Which collapse was--or will be--bigger?

How about the 1914 Giants, who let the Miracle Braves storm back from 15 1/2 games down on July 19 and wound up 10 1/2 games behind.

 

Spnited covered the '14 Giants.

(I know, I know: I'm a dickhead, but it's not fair of Joe to lob a cock-high batting practice fastball over the plate like that)

 

Wasn't that the same Giants team that won 26 straight games -- still a ML record -- and finished fourth?

 

That would be the 1916 version.

 

manny will make a big difference, but he hasn't played in awhile and who knows how he will do on his return.

 

Manny should rake when he returns because he's a brilliant hitter.

Say what you will about Manny not being a great fielder or a smart baserunner--that's all true. The one thing Manny Ramirez knows how to do is hit.

 

That's true. Manny is one of the greatest hitters of this generation, but he hasn't played since Aug. 28. Any player takes that much time off and it is going to take awhile to get going.

Wicked - Buchholz is nails, but is Francona willing to use him in the high leverage situations late in the game? Francona said yesterday Okajima is shut down and he is going to stick with Gagne for now.

 

Jeez, think how much loot Muggsy might have cleared with a 26-game parlay!

 

Manny is one of those guys who can hit in his sleep...he doesn't need a lot of time to get going

 

The public stance they've taken all along is to use these last couple weeks to correct things coming into the postseason, especially once a berth is clinched (magic number for that is 3). I don't totally agree with that, since I think you need some modicum of momentum going into October -- 2006 Cardinals and Tigers not withstanding. See 1995 Quebec Nordiques for a non-baseball example of how mailing it in the last month of the season can backfire; they went 2-4-1 down the stretch and got beat by the eighth-seeded Rangers in the first round.

Francona is going to use these games to try to get Gagne figured out, rest Okajima and (I hope) rest Papelbon. Manny will be Manny upon his return, and he'll do just fine once he has a game or two to get back in the groove.

This is where having a useless piece of crap such as Drew in the heart of the order really is hurting them. If he was on his 35-homer pace, Ortiz would not be anywhere near as naked up there. The fact that Mike Lowell is hitting cleanup says it all.

 

I don't think four bad games can compare to a multiple-week implosion, which is why I voted for the Red Sox (even though they made a spirited comeback in the closing week to force the Bucky Dent game).

Didn't the Angels blow a double-digit game lead in August fairly recently?

 

I referenced it on page 1, MM.