a700hitter

I don't know exactly how it would have turned out, but it couldn't have been worse for the Red Sox. Adding him to the Sox would have had the double effect of subtracting him from the Yanks. Plus, the Red Sox would have had Cory Lidle every 5 days instead of the parade of minor leaguers and garbage that was trotted out to the mound. They lost a lot of one run games. I don't know in how many Abreu would have made a difference. But he would have made a differnce in some. I don't know what difference it would have made to the bullpen if Lidle was able to go 7 a couple of times. It couldn't have hurt the pen. I don't know how many more games the Yankees would have lost without Abreu, but certainly he has had a postive effect on that team. We just don't know, but it would not have been this bad.

Wang working around Ortiz. How often does that happen with MVP Jeter?

You are engaging in pure conjecture. None of us know how it would have turned out, but it couldn't have turned out worse for the Red Sox. That much is for sure.

Yes, they would have had to eat some. My point is that it wouldn't have cost them anywhere near the $27 million figure. That was a damage-control story planted in the press. And with the way Abreu is playing, they might not have had to eat that much of the $17 million. It 's only a 1 year commitment.

They didn't have to keep him for next year. They could've traded him in the offseason. If they did, it wouldn't have cost $27 million. I would hope that Red Sox management was smart enough to realize that. The Red Sox got aced out of the deal because the Yankees made a take it or leave it offer to take all of his salary. The Red Sox were never able to get back to the table.

I'm not going to engage in a big argument over Gonzalez. I have no idea what he has left, but if the Red Sox start next season with an OF of Ramirez, Crisp, Pena and Murphy we'll be lucky to finish second.

Murphy showing good power the other way.

Jeter's error costs a run. Edit: Jeter's eroor costs 2 runs. Edit: Jeter's error costs 3 runs

MVP and GG Jeter looking like a doofus.

Yeah, that's how I know that he likes a dildo up his ass.

MVP Jeter goes down looking at a third strike after his dribbler in the first.

Pena is starting to remind me of Dave Kingman, Rob Deer and that ilk. I hope that I am wrong. He's going to need to be a better all around player, because hitting 40 HRs is no BFD without more.

Ortiz letting his bat talk again.

So your 4 OF's are Manny, Crisp, Wily Mo, and Murphy? Are you hell bent on being embarrased again next year?

Jeter with the hard hit dribbler to Lowell. A loud out.

Ortiz letting his bat do the talking with a laser beam down the RF line.

Interesting article. I realize this is just Schilling yapping, but he is closer to these things than any of us. I think it gives us cause to be optimistic about an aggressive off-season team to rebuild this team to compete in '07. The quote from JH is also encouraging. This off-season will should give us a good indication of whether there is still some fan left in Theo or whether he is just a FO suit with Ivy league credentials. I prefer to think he is a fan at his core. I'll never forget his expression and demeanor after the 2003 ALCS. He looked like a disappointed fan more so than a businessman. I remember I called my son after watching Theo's post-game interview, and I told him that I though if Theo could have fired Little right then and there he would. I believe Little was gone the next day after the WS was over. That showed me just how serious he was about winning and how much he hated losing to the Yankees. I'm hoping to see some of that fire in his off-season approach. http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=157629

I'd prefer a split so we don't have to watch them celebrate, but if we get annihilated in embarrassing fashion in the other two games it could be just as motivational for the FO.

If Nixon doesn't come back as the 4th OF, Gonzalez would certainly fill the bill, and as we have learned, the 4th OF on the Red Sox usually gets a lot of PT. The only question would be his price.

Although this would make me wretch and vomit for the next two days, the upside is that it would throw the huliation of 9 losses in a row to the Yankees would throw the FO into crises mode. By next spring we'd have all sorts of new studs on the team as the FO would likely loosen the purse strings to turn things around. They can't afford to go into 2007 with a team that the Yankees can mop up like this.

Spread Category Date & Time...... Favorite............. Spread.................. Underdog 9/17 1:00 ET At Baltimore ..................-11....................... Oakland 9/17 1:00 ET At Indianapolis............... -13....................... Houston 9/17 1:00 ET At Cincinnati................. -10.5................... Cleveland 9/17 1:00 ET At Miami .........................-7......................... Buffalo 9/17 1:00 ET At Chicago..................... -8.5 ........................Detroit 9/17 1:00 ET Carolina ..........................-3................. At Minnesota 9/17 1:00 ET At Philadelphia .................-3 ......................NY Giants 9/17 1:00 ET At Atlanta ......................-5.5................... Tampa Bay 9/17 1:00 ET New Orleans.................... -2 .................At Green Bay 9/17 4:05 ET St. Louis.......................... -3 ............At San Francisco 9/17 4:05 ET At Seattle........................ -7 .........................Arizona 9/17 4:15 ET New England ....................-6 .....................At NY Jets 9/17 4:15 ET At San Diego.................. -12 ....................Tennessee 9/17 4:15 ET At Denver ....................-10.5................... Kansas City 9/17 8:15 ET At Dallas .......................-5.5 ...................Washington Monday Night Football Point Spread 9/18 8:30 ET At Jacksonville ..................-1...................... Pittsburgh Straight Category : Date & Time....... Favorite.........................Underdog 9/17 1:00 ET At Baltimore ...............................Oakland 9/17 1:00 ET At Indianapolis ............................Houston 9/17 1:00 ET At Cincinnati .............................Cleveland 9/17 1:00 ET At Miami ......................................Buffalo 9/17 1:00 ET At Chicago ...................................Detroit 9/17 1:00 ET Carolina ..............................At Minnesota 9/17 1:00 ET At Philadelphia ..........................NY Giants 9/17 1:00 ET At Atlanta ...............................Tampa Bay 9/17 1:00 ET New Orleans ........................At Green Bay 9/17 4:05 ET St. Louis .........................At San Francisco 9/17 4:05 ET At Seattle ....................................Arizona 9/17 4:15 ET New England ............................At NY Jets 9/17 4:15 ET At San Diego ...........................Tennessee 9/17 4:15 ET At Denver ...............................Kansas City 9/17 8:15 ET At Dallas ................................Washington Monday Night Football 9/18 8:30 ET At Jacksonville ...........................Pittsburgh Monday Night Football Total Points Scored..............___38____

No, he was a bad guy, because he was a bad guy. He never says anything other than pointless platitudes. These so-called special qualities are nothing more than manifestations of a popularity contest. They should not be considerations in determining Hall membership.

More of the same with Timlin. He gives up a leadoff double to Mora. He's blown 7 of 11 save opportunities. This guy doesn't want to retire, but I don't think anyone will want him. He gets a DP ball to end the game.