Didn’t it sting just a little watching the Yankees celebrate?
“I don’t care,’’ Kevin Youkilis said. “I want to get into the playoffs. Once we get there, it’s a whole other game.’’
Watching a team celebrate a division win in front of you can't be fun, but we fans should realize that these players are singularly focused. They probably want to win everything, but in the end, if they can't do that, they really just want to win one thing. And players like Youk know this full well, they know what can be done even when you don't win everything.
We all might be a little healthier as fans, mentally, if we recognize that.
14 replies on “Hurts Us More Than it Hurts Them”
you’re right sf and so is youk, at least the second part of his comment…the multi-level playoff system and specifically the ward card has changed the way teams celebrate and even mourn a setback…the “i don’t care” comment is a little hard to believe though…there’s no way he doesn’t care that the sox didn’t win the division, the yanks did, and they got to celebrate at home in front of him…the wild card just gives him and the sox a second chance, he realizes that, and he is correctly refocused on that…
what else is Youkilis gonna say?
“Oh it bothered me tremendously and Im gonna have trouble sleeping for the next few days Im so upset?”
Even if it did eat at him a bit to watch the yanks celebrate in front of him, he wouldnt or shouldnt admit that to the press…
This was, thankfully for me, another weekend in which my usual media for following the Red Sox were more limited than usual. Helped take some of the sting out of it. Also helped that Daisuke Matsuzaka and Paul Byrd pitched so well — very encouraging. Jon Lester… not so much.
He’s exactly right, except that he left out that his team, on paper or the field, doesn’t look nearly good enough to overcome that next celebration.
I actually like this team a lot. Without injuries, I feel like it has a good shot at the whole thing. They need a bit of luck, but it’s better than I felt about last year’s team…
The lineup needs to NEVER feature Varitek, the starting pitching needs to be healthy, and the bullpen needs to get back to its former status (this is the one that worries me the most), but other than that, I like our chances. Even when they didn’t ever put the best team on the field this weekend, they didn’t get blown out…
Actually, that series probably showed more positives than any sweep I’ve ever seen. The last two games at least were razor close, and they were started by the Sox’s #4 and #5 starters. The main negatives out of this series were: the bullpen continues to completely suck — Hopefully they can turn it around in time for the playoffs… lack of timely hitting, many squanders… and Jon Lester, can only hope he is alright.
I agree with Devine and Ethan. The Sox got a lot of good luck in close games to build up that 8-0 advantage early in the season, and were the victims of a lot of bad luck in close games to go 1-9 more recently. So now it’s a clean slate should these teams face off in the postseason. As we learned in 2007 (Sox vs. Rockies) and 2008 (Sox vs. Angels) the regular season means little when it comes to the playoffs.
I hope you guys are right, but I think if we didn’t have to play LAA, I’d feel much more comfortable about this. It’s not NY that really worries me (there is no predicting those games), but LAA for some reason, is the team that has me the most worried.
Beckett now out with back spasms.
On the other hand, facing Verlander twice (potentially) in a short series wasn’t shaping up to be a lot of fun either, though the Tigers are a lesser team it seems. I will take my chances with the Angels, but first the Sox need to clinch!!!
Beckett scratched? Well shit. Bowden to start in his place, though he pitched the other night.
Beckett just can’t stay healthy, it seems.
Beckett, Burnett, Pavano, Penny, all four former Marlins, all four have chronic health problems.
I hope the Twins make it close, make Tigers waste Verlander, who is lined up to potentially pitch the last day of the season..
Is Martinez that much better than Varitek behind the plate (I know he is much better with the bat)? Not meant as a dig, but in terms of calling games, holding runners, and catching the ball? My sense of the Sox is that they are a very good team with bigger defensive catcher problems thab I had previously realized which the Angels and even the Yankees (thanks to Gardner, Guzman, and the resurgent Jeter and even A-Rod) can capitalize on should they meet in October. Other than that – and the sense that Lester is vulnerable – my view of the Sox has not changed much since pre-sweep. They remain the toughest team to beat in the majors – after the Yanks of course :o)
Martinez is better in that he can actually catch balls in the dirt, is no worse as a game caller (and is likely much better because he won’t be compensating for his own deficiencies catching and throwing by calling for a zillion fastballs), and is slightly better at throwing out runners. He’s not great at the latter, and not a terrific fielder behind the plate, but at this point I would be a better catcher than Varitek, and I would be like the goalie in “The Mighty Ducks,” trying to avoid the balls whizzing toward me.
Beckett’s “spasms” turn out to be some tightness incurred on the plane ride. Not serious, thankfully. We can hold off on the “can’t stay healthy” postmortem for now.