that wont happen...yanks and sox will make the playoffs, i mean i can see rays or angels sneaking into a wildcard but you must be nuts if you think sox and yanks both have collapses........ yanks lost 2 games out of the 4 the just lost an unearned runs.......its not like yanks are getting smacked around like the red sox... yanks lost games on errors by the shortstop amazing
but to the point...why cant texas collapse and LA catch them?
i dont like it......... i wanted a sox yanks ALCS now the odds of that are slim because texas and detroit and LA and even tampa are playing great ball
something is up with the sox...wakefield and lackey the next 2 nights against the jays......if yanks can somehow win the next 2 and sox lose the next 2 this division race might be over for the sox........its gonna get interesting but in the end i see it still as yanks sox in the end
!/
http://mobile.boston.com/art/22/spo.../09/16/quit_thinking_the_rays_are_going_away/
Quit thinking they’ll go away
Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff / Sep 16, 2011 06:14 AM
Do you get the sense that the Rays don’t think the Red Sox are their superiors?
They’re 10-5 now against the Townies.
They swept the Sox at the Trop, and won the first of a four-game set last night at Fenway. Now, we expected as much given that the pitching matchup was Rookie of the Year candidate Jeremy Hellickson against fill-in Kyle Weiland.
Are we surprised at the lopsided nature of the outcome, a 9-2 loss? Sort of, only in that we expected more from a Red Sox lineup that created some excitement because Adrian Gonzalez (calf) and David Ortiz (back) were back. But the Sox got no desired lift from the two stars.
The upshot is that the Rays are three games back. There are three head-to-head matchups left here. It’s Josh Beckett making his return from a sprained ankle vs. James Shields tonight. It’s Jon Lester vs. Jeff Niemann tomorrow afternoon. It’s Tim Wakefield vs. David Price in the finale on Sunday.
Is a Tampa Bay sweep possible, making it even? We expect that won’t happen, but you could see Shields and Price coming up big. If they take three of four, and that’s the worst the Rays can do and remain a factor, they would leave here two games behind the Sox, and catching Boston would be plausible if they can play this way in the majority of the seven games they have left with the Yankees.
And if the Red Sox continue to have a horrible September (losing eight of their last nine games), then the Rays could do the improbable.
Put it this way, the Rays are making this interesting. They spit up against the Orioles, losing two of three, and could have come in here much closer to the Sox. They are taking it, and we hate to use this cliché, one game at a time, and it seems to be working.
Manager Joe Maddon has no answers as to why the Rays have dominated the Sox this season. He does point to the pitching, and with good reason. The Red Sox can’t hit the Rays.
The Sox are batting .178 against the Rays in 2011. Since 1946, the lowest the Sox had batted against any team in a season was .204 against the Orioles in 1966. The Rays have held the Sox to a .162 average at Fenway. The Sox have lost their last six games against the Rays by a combined score of 41-12.
“Both teams just know each other so well,’’ said Rays center fielder B.J. Upton.
The big thing is, with a payroll disparity of about $120 million, the Rays are getting tremendous bang for their buck. The Red Sox? Not so much.
When asked about the David vs. Goliath analogy, especially where payroll was concerned, Upton said, “You would say that in the past, but they know we have a good team. We’re not looking at payroll or anything like that. They know we’re a good team and we know how good they are. We like the matchup. We’ve always been competitive with them.’’
Upton was part of what might become a signature play in this series. His third-inning grounder against Weiland, on which he shattered his bat, resulted in part of his bat and the ball going through shortstop Marco Scutaro’s legs.
“I’d never seen that before,’’ Upton said. “Next thing I know I look up and I’m on base and [John] Jaso is scoring.’’
That led to Evan Longoria’s three-run homer. And the Rays were off and running behind Hellickson.
“It was great for that to be a single,’’ said Rays designated hitter Johnny Damon. “I hit one 370 feet and it’s an out.
Maddon said the bat and ball going through Scutaro’s legs was a sign from the baseball gods. Asked whether it could be a signature moment, he said, “I can only hope.’’
Maddon has his players believing they can pull this off. He said their belief “is at a level that’s sufficient. We’ve played them well the last four times. We’ve earned the right to be positive entering our next game against them.’’
injuries, nothing more nothing less...
when healthy they are the 2nd best team in baseball....they have already proven that over the majority of the season...team is trying to do it with smoke and mirrors right now and its clearly not working...
what i found astonishing is my book had a 3 game series line (its a 4 game series but was only for the 1st 3 games) vs tb and boston was -180 tb +150 ...that line was a joke...i cant believe they are -140 tonight with a big ? on the hill vs shields...
when healthy they are the 2nd best team in baseball....they have already proven that over the majority of the season...team is trying to do it with smoke and mirrors right now and its clearly not working...
what i found astonishing is my book had a 3 game series line (its a 4 game series but was only for the 1st 3 games) vs tb and boston was -180 tb +150 ...that line was a joke...i cant believe they are -140 tonight with a big ? on the hill vs shields...
From the cited article:
Do you get the sense that the Rays don’t think the Red Sox are their superiors?
They’re 10-5 now against the Townies.
Bar: And 40-25 in past 65
Are we surprised at the lopsided nature of the outcome, a 9-2 loss? Sort of, only in that we expected more from a Red Sox lineup that created some excitement because Adrian Gonzalez (calf) and David Ortiz (back) were back. But the Sox got no desired lift from the two stars.
Bar: Myopic Sox Nation perhaps muddled at fact that their boys are now up to a lusty 45 runs scored in 15 games vs TB this season
Is a Tampa Bay sweep possible, making it even?
Bar: Rays swept RedSox 4-0 last season in Fenway
And if the Red Sox continue to have a horrible September (losing eight of their last nine games)
Bar: Sox throwing staff now allowed 116 runs in past three weeks (18 games....6.5 per game). In contrast, Rays pitchers have to go back 39 games to find 116 runs allowed.
The Sox are batting .178 against the Rays in 2011. Since 1946, the lowest the Sox had batted against any team in a season was .204 against the Orioles in 1966. The Rays have held the Sox to a .162 average at Fenway. The Sox have lost their last six games against the Rays by a combined score of 41-12.
Bar: Awesome
Do you get the sense that the Rays don’t think the Red Sox are their superiors?
They’re 10-5 now against the Townies.
Bar: And 40-25 in past 65
Are we surprised at the lopsided nature of the outcome, a 9-2 loss? Sort of, only in that we expected more from a Red Sox lineup that created some excitement because Adrian Gonzalez (calf) and David Ortiz (back) were back. But the Sox got no desired lift from the two stars.
Bar: Myopic Sox Nation perhaps muddled at fact that their boys are now up to a lusty 45 runs scored in 15 games vs TB this season
Is a Tampa Bay sweep possible, making it even?
Bar: Rays swept RedSox 4-0 last season in Fenway
And if the Red Sox continue to have a horrible September (losing eight of their last nine games)
Bar: Sox throwing staff now allowed 116 runs in past three weeks (18 games....6.5 per game). In contrast, Rays pitchers have to go back 39 games to find 116 runs allowed.
The Sox are batting .178 against the Rays in 2011. Since 1946, the lowest the Sox had batted against any team in a season was .204 against the Orioles in 1966. The Rays have held the Sox to a .162 average at Fenway. The Sox have lost their last six games against the Rays by a combined score of 41-12.
Bar: Awesome
