a700hitter

Sample size? I'm not trying to take a scientific survey or predict one. I'm still a big CC fan, but I can't say that I have heard much positive about him from fans anywhere for some time. The message boards have been negative. Talk Radio has been negative. Fenway crowds at games I have attended have been negative. Everywhere that I encounter Sox fan I hear negativity. Is there a silent majority that likes him. I don't know and they really don't matter if they stay silent do they.

I don't think that is where Valentine is at. He's not a likeable guy, but he is not stupid. He's probably one of the more intelligent managers, maybe the most intelligent now that La Russa is retired.

At the end of last season, most fans seemed to have turned on him.

A starter who performs at the average or better than the average for major leaguers at his position.

I never liked Bobby V, but I do respect his baseball knowledge. He is a better tactical game manager than Tito, and the Sox could have used that in 2011. Tito gave away a lot of games IMO, especially with his 7 run rule approach to starting pitching. Others may disagree, but I think most people saw him as a poor game tactician. We only needed to win 1 or 2 more games last year. A good game manager could have made the difference. Tito's managerial strength was in managing the personalities in the clubhouse. Once he could no longer do that, he offered nothing as manager. They have gone in the other direction with Bobby V. Most people won't like him, but players don't have to like him. Everyone hated Earl Weaver. Almost everyone, including his biggest stars, hated Billy Martin. La Russa wasn't universally loved either, nor was Ozzie G. I like it better if people hate the manager, because I am always critical of the manager during a game. Everyone, including me, loved Tito, so when I would criticize him I would get a lot of s*** for it. The first few times I mentioned the 7 run rule people were all over me for it.

The only extended period that Manny behaved himself was after the Sox placed him on waivers and no one wanted him and then they offered to tear up his contract and set him free. He basically shut his mouth after that and didn't start his BS act until 2006. They should do the same with Crawford. All the Manny enabling after 2005 never worked. He got worse and worse and basically quit on the team. They hushed up everything including an assault. Finally, saying that someone didn't return your call is not exactly dragging your name through the mud. People who think that it is need to get some perspective.

I really don't know what point you are trying to make with this. There is so much hyperbole in this post that I am not sure what you mean. First, let's not minimize 2011. It was the worst September collapse in Red Sox history, possibly in all MLB history. Old guys like me and SBF never saw anything like it. 1978 and 1951 (if Fred remembers it) pale in comparison to 2011. Let's not forget that the Giants were cheating in 1951. Who is this angry mob that you keep referencing? Did the Occupy Boston protest pass by Fenway at some point with placards? If there was an angry mob, it was the Red Sox owners and investors. They were surely very unhappy that the excellent franchise that they built up over 10 years took such a hit to its reputation in a period of 1 month. Heads had to roll and they did, and last that I looked there have been no angry gatherings on Yawkey Way except in the executive offices.

We don't need a #2. We have Beckett and Lackey.

BSN07 you are a little sneaky. You pay up on our bet after most Red Sox fans want to kill CC. And you removed from your sig another bet that I was about to win, because we are not going to have any farmhand make any impact on our team until 2013. I made that claim during last off season. BTW, I didn't consider Kalish a farmhand at that time as he had lost MLB rookie status. The way it looks now he will still not make an impact before 2013. Very sneaky, sneaking out that sig.

Theo, in a genius of a move, canceled a Harden for Lars Anderson trade at the trading deadline due to concerns regarding his medical records. He could have come in handy down the stretch as we kept rolling Wakefield and other assorted garbage to the mound. I don't know what he could have been thinking.:dunno:

Sam McDowell, Tiant in his Indian years, Lolich, Chance, McLain, Palmer, Carlton, Tannana and on and on.

They threw hard and they threw more often.

I think the Sox had only a .500 record in Lester's starts.

Webb and Sheets and Harden are guys that are much better than half way decent when healthy. That's why they want the option to demand a promotion or a release when healthy so they can re-establish a career. For depth, you are looking for guys that are healthy and only halfway decent.

Start printing the playoff tickets.

You want to get him now or after 2012?

I wouldn't propose those guys, because it is highly likely that they will be unable to perform due to injury when we suffer an injury to one of the starters. That's not depth that I want. I'd rather sign Saunders as a depth signing and keep him in the pen.

Guys like Harden, Webb and Sheets might not be able to take the ball at all. I don't see the point of pursuing any one of them.

The Yanks never offered him the chance to win the full time job. He knew they were committed to Gardner.