BBTF's Game Chatter Discussion :: RedSox (74-48) @ Royals (51-73), Thursday, August 18, 2011, 8:10 pm

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

RedSox (74-48) @ Royals (51-73), Thursday, August 18, 2011, 8:10 pm

BOS: Josh Beckett (31, RHP, 9-5, 2.40)
KCR: Luke Hochevar (27, RHP, 8-9, 4.89)

The Primer Chimp Posted: August 18, 2011 at 01:00 PM | 111 comment(s)
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1. tfbg9 Posted: August 18, 2011 at 06:40 PM (#3903235)

Youk's going to the DL. Lavarnaway up. Sports suck.

2. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit Posted: August 18, 2011 at 08:56 PM (#3903356)

Ellsbury CF
Lowrie 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Pedroia 2B
Reddick RF
Crawford LF
Lavarnway DH
Varitek C
Aviles SS

From Boston.com. I suspect this is what we'll see for the next several days with Reddick/McDonald alternating as needed and Scutaro plugged back in when healthy. Somewhere in the next week I'll bet anything we get an absolute killer of a lineup on a day when Tito gets Pedroia a break and we have a Scutaro/Aviles/Lowrie infield.

3. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:14 AM (#3903468)

Oh god why are you swinging at that and not letting Ellsbury steal. Dummy.

4. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:17 AM (#3903471)

Hey look, Adrian Gonzalez rolled over a pitch and pulled a weak grounder.

I'm shocked.

5. Chip Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:25 AM (#3903476)

Dumbest bunt in history? Couldn't they tell just from that first AB that Beckett was ready to bring the First Inning Suck again?

6. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:34 AM (#3903485)

Please just pull a grounder to second as usual, Crawford. Just move the runner and don't K.

7. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:36 AM (#3903486)

####### useless piece of ####.

8. Famous Original Joe C Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:36 AM (#3903487)

I wish Wake was pitching tonight.

9. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:36 AM (#3903488)

Ok, I'm excited to see this.

10. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:38 AM (#3903490)

Lavarnway's got a decent AB going, at least.

11. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:38 AM (#3903491)

Carl Crawford stinks...just saying...

12. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:40 AM (#3903492)

Twins score 2 off Sabathia in the first inning on a Morneau homer. Sabathia's really giving up the long balls lately.

13. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:40 AM (#3903494)

A run!

Wait, what the hell did Varitek just do?

14. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:40 AM (#3903495)

Jesus, Varitek. Well, at least they got the run.

15. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:41 AM (#3903496)

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING? YOU'RE A CATCHER!!!

16. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:48 AM (#3903500)

"He's gonna DH tonight. That's probably what he's gonna be doing. We have enough catching. We can use his bat," Francona said. "Tremendous hitter, especially for power in Double A and then carrying over into Triple-A. He's worked so hard with his catching that I think he's actually turned into an average catcher. That's where he has some work to do. You may not see him catch here, but hopefully he'll hit a few home runs."

17. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:49 AM (#3903501)

It would be great if lavarnway really was turning into an average catcher, but Francona might be the only one who believes it.

18. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:53 AM (#3903503)

Apparently Morneau's homer was overturned on replay, because the score is back to 0-0 in Minnesota.

19. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:55 AM (#3903504)

Great AB from Ellsbury.

It's funny that they have the TouchPad ads since HP has now decided to give up on WebOS phones and tablets.

20. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:56 AM (#3903507)

Remember when Lowrie was awesome at the beginning of the year? That was pretty cool.

21. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:58 AM (#3903508)

I remember when Lowrie was awesome at the end of last year too.

I think he just needs to start being more selective again.

Adrian tried to GIDP but Hosmer didn't go for it.

22. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:59 AM (#3903509)

19 - I think it's funny how NESN is pimping their iThing app every break but showing HP TouchPad stuff and even using an Android phone in their AT&T promo.

Got a little work to do, though - the ad isn't quite as smug as a genuine Apple spot.

23. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:59 AM (#3903510)

Remember when Lowrie was awesome at the beginning of the year? That was pretty cool.

Remember when Adrian Gonzalez used to hit the ball out of the park? Hell, at this point it'd be cool if he'd hit it out of the infield...

24. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:59 AM (#3903511)

When did A-gon totally morph into JD Drew?

25. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 12:59 AM (#3903512)

Yaaay, Dusty.

26. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:01 AM (#3903513)

Twins threatening in the bottom of the second while Yankees lead 1-0.

27. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:02 AM (#3903514)

This game has convinced me that purchasing both a Pedroia and a Reddick shirt is the right move. (If I were more confident that we'd be resigning Els I might go with him.)

28. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:08 AM (#3903519)

Twins are up 2-1.

I don't think the Red Sox will let Ellsbury go anywhere.

29. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:10 AM (#3903521)

I hope so Dan, but Boras's opening offer is probably going to be "Crawford money."

30. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:11 AM (#3903522)

If he wants Crawford money, give it to him. This season is far better than anything Crawford ever produced.

31. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:15 AM (#3903526)

Well ####.

32. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:16 AM (#3903527)

Yankees now have a 3-2 lead as well.

33. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:17 AM (#3903528)

Obviously, Beckett doesn't know how to win.

34. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:19 AM (#3903529)

This is Beckett and the Royals, right?

35. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:19 AM (#3903530)

Hey Biff, took a few listens but Lightbulb Sun finally clicked with me too.

36. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:23 AM (#3903531)

Does anyone ever think anything positive will happen when Crawford bats anymore?

37. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:24 AM (#3903532)

Awesome reverse jinx there, Dan.

38. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:24 AM (#3903533)

[rubs eyes]

39. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:24 AM (#3903535)

F*ck, crawford got a hit...

40. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:25 AM (#3903537)

Hey, Crawford got a hit on an actual line drive!

41. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:26 AM (#3903538)

Judging this on the extremely large sample size of two at bats, it feels like Lavarnway is being too selective. He's letting some meatballs go by and suddenly he has two strikes.

42. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:26 AM (#3903539)

How's Lavarnway looking at the plate?

43. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:26 AM (#3903540)

The Rays' version of Crawford would already be standing on third.

44. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:28 AM (#3903542)

Biff, I'd rather see him be too selective than be antsy and swinging at everything.

45. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:29 AM (#3903544)

I guess to me, you can always get someone to be more aggressive, but it's hard to get a hitter who's being too aggressive to be patient.

46. Famous Original Joe C Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:30 AM (#3903545)

There you go, Dan. Heh.

47. Famous Original Joe C Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:32 AM (#3903546)

Aaaand, it's all for naught.

48. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:32 AM (#3903547)

Well, that sucked.

49. Joel W Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:32 AM (#3903549)

Wow. Can't blame Crawford there. That was just a perfect throw.

50. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:33 AM (#3903550)

What the #### was that?

51. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:35 AM (#3903551)

I think maybe from where Melky was setting up they thought the flyball was maybe 15 feet deeper than it really was. Nice peg.

52. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:35 AM (#3903552)

That ball was too shallow to even send Crawford on, especially with Ellsbury on deck.

53. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:37 AM (#3903553)

Catcher never even tagged Crawford. Nor did Crawford touch the plate. Catcher just turned his back to absorb the blow.

Nice play by Lowrie.

54. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:42 AM (#3903554)

"Rhoad" Island? Really?

55. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:44 AM (#3903556)

Yay, Lowrie with a nice double.

Maybe Gonzalez can get a hit too?

56. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:45 AM (#3903557)

Dumb send on Melky's arm. 21 assists.

That said, he was never even closed to tagged. You might say he should have gone back and touched home, but he was already called out at that point. I'd prefer he slide there and try to avoid the tag.

57. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:45 AM (#3903558)

Hey, a brief appearance by early-season Lowrie. Maybe first-half Gonzalez is here, too.

58. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:46 AM (#3903559)

Looking bad there, Gonzo.

Gonzo playing hurt, Youk out, Ortiz out. Terrible.

59. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:46 AM (#3903560)

Gonzalez looks ####### terrible. Can we DL him too?

60. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:48 AM (#3903561)

That is really, really bad.

61. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:49 AM (#3903562)

Gee, I wonder if the Twins will manage to beat the Yanks.

Melky against the Yanks--dropped fly ball. Against the sox, nails a guy at the plate.

62. Biff, highly-regarded young guy Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:50 AM (#3903563)

Running out of innings is fun!

63. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:50 AM (#3903564)

Let's get thrown out on the bases some more.

64. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:51 AM (#3903565)

3rd outfield assist of the game for KC. Can we please stop running on these guys' arms?

65. Benji Gil Gamesh Rises Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:54 AM (#3903566)

Ehh, two of those were technically OF assists, but not really the way you think of it.

66. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:55 AM (#3903567)

That was brutal. Aviles is not very good.

67. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 01:56 AM (#3903569)

You're not going to beliieve this but the Yanks are up 6-2.

68. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:01 AM (#3903571)

I think Lowrie is better at SS than Aviles. But maybe I'm nuts.

69. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:03 AM (#3903572)

I think Navarro is.

70. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:07 AM (#3903575)

"They said Aviles was just as good as Ozzie Smith."

"Just as good...."

"is NEVER NEVER NEVER...."

"just as good."

71. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:09 AM (#3903576)

Why is this rube Jack doing the NESN updates? He was terrible 10 years ago.

72. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:10 AM (#3903578)

Good pitch to swing at there, Crawful.

73. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:11 AM (#3903579)

Two horrible pitches swung at in that AB. Great job.

74. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:12 AM (#3903580)

That was a ####### ugly swing, Carl.

75. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:13 AM (#3903581)

Does Crawford have a compulsion to swing at every 3-2 pitch? I can't ever recall him walking on 3-2. He always chases something in the dirt and Ks.

76. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:13 AM (#3903583)

Really bad-looking AB by Lavarnway.

77. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:13 AM (#3903582)

returns to desk, checks gameday....update says Carl Crawford strikes out. two out. Water is wet, sun still sets in West.

78. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:14 AM (#3903584)

So Dan, you are not pleased with Mr. Crawford thus far in the proceedings?

79. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:16 AM (#3903586)

It really sucks, because I want to be a huge fan of Crawford. But he's just not allowing it to happen.

80. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:17 AM (#3903588)

79--seconded.

81. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:19 AM (#3903589)

This game is going to get ugly. Let's just chat about commercials.

82. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:19 AM (#3903590)

I realize that guys like Dunn and Bay have also been flops, but is there any history of a player being signed for ~$20M/year and being a replacement level player in the first year of the deal? I can't think of anyone who was signed to a record setting deal like this and coming out so poorly. Dunn and Bay both suck, but they were both signed for ~45% of the money that Crawford is getting over his deal.

83. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:24 AM (#3903592)

I still cant believe they were so willing to give Crawford 7/140 and wouldn't pull the trigger on Holliday. They've done a terrible job figuring out who deserves big deals. And in keeping people healthy.

84. Hugh Jorgan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:24 AM (#3903593)

The thing with Crawford is that he just looks so overmatched at the plate sometimes, like he really has no idea what he's doing, and you'd assume that's not really the case.

85. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:25 AM (#3903596)

Still don't think Ellsbury takes good routes. He seems way too conservative and often starts in the wrong direction.

86. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:26 AM (#3903598)

Yeah. Not seriously pursuing Holliday was incredibly stupid. It would've likely saved us from Lackey, Cameron, and Crawford. And possibly left money for Cliff Lee or something too.

87. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:27 AM (#3903599)

Ellsbury's routes have been much better this year. Sometimes he still makes the wrong first step, but he's getting much better jumps on a lot of balls.

88. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:29 AM (#3903600)

You forgot Hermida. And Poland!

89. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:34 AM (#3903602)

Drew's been a solid signing over his contract, but has contributed nothing this year either. In 2011 the Sox are paying Lackey 15.25M, Crawford 14M, Drew 14M, Matsuzaka 10M, Jenks 6M, and Cameron 7.25M while getting replacement level or worse performance from each of them. That's 66.5 million dollars of payroll absolutely thrown away.

90. Jay Seaver Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:35 AM (#3903603)

They bite, Don... Though mostly their lovers' heads.

91. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:36 AM (#3903604)

4-3 game in the seventh--time for the don and jerry comedy show.

92. Phil Coorey. Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:39 AM (#3903605)

I've missed the whole game - any interesting stuff happen?

93. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:42 AM (#3903606)

For a while there, I really thought someone had talked to these guys and told them to tone down the idiocy. Guess not.

IS THIS REALLY THE BEST BROADCAST THAT NESN CAN PUT ON? IT IS SO INCREDIBLY PAINFUL TO LISTEN TO.

94. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:43 AM (#3903607)

They could put on a better broadcast by immediately replacing Remy with Eckersley.

95. Mike Webber Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:44 AM (#3903609)

Hello from the game, in the good seats tonight

96. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:46 AM (#3903611)

Tim Lincecum was hung with a loss tonight allowing 1 run in 7 innings, dropping his record to 11-10, despite a 2.53 ERA. Amazing that the Giants' offense is now even worse than last year's version.

97. Dan Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:49 AM (#3903615)

Adrian Gonzalez's at-bats make me very sad right now.

98. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:49 AM (#3903616)

I don't think Remy's the problem. If there wasn't a laughing fool next to him egging him on constantly, he'd be okay, I think.

99. FancyPantsHandle glistening with foreign substance Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:50 AM (#3903617)

100. Darren

Posted: August 19, 2011 at 02:51 AM (#3903619)

The problem with having a commercial centered around annoying person talking is that every time it's on, the people watching it have to listen to an annoying person.

Hi Mike! If you get on TV, wave like an idiot!

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RedSox (74-48) @ Royals (51-73), Thursday, August 18, 2011, 8:10 pm

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