ALCS Game 7: It all comes down to this
By
It doesn’t get any better than this. The ALCS started as a best-of-seven series a whopping nine days ago, and after the two teams split games 1 & 2, it became a best-of-five series. Once they split games 3-6, it turned into what it is now: a best-of-one.
Jon Lester takes the bump for the BoSox, and much has been made of his innings total after his stuff looked flat in Game 3. Right now he’s working on a career high 230 IP including the postseason, while his previous career high was 163 IP, set just last year. It’s no secret why Lester looked fatigued in his last start, a jump of 67 IP will do that to anyone.
Rays’ starter Matt Garza is also working on a career high in innings pitched, but his total of 196.2 IP (including playoffs) is just barely more than his previous career high of 185, which he set back in 2006. Garza’s fastball was still popping Dioner Navarro’s mitt late in Game 3, and there’s little reason to suspect that fatigue will be an issue for the former Fresno State Bulldog. Anything can happen in one game though, so expect the unexpected.
Someone’s going home tonight, and regardless of who it is, let me be the first to congratulate them on a great season. We should be in for a good one, enjoy it.
Bahston
1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. JD Drew, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Mark Kotsay, 1B
8. All-Star Catcher Jason Varitek, C
9. Alex Cora wins games, SS – damn Tito, I thought you weren’t supposed to mess with the lineup in the middle of a winning streak
- Jon Lester, P (16-6, 3.21)
Tampa Bay
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. BJ Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Willy Aybar, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Rocco Baldelli, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS
- Matt Garza, P (11-9, 3.70)
Site note: No DotF tonight – the entire AzFL is off, and no Yanks’ farmhands are in the lineup for HWB Waikiki. You can see everyone’s overall winter ball stats here.
Rays’ cheerleader pic from flickr user dbadair, who’s got a badass set of pics from Game 2.
418 Comments
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Finish it off Rays.
God the Jets suck.
Yes, yes they do. They couldn’t put away the worst team in the league. Good job, FAV-RUH.
I blame Mangini. Tim to get Bill Cowher on the phone.
Wow you want Mangini out of town now?
He’s too damn conservative. You’d think Pennington was still the QB with the way they play.
True. He is young so he’s got some things to learn. Nevertheless, you can’t play the game not to lose. Like the old saying goes, the biggest risk in the world is not taking one.
So many oppurtunities wasted
That is one hell of a slide show.
How about the Cowboys gettin smacked by the Rams.
Yeah, that was pretty bad.
Cowboys still gonna make the playoffs they just gotta win there.. Roy E Williams hardly got to play and SS Roy williams comes back for his first game and breaks his forearm again.. That could be Roy Williams last game as a cowboy
The NFC playoff field will consist of the Giants, Redskins, Cardinals, Packers, Bears and the Cowboys. I’d be hard-pressed to consider the Cowboys favorites in a game with any of those five squads.
Way to early for that.
Game hasn’t started yet, so I think this is legal…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10.....htm?page=2
Trade for Russell Martin, move Posada to first? It would probably take Hughes to get him. Imagine the Dodgers in 2 years with a front 3 of Hughes, Billingsley and Kershaw? Jesus.
Lol not gonna happen man. Thats sherman for ya.. Id still rather just sign Tex and keep Posada behind the plate.. Id rather be looking intto Hermida real seriously
Take that with a grain salt. I have a serious hard time believing they would trade a catcher who plays terrific D and has a good bat.
But then again, this is the same organization who traded one of the best catching prospects in Carlos Santana for Casey Blake.
Lol thats not gonna happen thats just Sherman being Sherman.. Id rather just sign Tex and keep Po behind the plate.. Id be real serious about Hermida tho, it says they are looking for some cheap relievers which we have plenty of and they said to want a young 3b what if we give them Betemit ?
Betemit+Edwar+Veras ?
sorry for posting twice/didnt come up 1st time
I’ll do that deal in a second.
Sure. Please take the Yankees bag of shit for something good in return. Teams will jump at that package.
They want a closer Relaunch what bvout Edwar Cox and Drob or Veras is that a bag of shit ?
I have a hard time believing Florida will take a package of relievers for a young outfielder with the upside of Hermida.
I’m not sure why they’re looking for a closer either, what’s wrong with Lindstrom?
I got it off Rotoworld but what bout Coke ? Coke Veras Edwar ? Coke can be a starter they get 2 relievers ?
Linstrom isn’t all that nice.
Veras is an explosion waiting to happen. Don’t know what Cox will do in the majors. Wilson isn’t going to fetch anyone.
Man, if they’re serious about dealing Martin, he could be the centerpiece of a deal for Peavy.
Peavy + Greene for Martin + James McDonald + Chin-lung Hu + Xavier Paul
Holy crap, that’s so stupid it’s perfect for everyone involved.
Remember when Ellsbury was considered by many the best Cfer and one of the most successful players out of their system.
Is he not ?
My prediction- Huge offensive outburst from the rays. and a good 7 inning effort from garza with a few early roadbumps but settles in nicely and in dominant form. How are you guys? its been a few days lol
There is no way TB wins this game.
I seriously cannot f’ing take it if the Red Sox do it again. I just can’t take it…
Please Rays. One time.
Cmon Garza your filthy my dude !!!
Anyone else a little pissed they pre-empted the Steve Harvey show for this crap?
Well, Um, that was a good throw.. was it not?
So I see Garza has his good fastball tonight. I’d love to know what it feels like to be able to throw that hard, that easily.
Go ahead blame it on the grit beard..
Fuck
I’d love to take a peak in the future and see how Dustin Pedroia will look like at 31-years-old. I mean damn, his body can’t take all the torque he creates from his swings, and the constant diving after batted balls.
He’s so gritty his body can take it.
Plus the grit beard gives him more protection
P(erformance) E(nhancing) Dr(ugs) oia is really beginning to get under my skin. It’s like Luis Sojo had a caucasian son dropped him on his head and signed him to the Sox
Good Mo, I can’t stand widdle Dusty
Is Papi’s indershirt legal ? Have respect for the game bitch lol
Bah, that pitch called for ball three was a strike.
God dammit, I hate when fans jump out of their seats when a player gets brushed back. What are you going to do? Sit down and shut the hell up.
Nice play by Rocco. That ball was slicing away from him, and he’s hasn’t exactly been playing RF every day.
Wow just wow
Garza or Joba ?
Joba because of his command. Their stuff is basically equal.
and he’s younger.
Someway, somehow, someone is going to find a way to relate Joba’s DUI to his mentality as a reliever, and why he can’t be a starter. I just know it.
One of my friends already said the nonstop starter/reliever debate is what caused Joba to drink. No joke.
Jesus.
LOL.
Wouldn’t surprise me. He better not turn in to Sir Joba Ponson. lol
Joba’s slider is untouchable by both hitters and pitchers sliders. Its not fair to say their stuff is the same. and you are taking credit away from garza, joba hasnt been a stater for too long. we only have a small sample size.
Joba, he has much better secondary pitches and has better command of all of his pitches.
Hughes projects to be a better pitcher than James Shields right ?
On par, maybe a tick behind. Shields’ command is outstanding, but he’s also five years older than Hughes.
Where the fuck was that pitch? Holy shit, it almost bounced and they called it a strike.
Filthy.
Im ready for the Rays O to explode
I hope they wanted this game so Upton and Longoria can hit more HRs
Did Chip Caray just say Jon Lester never recorded consecutive losses in his Major League career?
He hasn’t. But wins and losses are dumb anyway.
I’ve made a conscience effort not to refer to them as actual statistics.
I think he did. It was hard to hear while he was tea-bagging all of Boston again.
Garza was sitting at 95 in the first inning, hitting 96 a few times.
I can only help the Rays cause by giving little Mark Walhberg and Andy Samberg on your asses. Hug it out bitches!!
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Ni.....ge/773862/
I gotta say, Walhberg is great at playing a slick talking angry jerk. Reminisant of The Departed when he played Sgt. Dignam.
That movie was awesome.
That movie was great. And you know, I know Jack Nicholson is great, but he was just absolutely tremendous in that movie.
Mike, what was the thought behnd the Twins trading away Garza? Is Delmon’s upside really comparable?
Delmon’s got nice upside, and Garza really took off this year. Delmon Young looks like a young Jose Guillen, minus the attitude problems.
“minus the attitude problems”
Really? The same guy who threw a bat at an umpire and complain and whine when he wasn’t called at the Show like a couple years ago.
haha, good point
I was thinking the same thing. And I thought the Twins were all about “doing it the right way” and other made up philosophies.
Well no, Delmon only had those isolated incidents. Everyone on the D-Rays and Twins said he was a good kid the past 2 years. Guillen’s been a problem everywhere he went, all what, 7 teams?
Elijah Dukes never had problems with his teammates but yet he’s considered a nut case. Well maybe Dukes is a tad more different.
Well, Delmon never wielded a gun in front of one of the mothers of one his seven bastard children, either.
Dukes has had problems with his teammates
Hmm, that seems like a lesser comp than usual. Are you not completely buying the thought that Young is just taking a bit longer to adjust than expected?
The Rays are tight. The Sox can finish them off in the first 4 innings here.
No way, this game’s going right down to the bitter end.
For the love of
GodMO, dude, can’t you just watch the game without the doom and gloom mentality?Yeah with 1 run? I’d love to see that happen, Especially them being at home.
Lanny is just a bit ridiculous.. Your a “what have you done for me lately” type fan arent you ?
Wow, haven’t seen that type of range since…oh, that’s right, I haven’t.
Just to clarify, this is sort of an open thread right? So if i ask the gents on here a question slightly off topic i wont get ridiculed right?
Shoot. All game threads are open threads.
Have You ever tryed Argent Vodka?
That shit will knock you on your ass.
Nope, never even heard of it.
Next game you go to watch in a bar or what have you, See if they got that and get that with Pepsi, My gosh.
Dude I just looked it up online, its standard 80 proof, cheap vodka. Are you 16?
“There are two positions where you can have a positive impact on the game: catcher and shortstop.”
I swear, if Jason Varitek ever becomes a broadcaster, little kittens will have to worry about more than just masturbating-hating ninjas.
“masturbating-hating ninjas” You mean… of course… Youkilis’ off season occupation?
And the Jason Varitek dick sucking begins in tonights game
If Walter Johnson had Varitek as a catcher, he would of won 700 games. The guy basically wouldn’t lose.
Probably with about 20 no nos and 12 of them beign perfect games
5 of those perfect games he struck out 20 batters, and 2 of them he struck out all the hitters he face. All because of Varitek.
Fuck that, A-Rod deflected question about his opt-out clause for the entire season; he didn’t get any love for that.
But this is mr integrity, mr all before one Jason Varitek. A-Rod cant match him
Plus wasnt it Varitek himself who negotiated the Mnany trade and other successful trades for the red sox in the past
He also pulled one of the most selfish, classless acts in recent sports history when announcing that he actually would opt out. So that pretty much squashed any of the midseason opt-out clause deflections that you’re referring to.
No, it doesn’t. They are talking about Jason Varitek deflecting those questions whilst his team is still playing. A-Rod did the same shit, yet nobody gave him any love for it.
Please, You’re talking about this like it matters man, It’s a battle we will never win. The media, the whole media, hates New York.
I disagree. I don’t think it matters that A-Rod didn’t say anything about his opt-out clause during the season when he then uses the biggest stage in baseball, one in which he is not playing on, to announce to the world that he will be a free agent, on the eve of the Yankees biggest rival clinching the World Series. It pretty much wipes out his previous “doing the right thing” in my book.
He gone!
Look at that C on his chest. I mean.. that NASTTTYYY breaking pitch that buckled his knees. Vintage’06 Beltran.
Look at that C on his chest.
I wonder if his boyfriends get $100 for being on target?
Anyone think the Phils can beat Boston if they win tonight? I don’t think they stand a chance, this is eerily reminiscent to both 04 and last year when the Sawx just caught fire going into the WS and blew the NL teams’ doors off.
Nope. There’s no one in the NL that could beat either of these AL teams in a seven game series.
You really believe that? I get the NL isn’t exactly competitive in comparison to the AL but c’mon.
I agree with Mike on that one. The Phillies would of gotten mash by the yanks unlike the other NY team.
Don’t You always agree with Mike.
But in a short series the phillies had better pitching than we would have had in an ’08 post season short series or even long series for that matter.
I Don’t agree with Mike all the time. Almost all the time lol.
Nevertheless, I do think they have a chance. That said, it’s just hard to see an NL team just beating an AL team unless some breaks go their way.
The Key to their series is Moyer throwing in a good effort. If he doesn’t handle the tough lefties in the BoSox order they are fucked.
I absolutely believe it. The World Series will be a bloodbath, except for when Hamels pitches.
You also said Rays wouldnt be in a game 7 in this series
I’ll hold that to ya’ champ.
You to that*
Phillie has a much better bullpen over the course of this year. Plus I like a rotation of Hamels-Myers- Moyer- Blanton over a BoSox rotation with an injured centerpiece in Beckett. Moyer will delightfully probably dominate the key lefties in the BoSox order.
Yes the Phillies are winning the Show
The Phillies lineup is built like an AL team, so I’d say they would have a chance. This Sox team doesn’t hit like the 04 and 07 teams, but I still think the Phils pitching, especially middle relief would struggle.
Couldn’t agree with you more on the first two points.
The Phillies lineup is built like an AL team
Same thing with the Rockies last year.
Even though there is a park factor in Philly, it doesn’t compare to Coors. And I’m not talking HR’s only, just hitting. Even with the humidor, because of the huge playing surface, there are a ton of more places to hit the ball in Coors. I think Utley, Howard, Rollins etc would be great anywhere they played, I can’t say the same for some of the members of last years Rockies team. Even Holliday, their best hitter, has extreme home/road splits.
Whoa Whoa Whoa there mike, Aside from Helton and Holliday Who can you see being any where near as dominant as the Phillies. They’ve got Howard Utley Burrell and hell, throw in the flyin’ Hawaiian. I wont say Rollins cause I cant exactly see him being so great in the AL but c’mon thats not fair.
Forgot a healthy Troy Tulowitzki.
Please tell me that you aren’t referring to the 22 year old who doesn’t have hair on his crotch yet
Interesting take, not really sure what that has to do with his performance, which was pretty good last year. And dude, aren’t you 19?
No. Dude I am not. But thats one year of Tulo. It was his essential first year in the league. He cant play as well in the AL.
Tulo last yr >>> Rollins this year
Atkins any year >>> Feliz any year
Hawpe last year >>> Werth any year
Holliday last year >>> Burrell this year
Ruiz and Torreabla are a wash.
Howard + Utley + Victorino >>> Helton + Kaz + Taveras, but the Rox have them beat just about everywhere else.
Persoanlly I like Werth better than Hawpe.
Werth had a 119 OPS+ this year (which is park neutralized) and is useless against righthanded pitchers. Hawpe had a 129 OPS+ last year and is useless against lefties, which is more tolerable. And he’s younger than Werth.
Werth is also a better fielder than Hawpe.
And stole 20 bases while being caught once. Werth’s OPS against RHP’s was about 100 points higher than Hawpe’s OPS against LHP’s. Rollins is still a better player than Tulo, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt with his track record. The Howard/Utley/Victorino is an extreme landslide for the Phils. Age isn’t a factor either, we are comparing 2008 Werth vs. 2007 Hawpe for the purpose of a 7 game series.
Nah man. I dont see it that way. Rollins is a lot better player than he has shown to be. Not to mention that was the first playoff berth in their franchise in something like 12 years. When Tulo was about 10. Phillies were there last year. i think they are far more prepared this year.
That 3-0 pitch wasn’t a strike. And I betcha he wouldn’t call it a strike if it was 2K’s on the hitter.
Really that almost hit him
Carl Crawford is the man just because of his walk-up song (Paper Planes, M.I.A.).
That song sucks!!!
O Mo a perfect game
Good to see Lester is already in 4-hit shutout mode.
Lester has it tonight
Ey Jamal. Entourage Time. Did you see the one where they were trippin on shrooms? lol
I hated that episode so much; so damn pointless. Last episode was good, however. I’m about to watch True Blood, you like that show?
Haven’t really heard about it. That episode was a waste even though the part where E writes ” My mouth won’t talk.” that was pretty comical. and whats the new show about
Vampires and their integration in the world. Show focuses on a backwater, Louisianian county.
Meh, I’m not so into the fantasy vampire crap. I will give it a try though. Go to like watchtvsitcoms dot com or something and find Dexter. You wont be disappointed
Alex Cora’s experienced now, he won’t cry on the field when his team loses the College World Series on a walk-off homer anymore.
LOL you always bring that up
For now on when you write his name in game threads it should have something to do with that but the wins games is also funny
You have that video favorited. Do you not?
No. It’s really easy to find.
Dumb Garza
Ha, pendejo.
Stop complaing you fat fuck
I was just gonna say, it seems like Papi has been whining an unusual amount recently
Big Papi, YOU ARE MY BITCHHHHH!!!! ( Garza)
Yeah Garza smoke that fat ugly mothafucker.
Man, these guys wearing suits in all these bank commercials can’t even keep a straight face when they tell you not to sell all your stock.
Yeah and when Jim Kramer tried to be honest and tell everyone to sell their stock and he got reprimanded. Goes to show, Honesty gets you know where.
Man. I could pitch in the big leagues if I got calls like that.
So could Ian Kennedy
Whoa whoa whoa, let’s not get too carried away.
Lmao. I had to Mike. You left the door wide open.
What a scoop by Pena. Gotta get a little more arm into those throws, Evan.
Wrist has never been the same. Remember him being dubbed as the guy who plays exceptional defense but his offense lacks but he is so great in the field that they don’t care?
Are you talking about Pena? Because that’s never been the case with E-Long.
No I’m talking about Longoria. I remember them saying that when Longoria debuted he, wasn’t a prototypical third baseman offensive production wise. I believe it was Kenny Singleton. I remember he made a crazy diving stop and then went on to his his first HR against the Yankees. that’s what made him say it.
Probably just bullshitting us. Don’t hold me to it.
Yeah, whoever said that is dead wrong. There’s never been questions about Longoria’s bat. The only question about his defense was whether or not he could stick at short, which obviously is “no.”
Evan Longira was the top hitter in the 06 draft. If anything they were slight questions about his defense.
Longoria.
Garza’s dealin’ yo. We have ourselves an old fashioned pitchin’ duel right here.
Now as Bay is up. He’s a quiet character but do you think if Man-Ram remained they would have made the playoffs? And if so, do you think they would be preparing for the WS already?
Yes and yes.
Agreed.
Wow, one pitch is the only difference thus far. Damn good game.
So who’s the MVP? I don’t think they’ll give it to Upton is the Sox manage to win.
Varitek. Remember, he could go 0-2000 and still have a huge effect on the game (says the soon to be free agent, what a dick.)
Time to start some shit. Don’t get picked off Aki.
Yo that chick in True Blood, didn’t she played Rogue in those X-Men Movies?
Anna Paquin and yes…She’s a hot little piece.
Come on Rays.
Out of curiosity, is there a rulebook limit to where the fielders can play?
Nice play Pedroia. Now I’m sure Francona will tell him to never do that again.
Will he do it in Lou Browns voice too?
Tie game. Bitches.
Pena needs a hyperbaric chamber now.
E. LONG
Clutch!
Nice job by the fan making sure Youk couldn’t get to that one.
Geez Crawford. Doing your best Melky impression.
Nah, Melky would of K’d on 3 pitches.
Lets Go.
Anyone else think Crawford’s a little overrated?
What do most people or experts rate him as?
Really? I think he’s a little under-rated. He’s completely miscast as a 5-hole hitter though.
Ha, well I guess we can agree that he isn’t rated properly.
Shut down inning, Matty.
Why isn’t Hughes as good as Garza ??? Both were top prospects coming out the minors at the same time.
Hughes only throws 91
Garza’s three years older. Wait till Hughes is that age.
So we gotta wait till Hughes the boy becomes Hughes the man. He’s in the AZ league whereas Garza is working on his second gem of the post season. Hughes was supposed to be a better pitcher than Garza THEN. Now, its not even a debate.
Don’t you agree that there should be a learning curve. Garza is the perfect example, he sucked at 22, and now he’s working on his 2nd gem. Not at 22. And oh yeah, how did Garza do against the White Sox in the 1st round?
Dude Garza is close to three years older and he too experience some growing pains as well.
When Garza was 22, he had a 5.76 ERA. Hughes at 21 had a 4.46 ERA (in the al East). Guess there’s hope for him yet.
And he does that.
Mark Kotsay smells of something terrible. Wasn’t it these douchnozzle annoucers that said he was a great pickup ?
Not sure about Mark, but his wife was a great pickup
Don’t look now, but Garza’s outpitching Lester The Invincible.
Yeah, but did you know Lester had cancer?
Oh yeah, well Garza has two kids. Which one do you think is more stressful?
Owch, thats gonna hit a few nerves.
I was kidding! Hence the emoticon.
Shit he had a daughter fresh out of H.S.
That’s nothing, Tabata had twins at age 18 with a woman twice his age.
And those aren’t Tabata’s only kids either.
Garza clearly has better stuff then Hughes. I’m a Hughes fan and I’ll atmit that.
And if stuff was what determined greatness in a pitcher, Farnsworth would be an all-star every year.
How the hell did Aybar hit that?
Touche Steve,
Thataboy Aybar
Come on Navaro.
Navarro showing the wheels
Let’s see Rocco put down a bunt here.
The catcher with an infield hit. Why can’t the Yankees get players like that?
Where has Floyd been during this series? Hurt?
He’s been played, he played last night. He and Aybar platoon at DH.
nice hit for Baldelli
Rays lead !!
Yeah Badelli.
RAH-COOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I hope Dickie V doesn’t have a heart attack out there. lol!
Good job by future Yankee, Baldelli.
Dickey V. baby!!!!
“Bay loads up” and launches a 10 hopper to the catcher.
That’s almost as good as “how big are two out hits” when there’s no outs.
They’ve got Lester right where they want him. Make. Him. Pay.
Damn, I want Baldelli and Garnder to man CF next year so bad.
Baldelli will probably stay a Ray
You think? With Perez being MLB-ready?
Baldelli >>> Perez. Plus depth is a good thing.
Yeah, but when you can’t count on Baldelli to be a full-time starter, why pay him when you can give the job to a cost-controlled Fernando Perez? Also, it’s not like Gabe Gross and Eric Hinske are bad options, they provide some depth on the bench as well.
Baldelli can only command so much money
my guess with him playing well in the postseason they keep him as a DH and OF figure Floyd goes elsewhere, maybe they trade Aybar
You ain’t lyin’. I want him in pinstripes too.
Eh is the reward worth the risk?
Risk worth the reward* please tolerate the horrible headache over here today.
Why they didn’t bunt with Bartlett.
no friggin clue
1st and 2nd no outs and your #9 hitter is up. Why no bunt there?
Jason Bartlett, the Tampa section of the BBWAA’s Team M.V.P.
How ’bout them Devil Rays.
These TBS guys are pretty entertaining. and DAMN is that crowd louddd.
Yeah, Chip Caray is entertaining. I just wish he’d relax on the exaggeration of fly-outs.
Not to mention their visual game coverage has improved A lot since last year.
Bah, they had him on the ropes. At least they’re showing signs of life.
Like to see another quick inning from Garza, run Jonny Boy back out there asap.
The only hit he’s given up is the homer.
Lets go Garza.
Truely hurts when you first team moves you and you end up in the ALCS potentialy WS
Yeah, that’s a pretty weak sob story they presented.
Hopefully next year it would be Joba/Hughes doing shit like Shields and Garza are doing and I think they will. Yes, I am an optimist.
Rays must win. I can’t stand the Sox winning.
Man, Garza sure has been a nice throw-in from the Bartlett-Delmon swap
Well played.
I know Simmons brought this up in his last article, but why the fuck are they calling him David OR-teez this series? When did he adjust the accent on his name?
Wasn’t it more of a Garza Delmon swap?
He’s joking.
Entourage time.
Are you seriously going to turn this game off? This is great.
Yes man. Entourage is the shit.
i mean damn, its on demand
Oh well. The game will still be on when this is over. No time during the week to look on demand.
Come on Garza, smoke this vienna saugage bitch.
Sox are trying to channel the power of the grit-beard
When Pedroia gets old, he’ll look like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
Blow the FB by ortiz Garza.
That’s right Garza.
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!
HUGE
Blew Papi away on that one
Oh yes. Oh fucking yes!
Hell YA!
Something tells me that Garza wants no part of Pedrioa
He didn’t exactly pitch around him.
Yeah nailed him in the side once and then the BB
The walk was on 11 pitches. He threw strike after strike that Pedroia kept fouling off, he was not avoiding him.
And on the HBP he threw him 3 pitches before hitting him, all were strikes.
I was watching something else. I saw the BB on a box score. so, roast me.
Oh yeah, Entourage, lol. Just didn’t want Pedroia to get the “feared” label.
Ten-out countdown. One snot-nosed shrimp.
And nine!
Love the classic strike em out throw em out
Does this qualify as a gritty performance from Garza? I say no, I call this straight gangsta.
when you throw 95, thats not grit
Ok Jerry.
Grit is reserved to the red sox and short people like eckstein. The rest of us are all just overpaid assholes who to comes too easy to. We deserve to be punished for looking clean or of a normal height..
Five pitches? Come on…
Terrible half inning there. Gotta get Garza a longer breather than that
The bottom half of the sixth…sponsored by Mark Melancon.
I like that one.
How’s the thread treating everyone? Is it loading slow? Let me know if I should start a new one.
Fine for me. Recommend that people get Firefox. my RAB works great now.
Word. IE sucks.
The tabbing is a real luxury too.
Yeah Firefox or Chrome works a whole lot better than IE on loading the thread
So far, My prediction from earlier on this thread has remained so. Rocky start for Garza ( the HR) and then settling in, in a dominant fashion, with 7good IP.
Lotsa good eggs in that box score.
Goose*
Why can’t the red sox just go away.
That’s a very bad mistake by Maddon. The kids are hyper, slow them down by getting them to foul off some pitches
Bring in J.P. Howell. Bring in J.P. Howell.
Yo, Joey, tell me that episode wasn’t the best you’ve seen in a while. I really hope Ari takes the new gig.
Absolutely. Its all coming together. E’s gotta new girl. As does Vinny. Ari got this new gig. They are finally getting away from the broke and poor spirited approach. I miss the whole partying aspect of the show.
Heh, I fucking hate E.
Why? He’s cool.
What? That dude is a little prick. I’m waiting for Ari to just kick his ass one of these days. His character is just annoying, the dude ran some pizza place and he came up thinking he knew more than the dude’s that ran the damn town.
Dude Ari is the biggest prick in the whole show. I love it too. Turtle has been very underplayed this year. and the Ari comment to Lloyd about what he was hiding was horrible lol
Yo Mike. Whats the little tag line for RAB going to be next year? Since the stadium won’t be up much longer.
The Big Three 4 Life
Not. Seriously right?
Has Price thrown in this series?
He got the win in Game 2.
why no david price?
I thought it was a big mistake not bringing him in in game 5.
Best arm on the team, and he’s thrown 2/3 of an inning. Why even put him on the roster?
Yessir!!!!!!
GRITT THAT YOU COCKKK SUCKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Garza is pumped up
Varitek had no chance.
Straight gangsta.
6 more outs!
Tack on some runs boysss
THASSS WAT IM TALKIN BOUTT lmao.
Holy shit, this is epic, fun, whatever the hell you can think of.
I never thought I was capable of rooting for another team so hard.
Who for Tampa in the 8th?
Howell for the eight (and Big Papi), Balfour for the ninth. Das it.
is it balfour then howell?
Howell then Balfour
I’ll stick more Howell for the entire inning in my perspective.
Theyve had their backs against the wall because of the HR from TB… what does the mean.
GONE
…..And boom goes the dynamite!!!!!!!!!!
CRUSH!
fuck and yes
whaddya guys say can the rays do it?
Sweet mother of Aybar
They needed that extra run.
I Told ya people the rays will win this game.
its 2 runs… far from over
Dude relax. Remember game 5? It’s a 2 run game right now
I know, but still.
Where’s Lanny and Pedro when the Rays are winning right now by two runs.
…and Relaunch. But lemme keep shut, don’t wanna jinx anything.
I hope Maddon doesn’t go to Wheeler.
He won’t.
Outside of providing an insurance run, that HR guaranteed that Upton and Pena will garner one more Plate Appearance, each.
Just Willie being Willie if you ask me
The Rays remind me of the mighty ducks…That is the ducks from the disney movies, those scrappy little mothers lol.
Think the champagne is chilling now?
Think Troy makes the WS roster?
Matt Garza’s a pimp. 116 pitches ain’t no thang.
Please tell me that isnt a replay we will be seeing for years..
You piece of shit, you are only a viable starter because of your defense.
MVP Jamal, he is only an MVP because of his defense. Come on, you knew that
Wheres that Barlett team MVP shit
Fuck!!!
Come on.
Heh, Garza didn’t even acknowledge Bartlett when Bartlett patted him on his back.
Hope he goes to Howell here. I trust him more than Balfour/Wheeler.
Dan Wheeler’s on the mound. Hide the kids and pray
I think you guys are all ignoring the fact that that was vintage, clutch Alex Cora baseball. He wins games.
That Steve Phillips is a prophet, I tell ‘ya.
Alex Cora left the dirt all scuffed up at SS, and then hit the ball there on purpose. He PLANNED that error.
God, what a ballplayer.
Wow, great fucking point. He clearly just willed that ball to hop up on Bartlett
forcing errors with shitty hoppers to the SS
Come on you douche, throw a strike.
Awesome, Joe Maddon. Bring me more pitchers who can’t throw strikes.
this is such bullshit the sox get games just fucking handed to them it makes me sick
So … who just realized how lucky we Yankees’ fans are to have Mo back there?
definitely….Rays bullpen will be the hardest thing to recreate for their ’09 season
And the health of their starters.
Word. Mo would of went heavy duty pitching two + innings.
My sentiments exactly. You don’t get nervous about late-inning leads when you have that deity in the bullpen.
Jesus
No Howell?
For those of you who missed Entourage, here’s a link where you could watch it in HD quality (amazing episode btw):
http://video.supernovatube.com.....7a3a2d4f4a
The Rays bullpen is Mets like.
Get your shit together Wheeler.
I can’t believe Maddon went to the BP. Its that, “theres a guy on first, no matter how he got there, I must go to the BP, even if they are the suck” mentality. I can’t watch them implode again…
What the hell is this guy doing in the ballgame??? He’s a command guy with no command. YANK him!!
Relax guys, Wheeler’s got a GritBeard.
Has there ever been a handsome, graceful ballplayer described as “gritty”? Or does being athletic/talented preclude you from being gritty?
What? Lefty vs lefty matchup? Who knew?
If he’d done this two games ago, I doubt we’re even here right now.
Pedroia rocking the bald spot
He’s not actually going bald…he plucks it so he can be more like Kevin Youkilis.
What do you do with Youk? Leave Howell in for a potential match-up with J.D. Drew? Or do you go with Grant Balfour and trust his 2008 numbers against LHB (.364-OPS)?
Depends what happens with Ortiz. If Howell gets him, them leave him in there. If not, well it depends on the situation.
Ah, but what about the fact that if Ortiz makes an out, you bring in Balfour so as not to make Youk face the LHB as the go-ahead run at the plate. If Balfour gets Youk then you can leave him in to face Drew in the next inning as a meaningless run.
I’d try Bradford for Youk, then have Balfour for the 9th
Why is David Price not in this game? Does Maddon not want to win?
Has he even pitched in the last ten days?
I can understand being leery of Price NOW. I couldn’t understand it with a 6 run lead in the 7th.
I’d rather have put Price in than Wheeler, who completely imploded once already this series. Why carry such a talented arm if you’re not going to use it.
roockies are unpredictable
period
if he’s an unpredictable rookie, they shouldn’t have put him on the roster. they didn’t use him with a 7 run lead the other night, why not? he’s their best arm.
yea, price would be shitting bricks if he was out there right now.
Heh, anyone else see Gammons trying to see over the camera behind the plate?
Did anyone see that woman the cameras cut to blinking spastically? Haha.
Hey Mike, can you start another thread? It’s slowing down fo me.
Done. New thread here:
http://riveraveblues.com/2008/.....read-5277/
Keep the mojo of this thread going I say…
I give Maddon props. He’s going to his best guys in big spots.
why isn’t ellsbury coming in for ortiz?
I can’t wait to see Quantum of Solace.