a700hitter

Nice pick.

Lots of rationalizing and sour grapes going on here. There's also a hypothetical situation complete with a prediction of my reaction. Of course you can read my mind. Why not, you thought you could read Theo's mind too. How weak. You also went back to the archives for more of my greatest hits of 2005. Around the same time (2005-2006) didn't you predict that Wily Mo Pena would team up in a platoon with some other guy for 35 HRS and 121 RBI?:dunno: Edit: At least i have been right recently. BTW: To give the Dontrelle Willis issue some context, the Yankees were rumored to be interested in getting him at that time. One of our more erudite posters thought at that time that Hughes and Tabata would not be enough to get Willis:

Still being petty. I did use stats to back up my argument. BTW, I did subtract out caught stealings in my adjustment to OPS. Petty, Petty, petty. Tsk, tsk and tsk, and with regard to Crawford, you were very very wrong. Ruff ruff ruff from the Alpha Dog. I'm wagging my tail. I like this game. Let's play some more.

Not looking to fight, not with you or E1. I realize what an ego blow it was for several posters on this forum when the FO made the big move that I had been touting (all by myself) and for which I was taking all sorts of abuse from every corner. The HotStove thread the night we signed him was really a bit stunned, except for me. I was turning cartwheels in the thread, but everyone else was trying to come to grips with it instead of just being happy that my Theo got us the prize offensive player of the 2010-11 FA class. Only BSN07 gave me props that night. He offered to change his custom user name to something of my choice--a very sportsmanlike gesture. I wasn't looking for kudos, because I have always been secure in my own opinion of myself-- to the point of annoyance. However, for those of you who hurled the insults to somehow try to re-write the outcome, well that is very petty, but extremely funny nonetheless.

I like it when they hate me.

But just to be clear, she's not as hot as VA.

Do we have a grid of picks somewhere?

Angela Lansbury is kinda hot.

Your arguments would be much more effective trolling posts if they were at all accurate. I predicted better stats for Beltre going into 2010 than you did, so take that. And talk about delusional, now you have yourself convinced that Crawford was a backup plan. Finally, I never claimed that Theo goes to me for advice, although I suspect he lurks here. It is my claim that "Theo Channels Me."

Dude, I shoveled out two cars and insulted Dipre twice and I still made a pretty timely pick. Not bad for an old dog. I think I might need some Mineral Ice tonight.

I fully admit that I do make some mistakes in a 5 year period. I have publicly acknowledged that Pedroia was much better than I had hoped he would be. I was hoping for a Mark Loretta type (as were the scouts), but he far surpassed that. No one, except a liar, would have predicted ROY and MVP in his first few years.

Joey Votto $550,000

Go ahead. Use a very timely 2005 post in your signature if you can find it. I don't think I ever made that suggestion. I did want to get Miggy Cabrera and I would have been willing to sacrifice two prospects for him. A lot has happened since then. Dontrelle has developed a fear of the pitching mound. Lester got cancer and recovered. Like I said, go to town with a 2005 post if you can find one. The hours you will spend looking for one will have this Alpha Dog giggling like crazy. Ruff Ruff. As for my sig, I'll stay with the very current quote from you, or maybe I'll use this current quote for my signature instead or this... Theo must really be an idiot to sign Crawford after you laid out the case against signing him so clearly and logically.

Okay Alpha Dog. You do know that I wanted Matt Holliday more than anyone last year. As for Beltre, the banjo hitter remark was a reactionary game thread remark when the team was going bad. I was one of the few posters that like his acquisition, and before the season started I posted that you might be underestimating his power output with your projections. "Banjo Hitter" was also the perfect trolling remark for you. You still can't get it out of your head. And you say that you troll me. You can't get me out of your head. Meet the bigger badder older Alpha Dog. Ruff Ruff. Follow my lead and you will be the Alpha Dog some day.

I like Crawford better than Werth because he is more talented and he is just entering his prime. He has a lethal offensive weapon (world class speed) that few players have. He will be a tremendous table setter for the big boppers behind him. We've got plenty of guys to knock him in. Crawford fit this team better than Werth for many reasons. The only advantage Werth had was that he is right handed. What makes you think Theo wanted Werth over Crawford? He channels me not you. What do you mean that the signing of Werth opened the door to sign Crawford? After the Werth move is when posted all your insults directed at me. You told me that it was a pipe dream. Crawford didn't fall in our lap. Theo outbid the Angels by about $25 million. I guess Theo and the FO obviously had a hard on for the guy.

Wow, you have to go back to 2005 off season to try to find instances of me being wrong. I don't remember suggesting that trade. I also remember wanting to get Miggy Cabrera along with Dontrelle. Fla was shopping them both. Miggy has been pretty damn good. I only need go back to this month to find an instance where you were very very wrong. Remember Carl Crawford. I think you told me that I was being a whiny baby for hoping for Carl Crawford. I think you told me that the move made no financial sense and you told me that the FO doesn't get players because I had a hard on for them. I don't have to go back beyond 2010 to find another instance where you were very wrong-- April 2010 when they extended Beckett. We are streaking in opposite directions my friend.

I don't speak to Theo on the phone so i often did not agree with specific moves, but I do understand the importance of a deep farm system. Unlike others, I believe that the use of prospects as trading chips is every bit as important as its use as a source for talent for the ML club. However, in this off season, me and Theo have been communicating telepathically. How many of you called me names on a daily basis as I issued my daily reminder to the FO to sign Carl Crawford. Many of you said that it was a flat out impossibility. It was very funny watching so many posters come to grips with that move by struggling to explain why it made sense in the context of what they thought was Theo's philosophy. The truth was they didn't understand Theo's philosophy. The Red Sox are a big market team that will outspend (by a lot) the rest of the competition to build a powerhouse team through the FA market. He's also willing to trade top prospects for expensive star talent. These were not low cost high value moves. The proof is in the pudding. Theo has built a powerhouse using FA talent as the basis. The Bridge Year, while not a complete misspeak, had nothing to do with being a bridge to minor league talent making an impact in the majors. I had often questioned what prospects we had that would make an impact before 2013. The Bridge was to AGon and Crawford. That was his plan all along. It was a good plan-- one that the FO value types never saw coming.

The depth of our minor league system is overrated by some people on this forum. Of course, I would be on board with building a deep minor league system. The premise of your question is erroneous. A team with the resources of the Red Sox does not have to sacrifice one thing (building internally) to win today. They are one of the few franchises that has the resources to do both. Theo is on board with me about this.

It's too bad that they already signed Ortiz. Beltre would have provided more righty/lefty balance, but signing him and AGon would have created another logjam problem for the lineup with three guys wanting to play the same two positions.