Here we are in game 4 of the Yankees' first visit to Fenway this year, it's 2-0 Sox in the top of the 4th, I go to the kitchen and make a sandwich, come back and it's 8-2 Yankees... eww-kay?

You'll never do that again, will you?

Redsoxbreath, you gotta stop making those "Bad Mojo on Rye" sandwiches, ok? They may be low-cal, but they'll send your blood pressure skyrocketing.

Hey, RedSoxBreath, the Sox are coming to Yankee Stadium next week. Maybe you can roast a turkey or something.

Ouch! 15-4! Oh well, somebody on Sons of Sam Horn said that last night's game was a win-win situation: either we win and take another 3 of 4 series, or Oliver gets shelled (boy, did he) and gets taken out of the rotation.

So, we got the split, but at least it sounds like Casey Fossum will move up into the rotation while Oliver gets demoted to the bullpen. After Oliver's great 4-1 start (before losing 3 of his last 4 starts), he was asked on sports radio what he had done differently, what kind of work he had done in the off-season, and to what does he attribute his success this season compared to last (ERA of 6+). To my chagrin, he said, "Nothing, sometimes you just have good seasons." Uh oh. The pessimist in me had to think that the great start was a bit of a fluke, and his record would even out. Lo and behold.

The interesting to look out for in the next Sox/Yanks series (5/31-6/2 in the Bronx) is who starts on Sunday. If they stick with the rotation, then Fossum would get the start. But with the off-day Thursday, Pedro **could** start instead. All the media guys are saying that going with Pedro would smack of panic, and obviously the Sox don't want to do that. But if the Yanks take the first two games, do you really want a young'un making his first start of the season in there?

We're ready to move into FIRST ... where we belong...

Since we last met, the Red Sox have swept Toronto, and the Yankees have swept the White Sox. Tomorrow night at Yankee stadium, get ready for "most improved" Derek Lowe to kick Wells' butt.





Derek Lowe

[ June 02, 2002: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

this is getting to be a **very** interesting race for the A.L. East. The Sox and MFYs have the two best records in baseball, with just ridiculous winning percentages. The Yankee pitching staff is hurting while Boston's premier hitter is on the DL. Both teams are trying to play it cool, as if playing their archrival were no big whoop, but you can feel the buzz in the stadium in their matchups. And come on! Joe Torre was managing that May 25th game like it was Game 7 of the World Series. Pedro was just about jumping out of his cleats when coming off the mound in the May 23rd game. Don't tell me that Red Sox/MFYs games are "just like any other game"!

Even without Pedro and Roger, the pitching matchups are pretty interesting.

• Lowe and Wells tomorrow: Lowe has pitched just awesome this year, but had a shakey outing the last time against the MFYs. Wells got even more roughed up against the Sox. I'm sure both guys will want to redeem themselves a bit. The added edge to this game is how much the Sox want Wells to eat his trash-talkin' words earlier in the season.
• Arrojo vs. Mussina on Saturday: Whereas Mussina has pretty much dominated the Sox in the past, the Sox actually hit Mussina pretty hard the last time (5 runs, but in a 14-5 loss). Arrojo has some of the best stuff in MLB right now, but his head always seems to be floating around somewhere outside of the ballpark. He really believes he should be a starting pitcher, though, and I'm sure he'll want to kick some MFY ass in his first start of the year.
• Castillo vs. Thurman on Sunday: Castillo actually pitched great against the MFYs last season. He's been the \"hard luck\" guy on the Sox rotation so far this season ... pitched pretty good, but not much run support. I don't really know Thurman's story, except that he's a recent call-up. I'd love the scoop on him from a knowledgeable MFY fan.

PS: Did anybody know that Soriano and Hillenbrand are tight? I never would have guessed, but according to this NY Times article, the two are really good friends.

[ May 30, 2002: Message edited by: BoSoxRudy ]

Yippee! a great start to the series!!



I had a feeling we'd win this one. Come on, there's no way that Derek Lowe is going to lose two starts in a row. He didn't pitch great (only 4 hits, but 5 walks in 6 innings), but pitched well in tight situations, and got a lotta help from some outstanding infield defense. Gotta say, I'm just not used to seeing Stanton get shelled like that.

Saturday's game is still Mussina vs. Arrojo, but I guess they're starting Ted Lilly instead of Thurman on Sunday. The switch makes the matchup more interesting since both Castillo and Lilly are the hard-luck pitchers of their respective teams. Both have pitched far better than their win-loss records might indicate, pitching well but lacking run support in most outings.

PS: check out Castillo's backside when he's on the mound. It's real purty.

BoSox - I have a question for you - in watching the Yankees play at Boston last week I noticed TONS of Yankee fans. This may just be your opinion, but do you think they all make the drive up from New York, or do you think alot of those Yankee fans are wanna-be's that live in Boston ?

Here in Cleveland when the Yankees play there's always a handful dressed up in Yankee gear, but I know for a fact alot of them live in Cleveland.

I've never been to Fenway for a Yankees game because it's such a tough ticket (a couple of bills for even the lousiest seats, and don't even ask if Pedro's pitching), but if I had to guess, I'd say it's half and half. Because of all the colleges and universities in the area, tons of people here are "foreigners" (whether they're here just for a while for school, or they already graduated and decided to stick around). But I also know lots and lots of Sox fans who make the trek down to the Bronx, so I'm sure the reverse is true too.

Maybe because Fenway is so small, it only seems that half the crowd cheers that Yanks? I've been to 2 Yanks-Sox games at Fenway (both during '98, and the Sox won both, dammit!), and I'd guess the fan split then was 2/3 Sox, 1/3 Yanks. Yank fans cheering in Fenway seem to stand out more than Sox fans in Yankee Stadium (which is 20,000 seats bigger). It's interesting that when the Mets have come to Boston for interleague play, their fans seem to show up in the same numbers.

And, yes, count me as a "foreigner" who came here for college and stuck around (15 years, and 4 Yankee titles, and counting).

I've been to Yankee - Red Sox games at both Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park (whose charm escapes me - I don't mean to offend the Sox faithful, but what a toilet that place is!) There always seem to be more Yankee fans at Fenway than Sox fans at the Stadium. I think that's true just about everywhere, though. There are so many displaced New Yorkers living throughout the country; I run into fellow Yankee fans everywhere I go. Very often in opposing ballparks in California and Florida it feels like the Yanks are the home team. My favorite was the special exhibition game at Pac Bell Park the day before it officially opened. The Yankees were playing the Giants, and the new ballpark was rocking with the "Let's Go Yankees" chant.

It isn't just displaced New Yorkers. Many kids all over the world, especially those who didn't have a local team, became Yankee fans because of the Yankee mystique.
Munson Man, you can't possibly "offend the Sox faithful", don't worry, we're major snobs.
The beautiful, whimsical proportions of our ball park, the colors, the exquisite light when you arrive mid-afternoon, the intimacy of the setting, the extraordinary fans we are (we actually know beaseball, know about our team, and care), and the tasteful absence of electronic crowd manipulation and fireworks in our stadium, all these things make Fenway the best place anywhere to attend a baseball game. No need for fancy food malls and modern design and materials. We leave those for the rest of you mere mortals.

Last time my MFY's won a title Clinton was president. Last time the Fenway Faithful had much to cheer about , Woodrow Wilson was in the Oval Office. You guys do have great Irish Bars, however. Pete

Last year, I went to Yankee Stadium and there must have been 15,000 BoSox fans there. And I watched the game today and there were a lot of lot of Sox fans at the Stadium. Yankee and Boston fans both travel well....and the idea that Boston is filled with wanna-be Yankee fans is a bunch of *crap (no offense). If that were the case, Sox fans wouldn't sell out every game.
Red Sox fans are devoted. No self-respecting fan would ever cheer for the Yanks (vice versa I suspect).

Woo-hoo! Nice 7-1 win by the Red Sox, making it four for seven overall against the Yankees, .698 overall... pissa!

RHP Frank Castillo allowed only four hits in eight innings. I'm loving our starters... Castillo, Burkett, Pedro Martinez, and especially Lowe, now with a 1.95 ERA. Four other guys with an ERA under 3. Meanwhile, it looks like reliever Rich Garces has totally used up his mojo and bought a ticket back to AAA. Bye, Guapo

[quote]Originally posted by Munson Man:
My favorite was the special exhibition game at Pac Bell Park the day before it officially opened. The Yankees were playing the Giants, and the new ballpark was rocking with the "Let's Go Yankees" chant.

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Maybe this falls under the theory that fans on the Left Coast are more laid back, because when the Yanks came to the Vet last year, in the first game of the series (which was the one I was at) the "Let's Go Yankees" chant was quickly drowned out by the "Yankees Suck!" chant.

Needless to say, I'm real happy with the outcome of the series. The Sox still have the best record in baseball, and the 7-4 record over the MFYs is so sweet. Daubach, Hillenbrand, and Nomar have really picked it up while Manny's on the DL. As much as I'm looking forward to having the best hitter in the AL back in the lineup, it's awesome that the Sox have managed to summon up plenty of offense without him. And it's gotta warm a Sox fan's heart that they shelled both Stanton and Mendoza, two guys who in the past have been serious Sox-killers.

You're right, redsoxbreath, we couldn't ask for more from the starters. We certainly need all the quality starts, what with the Sox pen a bit thin nowadays. Note that it took two great starts (Lowe: 7 innings, 0 runs; Castillo: 8 innings, 1 run) to beat the MFYs. Arrojo certainly didn't have a bad start (2 runs allowed in 5 innings is respectable), but once the game was left in the bullpen's hands ... eek!

Things are changing quickly in the Sox pen. I'm convinced that Sunny Kim is going to be a very good pitcher some day, but he's still young and has had a real bad month. So he's down in Pawtucket to iron himself out. Unfortunately, they brought up Willie Banks <gulp> to take his place . The big news is that Rich Garces, a.k.a. El Guapo, has revealed that his hamstring has been bothering him (uh huh), and he might go on the DL for a spell. Guapo's hamstring is tight? What about his uniform?? Poor Guaps lost 40+ pounds in the off-season, but he must have gained about 50-60 pounds since because he's looking heavier than I've ever seen him. I gotta think that such dramatic changes in his body have just ruined his stuff.

Finally did anybody catch Fossum's hare-brained throw to home when there was no runner on third? OMG, I almost fell off the couch I was laughing so hard. Fortunately, with Mirabelli's quick thinking and even quicker arm, he still got the force at 1st. I liked Grady Little's response, "It must have been something they practiced in spring training before I got there."

[quote]Originally posted by BoSoxRudy:
I liked Grady Little's response, "It must have been something they practiced in spring training before I got there."

---

LOL, great comment, and I gotta say, Grady has had plenty to do with the team's success. This is his first steady job in the major leagues, and his reputation as a thoughtful, well-respected manager has certainly carried over from his 16 year-career in the minors. He's won over Red Sox Nation, at least so far... The front office has been totally hands-off, properly focusing their attention on the new-guys-in-town PR stuff. What a far cry from last year's Duquette/Williams/Kerrigan fiasco.

[ June 03, 2002: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

Hmmmm its june and redsox win a series against the yanks...havent we seen this before lol

The Red Sox are back in the Bronx for the weekend... Did you see that game tonight? Good one, 4-2 Red Sox. Pedro's got his stuff back, he dominated the Yankees, 5 hits in seven innings, with 9 K's.

Speaking of Those Who Suck, Posada whiffed all four at bats and was a pitiful mess behind the plate. They deserve him.

Tonight's game was awesome!!! (if you don't know the result yet, take a wild guess based on my comment). Seriously though, it was very high quality stuff from both Mussina and Pedro for 7 innings. I got so damn nervous at one point I was sitting on the couch with my fingers over my eyes, cracking them open every once in a while, as if watching some horror movie. Until the two gents tired toward the end, giving up 3 and 2 runs, respectively, it was a classic pitchers' duel, with Mussina blinking first. It didn't help that Mikey had some gawd-awful D backing him up (the team with the $140 million payroll also has the 3rd most errors in the AL???) while Pedro was bailed out with a couple of slick defensive plays.

Posada struck our 4 times and committed 2 errors??? Man, he's gonna wanna find a rock to crawl under. If not that, perhaps this alternative ...

It's great to see the Red Sox making a comeback on the yank$. I would like a miracle to happen and see the Sox get into the World Series, that is, if the Mariners don't make it. Good luck Red Sox!!!

Bwahahahaha!!!

Yankeees SUCK!

Gosh, this was such a fun series. Seems strange that there's been no commentary on it since Friday night. Wonder why that is. Wait - what's that I hear in the background? Oh, it's Sinatra singing.....



[ July 21, 2002: Message edited by: Munson Man ]

OK, I'll add a comment. These had to be two of the more sour-tasting wins for the Yanks. Sure, they won the last 2 games and now have a 4-game lead. But Saturday showed what the mess the bullpen has been lately. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver danced around saying so directly, but the pitching changes by Torre on Saturday were brutal. Today, we see Jeff Weaver obviously has some issues (5 HRs allowed, ugh!) Posada did get the last laugh, kinda, with the walk-off walk. But whatever black cloud is hanging over the Yanks' pitching needs to leave, and soon.

You sometimes hear Cubs fans say about their team, "They wouldn't be the Cubs if they didn't break your heart." But the Red Sox aren't content with merely breaking your heart. They first cut it out with rusty razor blades, defecate on it, throw the whole sorry mess into a Cuisinart, and finally dump the gruesome muck into Chelsea Harbor at low tide. All the while, they keep you on life support and force you to watch the proceedings on NESN by propping your eyelids open with Ebola-infected needles.

I felt more demoralized after the loss yesterday than any loss all season long. Well, that is, until today's loss. Fecal defense, a fecal start from John "I'm not going to the All Star Game" Burkett (and just who the f*ck did you think was going to invite you, Sh*t For Brains?!?!), and a fecal Buckneresque fielding error to give away the game in the bottom of the 9th. I love Nomar and all, but has anybody ever noticed that he is literally incapable of playing a ball hit right at him? He has SIXTEEN errors this season, more than any other shortstop in the American League. Why didn't the Sox, in all their glorious stupidity, trade Trot Nixon for Sammy Sosa 2 years ago??? Nixon will never amount to anything more than a borderline journeyman, whereas Sammy's still having HOF-type seasons. As much as I love Pedro and Lowe to death and am so damn grateful that we finally have a #2 pitcher, the drop-off to #3 John Burkett is like taking a bungee jump off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon but forgetting to tie down the other end of the chord.

Painful painful painful painful ... I'm in the 9th Circle of Dante's Baseball Hell right now.

BoSoxRudy: I don't know whether to laugh or throw up! I only hope you've thrown out any rusty razor blades of your own...

BoSoxRudy said it more dramatically than I could ever hope to. I had written a long analysis of this weird weekend of baseball when a browser conflict ate all my well-considered, elegantly-phrased text. Bottom line: Bizarre but exciting series, in the end just a low-down, dirty shame. I blame it all on Dan Duquette.

[ July 21, 2002: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

Tidbit pointed out by Michael Holley in today's Globe, the total combined score for the series was 20-20. "Boston and New York are virtual equals when it comes to talent. The difference over the weekend was that the Sox had more moments when you screamed aloud, 'What are they thinking?' I respect Joe Torre and his Yankees, but Boston's series loss was an inside job." The Yankees screwed up plenty too, just one too few times.

[ July 22, 2002: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

Bottom line...WE WON

Didn't really know where to put this, so I'll just tag it onto the end of the Yankees/Red Sox thread. Here's an interesting tidbit for today's Boston Herald:

[quote]Nixon would have sat there well into the night, answering question after question about the error, but finally teammate Nomar Garciaparra, standing off in the distance with a plate of postgame spread in his hands, worked his way through the crowd of reporters and stood next to Nixon. He listened to the line of questioning for a few minutes, and then said, softly, "Trot, go get undressed."

---

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... whatever you say, Nomie-baby.

By the way, before any rumors get out of hand, Nomar is currently googly-eyed, head-over-heels in love with Mia Hamm. I just thought the quote was kinda cute.

While all of the baseball world was focusing on the Red Sox/Yank games, another important series took place 2,500 miles away in Anaheim in which the Angels swept the Mariners to move within one game of first place and took the wild card lead. While this series did not produce the weird and sometimes outrageous endings as the one on the east coast, it did produce two come from behind victories in which the Angels beat up on the leagues' best bullpen.

Also, if Jarod Washburn was pitching for either the Yanks or the Red Sox, he would receive much greater acolades and attention; he just won his 12th game in a row. The Angels record wise are one of the better teams in the American League (3rd best record) that nobody knows about....

You think the Patriot's were a great Cinderella story in January? Wait till you see what the Angels do in late October!

[ July 22, 2002: Message edited by: MikeOC ]

MikeOC - when I saw this morning the Angels were only a game out I was in shock ! So my question is what is David Eckstein like, rowdy, keep to hisself or what; he is over 18 isn't he ?

Anyway, back in Kansas City, a bunch of Royals fans were cheering "Cleveland Sucks" which normally wouldn't bother me, but then I thought how low have my Indians gone, that KANSAS CITY says we suck ????? !!!!!!!!!!!

[ July 22, 2002: Message edited by: osufan ]

All I can say is we better sweep the Devil Rays this week.

"Let's play two."

Bill

PS: Hey Sox fans. Right now, there are a lot of seats available for a makeup game on Rosh Hashana (Monday, Sept. 16, Maybe?) It's a 1 p.m. game.

Anyone interested.

Of course, I believe it's a day after the strike is set for.

OSU Fan- David Eckstein is one of the fan favorites because of the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the team. He is sort of a spark plug at the top of the lineup along with Erstad. He's barely 5'8" and does looks as if he just came out of high school. Definitely carries himself with great dignity and is very humble.... blue collar type of guy. Overall, he's just darn adorable.

I really should just start another thread when the Angels face the Red Sox and Yankee's 6 times each in August. Sorry to intrude on this thread with Angel talk.

[ July 23, 2002: Message edited by: MikeOC ]

Mike, definitely start up an Angels/Red Sox thread. In fact, we could do it right now since the first game (of seven total) is next Monday in Cali. You guys should have the advantage because the Sox'll be travel-weary and jet-lagged. Oops! better save such discussion for the new thread.

Anyway, Eckstein is a real asset to any team he plays for. He has a chip on his shoulder, but in a good way. Nobody ever believed in him, nobody thought he could play at the big league level, and he sets about every single game proving all the naysayers wrong. The Red Sox didn't want to lose Eckstein, but they put him on waivers to make room for Lou Merloni coming back from Japan. It was foolish to think that such a good player would clear waivers, and the Angels were smart to snatch him up right away. Jerry Remy, former Sox player and now commentator, always laments the loss of Eckstein from the Red Sox organization because he was a real big fan of the guy.