Tough losses for the Red Sox and Dodgers.

But f them both.

The Dodgers had to play Manny who can carry a team on his back. And was also still hitting 300+

F Torre and the Dodgers as they wanted to save 4 Million but screwed the Dodger fans of a playoff run. Especially after the fans supported a bad team and owner all year long.

And on the Red Sox. Forget about everything prior as in August they had a chance to take the Wild Card but they regular pitchers and bullpen blew about 10 games during August.

Red Sox fans, how do you feel about Mike Napoli on the team. I think he will fit he is at his best at Fenway and that Green Monster to his advantage. Looks like the Angels are getting rid of veterans to get prospects (like Fuentes earlier this week, which was a good thing since we already had Rodney, who is doing a hell of a lot better then him in save situations). Our farm is thin, so we need more prospects to richen our farm system.

Did they actually work out a deal for him? I just heard that they claimed him but hadn't traded for him yet. He would be a nice pick up, but they Red Sox are really running out of time this season so I hope they don't give up anything big for him.

Yankees win. Beckett loses.

How do Boston fans feel about Beckett signing for next 3 years at 16 million per year?

Do you think he will get his arm straighten out?

Yeah, if it wasn't clear after last night it is now. The Red Sox are not a playoff team this year. The injuries throughout the year (and still going) killed them. Simple as that.

Their lineup is anemic outside of Ortiz and Beltre.
Nava/McDonald/Hall/Lowrie/Lowell vs. Ellsbury/Cameron/Pedroia/Youkilis = Holy Christ.

They need to make a run at Adrian Gonzalez during the offseason, and by run I mean they need to do everything to land him. They need another bat in the lineup as some sort of protection if anyone goes down. A couple of replacements like Hall and Lowrie are fine, but not for most of the year. With another bat they don't need to worry so much about the offense. Move Youk to left (risky, but I think it'd be worth it), Ellsbury back to center, and get rid of Cameron. Or get rid of Ortiz as well and then find a decent bat (who's also an outfielder) to replace him.

And Grill - Yes. The only change needed to the rotation in the offseason is to get rid of Dice-K and then find a replacement for him.

As you are fine with Boston's pitching. As Clay and Lester are 1/2 I guess. I wonder who is 3, Lackey or Beckett? And for me, Dice is an OK # 5.

But that is a lot of $ spent on a 3 4 5 pitching staff.

Also wondering who do you want as the closer, Bard or Paps. And if not Paps, do you trade him?

***

I agree on Ells in center, as I said from Day 1.

Just wondering what do you think would have happen if Ells stayed in CF and didn't get hurt. Damon was signed for LF. And Beltre had that monster year. * Think that would have been a good year.

Also was Beltre signed for more than 1 year?

Also on AG, I wonder if San Diego can try to sign him if they win this year. Especially since they aren't paying Peavy anymore.

Also, when will they try to trade him, especially if they get to the playoffs this year.

Also on Boston injuries, the younger players played pretty good for parts.

And like the Yanks did when Arod was out, others have to step up.

The Yanks lost nick Johnson who was supposed to be a 400 OBP DH for most of the year. And then the Yanks lost Arod, Posoda, Granderson, to long injury periods.

Lastly, this month Boston pitching screwed up about 6 games that I remember. And the Yanks could have went down but some great trades, Kearns n Wood have helped out.

1. Lester
2. Lackey
3. Beckett
4. Clay
5.

Beckett's been hurt most of this year so I'm not really counting it ("it" being this season). I think he'd be in 10's in wins with an ERA in the high 3's if he had played the full year; not quite #1 starter "stuff", but still good enough to be in the top three and worth a new contract (the injury doesn't help his case, but they can't let him get away).



I have the same comfort level with both of them. They're both good, but they both tend to leave pitches out over the middle. For now I'd say Papelbon because he has more than one effective pitch.



Damon wouldn't have made much of a difference I think. He and Cameron are pretty much equal at this point in their careers (if both were healthy throughout the year). They need to get younger in the outfield. If Gonzales doesn't work out they should go after someone like Adam Dunn (I think he's a free agent).

As for your other points...

Yankees injuries - They're a deeper team. They could afford to lose A-Rod for a couple of weeks because their lineup is stacked. With the way the Red Sox were built, they really couldn't afford to lose three starters. Heck, even with your examples I don't think the Yankees have had three starters gone from their lineup at any point this season.

Gonzales - I'm not sure the Padres can afford to keep him even if they do have a successful postseason.

How come you are giving a young pitcher like Lester the #1 spot but downgrading Clay to #4 though he leads the ML in ERA?

And on Beckett, for the majority of regular seasons, he has been closer to average than great. Plus is body has been too injury ridden.

Now I admit, he can be great in spot periods but he is too much of a question mark every year.

*

And on the Yanks being a deeper team. I have been saying that all year. Nice to hear 1 Red Sox fan here admit that!

And on the Red Sox, I haven't checked lately but they were the #2 team with the highest payroll at 1 point.

So Theo and Terry have to get some blame for putting together a bad team and not finding the right pieces to play.

Yanks still winning, 19 for CC!.

Lets hope they stay away from injuries so the Yankees can try for back to back World Championships!

Right Rev and Chip, the other two Yankee fans!

Experience. He's a future #1 or #2 starter, but I think he needs an additional year (especially after his breakdown last year) to make himself a great starter. He's had a great year without a doubt, but I don't think one year is enough to prove that he's a great starting pitcher.



Yeah I know. But considering how this season has played out I'd have needed to completely ignore or be completely stubborn as to what was going on to not admit that the Yankees have the deeper team.



Well, yes and no. Although I wouldn't consider this year a success by any stretch of the imagination, considering the injuries throughout the year, the fact they were in the race through most of August and will end up with about 85 wins is not bad...again considering what has happened. If the team had stayed relatively healthy and then went on to finish in 3rd with about 85 wins, then I'd say that both of them put together a bad team. I mean it's not like you can have players who are just as good as Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Cameron, Lester, and Beckett (when they were hurt) step in and hope they can do the same thing. Then again it shouldn't be all rookies who replaced them (though Hall and McDonald who aren't rookies have done okay).

On the bright side I think they have something special in both Ryan Kalish and Michael Bowden. Hopefully Kalish can develop into an everday starter with some power and Bowden can become the new Okijima with more longevity.

Thanks to the Yanks for sweeping the Oakland A-holes for us.

Yankees win. So anyone else following the Yankees run to another World Championship?

Good but too early. It could be a totally different story in the postseason especially with this still-questionable pitching staff and maybe without the help of postseason schedule.

Well on the pitching, the biggest question will be how many games CC will pitch and then how many others will be needed.

Also how will Petiette pitch when he comes back from injury as he is having an All Star season.

Right now it seems pretty clear that the title is going to either the Yankees or Rays. There's no one on the NL who can match either one of them.

Wow, the Padres are collapsing badly. The NL West is up for grabs now.

@J-mart, the Reds or Braves could give a good run if they made the World Series. Also, the NL gets homefield advantage, if that even means anything.

Its too bad that Boston had such a bad August as they still could be in contention for the Wild Card this year.

anyone who think the reds are any good is just a fool.

Except that Yankees pitching is collapsing and Phils have three aces.

Just sayin'

Well, they do have the best record in the NL, and their offense is ranked #1 in the NL as well.

This year is getting even more bizaare. Bob Davidson ejects two Brewers, one Cardinal, and even a fan (for heckling Molina). I didn't know they can eject a fan for that. Seriously, these umpires need a meeting with Selig during the wintertime, especially Joe West, who is still the worse of all.

Also, congrats to Trevor Hoffman for his 600th career save (too bad it took forever this season for him to get there).

Speaking of races, the NL is becoming very interesting. The West, East, Wildcards race, and the top seedings are too close, and these teams go head to head later on, so those series could decide the fate of their seasons.

I wouldn't write off NL Central race either. Yes, the Reds are 6 games up, but the Cards are still a force to be reckoned with. Also their schedule is pretty weak, with 6 games each against the Cubbies and the Pirates.