Sep
17
Rays @ Red Sox Game Thread
ByThe Rays and Red Sox are playing this afternoon, a game that is very relevant to the Yankees. Unfortunately, if you’re in New York, you won’t be able to watch because the Mets and Braves will be on FOX. I know a ton of you folks are outside the Tri-State though, so here’s a thread to talk about the game. Game starts at 4pm, and it’ll be Niemann vs. Lester.
Update: The game is on FOX Sports Deportes in New York. It’s channel 125 for me on Time Warner in NYC. The broadcast is in Spanish, obviously.
158 Comments»
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The Mason Williams Watch
Go Mo!!
i wonder if Lester will get those calls 4 inches of the plate today…
Some were even a foot off the plate according to pitch FX.
Yeah. That’s the way some of them looked to me.
Glad to hear my perceptions confirmed.
Like Mo did today?
Yeah, pitch FX says CB Bucknor actually was favoring the Blue Jays until that last inning.
But don’t let this get in the way of your petty trolling.
is this guy a red sox fan or just a yankee fan that likes to troll?
Hopefully Lester does not get the up and outside strike a foot off the plate that Beckett received.
Did anybody else see what looked to me (and, apparently, Tampa’s manager) like an amazingly biased umpire calling far outside pitches strikes for Beckett and balls for the Tampa pitchers? I suspect it changed the outcome of the game.
In any case, it was egregious enough that the Tampa manager got thrown out for, in no uncertain terms, telling the umpire what he thought about it.
Nah, I saw it too. About 3-4 strikeouts were Beckett were pitches out of the zone on full counts.
We all saw it. Sadly these fucking bullshit umpires are going to continue to do shiet like this.
It wasn’t just Beckett…Bard got some calls also..and that strikeout call on Damon was rather generous. I’m biased, but I don’t think he swung. His “swing” was lenghtened b/c he was trying to get out of the way and got hit.
I suspected as much, Foghorn.
Magic # at 5. Besides Mariano’s 601
That’s the # I’m most interested in.
Sorry. I should have read the prior posts before making mine.
It really was incredibly egregious.
I didn’t watch the entire game, but I didn’t hear a peep about the umpire’s very biased calls in favor of the Red Sox on the MLB channel or the (granted NESN) game broadcast.
But can you imagine if those calls had been in favor of a Yankees pitcher?
National conspiracy, front page news on ESPN.
I don’t mind a few calls missed here and there. as bad as most seem to make it, the umps are usually consistent and the calls will even out in most games.
But that was bad last night…upton and kotchman had strike calls on them that crossed the opposite batters box line.
4 pitch walk to Desmond…steal right now!
4 pitch walk, followed by sac bunt
/firegirardi
Does Joe Maddon have a binder? A fucking bunt with one of your hottest hitters?
2run HR for Zobrist!
Zooobrist.
Zobie
To my eye, the umpire’s calls were far too egregious and one sided to have been inadvertent.
Any thoughts about what his motivation could have been?
Making Chairman Bud happy?
Improving ratings by having the Red Sox in the post season instead of Tampa?
Money on the game?
Taking a payoff from gamblers or paying off a gambling debt?
A vendetta against Tampa for some reason?
Again, some things I think I know for sure:
(1) That it was blatant.
(2) That it wasn’t accidental.
(3) That because the Red Sox loving media won’t utter a peep, he’ll get away with it and that he and others will be able to do it in the future at will.
(4) That it’s umpires/umpiring like him that make me think about baseball — especially the post season where a handful of calls can swing a series — more like pro wrestling than a sport where ability and performance really determine the outcome.
(5) That it says as much about media bias as it does about bad umpiring.
(5) That it’s a damn shame.
It was probably accidental. Every team gets squeezed/helped by the umpires at some point in the season.
“Again, some things I think I know for sure”
None of those things you can know for sure other than “it’s a damn shame”.
I think I CAN know those things for sure:
(1) That it was clearly blatant — as apparently verified by Pitch FX.
(2) That it clearly wasn’t accidental since it was so one sided — unless the umpire is bipolar or has a split personality and the condition is triggered by a certain color uniform or the cologne that one of the catchers was wearing.
(3) That ESPN and MLB’s network are so biased that you can cut it with a knife — as evidenced not only by their coverage, but by the people they hire. (You’d think both were NESN/Red Sox reunions.)
(4) That umpires frequently determine the outcomes of games — which usually don’t swing entire seasons, but frequently determine the outcome of series whether intentionally or otherwise. (You ever notice how well teams with new stadiums (other than the Mets) tend to do? Some coincidence, huh?)
(5) That most umpires and their overseers, like most regulators in most industries, will only do what’s required if it’s politically incorrect if media pressure forces them to do it.
I think I know all of those things for sure and that anyone paying attention who’s not terminally stupid or blinded by bias should, too.
Just my opinion…
#7. That I should edit my posts or learn to count better….
The umpire was Hunter Wendelstedt. He always has an absurdly wide strike zone.
“The umpire was Hunter Wendelstedt. He always has an absurdly wide strike zone.”
Apparently not when the Red Sox were batting.
Does he always have an absurdly wide strike zone for one team and not the other?
If so, why is he allowed to umpire?
If not, why is that travesty of an umpiring performance allowed to stand without more of an outcry? I think my post says why.
I think the umpiring in baseball today is ATROCIOUS. Too many umpires have their own interpretations of the strike zone, and there are many cases like last night’s Rays/Sox game that make you wonder if the umpires are purposely favoring one team over the other. And then at the end of the game the umpires are never held accountable for bad calls because they are not required to speak to the media. Something HAS to be done about this situation, either improve the quality of the umpires or dump them in favor of a computer/laser strike calling system. The technology to do this available. Unfortunately, I don’t see Selig doing anything about it (surprise, surprise), because MLB is trying to protect the “human element” of the game at the expense of the teams and their fans.
is available*
so, after Laffey got the win in Mo’s 601st save, I was wondering who the winning pitchers for all of Mo’s milestone saves were and:
1: Andy Pettitte
100: El Duque
200: Sterling Hitchcock
300: Javy Vasquez (!!!!)
400: Jaret Wright
479: Phil Coke
500: Chien Ming Wang
600: AJ Burnett
601: Aaron Laffey
Murderers row.
Phuck. Hughes is scratched.
I know it is not the popular opinion, but I am rooting for Boston so the magic number goes down and the Yankees can rest up and set the playoff rotation as soon as possible.
That will actually prolong our time for rest because Girardi will play everyone until the division is won.
Why not root for Boston and Tampa to fight down to the wire so that neither team can line up its pitching and rest its players and pitchers the way they’d like — whichever team you want to win?
I’ll never root for Boston. But that’s probably just me.
me neither…I just can’t do it.
I used to feel bad for them but not anymore.
That team is ASSHOLE City.
A small part of me did too awhile back. But my God, the main reason why I hate Boston is because of their fans. It’s like when you argue with them it’s like talking to a brick wall. They use ZERO statistical analysis when trying to make an argument. At least that’s the vast majority I’ve talked to.
It’s the media for me. Every time the Red Sox lose, I like to check ESPN.com and watch MLBN to see what sorry excuse they come up with. Them missing the playoffs this year would be the best non-Yankee thing that could possibly happen.
(Fox just said Mike Aviles is an impact player!!!!!)
Hahaha
Mike Aviles vs Eduardo Nunez 2011
Aviles: .253/.285/.403 .306 wOBA 14 steals
Nunez: .254/.301/.366 ..299 wOBA 19 steals
That means Nunez is an impact player too!!
Whenever the Red Sox don’t make the playoffs, it’s ALWAYS because of injuries and never because of bad play.
I don’t think you were born yet, but the ’86 W.S. presented quite the dilemma…root for Mets or root for Sux ?? I was living in Boston at the time, thought I would root for the Mets when the series started and then couldn’t do it and found myself root for the Sox as the series went on. The best possible outcome came through for me as I was in the city with the losing team and the Loser fans…
The Sox were not as hatable then as they are now.
That Met team was fun to root for. I didn’t live anywhere near NYC so I didn’t have this hatred for the Mets.
you are the first Non-Mets fan I have ever heard say that team was fun to root for.
their pitching staff was sick…
oh yeah, satisfaction came for Met Haters in that those Mets only got one ring. They really should have strung a few together with that team.
i was a huge Gooden fan…he could’ve had a helluva career. still amazing he had 190 wins.
can’t think of one player who I liked on that team at the time but certainly came to like Gooden and Straw later (Coney wasn’t on the ’86 team, was he?)
Coney came later…
Dr. K and Straw could’ve had HOF careers if not for the white powder.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_.....ely-season
Some people are injury-prone, and then some people are Joe Mauer. He just can’t catch a break. It’s a damn shame cause it’s really affecting his game.
you can say the same thing about Morneau.
Fox going on and on and on and on about how the Red Sox are only struggling because people are injured, and make no mention that the Rays are playing pretty fucking good right now.
I hear they just raided the corporate ranks of ESPN
One of these days I’ll literally throw up because of the Boston bias on Fox, ESPN, Mlb Network, etc.
a team without injuries does not exist.
these same people laugh about the mets last year. now granted, the mets are a mess, but all the big guns missed time..Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Bay, Santana…no one cuts them any slack.
One reason i want the Sox to lose is so they miss the playoffs. Then the media will have to take a hard look at the situation since most of them picked the sox to win it all.
The 42′s are just mindbending today. He needed 42 saves to tie the record, he turns 42 after the season, has 42 on his back and had 42 post season saves coming into this year…
Niemann is impressive. A tall guy who doesn’t throw too hard but has very good command and an excellent curveball. I’d be very happy if Brackman could turn into a mid-rotation guy like him.
I really doubt Brackman ever makes it as a starter. I wonder if the organization will have him start the season as a reliever next season?
I agree with what Mike says, that they’ll probably (and should) at least start the season with him as a starter and see what he can do. Then switch him to the pen quick if he still can’t cut it so they can get something out of him. I agree I don’t think he’ll ever be a big contributor as a starter.
We’d be pretty freaking fortunate for that to happen.
Ok, was the Hughes being scratched a bogus report? I haven’t seen anything on the web yet. They just showed a graphic on YES, but I didn’t hear Girardi say anything.
Should we intentionally lose 3/4 to the Rays to doom the Red Sox? This is if the Rays win today and tomorrow.
If we win the next two games and the Rays win today and tomorrow’s game I am hoping that the Rays take 3 out of 4 (preferably one game out of the double header)
If the game isn’t in your area, try Fox Deportes. It’s the national spanish broadcast game.
what channel is that on IO cable?
never mind I found it
3-0 Rays on a wild pitch!!
Lester already doing the Beckett umpire staredown… that 2-2 pitch that was pretty significantly off the plate will be a strike a few innings from now (he does the stare a lot early in the game, and it usually works for later on in the game).
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/.....type=3.gif
(pitch 5 is call he thinks he should be getting?)
My God, that’s nearly a foot off the plate. What a baby.
was crawford out
Sure looked like he was.
thanks
One camera angle was pretty concluding. He was never tagged. What a stupid idea not to slide.
The Spanish analysis for Rays-Sox is already so much more coherent than listening to McCarver. And I don’t speak Spanish.
om gameday guess they can’t show video
Damon was safe. That’s 2 bs calls that have gone against the Rays. Coincidence? No.
rays keep getting hosed
I guess the umps have their orders to make sure the Red Sox make the post season.
funny they just said lester is off because hes not getting his calls
They also said that Crawford was out and that Damon was safe (and both plays are too close to call really).
McCarver just said he thinks Saltamachia (how he pronounced it) intentionally bounced the throw to 2nd base on the Damon steal attempt.
I wish the play by play guy would have asked him how many times he did that as a catcher intentionally (as it seems like such a smart thing to do?)
Matt Vasgersian doesn’t have the brains to ask that.
Fox saying that only managers that come from the Angels shift. I guess I shouldn’t expect any better from Fox…
Mike Scioscia actually invented the position center field
before that it was just 2 guys out there
Joe Maddon just has fun and invents infielder shifts for left handers. No other team does those things.
man i gotta say if i wasnt a die hard yankee fan i would TOTALLY jump on the ray bandwagon what a fun team
a homerun by longoria would be really cool right now.
And as expected after the Lester staredowns the ump is starting to give him that outside pitch to righties 6″ off the plate.
Pitch 1 is apparently now a strike (to Upton)
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/.....type=3.gif
It’s the seemingly the same thing every game… he throws that outside pitch early in the game, stares at the ump and shakes his head walking back to the rubber and then by the 4th or 5th inning he’s suddenly getting that call.
Good grief that called 3rd strike to Zobrist was even worse:
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/.....type=3.gif
It appears once again the homepate umpire gets intimidated/influenced by Lester staring them down early on…
Wow that shit was outside!
Those umps are laughable
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/.....type=3.gif
It’s amazing how bad they are at their jobs. Thank goodness they aren’t doctors or something important.
Is it just Wendelstatdt again or other umps, too?
SO now I know who’s responsible for the too many users error message!
(I think this game is going to crash the Brooks site)
So let me get this straight, because I’m not 100% certain about this…But is Pitch Fx used by Major League Baseball to grade the umpires?
I doubt it. But I would honestly love to see a robot strikezone. It would be fair for everybody and then blogs like Camdem Chat and Halos Heaven would stop crying about how the umpires handed the games to the Yankees when they lose.
Haha, speaking of Halos Heaven, have you seen on their blog after every game they do a poll question on who to blame? I take it that they can’t realize that their team just got beat by a better team.
Amen.
No, I think their grade from Chairman Bud is based on the number of times that they screw the Yankees or help the Red Sox — the greater the number, the higher the grade.
This ump is absolutely atrocious! How do these guys keep their job?
Is it Wendelstadt again or another/other ump(s)?
Mostly Brian Knight behind the plate.. he started out calling the strike zone correctly early on, but some early staredowns from Lester and the outside corner to right hitters has expanded dramatically. There was also a close play at home but I think he got the call right.
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/.....type=7.gif
Davidson looked like he blew a call at 2nd on a Damon steal attempt… the ball beat him but it looked like he got in under the tag. Davidson was in poor position and the fielder blocked his view of the tag.
i’m kinda urprised that the umpire didn’t call Ellsbury safe.
Strikes, Matt.
So on Brooks there is 1 pitch called a strike on a BOS batter that is well outside the zone….and like a dozen on Rays batters…great to see the Red Sox earn that wildcard spot
they have to make that last series vs. the yanks meaningful.
The Red Sox are the whiniest team in baseball.
that is Grit
Imagine how GRITTY brett gardner would be if he was playing left field for the Red Sox instead of Crawfid.
People say the Umps are terrible, but it’s more than that, for if they were truly incompetent, mistaken calls would be distributed to both side, not just the Rays.
that’s my point…good or bad, consistency is key. but blatent one sided calls are terrible.
My point exactly, Foghorn. Amen. It’s obviously blatant and obviously one sided. And I assume, as usual, as long as it’s not in favor of the Yankees, it’s ignored.
That bunt by scutaro was a Girardi-esque play.
When did FOX plug into the NESN feed? It’s getting absurd now with the Daniel Bard love.
Ha, a wild pitch charged to Lobaton, the catcher. Excellent analysis by Tim McCarver, always been a personal favorite.
Dear Fox,
Mo and DRob >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bard and Papelbum.
Unprecedented? A reliever going 3 innings is unprecedented?
Good grief McCarver.
That’s especially surprising coming from a former player who played in the 60′s.
I wonder if he realizes Moore was a starter as recently as last week.
Great camera work.
I thought it was a homer.
This camera guy is almost as bad as the umps.
FOX cameraman fail.
McCarver was standing up trying to will that ball out. This broadcast is a joke.
The camera guy nearly gave me a heart attack.
That would’ve been out in the summer!
/nice camera work
….and now it’s total Fox fail as they pull the entire broadcast. Thanks, guys!
I know, wtf
look at Matt More go out and hold down the Red Sox for 3 innings. and Girardi keeps going with Ayala, Proctor and laffey over Betances and Brackman.
Another McCarver fail… apparetnly they change the rules to you need to tag a guy on the force play….
He then calls a failed bunt “an effective play for the Rays” (since apparently a bunt not resulting in a DP is success)
Did AGon drop it intentionally? (if so shouldn’t it be ruled an out anyway?)
If everything holds up we’ll have a 5 game lead over the Sox for the division and the Tigers for best record.
That was a weird play
Rays need to get some Runs. Future Sox hall of famer, Mike Aviles, is a threat to hit multiple HRs every AB.
/what I learned from Matt Vasgersian
Any bets on how far the umps go to help the Red Sox win in the bottom of the 9th?
I think RAB needs to open a Tim MECarver appreciation thread
Maybe it’ll be like that beer commercial where the football umpire trips a player to give the people in the bar time to finish their beers…
Thank goodness Farnsworth isn’t there to blow the game against the bottom of the lineup.
McCarver and Buck don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.
Tim McCarver — a legend in his own mind.
He’s so full of himself that he thinks his rambling is fascinating if all he’s doing is contemplating about his own belly button.
“He can run like scorpions can fight.”
Thanks for that gem, Tim.
Tim McCarver — always profound, at least in his own mind.
That a network can have his self absorbed rambling on a nationally televised broadcast for three hours should be an embarrassment to them.
McCarver: “Crowd standing in remembrance of Dave Roberts”
Die he die or some shit?
RAYS WIN!!!
LOL fail
I don’t think Fox realizes that the Rays just won.
I think RAB needs to open a Tim MECarver appreciation thread
(reply fail)
A Tim MECarver appreciation thread could never work. There would be too much traffic praising him — from MECarver’s own computers.
I LOVE THE DEVIL RAYS
You won’t be saying that after tomorrow.
Detroit and Boston lose.
Nice day.
4.5 lead
hahahaha!! take a look at this.
http://www.boston.com/sports/?p1=GN_Sports
pedroia is such a douche