seabeachfred

We were both there and know it very well Bellhorn. That split was necessary because the gulf was too wide to overcome. The two sides agreed on nothing. When one group formed their board and the other group stayed and later went to the Bosox Board site, things stabilized and both sites are now well run boards with definite differing philosophies. This board is much larger and the opinions are not two sided. They run the gamut and sometimes so called "allies" are disagreeing with one another and sometimes "antagonists" are on the same page. I have no gripe to anyone who attacks the front office or some of the players, that should be a given. I do have a very big gripe when someone says you can't to that and winds up attacking you. Let's hope we all respect one another this time around in 2015. All I want is a good Red Sox team that makes a good run into the post season and as a Bosox fan none of us should demand anything less.

That's what it is Prune Face.....a crapshoot. However, a poster has the right to express his opinion in a free exchange and not be attacked for doing it. That does happen here more than it should, and I'm the sort who will not turn the other cheek when I think I'm attacked unfairly. There are those who think the FUO is doing fine, others think they have dropped the ball with two last place finishes surrounding a WS Title. Say why you disagree with a poster instead of attacking him or getting snarky. I have repeatedly said we need a No. 1 pitcher and some have said they disagree and why.....and that's fine. When it becomes an attack and snarky retort then we get mad at one another. OK, let's see what the front office does and let's see if we can all express ourselves without the thought police telling us what we ought to think.

Good God mvp, do you always have to be so snarky? I simply told you that User was not the person I was talking about, and for the record 700 Hitter knew exactly who I was referring to---and how the hell can you call what I wrote a rant? It was simply a response to a friendly poster to beware. Could it be that you're having a bad day? Please, don't force me to put you on ignore because there are times we have good baseball exchanges. You missive was totally uncalled for.

That's the market Spud and good pitching costs money, big money, and it really pisses me off when the Red Sox front office cries poverty under the phony guise that they can't or won't match the going rate. Henry is a billionaire and to me it is utterly insane that he spends mucho dollars on two solid hitters and then decides he going to depend on a pack of stiffs for his rotation. I mean look at the five......not an ace among them. Maybe Porcello will emerge and then we will have to sweat out whether Prune Face wants to pay him next fall when he becomes a free agent. Buchholz????? Anyone really think we can depend on this guy? Masterson? Better for the pen. Maybe Kelly if he finally steps up and shows his talents. Miley is a 500 pitcher and we need something a little more effective than that. No argument that Scherzer's contract was ridiculous but we haven't made a real move on that pitcher we need to head our staff, rumors about Zimmermann to the contrary. I'm just saying we're taking a big chance trying to make with our current starting rotation if that is Henry's master plan.

Ha!!!!! Got you there. This time I got you. No, I was not talking about him. I was talking about someone else, and I did that knowing someone would call me out on it. Who was I talking about? Not telling but I'll give you a hint. That person doesn't post here much at all anymore and has hated my guts from time immemorial. UN dislikes me but he doesn't hate me, nor I him. But take my word for it, the person I was referring to despises me totally.

Sounds to me like MJ is likening that as a hopeful reprieve from the governor. That reprieve may not come again and the team will still face the firing squad. Fact is, we should not be through dealing or paying for pitching. We all know we need that No. 1 guy, and frankly we could use two good pitchers, not one. Yes, we could win the AL East with what he have but we could finish third or fourth as well, and I'm not enamored with guys like Barnes and others from the minors stepping in there if an emergency develops. We need another solid pitcher at least and that should be agreed to by just about everyone.

If Cherington really believes that the rotation is fine and solid going forward he is drinking his own Kool-Aid my friend, but there may be another angle. What if he has been given the word by Prune Face that they're through spending for the off season and he has to make due with what he's got. What could be do? Rail and maybe lose his job. Not saying that's what going down but Henry's reluctance to spend big on a top quality pitcher makes me a little suspicious of what he has up his sleeve....if anything. All we can do Iortiz is wait this thing out and see if something is coming down the road besides a twenty ton truck coming right on us.

That's the fear.....that Henry will not put out the money for pitching. The price will be determined by the market, something that Henry and Lucchino still don't seem to understand.

I just wonder if they wanted to get finished with Boras as soon as they could and not have to worry about him two years from now when Strasburg FA comes up. Besides, with that rotation now they have a good chance of making it to the WS and I hope they do just that. I don't want to see the Giants back in it this season and I sure as hell don't want to see you know who in there either.

I think a few prayers and novenas might help too Ted. We certainly need some good vibes from Dame Fortune. That No. 1 pitching phantom would look real good right now.

You're right on that mvp. I think we could compete with that rotation for a possible AL East Title but I'm afraid it would shaky sailing from that point on unless we could get that No. 1. Good health and luck and a comeback by Buchholz (with fingers tightly crossed) and a banner year from Porcello and Kelly and we could do that. As you said, though, most of us would like to get that pitcher now.

Also beware of the know-it-alls who when wrong either refuse to fess up to it or disappear in hopes people forget their blunders. We have all types here but y ou should get along with pretty much everyone.

Kimmi, you and I traded barbs back on Sawxheads but I never found you to be nasty or vindictive. So don't go there. You're a good poster and a terrific teacher tutoring some lunkhead how to get an avatar next to his name.

You know, I think I and others here would be better served if we could just shitcan 2014 and stop droning on and on about it because it seems to make us all angry and unhappy. I would like to think the cobwebs have been breached and it is now pretty full speed ahead to a recovering 2015, and this ought to shake the hell out of you and others. Know what I would be satisfied with this season? The AL East Division Title. I could live with that because it would certainly be a big step up from 2014. Of course, getting into the WS would be better but I think we would need to improve our starting rotation to do that and perhaps the front office is working on that right now while finding a way to tell all teams that Betts and Swihart are not part of any deal. That to much to ask for my friend?

IO--You might get a kick out of this. Everyone here knows I am a little worried about Hanley's attitude and some of the antics he demonstrates each season but it seems every time I think something negative about him something weird happens to me.....No s***!!!! Take for instance when I went off on the guy when I was eating lunch and heard his name mentioned on TV. I no sooner got the negative words out than my glasses dropped off my face and into the spaghetti. Another time I was cursing the thought of this guy gumming up the works and slipped and almost popped my knee. Last week I said something nasty about him and my cough really went haywire. Promise, I have to be a big fan of HR this year because the gods of fate have warned me I better. Soooooooo, I'm hoping he will hit around 310, with 28 homers and 96 RBI's and be able to play in around 135-140 games. GO HANLEY!!!!!!!!

Fortunately Ted, that only applies to a few of our colleagues at the moment. Some of the other pains in the asses have left the board and hopefully will find enjoyment elsewhere.

BSN and others have made a good point in that we could wait until the trade deadline to make a trade for pitching, but what if those pitchers are signed to extensions by their teams, or we are in deep s*** in the standings by August 1, or we can only rent a pitcher for two months? What does that do for us when Porcello and Masterson become FA after this season? You know if Porcello has a big year and wants big money Prune Face will not ante up for him anymore than he anted up for Lester, who was a much better pitcher. Sign Shields or trade for Hamels if the price is right. We need to build a staff that might stay together for more than one year. With Hamels and Shields we'd have two of them for four or five years.

If we get Strasburg we had better have him for at least three or four years because anything less means he's as good as gone. We have had a miserable record signing Boras' top FA clients. Better trade for Hamels or sign Shields. What confounds me is why Henry, a billionaire, is so damn cheap when it comes to getting top notch starting pitchers. And, yes, I think he owes it to the fans to make amends for his s***** handling of the Lester debacle---and debacle is really a kind way of saying it.

Prospects like Middlebrooks, Bradley and Bogaerts were either flops, busts or disappointments, and you're right, we don't know how young players will work out, but my opinion of Betts and Swihart are totally different from those o thers. I think they are the real thing and I don't want the Red Sox to trade them and they don't have to. We have a lot of other prospects that are rated higher than what o ther teams could offer for a Hamels or a Zimmermann. Or we can sign Shields and save the players and just spend the money, and maybe some day we will be able to start developing good young pitchers as other teams do. Something is wrong with our developmental department in that regard.

cp---everyone who knows me on this board knows I like offense but if you and others have read my posts the past two months it is pitching that I have emphasized, namely getting that No. 1 pitcher that I believe is necessary for a deep penetration in the 2015 post season. The money for Scherzer was ridiculous but that doesn't mean we should cease trying to get that pitcher we need. I just hope the team is still in the hunt for that guy because without him I don't think we have a snowball's chance in hell of getting to the WS this season, and isn't that what we all want?

He backtracked on Bradley circa 2013, and you missed nothing because it was a pile of crap. By the time the 2013 season started I was one of Victorino's biggest fans and it stayed that way and is still that way. Again you missed nothing.

And the results spoke for themselves. Look we have better outfielders now and we can bypass Bradley. If Castillo is all the Sox brass believe he is, and I'm pretty sure Mookie is, we don't need Bradley. My take is to try and trade him while he might still have some value and doesn't waste away until he has no value at all. Remember Lars Anderson? Remember Ryan Kalish? Sometimes it is better to cut bait while we might get something of value for him. Save a rash of injuries Jackie has no chance of making the team save for a fifth outfielder----and we don't have room for five OF on the team the last time I checked.

I had no gripe against Bradley before the 2013 season---it was the 2014 ST season that soured me on him. Repeat....Spring Training 2014. He was very bad that March and looked lost at the plate. As for 2013, I felt we might be able to carry Bradley if Gomes got his licks against LH pitchers, and as you observed I had come full circle on Victorino. In fact Bradley did impress me in ST 2013 even if before that I knew little about him save for the fact that he had hit pretty well in "A" and Double "A" ball.. Glad you got that cleared up.

Read the post I sent to Kimmi and you'll know fully well what I thought of Bradley before ST 2014 and after that ST. As far as my anti-Victorino madness, please stop the nonsense will you. My take on Shane was that when we signed him I thought it a big mistake considering how poorly he played in 2012 for the Phillies and Dodgers. It took me less than a week to see my mistake when the 2013 got underway because I became one of his biggest fans. At least be open minded and know the full picture before you go running off with your assertions.

I was talking about 2014, not 2013. I had no idea how good Bradley was at the beginning of that season. The truth is I did believe he would be able to hold the job when we lost Ellsbury to the Yankees but changed my mind radically when I saw how bad he looked in ST in 2014. He was utterly pathetic and it was then I soured on him. It is important to keep facts straight, something someone on this board has trouble doing visa via Victorino.