a700hitter

The Yankees had an offer prepared. I am sure that Boras knew what it was. I think there were reports in the press about the offer too.

ARod is very concerned with his image, and if the Yankees commit $275 million to him, they too are concerned with his image. What better way to make ARod look good than to play out the farce that he always wanted to stay a Yankee. Yeah I believe that ARod came crawling back for a deal larger than the one originally offered. If ARod came crawling back, why wouldn't the Yankees say "here is our original offer minus the $21 million forfeited to Texas."? After all, if he came crawling back, they'd have him over a barrel...right? Go ahead .. believe the propaganda. I am sure he never wanted to leave the Yankees, their tradition and NY.

This is all such a farce. The Yankees are trying to save face by saying that they will not negotiate with the evil Boras, but they know all too well that refusing to negotiate with the players agent or asking to exclude the agent is a violation of the Collectively Bargained Agreement. Boras knew that the Yankees would come crawling back on their bellies. All he had to do was leak that they were talking with the Red Sox or the Mets. The Yankees couldn't live with him going to one of those teams. Unfortunately, by throwing the equivalent of a hissy fit by publicly declaring that they would not negotiate with ARod (ooops I meant Boras) if he opted out, the Yankees have generated a tremendous amount of anti-ARod passion and yes venom on behalf of many Yankee fans. I don't understand the strong venomous reaction against ARod for exercising his contractual right.

Have there been any news stories that the White Sox are looking to move Konerko?

I expected Blalock to be a big star, but he has regressed instead of improving. Has the league's pitchers figured him out and he has not adjusted? He's a dead red fastball hitter. He's one of the few hitters that I have seen that could get on top of a Mo Rivera fastball. Is he all he could be, or does he need a change of scenery.

That's a long contract. He'll be a relic by year 3.

Several of them have said that they don't win without Mike Lowell. Ortiz on Conan. Pedroia was quoted at length on the subject. I am sorry that I didn't survey the whole team to have better data.. you smug jerk.

Statistics are indicators of performance and probability, but they do not precisely predict the future. I am not denigrating the use of stats in building a team, but I would doubt that there were any statistical computations that predicted Ohio State losing this weekend or New Orleans losing to the winless Rams. Your opinion is based on your review of statistics, but it is still an opinion. It is no more valid or accurate than that of a dedicated knowledgeable fan. If you asked the guys in the clubhouse, they would probably agree with redsoxrules without consulting any stats. Are their opinions also invalid or less worthy than yours? I think playing with those guys gives the players something more to support their opinions than any of us could offer.

He was the offensive spark plug once he was put at the top of the order. He is totally deserving.

Gagne was so bad pitch after pitch that I thought he would get lynched as he left Fenway. Do you remember that some guy threw a water bottle from the left field seats that landed by the pitchers mound. It seemed to shake up Gagne a good bit. The jerk that threw it had better aim than Gagne.

That statement was made in the wake of an embarrassing year. I think 2006 was a slap of reality to the FO. Theo took responsibility and none other than JH gave the go ahead to be aggressive (i.e., money) in building the team for 2007. Since then I have agreed with the approach they have taken. Maybe I have not agreed with every decision, but I have agreed with the overall approach. I am at a loss at what you are contending. Do you feel challenged that I might like the FO moves more than you do.

I enjoy your posts and learn a lot from them, but I do get tired of your generalizing when it comes to my views. For the 1,000 th time, I'm not against young players. I love the acquisition of Beckett and I still like Dice k although I think he will blow out his arm if he doesn't learn to pitch more efficiently. I've been a big promoter of papelbon since his first appearances in 2005. I think Ellsbury is going to be a star. I like Bucholz a lot. I wouldn't trade either of them for an over the hill overpaid guy. Miggy Cabrera is a young HOF talented player and Santana is a young shut down Cy Young ace. I don't think we have to have these guys, but I would go hard after Santana if the Yankees are making a play for him, because i think that could shift the balance of power in their favor for 3 or 4 years. Please stop generalizing. It gets tiring to explain more than 1,000 times why the stereotype is wrong.

In the 16 1/2 point teaser OHio St was getting 1/2 point. I guess they were very over-rated.

I never expected that one. They ruined my four team teaser. BC was the last leg on that teaser. Dammit!

I could see it working if Manny played 5 times a week.

God you are a nasty prick. Now that's an attack. Saying that Burnett's address is the DL is not an attack. Drop the venom from your posts, take the chip off your patheitic little weanie shoulder, and we can have some adult discourse.

I believe that Manny will be worth having in 2009, but that doesn't mean that I think he'll be better than Miggy. I do hope they will keep him, but if he does decline in 2008, don't you think it is possible that they could decline the team option but sign him to a reduced contract? That could happen. Schilling was a perfect example. Would a diminished Manny be worth keepin around in 2009? yes, at the right price. Where we differ I think is regarding his rate of decline. Only time will tell on that one.

You act as if there is only one way to build a team and that you were in perfect synch with the FO. You thought swapping out Damon at 4/$52 million for Drew at 5/$70 million was such a great move. I don't, but they still won a championship. The fact that they won a championship in 2007, doesn't mean that they didn't make some very bad mistakes along the way. They acknowledged that they made some very bad mistakes in 2006. IMO, at the top of that list was letting the Yankees scoop up Abreu. Of course that was okay, because many of us still believed the poverty line of BS. Abreu has been very very productive and he's been a year to year commitment. We've got 5 yrs of Drew and he bombed in his first year. You act like the FO had a plan at the end of 2005 that they executed perfectly without deviation. They did not, and they made some serious missteps along the way. To their credit they changed course at the end of 2006 and aggressively pursued FA's. You want to refer to this as retooling ...well fine. But don't change history. I was thrilled when they opened their checkbooks. I didn't like when they let a bunch of guys walk, because they were giving out the poverty line as an excuse. If I had known that they would increase the spending beyond my hopes to replace the older guys with higher priced young veterans, I'd have had no problem at the time. Neither of us knew they would engage in a spending spree. I certainly wanted them to spend and I knew they had the resources. Did you? You have to look at the posts in the context of what was known at the time. I don't think the FO knew at that time that they would commit over $200 million to 3 players in the 2006 off season. If you are looking to declare victory or something regarding posts from 2 years ago, well go ahead. It's easy to validate being a ballwasher, when we have won the championship, but it took the FO's admission of mistakes, the adjustments to its plan and a change of course, and the 2006 spending spree to accomplish the feat. No one was completely right and no one was completely wrong, not you, not me and not the FO. With the resources they have at hand they could have achieved the feat several different ways. JayHawk takes the position that we could have done as well with getting AJ Burnett and keeping HanRam. I break his balls because he goes out of his way to be an irritating prick, but maybe that would have worked too. Just because they won the Series doesn't mean they hit on some precise formulaic approach to success from which there is no alternative. If your posts are about declaring victory, go right ahead. If you are asking what I was thinking then and if I still hold the same views or if my views have changed, I am happy to engage in that discussion. I see no point in defending each opinion that I had two years ago as if nothing happened in the interim to change my mind. My thoughts and opinions change over time as circumstances change, just as the opinions of the FO have changed over time. Was a 2006 humiliation followed by an unprecedented off season spending spree part of their plan after 2004? I don't think any of them would tell you that that's how they drew it up at the end of 2004. They adapted and changed the plan as dictated by the circumstances and they prevailed.

Then we should trade the entire starting rotation...right?

I don't know why I didn't list it previously, because i could never forget the thrill it gave everyone in Fenway. Before game 2 of the August 17th Day/Night Double Header (Jimmy Fund Telethon Day), that cancer survivor kid circled the bases with a huge smile on his face. Everyone was cheering him on and praying that he would make it all the way. It gave me chills up and down my spine. It was an unbelievable moment of triumph. God Bless the Red Sox and their generous fans for their affiliation with the Jimmy Fund. P.S. Gagne had to ruin an otherwise perfect day. Bucholz had won his debut in the afternoon game. The little boy triumphed over cancer in his trip around the bases, the telethon broke records, Beckett looked dominant, and Ortiz and Manny spanked KRod to take the lead in the nigh cap. Gagne was dead to me from that point on.

Great post!