a700hitter

The Phillies have become the NL version of the Yankees. I wouldn't be surprised if they poached Reyes and let Rollins walk. Mets fans would open their veins.

They should be able to re-sign Ortiz and Papelbon without increasing the 2012 payroll. Each made $12+ million in 2011. I can't imagine that the cost of both them would total more than $25 million in 2012.

$14 million coming off the books for Drew and $9 million for Cameron is a nice start.

The FO makes a habit of lowering expectations. I put little stock in what Cherrington is saying publicly.

It wasn't about Lars Anderson. It was just general commentary on prospects.

Wow, this is all tinged with anger toward me. You need to do some meditation. It's the beauty of being a fan. We can't make mistakes. We just criticize them.

Do you have a point in any of these responses or do you just disagree with me out of habit.

That lineup might finish behind Toronto. I think posters don't understand that the Sox FO needs to take some bold actions to return this team to prominence quickly. They can't afford a carryover of 2011 into next season or beyond. They have already made sweeping changes in management. I think there will be some very interesting player moves too. Nothing would surprise me. Maybe they get Jose Reyes. Maybe C.J. Wilson. Maybe both. Maybe Yadier Molina. The Cherrington statement about looking for inexpensive value is posturing IMO to keep the press and the fans at bay. They always lower expectations in this fashion. It means nothing.

Most retired players that I have met have rarely if ever had kind words for a former manager. One of the exceptions was Gil Hodges. He commanded the respect of his players, probably because he could break them in half. I've had dinner with Tom Seaver a couple of times, and I asked him about the Mets great pitching staffs of the late 60's and early 70's. They all had the drop and drive deliveries where there back knees hit the mound as they used their legs for power. I asked him if that was taught in the Mets organization. He laughed at the notion. He told me that the organization taught them nothing. They came up with it on their own. Sadly, I think that is the story of player development in most organizations. The players learn to adapt or they perish. Period. I'm not saying that some teams aren't better at player development than others, but I am saying that it probably is much less important than people think. The most important ingredient is drafting, trading for and signing good talent. On another topic, teams have become too dependent on numbers crunching today. I think it was Cafardo that pointed out that every team has a guy who can crunch the numbers today. It no longer provides a competitive advantage. In person scouting and expanding scouting departments and stocking them with top baseball people will provide the competitive advantage going forward. Scouting is expensive so the Red Sox should have a huge advantage moving forward.

It doesn't make much of a difference. It really doesn't. It's ridiculous that manager has become such a highly paid position, because any drunk with half a brain can manage. Personally, I think the coaching staff is more important than the manager. Unfortunately, today with the 24/7 news cycle that needs to be fed, a manager has to have good skills with the media. That is probably the toughest part of the job. Billy Martin would have assaulted about a dozen reporters if he was managing today. I just can't see him doing a managers show or taking calls from WEEi every day. He was a great baseball guy, but he didn't have that skill set.

Cahill was tremendously ineffective in the second half of last season. Either he had a physical problem or batters have adjusted to him. Neither possibility bodes well for the future.

A collapse like 2011 can cause lasting damage to the revenue of a franchise unless problems are addressed and new directions are pursued. Some people here want to think that the owners hated to let Theo leave, but the fact is that there have been a ton of changes already. The GM, manager, pitching coach, first base coach, strength and conditioning staff are all gone. The plan was obviously to clean house. Only LL and the Fenway vendors have not been on the chopping block.

A decline at age 25 is not a good sign. We didn't get Pedro until he was 26 and he was still lighting up the gun at 97.

He was the quintessential slap hitter. Like most of the early Dominican major leaguers, he didn't walk a heck of a lot. The old saying was that you had to hit your way off the island, because no one walked off the island, or something like that.

Both lincecum and Felix have had declines in velocity.

Most managers are idiots and the difference between a good manager and a terrible manager is a talented ballclub. Witness Joe Torre's Yankee years vs. Torre's non Yankee years and Casey Stengel's Yankee years vs. Stengel's non-Yankee years.

Are you getting a Cubs hat? I thought Cherrington was Duquette's protege. Theo took his protege with him to the Cubs-- Hoyer. And I think you are right that Theo didn't get fired as a result of the collapse. It's pretty clear that he wasn't coming back after his contract had expired and that he had those conversations with the owners before the collapse. The Red Sox job was wearing on him too much, and the harder he tried the more he screwed things up in the last 3- 4 years. He went for the lower pressure job in Chicago. Not everyone can thrive consistently in a pressure cooker. He's no Cashman.

If he has so little confidence in his abilities to change the fortunes of the Orioles, why would the Sox keep him?

The kid is obviously a bonehead.

Very sad. R.I.P. http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/11/04/11/Former-Cardinals-pitching-great-dead-at-/landing_stlcardinals.html?blockID=596614&feedID=3713

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/11/baird_withdraws.html This is what happens when an organization wants to keep you. They convince you to stay. Baird's career path is blocked every bit as much as Theo's was blocked. Sox owners were willing to let Theo walk.