a700hitter

More contradictory conflicting reports from the wire:

Going into the offseason, we had one major need-- starting pitching. We had two huge holes at the end of the rotation. They moved Bard into the rotation and replaced him with Melancon. Eh. I am not crazy about that swap on the bullpen side, but fine if Bard can be a solid starter. That takes care of one empty rotation slot. They let Paps walk and replaced him with Bailey. Okay if bailey is healthy. I'm good up to this point. Here's where it starts getting dicey. They salary dump Scutaro (without a fulltime SS replacement inhouse) ostensibly according to press reports to free up money to get a pitcher. We get Cody Ross. I liked this more than you. We needed a RH OFer and he has had good splits against lefties. He also has good pop. But we still don't have the #1 goal-- the starting pitcher. If we don't get one, I don't know how the off season can be viewed as a success when we didn't take care of the primary need. Up to this point we have just shuffled some pieces around and replaced guys that left, but the biggest need has not been filled. i don't think that is an unfair assessment.

^See this is where you went off the mark with your last post. The rest of the post didn't matter, because you went off the rails right here at the beginning. No one is holding anyone to any standards. None of us is any position to do so. We are just talking sports. What we will think of those moves in October is not relevant now, and what we think now will not matter or be relevant in October.

Here's the latest off the wires. I have no idea how i will feel about this in October. Make a decent offer and cut the guy a check

I own up to everything I say. If I am wrong, it doesn't make the FO right. I was wrong about how the team would perform last year when the season started, but I was right in realizing that it had some very bad problems that needed fixing at the trading deadline. The FO didn't make those fixes and we lost. There is nothing remotely hypocritical or "having it both ways" about that. E1 often pulls this on me when he is upset about my opinion.

Seborrhea and psoriasis would be better than what we had in the 4th and 5th slots last year.

As I said in an earlier post, if I am wrong in liking a FO move and the move turns out bad, it is still a mistake. I did want them to sign Carl Crawford last year, but I would have preferred to get Holliday the year before. I think you liked Holliday too. Instead the Sox opted for Lackey. I do not think that Crawford was a huge mistake based on last year's performance. It was only one year. I have never said that it was a huge mistake, not yet. I reserve judgment as you would say. I don't throw the FO under the bus for putting a guy like Crawford on the team. If I criticize them for the move, it is because the spent themselves to the financial brink and left themselves with no flexibility for the future. They spent like drunken sailors and now they impose an austerity program. I am sorry but they have gone from one extreme to the other and that shows a lack of organizational discipline. Finally, please once and for all, stop making this and every other disagreement about your perception that I am somehow unfair to the FO. Let's discuss the news of the day and the current state of the roster. Is it really relevant what you think I will say at the end of the season if things go wrong? I guess I should be flattered if you think that is important or relevant, but I don't think it is.

At the end of the day, results are all that matters. Just because we were wrong about last years team doesn't make the FO right. The big difference is we can't lose our jobs if we are wrong about this stuff. I'll be the first to admit that i thought the Sox would steam roll into the post season in 2011. I was wrong. They were a very talented team, but the organization failed on many levels. I wasn't wrong when I took the position that the FO needed to do more than it did at the trading deadline. I was dead on right about that and the results bore out my prediction.

E1, you are basically trying to tear down a time honored tradition of baseball-- the HotStove league. It's discussion about the upcoming season, not the past season. People don't live in the past. They look forward to the future. If we don't discuss the upcoming season, what do you suggest we do. There's only so much time we can spend in the non-baseball thread. Yeszir, are you getting this? E1, wants TalkSox to go dark until the end of the 2012 season at which point we can only discuss 2012 briefly I suppose with no discussion of the upcoming 2013 season. You should not stand for this!

Do you think that I am any happier with my mistakes than the mistakes of others? Not at all. If Benny and me are both mistaken about Jackson, I will still call it a mistake.

Last year was a great offseason. You are the one who keeps telling me how great the 2011 team was.

First of all, if people make mistakes it doesn't mean that they are stupid. I haven't called him stupid, (my Benny the Boob comment aside that was an attempt at humor). As far as finding reasonable explanations, isn't it reasonable to go by what has been reported in the press? At least they claim to have sources. We are at least using the only available information that we have-- the press reports. Your explanation is completely unsubstantiated. Finally, with regard to your comment/advice about "withholding judgment until the results are in", wouldn't any discussion at that point just be 20-20 hindsight? What's wrong with discussing what we think now? Isn't that what you are doing with your explanation of how you think it went down and your faith in our pitching depth of Silva, Cook, and Padilla? BTW: How do I contradict myself at the end of the season? Why when the news about the Sox is not encouraging do you always blame the messenger? We're just discussing what is in the press reports. Recent news: Scutaro traded in salary dump, Ross signed, Oswalt to probably sign with Cards, and Jackson a long shot to sign with Sox. This is all in the press reports. We are not making it up.

Don't let me bring you down. They should be still hanging in there until July when you make your trip to see the Yankees. I'm looking forward to the season. I always do. I will go to 1 weekend series in every month except September. However, I have to be honest about what I think of the roster so far. The FO really hasn't done much positive and they have made a number of slip ups that have lots of people shaking their heads even very positive enthusiastic guys like Palodios.

Starting pitching is the most pressing need for this team. You don't like to lose your SS, but if you get a pitcher it makes it easier to understand. I still would not be sold on the strategy if they still end up over the cap. I thought they were paring payroll to stay under the LT cap. Now, we are seeing solid info that with or without a starting pitcher we will still be over the cap.

That's how it was reported in the press. They claimed to have had sources. These were not our assumptions. It's how it was reported. You are making assumptions in your second paragraph.

Do you?

Scutaro was not an All Star. He is replaceable, but from what I am hearing on NESN, neither Punto or Aviles are full time SS material.

Ask Mets fans about 2007 and 2008. The missed the playoffs 2 years in a row on the last day of the season after collapsing at the end. Last year's team was a 91 win team. That's the fact. Everything else is an excuse with regard to the team being better than that. Here's the very simple math that I apply to that team looking forward to 2012: Add: Bailey Sweeney Punto Melancon Ross Shoppach Subtract: Papelbon Scutaro Lowrie Reddick Tek I'm not seeing how that adds up to an improvement over the 91 win team in 2011. In 2012, we will get injuries too, so hoping for good health is nice, but talent-wise this team has not improved.

For about two weeks we heard that the Red Sox needed to pare payroll if they wanted to add a pitcher. We were all wondering who they could trade. Then they trade/salary dump Scutaro and we are told that it is to free up payroll to get a pitcher. Still no pitcher, and the press is indicating that available pitchers will be going elsewhere.

If they go into the season with two converted relievers in the starting rotation they will be taking a big big risk. As far as starting pitching goes, these two guys are rookies. Two rookies in the rotation in the AL East is tough. The Yankees did it one time and missed the playoffs for the first and ony time since 1994. Hughes and Kennedy were very highly thought of with excellent minor league track records as starters. Aceves and Bard don't have any record of success as starters at any professional level. For people to think that they will be just fine going into the season with Bad and Aceves as starters and no starting depth if something goes wrong (and something always goes wrong) is wishful thinking. Maybe it turns out okay. Maybe Carlos Silva went to Bartolo Colon's doctor and he wins 15 games. Maybe Doubront steps up and becomes a solid rotation pitcher throwing 180 innings. Are these things probable? Answer that for yourselves.