BOYZ,
Oh-oh!! September has now arrived!! How will the Red Sox cope with the news?
However, i'd be weary...
Ohhhhhhhhh, happy sour grapes Doc!!! :eyebrows:
What calendar are you on? Chinese? Roman? Hebrew? Islamic? Alien life form? The Red Sox, unlike some English speaking Toronto fans, are aware this is August 31, not September. You must be "weary" (tired) not knowing the day, and you should be wary (cautious, worried) when your much touted Jays have failed so miserably...even without the tired old Farrell excuse. Like everything else in Toronto, the problems start with the owners.
The Red Sox starting pitching minus Dempster has been very solid even in losses. Getting a win out of him last night was a gift. My own expectations never included winning the division but they are in a great position to do so despite a September schedule that has some challenges. Unlike last year when they lost about 1586 player games due to injuries, second most since records have been kept, they are fairly healthy. If Buchholz returns and keeps his ERA under 3.00 they will be very tough on opposition hitting and a good match for most top teams.
As for John Farrell, when he doesn't have to deal with the mess in Toronto:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...t-white-sox/Nx3RtZgYQCHPTPzRRcT8XO/story.html
From the first day of spring training, John Farrell spoke to the Red Sox about trust and the need to support each other. A big part of fixing a franchise gone awry was establishing an atmosphere where the players felt the manager was on their side.
That’s why David Ortiz, mired in one of the worst slumps of his career, was in the lineup against the White Sox on Friday night and batting cleanup as usual, even against a lefthanded starter.
Farrell didn’t blink. And neither did Ortiz in the fourth inning.
Ortiz’s two-run single proved to be the decisive hit as the Red Sox beat the White Sox, 4-3, before a crowd of 36,063 at Fenway Park, moving the Red Sox 3½ games ahead of the Rays, who lost the A’s in Oakland, 4-3.
The single by Ortiz ended an 0-for-23 skid and gave the Red Sox enough of a lead for Ryan Dempster and three relievers to hold.
“Don’t worry about me,” Ortiz said. “It’s time to worry about me when I go to the plate with no bat.”
That Farrell stayed with Ortiz was no surprise. He has showed faith in players with far less status during the course of the season. Invariably, he has been rewarded, too.
“What else can he do? Just because I struggled for a week, he’s not going to sit me down or something like that,” said Ortiz, who also drew two walks. “He should have that faith. I’ve been in this for a long time.”
The Sox have won five of their last six games and are 3-1 on a homestand that has five games remaining. At 80-56, they have the best record in the American League.
Ortiz was 0 for 4 and left three runners on base in Thursday’s 3-2 loss against Baltimore. Farrell said almost immediately after the game that his designated hitter would be back in the lineup. The best thing for Ortiz was more chances.
“David Ortiz, his career speaks for itself,” Farrell said. “He’s a cornerstone of our lineup with him sitting in the middle of it. Because he goes through a couple of weeks where things weren’t working out, that’s the first time all year that he’s had any prolonged dry spell. Totally confident he’d work himself out of it.”
Cheers,
Merlot
