seabeachfred

I think you might have hit on something BSN---the part of Ben's accountability starting last August. That was when we unloaded some big contracts and some miserable attitudes, not to mention some underachieving. The question some of us asked was whether Cherington engineered that trade or whether it was done without his imput. It is looking like he more to do with that than previously believed and we can take the off-season and what we've been seeing as proof. We have hardly heard a peep from Lucchino or Henry. Apparently Ben and John are running the show and they seem to have become a good team working together, not to mention the positive vibes emenating from the dugout I'll tell you this. If this Red Sox comeback continues and the team becomes a power again in the American League, there is going to be a major revision of Ben as a GM. It will also mean that those of us who ripped Cherington will have to backtrack an issue a mea culpa.

I think a lot of us were scarred from what went down last season and were very nervous about the upcoming season. So far this has been like a breath of much needed fresh air. Some of us may still have a little small doubt or two roiling in the back of their mind but I can tell you the team doesn't seem to feel that way. I get the impression from what I'm watching is that this team is not only on a mission but they actually believe they can take anyone on and beat them. The confidence I read from this team is amazing and they have played like that. Remember the game we blew against Baltimore? We came back strong. Remember when the A's slaughtered us 13-0? We came back stronger. One thing jogs in my memory. The last few years I can remember the Red Sox moving in to play a team that was in a slump and that team got well at our expense. I remember this happening with the A's, Mariners, White Sox, and, dare I say, the Blue Jays. If we don't let this happen this year we will be in for a very pleasant surprise. This season we need to continue to make slumping teams feel even worse. What a different feeling from last year. :D:D:D:D:D

Faneuil Hall (sic?) has a wealth of stalls and food courts where you can eat, read, browse and just suck in the Boston atmosphere. I do that all the time I travel to the city, but I never fail to go a few blocks to the North End and not just for the great Italian restaurants. There is a ton of history there like the old North Church and some of the spots where the Revolution was hatched. People seem to forget that Boston can be a great walking city if you know two or three of the main streets to dodge.

Warning received. You will have no further problem from me. Now I wish I hadn't even made that post. We're all in this together.

I mentioned no names so no one knows who I was talking about. I think from what I have been reading on this thread today there are others who would benefit by putting their antagonists on ignore as well. It would keep peace on this board. You also have the bad habit of selective memory. I know of someone who has me on ignore and yet I have read snotty remarks by that person where my name was mentioned---and you know what???? You never said a friggin' thing about it. If you are going to be selective in who you admonish butt out of it. Fueling the fire? Hell, I haven't felt so good on this board since I did that.

And most importantly Palodios we have to keep playing well. These wins count just as much now as they will in September. A win is a win anytime--and if we can build up a nice record we will be able to absorb a slump that all teams get along the line.

I think in different ways that was us from Sept., 2011 through the 2012 season. No one wants to remember that, least of all me, but we were a pathetic team last season.

Youk, hire ItalianStallion as your enforcer. He knows his s*** and he reads people pretty damn well. Some people just can't get along with some others for whatever reason.

I got the best advice ever on this board when you suggested I put those *******s on ignore. I went one better and put three of them on it and I feel a helluva lot better not having to deal with those miscreants. I think sooner or late my friend 700hitter will get religion and do the same to his antagonists. :thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown

Your wish is our command Saheeb!!!!!! Deed done!!!!

It was a bad decision to make Bard a starter----I don't think anyone with any common sense can argue against that considering what has happened to him. However Sox Sport, it is now pretty obvious that Henry had pulled in his wallet and the indicator was when we traded Scutaro to save six million. It was believed that money would now be used to sign one of those FA pitchers still available. Never happened. That was proof Cherington simply wasn't going to be given the resources to upgrade the pitching staff. Cherington got the brunt of criticism and I was one of them, but in light of later events the fault lied with Henry and Lucchino whose inept leadership put the team at risk. Now with Cherington apparently in control and with a solid manager in John Farrell we may finally be back on the right track. Those two seem to work together very well.

Somewhere around 2009 I think the Red Sox heirarchy lost its way with its emphasis on "sexy players", declining TV ratings, and "phantom" sellouts that they knew were bogus. If you notice this year Sox Sport, you haven't heard a peep out of Lucchino, Henry or anyone else high in the organization. They seem to have entrusted the power to Cherington and he seems to have found his form. Some of his moves have been terrific and he now has a manager who can work well with, and one who seems to have the affection and respect of the team. We may have finally found our way back. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Look Station and Jung, one of the big moves the Red Sox made in the off season was their determinaton to clean up the culture in the clubhouse, and if you ask me is seems like they pretty much accomplished that goal----with one exception....Aceves. Like many others I was willing to cut him some slack. Perhaps a new manager and new players and a new positive outlook in the clubhouse might just be the elixir for Alfredo to get a new lease on life. WRONG!!!!!!!. We all saw it last Tuesday. He dogged it when things went South, failing to cover first base, getting called for two balks, and then totally giving the store away with his patented meat balls right down the middle. Then he had the temerity to accuse his teammates of not hitting and backing him up. No, we didn't hit, and it was the only time this past week we didn't. We did the first and third game with the A's and the four with the Astros. It happens sometimes that a pitcher goes up against a better pitcher who is hot that day......Colon was that night. You don't build spirit and comaradarie by dissing your teammates. His ticket was punched to Pawtucket and it should not be punched back to Boston. He has worn his welcome out just as he did in New York. We don't need any moaners or bad actors on a team that seems to have reawakened to a better day.

Do us a favor User....stow your predictions for awhile and bring them out again when we really need to win a big game down the road. I don't know how many you have left but why waste them all now. Do you suppose if you stopped doing it you would lose your magic? Nice going BTW!!!!

I'd like to know why he was brought up in the first place Ted. He certainly didn't set the world on fire in the minors. Or was that we didn't have anyone better than him? That would be a bad scene if that was true. Now we have to sweat it out when Bard as well as Mortensen and Miller pitch. Webster???? I think we could use him better than some of the aforementioned garbage.

I Liked Tina Cervasio myself. She wasn't voluptuous but pretty enough and I remember her as a good luck charm. It seemed the more we saw her on the NESN broadcasts on my computer the better the Red Sox did. Her last year here was 2007. 2007!!!! Sound familiar hhhuummm!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D

Well Toronto is a total basket case so don't expect anything from them, and the Orioles are showing they are a helluva team. They have gone into Oakland and beaten the living s*** out of the A's. When was the last time we were that successful on the West Coast? Well maybe this year we will be, and maybe we had better be. In the meantime we keep winning.

Kill you? Why MJ? Sounds to me you love baseball and living in Florida it would seem foolhardy for anyone to expect you' catch a plane for an evening game at Fenway unless you're one of those rich and accentric millionaires with his own personal plane. Let's get another "W" tonight. No time now to let down because these April wins are as important as September ones....they all count. A win tonight would be great but you know what would be a terrific residual benefit as well? Felis Doubrant going deep into a game for a change....like say seven plus or eight innings. I'm a little concerned with his staying power but we do seem to hit when he pitches so if it becomes him staying in for a long stretch and winning I'll go with the latter. Still I would like to see both.

I never complain about a win so I go to bed happy again, but is it me or did this game just drag along? It looked to me like Don and Jerry were running out of things to say as the contest just droned on and on. I can't multi-task like my wife can so I don't get on the game thread during the game. It would hard to watch the game and then transfer over to the thread. I wonder how you guys do it. Oh yea, a couple more things. Mortensen is not an answer to our bullpen. The guy is the RH version of Miller and usually gets pasted. Of course I said the same thing about Ross with the bat a few days ago and tonight we went ballistic. With him, was it just inept Astros pitching or does this guy have more hitting ability than I give him credit for. He sure looked potent tonight and so did the whole team. USER is starting to fall down on the job. He was off by one run tonight, but he must still start the game thread tomorrow.

Hey, why not Stallion. Maybe they'd be so ticked off they would go into Yankee Stadium and actually beat the Yankees a game or two. Wouldn't that be a hoot? Until then my advice is mums the word.

Easy my friend. Let sleeping dogs sleep.

s*** Youk, I'm not that freakin' old. Fooled you though, didn't I? You probably thought I new nothing of the Red Sox past until 2000. You know, during the latter part of the 1940's the Sox came close to making the so-called curse of the Bambino and all the bad karma a non-entity. Won the pennant in '46 by 12 games (104-50), and should have won the WS. Off year in '47, but lost a one game playoff for the AL Title in '48, blew a one game lead in '49, and missed by about three or four games in '50 when they hit 302 as a team. I'm convinced with a little better luck the Red Sox would have been known as a powerhouse by the end of that decade instead of heading into the wilderness for over a decade and a half. Now that's your history lesson for tonight. :D:D:D:D:D:D

Well we cannot ignore the bald facts.....Tonight you da man!!!!! May I suggest that you start the game thread tomorrow. We need to win this series and the hat trick would be even better. You have a hot hand. We need all the hot hands we can get, even on this board. Go to it!!!!!

Saying the organization has been sadly lacking in organization is not the type of statement that is popular with some on this board, but you are right on with that take on it. We all now know about those meetings when they talked more about TV ratings going down and the lack of "sexy" players on the team than the bottom line of winning. Now my take is that I believe John Farrell has been given a lot of power to shape this team as he sees fit, an in this has the full and enthusiastic support of General Manager Cherington. Say what you will about departed Epstein and Francona but until both seem to lose their way after 2008 they worked very well together and the result was success such as the Red Sox had not experienced since the nineteen teens.

Yes and Yes. Thanks again....I owe you big time.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: