Better to be cautious and skip Lester and rest Pedroia and Agon. Its been working well since management decided to rest up, about 2 weeks ago.
Posted by S0ftl@w

max, being capable of 6 IP, and 3 or 4 runs is not the same as actually doing it. I'd say it's 50-50 that Lackey can give you a decent start. It's probably 60-40 that he is due for a dreadful start. I hope he throws a no hitter though.
Posted by dannycater

No, not Francona.  The bashers will never agree on anything. Not Wakefield either, nor anyone else people get mad at. No, this is about the Rays.  The Sox are in town for three, and their wild card lead is 6.5.  If the Rays sweep, it's down to 3.5, which could be dire.  But why should that happen?  I think the Sox have a decent shot at taking 2 of 3.   Lackey tonight and Lester on Sunday (against Price) give us a shot.  Weiland, not so much.  Lackey is capable of holding a so-so hitting team to, say, 3 or 4 runs for 6 innings, and the Sox should be able to score more than that.  Pedroia batting cleanup scares me, but maybe it will shake him out of his recent lethargy.  As for Sunday, give Lester the ball is all I can say.  He is a money pitcher.  Plus the Sox have been great on the road this year and the Rays not so hot (who can blame them?) at home.  The Rays are starting three righties, so Francona will load the lineup with lefties.  With Youk in Boston, for example, Boston will have seven lefties (including Salty and Lowrie) and two righties--the red hot Scutaro and the dangerous (usually, maybe not now) Pedroia--in tonight's lineup.  Plus Reddick is hitting again, and Ellsbury is almost as hot as Scutaro.    Sox have 19 to go and the Rays 20.  If the Sox take 2 of 3, that's a 7.5 game lead with 16 to play, plus some pretty good momentum.  I say again, let's settle this now.  It is doable. It would be helpful, I have to admit, if someone could go visit Scutaro and Lowrie and tell them a bunch of errors could lead to swimming with the fishes.  Did I forget to say the Sox are still a pretty good team? 
Posted by maxbialystock

In Response to Re: Let's settle this now : Please rewrite this since it is unintelligible as is.
Posted by Pollyanna1964

No, not Francona.  The bashers will never agree on anything. Not Wakefield either, nor anyone else people get mad at. No, this is about the Rays.  The Sox are in town for three, and their wild card lead is 6.5.  If the Rays sweep, it's down to 3.5, which could be dire.  But why should that happen?  I think the Sox have a decent shot at taking 2 of 3.   Lackey tonight and Lester on Sunday (against Price) give us a shot.  Weiland, not so much.  Lackey is capable of holding a so-so hitting team to, say, 3 or 4 runs for 6 innings, and the Sox should be able to score more than that.  Pedroia batting cleanup scares me, but maybe it will shake him out of his recent lethargy.  As for Sunday, give Lester the ball is all I can say.  He is a money pitcher.  Plus the Sox have been great on the road this year and the Rays not so hot (who can blame them?) at home.  The Rays are starting three righties, so Francona will load the lineup with lefties.  With Youk in Boston, for example, Boston will have seven lefties (including Salty and Lowrie) and two righties--the red hot Scutaro and the dangerous (usually, maybe not now) Pedroia--in tonight's lineup.  Plus Reddick is hitting again, and Ellsbury is almost as hot as Scutaro.    Sox have 19 to go and the Rays 20.  If the Sox take 2 of 3, that's a 7.5 game lead with 16 to play, plus some pretty good momentum.  I say again, let's settle this now.  It is doable. It would be helpful, I have to admit, if someone could go visit Scutaro and Lowrie and tell them a bunch of errors could lead to swimming with the fishes.  Did I forget to say the Sox are still a pretty good team? 
Posted by maxbialystock

In Response to Re: Let's settle this now : You're being sarcastic, of course, but, if the Sox had someone good to play 2B, I would be tempted.  The great Dustin (and I do think he is great) is looking a mite chilly these days.  He will get thru it, of course, I just hope it happens soon. 
Posted by maxbialystock

And yet Wake won more games than Dice in 2007. And he dwarfed him in WHIP in 2008 - Dice's career year . Meanwhile, Dice is rooting for Wake - from the bench. Pity Wake can't lend Dice some of his 3200+ career IP.
Posted by harness

In Response to Re: Let's settle this now : To even think Dice has done more for this team than Wake is insane Harness..Im sure softflaw wont let the facts get in the way of his hatred for players on a team that he supposedly cheers for...
Posted by southpaw777