Bring on the kid lefty

Mike:
Let's hear it for the old guys, Schilling and the Cap'n salvage the series on with an awesome game.

 

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Bill:
Yeah, and what a perfect place for that twosome to bring it on. Are there any two Red Sox who elicit as much revulsion by Yankees fans than Schill and Tek?

 

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Mike:
Yeah, it doesn't erase the memory of the first two games or the fact that we trail the Yankees in the standings, but it sure as hell helps.

 

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Bill:
You know what also helps? A-Rod was 0-for-4 in the game, 1-for-11 in the series.

 

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Mike:
Loving it. And how cool is it that Schilling insists he still doesn't feel comfortable on the mound yet the Sox are 11-2 in games he stahts?

 

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Bill:
I love Schilling. He's got that "it" factah, you know? Even when he's not 100%, you know he's going to chew the tinfoil and do his damndest to take it to the hittahs.

 

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Mike:
That's what Pedro had, too. Remember that playoff game against the Indians in 9'9 when Petey was all half-dead from the flu but came in as a relievah and no-hit the Tribe for 6 innings?

 

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Bill:
One of the gutsiest athletic performances I've evah witnessed and it rivals the "bloody sock" game for all-time Red Sox pitching feats.

 

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Mike:
Man, I miss Petey.

 

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Bill:
Well, I miss the 1999 version of Pedro and the current Mets remix of Pedro, but the sullen, bitchy, mango tree branch up his ass "the Yankees are my Daddy" version? Not so much.

 

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Mike:
Still, as Simmons says, "Pedro should have finished his career in Boston. For what they eventually paid Clement and David Wells, the Red Sox could have locked up Pedro to an extension before the 2004 season. Instead, they took care of Schilling and inadvertently ended up pushing the greatest pitcher in franchise history out the door."

 

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Bill:
I think that's bullshit revisionist history, personally. I don't mean that, yeah, it would have been way better, in hindsight to lock up Pedro before 2004, but I don't buy the "took care of Schilling" angle as some quid pro quo negative.

 

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Bill:
Has Simmons forgotten 2003? We had to have a front line starter like Schilling to augment the staff. Especially with Pedro's ongoing shoulder issues and the ubiquitous time on the DL.

 

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Mike:
Still feels like a bad divorce to me.

 

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Bill:
Yeah, well, extending the metaphor, hopefully Jon Lester, the most celebrated left hand prospect since Bruce Hurst, will become the new trophy wife and you can forget all about your ex Petey.

 

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Mike:
Not too much pressure on the rookie, eh?

 

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Comments

[illegitimate son of dwight evans]

Right the fuck on, h.b. What bothers me about politics these days is the demonization of one's opponents. Sure, I may disagree with some of the guys on this board, but I'm able to recognize they're Sox fans, which means they're human, and we've got stuff in common. Politicians can bicker and argue about politics all day long, but for fuck's sake they should be able to get a beer at the end of the day and toast the fact that our society is civil enough to allow the bickering and the beer.

Now, with that out of the way...

I see the Democrats position as far morally superior to the Republicans. Vietnam was an atrocity.

Billy, do you recall our involvement in Vietnam was significantly escalated by democrat presidents? I don't know how you can say that right after saying "I agree with this: 'Dems only champion the "rights" of their respective interest groups/political constituencies.' And that's fine with me." The republicans do the same thing; how are they "morally inferior" for it?

Oh yeah, baseball. Nice to see Varitek tee off again. And I really like what Pauley did the other night. REALLY liked it. If Lester has anything similar and they can keep it up, they might just have spots in the rotation. Of course, that remains to be seen, but early returns are good. Pauley handled the pressure of his first start in Yankee Stadium with Papelbonesque poise. He made his pitches work for him and really battled. He seems to have the right attitude and combined with some nasty stuff that can make for a nuts-of-saturn kind of pitcher.

[h.b.]

I don't think you'll get an argument on that point from anyone, H.B.

I like to think that's the case, but sometimes I get the feeling that some folks would rather see Iraq fall to shit just so they can get more pissed off at Bush.

Meanwhile, one positive about Vietam is that without that experience, today's military wouldn't be as superior as it is, particularly with regard to close air support, forward air control, and the development of precision guided, air-dropped munitions. (On this later point, they didn't have precision in Vietnam, but they knew from that experience how badly they needed to develop it. From that came "smart" bombs and "painting" targets etc.)

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

I like that line-up, although I would keep Ortiz and Manny 3 and 4 if they are happy there. Chemistry matters a little bit.

[Jason O.]

Lou, I'd fucking vote for Truman in one second. Total badass. One term, saw baseball and the military integrated, then got the fuck out of there with Bess.

[Jason O.]

hb: No question that the western left has fallen to pieces on Iraq, i.e., freeing 25 million people from a dictatorship should have them excited on principle, given the Wilsonian foundation of liberal/Dem foreign policy for 75 years.

The problem with the Bush admin is that the scheme to democratize the middle east is excessively utopian. The Muslim world en masse is still pissed off about Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, for God's sake... I hope Rice is bringing more realism/Kissingerian realpolitik to the decision level.

[h.b.]

The Muslim world en masse is still
pissed off about Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, for God's sake

Not to mention still pissed off about getting booted out of Spain by Isabella in 1492.

Agree that the democratization scheme is utopian.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

Just to be a nitpicker: Truman served most of FDR's fourth term and was then elected on his own, so he served from April 1945 until January 1953. He couldn't really seek a third term; after dismissing MacArthur, his poll ratings hit 22%.

But, I agree: totally badass. He faced down Communists, MacArthur, and Hoover, as well as living through an assassination attempt. Probably the number two badass president of the 20th Century behind TR.

[d56]

Again, not to interrupt the fantastic geopolitical discussion currently erupting (good stuff guys, although I'm more on the JO side of "Libertarianism is the only hypocrisy I can embrace"...)

But yeah - I love Simmons more than most, but he's such a stereotypical Masshole douche about the Sox. He's essentially been laughed off the serious boards at SoSH for exactly this kind of sentimental shit - it's kind of disingenuous to point out the differences in Beckett's #s in the AL East, then get effusive over Petey's in the NL East.

It's hard to read - it's almost like hearing drunken Sully screaming at a TV at BBW . . . it's almost EEI-style, facts-free nostalgic ranting.

[vancouversoxfan]

I'm teribly late h.b., but I just had to give you your props. Yesterday's strip was abso-f'n-lutely "laugh out loud" funny.

[vancouversoxfan]

Aaron,I believe in their twisted Spankee minds, GBY=God Blessed Yankees.

[Billy Mahty]

dwight evan's son, I've talked in circles enough - I'm not ignoring your comments but I've spouted enough for one day so I give you the last say.

You gotta like Pauley, on paper at least. I haven't gotten to see him pitch yet.

Crazy game this morning between Germany and Costa Rica, eh?

[Aaron]

sometimes I get the feeling that some folks would rather see Iraq fall to shit just so they can get more pissed off at Bush.

Not denying that there are some people out there like that. It's a viewpoint every bit as assinine as the nitwits on the Right (such as LGF) who think that *all* Muslims are on a mission to destroy Western civilization and that, therefore, anything we do to them is justified.

However, none of the antiwar people I've met are like that. The vast majority are quite capable of drawing a distinction between the welfare of our troops and their dislike of government that sent them to Iraq. One of the reasons I'm elated about Zarqawi's death is that I'm hoping this will help slow the tide of anarchy in Iraq and possibly hasten the day when things have quieted to the point that we can pull our kids the hell out of there.

(Of course, that hope rests on the assumption that "spreading democracy" is or ever has been an actual motivation of the Bush administration, but that's enother topic entirely.)

And finally, since I've been one of the primary guilty parties in contributing to the depressing, "CNN Crossfire" tenor of today's comments, I offer the following link to help lighten the mood:

Behold Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man.

You're welcome.

[Lazlo Freem]

re: sometimes I get the feeling that some folks would rather see Iraq fall to shit just so they can get more pissed off at Bush.

Well said, HB. You are echoing my suspicions. On NPR yesterday I actually heard 2 callers bemoan the fact that it's a dark day for humanity when someone's death is celebrated. That asswipes death was as much a cause for celebration as beating the "Yank These" last night

[Billy Mahty]

I was just thinking about h.b.'s eloquent "old school" post and I realized it's easy to think someone (like me) is more dogmatic about things than they really are in a forum like this.

I'm very close with many conservative people. I almost married a diehard Republican. I had the honor of being invited to perform at the White House for Reagan in the early 80s, and though I didn't like his politics, it was certainly a proud moment to meet him, and he was as charming as you'd expect. I had friends in the 80s who were good friends with the Bush family.

I've never agreed with conservatism or the Republican party of my lifetime, and I often veer from the Democratic party. But the Republican party today seems so much more venal and disinterested in the common good than the party of the 80s and before. Regardless, I have great friends and close family members who I love and disagree with, and we sit down for beers all the time. We're all happy that Zarqawi is gone, that's for sure.

[ekppp]

The Pedro moment I like to remember most is WS Game 3. The guy starts slow in a totally loseable game for the sox, and then just deals fire. Look at that game, it's just brutal for St. Louis, and Pedro's got that brutal "yeah I'm lookin' at you. What about it?" look on his face through the whole thing. That was awesome.

As for you expecting me to act happy about freeing folks from a brutal dictator, wake up. No one got freed from nothin'. Invading Iraq was rock stupid, and that is the starting point for any discussion of events there.

[h.b.]

No one got freed from nothin'.

Let's agree to disagree on that one.

Meanwhile, Sox back in first!

[NYSoxfan]

Pedro moment? Back in '99, sitting in the MFYs' dreaded Tier way up above behind homeplate. But a great view to watch Pedro strike out 17 MFYs, 1 hit, a homer to Chilidog Davis but Sox win 3-1 over an overmatched Andy Pettite. Virtually unhittable. Couldn't wipe that smile off my face for a while. But as good as he looks now, he wasn't pitching anything like the '99 season in 2003-04, particularly against the MFYs. And lest we forget, the man is a sensitive artist... didn't like to see him go but happy for his success in the N.L. Mets-Bosox in October? Super schweet.

[Richard Gadsden]

Greatest pitcher in franchise history?

I think there are a couple of other guys in ther with Pedro. One has already been mentioned, but I seem to remember that there was a guy who retired with 511 wins.

[Jameer Booshay]

Theo should be fired for the way he handled the Pedro situation.

We are paying $12.5 mill for Clement and Edgar, Pedro looks like a bargain these days.

Greatest Pedro moment:
Game 3, 2004 World Series

I don't remember Theo pitching 7 shutout innings in the World Series.