A Realistic View at 2017 Part I

[cp176]

I feel the value of playing multiple positions is extremely valuable to a team, but with that being said Marco Hernandez might develop that ability with a better bat.

 

I'm not going to be advocating for not keeping Holt. He has been very valuable to us for sure. that being said, if Hernandez were to replace him and get some substantial time, I think that we would all be pleasantly surprised. I think that he could be a solid player for anybody.

[moonslav59]

Not a big fan of Fraziers 225 average and high strikeout rate, to me he is Mark Reynolds of a few years ago.

 

I'm not either, but he's usually around .250 not .225 and 35-40 Hrs might be a lot better than what we find out we have at 3B half way through 2017.

[moonslav59]

I'm not going to be advocating for not keeping Holt. He has been very valuable to us for sure. that being said, if Hernandez were to replace him and get some substantial time, I think that we would all be pleasantly surprised. I think that he could be a solid player for anybody.

 

I've always been high on Hernandez.

 

I think he's better on defense than Holt at SS, and might be close to equal at 3B and 2B.

[moonslav59]

Other than 2B, where Hernandez is pretty close, what position is Holt the clear number one sub?

 

I get the high value of having a guy that can play just about everywhere, but if he's not the first go to guy at 6 of the 7 positions he plays, I'm thinking his value on another team might be MUCH greater than with us.

 

That's not saying he has no value here.

[moonslav59]

MLBTR....

 

Rusney Castillo is something of a forgotten man in the Red Sox camp, as ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber writes that the outfielder has no clear path to MLB playing time or even the 40-man roster. Castillo is still hopeful of making an impact, as he is retooling his swing and is enjoying more personal comfort now that his five-year-old son and other family members have been able to leave Cuba to join him in the United States. Castillo signed a seven-year, $72.5MM deal with Boston in August 2014 but has just a .679 OPS over 337 big league plate appearances.

[Slasher9]

I find that 4 billion number incredibly suspect. We have the ability and technolocy to comfortably feed everyone in the world, three times over. If we built the best infrastructure we have technology for, everywhere it was needed I'm convinced that would be more like 15 times over. Hell, we're paying farmers NOT to grow food so we don't drive the prices so low that inefficient third world sharecroppers go under. If we got really serious about farming, this planet could produce several times the food it does now, and what it produces now would be more than enough if our distribution network was efficient.

 

A static number like that ignores the fact that we've progressively gotten better and better at finding ways to make this planet support more of us. At this point the only limiting factor I'm truly aware is the global water economy. If we were better about developing the undeveloped parts of the world nobody would go to bed hungry tomorrow.

 

do you have a clue how many citizens of the United States of America go to bed hungry?

[Slasher9]

I'll say it now, so I can say I told you so 5 months from now: Chris Sale is a poison in the clubhouse. He will be a detriment to this team's morale, and will hold back the team's performance in some significant way. I still think we're a playoff team, but with Chris Sale, we're certainly not a championship caliber team.

will he chock in the postseason like price?

or will his poison prevent us from even making the postseason?

[Nick]

do you have a clue how many citizens of the United States of America go to bed hungry?

 

before, during and after school meals are available at may public schools.

[Slasher9]

before, during and after school meals are available at may public schools.

 

I'm assuming you meant "many" public schools. this is simply not true. you are trying alternative facts.

[moonslav59]

I'm assuming you meant "many" public schools. this is simply not true. you are trying alternative facts.

 

Plus, some of the meals are so unappealing that even hungry kids don't eat them.

 

There are thousands of kids who are battling hunger everyday in the USA. It's a fact.

[a700hitter]

Plus, some of the meals are so unappealing that even hungry kids don't eat them.

 

There are thousands of kids who are battling hunger everyday in the USA. It's a fact.

Which makes me question why so much wealth is deliberately transferred out of the U.S. people here are going hungry.

[Spudboy]

Okay before this thread gets shut down for becoming political I will make one non-partisan point.

 

I still view my country as the best country in the world.

 

I believe that all citizens of the USA should have housing, food, healthcare, and education.

 

The fact that so many go without is appalling.

[moonslav59]

Which makes me question why so much wealth is deliberately transferred out of the U.S. people here are going hungry.

 

It's horrible to think how well of this nation is, but hunger is still a serious issue.

 

The worst part is, that many hungry children have a parent(s) who work FT or have multiple PT jobs. So many Americans are barely surviving paycheck to paycheck on unlivable wages, while the stock market surges upward rewarding stockholders more and more.

 

It's not about money going offshore. It's about changing our priorities to where they were during the Eisenhower era.

[moonslav59]

I believe that all citizens of the USA should have housing, food, healthcare, and education.

 

 

Those should be the basic rights of everyone in the world, but for our great country to let this get away from us like this, worries me deeply.

[Fisk]

Okay before this thread gets shut down for becoming political I will make one non-partisan point.

 

I still view my country as the best country in the world.

 

I believe that all citizens of the USA should have housing, food, healthcare, and education.

 

The fact that so many go without is appalling.

 

Agree with your statement 100%, to help people in need is what makes us a great country, when we ignore the needs of people it causes a lot of strife.

[Dojji]

do you have a clue how many citizens of the United States of America go to bed hungry?

 

Do you have any clue how little the hunger in America has to do with the quantity of food available?

 

Our distribution system is inefficient. People who are hungry can't get food that's plentily available. Pretending that this is an environmental problem is delusional.

[cp176]

This is all well and good. All of these non-political but yet somehow very politcal statements. Turning it back to baseball, we hear very little feedback when it comes to how much professional athletes and entertainers in this country make. We live in the greatest country in the world. Only in America means so much and yer so many different things.

[harmony]

Agree with your statement 100%, to help people in need is what makes us a great country, when we ignore the needs of people it causes a lot of strife.

You and I agree.

[Fisk]

You and I agree.

That's great if we can't agree on Baseball it's much more important to agree on Humanity.

[moonslav59]

That's great if we can't agree on Baseball it's much more important to agree on Humanity.

 

So true.

[moonslav59]

Let's get back to baseball.

 

Here's a look at how we start the season...

 

4/5 @ CLE

4/6 @ CLE

4/7 ** Off **

4/8 @ TOR

4/9 @ TOR

4/10 @ TOR

4/11 BAL

4/12 BAL

4/13 BAL

4/14 **Off**

17 straight scheduled days with games--No scheduled days off again until May 2nd.

 

Will we go with this?

 

5 Sale

6 Porcello

7 (off)

8 Price

9 ERod

10 Sale

11 Porcello (Home opener)

12 Pom/Wright

13 Price

14 (Off)

15 begin regular rotation starting like this:

ERod, Sale, Porcello, Pom or Wright, Price (Repeat)

 

 

[harmony]

That's great if we can't agree on Baseball it's much more important to agree on Humanity.

Agreed again.

[moonslav59]

Since we don't need our 5th starter until the 7th game (8th day) of the season, might we start with Pom or Wright on the DL? (Phanotm or otherwise)

 

Also, didn't they change the DL days from 15 to 10 or something like that?

[Fisk]

Since we don't need our 5th starter until the 7th game (8th day) of the season, might we start with Pom or Wright on the DL? (Phanotm or otherwise)

 

Also, didn't they change the DL days from 15 to 10 or something like that?

 

Yes the DL is now 10 days.

[Spudboy]

Do you have any clue how little the hunger in America has to do with the quantity of food available?

 

Our distribution system is inefficient. People who are hungry can't get food that's plentily available. Pretending that this is an environmental problem is delusional.

 

It's the wealth distribution that is failing this country.

 

It will not be long before our country will be in trouble growing enough food for it's citizens. It's happening in other parts of the world already.

 

Americans are spoiled and entitled. When the dust hits the fan and there is not enough clean air and water to drink it will be too late to do anything about it.

 

But it's okay if people don't believe in science. Right.

[Spudboy]

That's great if we can't agree on Baseball it's much more important to agree on Humanity.

 

BAM!!!!!

 

Peanut butter and jam.

[S5Dewey]

It's the wealth distribution that is failing this country.

 

It will not be long before our country will be in trouble growing enough food for it's citizens. It's happening in other parts of the world already.

 

Americans are spoiled and entitled. When the dust hits the fan and there is not enough clean air and water to drink it will be too late to do anything about it.

 

But it's okay if people don't believe in science. Right.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most of us who post here are pretty comfortable. Our kids are grown and/or we have a warm bed to sleep in at night and food to eat.

 

I've been fortunate to have a job that had allowed me to provide comforts for my family but at the same time I've held a few public offices and done some volunteering in areas that have allowed me to see how some other people live right here in my community. In addition, my now ex-wife is a teacher and has brought home stories of kids who come to school unfed and without proper winter clothing.

 

I was once in a house that was a homemade log cabin. There were cracks between the logs where snow and cold could blow in, the board floors had collapsed in places so the floor was dirt, the interior doors were nothing but blankets hung in the opening, and they tried to heat it with a wood stove. A father, mother, and three kids lived there.

 

I was pretty discouraged when I went home that night. Discouraged that people in my town whom my kids went to school with were living like that. I didn't identify the family to my kids but I can remember telling them that they should consider themselves lucky because there are people living in our town in circumstances they (my kids) wouldn't want any part of.

 

Don't kid yourself. These people live in your community too and we don't see them because your (and my) socio-economic status keeps us from coming into contact with them and knowing their situation. But they exist.

[moonslav59]

Let's get back to Red Sox baseball.

 

It was encouraging to hear that Pom & Wright looked good yesterday. I hear ERod throws today.

[cp176]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most of us who post here are pretty comfortable. Our kids are grown and/or we have a warm bed to sleep in at night and food to eat.

 

I've been fortunate to have a job that had allowed me to provide comforts for my family but at the same time I've held a few public offices and done some volunteering in areas that have allowed me to see how some other people live right here in my community. In addition, my now ex-wife is a teacher and has brought home stories of kids who come to school unfed and without proper winter clothing.

 

I was once in a house that was a homemade log cabin. There were cracks between the logs where snow and cold could blow in, the board floors had collapsed in places so the floor was dirt, the interior doors were nothing but blankets hung in the opening, and they tried to heat it with a wood stove. A father, mother, and three kids lived there.

 

I was pretty discouraged when I went home that night. Discouraged that people in my town whom my kids went to school with were living like that. I didn't identify the family to my kids but I can remember telling them that they should consider themselves lucky because there are people living in our town in circumstances they (my kids) wouldn't want any part of.

 

Don't kid yourself. These people live in your community too and we don't see them because your (and my) socio-economic status keeps us from coming into contact with them and knowing their situation. But they exist.

 

The scenario you painted sounds like the way I was raised. Lots of love, plenty of food, clean clothes. All the other stuff that a majority of the poor kids today have - not so much. Times have changed for sure and I am deeply sympathetic and giving to those in need but most of us probably have a story to tell. My turn to a love of athletics, more specifically baseball, helped get me through. I never had time to think about anyone who might have had more. In rural Maine, the majority of people lived about like we did. My take on this is that in this country, if you are bright enough and willing to work hard enough for something quite often things work out well. Maybe I got lucky maybe I didn't. I had plenty of help but only because I earned it. Nothing was given to me - I must have been clutch.

[Nick]

I was fortunate that I was poor.

 

I came out of college with $1500 debt. During my time, I BEOG/SEOG were available. I also had a very good summer job earning close to $2500 each summer. Of course the tuition for my state school was around $1800 for the year.

 

It was the middle class kids that got hurt.

 

My last comment on social issue....each child is deserving of good education. That's the only way out of poverty.