a700hitter

He hasn't had any knee problems. I watch about half of the Mets games and I can tell you that the one thing he still does well is run. He was never a speed burner, but he still has good speed and bust his tail to first every single time. He's a mental mess. It's sad what has happened to him.

He's not a loud guy or a screamer. He's not much for arguing. He doesn't have to. He's as serious as a heart attack. When he talks, people don't argue with him. He'd intimidate umpires without going over the line.

I like the idea of Fisk. He's as no nonsense as they come. He knows the game and he would demand that it be played the right way. He's a very intimidating presence. No one would mess with him. Heck, when he was a young player the veterans were scared of him and they gave him respect. Surround him with some really good coaches and you will never see this kind of collapse. You'll see a much more professional outfit with a killer instinct.

Damon also in the Post Season.

When the Mets went through their collapse, I remember a couple of old time fans saying that Randolph needed to turn over a table in the clubhouse and kick some ass to get some attention. He didn't and the spiral never ended. I saw the same type of despair and desperation setting in on this team when they realized that they didn't have the horses to take them down the stretch. They were hoping to just tick off dates on the calendar before the entire lead was lost, but when they started to realize that the lead was shrinking faster than the dates were coming off the calendar, they shrank into their shells. Someone needed to shake things up-- the manager, a player. I was hoping Pedroia would shake things up, but after games he was giving the same vanilla interviews as everyone else. I could see it coming, because I had seen it before. It's a spiral of collective despair that fed on itself, game after game. My Met fan friends told me to stop watching before the weekend series against the Yankees. They could see it unfolding, and they knew it would make me miserable. As bad as this has been, it pales in comparison to losing 2 parents in 3 1/2 weeks. Perspective. Talk to you all soon. Lot's of good baseball discussions ahead, but I need to take a break.

VMArt and Beltre are going to the playoffs and the So are going home. Who would have figured?

Congrats SFoC!

The one year bridge (2010) has turned into a 2 year bridge (2010, 2011) that is turning into a 3 year bridge as no big prospects will be hitting next years roster. Lavarnway will be a backup catcher if he makes the team and Iglesias will be a backup SS. Whether or not Theo has done a good job in the last 3 years (IMO it the results are clear), IMON it's time for new blood and new ideas.

9 years in the job is enough. I think new blood for an organization is healthy. At this time, Theo has had 3 poor years in a row. It's time to make a change. It's not a job for life. It's the Red Sox, not a very very very high paying civil service job. Debate his overall record all you want. Good bad or otherwise nine years is enough. There are always capable available people with new ideas who can improve the organization.

Igleisas has shown no ability to hit. Lavarnway has shown no ability to play defense. But most telling is the fact that you can't name any pitchers that could help in the near term.

Buchholz is part of the current core.

Now you are twisting things again. Please stop doing that. I compared the class of 2007 to the current crop not to prove any of the things you are saying or "comparing Theo to Theo". I brought up the 2007 class to address E1's post regarding his confidence in the 2011 team has a strong core as did the 2006 team. I pointed out that the 2006 had an infusion of farm talent that the 2011 team cannot expect. Try to stay on topic.

...and how well have they run things?

The major difference is that after 2006 the Red Sox had Pedroia on the way together with Lester and Ellsbury. Lester admittedly didn't do much in 2007, but he was mid-season depth. I n 2008, all three were productive full time major leaguers. I don't see that influx of talent coming to the Sox in 2012.

I think you are underweighting the importance of the FA failures. In addition to the money that has been squandered on past FA busts, he has the team locked into a couple of big contracts that the team will have to live for years going forward-- Lackey and Crawford. Also, I would include as a con that here is little ML ready star quality players in our Minor League system. It is very thin talent-wise.