a700hitter

I'm not going to be laughing at them if they have 2 or 3 consecutive titles from 2009- 2011, or more.

Realistically, where do you think that will come out. Does Jeter ask for 4 or 5 years or more? How far out will the Yankees be willing to go? Do you think he will demand a contract that extends as long as ARod's current deal?

...and ARod goes where... full time DH for $30 million/year. Ortiz is a complete steal in comparison.

$10 million per year for how many years?

You have to admire his love for the game. He's 63 years old and still tossing 200 innings a year. He was a fierce competitor which belied his pacifist nature. He was also a flat out Yankee killer which is why Nettles cheap shotted him twice in the 1976 brawl, injuring his arm and ruining his career. That was the only way Nettles could hit him. If Nettles brought 2 bats to home plate (both caulked because Nettles was also a cheater), he still wouldn't have hit Lee. I am surprised that Lee has a franchise record. The article claims that he has the Red Sox record for games pitched by a lefty. http://mobile.boston.com/art/39/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2010/08/brockton_rox_si

The Rays with a 4 spot in the 8th inning take a 6-4 lead.

Rays up 2-0 after 5 innings.

The Rays catch a break as Nelson Cruz gets placed on the DL. He got hurt from running out all of his hits against the Red Sox this weekend. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2010/08/16/rangers_place_cruz_on_dl/

The way you are beating the drum for Napoli reminds me of the way Example beat the drum for King Felix at this time last year. What's the obsession with Napoli? Are you italian or related to him or something?

Kalish is not the answer in LF. I think he is the answer in CF after they part ways with Ellsbury after 2011. I wouldn't pass on Crawford who is a force.

I posted this in a game thread, but it is more appropriate here: This team needs a catcher, who can play defense and hit. They need to part ways with Beltre and move Youk permanently to third base. VMart should be the primary first baseman, but he should go behind the plate to spell the starter for 30-35 games. If Lowrie ever gets his strength back, he can handle all of the IF backup work. They need to bolster the OF. Drew has been the iron man in the OF this year. I never thought I'd say that. Ellsbury's trade value is in the toilet, so he will have to stay as the starting CFer and redeem himself. Cameron has another year on his contract and he will have no trade value. He should strictly be the 4th OFer- not a starter. We need a LFer? McDonald, Nava, and Patterson are not a consideration. If they want Kalish on the team, he could platoon with Cameron, but I am not crazy about that. I'd prefer they get a full time LFer and let Kalish start the season in AAA ready to come to Boston when Ellsbury starts his spa treatments, or when Cameron tears up his other testicle or his arthritis acts up. Crawford would be really nice. That would give us a ton of speed. It would be really hard to drop a hit in between those guys. If Ellsbury makes a comeback, he could be traded after 2011, and Kalish could take his spot. The starting rotation is set. If Beckett starts out bad like this year, they should send him flying with a Yankee pilot. Finally, the bullpen. A lot of work and creativity is needed here. First, I'll address the low hanging fruit. Wakefield needs to be put out to pasture. Screw the quest to pass Clemens and Cy Young in wins or whatever else. Let's be frank. He is not in their class- not even close, so he doesn't deserve the record. He's had a really nice career for a guy with a trick pitch and not much else. Keep Papelbon and Bard together for another year at the end of the bullpen. That has been the one strength of our pen. Get a real lefty reliever. Oki can go back to Japan. Get a lefty who is capable of pitching the 7th, 8th or 9th innings. Dubront can compete for the second lefty spot. There will be additional renovating to do with the pen which is probably every GM's biggest challenge. In a nutshell: Get a catcher Move VMart to first Move Youk to third Get Carl Crawford Get a top lefty for the pen I think this is all very achievable, and it would improve the team.

I go to Fenway in full uniform, including cleats and eyeblack for day games.

I agree. People are laying this all off on injuries, but this team almost played its way out of contention in April and early May when everyone was healthy. They fielded poorly and ran the bases very poorly. They gave away several games with sloppy play. Beckett stunk and the rest of the rotation was not a lot better. The bullpen was atrocious. Ortiz and a almost everyone other than Beltre started with a slump. None of this was caused by injury. A lot of people said that it was a long season and it wouldn't matter in the end. I am of the belief that a game in April is just as important as a game in September. We gave away about a half dozen games in that period to stupidity and sloppy play. That makes a difference. If the FO thinks that they just need to get healthy, they are mistaken. This season cannot be blamed solely on injuries. This team needs a catcher, who can play defense and hit. They need to part ways with Beltre and move Youk permanently to third base. VMart should be the primary first baseman, but he should go behind the plate to spell the starter for 30-35 games. If Lowrie ever gets his strength back, he can handle all of the IF backup work. They need to bolster the OF. Drew has been the iron man in the OF this year. I never thought I'd say that. Ellsbury's trade value is in the toilet, so he will have to stay as the starting CFer and redeem himself. Cameron has another year on his contract and he will have no trade value. He should strictly be the 4th OFer- not a starter. We need a LFer? McDonald, Nava, and Patterson are not a consideration. If they want Kalish on the team, he could platoon with Cameron, but I am not crazy about that. I'd prefer they get a full time LFer and let Kalish start the season in AAA ready to come to Boston when Ellsbury starts his spa treatments, or when Cameron tears up his other testicle or his arthritis acts up. Crawford would be really nice. That would give us a ton of speed. It would be really hard to drop a hit in between those guys. If Ellsbury makes a comeback, he could be traded after 2011, and Kalish could take his spot. The starting rotation is set. If Beckett starts out bad like this year, they should send him flying with a Yankee pilot. Finally, the bullpen. A lot of work and creativity is needed here. First, I'll address the low hanging fruit. Wakefield needs to be put out to pasture. Screw the quest to pass Clemens and Cy Young in wins or whatever else. Let's be frank. He is not in their class- not even close, so he doesn't deserve the record. He's had a really nice career for a guy with a trick pitch and not much else. Keep Papelbon and Bard together for another year at the end of the bullpen. That has been the one strength of our pen. Get a real lefty reliever. Oki can go back to Japan. Get a lefty who is capable of pitching the 7th, 8th or 9th innings. Dubront can compete for the second lefty spot. There will be additional renovating to do with the pen which is probably every GM's biggest challenge. In a nutshell: Get a catcher Move VMart to first Move Youk to third Get Carl Crawford Get a top lefty for the pen I think this is all very achievable, and it would improve the team.

It is so sad that we have been reduced to this on August 15th. Sigh.

Nice play by Borbon. Another nail in our coffin.

It would not have taken a lot to have won a few of the close games that were lost when Patterson, Cash and assorted other garbage had been playing. Dick K just called the catcher out and asked him. How do you say your name?

The hitters keep trying to pull Wilson and keep grounding out. Why do we have a hitting coach?