SCM33

You really are underestimating him. Look, I cant stand the guy. I think hes a **********. I think hes selfish. I think hes a pompous *******.....but he was DAMN good at what he did. His ability to close out big games and his ability to not allow bad outings effect him were worth it alone. The guy was almost a sure thing. He made 9 inning games, 8 inning games. There will be many times this year when we wished he were still closing out games for us.....and I will be there to say I told you so. That selfish, pompous, arrogant cockersucker will be missed.

And if Crawford had a good year.... And if JD Drew/RF wasnt a black hole... And if Beckett didn't give up 6 ER in his final 2 starts of the season.... And if beer and chicken didn't happen... And if the team didn't quit on Tito.... And if Buchholz was healthy.... And if Lackey had an ERA around mid 5 rather than mid 6.... All of a sudden Papelbon is the only reason they lost? They missed the playoffs by 1 game. Game #1 was just as important as #162 and all of the things listed above contributed to it.

Its not even going to be a fair comparison to the production were going to get out of closer. He will be in the 40 save range with a low 2 ERA.

Bailey if healthy, is a very good pitcher. Melancon has proven very little. He had a great year last year pitching for a last place team with little to no pressure. Hes looked like s*** this spring to boot. His fastball has little life and hes sitting in the high 80's low 90's.

They knew they werent going to accept them. It was their unofficial way of telling them they had moved on. They did not want them back.

THATS RIGHT! I forgot about that. What were you thinking?

So the entire season was his fault? He was one of maybe 4 or 5 players that gave a s*** last year.

Ok, well......if I am wrong thats fine, somehow the original point is lost......and that point is that the bullpen for this year, is a completely different bullpen. Its kinda funny, Papelbon leaves and everyone talks about how he wasn't worth the money and that we will replace him and blah blah blah....but then some of those same people point back to how great the bullpen was last year, when Papelbon was the anchor of it.

Padilla. Which is an unpopular choice, I already know.....

I thought you said they were very good? Thats strange, were both wrong.

It was actually 3.67. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching/year/2011/split/128 Middle of the pack. Right now, they are worse than that when look at who theyve added and subtracted from the bullpen. Middle of the pack is not very good. Its average.

Cherrypicking. Julio Lugo was a GREAT baseball player on Wednesdays when it was 70 degress during August on the road in the west coast versus lefties who threw 88 Mph with runners on first and third with two outs when the count was in his favor. The stats are what they are. No excuses.

Oh well. I hate the move, I hated their offseason decisions (and lack of). I guess all I can do is just hope it works out.

Yup. I really dont want Aceves or Bard in the rotation......bullpen as it stands right now, is terrible.

Awesome. We had a s***** bullpen last year.....and its now 100% worse. Andrew Bailey better f***ing perform, oh wait....hes already injured. Shocker.

..........and we didnt even make it out of spring training and we need a closer since Bailey is already hurt. Smart move. Hasnt pitched in 10 games and is rumored to have injured his thumb.

Sorry Dojji. Scott Cooper sucked and is generally considered one of the worst all star selections in HISTORY.....and the funny part, is that the Redsox sucked so bad back then, and since EVERY TEAM had to have a representative, he was selected twice!!!! http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=list/worstallstars http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/lists/Worst-MLB-All-Star-picks-in-history#photo-title=%20Scott%20Cooper,%201993&photo=11358265 http://myb5162.blogspot.com/2010/01/who-hell-is-scott-cooper.html http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/coopesc01.shtml Brunansky is a good choice. I always liked him as well. Greenwell doesnt apply, he was a DAMN good hitter. Greenwell always gets a bad rap around here, and I never figured out why. Had he been used right, in the leadoff or #2 role, he would have been dangerous. He was very talented. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/greenmi01.shtml Troy O'Leary was also too good for the list. In 98 and 99 he was a middle of the lineup hitter for us. He drove in 103 runs in 99. Nothing "bad" about that.

Today? Its pretty much everyday.

This season has the makings of a disaster..... Bobby Valentine has a short term window. Ben Cherington has a long term window. BV wants Iglesias. BC wants Iglesias in the minors. BV wants Bard in the pen. BC wants Bard to develop in the rotation despite the growing pains. BV prefers Lavarnway over Shoppach. BC wants Shoppach on the roster and Lavarnway in the minors. These two cant agree on anything, shocker....considering BC wanted nothing to do with Valentine. The greatest factor is that both appear to be committed to winning and regardless of their agendas and timeframes, both have that ultimate goal. The problem is, that BC cannot take the baseball decisions away from his manager. If BC starts making decisions about lineups, pitching rotations and personnel desipite BV's voiced opinions....then the players will see that BV essentially has zero authority and will drive him out of town.....just like they did with Tito. I hope it works out for the best, but the bombs are planted for demolition.

Damnit, where is that damn chart!?!?!?

Who is Emmz?

I still dont think you understand. Its more of rooting for the underdog. Lou Merloni, Frank Castillo, Gabe Kapler, Darren Lewis, Darren Bragg.... They didnt have to suck, they didnt have to hurt the team.....its just about a player who you liked who didnt exactly light the world on fire when they were here.

Mark Whiten, Darren Bragg, Mark Portugal, Lou Merloni, Frank Casillo...... Do those guys qualify?