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Talk about a June swoon. We can't think of two worse back-to-back losses than the ones the Red Sox suffered Tuesday and Wednesday nights, simply dreadful. Terry Francona seems to be making all the wrong decisions and players are fielding like they've got "Chico's Bail Bonds" ironed on the back of their jerseys. To make matters worse, these losses were to the Yankees, and dropped Boston 7½ games behind New York in the AL East, the largest deficit since Grady Little's crew fell that low last August. Things don't appear to be getting any better, either. The Sox were 11-14 in the month of June, and may have lost setup man Scott Williamson with an elbow injury Wednesday night. The doctor isn't in, but feel free to sit on our couch and vent your feelings on the Sox. Can they turn this around? How? What are they doing wrong? Is this Francona's fault, or does the blame lie higher up the chain with Theo and the Trio? Or are the players to blame? Trade Nomar? Acquire a first baseman? Bring back Grady? It's open season ... Response pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Page 12 I think this team needs a major shakeup, and now. The first thing that needs to be done is Terry Francona needs to have all the players do fielding drills for an afternoon. Apparently they didn't get enough of this in spring training. Next, Theo has to let the league know that Nomar and Derek Lowe are available, and get these two out of here. The braintrust that is the Red Sox now needs to know that there is only one of the four free agents that is an absolute must-sign: Varitek. He's the only leader on this team besides Trot. And if things get any worse, Terry has to be fired. Rick , Portland, ME Ortiz actually made Bill Buckner look good last night. You can't give "the glove" the blame on this one. Did you see the "textbook" position that he was in to make the play? I'm surprised that his thighs are not still stuck together. And if I was a fan at Yankee stadium, I might have been tempted to go onto the field and help him off his back after he lost his balance, fell down, and took forever to get back up. Do you think we can coax Dick Stuart out of retirement? Rick , Indianapolis Indiana How the hell am I suppose to believe there is no curse after last nights game? Rian, Staten Island Trade Garciaparra for a starting pitcher and put Youkilis on first base with Bellhorn at 2nd, Pokey at SS and Mueller at 3rd. If Mueller doesn't come back before the trade, put Youkilis at 3rd and give McCarty at shot a 1st. He may not have the best bat, but right now it's worth the sacrifice for some defense over there. Kristen, Boston, MA These guys should be playing better, end of story. Looking at fielding pct, delivering runners in scoring position, unearned runs allowed, ability (or lack thereof) to move runners ('smallball' as some call it), its clear that this team is not at all fundamentally sound. Additionally, there definately appear to be different sets of rules for different players. All of these things go back to the manager. I think you need to make a change immediately, regardless of the contract implications. Gregg , Manchester NH Things that will happen before a Sox World Series victory: 1) Hades freezes over 2) The Devil Rays win it all 3) George Bush expresses himself in an articulate manner Seth, Amherst, NH that sheffield at bat was nothing short of brilliant... It looked like Nomar was going to cry after that error.. Roberto , NY You asked "Is this Francona's fault?", of course it is. He needs to do what ever he has to do, in order to win. If that means sitting people down, and shaking things up, then that is what he needs to do. Do not make excuses, this is Boston, we know excuses.....just look at the Big Dig. Matthew , Salem, MA Boston, Is the ending to this story not evident? Come on now folks, Yankees vs. Sox..when its all over, we all know what the outcome of this tale will be! Brad , Douglaston, NY Francona looks overmatched out there. I still do not understand why he insists on inserting Mark Bellhorn in the second slot in the order. For crying out loud, the guy is on pace to strike out over 200 times this year. Francona needs to drop Bellhorn to eighth in the order and move Nomar to second. Yes, yes, I know all of you skeptical Nomar bashers out there are saying that Nomar has not done squat since he has returned from injury. However, I am going by track record. The guy has been one of the top ten hitters in the game the past eight years. He is only thirty years old. He was also stinging the ball against the Yanks last night right at people's gloves. Damon and Nomar at the top of the lineup will give us some speed that we desparately need to rejuvenate this pathetic offensive output. Bellhorn will give the bottom of the lineup some added punch. Chris, Cromwell Response pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
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