As far as Monday's go, not bad

Mike:
I don't recall evah feeling this OK aftah dropping 2 of 3 to the Yankees at home.

 

---

Doug:
Me neithah. Despite two heartbreakahs bookending an awesome win, I'm still feeling as smug as Hillary at an Asian fundraisah.

 

---

Al:
It's tough to get too down on a team that has Jacoby Ellsbury on its rostah. That kid is just pure joy to watch, win or lose.

 

---

Mike:
Seriously, and you add in Pedroia and Buchholz and my vision gets all rose tinted.

 

---

Al:
Aside from that, though, we have to acknowledge that a good bit or our morning buoyancy is due to the play of the Patriots.

 

---

Doug:
Heh. The Chahgahs weren't just taken to school by the Pats, they were taken to Catholic School.

 

---

Doug:
Care for anothah rap across the knuckles LaDainian?

 

---

Al:
We don't dance at St. Gillette now do we, Mr. Merriman?

 

---

Comments

[Youk Rules]

Yeah, I was feeling pretty bummed about Friday's, and then last night's, loss, but I feel better after reading this strip.

One game was really all they needed.

Certainly better than the alternative...

[Jar in Chicago]

I agree with the sentiments, I also was excited to see Gagne pitch so well. He hit 95 and the hitters looked out of sync. We need him to pitch well to take the pressure off Oki. Why didn't they walk Jeter?

[vasoxfan]

Clemens arghh damn cortisone
ellsbury good hmmm
schilling one inning to many
francoma boo for not making the move
machevitch (sp) damn
Allright mikey
f---ing jeter I really wish you weren't a Yankee
damn Yankees

[jamesfrmmaine]

Flipping back and forth between the sox and pats was a nice finish to the weekend.

It is still unbelievable that schilling pitched to jeter. We have one of the best bullpens in baseball... if your not gonna use them against the Yankees then when will you?

"We don't dance at St. Gillette now do we, Mr. Merriman?" funny stuff

[vermonter]

SO glad to see the Pats slap the Chargers around. This is one hell of a good team.

[Kaz]

That takes my edge off, but seriously, where was FranCOMA that whole game?

Didn't pinch hit anyone, didn't pull Schilling...

You'd think we didn't expand our roster on September 1. We gave him a whole new bag of toys and he's like a 2-year-old kid with his favorite binky in his mouth instead. We could have retro'd Manny and put Jacoby in from the minors and you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

[Aaron]

It was highly amusing, after a week of listening to the Chargers run their mouths non-stop, to watch them cave so totally in this game. You could tell by their body language that they had given up after Moss' second td. Maybe Schottenheimer took too much of the blame for his team's playoff collapse last year. It's pretty obvious his former players don't have the intestinal fortitude to play with the big boys...

I was pleased to see all three starters turn in decent performances this weekend, but they've now lost four series in a row to the Yankees. It probably won't affect the division race, but it would've been nice to pull out last night's game, just for the psychological boost it would give should we run into them in the playoffs.

[illegitimate son of dwight evans]

Just goes to show how easily you can dismantle an NFL team with some well-placed surveillance. As we all know, the man from G.I.L.L.E.T.T.E. didn't stop his operation, he just went further underground. Who needs tough guys like Wilfork, Warren and Seymour when you have the back pages of old Popular Mechanics issues?

What surprises me most about all the media hoopla about the obvious cardinal sin of AN NFL TEAM USING FILM TO STUDY ONE'S OPPONENT, is the complete non-coverage of a key point: the NFL, and the media, have given the Patriots something to prove again. After hooking up with Watson who was in "no that's OK, you go get it" coverage, you could see Brady was about as pumped up as he gets.

I saw Jeter come up and knew he'd get it done. As big a meatball as Schilling left Jeter, in all fairness to the blogger, that 1-1 pitch was a strike. What really broke my heart, after I turned to the Pats game for good, was reading on Gamecast:

Bottom 9th, 4-3, 1st and 2nd, 2 out - David Ortiz pops out to shortstop.

Wherefore art thou, Big Papi?

[Jason O.]

As Youk R. said, credit to the RS for taking one game...and that's the one I thought NYY would win for sure. Wang owns everyone but the RS.

Gagne's best pitch was fucking hitting Rivera, in his right arm, bullpen to bullpen, as he was warming up for the ninth last night.

I mean, the Pats might spy on you but at least they didn't send a practice squad guy to blindside Tomlinson during warmups.

Obviously Gagne's resorting to extreme measures to get in the good graces of teh fan base.

And, BTW, the Chargers will never get it done with Rivers at QB...mark it down. I'm also glad the Pats won b/c I can't stand that a running back who has been good for 2 years takes Lawrence Taylor's nickname, one of the 10 best players in the history of the NFL. Terrell Owens and Bo Jackson know the fleeting the tag of "best running back in the NFL" can be.

Pats fans: You heard it here first...watch out for Denver and the kid Cutler.** He's got Brady's poise and Elway's arm.

**FROM: Vanderbilt!

[tommyct]

I cant stand to lurk anymore :P Hello to all.

I simply cannot believe that Tito allowed Schill to pitch to Jetah after Juicambi nearly put one over the wall. Did anyone see how locked in giambi was? Jeter had the same look in his eye. And why oh why did he throw the fastball? Everyone in the evil empire as well as all of RSN knew it was a 88-mph fastball coming. First base is open, man! Curve? Split? anything but fastball.. jesus.

And god how I wanted Papi to stick it to rivera once again.. ah well. At least Joba got scored on, and Detroit won.

F#$%ing Mientkiewcz - saved their ass more than once with great D.

[Billy Mahty]

Alright, now that the division is settled, let's assume the Yanks hold the wild card. The post-season matchups:

Sox-Indians: Sox are 5-2 against the Indians this season, 3-1 since the All Star break. The Indians have been very hot, but I'm betting on the team with the best record in baseball.

Angels-Yankees: Angels are 6-3 against the Yanks this year, but 3-3 since the All Star break. The Yankees are on a roll. I don't see LA of A stopping them this time.

Sox-Yankees: This is the matchup we want to see. Sox are 8-10 against the Yankees this season, and 1-5 since the All Star break. But the teams are evenly matched... it's going to be a fun October.

[COD]

//And why oh why did he throw the fastball?//

Ego? I think Schill wanted to blow him away with an inside fastball to prove he can still do it. Two or three pitches prior ESPN clocked a high fastball at 95. Now I'm not sure I believe that radar reading, but Schill certainly wouldn't be the first aging pitcher to screw up by trying to pitch like his former self.

[Natalie]

Speaking of Tito brainfarts, can someone PLEASE explain to me why he had Lugo (with an OBP of .296) leading off on Friday???????????

Reiterating a question someone asked last week- what ever did happen to lc's 38cliches site? Did The Man get to him?

[Colin]

The loss is frustrating but I am honestly not too worried about this. As for a “dead Baltimore,” from what I’ve seen the Orioles have been a thorn in the Yankee side the whole season, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Gagne’s huge rest time must’ve triggered something and I see him as a possible and very effective anti-Yankee pitcher.

All we can hope is that we can outdo Toronto while Baltimore shows NY that they’re still a force not to take lightly.

[Devine]

Yeah, it hurt a little, but not nearly as much as if Josh hadn't saved me from despair on Saturday.

When I watched the end yesterday, even when Pedroia walked, I thought the ballgame belonged to the Yankees. I was disappointed, but definitely not surprised when Ortiz popped it up.

If only they'd closed out that first game, the race would be essentially over. Now there's still a chance for the Yankees

Last couple series might have turned out different if Manny hadn't been hurt. All there is to do now is hope they beat Toronto tonight.

[pudge]

Baltimore has a winning record against the Yankees. Tampa Bay won a series from the Yankees just a few weeks ago. Toronto has been playing well too.

Go Tigers!!

[yazbread]

No excuse for the loss on Friday night -the ghost of Grady Little must have been in the park.

What's the over/under on Bob making an appearance on the board today after his fun-filled sports weekend? 3:00 EST?

[Billy Mahty]

The Yanks are 17-11 against their remaining opponents since the All Star Break (21-21 for the season). I think they'll do just fine down the stretch. They've got seven games at home, six on the road.

[Foley]

Schilling said that his pitch to Jeter was an overthrown splitter that was supposed to be in the dirt... he wasn't trying to blow him away with a fastball.

I remember thinking at the time that it was Grady-Pedro all over again, except I rationalized it by noting that Schilling's pitch count was so low he probably still had a lot in him. But after all those Tek visits to the mound, you start to wonder, and then start to doubt. I wouldn't be surprised if Tito was operating under the same logic (and the same nagging doubt as the at-bat wore on.)

[da kine]

We go nuts because Tito left Schilldizzle in, but he had a low pitch count, so we would have howled if he got taken out for Manny Delcarmen or Eric Gagne and they gave up runs. We are a fickle lot.

[COD]

I was fine with Schilling still being in there. You just don't expect someone with his experience to make that mistake at a critical juncture. If you are going to miss, don't miss in Jeter's wheelhouse.

[Colin]

Look I honestly don't see the need to give Schilling that hard of a time. He pitched a good game and just had rotten luck. Everyone has that from time to time. Sox almost came through but it was a dire situation with 2 outs and the chances of a win were slim, so I still give props on the effort. Friday's game is one where I won't give Tito any slack.

Playing Toronto won't be a walk in the park, but I'm confident that with the way we played against NYY (though we lost 2, we still fought tooth and nail) we can overcome. Both Toronto and Baltimore have a penchant for exposing up Sox/Yankee overconfidence, so my recommendation for Boston is cool, calm, collective confidence with well-thought strategy.

And props to the Pats for showing up the Chargers in the wake of the shitstorm last week unleashed.

[Youk Rules]

Billy Mahty, that's .600 ball, somewhere between 7 and 8 wins. The Sox could go 4-8 and it wouldn't change a thing.

But, gosh, if the Tigers get hot...

[Billy Mahty]

Oh yeah, I wasn't saying that the Yanks will pull off the division, just that they're not going to get beat up by Baltimore, Toronto, and TB.

The Tigers are 14-14 against their remaining opponents since the All Star Break. I'm not concerned.

Come on, I know you want your guys want to face the Yanks again in the playoffs.

[h.b.]

I don't know if it's the scent of autumn riding in on the chill of the weather along with the shorter days or what, but all of sudden I find myself back with the cool, calm, collected attitude I get every so often with the Red Sox.

Can't say if this feeling will last, but I'm enjoying it while it does.

[Colin]

Don't be too confident in the games against Baltimore and TB Billy. You saw how they fared before. Overconfidence is a well-known game killer.

[Devine]

This whole confidence, "we're in your heads" thing seems overplayed to me from a player's standpoint. The Yankees gave Red Sox FANS a nasty turn on Friday...but you look at Saturday's game and the Red Sox PLAYERS didn't blink (particularly Beckett, particularly after giving up a homer to Jeter in the first inning).

I think most of the attitudinal up and down happens to Red Sox and Yankees fans and has very little to do with the players' attitude in every game (part of this stems from a nice post on YanksFan vs. Soxfan on this very issue).

Just go out strong on this final road trip. Go 4-2 against the BJs and DRays, and then see where we are before the final homestand. (Of course, me saying this doesn't mean much, since once again, it's the players and not the fans who hold the keys to the postseason.)

[Colin]

Good call Devine.

And at least I won't have to deal with the sycophants of ESPN for a while. Dear Lord they annoyed me to no end...

[Devine]

Also...Wakefield's performance tonight is key. We have Lester and (probably) Tavarez following in the Blue Jays series. Gotta get a good night from the man whose pitch improves in domes before we head to the ass end of the rotation.

[h.b.]

//I think most of the attitudinal up and down happens to Red Sox and Yankees fans and has very little to do with the players' attitude//

Agree 100%.

I think it's worth taking a step back, too, and considering just how hyped "the rivalry" story has become the past couple years.

I'm not doing a very good job explaining it, but more and more I feel like I'm being snookered by it all, like Red Sox v Yankees is some attraction at Disney or worse, just another high-pitched media crescendo no different than OJ ARRESTED!!! or BRITNEY'S VAG EXPOSED!!!

After this weekend of breathless announcers reminding us over and over and fucking over again about "the rivalry(tm)" I feel like I need a long soak in a partial bleach solution to cleanse myself.

[Youk Rules]

For anyone who still thinks that ESPN has a pro-Sox bias, ask them why they didn't have clips of the two comeback wins against Tampa Bay, yet had plenty of video of New York's two blowouts against Toronto.

[Kaz]

h.b., it sounds like you just need tickets to the next sox.v.yankees affair at Fenway. I know the teevee blows it out of proportion, but within the hallowed halls it is still alive and well and bigger than pretty much any other game I go to each year. It's big and real and not Disney-fied or tabloid in its frenzy.

[Bob]

Hi all. Still trying to recover from the Pats game last night. Good Lordy was Gillette jacked-up. Playoff atmosphere jacked-up. I have no voice. I'm dizzy. My ankles are swollen from massive tailgate intake.

The Gout should make its appearance by next Monday after the Pats-Bills game.

Thank God I had tix to Saturday's Sox game, because the other two were painful.

But as H.B. notes, somehow not as painful as usual.

[yazbread]

Q. What's the over/under on Bob making an appearance on the board today after his fun-filled sports weekend? 3:00 EST?

A. Posted by: Bob at Sep 17, 2007 3:04:29 PM

Talk about setting the line. I should have been a bookie.

[h.b.]

I don't doubt your authenticity, though things like "RSN I.D. Cards" and "Sox Appleal" etc that have come out of the hallowed halls of power of Fenway do certainly have a Disneyesque feel to them, don't they?

There is no way to but the genie back in the bottle. The Red Sox are a lifestyle brand first and a baseball club second.

[Yossarian]

I was surprised nobody mentioned this.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1031894

A real class act.

[Billy Mahty]

That sucks. I would fine and reprimand him.

[Colin]

Clearly a sign of clear-cut douchebaggery. Maybe he'll get beaned one day like the MFY try to do to Youk.

[Youk Rules]

But in the meantime, Duncan needs to rest up the hernia he got when trying to lift A-Rod's bag of dildos.

[NolaSox]

Where was his mother when he was getting autographs from Yankee players?!

[WickedBoSoxFan]

How anyone seen this vid "Leave Belichick Alone?? After the other days strip This is hilarious

[WickedBoSoxFan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFfobQftP5k

Oops forgot to put this in

[Blue Statah]

Am I the only one on this blog harboring the subversive thought that Manny is a 130 game/season player (less if you count the slow start every spring), or at least has been since 2004, that he fades when he's most needed, and that the Sawx would be best served by eating his salary, sending him to Pawtucket (or back to the Dominican, since his trade value these days is probably zilch), and going with an exciting and talented rookie left fielder (Ellsbury, natch) for the rest of the season? Just s'posin' -- and gettin' tired of his act. Manny hasn't come close to pulling his considerable weight for the last three seasons. He reminds me of Vern Stephens.

[meredith]

Jason O., thank you for assuring me that I'm not the only one who cringes whenever LaDanian Tomlinson is referred to as "LT".

I was never a Giants fan, but dammit, Lawrence Taylor is the one and only "LT". Mr. Tomlinson, you are no LT.

[Rob in CT]

yazbread - You ROCK! After reading your post at the office this afternoon, I was going to put $100 on the "over" for Bob's miraculous appearance today. I figured it was a mortal lock even at 6:00 pm. But four minutes in? Whoa... You ARE good.

In the meantime, without NESN, I'm stuck watching the Yanks-Baltimore on YES. As I write, Hughes gives up two runs on three hits (two doubles) - nobody out yet. Only top of the 1st, but I'm liking it so far. OHMIGOD - one of the color guys is blaming the "emotional letdown" after RS series for the likely results tonight. Douche...

[Rob in CT]

In re: 2nd paragraph, oh well...

[Kaz]

The Boston bats -- again without Ramirez (strained left oblique) and Kevin Youkilis (right wrist contusion) -- sputtered against Dustin McGowan, who turned in a dominant performance.

In one of the finest games pitched against the Red Sox this season, McGowan went the distance, yielding five hits and a run while walking none and striking out nine.

"We're going to have to fight through this here for a few days," said Francona. "David doesn't feel great. Coco [Crisp's] back acted up on him. We're going to have to fight it a little bit here. That's OK, that's what good teams do. We'll take stock on how guys feel [Tuesday] and go get them."

YOU DOUCHE...THE ROSTER IS AT 40 NOW, GET GUYS WHO CAN PLAY IN THE GAME!

sigh.

[PApesky]

Speaking of douche bagges (fem)...Jeter is hurt and he kills us, Manny is hurt - hits the Coke sign in bp and smiles his way through the game in that stupid white hat. Oh! nurse. Nurse? It's September we need our pills. Manny - take your meaningless numbers and your sweet-bitch attitude somewhere else in '08.

[Devine]

So what you're saying is you don't want him healthy for the playoffs? (Magic number ther--wild card style--is 5, by the by.)

When Trot got hurt with this injury, he was out for 23 games (I think) and no one said diddly.

Manny may or may not have been hurt end of last year, but he looked in obvious pain on the single where he injured himself in the last Yankees series in New York. I believe him here, and I believe a healthy Manny is our best shot at the series.

Also, in '05, Manny played in 152 games and hit 45 HR.

[Bob]

Heh. Yazbread, I swear I didn't even see your original "3:00 line" comment before I commented (frankly, I could barely see the screen).

Amazing call. Give me the over/under for the Pats game Sunday, please.

[mike kaufhold]

Hello Devine- Manny ain't Trot and we ain't in the playoffs yet. After 60 years with this team - I'm not sure of anything yet. Let's show some balls and get us there. We can win without him ---it's spelled ELLSbury.