2011 Boston Red Sox

[Matty86]

Lester and Bard certainly could have started the season on a better note. Crawford had a terrible day at the plate, but it was nice to see Papi with a clutch hr on opening day, and Gonzo looked solid at the dish and in the field!

[EnigmaNemesis]

Quote: Originally Posted by Matty86

Lester and Bard certainly could have started the season on a better note. Crawford had a terrible day at the plate, but it was nice to see Papi with a clutch hr on opening day, and Gonzo looked solid at the dish and in the field!

Agreed. Not worried at all. 161 left. Go back and get them tonight. Crawford will come around. He was pressing.

That Napoli HR was not Lester's fault. You could not ask for a better pitch location ankle high. LOL

[SoxFan01605]

Ugh...

I hate having to watch my team lose on the away team's broadcast. I'm already the type to scream at the TV like an idiot during games...don't need prodding by the broadcast team...lol. At least the Rangers guys aren't as bad as some though.

Now that the game is over, and rational me once again found his way out of angry land, I'll patiently wait for the inevitable panic to hit the media.

On the bright side, it's good to see the guys back healthy. Ellsbury is looking good and Gonzalez and Papi are off to a nice start. Just need to get the pitching together. I think it'll happen sometime during the next 160.

[Matty86]

I think the problem has a lot to do with Salty behind the plate. Obviously he can't call a game as effectively as Tek has over the years, but hopefully he can earn the confidence of the staff and learn from Tek. If he can't, I think it'll be a very rough start to the season. It seemed like Lackey was shaking him off a lot more then a pitcher normally would.

Plus I hate how he looks like he's doing the splits half the time when he's setting up low and to his right. haha

[CWood2]

Couple early season observations without feeding into overreactions ...

One, Lackey is not special. And when he doesn't hit his spots and keep batters off balance with his offspeed pitches, he gets hammered. I'm beginning to think that Theo should head up trades and the draft, and pass the buck (literally) on free agency ...

Two, I don't like how many curveballs Carl is seeing in each at bat. If the Rangers scouting department sees that as a weakness, I'll be curious to see how other teams pitch him, and how Carl reacts.

Three, this lineup is a pitch count machine. Youk, AGone, and JD are seeing SO many pitches. We'll be getting into bullpens early and often this year.

Four, Ellsbury is back. And he's having mature, quality ABs in the leadoff spot. He's got something to prove, and he looks like he's ready to do it.

[CWood2]

Apparently Terry agrees with my second point on Carl ...

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb...ory?id=6286342

[adice15]

I'm just happy to get out of Texas. All they do is hit home runs, 11 in three games.

[Perfect Zero]

Hey, just wanted to pop in and tell y'all that this season is far from over. We pulled through, but those were tough games and y'all deserve the praise for building your club. The front four of the Boston lineup is killer against any squad, and it really could have broke either way. If it goes down to the ALCS, a Boston/Texas series would be ****.