Yeah in 05 from Aug 1st til the end of the season the Sox were only 2 games over .500. There was a belief by MANY that they'd get Swept 1st Round as a result of how poorly they looked the last 60 games or so. And then they steamrolled through the playoffs and all was forgotten.

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I don't disagree with any of this, but the issue is that the Sox got their ass kicked by not historically great Houston last October. They're a worse team now than they were going into the playoff last year, and there are still health questions regarding Lynn, Kopech, Lopez, and possibly Robert. Also, every move Tony seems to make this year backfires whereas the majority of them worked last year. Baserunning and defense are still a big black mark with the Sox more than last year.

I would love to be wrong. Please, blow my mind come October.

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Like great defense in football.

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I remember that impending sense of dread quite well. Then they blew out Boston to open the playoffs, coupled with the El Duque inning in game 3, and everything felt much better.

I don't seem to remember a lot of high expectations going into 05, though. I remember the red hot start and the August swoon...and there was probably a big part of me that just figured it would be 2000 all over again.

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In the back of my mind, I'd like to think the injured pitchers are getting broken in now, and they're still in it. I'm sticking with optimism...except when I call them stupid fuckers for whatever mid game.

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Big difference with the '05 club having a big lead and never falling out of first place than there is with this club that hasn't been in first place since they were 6-4 early in the year. Also, the '05 team went into the playoffs on a five game win streak, including sweeping the Indians in Cleveland with an AAA squad. Cleveland basically needed 1 win to get the Wild Card, and the Knights swept them.

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And hockey with the hot goaltender

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Yep

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But Last Year's team had an even LARGER LEAD than 05 and yet I have yet to see anyone here factor this in whenever they do their rant about the last "180 games". 80 of that 180 should have been meaningless if the "well they had a large lead in 05" excuse is going to be used to define their lack of effectiveness shouldn't it?

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I honestly don't even remember the lead last season. I started feeling bad about last year's team right around this time last year when Lance Lynn forgot how to pitch.

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Season was over by early June if memory serves correct. They were playing against themselves from that point forward.
And baseball is different from almost any sport when it comes to the playoffs. 1-2 hot pitchers can virtually win you a World Series. Just have to get in the playoffs first. Best Records do not mean as much as that does.

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That sounds right. I'm hoping the adversity will help this year if they do make it in. Them having to fight for it the whole way may be for the best.

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More wrong info posted. 2005 Sox had a 15 game division lead. Last year was never that large.

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Ah gots to be more careful. In 2005 (just as I remembered actually) The Sox had to "turn it on down the stretch" in order to win the division. Hardly the cakewalk our Nouvo Bandwagon Revisionist historian makes it out to be currently. Cleveland was actually closing fast that year. The Sox went 8-2 the last 10 games of the season. Cleveland finished 4-6 the last 10, which "enabled" the Sox to win by 6 games.

At no point post All Star last season was anyone in the division nearyl that close to the Sox. This and yet it's still considered "sound strategy" to use the last 180 games as a "measuring stick" for the team.
Thus the notion that the 05 team had nothing to play for the last 58 games is the thoughts of a buffoon. But then I knew that anyway

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IIRC, in 05 Cleveland got as close as a game and a half out when they finally got their heads out of their asses and put them away.

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Yep. There was real trepidation, with Bernstein, North, McNeil and the gang providing the customary doom and gloom informing the world of how they weren't going to win anything. And then the playoffs occurred and everything changed.

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'05 Sox had a bad August, but a good September. Cleveland had a run of something like 29-11 during the second half, and still missed the playoffs.

Obviously if this season ends with a parade down State St like '05 did, I would be more than thrilled. I don't have high hopes for that unfortunately.

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Yep sounds about right. They were hardly a preseason favorite. They shocked everyone with their hot start and had to hold on down the stretch. They had a real Mish mash roster with guys like Scotty Pods having career years. Seemingly Dye too. Didn't think Rowand was really a center fielder either. And who knew Bobby Jenks even existed? Starting pitching wasn't thought to be all that great either. Solid yeah but not overpowering. Not until the playoffs anyway.

Ozzie managed his ass off that year. Particularly in the playoffs. Allowing all of his guys to go the distance was something I'd ever seen in a playoff series.

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It's been a good pep talk. It's logical and rational. But.....While in 2005 there was a defending champ to get through, the task this year is exponentially more daunting. It also was more daunting last year. The metrics and the rankings this year speak for themselves. I grant that 3 out of the 4 I've posted could turn around. One already has. But there is still the beasts that they have to get around and the odds to get to the WS is +1800. If you feel there's value in that number, go for it. I think it's flushing a hundo down the toilet.

Excluding the covid WS, how often does the team with the best roster or highest payroll win the Word Series?

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I've wasted more on worse. This is my point. There is nothing about this season which suggests that the Sox should "back up the truck" or even that the team is "trash". Which is what I have been reading here for 4 months or better. They are on track to make the playoffs imo and we will just have to see once they get there what happens. I'm willing to do that. If they don't "win it all" it's not the end of the world for me. The Sox (with the youth on the roster) have a wide enough window to come back over the next couple of years and try for it again.
And I have never been a "championship or bust" kind of guy when it comes to sports anyway. As long as they are playing for something in October that's enough for me.

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Not sure about payroll, but in terms of best roster; Astros, Nationals, Cubs, Royals, Giants, all have had one of the best rosters in the league and won it all in the last decade or so.

Should the Sox make the playoffs this year, which is probably 50-50 at worst, that would be three years in a row. Three years in a row of losing in the first round/ALDS would be nothing short of an absolute trainwreck. If you and LTG want to accept Division Titles, go right ahead. Packers fans also are content just to get to the dance. That's no longer good enough for me. At this point with the talent the Sox have, I demand more of them in October. No more mediocre bullshit. Its time for them to Change the Game.

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Anderson out 4-6 weeks.

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The Dodgers have an all star roster, they print money, and still haven't won a legitimate World Series. Of course every fan wants their team to be the Yankees of the late 90's and early 00's and wants progress to be linear. Stripping away the raw emotions, we all should recognize that getting a ticket to the dance is a success. Lady Luck takes over from there. If the Sox continue to make the playoffs, they'll win a World Series.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Was just coming here to post that. Leury at SS long term does not help my 50-50 postseason odds listed above.

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He should have taken the suspension.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

While he was suspended this happened?

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Can Sosa play short?

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No idea. Broke on Twitter a few minutes ago.

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They have won 2 legitimate pennants and have another NLCS appearance. Covid or not, their recent run is miles better than the White Sox.

I'm asking for one title. MANY would be great, but one should be doable.

Or, hold the team to a higher standard. Of course, somebody who celebrated the Cubs in 2016 while in the bleachers cannot be a true Sox fan at heart.

Sox had tickets in 2020 and 2021. Its not asking much for them to advance should they get there in 2022. Good teams create their own luck to an extent. Giolito and Lynn were awful last year in the ALDS, no unlucky.

Gotta make the playoffs first and right now, they're on the outside looking in and just lost one of the best hitters in the league for a month.

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