a700hitter

It's not my motto either, but in 2008 the Sox had a kick ass team. With a little reinforcement from the FO, that team wins the Division. I wasn't complaining that we didn't win the World Series or get to the WS. I don't think they should have lost the Division to Tampa. They didn't go hard enough after the Division-- not the GM, not the manager. I think losing the division ultimately cost them a World Championship, because the Sox would have tortured Philly's pitching. We agree that winning 1 Division during the Theo years is nothing to brag about. Duquette also won a Division title. Theo doesn't deserve all of the homage that he has been paid in this forum.

How much is the option?

Hey Gammo is an HOFer. Ongoing elbow issues are a red flag. Almost all of them end up getting TJ. He never should have been signed. His elbow issues date back to the Angels.

Maybe a plastic surgeon can install a face cap over his ugly mug while he is under anesthesia for his TJ surgery.

Send the lite beer directly to the hospital and rehab facility.

I am not big on Bedard. I'm tired of fragile players that miss substantial chunks of time. Speaking of fragile, can we finally get a RF who can play every day.

Does anyone know if we have any insurance on this chump?

It couldn't hurt to see what he has left like the Yanks did last season with Colon. I am not recommending building a staff around him.

Fangraphs will show that he is better than many pitchers in 2012. I would like to see Bard starting in 2012. They need to add a starter from outside the organization. I wouldn't be opposed to the notion or Pedro coming back for one last go round. Sign him cheap with incentives. Let him get in shape for ST and let's see what he's got.

I was hoping they would trade him before the surgery became necessary. Hopefully, there is some insurance on this bum.

Start talking. The accountability and FO and management change issues have been almost completely decided by the owners. We need to see who the manager will be. The discussion of wish lists for next season has been underway for a couple of weeks already. Mine is posted. What's your wish list for 2012?

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/2011_1025sox_collapse_led_to_theos_departure/

I never thought you were crazy about this, and you turned out to be right. As for Lavarnway, I don't think he could be much worse than Salty behind the plate.

Welcome to TalkSox.

You, me and iortiz and a few others are realists. People on this board criticize us and ask us to be "more measured" in our views, but we don't run the team. Those people who run the team are blowing up FO and onfield management and there will be more to come. I am pretty sure that they know what they are doing. We have been 100% right about what needed to be done management-wise this off-season, yet we are still scoffed at as being negative. Unbelievable! What we witnessed this September was the worst collapse in Red Sox history. It couldn't have been more negative. There is no way to sugar coat what happened, and it wasn't going to be addressed with a few minor tweaks. I am glad to see the owners acting with a sense of urgency and making some big changes. BTW IMO there have been signs that this organization has not been going in the right direction for a few years already. Some of us negative nuts have been posting those thoughts. Maybe if the sycophants in the press had been a little more honest and critical and openly questioned the FO all along (like they should), the FO may have examined their actions a little more critically along the way. Instead the press acted like a Red Sox PR department until disaster struck and now they are hammering them for things like conditioning, beer drinking etc. -- all of which have been issues for more than a season.

Phillies declined options on Oswalt and Lidge. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/24/phillies-decline-2012-options-on-roy-oswalt-and-brad-lidge/related/

Not pure crapola, but a missed opportunity. Those opportunities don't come along every season. When they come along, they need to be seized. The 2008 Sox were a much better team than the Rays. They never should have lost the division to them. They underperformed.

Done. I can see that you won't last long.