a700hitter

It was a very slow read. At times, I also had difficulty knowing who authored which entries.

IMO Manny's eccentric and sometimes bizarre behavior has scared off potential trade partners. No team wants to deal with crazy.

Yeah, I got it.

Not a chance. The morons on WEEI are devoting the entire day to this.

He's just a very immature guy. Hopefully, it won't affect his team mates. WEEI and the journalists have to lay off this. It's nothing new.

WEEI is reporting that the Red Sox have announced that Manny will not report to FT. Myers until March 1st. I guess he'll do a drive-by and go to the WBC.

I dont disagree with anything you are saying. As a fan, I am rooting for the Sox to win. I may not cheer a guy if I think he is a jerk, but I will only boo our players if I think they are not giving a full effort. IMO booing a hometown guy for any other reason is pointless. Showering a hometown guy with boos, because we don't like his attitude isn't going to improve his attitude or performance. Chances are that his friends on the team will circle the wagons to protect him and this will cause bitterness by other players against the fans. It's just not helpful to the team.

Not every player that is not fan friendly is an idiot. Some just don't have an outgoing personality. Others are idiots. Those who are not fan friendly will not get endorsements, etc, and they limit their opportunities. Some of these guys who we think are fan friendly are complete phonies and they put on the act to get to endorsements. The fans are not going to like a guy like Foulke, but on the other hand, I don't agree with the opinion that his fan friendliness issues should have any bearing on whether he should be traded. His personality, or lack thereof, should only be relevant if it affects team chemistry and performance. I think it is stupid to boo the guy just because he is an ass, when we will let other guys slide who are performing worse, because we perceive that they are nice guys. It just doesn't achieve or prove anything. Truth be known, Foulke is probably no better or worse a person than any of the others. I think we would be shocked if we knew what most players think about the fans. I really don't care, because I don't expect to be having a drink or breaking bread with any of them anytime soon, and I can live without the phony waves, handshakes, etc.

Lots of Boxers hate Boxing, and some professional athletes would never buy a ticket to see a sporting event. They think fans are suckers. To them it is a job and a profession and a nice paycheck. It's hardwork to get to the ML level and stay there. Michael Jordan liked baseball more than Basketball, so what. Why are people disturbed if a player doesn't love playing his sport or if he is not fan friendly. Who gives a hoot. Foulke likes putting 0's up on the board, and if he can do that, well, that's what matters to me and Johnny from Burger King.

Zim had that ass-kicking coming since 1978 for banishing Yankee-Killer, Bill Lee to the bullpen. I think Bill Lee invaded Pedro's body for just a moment.

I loved Curt Gowdy. Besides being a great announcer, he jumped ship from the Yankees and Mel Allen when the Yankees were in the midst of 5 consecutive World Championships. Curt Gowdy will always be a legend in Red Sox history.

If you look at certain stats such as hits/9 innings, whip, winning %, league adj. ERA, and k's/9 innings there is a very strong case to be made that Pedro is the greatest pitcher of all time.

NESN is available on Direct TV no matter where you live. Dump your cable.

Write to WFAN and order a tape of yesterday's Mike and the Mad Dog show. Maybe they mention his name.

I get the concept. The point is that there weren't many starter that would have done worse than Mike Torrez. Also, if your starters stink, you are better off to stock your pen with more long men than to run a stinker out there every 5th day for 6 or 7 innings. That just results in additional losses.

Hey, once he is out of baseball, he might as well be dead as far as I am concerned. It's time to say goodbye to America and the World, Sammy before you embarrass yourself. You are just lucky that you never got caught on the steroid rap, and ironically you came out of the Congressional hearings looking better than MGwire, because you had not compunction about lying while MGwire, while looking bad by being evasive, he refused to lie on the record. Unfortunately, you did not get caught like the other liar, Palmiero. Plus, you were smart enough to have your attorney write and read the statement. I also believe that you have been clean for a couple of years which explains your need to start caulking. You got caught red-handed with the caulked bat, but the public has forgiven you. Now you can't caulk and you can't juice, so you are through. Please go away, before you do something stupid to ruin what is left of your reputation.

I agree! That "eats innings" concepts has struck me as BS for years. From a starter, you want quality starts. He should keep you in the ballgame. If he throws 200+ innings with a high ERA, who cares. I remember Mike Torrez criticizing the Mets for letting him go at the end of his career, because he said that they would not find anyone to pitch the # of innings that he pitched. It was a ridiculous argument, because he couldn't get anyone out. I'd rather use two pitchers to absorb the workload, while lowering the ERA for those innings by a half of a run.

This WBC is going to be a huuuuge bust.

Bad news on Pavano already. I heard on WFAN in NY that he consulted a physician about his back, and the doctor advised him not to throw off a mound for 10 days to 2 weeks. It sounds like Pavano is picking up where he left off.

I am not as familiar with the NL, so my standard for futility is KC, except for those years when the Tigers are even worse.

Yes, Vegas has KC as a big favorite to go all the way.

I think they should keep him. He's a solid professional off the bench who can step in for an extended period without hurting the team. I'd cut Willie Harris loose.

The April schedule has some open dates and weather usually provides a few other open dates, so the 12 pitcher doesn't usually get much work. Even if Dinardo goes down to Pawtucket, don't they still have 12--- Schilling, Beckett, Wells, Wakefield, Clement, Arroyo, Papelbon, Seanez, Taverez, Riske, Timlin, and Foulke. Too many for April. As for Wells, IMO he will come north with the Sox, unless Clemens is signed by Boston.

Anticipation is in the air, and it will continue to grow, unless you root for KC, in which case the departure of the equipment truck is the highlight of your season.

Durazo cannot play the OF.