seabeachfred

Maybe in your opinion Kimmi, but by the end of ST last year there were at least a half-dozen posters here who insisted that this guy was not going to hit and should be sent down----and when they finally threw in the towel and did send him down he didn't hit worth a damn at Pawtucket either.....204. Punch hit ticket out of town.

It seemed unrealistic we would ever get him and for that kind of money and years you have to give credit to the Sox for passing on him. Still, let no one be talked into drinking the Kool-Aid. We need that No. 1 pitcher if we want to get to the WS this year. Getting him wouldn't necessarily guarantee that we would get there but it would make our chances better. Not getting a No. 1 is a guarantee we'll never see the Fall Classic in 2015 in my opinion. Hope I hear something along these lines in the next few weeks.

Workman as a starter????? PLEASE!!!!!! Just jog your memory to last season Pal. He was a total bust at 1-10 as a starter and was usually meat after one trip through the lineup. He is a short inning reliever and little else. He might make a good seventh inning reliever for us but not as a starting pitcher.

There are times the Red Sox hold on for dear life to some of their prospects until they fold so badly they have no value left. Bradley cannot hit ML pitching and before he becomes totally useless except as a late inning replacement the team should try like hell to trade him as quickly as possible. If you take his short stay in 2013, his disastrous ST in 2014 and his futile season last year the composite is an average under 200, little power and little speed to steal bases. He is an offensive disaster. Time to punch his ticket out of town IMHO.

And Pedroia fits that bill. No one can say he puts himself before the team without looking silly. There's a difference between playing hard with a chip on your shoulder and playing with only your stats and personal baggage in mind. Cp, like you I did a lot of coaching as did Elktonnick and a few others on the board, and it is easy for us to see the difference between those two types of players. In fact, I would venture to guess that even if one did not coach a solid fan can tell the difference between a team player and one that counts only for himself. And the Red Sox cannot afford to g et stuck with any of the latter.

No doubt these Cuban ballplayers have a ton of talent but teams like the Red Sox had better make sure these guys can function as team players or we could have a fractured clubhouse. If the emphasis is on self and not team trouble can erupt at any time. Puig of the Dodgers is a good example. I watched him on TV from time to time and read about him in the papers. Prick doesn't begin to describe this ********, and then there was Cespedes who soured everyone before he was traded. Check these guys out carefully.

You've exposed me NS. The Civil War and the Red Sox are my two most consuming passions. Oh hell, I just let the cat out of the bag.

I still remember vividly reading a chapter in a large unit on Reconstruction back in college so many decades ago, and that chapter was entitled "The Critical Year". The year was 1866, the year after the Civil War ended and the theme was obvious-----which way would the country turn? Would it be President Johnson's way or that of the Radical Republicans? I liken that to our Red Sox this coming season. I think all of us will get a very clear picture of which way this team is going when the 2015 season is over. We spent big money to recharge an offense that was starving last season, we have some players hopefully who will contribute after overcoming a lot of injuries last year, and we have sort of retooled our starting rotation, though many of still think the job is not quite complete. The whole division right now is ours for the taking if we can play solidly this season and not have the reverses or pratfalls we suffered in 2014. By October I think those questions will be answered and I'm keeping the good thoughts coming that we're smiling about that time.

CP, I really hope it is us. Then we could use some of the outfield surplus and a prospect or two to get us a couple of knock down relievers. I know we have a large contingent of them already but some are very questionable and a good bullpen with the rotation we have would help us immeasurably I think.

Crawford is a total *******, a moaner and complainer who should try and put his miserable time in Boston behind him as all Red Sox fans have since the guy was a total turd in his time here. The guy is injury prone and it he didn't have that bloated untradeable contract Kemp most likely would still be with the Dodgers. Crawford's signing ruined any chances of the Sox holding onto Ellsbury and in muy opinion Carl isn't worth a worn out scab on Jacoby's ass.

Drew was destined to come back to the Red Sox from the first day of FA in the fall of 2013. I said so from the start and knew that Farrell had a hard on for the guy. The signing in May was a panic choke job by Cherington and not only was it a total mistake, Drew was a total flop for the team----and so was he with the Yankees. Scherzer is a top quality starting pitcher, an ace, and to me some team is going to strike it rich in getting him. To me, he can be the difference maker for the Red Sox if the team would be willing to put up the cash. I see that we seem to be back in the Hamels soap opera again, and here I think Cherington is handling it just fine. Amaro isn't getting Betts or Swihart according to Ben and I hope he sticks by those guns of his. There are other prospects that Amaro should be willing to take for Hamels and if not from us, let him try elsewhere. He won't do any better.

He hasn't changed much in LA either Spud, but he did his 300 for the Dodgers last season. However, it was as unproductive 300 as could be imagined.

I also thought Epstein was out of sorts his last year or so with the Red Sox. I also believe, though this is only my opinion, that he wasn't all that gung ho about signing Gonzales and Crawford. In a Chicago Tribune story I read the weekend I was there watching the Cubs and Red Sox go at it, Theo lamented that he wanted to build a new and great Red Sox team around our best prospects. He mentioned Rizzo, Pedroia, Middlebrooks and that guy we traded to the Tigers (sorry senior moment and forgot his name) as the building block to our next great infield. In Francona's book, Terry pretty much backed up what Theo said when meddler Werner complained that the team needed "sexy" ballplayers in o rder to drive up the TV ratings. I don't know what was so sexy about Gonzales and Crawford but that off season Theo signed one and traded for the other. I think what Epstein is doing in Chi Town is what he wanted to do in Boston all along, though, again, that is only my opinion.

I think it is worth taking a flyer out on him Dupree. Personally, I believe we need to try and build a knock out bullpen, talented and as deep as we can make it since our starting rotation has a lot of question marks and no clear ace. Now I'm hearing rumors that we are once again in on the James Shields derby.

Kimmi, do you still post on those two other boards?

As critical as I can be to those front office whizzes, I'm convinced the brass is going all out to win this season. They are as embarrassed about 2014 as the rest of us here are, and maybe more so since it is personal with them since they run the team. The only caveat is, here we go again, is if they are willing to go over the threshold and get us that one pitcher who could make the difference for us this season. As I told others before you got on the board Kimmi, my biggest thrill as a baseball fan for 67 years was that sixth game of the 2013 ALCS when we won the pennant on Shane's granny. I never felt so high in my life either as a player, coach or fan. I would love to experience something like that again...and maybe again and again.

Ted, I'm your good friend. You know I'm not a scared rabbit. I was also a history major.

Pal, I met Theo at a snack bar at Edison Field in ST, 2007. He was open and friendly and we exchanged greetings. He seemed like a nice guy, and I met Lucchino near the Coke bottle seats on a Red Sox Destination series back in 2008. He was also cordial and friendly. That may seem strange coming from me since I have lampooned both of them at times, but truth be told, they seemed like ok guys to me. Some of the things they did??? Maybe not so much.

Thank you mvp. I know Kimmi from other boards. We had some differences because she was more supportive of the ownership than I was, but she was a good poster and we got along well. In fact, she helped me to get my avatar on two boards. She's a good fan and a very nice lady. We will have no problems. Emmz? I thought for the most part we got along ok. In fact, I enjoyed her posts and after a little conflict or two we also got along. As for VA......that would take a term paper to explain. I also hope whatever differences we may have had will go by the boards because I know you're a great fan who wants this board to be state of the art. We'll all try to make it so.

First a dig masqueraded as a joke ;)then the personal insult and now a promise to ignore my posts. Your friend is one sad and sorry ******** artist. He should put me on ignore, then he wouldn't have to read anything I write and because he refuses to do it I think he wants this pissing contest to go on. He called me a dick and prick and you now hint I should let it go. s*** on that. He makes one more nasty reference to me and they'll be a war on the board. You tell your pal that. He better put me on ignore and keep his damn mouth shut where I'm concerned........For his and your information.

Well hooray for you Larry, but you think he could have helped the cause by offering Lester a contract extension offer that was little better than coolie wages in today's baseball market? Someone remind Lucchino that talk is cheap and if you stop making blunders like that we just might be able to do it every year, contend, that is.

You're right vj, but keep your eyes peeled for Mookie Betts, Blake Swihart and Henry Owens. I think we'll be very pleased with those three unless Cherington has a brain cramp and trades them. But you're right. None of the recent suspects have been worth a damn. Many of us believed Bradley might be but after what I saw of him in ST last March I became convinced that this guy was never going to hit. I was deeply disappointed in Middlebrooks because I was high on him and hate to be so wrong on someone, but I was. As for Bogey, most of you are still high on him. He could go either way in my opinion. However, we bulked up offensively with two hammers this winter and three decent pitchers. If we can get that ace we should contend for the AL East Title. Last to first to last to first.....I kind of like the ring to it.

Well Epstein has fled to Chicago and his influence should no longer concern us unless we meet his team in the World Series---say like 2018. What a hoot that would be, the 100th Anniversary of our last encounter with the Cubbies. Unless under dire circumstances we should not be having any bridge years. The Red Sox are a wealthy and big time organization and should contend for a playoff berth EVERY DAMN YEAR---and this year is no exception. We don't have to win every year (ok mvp?) and we won't, but we should contend every season and that includes 2015.

Read my other post mvp......the shitstorm will not develop if those things I mentioned are done. I know he's a good friend of yours as 700 is a good friend of mine. I would like nothing better than to talk Red Sox baseball and have the game threads be one of unity of purpose and personal satisfaction this coming season. So let's see it happen.

You will never have to if you get your comrade in arms to keep his damn mouth shut where I'm concerned and not respond to my posts with some of his asinine retorts. I'm supposed to be on his ignore list but apparently not. He's on mine and I should be on his. I will not respond to him if he does not respond to me because we agree on nothing.