2004 and 2007 were completely different teams. We are hardly playing the Rays at full strength. They can win the damn Series and I’ll never acknowledge them as better.

But I can also face the reality of the matchup as it exists in October 2008 Quote
Once I Was, what happened to Lester being better than Wang and Ellsbury being so awesome. This series has shot those notions down a bit. The injuries are an excuse. If the Rays win, they are the better team…PERIOD! Just like the Red Sox were better than the Yanks in 2004 or the Indians in 07. The Red Sox are not playing the Rays at full strength? You are kidding me right? This sounds like the same kind of crybabyism I hear from Yankee fans. The biggest problem that Boston has is no Manny. Love or hate Manny they don’t win last year or back in 2007 without Manny. That being said if Ellsbury or Big Papi actually got a hit then this series would be different even still. Ellsbury is starting to make Melky look good, unh? Also, what happened to Lester , who was so dominant? He fell to the pressure of being the number one guy. Look I take no great pleasure in any team tanking (although I’m rooting for Tampa), BUt please don’t throw that they are not the better team crap. The Rays had the better record this year not Boston (that is why they have homefield advantage)and look poised to crush them, don’t use excuses.

Steve, the Yankees and Indians didn’t choke in 2004 and 2007, the Red Sox came back. The Red Sox was so stocked with winners and hardchargers that they never gave up. Credit goes to Francona to have Roberts steal that base. Imagine if Posada threw him out? Torre did a bad job in those last four games BUT Shrill Shill, Lowe and Co battled back. Last year, they mangled the Indians like the Rays are doing to them these last two games.

Antone, thanks for making that pint about Olerud. I mean, if only Tony Clark’ double did this or did that. Please, Once I was the Rays finished better and are tatooing the Red Sox. Be a man and give them props. They have a bunch of young kids that don’t fear Boston AND they finished in first. A bad sign for Boston was those two Tampa wins at Fenway in September. They beat the New Evil Empire at home! That being said….Go Rays!

They barely beat them…look at the scores of the games…they were all games the Angels could have won…I’m not saying the Angels are better than how they played or that they are better than the Sox, but the way they played in that series the Sox should have crushed them. I’m not saying the Sox played poorly either, I’m just saying the Angels played like crap and the Sox didn’t exactly blow them out every game. All the games were close and could have went either way. The Sox deserved to win and were the better team, but how much better is the question.

There is no guarantee that Drew would hit any better if he was healthy. Beckett and Drew have a history of being injury prone to begin with, so not like it’s a surprise either of them is “hurt”. They are healthly enough to get on the field that is good enough for me. I wish Wang was that “hurt” all season that he could actually take the mound and pitch. Didn’t seem to bother Schilling and his bloody ankle when he was hurt either, but now the Sox are losing because of injuries? Was Lester hurt yesterday too when he was getting shelled?

Now that I think of it let’s take away the 2004 World Championship, because John Olerud got hurt in the ALCS and he clearly would have drove in 5 RBI’s the rest of the series and the Yankees would have beat the Red Sox.

I dunno what the bigger joke is..the injury excuse or the fact that Red Sox fans are already giving up and left early in the 8th inning of a playoff game yesterday!

Beckett is obviously injured. He’s throwing 91 instead of 95-97. If healthy, and on his post-season game, the starting rotations are not equal, they favor the Sox.

Lowell was equally critical to the team’s performance last year and having to play Kotsay seriously damages the offense.

And don’t let Drew’s presence fool you. He’s not close to 100% either.

Yes, the bullpen is better, on the basis that their “last man” (or last two men) is better than ours. Aside from that, the Red Sox bullpen has out-performed the Rays – six scoreless innings in Game 2, while theirs gave up one tie and another lead. And no one in their pen equals Papelbon.

And I love that “the Angels played crappy and they barely beat them” garbage. Part of playing well is NOT making the errors of omission or commission. The Sox played fundamentally sound ball and won in four. They didn’t “barely” beat them.

Who’s injured? Lowell? Ortiz has a bad wrist, but Upton has a bad shoulder and he’s still hitting the ball. Beckett may be “injured” but it’s possible that Kazmir is not 100% either. I don’t want to hear this crap about injuries being the reason they lost, when the Sox are really only missing 1 player and he’s on the downside of his career.

The Rays have a good case that they are better than the Sox. The bullpen is better than the Sox. The defense is just as good if not better. The starting pitching is just as good. The offense is certainly capable enough. At worst, I think these two teams are a wash.

Everyone jumped on the Lester bandwagon, but let’s not forget that even Randy Johnson got lit up in the playoffs on more than one occasion and Lester is no Randy Johnson.

Beckett had one great season with the Sox and two mediocre ones. Yes, he’s been injured and yes he’s done well in the playoffs on most occasions, but he is certainly beatable.

If you paid attention to the Angels series and saw how crappy the Angels played and the Red Sox barely beat them then you could see that the Sox might struggle with the Rays. By no means do I think this series is over and I do think Game 4 is a toss up. You never know what kind of stuff the pitchers are going to have out there. Even if they lose, with Dice-K, Beckett, and Lester there is still a small chance they could come back from 3-1. This is the point where I think they miss Manny in the middle of that lineup though.

Hey, Willie Randolph was injuried for the 1978 World Series and the Yankees found a replacement. Injuries can be used as an excuse to bellyache – or they can be a chance for someone to step up.

Over the course of a season, injuries are no excuse.

Over the course of a 7 game series, they absolutely can be considered.

~~We are hardly playing the Rays at full strength. They can win the damn Series and I’ll never acknowledge them as better.~~

That’s mighty Hank Stein of you.

I’ve seen the Rays pitching this season…and they are not the 2004 Yankees.
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Still, the Rays don’t have Mo, and the Red Sox got to him twice in 2004.

2004 and 2007 were completely different teams. We are hardly playing the Rays at full strength. They can win the damn Series and I’ll never acknowledge them as better.

But I can also face the reality of the matchup as it exists in October 2008.

Wanna know why the Rays are doing well? Look at that stats for the first 5 hitters