night's game just 1 for 11 off of Padilla.

[Dispatch]

Re: Boston Red Sox: 2007

Man, Tavarez has pitched great all day and then he gets into trouble in the 6th. Texiera just hit a three run bomb to tie it up.