Shameless Plug: Join me tonight at 9:10pm, EST, as I sit down with Dave Mitchell of BBA Baseball Talk to talk chat Boston, the Red Sox, and Boston Red Thoughts. The show is broadcast on Ultimate Sports Talk and you can find it here. Then, just click on “Listen Live” and you’re all set. Hope you can join us!
And I completely missed the boat yesterday that my review of Closer was my 1300th post. Consequently, we are celebrating Post #1301…Never thought I would write 1300 posts on ANYTHING… Yay!
So, the Sox won their 5th game in a row, and are currently the owner of a gaudy .714 winning %–and #1 in the AL East…At this pace , they are projected to win about 110 games–Yeah, right… heh heh heh…
It’s early, but starting record of 10-4 is a damn sight better than the 4-10 start of the 2012 campaign–and this team is INFINTELY more likeable… Read more…
The concept of a closer we know today–someone who comes into the game in the 9th inning to shut the door on the opposition, and get the win, its a relatively new concept. The first year a “save” was even a MLB stat was 1969
There have always been guys who pitched the 9th inning, but in the earlier years of baseball, they often pitched the 8th, and sometimes the 4th and 7th inning as well.
Closer focuses on 62 of the best relievers of all times, and is split into 3 sections “The Early Year, “The Transition Years” and “The Modern Day Closer”, and within those sections, its further broken down by the dominant relievers of that span.
Its interesting to trace the progression of the position from when Hoyt Whelm and Ollie Fingers would average 2-3 innings per outing, and have win loss records of 143-122, and 114-118, respectively, as they generally started out as starting pitchers, and moved to the bullpen when they lost their effectiveness there. And their stories are remarkably similar: They all wanted to be in there with the game on the line–whether than was the 9th–or the 6th inning… Read more…
On behalf of Boston Red Thoughts, our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by the explosions during today’s Boston Marathon.
After Josh Beckett was traded to the Dodgers, the discussion began as to whether or not the Sox had a legitimate ace in Jon Lester. After all, prior to the meltdown in the Sept of 2011, and the subsequent debacle in 2012, Lester was one of the winningest lefties in all of baseball with a 54-23 record and a 3.40 ERA from 2007-2010. And he is certainly doing well this season, with a 2-0 record, and a sparking 1.42 ERA.
And That Clay Person had a no-hitter on Sept 1st 2007 (I was on my honeymoon in Bermuda and missed the damn thing) in only his 2nd start in the bigs, but then he would struggle mightily, and we often wondered if he was just too much of a head case to be “that guy”… But over the years, we have seen flashes of brilliance (like his 17-7, 2.33 ERA season in 2010)…and yesterday’s “6 outs away from no-hitter #2″ gem that he tossed against Tampa Bay, which included a career high 11 strikeouts. It was his 3rd win for 2013–and what is even more telling is the minuscule ERA of .41–Yep, like 41 cents… Read more…
2 Series played, 2 Series won. And if the Sox can manage to do this more often than not, this is going to be a VERY fun season…
And as much as I love R.A. Dickey, can’t say I am all broken up about the fact that we beat the snot out of him–as we all know, the knuckleball is a fickle mistress–8 earned runs…Yikes!
And Jon Lester was downright brilliant, throwing 7 strong, shutout innings for his 2nd win of the season. The rest of his line: 100 pitches, 67 for strikes, while walking none, hitting a batter, and striking out 6. And, in addition to his 2 wins, he starts the season with sparkling 1.50 ERA.
And then there was John Lackey, who actually wasn’t too horrible in Saturday’s contest (he has only given up 2 runs—and struck out 8), until he had to leave the game in the 5th inning with a strained bicep. And a DL stint is likely for the beleaguered starter. UGH…Holy Hell… Read more…
Truth be told, you never know how things are going to go. In 2010, the Sox were locked, stocked, loaded, and expected to play the Phillies in the World Series–before a single pitch was even thrown. And we all know how THAT turned out: a horrible 11-15 start, followed by the best record in baseball for 4 months, until the epic collapse in September (The Phillies didn’t fare much better that year, either)
And then there was such high hopes for 2012, despite the fact that Bobby Valentine was the manager–and then2012 turned out to be the WORST season I can remember–93 LOSES–and I was thoroughly disgusted and disillusioned with my beloved Red Sox.
But yesterday afternoon, the Sox kicked off the 2013 campaign with a great win against the very old, and pretty banged up, New York Skankees…and best of all? THEY WERE FUN AGAIN…
And the fact that the Sox lit up Joba Chamberlain in the 9th inning, scoring 3 runs off the reliever (giving him a nifty 40.50 ERA), is just icing on the cake. Read more…
And, despite the fact that it’s April Fools, it’s no joke. Major League Baseball actually started for some lucky folks last night, and the Nation gets their turn today at 1:05 when the Sox and the Skanks face off in New York for the first of their 19 meetings in the 2013 Campaign…
And in no surprise, Jon Lester takes the mound for the first game, opposed by Skankee ace, CC Sabathia. Let’s hope the success Jon has had on the mound during Spring Training (.075 ERA in 6 starts) in translates into real live baseball…Hell, I’d be happy if he had a WINNING season this year, which is a damn sight better than the 9-14, 4.82 ERA debacle of 2012…
And it should be an interesting, as the Opening Day lineups for both clubs are pretty different that each one anticipated. The Sox don’t have Big Papi or Stephen Drew yet, due to injury; Rookie Jackie Bradley Jr, who at 22, will be the youngest Red Sox player to make the starting 9 straight from AA ball since 2001, when someone you may have heard of did: Shea Hillenbrand.
And here is the Boston Red Sox Opening Day Lineup for 2013: Read more…
If you're a die hard red sox fan then you probably find yourself looking for Boston Red Sox Tickets all the time. We have a large selection of tickets for all games at Fenway Park.
The concept of a closer we know today–someone who comes into the game in the 9th inning to shut the door on the opposition, and get the win, its a relatively new concept. The first year a “save” was even a MLB stat was 1969
