2016 Sox

craigk217 said:

Tie team record for hitting 7 dingers in one game and still lose, since Gonzo decided to serve up batting practice to the Jays.

Sure woulda been nice if more than one of those dingers weren't just solo jacks.

Gotta say, I haven't seen Gonzalez pitch horrible like this, before today. Ughhhhhh.

Click to expand...

actually he pitched worse a couple weeks ago in detroit. 7 er's in only 3.1 innings. he'll continue to be decent and then bad. hasn't changed in his whole career as he's always been pretty much a .500 pitcher. ... which makes him an ok 5th starter imo. but he won't get better as he ages.

btw ... only one team has ever had 7 home runs before and lost. detroit! and they did it twice! once against both sox.

Ugh... Hard to envision our season being anything other than what we've seen the past couple of weeks.

Fall beneath .500... fight to get back, lose a few. Fight to get back to .500... lose a few. Then eventually, we win 76-77 games like last season. Hope we can get hot and reel off some wins, but I don't know. On the bright side, the bats have somewhat come alive, but not against great pitching by any stretch.

I can't help but feel if we're going to get something going, we need to finish strong in the first half against a pretty beatable schedule after Sale hopefully wins tomorrow.

12 games, 9 at home and 3 each against:

vs MIN
@ HOU
vs NY
vs ATL

If we can't AT LEAST go 7-5/8-4 against that schedule, we're going to really get beat up in the second half. Need to sweep at least one of MIN or ATL at home. Houston is the only team playing good ball recently, but they've been a roller coaster ride all season.

richig07 said:

Ugh... Hard to envision our season being anything other than what we've seen the past couple of weeks.

Fall beneath .500... fight to get back, lose a few. Fight to get back to .500... lose a few. Then eventually, we win 76-77 games like last season. Hope we can get hot and reel off some wins, but I don't know. On the bright side, the bats have somewhat come alive, but not against great pitching by any stretch.

I can't help but feel if we're going to get something going, we need to finish strong in the first half against a pretty beatable schedule after Sale hopefully wins tomorrow.

12 games, 9 at home and 3 each against:

vs MIN
@ HOU
vs NY
vs ATL

If we can't AT LEAST go 7-5/8-4 against that schedule, we're going to really get beat up in the second half. Need to sweep at least one of MIN or ATL at home. Houston is the only team playing good ball recently, but they've been a roller coaster ride all season.

Click to expand...

The tough part is how they looked pretty promising, and for longer than usual. But now it's hard to see much better than .500. Which is still an uptick, but not as much as it felt like it should have been.

msgkings322 said:

The tough part is how they looked pretty promising, and for longer than usual. But now it's hard to see much better than .500. Which is still an uptick, but not as much as it felt like it should have been.

Click to expand...

Yeah, well... it's an uptick, perhaps. However, it really won't feel like one when Robin is fired and we gut the team. Start over again, meaning 2-3 more years of losing. Which is probably for the best, if that time comes, but it is getting hard to be a fan of this team.

So, despite my better knowledge, I will hold out hope that we magically find a way to rekindle the flame that we came out with in April and early May. There's been signs of life, at least. It starts tomorrow in a game we should win, with Sale going up against a struggling Stroman. Who has been beat up recently and is currently in possession of a 5+ ERA. Taking a second consecutive series against a team currently holding a playoff spot is keeping the momentum going forward. Which is what we need right now. The bats are starting to come alive a bit, just need a push over the hump.

A win tomorrow, and we would be sitting at .500 with a favorable 12 game stretch. 8-4 would be nice. Head into the break 46-42, which would have us knocking at the door of a wild card spot, and still within reach of the division. Even though Cleveland has really made a statement recently, and taken a stranglehold on it.

Need Sale to be Sale tomorrow.

Side note: I think every time I've said that we "really need the next game" in this thread, we've lost. I may have just jinxed the whole thing.

Alright, that a boy Sale. Timmy Anderson stays hot with another dinger and 2 hit day. Melky with 3 hits and gets himself back to nearly .300. Good win, keeps the morale up. Perhaps this team feels like they've put that putrid month and a half run behind them. Two straight series wins vs teams currently holding a playoff spot. Has to take a bit of weight off of the club's back.

We currently sit 2.5 behind Toronto for the 2nd AL WC spot, with only KC and HOU (who we play next weekend) standing in between us. While we sit 7 back of Cleveland who looks like they may never lose again...

As I said above, this is our chance to really pickup some momentum and some ground in the AL. With a generous schedule to close out the first half. I checked, and we likely won't see a run this favoring for the entire second half. We need to capitalize.

12 games, 9 at home and 3 each against:

vs MIN
@ HOU
vs NY
vs ATL

If we manage 2 of 3 in all four, or drop 2 of 3 in one series and sweep either MIN/ATL at home. That's 8-4 to close the second half, and would put us at 46-42 at the break. That's my aim. Win each series. Which I would have to think has us no more than a game or so back of a spot. We would be in as good of a position as anyone else to get hot and go on a run.

I haven't counted this season as a loss yet. Let's see what we can do here.

Here's to a strong finish, to conclude a ROLLER COASTER first half.

Yup ... lotsa baseball left to play and anything can happen. Would be nice to see if this team can just give Q some damn run support. I feel soooo bad for that guy. He'd be an ace on most other pitching staffs. Gotta be frustrating as hell for him.

Sale was a beast today minus those 2 HRs he gave up in the 8th when he was hitting the 90th pitch count.

Just our luck we're catching Houston & Hotlanta while they're ... hot. WTF is up with da Bravos, @Chewbaccer ??? They juicin in June? I mean I know the Muttz can't hit for shyt, but they've had their number, so far, this year against that pitching staff.

craigk217 said:

Yup ... lotsa baseball left to play and anything can happen. Would be nice to see if this team can just give Q some damn run support. I feel soooo bad for that guy. He'd be an ace on most other pitching staffs. Gotta be frustrating as hell for him.

Sale was a beast today minus those 2 HRs he gave up in the 8th when he was hitting the 90th pitch count.

Just our luck we're catching Houston & Hotlanta while they're ... hot. WTF is up with da Bravos, @Chewbaccer ??? They juicin in June? I mean I know the Muttz can't hit for shyt, but they've had their number, so far, this year against that pitching staff.

Click to expand...

It won't last. Our starting pitching has been pretty solid all season save the first week of the season and Aaron Blair's spot. As Freddie Freeman goes, so goes the offense. He's been hot the last couple weeks, and we've been scoring runs. We're actually quite a bit over .500 when we score 4 runs or more. Freeman will go ice cold again, and we'll see Teheran and Wisler throw 8 innings allowing only 2 runs and getting hung with the loss again in no time.

Chewbaccer said:

It won't last. Our starting pitching has been pretty solid all season save the first week of the season and Aaron Blair's spot. As Freddie Freeman goes, so goes the offense. He's been hot the last couple weeks, and we've been scoring runs. We're actually quite a bit over .500 when we score 4 runs or more. Freeman will go ice cold again, and we'll see Teheran and Wisler throw 8 innings allowing only 2 runs and getting hung with the loss again in no time.

Click to expand...

I heard they floatin the idea of Teheran trade .... ?

Not really sure what that would do ... seems like he could be one of those young pitchers with potential to build around.

craigk217 said:

I heard they floatin the idea of Teheran trade .... ?

Not really sure what that would do ... seems like he could be one of those young pitchers with potential to build around.

Click to expand...

Dude's just 25, under team control until 2020 with a team friendly contract. I doubt many teams would be willing to part with the package we would command for him. I've been wrong numerous times before, though.

Chewbaccer said:

Dude's just 25, under team control until 2020 with a team friendly contract. I doubt many teams would be willing to part with the package we would command for him. I've been wrong numerous times before, though.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a common dilemma with 'bandwagon fans'.

And the cotdayum Braves have just been absoluuuuutely killin me in pickems! Sunzabeches need to lose when I pick them to lose ... like every dayum day.

craigk217 said:

Yup ... lotsa baseball left to play and anything can happen. Would be nice to see if this team can just give Q some damn run support. I feel soooo bad for that guy. He'd be an ace on most other pitching staffs. Gotta be frustrating as hell for him.

Sale was a beast today minus those 2 HRs he gave up in the 8th when he was hitting the 90th pitch count.

Just our luck we're catching Houston & Hotlanta while they're ... hot. WTF is up with da Bravos, @Chewbaccer ??? They juicin in June? I mean I know the Muttz can't hit for shyt, but they've had their number, so far, this year against that pitching staff.

Click to expand...

Eh... we're going to have Sale, Q and Shields (crossing my fingers he builds off of the Fenway start) running out against them. Like our Atlanta friend here said, I don't mind catching them here. I don't think this can last. We're at home, they can't hit much and our bats are just starting to get going again.

As far as Houston, that team is a total enigma. You don't know what you're going to get.

Sweeping Minnesota would be a real big way for this team to get back on track. If there's a team Shields could get it together against, it might as well be them. Q, Shields and Rodon... vs Gibson, Nolasco and Malone. I would bet we drop one though... just because... lol

Yay... Another setback!

Jesus. This team really has no desire to get back above .500.

Shields gets his first win tonight. Gut feeling.

Melky out 3-4 days... I guess it could be worse.

Alright... well. Looks like Shields should have his first win, barring a huge bullpen meltdown. Nice outing through 6.2 IP... Even if it wasn't always a smooth ride, it's another step in the right direction. Looked like he started to get some confidence back as the game went on. We'll see what he can do against a team that can actually hit...

LMAO!

You thought the KC 9th inning collapse was bad? We're about to blow a 9-1 lead in the 9th to FUCKING Minnesota.

Wow... He just missed that one.

My goodness.

Thank god that didn't happen.

richig07 said:

Alright... well. Looks like Shields should have his first win, barring a huge bullpen meltdown. Nice outing through 6.2 IP... Even if it wasn't always a smooth ride, it's another step in the right direction. Looked like he started to get some confidence back as the game went on. We'll see what he can do against a team that can actually hit...

Click to expand...

Indeed, no one is expecting being a #1 or #2 pitcher from him. He just has to show he can be a competent, normal, #3-4 type of pitcher.

Alright, took two of three from Minnesota. Third series win in a row. We've now won 7 of 10. Back above .500 at 40-39. 2.5 back of the wild card.

Cross them off the list I made. HOU, NYY and ATL left before the break. Houston will be the toughest hurdle, but you have to feel good if Gonzalez can manage a win tomorrow, considering we have Sale and Q to follow.

It's really nice to feel like we're finally pulling out of our free fall.

i feel like hawk right now but they are absolutely crushing friers and have nothing to show for it so far

Kind of knew they'd drop this one tonight. Hopefully Sale gets a win tomorrow, and sets up a decent rubber match with Q out there.

Astros are HOT as hell right now... I don't know if I see us taking this series.