I give anyone even odds that we sweep the Mariners too.

YOU MAY WIN A GAME, AT THE MOST TWO. THE QUESTION IS, WILL YOU BE THERE FOR THE POST SEASON? I DON'T THINK I'D BET ON THAT! IT'S GONNA BE THE MARINERS AND $KANKIE$ IN THE PLAYOFFS. SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU.

Mariners....YAWN!

GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!

Tzeile, I get the biggest kick out of your animated "gremlins". Anyway, I bet my M's will do pretty well against the BoSox. We have this weird tendency to struggle against crappy teams (see our just-ended series against Toronto) and yet do well against really good teams (Yankees, Oakland). But even if we do lose against Boston (and we're about 50/50 at home), it may well be worth it to help Boston's division standing over the Yanks.

In other words, we're just happy to have you guys in town. Let's play ball!

And our sexiest pitcher - Joel Pineiro - is starting it off, and we can all enjoy that!!

[ May 10, 2002: Message edited by: Lots-of-us ]

Sox dropped the first game 7-2, even though they got 10 hits and a walk (7 LOB!) vs. the M's 8 hits and 2 walks. Suzuki crossed the plate 4 times. What the heck's the deal with Tony Clark???

Hey Tom, no sweep, but how about offering-up double-or-nothing on the series? The odds look favorable...
Saturday: Oliver (4-1, 3.18) vs. Halama (1-0, 3.52)
Sunday: Senor Pedro (4-0, 3.49) vs. Baldwin (3-2, 5.36)

[quote]Originally posted by Seph:
Sox dropped the first game 7-2, even though they got 10 hits and a walk (7 LOB!) vs. the M's 8 hits and 2 walks. Suzuki crossed the plate 4 times. What the heck's the deal with Tony Clark???

Hey Tom, no sweep, but how about offering-up double-or-nothing on the series? The odds look favorable...
Saturday: Oliver (4-1, 3.18) vs. Halama (1-0, 3.52)
Sunday: Senor Pedro (4-0, 3.49) vs. Baldwin (3-2, 5.36)

---

Sure, I was hoping for a sweep, just like I hope to win the lottery, but I wasn't counting on it. One, the Mariners are a great team; and two, the games are on turf, and the four out of five of the Sox starters rely on a lot of ground ball outs. Ichiro just killed us with the crazy at-bats (a 13! pitch at-bat to draw a walk) and stolen bases. I had a bad feeling when the first play of the game is an error from Nomar.

Oh, and did you see Varitek rip into the 3B umpire when he thought he threw Ichiro out? Wow! If ever the phrase "you're so cute when you're angry" fit ... but, uh, I wouldn't tell him that to his face.

Nonetheless, I still think it's possible to win the series. Oliver's been pitching his brains out so far this season, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he can keep it up. And in Sunday's game, I'll bet on Pedro against any pitcher in MLB. Oh, you mean bet money? As in my hard-earned money? In that case, I'll bet on Pedro against any pitcher in MLB except Randy Johnson.

Finally, no, Tony Clark hasn't been causing too many pitchers to lose sleep, but there have been signs of slump emergence. He's been getting a few hits lately, and he actually got one batting lefty tonight (his righty average is actually fine, but he had been like 0 fer a zillion on the left side). Remember, this is the team that put up with Craig Grebeck's .049 average for waaaaaaay too long last season, and at least Clark offers up a lot more defense than Grebeck ever did.

PS: Anybody catch Rickey's quote in the papers about his uncertain status with the Sox? He said that his situation was causing him "puzzlement". LOL, now you hear all the sports radio guys using "puzzlement" in every other sentence.

MAKE-RICKEY-GO-AWAY!!! Right now, this minute, he's bad for the Sox and for the sport, I don't care what his past glories are. His statements are laughed off by teammates and writers, oh there goes Ricky again, ha ha. That's because we're doing so well, but wait till we lose three in a row (it's bound to happen some time ) and he'll be a pest.

I saw this quote in the (Boston) Globe today ... it definitely adds an interesting dimension to the two Mariners vs. Red Sox series:

[quote]Any doubt that the Red Sox are being taken seriously was erased when Mariners manager Lou Piniella divulged the theme of the report submitted by Seattle advance scout Stan Williams. 'He said Boston is the best club we'll see this year,' admitted Piniella before the start of the three-game set between the teams with the best records in baseball.

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Huh, that'll bring a smile to a Red Sox fan's face.

That was then, this is now, August in Beantown. The boys are back in Seattle this week. Great town, Seattle. The Red Sox are 5 down from the MFY's, two out of the wildcard. August in Beantown. Quiet streets, everybody's inside or down the Cape. September, reality hits. Grab me a cool one, will ya hon?

Last night's game started out great, but . . . 12-5 Boston. Ouch! Those Bosox sure can play ball. I tip my hat to you guys.

Thanks L.o.u., and same to you the night before... 10-3 M's.

BTW, what's with those deafening train whistles from the yard behind Safeco Field? If I didn't know better, I'd think they were meant to disrupt Shea Hillenbrand's at-bat.

I am so upset over tonight's loss I'm ready to set myself on fire. Better yet, lemme set Nomar on fire. That he went 0 for 5 in a one-run ballgame doesn't bother me (hey, everybody has an off night) as much as the quality of his at-bats. His first four at-bats were uglier than Strom Thurmond's f*cking hemorrhoids, including a cheap pop-up with men on 2nd and 3rd that killed the Sox's 6th inning rally.

Sean McAdams reported today that it doesn't seem like Nomar particular likes all the pressure from the fans and media and expects Nomar to go back home to California when his contract is up in 2004. Not many in Red Sox Nation will agree with me, but my feeling is, "Don't let the door hit ya in the ass." His phenomenal range is somewhat offset by more errors than any other shortstop in the AL. As for offense, here's some excellent analysis about Nomar's first-pitch flailing I read on SoSH: "Nomar's first pitch stats are ridiculously misleading. Everyone has great stats if you count only balls put in play and eliminate strikeouts from the average. Also, now the scouting reports tell every pitcher exactly how to approach Nomar. Throw him a tough first pitch slightly out of the zone. Watch for the pop up. Plus, it's far more obsessive this year."

When your $10 million Number 3 hitter has four shockingly stupid at-bats unworthy of a Double-A nonprospect, consequently going 0 for 5, you just aren't going to win many, if any, one-run ballgames. Plain and simple.