a700hitter

You are obsessive about the FO. I didn't say that they weren't doing a good job. In fact, I have said on many occasions that on balance that they are very talented group that is doing a very good job. The key is "on balance". They do make mistakes. Everyone does. Your refusal to acknowledge any mistakes by the FO and your inability to entertain any criticism of the FO is amusing. You've made two posts extolling the virtues of the FO in response to my questioning why you are so concerned about people criticizing the FO. I can't imagine why you are already anticipating criticism of moves that have not yet been made and why the thought of such criticism concerns you. If the FO trades a guy or acquires a guy, some fans will like the move and others will not. The opinions of those who don't like the move are often just as valid as those who like the move. For instance, if the Sox start to build a team around speed, some fans may not like that style of play. Speed teams can win and so can power teams. It's a question of preference. Whether a move improves a team is certainly an issue for debate. The business people that run the FO probably disagree with each other on a regular basis, so I don't think they care if some fans are bashing their moves on a sports forum. The fan and the FO will always have an inherent conflict of interest, because their primary goals are different. The FO is a business that has the goal of maximizing profits. The fans' goal is for the team to win. A smart FO will realize that the best way to be profitable is to win for the fans, because it is the fans' money that makes the profit. To that extent, there is a common interest. Nevertheless, there is an inherent conflict of interest, because it is your dollar that management is looking to get and keep. Why are you so sensitive to even the possibility that the FO might get criticized, Mrs. Epstein? By the way, your son sucks at building a bullpen. It is his weak spot. He does have weak spots. He needs to improve that aspect of his job.

Of course it hits their bottom line. Real cash expenditures always do unless there a dollar for dollar tax credit is available. No such credit is available for this. This payment may not impact payroll for purposes of luxury tax but it does affect profit and loss. Let's be clear that this fee bought nothing other than right to exclusively negotiate with Dice K. It purchased no licenses, patents or copyrighted property for marketing in Japan. Future ballplayers from Japan will either go thru the current blind bid auction system or thru free agency. Under neither system will the Red Sox have any advantage over other teams. Future Japanese players will go to the teams that bid or pay the most. There is no income stream created by this negotiating fee that has been disclosed by the Red Sox to my knowledge. It was a fee for the exclusive right to negotiate and it bought nothing else.

They weren't busts. It was just bad luck.

In some ways it would be much easier to go into the winter if we lose the next 2 games and finish 6 or 7 games back. If we finish the season by running the table against the Yankees and ending up only 1 game back, the what if's will be hard to take.

I should clarify. We will only need a bullpen if the FO thinks we need one. They are never wrong. Occasionally, they suffer from some bad luck.

Once all our guys are healthy, we don't need a bullpen.

Lowrie 3-0. Yes!!!

Yes, it was.

Bautista hit another HR tonight. Goodness!!!

I think you are right on about this.

Finally, a first baseman that does that play the right way. Recently, Tex and Wiggington have bungled that play by throwing to second base when the runner was standing right next to them. Lowell has always been a heady player. Unfortunately, his body is shot.

In his best season, he set a record for the fewest innings by a pitcher with 18 wins. That was his high point, and I would sign on for two more years of that in a heart beat, and that would be far from being a bust. However, that season was his one high spot. It's been downhill since then, and I don't think he is going to return to that form. He has been an inconsistent performer with injury issues. Like I said in an earlier post, I thought 2010 would be a big year for him. I felt that he was at a crossroads and that he would emerge as a top pitcher. He did not. I have no reason to think that he will come up big in his final two seasons. In fact, I expect his performance will continue to deteriorate. If his last two years are more of the same performance as 2010 or worse, I think his signing would have to be viewed as a mistake.

I'm only talking about sitting Ortiz against the tougher lefties. He'd still get around 500 PA's hit 30 HRs and knock in around 100 runs.. That's hardly a platoon player. What are thsoe stats worth on the open market? I wasn't suggeting a platoon, but rather the highest and best use of two players. VMart needs occasional breaks behind the plate and he rakes tough left handers which plays right into Ortiz weak spot. As for VMart's woes behind the plate, I don't think they are overblown at all. He absolutely sucks throwing the ball. He's better than Salty, but Salty is really bad in every aspect behind the dish. Why are you so sensitive about whether people will blame the FO about things? I really don't give a rats ass about executives. They are the most fungible of commodities in sports other than umpires.

Beltran is a real possibility. With his injury and age, he is no longer a building block for the Mets. He is a huge salary for the Mets who are in financial distress. They would probably give him to us for a cup of Legal Seafood Chowder if we take on his whole salary. I like it as a 1 year move. His offensive woes have been due to missing too much time over the last two seasons. He really can't man CF on a regular basis because of his knee, but he'd be just fine in LF. I like it as a one year commitment. He'd play his ass off too, because he'd be in a walk year. Reyes is still a building block for the team, but if he was available, I'd go for him too.

Ortiz against right handed pitching is still a beast. I'd like to see his games cut down against lefties, who he can't hit anymore. VMart could DH against lefties and catch against righties, getting him into the lineup everyday. Tek could catch when we face lefties. Right handed he is still pretty good. I don't think Vmart will have a huge market, because his catching stinks. The NL will not be interested in him at all, because there is more stealing and little ball in the NL. If Vmart walks, what catchers are available?

Moving Youk to 3rd is an option. There are more available first basemen.

What are the other third base options?

The return he is giving for $102 million sucks. We got a lemon. I thought he would have a big comeback season in 2010. He did not. I think he has nowhere to go but down from here. We got 2 decent #4, #5 seasons from a guy that cost $102 million. IMO, that stinks. It goes into bust territory.

We spent more than 250% more on Dice K than on Lugo. We got 1 year of a full time shortstop on a championship team from Lugo. We got 2 years of #4, #5 starter performance from Dice K. He's a colossal bust, which is not a complete bust. That is different. A huge or colossal bust is not a complete bust, but that's my terminology and it is admittedly confusing to those who don't know me.

What are your preferred insulting terms? I like stinks, bum, bag of trash. I can keep going but I don't have the time right now.

From what I have heard, he has always played hard. Effort and commitment were never problems for him. I think Fenway may be the perfect ballpark for him. If you remember, at the beginning of the season, you projected certain numbers for him. I projected that his power numbers might even end up higher. I'd search for the post(s), but I am not sure that we have that capability any more. I did call him a banjo hitter when he wasn't going yard and the team was slumping, but that was just to get under your skin. I see that it worked, since that term stuck with you after all these months. Lol!

It's time for him to go. He had a good career despite very limited ability thanks to a trick pitch that he mastered enough to be fairly consistent. Age has caught up to him. He had always been a versatile pitcher who could be effective as a starter, long reliever or short reliever. He can no longer be effective in any of those roles. The only thing that prevented this from being a totally embarrassing season for him was that his role was so limited. If he is allowed to continue, he will just humiliate himself. I know that people were rooting for him to pass Cy Young and Clemens for the Red Sox record for wins, but he was not close to being in their league. He had a good career, but he is not a franchise record type of pitcher.

I don't know if I would have called them "fragile", but you were right at the time when you said that Theo had work to do. I differed from you in only one respect about that. I felt that he could have made some in season moves that would have helped the team without any major roster surgery. You felt that major off season surgery was the way to go. Now, the point is moot. Whatever, needs to be done will be done in the off season. The top three items on my hit list are the following: 1. Sign Beltre; 2.Rebuild the pen. I'd keep Papelbon for another year and try to add 2 quality arms-- one lefty. Dubront can be the other lefty. 3. Get a top shelf OFer allowing them to move old man river Cameron to the 4th OFer status. I think all three are very doable.