GAME #35, TAMPA BAY RAYS AT BOSTON RED SOX

[elktonnick]

This team plays like it is half dead.  The only reason it was close was because the Rays made a ton of errors.

[markj]

This team plays like it is half dead.  The only reason it was close was because the Rays made a ton of errors.

This.

[ipot]

This team plays like it is half dead.  The only reason it was close was because the Rays made a ton of errors.

I know.  I started feeling happy the Rays didn't blow it.  The Sox are so lousy when they're lousy (which is often lately) that I said to myself "a team has to be really pathetic to blow a 5-1 lead to the Red Sox..."

Someone needs to get Farrell on a bus, dig claws into that clubhouse and find out what it take to give them some things called "leadership" and "heart."

[Bill-806]

What is needed at this time is a "NAVY COURT OF INQUIARY" as management looks to be  A W O L !!What say you ???

[Bear]

Where is Dombrowski hiding?  What is he doing, eh wait, is he doing anything?

[elktonnick]

Where is Dombrowski hiding?  What is he doing, eh wait, is he doing anything?

DD is missing in action.  This team needs a major injection of dynamic new blood and a third baseman. STAT!!!

[SeaBeachFred]

Where is Dombrowski hiding?  What is he doing, eh wait, is he doing anything?

DD is missing in action.  This team needs a major injection of dynamic new blood and a third baseman. STAT!!!

I could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time but I have also been right a little more than wrong most of the time and I will bet my last dime that DD is under strict orders not to touch Farrell who for some reason is loved by Prune Face.  Well pruney needs to understand that the team looks like shit out there.  There is no leadership, no urgency, no determination....NOTHING.  What makes matters even worse is that the team is woefully weak in fundamentals, they play like mental midgets making one mistake after another.  They run the bases piss poor.  This is frustrating but, let's face it.....RIGHT NOW THIS IS A VERY SHITTY TEAM  and it will not get better until DD gets the balls to challenge Pruney as head of Baseball Ops and simply tells that bum owner that he is replacing Farrell NOW.  If he gets fired, the press will be all over Prune Face's ass and it wouldn't surprise if that is the straw that forces that ugly bastard to finally put the team up for sale to someone who knows baseball.

[longgame]

The Sox may yet win this game, but this doesn't diminish the fact that this is an ill conceived team  The sox may have some very good ball players who hit for high averages but no one who really terrifies an opposing team.  Why is Bogaerts batting third?  He may hit for a high average but he has no consistent power.  What other team has a homerless hitter batting third? This line up has four lead off hitters and three guys who should be batting 9th when Rutledge plays.

Right on elk.  That's what I've been saying all along.  The value of a so-called "lineup changer" was way underestimated by this team.  Hanley can be a pretty good power hitter, but he isn't a 3-4 guy so he ends up batting without protection and can be pitched around.  Mookie can hit the long ball well enough, but that should come as a byproduct of his hitting, not the focus of his hitting. 

I really don't get the idea of a guy who is constantly on top of the league in hits not batting first.  Plus he has decent speed.  Can Mookie not hit in a run production spot in the lineup?  If so, they need to work on that or around it. 

The most telling thing on this team right now is nobody in particular is scuffling.  There are a couple of guys who maybe could pick up a couple more points in average, but that's like what, 2 or 3 more hits on the season at this point.   Third base is a black hole but the other 8 positions are actually pretty solid.  The starting pitching is pretty good.  The pen is shaky but Kimbrel at the back makes it better.  But the point is, this is about as good as this team can be as currently constructed and that is a huge problem.  Getting Price back means maybe they pick up a couple of games over current pitching, but without any real offense it likely won't matter much.

Time and time again they can't get guys home, like in the 9th with Bogey on 2B.  All they can do at this point is tinker with the lineup and hope a third baseman falls out of the sky.