seabeachfred

Sounds like you had your head screwed on right back then Yazman and that is why I will surmise that you aren't in any debt to speak of---something today's generation seems to be all amiss about. Of course, today, unless you are of rich parentage you go deep in the red and take years for dig out of it. I can remember back in 1958 when I started college that I had $200,00 in the bank and when I started teaching ten years later after working some and serving my military duty I had close to a thousand. I really think, though, that we may have had it easier. As for our team, wow, two guys down with thumb injuries. I wonder if I should burn incense to the gods of fate so that these two guys can be ready when it counts.

I think the team will be better served my friends with Valentine at the help instead of Francona, but can at least face the truth that we will miss Papelbon no matter what some of us might have thought of him. He saved close to 90% of the games he was entrusted with, didn't he? And right now our closer is on the shelf as we get bellied up to the regular season. No matter how tough Bailey is it will be hard for him to outdo what Jonathan did for us, including his brilliant work that winning 2007 season when he was called on more times than I would have liked for the safety of his arm. An outstanding closer is worth his weight in gold and we only have to look over at Yankee Stadium for proof of that. Yes, there were times that Paps really pissed me off but looking at the whole package I was glad he was on our side and not the other. He is only 30 years old and I believe he has some good years left. Personally I wish him well---and please keep in mind the decision was the Red Sox to let him walk. I can't begruge a closer who was able to get that kind of contract, especially since his former team didn't even offer him the time of day.

Oh boy, between thumbs and wrists here comes the MASH unit. However, I did my rants yesterday and I am refraining from saying anything else on this matter except I hope all of you are having a nice morning and will have a wonderful day. Take care my friends.

Overboard my rosy royal ruby red rear end!!!!!!! Bailey has had this thumb problem for a week and a half and we only get ready to handle it NOW???? Why wasn't the front office pro-active and get to the bottom of this injury as soon as it happened. It has nothing to do with conspiracy, just a continuation of dumb moves that have plagued us for the past few years. I thought this ended when we g ot rid of Epstein and Francona but we still make mistakes by signing the wrong guys (Ortiz) and waste money there that could have been used for pitching which we frankly need. Perhaps you have a lot more confidence in the front office that I do but I've seen what's gone down the past few years to make me more than a little skeptical about their acumen. I recall the medical staff refusing to give Buccholz an MRI last June because they said the injury wasn't serious when it was damn serious enough to lose him for the rest of the season. I remember the year before when Epstein and his puppet made that disastrous decision to move Ellsbury to left field to "save his legs" and lost him to injury and then compounded it by misdiagnosing his injury that resulted in losing him for the whole damn season. Or the initial misdiagnosis of Pedroia's injury and then compounding that by saying he was ready to come back when he most certainly wasn't. Or maybe the Youkilis misdiagnosis in the 2009 season when he was supposedly out for a day or two when it turned out for over two weeks when they misdiagnosed that injury as well. True, I have a tendency to climb the wall and go on rants but I think from what has gone down around the team since 2008 makes me wonder why more of us haven't become seriously more concerned with the direction of our team.

That sounds like something I would have expected from Francona. All games count. Remember, we missed the playoffs by ONE game last season.

So I was proven wrong, so what? You think that bothers me? I'm never afraid to admit it when I'm wrong. The fact is I would have been pissed off to have been proven right. However, stop throwing bouquets at yourself MVP because you were barely right. Both those guys did show up, both were offered contracts and it was Bobby who cut the legs out from under them. So we both wound up happy. Leave it at that.

Bullseye 700---A perfect hit. Still, I like jousting with User since I really like the guy. My blessings come with knowing that there is someone on this board who does not read my posts and I couldn't be more thrilled. We all have our foils 700.

Direct line? The guy has been dinged up for over 10 days. Think maybe some precautions like an MRI might not have been appropriate since we have been susceptible to all sorts of physical mishaps the past few seasons? Why not act on the side of caution and see the extent of the injury instead of "working around it". Like elbows, knees and ankles, you do not mess around with thumbs. They can be serious injuries and they don't heal that quickly. As for the Wake and Tek posts, jog your memory and understand that both were invited to ST by Cherington and then offered minor league contracts. Those minor league contracts often mean a place on the 25 man roster when ST is over. They had already resigned the over the hill Varitek twice before. Only Valentine's plain warning that there was no room for either one forced them to retire. If not, they would have been in uniform and causing a circus this Spring. Valentine forced them out, nothing less and nothing more.

Ever heard of the saying that "necessity is the mother of invention"? Now that Bailey is on the shelf for a DL stint, our choices are limited and Bard seems the best bet for the closer's role even though, yes, I do have some misgivings about his "mental makeup" as you put it. Well, he could prove me wrong and go out there and just shove the bats up the opponents' asses. Besides, I still insist it is a lot to ask Aceves to close when he has never done that before. OK, maybe the necessity thing could now apply to Alfredo. Tell me this, when his thumb acted up, why not give him an MRI and take the cautious approach? We didn't to that with Buccholz last June and we all saw what happened. And why the hell do y ou drag the Wakefield-Varitek saga into this? I'm still counting my blessings that they saw the handwriting on the wall and decided to cast off. Thank God I was wrong on that but I have to give kuddos to BV on that because if he hadn't given out those undeniable hints both of those over the hill relics would have been in uniform and in ST.:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown

Well Cherington better get on his high horse and get us a reliever of some quality because the worst kept secret is that we now need one very badly. Bard wants to start, Aceves wanted to start, and now we have to depend on our starters going real deep into games and depend on the likes of Albers and Morales for quality innings. I always thought the mindset was THE TEAM COMES FIRST. Put Bard AND Aceves in the pen and give Cook a chance to start. You do this for the GOOD OF THE TEAM.

That's a helluva idea Palodios; I wonder if Valentine and Cherington have thought that one out and would even agree on it. As it is today we heard Doubrant and Bard were going to be the fourth and fifth starters, and I also wonder if BV is flexible enough to alter his thinking to let this happen. When I think that we may now have to depend of Morales and Albers for heavy duty work, I'm reminded what General Cota said when the word was given that Operation Overlord was now on....GOD HELP US ALL!!!!

No User, Dude's NOT absolutely ridiculous if you were referring to SCM. He mentioned that Bailey has not pitched in 10 days and that means his thumb was causing him discomfort back then. Why all the secrecy? Why does our front office have to act like the CIA instead of what it's supposed to be, and maybe, possibly, could it be that person who suggested that Bard be annointed as the closer the moment Papelbon was signing with the Phillies was more on the ball that Cherries jubilee and Co.? Can't remember who the guy was but he ought to be given medal for doing the job that our bumbling GM should have been doing. Great way to enter a new season---no closer, no real rotation and no GM.

We all knew that Bailey has injury issues and the team was taking a chance in signing him, but that is only the half of it. How the hell could he have hurt his thumb while no one seemed to know anything about it, not the conditioning staff, not the medical staff, certainly not those of us who live and die with the team?- Or do we have a CIA type crew running the show where secrecy is the art form of the day? And if Bailey's thumb was injured why wasn't he g iven an MRI to ascertain the severity of the injury? I am doing a very slow burn writing this my friend because this seems to be another in a long line of Red Sox screwups and well too late to change things now---like annointing Bard as the closer the minute Papelbon signed with the Phillies. Think we might have been in a better way if that had been done?

I think the Phillies will go all out to resign Hamels since he is still young and entering his prime. Keep in mind that both Lee and Halliday are getting up in years and the team still depends on their pitching to carry them. OTOH, the Giants don't have the money the Phillies do and they have to worry about resigning Tim Lincecum and that will be a big payday. If the Red Sox decide to finally let Ortiz walk and maybe Youkilis as well, they will free up some serious money to sign a top quality pitcher, and to me that is Matt Cain who I have always hoped one day would be on the Red Sox. Of course, it also depends on Will Middlebrooks not s***ing in the bed at Pawtucket this year and being ready to take over at third and finally giving Lavarnway the DH job, if not the catching job in 2013. Of course they could keep Youk and just spend some money that they didn't spend this off season.

Hey iortiz, good to hear from you again. What happened to you? Seems like you disappeared for awhile. Things seem to be going ok with me but I take it day by day so you never really know. I am getting my blood up for the coming season and it will be a great one if our team can make real amends for last year's miserable finish. Let's think in an upbeat manner and I think we'll be ok.

Well it seems like it's going to be Doubrant and Bard for our Nos. 4 and 5 starters in the rotation. It took a long time to decide on these two as if the Red Sos FO was in the throes of that infamous paralysis by analysis. I hope both do the job because it can only help us immeasurably if they can; it can derail us if they don't.

Forsyth, just convince me that Cody didn't use up all his power in Spring Training. He sure has looked impressive with the stick and if he could do those numbers you listed I think he could help the Red Sox get into the tall cotton.

He certainly hadn't come close to doing that before Ted, but I still wonder if he is really the answer to that 4th spot in the rotation. Doesn't matter what I think, however, since he is going to be it. I wish he could have one more start in ST though just to see if this is progress on his part or whether today's performance was just a tease. So it looks like Bard and Doubrant for those two spots.