AL East Watch

Post #1 » by **Schad** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:35 pm

If we're going to keep running amok in the win column, we probably need a place to obsessively follow our division-mates' progress.

To begin, the Red Sox just took offense to Yunel Escobar taking third base in a five-run game, leading to the dugouts emptying. Sadly, no one punched Pierzynski.

Tyrone Slothrop · Post #2 » by **Tyrone Slothrop** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:38 pm

Schadenfreude wrote:If we're going to keep running amok in the win column, we probably need a place to obsessively follow our division-mates' progress.

To begin, the Red Sox just took offense to Yunel Escobar taking third base in a five-run game, leading to the dugouts emptying. Sadly, no one punched Pierzynski.

Any Rays players do anything that might get them suspended?

Post #3 » by **Schad** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:39 pm

Tyrone Slothrop wrote:Any Rays players do anything that might get them suspended?

Nope. Apparently, the two teams' inability to hit even applies to brawls.

Randle McMurphy · Post #4 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:41 pm

I'm just loving watching this team self destruct. Nobody deserves it more. Stay down Boston.

Randle McMurphy · Post #5 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:44 pm

Tyrone Slothrop wrote:
Schadenfreude wrote:If we're going to keep running amok in the win column, we probably need a place to obsessively follow our division-mates' progress.

To begin, the Red Sox just took offense to Yunel Escobar taking third base in a five-run game, leading to the dugouts emptying. Sadly, no one punched Pierzynski.

Any Rays players do anything that might get them suspended?

Gomes was the one who started whatever violence there was. Ran in from LF to push him while Yunel was arguing with the Boston dugout (looked like Ross).

Post #6 » by **Geddy** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:54 pm

All of these unwritten rules in baseball make players lose their poop over the dumbest things.

Penny1993 · Post #7 » by **Penny1993** » Sun May 25, 2014 8:58 pm

Randle McMurphy wrote:I'm just loving watching this team self destruct. Nobody deserves it more. Stay down Boston.

People also said that in 2012, then they bounced back with a title in 2013. I will take drama + winning any day over treadmilling + false expectations...

But lets hope this year will be the year for us.

s e n s i · Post #8 » by **s e n s i** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:01 pm

didn't see the play but other than frustration boiling over for the red sox who are 3 outs away from a double-digit losing skid, i don't know why they took such offense to escobar taking 3rd uncontested. it's sort of like when a hockey team is getting blown out and they start picking fights with the opponent because they can't fight each other. watching the wheels fall off for the red sox before june is so damn tasty - let's hope it gets even better with a clubhouse mutiny or a manager-player scrap of some sort. or just keep losing

Randle McMurphy · Post #9 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:02 pm

Penny1993 wrote:
Randle McMurphy wrote:I'm just loving watching this team self destruct. Nobody deserves it more. Stay down Boston.

People also said that in 2012, then they bounced back with a title in 2013. I will take drama + winning any day over treadmilling + false expectations...

Different teams, different results. What happened in the past has no real bearing on what is happening now or in the future. All that remains the same is my enduring desire to watch Boston lose.

Randle McMurphy · Post #10 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:04 pm

s e n s i wrote:didn't see the play but other than frustration boiling over for the red sox who are 3 outs away from a double-digit losing skid, i don't know why they took such offense to escobar taking 3rd uncontested. it's sort of like when a hockey team is getting blown out and they start picking fights with the opponent because they can't fight each other. watching the wheels fall off for the red sox before june is so damn tasty - let's hope it gets even better with a clubhouse mutiny or a manager-player scrap of some sort. or just keep losing

The Sox are now 1 runner away from having the tying runner up in the 9th (which would be Ortiz). Obviously Yunel should take the base if it's given to him in that spot. The game wasn't over.

Post #11 » by **Schad** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:05 pm

Good job, Red Sox...put together enough of a rally that Tampa had to scramble Balfour, which likely makes him unavailable for tomorrow's game. So glad that we get to miss the guy walking nearly a batter per inning.

Parataxis · Post #12 » by **Parataxis** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:05 pm

Geddy wrote:All of these unwritten rules in baseball make players lose their poop over the dumbest things.

It's always amazed me that baseball is the only major sport that can't figure out how to stop bench-clearing brawls from happening. Heck, even Hockey doesn't have bench-clearers anymore.

vaff87 · Post #13 » by **vaff87** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:11 pm

s e n s i wrote:didn't see the play but other than frustration boiling over for the red sox who are 3 outs away from a double-digit losing skid, i don't know why they took such offense to escobar taking 3rd uncontested. it's sort of like when a hockey team is getting blown out and they start picking fights with the opponent because they can't fight each other. watching the wheels fall off for the red sox before june is so damn tasty - let's hope it gets even better with a clubhouse mutiny or a manager-player scrap of some sort. or just keep losing

Hoping Big Papi body slams Farrell onto a training table.

Lateral Quicks · Post #14 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:27 pm

The pitching has been a surprise, but Boston's offence looked like crap on paper before the season even started. They needed their young players to do the job and it hasn't happened for them. As Randle said, no team deserves this losing streak more.

HeyIt'sMe · Post #15 » by **HeyIt'sMe** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:33 pm

Lateral Quicks wrote:The pitching has been a surprise, but Boston's offence looked like crap on paper before the season even started. They needed their young players to do the job and it hasn't happened for them. As Randle said, no team deserves this losing streak more.

They massively overachieved in 2013. Their talent wasn't that good even last year and they literally had every player on their roster play about as well as they possibly could.

Hell, Mike Carp (who?) OPS'd like .900 for them last season.

Fairview4Life · Post #16 » by **Fairview4Life** » Sun May 25, 2014 11:28 pm

Let's go back to Oct 4, 2013, when Ellsbury stole second in the bottom of the 8th, up 8-2.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes ... 0040.shtml

http://deadspin.com/red-sox-have-short- ... 1581490872

I guess that's different because it was the playoffs?

Post #17 » by **Schad** » Wed May 28, 2014 4:26 am

The winning percentage over the remainder of the year necessary for each AL East team to make it to 90 wins:

Jays - .541 (over 162 games, that's an 88 win pace).
Yanks - .568 (92 win pace).
Orioles - .571 (93 win pace).
Red Sox - .613 (99 win pace).
Rays - .615 (100 win pace).

No one is out of it, obviously, but it does illustrate the ground the Sox and Rays need to make up. 90 wins is probably the minimum threshold to make the playoffs in the AL East, and we're the only team actually on that pace.

Raps_Swingman · Post #18 » by **Raps_Swingman** » Wed May 28, 2014 12:17 pm

Schadenfreude wrote:The winning percentage over the remainder of the year necessary for each AL East team to make it to 90 wins:

Jays - .541 (over 162 games, that's an 88 win pace).
Yanks - .568 (92 win pace).
Orioles - .571 (93 win pace).
Red Sox - .613 (99 win pace).
Rays - .615 (100 win pace).

No one is out of it, obviously, but it does illustrate the ground the Sox and Rays need to make up. 90 wins is probably the minimum threshold to make the playoffs in the AL East, and we're the only team actually on that pace.

Great breakdown of where things stand as we move into June. Nothing is for sure, but the better ball we play now leaves us a greater amount of breathing room as we get into July/August.

It's been a May to remember. For the first time in awhile I can see the buzz back in the city about this team. Similar to the feeling when they made all the trades last winter.

LLJ · Post #19 » by **LLJ** » Wed May 28, 2014 4:48 pm

Schadenfreude wrote:The winning percentage over the remainder of the year necessary for each AL East team to make it to 90 wins:

Jays - .541 (over 162 games, that's an 88 win pace).
Yanks - .568 (92 win pace).
Orioles - .571 (93 win pace).
Red Sox - .613 (99 win pace).
Rays - .615 (100 win pace).

No one is out of it, obviously, but it does illustrate the ground the Sox and Rays need to make up. 90 wins is probably the minimum threshold to make the playoffs in the AL East, and we're the only team actually on that pace.

Stop making our playoff chances look so possible! I won't get my hopes up!! Not hearing you, lalalalalalala

satyr9 · Post #20 » by **satyr9** » Wed May 28, 2014 5:19 pm

Here LLJ,

before you get carried away, each of the last 3 years there's been a team with a record better than ours that failed to make the playoffs.

2013, The Rangers were 34-20 a third of the way in and eventually lost the tiebreak to TB. In 2012 the Dodgers were 33-21 after 54 and finished 86-66, 2 games behind the final WC spot. And in 2011 CLE started out the year 33-21, before remembering they sucked and finishing below .500.

Lots more teams went 31-23 recently and missed (including the Jays in 2010), but the three I listed are the guys guaranteed to be better than we've been so far who still missed in recent times. So while it's promising it wouldn't be at all unprecedented to fall out. What is quite unlikely IMO is failing to stay in the race through most of the summer, which is something we've all been dreaming of just a bit less than actually making it. At the very least, I think we've finally earned ourselves an interesting August and likely September, although I'll be knocking on my desk for the next 30 minutes after saying that, as I'm not sure I believe it myself.