Mad, man

Josh Beckett gives up one lousy run on a dribble to shortstop and you're pissed at HIM? Huh? If you'll recall, the "mortal lock" of last October gave up a run here and there.

No wonder Mariano Rivera is so great. Hell, Craig Hansen would be great too if he got strikes called on pitches six inches outside (to Ellsbury) and and foot inside (to Lowell), Meanwhile, Beckett strikes out Abreu on a pitch right at the knees to end an inning, doesn't get the call, and gives up a run. So the game turns on three absoutely crucial blown strike calls. THAT's what I'm most pissed about.

You can have Marte. I'll take Masterson, thanks. The last thing in the world the Sox need is for Theo to make a reactive panic mood and deal for some crappy veteran reliever. I'd rather see Daniel Bard, and I know the kid's not ready yet.

And you know, I really, really wish folks would stop ragging on Ellsbury. Rip him if you must for not being superman, but please quit with the allusions to his popularity amongst the pink-hatted crowd. It's not his fault, and it smacks of cattiness and envy.

It is nigh time that one of the Red Sox players sends a message to Jeter that Chamberlain's antics have become unacceptable. I say Jeter for the leadership he brings to his club. If he talks, people will listen. The message is that the next time Chamberlain throws at a Youk's head that there will be blood. The kid may have talent but he has no maturity and no respect for the game. What is the kid going to say to Jeter, A-Rod or anyone else on the team that loses a season or worse when they have to pay for Chamberlain's actions?

Time for Theo to be bold. Dump Manny and shake up the club.

Jacoby belongs on the bench for late game defensive play and pinch running. Let's not forget the kid started in AA ball last year. His time will come. Just not now.

Despite him being a Yankee, I love Joba Chamberlain. He's already a terrific pitcher. I have no problem with him pitching inside. Maybe he and Youk have al little feud going, but Youk DOES dive over the plate and is hit often.

I also have no problem with Joba celebrating after strikeouts. How can any batter complain, when guys like Manny and Big Papi stand at home plate for 10 minutes admiring tape measure shots?

Kudos to Brian Cashman for bolstering his team quickly. It certainly doesn't look like the Yankees gave up much for Nady and Marte.

Manny is now indefensible.

Don't be too upset, by tomorrow night we could be talking about how great the Sox are. Although, I do agree Manny needs to go, the soonerer the better, the Sox just can't put up with any player that thinks he is above the team.

As for Ellsbury I don't think the Sox should be too quick to get rid of Crisp.

The biggest issue is still with the pen, no one to get to Pap.

One last thing. Rivera has been great, but the Umps need to stop widening the strike zone for him.

Agreed on Jim Rice, but McCarty and Merloni are pretty awesome as well. I'd love to see the three of them on with Caron every day, but NESN's pursestrings would scream (I mean, they're getting paid, in total, what amounts to peanuts, but hey).

Chad that is some well-expressed and totally warranted rage. I had a bad feeling going into this series, I usually do when the Yanks come to town on a winning streak, but I wasn't prepared for the brutal chain of events that unfolded from the time we heard that Manny had opted out of the lineup and out of Boston. I think Beckett pitched well and Okajima seems to have gotten his act together, but there's no getting around the ugliness of the turn of events. To have Joba throw another one at Youk, and to have some of the worst calls by a home plate ump in memory, well maybe that will stir up some productive anger in the Red Sox. One can hope.

And thanks for that zinger at A-Rod at the end there. Gotta keep a sense of humor.

While Mariano Rivera looked good in nailing down that save last night, you have to admit he got several called strikes that he has is reputation to thank. It's one thing to be nasty, having the umpire give him a helping hand is just unneccessary.

And sadly, was there any doubt in your mind that J.D., who's been great this year, wouldn't get the bat off his shoulder in that big moment? He's the Anti-Papi.

Manny has been pulling this junk for years and you are finally waking up to it. The last two years he has sat out September and with the exception of last year's playoffs, has been pretty average. He should have been held accountable a long time ago, maybe then he wouldn't be acting like a 10-year-old at age 36.

Ellsbury gets the second-loudest cheers of anyone in the Sox lineup. That's RIDICULOUS. He's no better than Crisp.

Yep, shouldn't blame Beckett, and I said that in the intro. But he even admitted he was the second-best pitcher last night.

I like Merloni on NESN, and he's even better on WEEI. McCarty has the charisma of a younger Ken Macha.

I don't want to hear from people who've been dumping on Manny for eight years. I don't. Take it to Mike Adams's show.

Blown call ! It's time to have balls and strikes called by laser beams. The umpires are out of control. Far too many blown calls and games decided by blown calls. That little box in the corner of the screen is what we need and instant replay for every thing else. One ump on the field to stop the head hunting. They can't even do that. Get rid of them, they're like cow catchers on trolly cars,unneccesary and unwanted outmoded. Now that they're not paid off as much as in the old days they want more attenton and money.

Hey Chad

It's our boy Manny himself who has delivered us over to the lousy 'mouthbreathers'.

That they are, but for anyone but 24's immediate family, this knee travesty has to qualifiy as last straw territory.

There's no where to go from here but the Mets/Phillies.

Maybe Manny doesn't feel like he can play, how many of us are professional baseball players and know what his body feels like? Last night was tough, the umpire was terrible, but we've got two more games to WIN this weekend. Do you really believe that two mediocre players like Nady and Marte are going to be the difference this year? Nady was a product of weak NL pitching, he's a nice platoon player not much more, he's played in NY before for the Mets don't be surprised if he turns into that player again, solid, but not a difference maker. Last point, if Joba throws at Youk one more time then Jon Lester or Beckett needs to put a fastball in Derek Jeter's ear, this isn't cool, at least when pdro threw at people he wasn't trying to decapitate them.

About Chamberlain....

While it's obvious he's been schooled on the importance of "plate coverage" from the likes of Rocket, I'm not convinced he's taken the time to ponder what happens when you throw a baseball very, very fast at the head of another human being.

For instance, examine the minor league brawl from a couple days back. The crazed pitcher who lost it and threw the ball at the opposing dugout, but missed and hit a fan. He was subsequently arrested and will face felony charges. I wonder if he'd face the same charge if his "command" was better and found an opposing player in the dugout? I'm thinking he would, if for no other reason than his clear intention was causing bodily injury to another human being.

Now, let's say Youk doesn't have the mili-second reaction of bailing out on the bullet aimed at his head last night. Imagine the possibilties of injury, including outright death. Would Chamberlain face criminal charges for his deliberate, cowardly act? I tend to think not. Double standards are glaring sometimes in sports. The guy in the minors went completely bazerko in the moment and for that he will surely pay a heavy price. Meanwhile, up in the "big leagues" guys like Joba can essentially pre-meditate assault with a deadly weapon, with a possible homicide if , god forbid, the assault is a direct hit on the temple.

Chamberlain is really testing the waters by taking this path. We all get it: Joba no likey Youk. Now let's hope he gathers a shred of common sense before this neanderthal mentality gets the better of him.

I'm with you on Manny also Chad, the rational ones among have grown to understand who he is, the best pure hitter of his generation, but just a little flaky, comes with the territory. As for those pushing for Matt Holliday, he would be a disaster in Boston, he's like Dante Bichette, a Coors field creation, just look at his career stats. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to bringing in someone like Jason Bay in the offseason, he's always been solid and would fit well on this team. I think that Ellsbury will be a great player someday, but the way he plays the field bothers me, he's always so all-out that I wonder if the nagging little things aren't bothering him no. I remember a few times that he jammed his wrist or tweaked his legs in June and he hasn't seemed right since. Remember he was this team's best hitter last Spetember while Manny sat out, and led the team in OBP this April

I don't know why all you Sox fans can't stand Manny. He's the reason why David Ortiz is "Big Papi." He's a main reason why you won 2 world series in 4 years. That is the difference between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans...we cheer and revere our past heroes while you boo and jeer them. Boggs, Clemens, Damon, and now Manny. And I know you'll say that 3 of those 4 are traitors but we've also had our share. Mike Torres and David Cone. But we don't boo them viciously. Have some respect for your heroes, aka MANNY.

I am a die-hard Yankee hater and having to listen to all that chest thumping over a few wins after the AS Game against a bunch of have-nots made me all the more looking forward to this series. After Game 1, I gotta say that Youklis really disappointed me. Enough is enough already with that idiot Joba. Youklis pulled a Piazza when he should have gone out and kicked that punk's ass! Looks like Joba's got the upper hand with Youk not knowing if the next pitch is coming at his head again or not. If he would have taken care of business when he had the chance, Jobs would know not to f... with him again. Now, it's the other way around.

Your move, Theo/Tito. We can't keep trotting Varitek & Crisp to the plate in the 8th inning of a close game. Casey's on the bench & he won't use him? & Nady would have looked good PHing for noodle bat Coco.

Youks is a classic dugout tough guy, but I wouldn't want to take on Chamberlain one-on-one, either. He's close to three bills and undoubtedly is blessed with moron strength.

Nothing you said was more comical than the headhunting comments about Chamberlain. After years of that gutless little pipsqueak Martinez throwing at people and not picking up a bat, you take issue with Chamberlain? Even after a couple World Series, you are still the most pathetic, mindless bunch on the planet.

CF, I see your point; however, look at the greater good. In reality, enough folks would have bolted onto the field as soon as Youklis took one step toards the mound and it would hAve turned into a typical baseball "skirmish." However, the point would have been made. To stand there and glare says nothing. I hate to say it, but it sets a tone for the rest of the series.

Yes Chad, I reckon Joba is right up with JD Salingers "Lenny" [of Mice and Men] in the categories of strength and mental capacity.

Secondly, Youk really would have been within his rights to take 5-6 steps toward the mound and then thrown the bat as hard as possible at Joba's face. Of course pitchers can throw a baseball at somebodys head and get away with it. I suppose if Youk went Jose Offerman on him a lengthy suspension would follow.....But If a a guy throws a rock at you, well, it seems to me you should atleast throw a stick back.

I will guarantee Joba would never again so much as back him off the plate if he took a flying bat upside the face in retaliation for his caveman act.

I can't believe how many sox fans are crying over Joba's pitch last night. This is embarrasing. Pedro knocked Soriano and Jeter to the hospital in back to back games and also hit Karim Garcia in the head in the playoffs and we loved him, so how can we sit here and bitch and moan that Youk almost got hit in a 1 run game? Stoop embarrasing the real sox fans. And if youk gets suspended for 5 games and we lose a playoff spot then what? Idiots

I hadn't seen the game, so I went to ESPN and watched the video. I froze the video at the point where Chamberlain's ball was halfway to Youkilis.

At that point, it was pretty obvious. If Youk had been any closer to the strike zone, he could have been playing catcher. His head was down to letter level, and the top of his helmet was definitely IN the strike zone.

No complaints about Chamberlain here. If Youk doesn't like getting thrown at his head, he shouldn't be ducking into the strike zone.

Seems to me the Sox have some revenge stockpiled, from the Crisp-Rays shenanigans and this Joba/Youk B.S. I know Jerry Remy was adamant that last night's pitch wasn't intentional, as he said Chamberlain would 'have to be stupid' to do that in a tight ballgame on a 2-0 count. Well... Chad mentioned Clemens in the same graf about Joba, and we all know they have more in common than just right arms gifted from the Gods. They ain't exactly blessed with abudnant gray matter.

Who was that masked man behind the plate last night? What a strike zone!
If it were the norm for baseball, it would be a different game.

We would be talking about a new “dead ball era.”
Steroids in baseball would likely not have been investigated.

League attendance would be down 25%+.
Salaries would be down a like amount.

Pitching injuries would be far fewer, their arms being far less taxed.
The league would save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on baseballs.

Oh, and most fans would like the game a lot less.

Beckett did not have great stuff and gave up one run. The Red Sox may have very well lost by more without this umpire.
Chamberlain had good stuff, but he would have probably thrown 100+ pitches by the 5th inning or maybe part way through the 6th with another umpire. His confidence was immense and he may have adjusted better to his dream umpire’s zone than Beckett, although more likely it’s just the way he pitches.

Manny is getting lots of heat for not playing, but consider this (I am always looking for ways to defend Manny). Did he see who was calling the game behind the plate and figure his knee could use another day? What’s the point of pushing it for that? The looks on the Red Sox hitters’ faces all night told you all you needed to know about the game.

In the truly scary category,
Batting helmet technology would require serious improvements.
The Tony Conigliaro Award would mean something entirely different.
No wonder Youkilis was almost hit in the head last night. Three or four inches down and an inch or so less inside and that may have been called a strike.

There's my take. What it was a strike? Where was it?

I have been a long-time Manny supporter. When he made his goofy plays in the outfield (remember the unexpected cutoff of Damon's throw from center field?) I chuckled... just another Manny moment. I didn't mind it because he had a childlike exuberence when he played the game, and that was intriguing in someone who is obviously a savant when it comes to hitting. Which is why it disturbs me to my core to have come to the point where I actually believe the Red Sox would be better off without him. We must face that while there is still nothing more beautiful and graceful than watching Manny hit when he is on, he is no longer irreplaceable, and this kind of crap does not make keeping him worth it. Sad...... very sad.

Your comments on Joba Chamberlin are dead on. It is reprehensible to throw at someone's head like that. His control was stellar last night, is there really any question that he was throwing at Youk's head? Who the heck does this guy think he is? If Beckett pulled that in Yankee Stadium, all hell would have broken loose. I would not have blamed Youk one bit if he had rushed the mound. Which brings me to this point: Youk may not be the most beloved player amongst others in the league, but he showed a great deal of restraint by keeping his cool on a pitch that could have ended his career, or worse. That wanna-be Roger Clemens could learn a thing or two about class from Kevin Youkilis.

Throwing up and in, backing someone off the plate, is baseball, and there's nothing wrong with it. It's a crucial weapon in a pitcher's aresenal.

Throwing AT SOMEBODY'S HEAD is a totally different story.

Giradi has to have some serious words with Chamberlain and try to work some sense into that black hole between his ears. Yes, Jerry, Joba IS that stupid.

Why can't Joba throw at Varitek? Maybe if Varitek gets hit I won't have to watch his despicable bat from the left side for awhile.

I believe Beckett has a history of throwing at people too, doesn't he? Careful where you throw those stones, boys.

He does? What am I forgetting? I don't recall him ever throwing at one guy's head three times.

When Manny stood with the bat on his shoulders for three called strikes a couple of weeks ago and I accused him of doing this on purpose, your comment was that Manny was not that devious and was a guess hitter. After what has happened in the past few days, I haven't changed my mind. Have you?

Mannie-bashers are soooo funny.

Red Sox management, and the goons of the Boston sports media, have whipped the nation to a Mannie-bashing frenzy - so that even trading him to the Empire would, at this point, be fine with them.

Mannie is just sooooo awful, we'll be better off without him wherever he goes!

Yes, I think he's gone too - but I also think that come October, Mannie Ramirez will be playing baseball, while the Mannie-bashing Nation will be insisting that winning isn't everything, and cheering if he goes a playoff game without a homer - while the rest of us are wondering how Theo could have been so dumb.

Memo to miltchocklit and any other Yankee fans that post here. Not all of us Sox fans loved Pedro when he threw at Karim Garcia. I personally believe that was one of the most reprehensible, embarrassing acts ever committed by a player wearing a Sox uniform. I have nothing to quantify this, but I think it was one of several acts that eventually punched Petey's ticket out of town.

No. He got beat by three perfect pitches by a Hall of Fame pitcher. Again, Manny takes hitting seriously. It's everything else that causes the problems.

Youk just needs to practice letting his bat "accidentally" slip out of his hands straight at the pitcher on a hard swing, so that he can do it seamlessly next time he faces Joba. And when the bat clocks Joba and the Yankees get all pissy about it, he can just say, sorry, totally unintentional, just like those three at my head, I'm sure you understand.

Manny in, Manny out -- as good as he is, he's just one guy, and does any of it matter when the offense has been so anemic for weeks now? What's happening there? Madigan not doing his job?

Steinbeck not Salinger wrote Of Mice and Men.

The most troubling thing about that fat punk Chamberlain (did his parents lose a bet or something? Joba?) is that the league has done nothing. Fat boy has established a clear pattern of throwing at Youk and he should have been ejected immediately and suspended. I doubt Fatso's diet of Taco Bell and Budwesier gives him the reflexes to prevent a Bryce Florie job. Fat Punk!

Youk is gutless he doesn't have the nabs to charge the mound

Can Clay Bucholz pitch with any less intestinal fortitude? When did he morph into Aaron Sele? For the sake of my health watching the games, go after hitters and TRUST YOUR STUFF!