 |
Terry Francona was no longer the right fit for these Red Sox |
[ [ [['Conrad Murray', 15]], [ [['she-devil', 12]], [ [['diana nyad', 13]], [ [['Joshua Komisarjevsky', 10]], [ [['CASCO Signal', 13], ['Yu Yuan station', 13]], [ [['It is difficult to assess how many birds are affected', 7]], [ [['Andy Rooney', 9]], [ [['villages where people are trapped under collapsed houses', 8]], [ [['The absence of Borders is going to be felt across the industry', 6]], [ [['Anders Behring Breivik', 8]], [ [['like there is no way out', 9]], [ [['including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops', 5], ['Violence has flared anew in Yemen in frustration', 6]], [ [['Dolores Hope', 7]], If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Boston manager Francona leaves Red Sox |
[ [ [['Conrad Murray', 15]], [ [['she-devil', 12]], [ [['diana nyad', 13]], [ [['Joshua Komisarjevsky', 10]], [ [['CASCO Signal', 13], ['Yu Yuan station', 13]], [ [['It is difficult to assess how many birds are affected', 7]], [ [['Andy Rooney', 9]], [ [['villages where people are trapped under collapsed houses', 8]], [ [['The absence of Borders is going to be felt across the industry', 6]], [ [['Anders Behring Breivik', 8]], [ [['like there is no way out', 9]], [ [['including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops', 5], ['Violence has flared anew in Yemen in frustration', 6]], [ [['Dolores Hope', 7]], If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Boston Red Sox need to make themselves accountable for late season collapse |
The demise of the Boston Red Sox had a very familiar ending Wednesday.
When the Red Sox lose, they don’t do it the conventional way. They do it in style. They make it excruciatingly painful for their ardent fans to digest. In the aftermath, the players have to learn to make themselves accountable for the team’s hardships. Multi-million dollar slugger Adrian Gonzalez reportedly stated the team’s late season woes were the result of a string of critical injuries. For Gonzalez to make such a statement, even in the wake of a gut-wrenching loss, is an absolute disgrace. Every team has injuries. It’s part of the game. Gonzalez needs to look at himself in the mirror. Sure, his numbers look extraordinary, but he repeatedly came up small in the clutch. Simply put, the Red Sox choked, and Gonzalez needs to be man enough to step up and admit it. I’ve been a die-hard Red Sox fan since 1968. I’ve seen all the failures unfold from one season to the next. I remember the Sox losing the American League East Division title to the Tigers in the strike-abbreviated 1972 season. I remember the sad and sorrowful fall of the 1974 team, which led the Orioles by eight games in late August before folding. And I won’t even get into what went down in 1978, 1986 and 2003. Wednesday’s loss hurt me just as much as all the rest, but in a different kind of way. It wasn’t about me feeling sorry for myself. This team has broken my heart so many times that my body is immune to it. It was about my 10-year old nephew, Zachary, a hard-core Red Sox fan who lives and dies with every pitch from April till October. It ‘s painful for me to think of the wide range of emotions he went through Wednesday night. One minute he was jumping for joy with the Red Sox clinging to a 3-2 lead and Tampa Bay losing 7-0 to the Yankees in the eighth inning. A short while later he was crying his eyes out when a night with so much promise had such a horrific ending. I got a guilty conscience when I realized I’m responsible for funneling Zachary into Red Sox Nation, thus subjecting him to a lifetime of heartache and misery. Why? Because being a Red Sox fan is like smoking cigarettes — once you’re addicted it’s hard to quit. The Red Sox have self-destructed many times, but this one takes the cake. Finally, the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1964 Philadelphia Phillies can rest easy. The 2011 Red Sox just pulled off baseball’s biggest collapse — EVER! Leave your comments on the news below. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Red Sox want free agents Ortiz, Papelbon back |
Updated: September 29, 2011, 7:45 PM ET By Joe McDonald ESPNBoston.com Archive BOSTON — It’s too early in the offseason for the Boston Red Sox to start considering the status of free agents David Ortiz and Jonathan Papelbon. Both were major contributors for the Sox this season and both will be looking for multiyear deals at big bucks. Whether they remain with the club remains to be seen, but general manager Theo Epstein said during the team’s postmortem news conference that he would like to have both back in 2012. More On The Red Sox
Gordon Edes and the rest of the ESPNBoston.com team have the Red Sox covered for you. Blog “I can’t say too much about that now except the general and the obvious that we’d love to have both guys back if there’s a way to do that,” Epstein said. “They’ve been huge contributors here, not only on the field but as leaders.” Ortiz was consistent all season and finished with a .309 average, 29 homers and 96 RBIs in 146 games. The team’s designated hitter will turn 36 on Nov. 18 and he has made it no secret he wants a long-term contract with Boston. He made $12.5 million in 2011 after the club exercised its option last winter. “I think David’s been (a leader) for a long time. He’s been the face of the franchise and instrumental figure in our clubhouse,” Epstein said. Papelbon picked up 31 saves this season and became the first pitcher ever to record 30-plus saves in his first six full seasons in the big leagues. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, he’ll be remembered for his blown save and loss in Wednesday’s final game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles. Papelbon said following that loss that he wouldn’t let that moment define his season or his career. When asked if he wanted to remain with the Red Sox, he said that would take care of itself during the offseason. Papelbon, who has signed a series of one-year contracts in his time with Boston, was paid $12 million this season. Before Papelbon left Fenway Parkon Thursday afternoon he spoke with Epstein. “I actually told Pap earlier today that he took his overall game to a new level this year, not just on the field, but he demonstrated leadership capabilities,” Epstein said. “There was a time earlier in his career where I never thought I would say that about Pap, but he really matured. He grew up a Red Sox and I was proud with the way he took that next step to lead by example. We’d love to keep both guys if we could.” Joe McDonald covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com.
Follow Joe McDonald on Twitter: @espnJoeyMac That’s all for today. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Epic collapses claim Red Sox |
The Boston Red Sox completed the greatest September collapse to miss the playoffs in Major League Baseball history with a 4-3 loss on Wednesday at Baltimore that combined with a Tampa Bay victory kept Boston from the playoffs. ‘This one is going to linger, folks, right up until the Red Sox win something meaningful again,’ the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn wrote. ‘Last night was the denouement of a month’s worth of horrendous performances from those who make up this $161 million roster, of all of the innings wasted by a lack of urgency, inspiration, and a shortage of timely pitching and hitting.’ Pained Red Sox supporters, who had been joyful at the Red Sox curse-ending World Series title in 2004 and the one that followed in 2007, called into local radio shows and vented their frustration at players, managers and the gods themselves at failing to reach the American League playoffs. ‘Truly unbelievable. This feels like revenge for 2004 and 2007,’ wrote Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. ‘It is as if the baseball gods are punishing Red Sox Nation for hubris and arrogance and good times that seemed so good, so good, so good.’ The Red Sox went 7-20 in September, their worst record in the month since posting the same mark in 1952. ‘We’ll go down in history as one of the worst collapses in history, so it definitely doesn’t feel good to be part of that,’ Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford said. ‘We had high expectations, and to fall short the way we did is definitely disappointing for us.’ Even the players were shaking their heads, unable to explain their epic failure. ‘It’s just shocking,’ Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester said. ‘It’s just one of those things. It wasn’t meant to be. It wasn’t our year.’ But as woeful as it was, the Red Sox collapse was not the only one to hit on Wednesday. The Atlanta Braves, who enjoyed an 8 1/2-game edge in their playoff fight, lost 4-3 at home to Philadelphia on Wednesday and missed the playoffs by a game thanks to St. Louis, which won in Houston to snag the final post-season spot. ‘It’s definitely disappointing,’ Braves second baseman Dan Uggla said. ‘Whatever happened, we played our (rears) off all month. It just wasn’t in the cards for us, I guess. It’s a feeling of missed opportunity, disappointment. ‘The fact that we’re going home now won’t sit well with any of us.’ A six-month season was wasted in a single night. ‘We had it right there and we let it slip away for one reason or another,’ Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. ‘That’s a tough pill to swallow.’ Not much else going on in the MLB planet today. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Epic collapses claim Red Sox, Braves |
The newspaper headline said it all – “The Choke’s On Us.” The Boston Red Sox completed the greatest September collapse to miss the playoffs in Major League Baseball history with a 4-3 loss on Wednesday at Baltimore that combined with a Tampa Bay victory kept Boston from the playoffs. “This one is going to linger, folks, right up until the Red Sox win something meaningful again,” the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn wrote. Advertisement: Story continues below “Last night was the denouement of a month’s worth of horrendous performances from those who make up this $161 million roster, of all of the innings wasted by a lack of urgency, inspiration, and a shortage of timely pitching and hitting.” Pained Red Sox supporters, who had been joyful at the Red Sox curse-ending World Series title in 2004 and the one that followed in 2007, called into local radio shows and vented their frustration at players, managers and the gods themselves at failing to reach the American League playoffs. “Truly unbelievable. This feels like revenge for 2004 and 2007,” wrote Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. “It is as if the baseball gods are punishing Red Sox Nation for hubris and arrogance and good times that seemed so good, so good, so good.” The Red Sox went 7-20 in September, their worst record in the month since posting the same mark in 1952. “We’ll go down in history as one of the worst collapses in history, so it definitely doesn’t feel good to be part of that,” Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford said. “We had high expectations, and to fall short the way we did is definitely disappointing for us.” Even the players were shaking their heads, unable to explain their epic failure. “It’s just shocking,” Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester said. “It’s just one of those things. It wasn’t meant to be. It wasn’t our year.” But as woeful as it was, the Red Sox collapse was not the only one to hit on Wednesday. The Atlanta Braves, who enjoyed an 8 1/2-game edge in their playoff fight, lost 4-3 at home to Philadelphia on Wednesday and missed the playoffs by a game thanks to St. Louis, which won in Houston to snag the final post-season spot. “It’s definitely disappointing,” Braves second baseman Dan Uggla said. “Whatever happened, we played our (rears) off all month. It just wasn’t in the cards for us, I guess. It’s a feeling of missed opportunity, disappointment. “The fact that we’re going home now won’t sit well with any of us.” A six-month season was wasted in a single night. “We had it right there and we let it slip away for one reason or another,” Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. “That’s a tough pill to swallow.” Not much else going on in the MLB planet today. Posted in reds-news | Comments Off
|
|
