a700hitter

I forgot to mention Dempster so I edited my post.

Now, that Bobby V is gone, youk doesn't have any axe to grind with us. If Bobby V had still been here, Youk would have been on a mission to beat us. I still think he will have a very good year. Youk likes to take the ball the other way, but he didn't have enough power in Fenway to be dangerous with the HR ball to RF. Yankee Stadium's RF porch will play right into his sweet spot. He'll lose doubles, but I peg him for 25-30 bombs.

I'm fine. Thanks for asking.

It is natural to start to get more optimistic as the season approaches. We want the season to be fun and interesting and we are starting to grasp the reality that this is all we have. Our staff is like the ugly girl in the bar at closing time. We never would have thought about leaving with her at the beginning of the night, but now she is our only choice so we embrace her. At some point we will wake up and want to hurl, and our friends (I.e., Yankee fans) will point out that we were desperate fools. If you don't believe me, read the posts on here about Dempster and Lackey in the early part of the off season. Now, we are counting on these clowns.

This kid must be a real brain surgeon. An in-law of mine had a brother that killed himself cleaning a gun.

And we will see how it works out for the Sox and the teams that signed these pitchers. Some will be busts and some might be very helpful.

Jackass. I gave him a detailed answer before you posted this.

I would have built the pitching first. I would have picked up at least one more solid 30+ start middle of the rotation pitcher. Once I had done that, I would have made the bullpen moves that they made. Only then would I have filled out the roster with Napoli, Ross, Gomes and Drew. We need Victorino for when Ellsbury is gone, so I would have made that move regardless of the others. If I couldn't improve the pitching to the point where I was confident that it would be competitive, I would not have wasted the time and money on the other stuff. I could finish last without them, and at least, I would learn what I had with certain prospects. Yes, I will not deny that it would break my heart to go that route, but finishing last is going to break my heart even more knowing that they wasted money as well as an opportunity for the prospects. I think that there is a very good chance that we finish last, and the guys that they have brought in are not very interesting or exciting, so what was the point? Edit: When I say that I would pick up at least 1 more solid starter, that would be in addition to Dempster. I would have tried to avoid getting Dempster and opted for someone else. Ideally, I'd have picked up 2 pitchers not named Dempster. If Dempster was the second one, I'd live with that.

I love Pedro. It was such a thrill to see him play. I had a discussion the other day about theHOF and ARod in light of these latest PED diclosures. The guy that I was talking to feels that ARod, Bonds, Clemens, Palmiero and McGwire will never make it to the Hall. I raised questions about other guys who were suspected but who never flunked tests like Sosa and Bagwell among others. He didn't think they would go in either. I question where do you draw the line? Is suspicion the guidepost? I don't think it should be. Some guys who have never been suspected might also have been juicers. What about Biggio? He was never the target for much suspicion, but who knows... maybe he did ... maybe he didn't. We can't be sure. Either they all go in with some caveat where it is noted that they played during an era where steroid use was prevalent, or they are all kept out. When I say everyone, I mean everyone who played the majority of their career during the steroid era. This would be quite draconian, but the drug use during that era badly damaged the reputation and integrity of the game and its history. It was permitted with the tacit approval of the team owners, managers, coaches, medical staffs, the press and media and the Commissioner. None of them (owners, players, managers or the Commish) should gain admission to the Hall, beause they soldout the game for record profits. They got their money, but they sacrificed their good names in the process.

My sentiments exactly. What they have built looks very much like a 4th place or last place team, and that's where most of the experts are picking them to finish. What was the point of giving Dempster 2 years and $26 million, Gomes a 2 year contract, offering Napoli three years (since scaled back to 1 year), and Drew $9 million for 1 season? Also, what was the point of the Hanrahan deal, because we will only have him for one year? I can understand the Victorino 3 year contract, because it is becoming clear that they will not pursue keeping Ellsbury, and Victorino will be the CFer in his final 2 contract years. The other deals I don't get. They spent all this money on a team that will finish fourth, at best. There was no need to get Drew. They could have finished last with Iglesias and finally determined if he is a major league ballplayer and saved $8.5 million. We could have seen if Sands could put up 25 HRs in the majors and if he did, he be a nice find or more valuable trade bait. They got Ross and kept Salty and all but ensured that Lavarnway will rot for another season at AAA. What is thepoint of that if it ends in a 4th place or last place finish? Mauro Gomez could have shared first base with someone cheap like Loney and maybe developed some trade value if he could hit at least as well as Carlos Quintana. The way I see it is that $170 million goes down a black hole for 2013 and we will still have the same unanswered questions about Iglesias and Lavarnaway going into 2014 and we have given away Sands for 1 year of Hanrahan. As these deals were being made, I didn't thnk they were bad moves, except for Dempster. I liked them for the most part, but I thought that it was only part of the plan, not a completion of the plan. The first priority toward improving this team was starting pitching. They did next to nothing in that area. My opinion of Dempster is not very high. Without substantial improvements to the starting pitching, this is a very incomplete plan IMO. They should have pocketed the moolah and used it next season.

Just for the record, I don't think I ever called you a "ballwasher". Second, based on your post, you are probably not a ballwasher. I don't know if you aspire to ballwasher status, but I hate to break the news to you. You are not doing a very good job at establishing ballwasher credibility.

I think Wainwright has had 2 TJ surgeries. We will get him after his 3rd TJ and he'll be called depth.

Last off season when they did nothing to improve or starting pitching, we were told that it was a prudent non-move, because there would be a treasure trove of available aces this off season. Well, it didn't turn out that way. It never does. Instead, we spent $26 million on Dempster. Wow! Brilliant.

The End.

Eh closers? That's a tough argument, although Did Radatz had a year or 2 worth considering.

There's no need for me to engage with you any further.

You are dense. That sums it up.

He didn't call anyone a pollyanna.

RSFL, I just get tired of the guy insulting me, and then saying he is calling me out on a baseball question. We can all read. I made a comment expressing my opinion of the RedSox off season. I didn't inult him. He can go manage his wooden shoe league and f*** off. I'm too old to waste time trying to get along with jackasses.:D I don't engage with stupid and obnoxious. How is your research paper going? There are a ton of funny stories about Williams if you want to work some of them into the paper.

^MVP pushing all the hot buttons trying to bait SBF. Fred, resist this sophomoric and transparent attempt at baiting you in hopes of getting you banned.

Look back at the exchange. Are you stoned? I made a comment. You responded with an insult and the question you asked me was this: I didn't interpret that as a baseball question, so no baseball answer was given. You can't be so stupid as to think that is a baseball question and not see that as just an insult.

f*** off.Learn how to ask a question without insulting someone.

The three great icons of the 40's and 50's were Williams, DiMaggioand Musial. I have a bat signed by Williams and a ball signed by Musial. Stuff signed by DiMaggio is real pricy, but eventually I will get something signed by him.

The real rub for me is that I don't see a high talent level on this staff, question marks aside. Other than the top 2, I don't see a lot of talent. The top 2 will have to win virtually every time they take the ball to keep this team competitive.

I already admitted that other Red Sox players were greater than Yaz, and I agree that Teddy Ballgame was the best of all. Jimmy Fox would be another better than Yaz. My point is that the impact of Yaz and 1967 on the franchise. That season led by Yaz changed the trajectory of the fortunes of the Red Sox helping turn it into one of the greatest franchises in sports for almost the last 45 years. I never said that Yaz was the greatest RedSox player, nevermind greater than Williams, so I don't know where our disagreement is.