Loaded Dice K

I can say as a Sox fan I have seen cleaner performances (Big Schill '04). I can say I've seen better pitchers (Pedro '98-'99). But, I can't say I've seen a guy flirt with a no-no after that wild and wacky a first inning. If there were any questions as to who Dice K is I think they were answered. He isn't going to wow you but he will hit the corners and drive you crazy all night. As a hitter you must think you have a great shot against him with all the walks he deals out, but then he finds a way to throw the smoke-and-mirrors at you. Next thing you know he's no hit you through 6 innings in game one of the ALCS. When all the cards are on the table I'll take the Dice man any day. In the end all I can say about his performance is WOW. Very unconventional pitcher, but what a horse. He doesn't back down to any hitter and doesn't change his approach. What a gem. Guts of a burglar indeed.

By the way Carl Crawford nice catch. I thought you were better than Gary Matthews defensively. I guess I was wrong.

Sweep Their A$$es!!!!

This means WAR! SOX IN 4!! Sweep their A$$es!

You can actually order this $hit at mlb.com. I might get one just to burn as kindling once the U.S. infrastructure collapses and the armagedon pops off.

Thanks to Barstool for bringing this Bush League shirt to my and Red Sox Nation's attention.

It's time to get NASTY!

If you're like me you are probably not getting much work done with the Sox vs. Rays ALCS match up on the mind. Well don't worry the world economy is about to crash and we will all be returning to caveman days so stock up on perishables and get your firearms ready. But, I'm getting off track here.

As for the Rays.

You know something Mean Gean! The Pythons are ready. The juices are flowing. You punks better get ready for the Soxster and Sox-amania to run wild all over you Brother! Don't fool yourselves, Nasty Knobbs ain't gonna be able to save your hides either. Get ready for Papi's 24 inch pythons.

Bulletin Board Material

Well it looks as if the Rays are getting a little too big for their britches. These are not the greatest pieces of bulletin board material, but it shows the Rays are not "Acting like they've been there before." We've seen this before haven't we? A young team with a bunch of momentum and nothing to lose. (Cleveland and The Rockies last year.) I think we know how well that turned out.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves," left fielder Carl Crawford said, "but we definitely feel good about our chances." -AP Reminds me of no-name Rams player "I like our chances" line during the 2001 Pats win.

"We don't feel any pressure. The pressure is on them (Red Sox)" -(Freddy Garcia) Uhh Matt Garza (ALDS Stats: 7 hits, 5 EARNED runs, 4 walks) Don't even get me started.

"Please, ask around," Floyd said. "Call the other general managers and ask them what they think. And if they say anything other than this team is stacked, not just for this year but years to come, then maybe they shouldn't be a GM." - Cliff Floyd Cliffy buddy your lucky if you even get to pinch hit in this series yah bum.

"We just know what to expect out of them," Really you know what to expect from the Sox? This is the playoffs! You know what to expect hunh? Pal you gave up 2 runs 8 hits and only made it 5 innings your last start. Son, you have no idea what your up against. - Scott Kazmir

Face it Tampa Bay Rays your middle relief scares me more than your supposed stud pitching staff. Sox have pressure on them hunh. I know the Rays were 8-1 at home against the Sox. But, if the Sox they take one of the first two games at your pinball stadium who's the pressure on? Because the Sox then get to smack the Rays around at Fenway for three games; where the Sox have are 7-2 this year against the Rays.

Hah Pressure you wouldn't know pressure if it shat on your chest.


Papelbon, whose fastball consistently hits 98 mph, has given up nine hits, struck out 16 and walked five in the postseason."I don't know about other guys, but me? I love pressure," Papelbon said."When I get in those pressure situations, it gets me going. That's my comfort zone. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be in this job." - LA Times

Sox kept rollin

After dismanteling the "better team" the Sox are now on to their biggest challenge the pesky Rays. The Rays did win the season series and the division, but they can't match the experience of the Sox. This will be the biggest test for the Sox because the Rays have good starters, a deeper middle relief crew, and a serviceable closer in Percival. But, If the White Sox can take a game from these kids then you know the Sox can do some damage.

Let's look at the match up. Ultimately the Sox have the better offense. If Papi (.235 1 RBI 4 K's in ALDS) and Pedroia (.059 1 RBI in ALDS) can start providing some pop this series the Sox will have a much easier time with the Rays. It will take a lot more than a combined 2 RBI's and a couple of walks from them to get the job done. I was a little surprised to see Dice starting game 1 but he can do it. I like Beckett getting some rest before game two and Lester (3-0, 0.90 ERA vs. Tampa in '08) in the pivotal game 3 at Fenway where has owned all season (also game 7 @ TB if needed). Francona feels throwing the vet Wake is the way to go. I think it is wise to have him go at Fenway (even though he was 9-0 up until last year this year he has lost two at the Trop and he has a 5.87 ERA with 12 runs 10 earned given up there.) He has mostly dominated the Rays over his career except for this season and hopefully will have that knuckler floating like a butter fly for game 4.

The key for the Sox in my opinion will be limiting the damage of young studs Longoria and Upton. Longoria hit bombs in his first two post-season ab's and went hit less in his last 8. Upton had 3 HR's and was 4-9 with 4 RBI's against the Pale Hoes in the ALDS. These guys are young so keeping them quite early will set the tone for the rest of the series. Aki Iwamura has also been a thorn in the Sox side. Sometimes guys step up against the Sox like Enrique Wilson. While the Rays starters are good they were hit by the White Sox in the ALDS. Each of their four starters gave up at least two runs. It will be their relievers that win them the series. Balfour, Wheeler, Howell, and Bradford have been pitching over their heads this season and could be the key to this series. Percival is a veteran, but I have to give the Sox the huge edge with Paps.

Overall it looks like a pretty even series I'd say the Sox have the momentum off the emotional Angles series though as well as uber-playoff-experience. In the end I feel this series will go 7 strong. I see the Sox pulling it out with Lester (projected) on the hill building on his legend. Eventhough my gut says Sox in 5 and my balls say Sox in 4.

You're a Real Man Manny!

Apparently Tim McCarver has a problem with Manny tanking it for the Sox and now playing like a MANny possessed. Big surprise coming from the baseball purest. I'm just glad the games will be on TBS. I know TBS is sloppy, but McCarver is the most biased color guy I've heard. Plus once he starts telling stories about how he caught Bob Gibson's no hitter or how he beat Ty Cobb in a tobacco spitting contest or even the one about the time he banged Elanor Roosevelt. Buck and McCarver are hands down my least favorite announcers and if his words on the Manny situation any hint of what we will hear during the potential/probable Sox vs. Dodgers World Series then we are in for a lecture. Now I'm not happy about Manny leaving or the fact that he is killing it for the Dodgers. But if your McCarver it a little late to start throwing daggers? Well I hate McCarver and most Sox fans I know are aware of bias against the Sox. McCarver just stay out of this one because the dozen games you've covered the Sox during the Manny era don't make you an expert. Shut your mouth or Fox will be forced to replace you with another announcer who hasn't been relevant in a million years. Joe Morgan.

“It’s extraordinary — the dichotomy between what he was in Boston and what he is in Los Angeles,” McCarver said. “I mean, talk about wearing out your welcome in a town, and it was a long welcome with the Red Sox [team stats]. But some of the things he did were simply despicable, “despicable — like not playing, refusing to play. Forgetting what knee to limp on. And now it’s washed, it’s gone.” - thebiglead.com

Hopefully Manny dumps his bong water all over McCarver after the Dodgers beat Philly in the NLCS.
"You're a real Man Manny!"

You'll always have Disney Land Anaheim

Cheer up Anaheim at least you had the best record in the AL this year (choked in the playoffs again!).

There is nothing to be ashamed of. (kill yourself).

You're a gracious loser John Lackey. (Eat a dick)

See you next year! (Probably with a third WS trophy in 4 years!).

Hit the MUSIC!

Hell with the Halos

I swear to gahd that Scioscia and his pitching coach are bagging each other. I'm pretty sure Mike is the dominant male and his pitching coach is the one taking the docking. Def a pillow bitter that guy Butcher.

Do you see Francona and Millsey arguing every call? Do you see Francona calling the pitches Lester throws? Do you see the Sox hitters arguing every close call...Well maybe Youk, but that's just Youk. Scioscia cracks the whip on Napoli more than Chip Caray's voice on a cool October evening. Jesus let the guy call his own game and cough up some bombs to Pedroia and Papi. Just give it up pal. Don't think the Sox didn't hear about your little guarantee either Mikey.

2-0 Sox as I type. Pedroia breaks out of his coma.

Viva El "To be the Man. You have to Beat The MAN!"

If you're going to San Francisco

Can you say statement game?! For anyone wondering, Belichick always gets his team ready after a bye week. Especially after the pounding the Pats took from the Fins two weeks ago. I was looking forward to see the Pats defense rebound from that terrible performance. They didn't fail me. Really they were barely on the field and when they were they got great pressure on O'Sullivan and made him make some big mistakes. The pick by Merriweather is a reassuring sign that he may blossom into the guy "Who We THOUGHT HE WAS!".

The bigger story of the day was the Pats offense. They dominated the line of scrimmage and basically did what they wanted all day. Cassel proved he can be a better than average game manager and the offense fed off his poise in the pocket. The biggest thing that stood out to me in this game was the Pass to Moss. Finally the Pats stopped being predictable. Maybe they had tried to go deep to Moss in the prior weeks, but this was the play they desperately needed so defenders wouldn't be able to stack the line and make Cassel try to beat them with his arm. Well he did beat the Niners with that arm and hopefully this momentum carries into the Charges game next week. I think this trip will be a good chemistry builder for a team trying to find an identity. With Cassel being a young QB there is no better way to prove yourself with back-to-back wins on the road. Hopefully the Chargers D is as porous as the Niners. If the Pats hold the ball on offense for 40 minutes things will be golden. It was good to see the Pats establish that they are not going to quit or make excuses for this season. They are going to continue to play tough football and this game proves it.

Lackey v. Lester II

It is kind of hard to be pissed about last night's game. It was a tough game. The fact is the Sox had no business being in that game. The Angels were being "The Angels" early in the game by muffing a week pop-up turning it into a three run single. The Sox showed the pen is strong and just couldn't get the big hit they needed even though the Halos gave them ample 2 out runners on opportunities. As for the Napoli homers..."The Wall giveth. The Wall taketh away." The Monster can change a game and it certainly did last night. I'm not too worried about Mike Napoli.

I have no doubts that tonight will be a different story. Did the Sox give the Halos some momentum? Yes! Have no fear though that Lester will step it up as Beckett (looked rusty and out of shape) failed to do last night. Tonight would be a great time for Pedroia to break out of his playoff slump and also a great night to get Lowell some rest. Will the Mayor get some playing time??? I think it would be a great lift to have him in there tonight to give the team a spark. The Halos stole some momentum last night hopefully the Sox can right the course and get back on track.

With Lester on the hill things should return to normal for the Halos pathetic offense. The Sox offense probably needed this extra game to get Papi and Pedroia going, because you want to be sharp against the Rays, or even the Pale Hoes. Hopefully I can stay up to watch the end of this one.