a700hitter

You said it best. Papelbon drives on the same highway as Rivera.

Yes leaving a big hole in the bullpen that will be very hard to fill. I don't care what he was worth because I don't pay him, but we'd have gotten more value from him over the next 4 years than we will get from Lackey or for the $104 million for the Japanese treasure. Seriously, no one batted an eyelash here as they shelled out $104 million for a little chubbie guy that never pitched in the major leagues and who couldn't throw very hard, but Papelbon is definitely not worth 4yrs %50 million.

One other reason that i am pissed about this deal is that papelbon's entrance to Shipping up to Boston was the coolest entrance in Red Sox history. Now I have to change the ring tone on my phone. Damn!! I wasn't prepared for this. I've got nothing. I am taking suggestions and recommendations. the Dropkick Murphysmust be very upset.

Philly fans must be really pissed about Papelbon's contract.:lol::lol: Oh, they are not pissed off about it. Well, the Philly fans must all be dumb.. As much as I don't like Philly fans, they are not all dumb.

That's because they'd have themselves convinced that fans with tickets somehow stole their tickets from the 99%. f***ing idiot losers!! My brother has an expression that fits them. They are so stupid that they don't know what smart is.

ORS, don't let your head explode. keep in mind that it comes from a self acknowledged know it all.

I think ORS is an engineer. He's also a smart alek.

If I had the pot connections that you have, it would be much easier for me to lighten up. And yes Ben the Boob. Not my best work, but I always like to coin a phrase or start a nickname. If he doesn't get us back to the playoffsin 2012,Ben the Boob will stick. People will start using it. I remember when I first used the term"Dumpster Diving" to describe the 2008 offseason, I was abused like crazy on this forum, but I have noticed that phrase is still being used today by other posters.

But it is just opinion and none of it should offend other posters. It's kind of harmless. Whether you agreed with us or not, all of the people who iOrtiz, SCM and me felt were responsible are gone, so I think our opinions were pretty much dead on.

I have to get some sleep. I need to get up early and clean everything out of my parents house for the closing this week. Let me just leave you with the following: Losing Papelbon is a pretty much black and white bad thing. The FO has a lot of work to do to move this into the grey area. Finally, this blunt opinion: MLB managers as a group are a pool of idiots. Ben, just pick one and get to work on the roster.

Nah, I am fully aware that i am in control of almost nothing in life. As i have openly admitted here, I am an opinionated know it all. I do know a lot, but I don't know it all. I just give that impression.

That's as black and white as an issue can get.

iOrtiz and I don't agree on everything. We are not in agreement on the players that we would let walk and those who should be pursued. Sometimes he convinces me and sometimes I convince him. Sometimes we just disagree. We don't characterize each other, so we don't read each others posts with a biased predisposition. I don't view him as an optimist, pessimist or anything else. He's just a smart guy that has a lot of interesting thoughts. I don't view you in any particualr category. That may surprise you. Others may put you in the optimist category, but I have been here at times when you were not at all optimistic. You have a tendency never to want to assign blame or fault. That doesn't make you an optimist or a pessimist or a realist. It makes you a bit of a softie. I'm big on accountability. I don't mind owning up to my own mistakes in life, so I feel that others should own up also. I will not hesitate to let someone know that they are wrong, and on an internet forum, there is no need for me to tactful when criticizing people that i don't know and who don't post in this forum, i.e the FO, players, managers and umpires. That shouldn't offend people unless they are related to those people.

But it is not chess. The Fo doesn't get a turn. The teams that prepare better and execute better can make several moves that will derail our FO strategy. After signing Paps, the Phillies will not wait for us to make a move. They may sign Beltran tomorrow. That would force us to re-sign Ortiz. If they don't execute in a timely fashion, all good options can be taken off the table.

There are plenty of subtleties and grey areas in life, and i make my living navigating them, but you still need to identify the black and white issues.

IOrtiz made an excellent point earlier in the day. The Phillies poached Paps, putting tremendous pressure on our bullpen and taking Bard and Aceves off the table as starters. If the yankees beat us to the good starters and Beltran, we'll be screwed. I think you are being overconfident that we will have a strong team in 2012.

You basically did accuse iOrtiz of being too stupid or having too poor a command of English to have figured out that i am a blowhard.

I'll try to be less blunt, but it is a big part of who I am. You should realize that you disagree with everything I post even if I am not engaging you. I don't think you are wrong about everything, but you take issue with even my most innocuous posts. I'm not being sensitive here. Your disagreements don't bother me. I'm just making an observation.

I think you said it better than I could have. He's nowhere as good as Bard. The pen has been tremendously weakened, and we have reduced our options for the rotation.

I don't mind you taking shots at me, but don't take a shot and then ask be to get myself in line. That's not very fair.