example1

That's the type of guy they are going to need 3-4 of.

You wrote it first!

The Sox don't have enough players like Torres or Moore and some of the other players that TB can just randomly pull out of nowhere. Maddon deserves credit for pulling his pitcher so quickly when he looked like s***.

Nope, we don't. This appears to be the confluence of the very worst factors all at the same time. I'm not sure what this team is missing, but everyone on the team seems defeated, tired, etc., and there isn't a single player on the team who can actually light a fire under their asses. That's a really, really big problem. Who is the leader out there?

I refer you to the Verducci Sports Illustrated article from this week about Theo Epstein and the way he runs the organization, uses numbers, scouts etc., it's really interesting. Just so I can be reminded, what about the 2009 playoff loss was Theo's fault, rather than the team's fault? I dispute the notion that he put together a poor team that year.

I would definitely consider it but I dont know enough about his stamina and make up. The FA pitching market is going to be thin... for awhile. Have to look at all options.

3-1. Weaver gives up a 9th inning bomb to DeJesus. This is the first time I've watched all 9 innings of a non-Sox or Yankees game in quite awhile...

Given that we agree that the potential collapse or non-collapse is still in the balance, wouldn't it be MUCH more appropriate to say that the reason for success moving forward is based almost entirely on the players themselves. You said it yourself that Schilling always talks about the 5-6 pitches per-game that make the biggest difference. If Lester gives up a few taters does that fall on the FO? At this point, I think the team has been put together than can get them to a World Series if the players play to their potential. The rest is on them. 6 games to go to the playoffs, then 11 more wins to the big crown. Of course, TITO'S responsibility will carry on throughout the playoffs. Again, I'm open to discussion about his on-going role with the team even if they bow out early. If there's someone better available, make the move and don't look back (too much).

No man, I see your point clearly. We simply have a different scope of looking at sustained success and what it says about the team. I put way more weight on the longterm and way less on particular games or stretches of games. You guys both put a lot of weight on particular games as a reflection of whether the team was good enough for the entire season. We can continue to agree to disagree. How far do they need to get in the playoffs for you to feel like the season wasn't a disaster? World Series? Loss to the Rangers or Yankees in the 2nd round? I actually think they have a great chance in the playoffs, if they can ever start winning again. At least, I think they stack up well against the Tigers if they can get there.

You make some great points. 31 years old. Shorter track record. Few quality FA SPs available = elevated price. Bidding war with NYY. That said, looking at his numbers more closely he really has had an impressive few seasons. He would be a fine addition, but ALL marquee FA pitchers are huge risks (very few of them recently) and the Sox are already burdened by teh contracts of 2 of them. For the right (nonprohibitive) price and length he would be fine. He won't probably allow either of those. I suspect he ends up in NYY. I think maybe Buehrle ends up in Boston.

No. But this team's "predicament" looks more and more like a playoff appearance, and included a really long period of being the best team in the AL. People around here are acting like the team continued its 2-10 start throughout the season, didn't do anything about it, and finished behind the Rays and Jays for 4th place in the division. I totally hold Theo resopnsible--and primarily responsible, at that--for the defeciencies of this club. However, I still think the club is closer to a Porsche than a Yugo.

Best case scenario: Sox win every game for the rest of the season, win world series --You laud Theo as a genius, the FO and ownership have done it again and deserve ultimate praise. (because it can't be luck) --17 SUCCESSFUL GAMES FROM NOW Worst case scenario: Sox don't make the playoffs. They win zero games out of the remaining 6 and you say that Theo has overseen the most epic collapse in history. He deserves to get fired, but you acknowledge probably will not until the following season. --6 UNSUCCESSFUL GAMES FROM NOW Theo will have been with the team for 1458 games but you acknowledge that his reputation and success will be evaluated, in your mind, by somehwhere between 17 and 6 games. That's a small sample size. In fact, that's a sample between 1.1659% and .4115% of all available data. I think his reputation/skills/success is independent of what happens the next few weeks. I think the quality of a GM is the thoroughness with which they assess their talent, work to make things better, try to get younger, use the resources at their disposal, etc., and their overall track record of success. What happens over the next week really should be compared in context to what has happened over the past 9 seasons, IMO.

They don't need a "reliable stud". They need a starting pitcher or two. You are advocating putting Aceves in there... is he the "reliable stud" you would advocate getting? Their "reliable stud" should be Buchholz, who was an All Star last year. They do need a lot of work on the bullpen. However, they aren't going to be signing 5 relief aces. It is going to be more players of the Dan Wheeler, Franklin Morales type. Sorry. There are no Rafael Sorianos on the market. MAYBE they will go after a guy like Heath Bell and Paps. That would be going big. Otherwise, it will be fill-ins. This isn't Playstation team creation here. It is the real world. Their RF will be either Reddick or Kalish. I don't expect you to love Kalish because he's unproven, but he's a stud. He just needs time to develop. They don't need a "top infielder" who can play 2nd, 3rd and SS. They have Aviles, who is young and was a starter on another club before. He and Scutaro with a healthy IF will be fine. What do you say to the fact that this team had the 2nd best record in baseball for most of the season? Does that success play no role in your assessment of their current state going into next year? I feel like the last few weeks have given you a disproportionately negative (though not unexpectedly so) response to the state of the Sox.

Their ratings were terrible last year because the team they were putting on the field was terrible. The team they were putting on the field lacked a number of regulars due to injury, your boy Ortiz was inconsistent despite being the offensive face of the franchise, etc., I agree that there is a threshold at which the ownership cares about what the media says, but they don't lose sleep over it when they are fielding a team like the one they had this year. In September, yes, because it has been a nightmare, but going into mid-late August I doubt they were terrified of what the media might say. Red Sox nation was happy. They dominated the Yankees and had the best record in the AL. You are also assuming too much in my bias toward this FO. I'm not blindly loyal. I just don't know what I can do other than show you that they have won more games over the past 4 years than all but two teams in baseball. That's pretty damn good.

I heard Cashman was just pretending to be interested in Cliff Lee too, to drive up the price for Texas and Philadelphia. He's also secretly been in discussions with Prince Fielder's camp so the Cubs will have to pay more. He's also in negotiations with God to work out a water-walking deal. Please folks. I can't really stand the sudden deification of Brian Cashman.

Not as much as you might think. John Henry isn't going to tell his friends that he spent his money on a s***** team this year. He's going to tell them (rightly) that the Sox had a really good team this year, their pitching got battered and wasn't deep enough to sustain a high level of play, and they had a historically bad September. The media may paint different picture, but what else is new? Dan Shaugnassey (sp?) is always the most reactionary. They get paid to blow things out of proportion. This team was in FIRST PLACE at the beginning of September. It isn't like they were eliminated in July.