MANNYHOF24

With the pitchers and catchers about 2 weeks away I thought I try to stir up some conversation on J.D. Drew. What do you guys think? Do you think he will be the pretty horrific version we saw of him last season or do you think he will go back to the player who is going to hit .285 with 20 homers and 100 RBIS. Personally I think he will be much better than last season. Although I still see him only hitting between 15-17 homers, I think he will hit around .300 and drive in 80-90 runs. Let's face it, he isnt going to hit 30 hrs here because fenway is a terrible homerun park for left-handers. I still think he is going to be very valueable out of the six making our offense very good.

I got 4 tickets for a game on Jun 24 against Arizona in section B95 down the right field line. Has anyone ever sat in this section? I am usually in the grandstand sections 30-15. I decided to switch it up this year. I think these seats are far enough away from Pesky's pole so it won't be a problem.

Would you do this trade? I almost think I would. It appears that Ellsbury is the real deal in CF, and Green is younger and better than Lugo. It is an upgrade at both positions from the beginning of last season. I would be thrilled if this trade happpened.

Would Manning have led the Pats back against the Colts, Ravens and Giants in the 4th quarter? I don't know, but those games Brady single handedly came through and got the Pats a win. I'm not saying Manning isn't great, but there is just something about Brady that is special when the game in on the line.

I know I dont officially count because I didnt participate last week, but here are my predictions anyways: Pats Colts Seahawks Cowboys

Like every year, this is going to be an extremely close race. I actually agree with Jacko and Gom on this one. The Yankees offense is just so good, that it will let them just absolutely beat on the scum of the leauge. I think the Sox pitching is still better than the Yankees with a front three of Beckett, Schilling, and DiceK but it isn't by a large margin. Even though the Sox offense isn't as potent as the Yanks, it is still going to be a very, very good lineup 1-9. I expect a much better year from Ramirez. I could easily see him hitting 35 bombs and driving in 120 runs. I also think with Ortiz getting right this offseason health wise is going to allow him to hit more homeruns as well. Another thing to watch is J.D. Drew. If he can return to the player he was in the NL, this offense can be great. I fully expect us to have a mucb better lineup in 08, then we had in 07. With all that being said, there is no reason for us Sox fans to count out the Yankees at all. They still have AROD, they still have Jeter, they still have Abreu and they still have Posada. They are going to score runs. I think there pitching will hold up enough for them to 90-95 games just like they did last year. This is going to be a dogfight that should last deep into september and I can't wait for it to start.

Winning tonight in Detroit helps their case immensely. That was a good basketball game tonight, and who would have thouhgt that Big Baby would end up being the hero. The celtics are 29-3 now, and are clearly an elite regular season team.

I actually remember him touching 96 a few times on the ws gun. In that game he was around 94 all night.

Is anybody eles happy now that Eric Gange sucked down the stretch, and did not play an important role in the World Series? I am.

After the All-Star break in 1998, Clemens finished the season 11-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 15 starts for Toronto after going 9-6 with a 3.55 ERA in 18 starts in the first half. After that season, Clemens received his fifth AL Cy Young Award. Clemens accroding to the report recieved the drugs right around the all-star break. Clemens looks very guilty if you ask me.

Ha! So, Dan Duquette was right!

Please don't name Manny, please don't name Manny, thats all I ask of the baseball God's. Seriously I can't imgaine how I would feel if either Big Papi or Manny's names were on this list.

This is a really good move for the Astros. Tejeda should hit a lot of homeruns to the short portch in leftfield. He is also still capable of hitting .320 and driving in over 100 runs. Their offense should be really good next season.

14-8 for Josh Beckett?? I remember this guy projecting 12 wins for Beckett last year. I dont really take much stock in the these predictions but it is certainly interesting.

Wow, I can't believe we are arguing over backup catchers. Francona does a good job managing this team. Period. Nobody can say anything about this. He knows who to get through to his players, he knows when to push buttons and he knows when to leave things alone. Let's not also forget how well he has managed in the two postseason appearances. He has been almost flaw-less. Sure he might make a few bone headed moves in the regular season, but what manager doesn't? Francona is an excellent manager and we should be happy that we have him.

I agree in theory, but you also don't want to get into a situation where Papelbon becomes unhappy with the FO.

Green Bay 35-21. I think people are still underating the Packers and they are going to prove that they really are a good team tonight.

I don't see what naming names is going to do. It's not like they can go back and change what happened. I also don't think it will be fair that some people will be called out on this when it's obvious that more players were using then just the ones that are going to be named in this report.

That would be incredible if we were able to get Santana without giving up Buchholz or Ellsbury. This deal really does make sense for both teams though. The Twins can't afford Santana, they need a CF, and a SS. They also get two pretty darn good arms in Lester and Masterson. Let's not forget that Lester has great stuff and with a healthy offseason there is no reason to think that he can't be as good as he was projected to be two years ago. I think that this deal could happen.

Bipidy Bopidy give me the Zopidy

Nope, which is why ,unless there is an injury, Buchholz is starting the year in AAA.

Since when did Tiger start playing baseball?

I agree, with five solid starters to start the season, there is no reason to push this guy at all. Let him get some solid limited innings at AAA and bring him up in June or July if needed. I envison them doing what they did with Lester in 06. That would make sense to me. But the point stands, baring injury the Sox Rotation will be Beckett, DiceK, Schilling, Wake, Lester on opening day. Another possibilty would be going with a six man rotation, but I don't see how you can tell Beckett he can't get the ball every five days. To be honest would we want that?