seabeachfred

From everything that has been said about Iglesias, his fielding prowess is off the charts. No one disagrees with that. The question isn't whether he is in Ozzie Smith's class and no one has said that to my knowledge. Ozzie is the best fielding shortstop of all time in my opinion and Iggy doesn't need that kind of pressure handed to him. My argument is his bat, or lack of it, his poor plate discipline, his total absence of power and his wasted speed where he cannot use it to steal bases. As Palodios said, though, IF six or seven of our hitters are hitting it is possible we could carry such a weak bat for the defense he gives us, but, again, we better be ready to pinch hit for him in the late innings of a close game. However, if we have some of our batters imitating Crawford, Youkilis and Drew, circa 2011, no way we can carry such a weak bat.

700, I swear this is a true story. On Dirt Dogs back in early 2008 there was a poster who might have been Pumpsie Green who insisted that one of Theo's major weaknesses was that he was a lousy judge of talent. It was the first time I had heard that and realized, you know what, that's true. It became truer with each passing season and, let's be frank. The reason he signed Cameron and then moved Ellsbury to left to "save his legs" as he stupidly and ignorantly said, was to take the heat off of himself for letting Jason Bay and his 36 homers and 119 RBI's walk. Ells in left looked better there than Cameron who turned out to be a useless piece of s*** for us anyway.

You can't "hide" an automatic out in the lineup; that is just plain stupid. Unless the whole team is hitting sooner or later, mostly sooner, a key situation comes up and that is the guy who is at the plate when the chips are down---and you'd be surprised how many times that exactly happened. My animus towards FrancoMa and Varitek trace to that miserable 2008 season when the brain challenged disgraced former and unemployed manager refused and refused and refused to pinch hit for Varitek in somewhere between 12-15 games that were critical that summer. Varitek failed every time but once (against Texas) and we lost most of those games and with it the division and home field advantage. It was one of three division titles Coma cost us in his managerial reign. In fact, after 2007 he was downright pathetic in the dugout----and that may be one reason the Cardinals rejected him for a g uy who never managed anywhere before.

Well someone will be dumb enough to sign him but inthe meantime he can polish up his old speech with the new location thrown in.......I REALLY LOVE BEING HERE; THIS IS THE CITY I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO PLAY IN AND ESPECIALLY FOR THIS TEAM. THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. What a dickweed he has become. I've despised him since he bolted for the Yankees Christmas six years ago.

Gringo, are you posting on some other board. I've seen that Bogart-like mug somewhere else.

Matt Young---ouch!!!!!! That one hurt MVP. Matt pitched for my Senior Babe Ruth All Star Team in 1977 and won eight games, five by shutouts, to get our team the SBR World Series Title. I guess he got all his pitching greateness done before he got to the Red Sox but I will always been indebted to that young man. Of course, if I had been following the Sox back in the 80's when he signed and did nothing I might think a little different of him.

Besides being a miserable field manager and an even more inept game strategist, Francona was wedded to his pre-game plan and hardly e ver deviated from it. When he decided a pitcher was going to go six, he went six no matter how badly he was battered (within reason of course). Game Two of the 2008 ALCS with Beckett is proof positive of that. However, Valentine has said he is not any big fan of pitch counts and he will take a more reasoned look at how many pitches are thrown by his starter and how effective he is before he goes to the bullpen. To make matters worse, when the opposite occurred and the pitcher was actually pitching well, once he hit 100-110 pitches he was out of there and the bullpen was summoned. That was FrancoMa's schtick and he kept to that. The team will be much better managed from the dugout this year than the last few years.

No Jung, we are not nearly as bad as Sox management when it comes to letting these guys go. The FO gambled and won with Wakefield; they let him decide that under the circumstances laid out in front of him that it put him in a very unsavory atmosphere and that Valentine really did not want him around. He made the right choice. I think Nosaj Ketirav is a whole different fish. I'd like nothing better than to be 0 for 2 on my predictions on these two sacred cows, Tim and this guy, but I still believe the guy is going to show up on Monday. I don't think Valentine wants him around and won't give in if the pressure from the FO starts trickling down to give "their Tek" a spot on the roster. Look, if he was any good some other team would have offered him a contract, don't you think? They didn't!!!!! Time for him and the team to move on.

oooopppppssss, wrong game. I guess I had more fun my last time there than you did your last. Of course, if Graffinino hadn't booted that sure DP grounder we would have come home tied 1-1 and maybe played with more confidence than that third game. We looked pretty well spent that day from what I saw on television.

We kicked the s*** out of the Yankees that day to get a tie in the division but they got the title because of an edge in the season series. Maybe we rubbed elbows. I was there that day. I love their haddock.

Boston has four professional sports teams but one thing is very clear. It is a Red Sox town first and foremost. RS baseball is king in Boston. That jumps out at me every time I come to Boston, but maybe some of you aren't aware of the comeradarie of Red Sox fans elsewhere in the country. Since I am ardent enough to just about always travel around in some kind of Red Sox gear and often work out in Boston livery, it is astounding the good cheer when you run into another Red Sox fan--and I run into them very often. There are a lot of Sox fans in the Los Angeles area. Just try getting a stool or table at McLean's Boston Bar in Santa Monica on a game day. Certainly in most cases Sox fans living in the Boston area are most likely more passionate than those elsewhere, but, believe me, there are some very glaring exceptions. That's why I took a mild issue with Jacko's missive; it just wasn't accurate. Well Bellhorn put it best.....We are all rabid Red Sox fans and all in this together. Why someone has to try and show why he might be superior to some other Sox fan makes no sense. Unless you're a pink hat we all live and die with our team.

Well with all due respect Spud, that tells us nothing. How about telling all of us why you remain optimistic about the season. Really, I for one would like to know. What is about the 2012 Red Sox that makes you feel this could be our year?

Who'se disagreeing MVP?? You are spot-on right with that. No team could afford to see two key starters go down, but I do think right now the Yankees and Rays are equipped to handle it better than we are because they have deeper rotations, and, though this sounds like crying, they seem to get more breaks with the injury bug than we do. That is why with all the pitchers we signed this winter it would be important for two of them to be able to make a solid contribution to the team, whether that be one starter and one reliever or two starters. I hear Renaudo and is it Barnes (?) are supposed to be two can't miss prospects if they stay healthy and we sure can use a couple of good young pitchers ready to help us in a couple of years. From where I sit, if we can keep our "Big Three" healthy and effective this year we could make this worth well for us, but we need some luck in that health department for a change.

You had my back again Jung--getting to be a good friend. I will just have to grin and bear it should the guy suddenly make a re-appearance late this summer. Then we will know we are in some deep trouble.

Well Jung we can save our bus fare for another day since Tim did retire and made my prediction that he would show up to play so much garbage, or as my pal Pumpsie would say, more dung for the heap. Word is out that if we get into real pitching problems this coming summer they could call on him again, but we have so many of the slag heapers in camp that you would think one or two of them might just catch lightning in a bottle. Don't throw that bus ticket away just yet, though. Varitek is still out there mulling it over whether he wants to tempt fate or not.

You know Gringo, it is all over the board that I insisted Tim was going to show up this Spring Training and now I have egg all over my face.....and I earned it. Like you, I was taken back by his selfish routine last year but as the months and years grind on I think he will be remembered for the good things he did for the team, the sacrifices he made for the club, the "take one for the team" that he demonstrated in the third game of the 2004 ALCS when he became literally a sacrificial lamb to save a tired pitching staff. It played a great role in our historic comeback that began the next night. I just think he stayed on a little too long. Now I hope Varitek takes the hint and does the same thing that Tim did.

EX1, I scrolled down two plus pages before I got to someone to take me to task for what turned out to be a totally bogus prediction. You and everyone on this board can now take a pot shot at me if you wish. I will do nothing but take it. Yes, I was certain that both he and Varitek would show up to Fort Myers. Well Tim did show up down there but not for the purpose I thought. Simply put, I blew that prediction all to hell so it is my time to take it on the chin.

Gee, that ought to make me sleep well tonight. :o:o:o:o:o:o

I'm sitting here LMFAO Bob. What an answer. My muscles are sore, my eyes are tearing, my back feels tight and I'm busting up inside. Hell of an answer my friend. Well you got your answer Pumpsie. And now that Bob fished out that nugget there more dung for that heap you were talking about earlier. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

This is indeed miserable news and I think for me it does put things in perspective. Gary was a total high class person with a smile and good word for everyone. He grew up in Fullerton where my daughter and son-in-law live and he was quite a player at Sunny Hills High School. He was also my favorite player on the Mets when I followed that team before becoming a convert here, and think I was more a Carter and Hernandez fan than a Mets one. For the record I cheered my ass off during that 1986 World Series, which I suppose could get me a suspension or a ban here, but when I see tapes of that series today I get sick to my stomach. Try figuring that one out.

Thank God you're one cool headed Canadian instead of a hot blooded American Dago like me Bob. You're probably better off if you can distance yourself from stuff like this and I meant nothing personal when I answered your post except to vent frustration as to what went down last September. I was walking the floor at night last September during my nightly potty break. Every loss bit harder into my soul; it was murder. I do think Red Sox fans who go back 30, 40 and 50 years have a better handle on things than someone who came on board within the last ten or 15 years, 11 plus for me. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this year somehow brings glad tidings to all of us.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I just threw up my hands and said what else is knew when I got the word that "Reliable' Russ had signed with us, and judging by the reactions and caustic remarks by most of you one is taking this signing very seriously. As my pal Pumpsie put it....MORE DUNG FOR THE HEAP!!!!! That about says it all.