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OK Sox fans, time to vent

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 ...

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Page 37


This just in: Boone, Boggs, Buckner, Bucky, and Babe Ruth's daughter just opened a new bar across from Fenway called "Field of Bad Dreams". Drink specials will only be offered on those nights where the Red Sox lose in dramatic fashion. Or every time they play the Yankees. *Thud*..that sound you just heard was Boy Blunder Theo Ep (stain) doing a swan dive off the Green Monster. The suicide note that was found nearby said "I'm just a 30 year old Ivy League nerd who plays guitar in a band. I still can't believe they hired me in the first place"....one last thought..just imagine Boston fans reactions when the Yankees, already up 12 games over the Dead Sox, pick up Zito or Randy Johnson....God I love the Evil Empire....

Mike , Nowhere, USA


In one word - disappointed. I'm disappointed that major league baseball players are making mental errors. I'm disappointed that major league baseball players can't/won't do the little things (bunt, hit the ball to the right side to move a runner over, hit a fly ball to get a runner home, etc.) necessary to win a baseball game. I'm disappointed that their answer to this disgusting display of baseball for the last two months is rampant with platitudes (bad luck, just getting healthy, don't have the full team, need to catch a break, etc.). You have plenty of time (it's July 1st) but get back to the basics. Last thing...enough of the Nomar bashing. He was bashed when he took some time to re-hab in the minors and now he is bashed and people are wanting to trade him for a bag of balls. Maybe his contract demands are ridiculous but the personal invective is disgusting. At the end of the day, he owes us 100% effort on the field and he has always done that. Nomar went out of his way while in San Francisco to sign an autograph for each of my two daughters. It was their first Red Sox game and his kindness made an incredible lasting impression on them. To have to listen and watch people take cheap and personal shots at him...I would have thought Red Sox fans were better.

Mike , Fairfield, CA


Red Sox hype is what you media guys create all the time....this team CANNOT play baseball...it's that simple...can't clutch hit, can't field, can't take pressure and is going no where! They are lousy...regardless of the payroll. They have no karma..the Yanks and ESPN made a joke of our Red Sox last night. ESPN said they would lose when they lead 2-0!!!

Jeff , Coatesville


Where do I even begin? First of all, lets address the problem. We are 42-34. That gives us the 4th best record in the American League. Imagine if you were a Tigers fan. Feel better now? So what if the Pistons are NBA Champs - we have 2 Super Bowl rings. Having to deal with the Lions and Tigers every year? Thank the lord we don't live in Detroit (or just Michigan at all - what happens there?). Being 8 games over .500 doesn't necessarily mean panic time. Going 11-14 in a June that saw the Devil Rays go 20-6...yeah I'm banking on we need to do something. We're 3 1/2 games out. Of Third Place. Third? People are talking about the Devil Rays in the wild card race. Is this some kind of sick joke? What's next? The Lightning win the Stanley Cup? Hockey in Tampa Bay? Oh, that happened...sorry. So where do we start? What do we do? Beltran is gone. Freddy Garcia is gone - neither of them were worth Youkilis/Shoppach/Williamson anyways. So stop crying. Youkilis is going to be a great player. So is Kelly Shoppach. Lew Ford is now a good player and we traded him away when he was a prospect. Theo is doing the right thing. If we're going to make a move - without shaking up the core - we have a few options: 1) Nomar Garciaparra. Lets be honest - we cannot resign him. We offered him 4 years at $60 million and he turned it down. That'd be like your boss walking into your office and saying "We're going to give you a corner office and the company Porsche" and you saying "No I want the Penthouse office and the company Jet". Who does that? Trade him. We can get either great young prospects or other great prospects (Orlando Cabrera from Montreal is young and has "upside" - and he wants OUT of Montreal). Trade him. I hate to say it - but I would rather get something for him than watch him walk in December. 2) Mark Bellhorn. This guys stock can't get any better. He's leading the AL in walks. He's got a killer OBP and more than 40 RBI's (Not to mention the HR's). He is NOT the answer at third/second/short or anywhere. He's a great utility infielder but if we could get a third or fourth starter for him it'd be nice. Plus, with Bill Mueller coming back we have Youkilis as a utility - and I'd rather him than Bellhorn. 3) Kevin Millar/Derek Lowe/Trot Nixon. These guys mean a lot to this organization as far as leadership in the clubhouse and on the field. Trading Nixon would be a mistake. I think that his best years are still in front of him. He could get us a lot in return - but I don't think anything is worth giving up a solid right fielder (with a lefty bat). Lowe's stock has dropped. He's not worth nearly as much as he would have been in the winter. Again, he will recover and pitch fine. He's had a decent June (with exception to the other night) and he'll have a great July and August. We will probably not resign him - but he's good to have down the stretch. Millar is untradeable. He is having a terrible season. Maybe he's slowed by all that chicken he's eating in the KFC commercials. Maybe every time he's up at bat he's singing "Born to Run" instead of keeping his eye on the ball. Maybe he'll turn it around. Pedro Astacio is not the answer. He is even less the answer than Carlos Beltran would have been. I think the Sox push for Cabrera or maybe for Delgado from Toronto. The pitching seems thin save for maybe Kris Benson who I think could be better than people think. The Yankees haven't made any moves and their pitching is not great. In fact, it's not even good. Lucky for them they have the All-Star team out in the field. I didn't know where to start - I rambled. I have a lot of opinions. It's not over yet - don't mail it in. We need to fix the wheels a little bit. And look at the bright side - if we consider the 4th best record in the AL as "the bottom" then we are in pretty good shape when this team REALLY plays to its potential. See you in October.

Jim, Westborough


Plain and simple: The Yankees play nine innings of baseball; The Red Sox wait for things to happen. The Yankees are winners; The Red Sox are not. And yes, I am a lifelong Red Sox fan.

jake, guilford


I feel the redsox Need to get some help in the trade this year. If the ss is not going to play to stay the team should get some that will play. I think the redsox need a good first base person that will play every day. I do not like to see different people on the basees each night. The manger needs to sit down with the team and tell the team that you need to work harder. Why not put them on the field for pratcis before the game. Something has to be done I big trade needs to work out for the team and soon

michael , west Hartford


HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA, good luck with the wild card

Moy, Jersey


Not meaning to pull everyone from the edge but this whole NY better than Boston thing is BS. NY has exactly one good team (hint, it's the one that can outspend everyone else), a football team that is the Red Sox of the NFL, and a lot of mediocre to bad teams. ESPN ranked all the sports cities over the last 25 years and Boston came in 3rd (1st among cities with all 4 teams). Where did NY come in? 14th. GO NY, you're #14. So all things considered, it aint so bad. Rankings: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=city/overall

Eric W, Arlington


I am tired of hearing about small ball vs. money ball, what goes on in Oakland, blah, blah, blah. All of that nonsense is enabling, making excuses for, and masking what is really wrong with our Boston Red Sox. Simply put, this team is not prepared to play the game of baseball and is terribly lacking in its fundamentals. This shortfall falls primarily on the shoulders of the coaching staff, especially Francona. I am not sure what they did in spring training, or what they do in practice, but it is painfully obvious what they did not do. Furthermore, this manager has to understand that his decision-making does not end at making sure that Kevin Millar gets into the line-up. And he does not have to love no one, and no one has to love him. His is a business relationship, not a love fest. And as a paying customer, I don’t care if he hates all of his players as long as this team consistently gives itself the best chance to win. What he has to do is step out of his marketing role, and take control of, prepare, and manage a very highly compensated professional baseball team. Hopefully, he is not in so far over his head that he cannot get that done. If he can’t, then his signing was a complete disaster. And his bosses have to be blamed for that.

Bob , Mansfield


Oh yeah, another thing. I'll be in Atlanta this weekend look for my signs - "Bring Back Grady", " I don't wanna play Nomore Garciaparra", and "Fire Francona + Trade Nomar = Win"

Kris , Birmingham, AL


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