2011 MLB Season Thread

[Dexter Morgan]

Always suspected this would be his last season in Beantown, with Bard taken over closer duties. But considering how awful Bard was down the stretch, you wonder if that still happens

[Dexter Morgan]

[AndrewPF]

I can't say I'm disappointed.

Y'know why? Disappointment would mean I was expecting something else to happen.

[NJTank]

I will be stunned if Papsmear is still in Boston next year.

[wdm1219inpenna]

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Absolutely LOVE IT!!!! What's more, Harry S. hailed from Missouri, the "Show Me" state. The Red Sox showed me, showed all of us, what true choke artists they actually are. 2004 had to have witchcraft as for 2007, they beat a paltry Colorado Rockie wildcard club from the inferior N.L. More ironic, Harry S. from the state that is home of the St. Louis Cardinals, who also had a comeback of epic proportion this September as the Atlanta Braves, another perpetual choke artist team, blew an 8.5 game lead. They used to be from Boston. Couple this with the Patriots blowing a 21-0 lead to lose 34-31 to the Buffalo Billy Goats last Sunday, and suddenly the Boston Bruins become the Gods of New England.

Delicious!!! This is exactly why a 162 game regular season works!!!

Joe Maddon & Tony LaRussa HAVE to....HAVE to get Manager of the Year.

[wdm1219inpenna]

I'm a Yankee fan, so I obviously have a deep seeded dislike for the Red Sox, but I have respect for guys like Pedroia and Youkilis. This guy on the other hand is a just a major douche-bag. Here is a prime example why. No reason to be a complete to a reporter who's simply doing his job by evoking a sound bite.

I hope this puts to rest once and for all just how lousy a closer he actually is. I'm sick and tired of hearing how "great" he is. You blow it to the lowly Baltimore Orioles, with 2 outs in the last of the 9th. I could tell he was going to blow it too. There was the same feeling in the air tonight that I experienced a quarter-century ago during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

Enough about how "great" this guy is as a closer. He's a closer alright, Fenway Park is CLOSED until 2012 now...MWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Still MIGHTY]

Tasty.

[FiddySicks]

So how dumb do you think Carl Crawford feels right now?

[Seadragon76]

So how dumb do you think Carl Crawford feels right now?

Dumb? Nah... He feels like after his screw up there.

Boston was up 9 Games on Tampa at the beginning of the month. Hell, if they would of won 13 or 14 games instead of the 7 they actually won (7-20 for any team, BTW, is just plain disgusting), the Red Sox would of been in. Same for Atlanta.

It tells you more about the will to win in both the Rays and Cardinals to keep fighting and seeing that both Boston and Atlanta just choke it away.

[DEAD!]

So how dumb do you think Carl Crawford feels right now?

I was thinking about that sometime after I woke up. OK, him leaving Tampa Bay is one thing, but where he ended up and how the season ended for Boston only to see his former team make the playoffs is quite stunning.

Joe Maddon & Tony LaRussa HAVE to....HAVE to get Manager of the Year.

Maddon... I am ok with that, but I would pick Kirk Gibson as NL manager of the year

For the record, I think the Braves had the bigger collapse. The Cardinals were 10-1/2 back on August 24th.

[Brass]

Well, this certainly was frustrating.

I know it was a team collapse, but this is the third straight year that Jonathan Papelbon has cost the Red Sox the postseason. Blew a save against the Yankees last year when the Sox were surging to jump into the playoff hunt and the year before that, gave up a walkoff hit in the playoffs against the Angels. Personally, I've never liked Papelbon. He's a showboater and it takes him thirty minutes to throw a pitch. I hope he's pitched his last game with the Red Sox, but hope to dear God that Bard IS NOT the replacement. He's not ready to be a set-up man, nevermind a closer.

Anyway, this is frustrating. My favorite aspect, though, is how a ton of people think that a few over-zealous reporter's opinion of the 2011 Red Sox challenging the 1927 Yankees as best team ever was the entire sentiment through Red Sox Nation. It wasn't. Before the season there were major questions. Can Gonzo and Crawford play in the pressure-filled environment of Boston? What about the right side of the outfield? Will Lackey learn how to pitch?

Oh, well. Go Bruins/Celtics/Patriots.

[rams80]

Joe Maddon & Tony LaRussa HAVE to....HAVE to get Manager of the Year.

Maddon? Sure.

LaRussa? Unless it's being presented as a retirement gift, no. A hot September alone is not enough to win you the award.

[TBGKon]

I thought it was ironic that Carl Crawford couldn't make the catch and throw it in on time.

When I saw that happen, I just knew things would go the right way for Tampa Bay.

[Shumway]

Joe Maddon & Tony LaRussa HAVE to....HAVE to get Manager of the Year.

Maddon? Sure.

LaRussa? Unless it's being presented as a retirement gift, no. A hot September alone is not enough to win you the award.

In the AL, it's gotta be between Maddon and Scoscia. There's no reason either of these squads should've been alive in September. On paper at the beginning of the season, Tampa looked like they could be worse than Baltimore. The Angels just had a mess of disappointment, injury and unproven rookies.

In the NL....did anyone see Arizona winning the NL West this year? Roenicke should get a look, but the Crew was a preseason favorite. Hurdle'll get some votes, but I don't think the Buccos contended long enough.

[mania]

Homer alert, but there's no way Scoscia should get any consideration over Ron Washington.

This was a team with three of their five starters having never started in the majors a full year previous, that suffered a major injury to the 2010 AL MVP, injuries to all stars, and yet still won their division by 10 games. Handled a pre-season trade demand by "the face of the franchise", helped Mike Napoli become one of the best hitters in the league (had he qualified, he was about 70 PAs short due to injury, he would have finished second in the league in OPS). He did a great job with the team this year.

[Lights Out]

My one complaint about last night - Longoria didn't hit his walkoff HR in this uniform:

================

In other news, not to worry, Sawx fans: Bill Simmons has already thrown together yet another patented "OW-AH POOR FACKIN' PURITAN NATION LOLOLOL POP CULTURE REFERENCES I'M SO HOLLYWOOD!" article about the collapse.

[BBTV]

So WTF with TBS not releasing the game times now that they know all of the series? I have tix to Phillies NLDS on Saturday and still cannot make plans for the day. They should have known the scenarios ahead of time and had a plan for all possibilities.

[infrared41]

I'm a Yankee fan, so I obviously have a deep seeded dislike for the Red Sox, but I have respect for guys like Pedroia and Youkilis. This guy on the other hand is a just a major douche-bag. Here is a prime example why. No reason to be a complete to a reporter who's simply doing his job by evoking a sound bite.

Perhaps if the "reporter" hadn't asked such a stupid question... Sorry, I gotta go with Papelbon on this one. The obligatory "how do you feel" is the dumbest question in sports journalism, and that's saying something.

[BigEd76]

So WTF with TBS not releasing the game times now that they know all of the series? I have tix to Phillies NLDS on Saturday and still cannot make plans for the day. They should have known the scenarios ahead of time and had a plan for all possibilities.

Saturday is 5:30 or 8:00. Sunday is 8:00 or 8:30

Back to Manager of the Year for a second, the NL one will probably be Kirk Gibson, w/ Roenicke finishing 2nd...

[BBTV]

So WTF with TBS not releasing the game times now that they know all of the series? I have tix to Phillies NLDS on Saturday and still cannot make plans for the day. They should have known the scenarios ahead of time and had a plan for all possibilities.

Saturday is 5:30 or 8:00. Sunday is 8:00 or 8:30

Back to Manager of the Year for a second, the NL one will probably be Kirk Gibson, w/ Roenicke finishing 2nd...

How do you figure that for Saturday? The Yankees are the only other EST game, and at least one of these games will have to start at noon or 1 EST right? I can't imagine they'd put the Yankees there so I was figuring the Phillies might get that sucky time slot. 5:30 works for me... let's make that happen.