a700hitter

they settled before arbitration for 500k more than Pedro made in 2004 to make him the highest paid pitcher in history. He really didn't play for 5 million in '04. I believe that his Yankee contract gave him a $5million advance in '03 for '04. He has always been a bottom line guy. Don't kid yourself. He didn't go to the Yankees to win the ring. He went there, because he broke a n $8 million/year contract with Toronto for $15 million/year with the Yankees. If the Sox come up with $15-18 million, it would be worth it for one year. It's not a long term commitment and the year long farewell tour would be very profitable for both sides.

Houston gave him top dollar to play near his family. He was the highest paid pitcher in history last year. Not a bad home town discount to be near his family. Roger realizes that his big earning days are coming to a close. He'll go where the $ is. What will he miss of his family. The kids finish school in May and they are not babies anymore. He'll play for whatever team gives him $18 million.

$ will determine where he goes for his last year.

Facts are facts. When they started losing Joe had Bernie hit the bench and Womack started playinf LF. Cashman doesn't write out the lineup card. Joe does that. When Joe played Bernie over Lofton and Sierra, it had nothing to do with loyalty. Bernie was the better CF than Lofton and Sierra made the whole OF worse.

I could see him mending fences with Boston and coming back for 1 last season. It would lead to tremendous endorsement opportunities.

I couldn't give you a link, but I have heard and read spec that the Cubs are negotiating with him. I agree with you that if no other team is after him, low ball him and get him for one year, but if there is another team or two looking at him, the Sox should do what it will take within reason to get him .

Joe's loyal until he starts losing. He threw Bernie under the bus at the beginning of last year to make that ridiculous move of putting Womack in CF. That one was doomed from the beginning, and Bernie was not too happy about it.

If the Cubs are offering him 3, the Sox need to offer 4. If they are offering 4, the Sox need to offer 5. Playing SS in Boston on a team with high expectations to win and an over-bearing print press is a pressure-cooker. Look at what it did to Renteria. The negative intangibles in Boston justify the premium. Chicago is serene compare to Boston. At the same price, the player goes to Chicago. We tend to think the intense baseball atmosphere is a big plus for players, and it may be for players with a certain personality, but for just as many players it is a negative. The Sox need a top defensive SS. To quibble over a million or so at this point would be penny wise but pound foolish.

I think he would have played a great deal for the Yankees at DH. Bernie would have been grabbing some bench.

This team needs a top quality defensive SS. Cora is a nice infielder, but is not Gonzalez's equal with the glove. Sign Gonzalez for two years at 5/year and put the finishing touch on this team going into Spring Training. Pedroia needs a full year at AAA. In 2007, Pedroia can be the caddie unless he shoots out the lights this year in AAA and has a good Spring Training in 2007. Once you move Pedroia into the starting spot, there should n't be much of a problem moving a gold glove SS, maybe the Sox pick up $1 million when and if they move him in '07. You don't put all the work into building this team with improved pitching and a younger CF to pull some guy off last year's bench or a minor leaguer to play starting SS. $5 million is a good value for a gold glove caliber SS with the capability of hitting 20+ HRs.

For only $2 million, he was worth the risk for the Yanks or the Sox.

Still no luck in the Virtual Waiting room, but I was able to get through on the phone.

Anyone else get lucky?

I have been on since 10 also. At 11:30, I got re-directed to a page that could not be displayed. I hopr that doesn't start the whole wait over again. The entire Mets series is almost sold out.

Finally, it is done! Now, it's time for the FO to put the full court press on Clemens.

You were making it seem like it was a characteristic of only Red Sox fans. Fans of all teams (but I am careful not to say "all fans") are hypocrites. But why should the fans be any different from the players and management?

Because Jupiter has rings.

Schilling is right about fans.

Yeah, the guy was a stud with 5 tools. He played on cellar-dwelling horrible teams his first 5 or 6 years. Even afterward, he rarely played on a .500 team until he played for the Braves after age 40. His early career was during pre-steriod days, so his extra-base power for a middle infielded was considered to be well-above average. In addition, from 1986-1991 he finished in the top 10 in AL Bat Avg four times and won the Batting title in 1991. From '84 to '91, he finished in the top ten in hits 5 times, each year with more than 180 hits. From '87-'91, he finished in the top 10 in OBP 4 of those 5 years. He stole more than 30 bases 4 times and he won the AL Silver Slugger award for second basemen 4 straight years from 1988 to 1991. So, yeah he was a stud, but on a very, very bad team. We should only hope Youklis had his talent. OBP or OPS are not necessarily the best indicators of performance for past players. It is also unfair to apply benchmarks such as .400 OPB to eras that were not offensively dominated as is today's game. Players must be judged in the context of their time. Finally, there is no better judge of a guys performance than the people who saw him play. I saw him come up as a rookie. If you don't believe me, ask others who saw him play, or at least dig deeper than a few isolated stats. The fact that he is 47 and still holding his own should indicate that the guy had been very talented when he was young.

When Franco wa Youk's age about 20 years ago, he was a stud with great tools. If Youk reminds you of a 47 year old, that says alot about Youk.

John Henry, Theo and LL have been making their rounds explaining what happened with the FO politics. They sound like a bunch of bozos. Theo really put them in a bad spot with his temper tantrum. I am sure that LL will not forget this, as he unnecessarily took the brunt of criticism.

Kearns, Michael? A big step down. Crisp brought a legit lead-off bat and speed. I hope Marte turns out to be a stud, but I am not going to hold my breath.

Kearns, Michael? A big step down. Crisp brought a legit lead-off bat and speed. I hope Marte turns out to be a stud, but I am not going to hold my breath.

Youklis

Here is my first post where I suggest getting Matos as a 4th OF. This was posted before there was any news about Mota's physical and before this thread had started. http://www.talksox.com/forum/showpost.php?p=109093&postcount=342 I still think we should get Matos if we only have to give up Graffy, regardless of getting or not getting Crisp. I think they should get Matos sooner than later to help in their negotiations with the Guardians. Please don't tell me what I am thinking. Pay closer attention to your own thoughts.