PDA

View Full Version : Orioles and Red Sox: 2 teams going in opposite directions meet for 3 games



OFFNY
04-24-2011, 07:34 PM
We started the season at 6-1, and now we´re 8-12.

The Red Sox started the season at 2-10, and now they are 10-11.

We just got smacked around by the Yankees in a rain-abbreviated 2-game series.

The Red Sox just won their 5th consecutive game, including a 4-game sweep of the Angels, culminating in back-to-back shutouts yesterday and today.

After starting the season horribly in their first two starts, both Diasuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey threw goose eggs in their last start (8 shutout innings for Dice K yesterday, and 6 shutout innings for Lackey today). In fact, Matsuzaka has thrown 15 consecutive shutout innings in his last two starts, and Lackey has given up 1 run over 14 innings in his last two starts. We aren´t facing either one of them, but their turnarounds have mirrored what their team has done as a whole over the last week and-a-half ........... and we are facing Jon Lester, who just threw 6 shutout innings on Friday after having given up only 1 run over 6 innings in his previous start.

The teams have been polar opposites in terms of how they both started, and where they are now. Two weeks ago, if someone had asked to predict which team would desperately need to win this series, almost everyone would have said that it would be the Red Sox. It isn´t. It´s us. The Red Sox are not sitting pretty at 10-11, but they sure are not as emotionally down as the Orioles and their fans are right now.

And now, we meet for 3 games at OPACY. Will we continue to drift in opposite directions, or will the Orioles fight back and take at least 2 out of 3 on our home field ? We´ll find out soon enough.

Steve I
04-24-2011, 07:37 PM
Barometer series coming up. No clue how this team will do, nor what kind of legacy another MFY loss will have. The previous one seemed to put the team into quite a tailspin. It is high time the acquired vets start, at a minimum, play up to their career numbers or maybe get close.

mrbig1
04-24-2011, 09:04 PM
The Redsox are a team of all stars. Do we even have a star?

Steve I
04-24-2011, 09:25 PM
The Redsox are a team of all stars. Do we even have a star?

We have aging stars in Vlad and Lee, they could have a breakout series and out us over the top. Cakes, Roberts, and Scott could power a resurgence. Comes down to pitching. We have our best going this series, lets see how it plays out. At least the team is not yet scared of the sox. With the MFY, they have all the breaks going the other way, that is bound to put doubt in your head. The sox have zero scare factor. It is a home series, they need to win as bad as we do. They are, for the moment, human. Beatable. Depends on the mindset of the team. Does the latest yank loss linger? Does doubt creep in?

osfan83
04-25-2011, 08:42 AM
Much like the Yankess...the Sox are better than us at almost every single position. They have far more talent than we do, so it is unrealistic to think we will win the series...I just hope we keep a couple of the games close.

Steve I
04-25-2011, 07:47 PM
We are halfway to the magic 40 game mark whereby veteran posters on this board have decided an opinion based on stats of the season can be properly formed. I really think this next series with the sox is going to either show the offense starting to hit to their "track record" or not. It is quickly becoming time to show up. Is their lingering doubts created from the disastrous MFY series? Seems to me that put up or shut up time's hourglass has entered half done. If they are going to round into form, this series seems a fine time to do it. If they continue to roll over, well, tick, tick, tick, O's will be sellers at mid season.

webbrick2010
04-25-2011, 10:08 PM
There is a chance that one of the 3 games (probably Thur) will be rained out. If not the O's lose 3 more.