seabeachfred

You've been on one of your travels again so you missed some of this Wheeler stuff, but you are right Pumpsie. You and Palodios were talking up Wheeler all off season and I'm surprised some people didn't pick up on it. I'll tell you this, I would much rather have Wheeler on our team than Germano or Silva. In addition, Henry can wear the dunce cap because from all reports I've read it was him who forced the patsy to offer Big Diva arbitration, the dumbest move of the off season.

Anyone notice that this off season has resulted in more short tempered reactions than last year? Yes, I am one of those short tempered characters but I have a lot of company. Last season I wasn't on this board but on Sawheads, Dirt Dogs and the Red Sox message boards it seemed everyone was upbeat. There is no substitute for winning to keep everyone upbeat. All of us are looking for ways that will help the Red Sox recover from last season's debacle and some of us think more could be done, like getting that starting pitcher we haven't gotten.....(YET???). Well there always tomorrow.

But Brooklyn wasn't Elk. Take 700 and my word for it. Brooklyn was the Dodgers; the Red Sox today with their fandom is the closest resemblance to that old team.

Your first sentence perplexes me because I don't know what the hell it means MVP unless he was the one who wrote the article, but I'm making nothing up. Varitek was quoted as saying he hadn't made up his mind whether he would show up in Fort Myers. Stands to reason that whatever Cherington said, didn't say, backtracked, whatever, Jason was made to believe that he was invited to ST as a non-roster player. I want to see how this plays out. Believe me, if there is nothing to this I will backtrack myself and issue a mea culpa. If he does show up allow me to say I told you so if that is my choice. I would gladly take the mea culpa, however.

Once again you refuse to face the bald truth. Just two days ago when asked whether he would take up Cherington's offer of an invitation to ST as a non-roster player Varitek said he hadn't made up his mind. Whether Cherington back tracked on this as seems to be the case the fact is HE DID INVITE HIM TO ST and Jason is mulling it over at this moment. As for that pitcher, there is no sure thing of us getting either Cain or Hamels next year. A bird in the hand is worth a helluva lot more than two in the bush, and the Phillies and Giants will go all out to resign those two. We could wind up with some of the garbage we signed this off season. In addition, having never coached or scouted you don't seem to have any real knowledge of just how good a young hitter Lavarnway is. I knew this three seasons back when I predicted this guy was going to be a star. Ask Pumpsie, Muggah and Elk on that if you want to play doubting Thomas. The one place you may have a point is concerning whether Cherington made the case for more money. Seeing is believing and watching that guy in action this off season I have come to the conclusion that this man is very risk averse and tries to play it safe. He is not very dynamic, nor does he appear to be an aggressive GM in the way Daniels, Amaro and Cashman are. I also don't think you every played much baseball; you certainly never coached or scouted---I can tell that by the way you take positions that are for the most part untenable, but you can keep the house. I like mine a lot better.

Forget it Elk!!!!!! If posters don't take the party line that person just goes ballistic without ever giving her own ideas on how to improve the team because she most likely doesn't know how to do it. I take everything she says with a very fine grain of salt; she means well but she has a beef towards me and a couple of others. Don't give it a second thought.

You might lose that house User. Cherington is GM of the Red Sox and right now the best grade I would give him for his current performance is a "C", and when it comes to baseball acumen you might be in for a shock. I coached baseball for over 30 years, developed young players and many of them went pro and a few made it to the Big Show. I also have a background in scouting and if you ask what team I scouted for it was no team. I SCOUTED FOR SCOUTS who wanted to know what I thought of some marginal players who might be worth a chance. Now for that acumen you're talking about it is obvious that this is what I wouldn't have done. 1. I WOULD HAVE NEVER OFFERED ORTIZ ARBITRATION and I kept repeating that over and over again on this and another board. That opinion did not change after the fact. 2. I WOULD HAVE MADE IT CLEAR THAT VARITEK AND WAKEFIELD WERE FINISHED WITH THE RED SOX, and would have sent them letters to that effect congratulating them for their enormous contributions to the team and best wishes in the future. I WOULD NOT HAVE ISSUED AN INVITATION TO COME TO ST and create another distraction. 3. I would have gone all out to nab a top notch starting pitcher and with that extra money not given to Ortiz I most likely would have been able to get someone t hat we don't currently have and might not get. 4. I WOULD GLADLY HAVE GIVEN RYAN LAVARNWAY A FULL SHOT AT THE DH because I believe I am a good judge of talent because of my coaching and scouting experience and I know in my bones that this young man is a real comer if they don't waste him with more seasoning when he doesn't need it with that stick of his. He also could be our third catcher and that is depth we could use. In a year I think he will be ready to take over at catcher. 5. I WOULD HAVE GONE TO JOHN HENRY and strongly req uested some money and made the case that with a little investment we had a chance to have the kind of year we should have had last year. There is no record of Cherington ever making that case with his boss. He needs to be more aggressive to state his case and he doesn't seem to have the energy to make that case. Would I have gotten the money? If I made the case, yes, I think Henry wants to win. There needs to be an urgency shown and Cherington hasn't shown it.

Don't forget that invitation to Varitek to come to ST--which some people here still deny he said but which he most certainly did since Jason was quoted two days ago about being uncertain whether he would take Cherington up on that or not. That certainly has the potential of being a big distraction especially if he does show up and starts lobbying the pitchers. Anybody heard of Beckett?????? On what was said by 700, let me throw in Palodios into this conversation. I have been back on this board since early October and today was the first time in memory that I saw him go off the cliff and showing himself to be one pissed off fan. It is one thing for 700, Pumpsie or me to go off but when one of the most logical of posters hits the roof it means the patience of Red Sox fandom is running pretty low. The three that 700 mentioned only turns the misdemeanor of the Varitek possibility into a first class GM felony. In the meantime we don't have that pitcher because of the criminally ignorant mistake of risking arbitration, and we lose a reliever we could have used and get nothing in exchange for that mistake. The fact is Ben Cherington has firmly put on the dunce cap of Benny the Boob.

If the Red Sox are too damn cheap to sign a pitcher for more than $5 million, maybe the best way to go is to trade for Floyd providing Ken Williams doesn't want the kitchen sink and bathtub in exchange. The front office has become a pile of cheap bastards this off season and whether it's because of all the money we spent last year or not, the fact is they are not going to increase payroll. Perhaps the only recourse is for fans to stop buying tickets and for the press and media to really give Henry and Co. a verbal blanket party and not let up unti the end of the season. Seems to me Prune Face is giving all of Red Sox Nation a big middle finger and whether y ou buy it or not that is my opinion and I'm entitled to it. Things just took a turn for the worse because we may not get that pitcher after all.

What a bunch of cheap bastards the Red Sox have become. We trade Scutaro's six million dollar contract to create some payroll dough for a pitcher and we offer Oswalt only five mil? That's one million less than we're paying fatso Jenks. Incredible!!!! We're not only not getting Oswalt; we probably aren't getting Jackson or Floyd either. Now pitching for the Red Sox, number 52 Brian short order Cook. In the bullpen we have Deutschland Justin Germano and Carlos Hi Ho Silva.. I'm really getting good and pissed off.:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown:thumbdown

That's a good question Spitball and you supplied your own answer which was spot-on. Theriot is a below average ballplayer who is mediocre in the field and is a lousy and undiscipline hitter when a key hit is needed. I live out here in the LA area and watched this guy on TV when he played for the Dodgers. He was hesitant in getting to the ball, and at the plate was terrific when no one was on base. When it came time for a key hit he went fishing for anything thrown within the vicinity of home plate. He is a choker and couldn't carry Scutaro's jock. Go with Aviles; at least that man is a gamer and an overachieving type of player.

This is when I start climbing walls. First it was Oswalt who "we were in deep negotiations with", then it was Floyd who we were told were up for trade and we were showing interest in him; now it's Jackson. And we still are waiting for Cherington to write that damn check. Enough!!!!! Get one of them them it and do it quickly. If Oswalt doesn't want to play in the AL East, then forget him. It means he's chicken s*** to risk getting is tits lit. So go after Floyd if we can get hm without giving up the whole store. The Chicago farm system is in dire straits and a couple of prospects from "A" ball might do the trick. Or we sign Jackson. Just get the job done Cherington, damn it!!!!

Manny---MVP was right though. For some reason I completely forgot about him playing RF for us last season, perhaps because I'm still trying to forget how that season ended for us. The proof about how much the pitcher's caught up with him will be answered this year when he plays for the A's. If he hasn't grown and learned to be more selective at the plate he will be in some deep trouble. The same if he tries to crank up and become a slugger. Discipline and developing a line drive gap power bat could pay dividends for him in Oakland. Besides, I never thought he was in the same class as Ryan Kalish and I'm anxious for the guy to get well and healthy and show what he can do for us. Remember, he looked pretty good when he was given a spot in the lineup the latter part of 2010.

Thanks MVP!!!!! You could have been more blunt if you wanted to but weren't. Appreciate that since I really screwed that one up. I was thinking Drew and McDonald and forgot that Josh was having a good season until he flamed out the last six weeks or so. I owe you one. I do think for our team this year Ross is a better fit since he swings from the right side and we needed a RH hitting outfielder. I only hope that he takes full advantage of his opportunity and the ballpark and puts up some nice numbers for the Red Sox.

Let's assume Dice K is ready to pitch in July or August. I wonder if BV's experience as a manager overseas working with Japanese pitchers might see him handle the guy a little differently than he was handled before. I mean Valentine dealt with players in Japan; perhaps he has a take on things that would get the best he could out of Matsuzaka. We sure as hell haven't gotten much out of him the last three years.

That's something many here seem to gloss over. Our medical staff was a pack of butchers and Gill came close to be an incompetent slag heap. We were not served well at all by that bunch and this was evident in 2010; surprising they were kept on last year. I think with a new medical staff as well as a clean slate in the physical department we should see our players in better shape and mostly on the field this year. That would be a big victory in itself.

Now don't get carried away Forsyth. Well what do expect impatient SBF to say anyway? I will give you this.....Ross is a good pickup and he will do well playing a lot of his games at Fenway Park. AT@T has turned the Giants from a hitting team into a pitching team so Ross will be better served playing in our balliwick. Come to think of it, if he bears down your stats don't seem so far fetched after all. OK, get carried away. I like this move. Now my question to anyone out there....IS THIS NOW OFFICIAL????????:dunno::dunno::dunno::dunno::dunno:

Make that two of us RSRules. He's been a big pain in the ass with his constant butting heads with the coaching staff. Fine, he did help us win a WS in 2007 but after a real good 2008 turned into a real prima donna the last three seasons. Besides, I don't think he will be much good when he does come back so who can really care anyway?:rolleyes::rolleyes: