seabeachfred

If Dustin could be rated as the No. 1 fielding shortstop in College Baseball his last year of competition at Arizona State, he certainly can learn to play a good second base. Remember, he was switched there just two years ago. He's a fast learner and has succeeded every place he has played. He plays with fire and spirit and has those intangibles that all winning teams need. We don't need to get a retread or somebody else's reject to push him there. We have to remember every time Francona gets one of those guys he's tempted like an itch he can't scratch to play those bums. We've seen it in the past. That must not happen with Pedroia and it must not happen with Jacoby Ellsbury when he is ready to take over CF.

Jackson, in those first two games of the '04 WS there were numerous times that Tito really made some classy moves and LaRussa kept throwing boxcars and making strategic mistakes. That WS could have gone the other way if we had not won those first two games.

Jackson, the Red Sox might have already made the decision that Dustin Pedroia, their second baseman of the future, is going to be the future in 2007. The biggest mistake the team could make would be to sign a veteran 2Bman who Francona would be tempted to use in most situations. It would be another example of how the team misuses their farm system and ruins in prospects. The scout is right about Pedroia learning to hit the ball the other way, but he is a very intelligent and hard nosed player. He will make the adjustment in quicker time than many will realize. As mentioned he crushed Ray Halladay and he did the same to Randy Johnson, not to mention getting the winning hit against the Yankees in the first game of that Sunday DH in September. To me it is of paramount importance that Pedroia make it next year, which I think he will, and have CF ready for Jacoby Ellsbury in 2008. We have to start breaking in our young prospects to blend in with our vets and keep the team competing for years on end without having to always resort to the FA market or signing worthless veterans whose best days are long behind them.

That's just the point Kilo; Francona outmanaged three of the best in the business that October run and it just puzzles me why he cannot do that most of the time. His calls that 2004 miracle run were amazing and he completely befuddled Joe Torre in those last four games, not to mention how he outfoxed Tony LaRussa in the WS. You saw it; you had to see how good he was then. Maybe I'm just asking too much but I think that while we could a lot worse, as you say, we could certainly do better if Terry takes charge the way he did back then. Just my opinion. Thanks for the post.

I have always wondered why the Red Sox never hire a manager with a reputation as a big winner. They seem to go for retreads the like of which Francona, Little, J. Williams, Morgan, McNamara, etc, seem to fascinate them. The last really good skipper they had was Dick Williams but he got fired because he couldn't get along with Carl Yaz. Once of these days the team will realize that it all starts at the top, and that a real good manager can win an extra half-dozen games for a team during a season and that a mediocre one can lose even more.

Jackson, I love ya!!!! You're always good for a Don Rickles rejoinder. I have to hope that Francona has his head on straight because I see this guy more than you do and, believe me, some of the things he pulls could be good fodder for some alien side show. I guess you have similar feelings about Torre, but at least your guy has won four rings. Anyway, it is always tough tacos when you have to worry about your manager screwing up what the players have worked so hard to accomplish. Keep them coming my friend.

Bosox, remember the 2004 Playoffs? Sure you do, but do remember that Francona went up against three outstanding managers and out coached them all in the playoff run. I could never figure that one out seeing how he routinely screws up pitching changes and lineup juggling. Well hopefully next season we will see him at his best without any of his throwaway lineup that he's famous for early in the season. As for Pedroia I really believe he will be a 300 hitter after a couple of seasons in the Bigs. He has a lot of sting in his bat and many fans don't seem to realize that. Anyway, it will all come out in the wash.

I think we can all agree that the Yankees could field a much more potent lineup than we did last year. Loretta got a lot of hits but made an helluva lot of outs, too, and when Coco was in the leadoff role he simply sucked to high heaven. And who the hell did we have batting fifth? Not much production there either, and you can throw away Tek's performance because he was terrible even before he got hurt. Gonzales? About as pathetic an offensive machine as they come. This coming season we will have Lugo and Drew (I hope), a rejuvinated Coco and Tek (I hope even more), an experienced Youk and a stready Lowell with Pedroia coming on in surprising fashion. Then, gentlemen, we can really start to compare stats. There should be no excuses on our part unless we get stuck with a Pena-Hinske combo in RF and Coco and Tek just as s***** as they were last year. Then God help us all.

Papelbon, that really brought back some pretty scary memories of the summer of 2005, but what is amazing is that August, after Clement has taken that shot from Crawford, I saw Clement at Anaheim Stadium beating the Angels 3-1 and pitching 7/2/3 innings and got no decision when Timlin came in and gave up a two run single to Bengy Molina to tie the game. We won it in the 10th. So Clement may not have been that psyched as we might have thought because he pitched a helluva game that night.

I think it is about time we give the second base job to Dustin Pedroia and let him run with it. You know what? I think the kid is going to be just fine there. He has been a standout everyplace he's played---Arizona State, A, AA, and Pawtucket. He has nothing more to prove down there or on the bench. He can be a very solid player for us for a long time and I believe we have enough to concern us in the closer department and the Drew negotiations to keep us busy enough. Leave Dustin alone. He's our new second baseman and I think for a very long time.

Unless Murphy is traded before Spring Training or has a blow out pre-season down in Fort Myers, David has little future in Boston. When they brought him up last summer he over-achieved and did fine, especially against the Yankees, but was soon relegated back to the bench where he even was at the tail end of the season when he could have been getting some valuable experience in the lineup. For that reason I think the Sox have little interest in him and do not portray him as a regular on our team.

Sorry Soxfan but that crow will not fly. Floyd was with Boston once before and he stunk to high heaven, was booed unmercifully my the fans and left in a bitter state. We went through the recycle business with Seanez last season and I think we learned that return engagements hardly ever work. Besides, I hear the Cubs might sign him. As for Pena, again, no way. I don't know how to simplify this but he cannot play right field at Fenway. He also has trouble tracking fly balls. He is not an option unless we want to read about him costing us games with his shoddy fielding and his huge strikeout totals. We have to get the Drew thing settled. I suppose Huff would be a good option but I would still stick with getting JD signed.

But not paying Vinny can also mean defeatsville and no better example for a big market team playing that game is your Dodgers. Refusing to pay Garvey, Cey and Smith and letting them walk cost them at least two pennants. One went to Diego with Steve; the other was a AL East title for Cey's Cubs. In '88 after a miraculous season where they got every break in the books and won it all, they let sparkplug Steve Sax go because Claire didn't want to pay him. Got Randolph, then Samuel instead. How did that work out? Then they refused to ante up for Piazza and were in the toilet until '04 when they finally won something. So while teams who couldn't afford to pay didn't, some who could didn't either and when they finally did made wrong choices like that sour puss pitcher the team bidded against itself for. The key Vinny is to be willing to spend and spend wisely. The Yankees showed that spending by itself doesn't work and my Red Sox have made some pretty stupid moves themselves in refusing to resign Lowe, Carbrera and Damon.

Well all of us can agree to just disagree on this topic and lay it to rest. I'm not going to convince anyone that the DH is a great move to those who don't think so and no one is going to move the pro-DH camp either. You guys can keep harping on the pros and cons; I am moving on to other topics. Keep at it if you wish.

You know, as a man who managed baseball teams for close to 30 years I always tried to consider myself a purist and appreciated the finer points of the game---being able to take the exta base, giving yourself up to advance a runner, laying down a bunt, and then I read Red Sox Rules and knew a lot of this purist stuff has turned into a barrel of poo. Pitchers today cannot bunt worth a damn, and that goes for more position players and that makes the NL game less than it is cracked up to be. Then I see managers make these double switches and find themselves out of players except pitchers when the game goes into extra innings because they over managed during regulation time. No my friends, give me the DH, let the pitchers work for their outs and let the managers only manage when they have to. I'll now take the AL game over the NL any time.

Crunch, about 20 years ago they were saying the same thing about the American League and since 1950 the NL had really taken it to the AL because they got the early jump on the top notch Black players starting with Jackie Robinson. With the advent of some of the great Latin ballplayers the AL starting fielding in the Mid 80's this has changed the picture completely. Now it is the NL that plays like a pack of rummies. We have the Dodgers out here in So.Cal and while they are a decent team they would get hammered all to hell if they played in the AL East. Times have sure changed and for us the better.

Jackson, maybe Vinny should have explained to you that he doesn't see it that way since Dodger pitchers over the years have had this nerve-wracking proclivity to give up hits to opposing pitchers and that hasn't changed much over the years. On the other hand, Dodger pitchers have always been pretty good hitters for their position---Newcombe, Drysdale, Sutcliffe, Valenzuela, Hershiser, etc,. So on both ends I really can see some of Vinny's points, but I think it was the DH that eventually turned the leagues around and gave ours the edge.

He had zero errors because the score keeper was kind enough to give hits on balls that should have been caught by any decent outfielder, and if you hate being on this board because people have differing opinions on everything from soup to nuts, let me suggest to get on Uponthemonster. They only allow Red Sox fans on that board and seldom is heard a discouraging word. They think lockstep on everything and good or bad, the FO always knows best. Here my friend we have fans of different teams and we revel in speaking our mind. I have no gripe with you playing up Wily Mo Pena; in fact I encourage you to do so with my blessing and that of the other posters, but I expect the same treatment from you, especially since I have very little use or confidence in your WMP. Variety is what makes this board great and it would be dull as dull can be if we didn't have a few Jacksons to keep us on our toes and raise some hell along the way. :D :D

Coco has a puss arm and is ill suited to right field. We would be weakening two positions with that move. Coco can play a decent CF. The problem is Pena. I know many of you said my previous post was extreme, but I have seen Pena play the outfield in THREE games. One, he misplayed four balls and cost us the game, another he misjudged a fly ball off his glove for a homer in the Red Sox home opener, and the third cost the team two runs on a botched fly ball and almost cost us the game. Friends, the guy is terrible in either left field or right field and in a close game he would be frightening for us to have him playing out there.