a700hitter

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.

Oswalt is very good. He is not just rotation-filler.

Until yesterday, there was almost a unanimous opinion by posters that we would get a starter. The press reports since last night have been confusing and discouraging. Reading the press reports today, who do you think they will be getting... Oswalt, Jackson or someone else? If there has been grousing on this board it is more about having dumped Scutaro without having the pitching deal in place and ready to go. Some people (myself included) just think that is not good planning. If we get a starting pitcher, I still will not think it was good planning.

But it seems that the Sox are only offering a 1 year deal for Jackson.

:lol:Who would they be "telling so" to? In two polls that have been posted, TalkSox members have voted overwhelmingly that the Sox will be obtaining a starting pitcher before the season starts. In the more recent poll, the voting was almost unanimous-- there was only 1 "no" vote, And I think that was jacko.

Didn't Duncan retire or take a leave of absence?

I just looked it up. There is no row I, but there is row A to H. Go figure.

I like them, because you are very close to the action. You can get some vicious line fouls in those seat. Believe it or not, but row J could be the fist or second row in that corner. Fenway is screwy ike that. There will probably not be rows A to I in front of you. Use this site. It'll will show you the view from those seats etc. http://www.preciseseating.com/fenwaypark2.php