seabeachfred

Let me fall in line behind you on that BEL. If I had a Christmas wish asked of me around March or April I would have said a Red Sox World Series Title, and I would have been happy with that, even though at that time it looked it would be a pipe dream. At any rate my wife always gets me Red Sox stuff for Christmas. I actually hope someday some of my friends here tell me they're going to visit So. Cal do I can invite them to my house and show them my Red Sox room. It's my pride and joy. And BTW----Remember when the Sox ended that 86 year old curse that night in St. Louis back in '04? That was my 64th Birthday present.

You know though, Kalish had done a pretty good job when he was forced into the lineup in 2010 with all the injuries crippling the Red Sox. He hit and fielded well, a hell of a lot better than Cameron who stunk and JD Drew who the front office chose over Ryan because of that $15 million salary. So as Kalish goes down to Pawtucket for "some of Lucchino's damn more seasoning", Drew in Boston sucks and then gets hurt again and is pretty useless to the Red Sox that season. Money trumped talent and common sense. Ryan goes down to Pawtucket and gets hurt and never seems to get healthy. Sure, he could have gotten an injury in Boston, but maybe he wouldn't have. He never should have been sent down in the first place.

Does that surprise you BEL? That's the way they do it in New York....you leave there for someplace else and they destroy you. However, we've been guilty of the same thing here too with that bastard Lucchino always willing to verbally blast a player who goes elsewhere. Where Cano is standing on very shaky ground is when he comes out with this respect ********. He didn't get his money from the Yankees so he accuses them of lack of respect for him. That bogus and we all know it. Of course, if you remember after our dramatic 2004 WS Title we heard the same s*** from Pedro Martinez before he fled to the Mets and a four year contract that we refused to give him because we felt three was enough. Pedro lasted one and a half seasons there before his arm and elbow gave out. Now Pedey is back with us but I don't think he now thinks we disrespected him or he would never have returned to the fold in whatever capacity he now is in for the Red Sox.

I'll give this one to Jacko. McCann and Ells should be able to his more than 20 homers playing in that launching pad of a ballpark. I've never read anything about wind currents in that place but the ball flies out of there much more frequently than it did in the old YS---yet the new park is, what, two blocks away? I think even Beltran might have a big first year there so they are ok power wise. But they have some deep holes and the division is very tough....as usual. Then, again, it will be tough for us as well.

Come on Pal, you know as well as the rest of us around here that the Yankees could give two turd balls for the future.....they are in the here and now and if it means more raids on FA next year, so be it. If I was a high school graduate or college player who are eligible for the draft I would never sign with the Yankees if I had that choice. They will drown in the farm system until with God's grace they will get drafted out of the yankee organization through the Rule 5 Law.

Mark--with the Yanks it seems to always be the same song with them. They feign non-interest and say so verbally and in writing and t hen what happens They come in and steal Johnny Damon right under our eyes, claim they will not be blackmailed with A-Rod worming his way out of a contract, then brown out and extend him a choking multi-year contract. No interest in Teixiera.....until at the very end when they sneak in and grab in. They even hinted that Ellsbury wasn't on their radar and then BOOM!!!!! It strikes me as strange some Red Sox fans believe the crap the Yankees dispense. Now they say they have no interest in Drew, and this is one time I hope they are bullshitting us.

Thanks Dr. mvp. I knew I could count on you to keep me on the straight and narrow. Still, I really like the idea of having two young and potential 30 homer an RBI men on the left side of our infield for the next ten or so years. Yes, Napoli had me walking the floor at night and glad that turned around just fine. I think we are fine just the way we are and are good to go with an addition of a utility infielder who bats left and a reserve outfielder who can CF and hit right handed. No reason this team can make it to the Playoffs next season with this ensemble. Just a little fine tuning.:D

And that's what Ben should do. The guy has done a magnificent job the last year but I keep getting the feeling that he wants to make some "real" moves. "Real" moves like signing Drew and trading Middlebrooks is a move in the wrong direction. As I suggested yesterday, Ben should leave well enough alone.

The Yankees say they have absolutely NO interest in Stephen Drew, and you know what that means. Two things. One, they're full of s***, and, two, they will most likely sign him. Never believe anything those *******s say; they are as phony as a three dollar bill.

Sorry to hear that guys. It does seem that Cherington does not want to leave well enough alone. I would much rather have WMB than Drew and I would bet other teams would too. Because it would cost a team a first round draft choice if they signed Drew teams are running to the hills from him. A first rounder is no guarantee that person is going to make it to the Bigs and yet there is no market for Drew. In other words no other team wants him for that price so he comes crawling back to the Red Sox for what, a one year parachute offer, or do they seriously intend to sign him up long term? I have no choice in the matter and will have to root for Stephen if he is signed but I think this trade stinks. Nicolino, from what I've heard, is a combination of Morales of the present and Delcarmen of the past and for possibly trading Will I think we should be able to do a helluva lot better than the likes of him.

Well said my friend, and I couldn't agree with you more. Farrell seems to have as big a wet dream for Drew as Francona had for Varitek even when Jason was falling apart at the seems after May or June of his last four years with the team. Waiting on Drew is totally ridiculous because it is a block job for either Bogey or WMB, and woe if either should go into a slump and be replaced. You'd have a revolving door on the left side of the infield all season and everyone would suffer and most likely have ruffled feathers. Let Drew and his Yankee fan agent get whatever they can get elsewhere. All this talk about WMB's deficiencies. Well we saw some of Drew's deficiencies in the Playoffs---sensational fielder but a vacant bat, and we all know he has miserable splits against LH pitchers and he's no threat to hit 25-30 homers as X and WMB are. Let Drew go and stop dreaming about Matt Kemp. We need to get ready for 2014 and not have a bunch of loose ends crippling us. We are ready to go as soon as we get a UTILITY infielder who will not block X and WMB and a RH outfielder to can serve as a backup to JBJ.

I would think Theo is in good shape with his bosses for the next two seasons but year No. 5 must see some real progress in the "W" column or IMO there good be some very anxious and dissatisfied people in Chi Town. No one with an ounce of fairness in them could hold him accountable for these first two seasons at the helm. The Cubs had a lot of bloated contracts and a bunch of journeymen and mediocrities in their lineup. Most of those are gone and there are four or five real standouts getting close to making it to Wrigley Field. 2016 is the year Epstein has to put up or start packing.

I was referring to Red So Fan For Life but you can take a bow if you want to Sean because your posts have been pretty damn good with some terrific insights that gave me pause to think of some alternatives to those ideas I've had about getting the team up to speed for next season.

Pin---I like your three team trade idea. That could work in a trade with the Guardians, but there is something I don't get. Why are the Guardians dispensing with all their starting pitchers? They came close to going to the Playoffs this season. Now Jiminez is a free agent, Kazmir signed with some other team and now they are discussing trading Masterson? Are they deciding to rebuild now? If so, it looks like Francona might have picked the wrong team to sign in with because if they go that route you're looking at three to five years of wandering in the wilderness regions of the American League. As for Gardner, he is their best trading chip and if they were afraid of Ellsbury turning up lame maybe they might have said no to him and signed Cano instead. You think?

This is what I don't understand VA. It is one thing to get upset when I bring up those days when I rooted against the Sox. All well and good and point taken. It bothers you. But for the life of me I cannot understand how bringing my childhood memories into the act could bother you at all. I did have a childhood and an exciting one where I saw some great baseball and some great baseball players. Ted and I bring that up now and then and that should NOT bother you and certainly not make you ill. You don't have to relate it but understand that some of us are older than you and we bring a whole warehouse of memories into the picture, and those memories are stirring and worth remembering and even sharing. I would suspect that if you picked up a good book about baseball in the Postwar Period into the 50's and early 60's you might find them very entertaining. Now something that you might find interesting. Do you know if the Red Sox has won just THREE more games during the immediate PW (WWII) period they could have had a mini dynasty and no talk about any jinx and curse.......1--7th Game of the 1946 WS..2--Sudden Death one game playoff with Cleveland for the 1948 AL Pennant.....3.....One win in a two game series vs the Yankees at the end of the '49 season. Those wins give the Red Sox at least one WS Title and maybe two or three. Last team to hit 300 as a team? The 1950 Red Sox (302). The only reserve ever to win an AL Batting Title? Bill Goodman, Red Sox 1950 (354) Now doesn't that interest you just a tad?

Well they say life begins at 40 so I think your ok on that score. I am not a big fan of Hart. I don't have the facts handy but he always seemed to fade late in the season and when games were crucial. Besides, he hasn't played in a full year. OTOH, you know by now that I am a very big fan of Mike Napoli, save for those strikeouts, and he just seems to be made for Boston. Besides we're getting a couple of first round picks as it is, maybe an extra one too if Drew signs elsewhere.

Well you can guess I have a blind spot where Napoli is concerned. To me a perfect type of Red Sox player, but I'll give you this spades Win. I sure as hell hope he can cut down the strikeouts next season because a K does nothing for the team offensively. It is a useless out. As for the fans, I live on the West Coast and I can tell you from experience that those fans are much more tolerant and forgiving than fans in Boston and New York and Philadelphia. You only have to look at Carl Crawford to get Exhibit "A" on that. He loves LA and the LA fans because he said they were so fair and tolerant. He said the opposite of Boston rooters. If you screw up constantly in Boston the fans are going to let you have it hot and heavy over and over. You either produce or you better have thick skin. Then again, IMO there are no fans like ours anyway.

Well Mark, he's pitching in a pitcher's park and he has thrown effectively recently even with his age and weight. The Mets lost a good pitcher when Matt Harvey went down and good pitching on their part gives them any kind of a chance to vie for a WC berth next season. Their division has some good teams in it and with Atlanta and Washington to contend with they need all the help they can get. Hell, even the Phillies could pose a problem in that division.

That's why you DON'T sign Drew. His best years are past; WMB's are in the future and most likely the immediate future. Drew is a standout defensive player but he cannot hit left handed pitching and his strikeout totals have gone through the roof the past two seasons. Middlebrooks has 30 home run power and those players don't grow on trees. Besides, Will has grown up in the Red So organization and has shown some real flashes of talent. We ought to see this through. Drew is a mercenary, his refusal to take the QO is proof positive of that. Of course, that was his right and privilege to do so, but now that the well has dried up for his talents he may want back in. To me we need WMB and Bogey on the left side of our infield for the next ten years. Don't feel sorry for Drew. Sooner or later Boras will sweet talk some team into dumping a wad of money on him, maybe Boras' favorite team, the Yankees.

Ted, when lying in bed last night it came to me....how to put someone on ignore. Imagine that? Done!!!!!!!!!

Well you could skip reading it, but I will concede that it could get nerve wracking. I will try to cool that part of my written rhetoric. Besides you did say please and I want to cooperate on that score. Besides, the very thought that there could be any o ther team I loved like the Red Sox would be too hateful to contemplate.

Thank you young sir.....And that last sentence of yours speaks volumes about the wisdom you have at your youthful age. Wish I had that when I was around 20, or sometimes even now when I go off the handle when I'm attacked. So true, though....we are all Red Sox fans and love our team.

Let me assume that dig was for me Win. The fact is Napoli is a good run producer, drove in 92 runs this past season, hit 23 homers, played solid defense at first base and hit the s*** out of the ball against the Yankees. I would ask who you would have wanted to play first base if we hadn't resigned him? Also, don't minimize the part of being able to play in Boston. If you think back only a couple of years we had incontrovertible proof that some highly recommended players we got couldn't handle and didn't like dealing with the pressure that comes from Boston. Also, I think it is possible that Nap could cut down on his strikeouts next season and hit a few more dingers and drive in 100 runs.

Guittierez would seem the best choice at the moment. He hits right handed, is a good CF, can play the other two OF spots and has had experience as a regular with the Mariners and before than with the Guardians. The fact that he originally came from the dodger organization shouldn't count against him.

Fine with me RSNC, just as long as it isn't our team and our prospects.