a700hitter

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.

I'm in. I had been checking the Contest Thread.

Maybe, but he didn't play it that way. He seemed to have miscalculated all aspects of the situation. Thank god that LL is the brains of the operation.

The fact is that Theo was visiting the Fenway offices on a frequent basis. If he was the one exerting the leverage, he would have come back to a position with more authority than he had before or at least a new title and more money. It's good to have him back, but nothing has changed since he left.

It depends whose heads are involved. Also, it is easier for a ventriloquist (Larry L) to control one puppet than two.

Your first post and you are throwing stones at other posters? Not showing much creativity yourself.:thumbdown

It could happen, but with prospects you never know. Right now, it is just a dream.

This has nothing to do with spite. You haven't been following the thread. I and a number of other posters believe that we should make the Matos trade regardless of whether the Crisp trade goes through, because we need a RH fourth OF to platoon with Nixon. Additionally, making this move sooner than later would be a good negotiating tactic with Cleveland as it would show Cleveland that we are not desperate for Crisp. Mota has passed his physicals. The Guardians are engaging in gamesmanship-- a bluffing game. One way to counter this tactic is to make the other deal first and hold fast on our refusal to include additional prospects.

Nothing happened. That's why he is back in his same position. He tried to throw his weight around when he walked, and they apparently did not come after him begging for him to come back. He soon realized that he had miscalculated and stayed close to the operation to keep the door opened. Finally, all agreed that he would resume his old position. By returning to his old position, he has acceded to the fact that LL is the reigning "Big Cheese."