seabeachfred

No argument about a competent manager in 2003 ORS; that was never a bone of contention between the two of us. I might remind you that the Red Sox went off on a tear the second half of that 2003 season and had their best hitting team of last 20 years that season. We won a lot of games by simply outslugging the opponent. Where we differ is when you say we won 95 games with no bullpen as if that was a big freaking accomplishment. If so, what if we would have had a decent closer and bullpen early that year? How many more games could we have won even with a s***** manager? At least a dozen more from where I sit. "f***ing tired Chicken Little s***"???? Sorry, but I haven't a God damn idea what you mean by that. Whatever it is, though, I will desist when you desist with that damn badwagon jumping crap. See you down at Fort Myers in two weeks.

Just my opinion Teddy, but to get Cordero, it would take either Pena or Crisp, Delcarmen or Hansen, Bowden or Bard, and maybe someone else thrown in. A straight Pena for Cordero trade just won't cut it.

As much as l personally like Taverez from meeting him last year in Yankee Stadium, this guy cannot be our closer. Nice guy or not, he has a penchant for blowing sky high and while that is not bad if he is a spot starter with a five or six run lead (under optimum conditions), it is a disaster in the making with a one of two run spread. Today was so typical, and have you noticed that he also has this maddening habit of hitting batters? We saw it all last year. Keep JT as a middle reliever; this talk about his being our closer makes me want to puke. It should make all of you feel a little queasy in the gut.

I heard that same melody in 2003 Beck and it was a sour note all the way. Closer by Committee is a euphamism for failure by committee. We don't need to replay 2003 again.

Kilo, does Donnelly remind you of the dump you took this morning? I didn't think so. Benetiez does, and while I might not go that far I've seen enough of this guy to know he is not the one you want in there when the chips are down. He sucked when he pitched in the AL, sucked for the Mets much of the time, and he hasn't been a ball of fire with the Giants either. I would even take Taverez over him. Believe me, unless my eyes have failed me completely we ought to stay away from this guy like he has an STD.

One way or another Adam this Wily Mo controversy will come to a head. Coco Crisp had another Ofer today and is looking absolutely terrible this Spring, and while you cannot judge how a guy will play just by his play down in Florida, the fact is he didn't look too good when he came back last year. His knuckle might still be bothering him, though that would seen far fetched with all the time he has had to rehab it, or it could be that he is pressing knowing Jacoby Ellsbury is breathing down his neck and should have never been sent back down to the minor league camp the way he was playing. If Crisp does not come around Pena will get a shot at CF and then all of us can see for ourself if the guy has made the progress needed to be a decent Major League or is just another example of potential gone to waste.

Gentlemen, have you seen Benetiz pitch of late? The guy is a royal choker, absolutely stunk when healthy enough to throw the past two seasons. He would be worse than Taverez if that's possible. All this talk about this guy tells me that Theo now has decided to try and win on the cheap. Look, they have spent wads of money on talent this off season; do they want to just piss it away because we haven't a guy in our stable capable of getting three outs in the ninth inning? Anyone reminded of 2003?

Donnelly isn't s*** Jack; the guy has proven over the years he can handle pressure very well and pitch effectively in tight situations. He would be a helluva lot better choice than Taverez, though I do find your statement having a strong element of truth to it. We have some guys who ought to be looking for job stealing hubcaps instead of working in the Red Sox bullpen. Maybe 700 is right; maybe Francona is scaring the FO with his threat to use Taverez as closer so they will trade for one. Only problem with that is that Tito isn't astute enough to think along those terms.

Romero was a malcontent his last year in Minnesota and they were glad to get rid of him. Last year he was a disappointment with the Angels and Scioscia lost confidence in him. That's two bad years in a row for a player that has had attitude problems in his career. I'm not all that confident having a guy like that in there when the game is on the line. It is one thing to be a discontent in the Twin Cities but it has been rare when this has happened in Anaheim. To be honest I am very leery of Romero. I hope he can come through for us and get his career back on line but I'm not counting on it. Besides, I'm not enamored with someone who has more than his share of troubles with the Yankees. That's the team we have to beat.

Crunch and Ted, I think I'm going to be sick if I hear anymore crap about Taverez being our closer. Bad enough Francona has been less than stellar in some of his moves from the dugout, but now he is sounding a little incoherent with some of his mutterings. There is no way he can be serious about making Taverez his closer and for that reason alone Theo should be running to the phones and try to finally trade for a closer. Short of that, he ought to give FrancoMa the word that Donnelly or someone else closes. Anyone but Taverez.

Taverez could be a decent starter in a pinch; he proved that last year. He can he a decent middle relief pitcher if he has his head together. But he can never be the closer. Francona has said some stupid things and done some even dumber things but he cannot be serious about this. Please, someone tell me he was kidding.

Kilo, how the hell did Adam Dunn get into this discussion? Am I missing sometihing here? Are we talking to the Reds about this guy? Hard to believe that is so. This man is capable of hitting 50 homers. Is there trade talks going on? I knew we might be after Helton but Dunn I heard nothing about since the 2005 off season when his name was being mentioned in possible trades to the Red Sox.:dunno: :dunno: :dunno: :dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

What is it with you my friend? You don't think Pedroia is worth a s*** and you want to trade Youk? My God, the guy is ready to have some real top notch years for us. Stop underrating the guy. We keep Youk and trade Lowell if we can make the Helton trade. We only have to add a prospect or two, one of our relief pitchers and an outfielder and we can get it done......if the Rockies are still interested.

If the fans give J.D. a chance they will be very pleasantly surprised. I really kind of pissed that so many people here and other other boards believed the ******** the Dodger fans were dispensing. The guy can play baseball and I think he is going to have some real good years for us, and the thing we can all do is if some Braves, Cards or Dodger fan comes on here bagging on Drew we tell all of them to f*** off. You don't think the Cards would like Drew in CF now that Edmonds won't ready by Opening Day? You think the Dodgers would rather have Luis Gonzales out there instead of J.D? You don't think the Braves could use the guy in their starting outfield? Sorry my fellow Red Sox fans but anyone who thinks differently is full of s***.

BoNat, that's what got me about Father Don. He wasn't kidding when he went by and told me "the Red Sox are a bunch of bums". His absolutely exact words. I know he's a rabid Dodger fan, but to do that at the end of a Mass as he's walking out of the church to greet the parishioners? Sorry, but I'm still a little chaped about that and I will say something to him (respectfully since he is a priest) next time I see him. Passing judgment? I can see anyone having the right to spout off because as everyone knows I do it all the time. I just think the time and place was not appropriate. Besides, if anybody played like a bunch of bums the last 18 years it certainly would be more like his team than ours.

Hey guys, this is for all of you (and you, too VA Fan). I can hardly believe it happenend. I am standing waiting for Mass to begin this morning when my parish priest walks by me and says something like Dodgers have class, or something like that. It happened so fast I didn't really hear what he said. I thought he was kidding me because he knows what a rabid Red Sox fan I am. However, at the end of the Mass, after he tells the congregation to "go and serve The Lord", he stops for a second by my pew and tells the "The Red Sox are a bunch of bums." He wasn't smiling at all; he looked angry. When those words sunk in I got angry, too, and considered confronting him but thought better of it. I don't like the thought of arguing with man of God. However, the more I've thought of it the more ticked off I've become and my wife said I should go and confront him as soon as possible, seeing how mad this has made me. I could only surmise that he came out with this intemperate remark because of what happened yesterday, which to me was a pile of crap. Beckett hit two batters with a breaking ball, and it was the Tigers who played target practice with J.D. Drew. Just would like some opinions on this. Do I respect his position as priest and just forget it, or do what my emotions are telling me to and go and let him know that I didn't take kindly to his remarks. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Riverside, even though Beckett and Dice-K have had rough outings back to back I am not concerned about our rotation at all; it is the bullpen that still concerns me. There has been some improvement down there and, yes, it is still early in the running, but in my opinion I think it would be wise for the brain trust to start whittling down the large amount of suspects trying to win that closer's job. If we could get it down to three or four we might actually be able to settle on one person a lot sooner. I would like this settled before Opening Day.:dunno: :dunno: :dunno:

Tough talk Dana, and that's fine with me. However, you might interject how you think we can resolve our closer problem. It is one thing to call Timlin a thick headed polock who pays for his stubborness, but that doesn't solve our problem. I got called out by my friend ORS the other day for being in panic mode already but I think one way to alleviate my concern is to start eliminating the plethora of suspects we have vieing for the spot and get it down to three or four so we can get a good feel for who might be the best of the mediocre bunch. That is, if Theo is set on not pursuing a trade.

Beckett had an off day, but I like the fact that he was willing to pitch inside. Batters will understand that they cannot dig in against him if he continues to pitch that way. I still expect Josh to have a great season for us this year. Ironic, isn't it? Today our bullpen really stepped up.