a700hitter

They have a very talented roster.

If it is quicker, you can just ask me. Lol! That remark will get some people' s underwear tied in a knot.

If you let emotions enter into your gambling, you will go broke quickly.

And if you watched Jeter for thousands of games over his career, you already knew that without having to look up WAR. I have said it over and over. In the words of the great Vin Scully, "Statistics should be used the way a drunk uses a lamp post -- for support not illumination." It was also pretty clear that in his last season plus that Jeter's defense was hurting his team to a significant extent. He couldn't move at all after the broken ankle and his arm accuracy started to betray him as well.

Almost every expert projected them as a 4th place team or worse going into that season. Looking at the team on paper at the beginning of the year couldn't project the relatively good health of its pitching staff and the situational resilience of that team. As a group, they were very mentally tough. When things gor rough and looked like they might turn bad, they turned things around. This was very different from the 2011 and 2012 teams which caved when things started to turn bad and things spiraled downward.

Pedroia is one of those players that transcends his stats. He has what we used to mock about Jeter. He had the intangibles of leadership. Plus, he is a much better fielder than Jeter. I don't put a lot of stock in fielding metrics. I watch at least 150 Red Sox games a year. I have thousands of games under my belt. I have seen Pedroia's entire career. I don't need a stat to tell me about his range, his hands and his footwork on the DP. His offense has been down in recent years due to injuries incurred on defense, but in today's game, he is a great value even in down offensive seasons, because of the other aspects of his game and leadership.

Yes, those were some great teams in 1975, 1978, 1986, 2003 and 2008. In each of those years, the team caught some bad breaks that turned out to be good breaks for their opponents. In 1975, Jim Rice missed the entire post season with a broken wrist and then there was the the End Armbrister non- interference call. In 1978, there was the lucky catch by Lou Piniella on Remy's base hit to RF. He didn't see the ball at all and just threw out his glove. In 1986, there was the Buckner play and Clemen's blister that took him out of the game. In 2003, there was Grady Little and in 2008, there was Beckett's torn Lat. I would add 1967 to the list as the Red Sox had to face the Cardinals without Tony Conigliaro who was one of the brightest young stars in the game. This reinforces my point that a lot of things need to go right to go all the way. Those were great teams, but the planets didn't align for them in those years. The same cannot be said of finishing last. You don't need a lot of bad breaks at critical times. You just need to suck and be a poorly constructed team.

I' ll give them credit when things work out as they did in 2013, but they have to take the blame when they go into the crapper. It was no fluke that they finished last in 2014. They lost an all star CF who was an offensive catalyst and replaced him with a guy who would have needed a tremendous hotstreak to cross the Mendoza line. They handed over three starting positions to unproven kids and they had no backup plan except getting Drew after the team was firmly in suckland. And we know how Drew worked out. They went into the season operating without a net. There was no depth. Neither 2013 nor 2014 were flukes and the FO gets the credit and the blame. However, to win it all you need a few more things to go right and have luck shine on you than you need bad breaks to finish last. If Tori Hunter was 2 inches taller or had 2 inch orthodics we never make it to the WS.

To have any pitcher on your team put up one of the top 2 or 3 season performances for a closer is "the planets aligning". He had a season that was a statistical outlier and he had it at age 38. He had a WHIP of 0.565 while striking out101 batters in 2013. The great Mo struck out more than 100 batters once in his career -- in his first full year (1996) when he was a multi inning set up guy. He threw more than 100 innings in 1996. As a closer, he never came close to 100 k's in a year. Also, Koji's strike to ball ratio in 2013 was insane. Has any closer ever come close. Of course it was an ideal year for Koji. It was his " career year". He had it at age 38. Not only will that be his career year, but we will be lucky if we see another guy have a season like that.

I saw Ernie Banks toward the end of his playing career, and it was obvious that he was one of the most respected and beloved players in history. After his playing days, I had two encounters with Mr. Cub. I was at the Hall of Fame inductions for Carl Yastrzemski in 1989 and Tom Seaver in 1994. Each time, I was lucky enough to get a spot along the rope line where the Hall of Famers entered on the red carpet. Ernie Banks was one of only two Hall of Famers (the other being Pee Wee Reese) to stop and sign autographs for everyone who called him over. It was holding up the event, so event organizers had to escort him along. He was so genuinely friendly and appreciative toward the fans that there was no doubt that he was a very special person and not just a Hall of Fame ballplayer. It was an honor to have met the man.

And you are good little apprentices.

I realize that, but getting one of the best season performances for a closer in the history of the game was not to be expected.

I will be so miserable, because I will have this perpetual grin that will be impossible to wipe off.

The two them in full dick mode today

I love Truck Day. I start my count down to my ST trip. Warm weather, beaches and Red Sox baseball. Sounds miserable. LOL!!

The best thing that could have happened was that Bailey and Hanrahan pulled a Bobby Jenks act and went down right away. We knew Koji had a quality arm and that he puts up good numbers, but his performance was other-worldly. It was definitely in the top 3 closer performances that I can remember. The other 2 were the year Eck had an 0.61 ERA and the year that Wilie Hernandez seemed to pitch everyday for the Tigers. Koji's season was another example of the planets aligning for the Red Sox in 2013.

It's a game of inches that separates the men from the boys. LOL!!

It was very key in 2013 that Buch came out of the gate 11-0, and he was pitching to an ERA under 2. That was better than anyone would have predicted and it was a best case scenario. By the time he went on the DL, the team was rolling pretty good, because Lester had turned around his performance from the prior 2 seasons (a period where his performance was declining in direct correlation to losing movement on his cutter). Also key was the fact that the other 4 rotation spots made between 27 and 33 starts a piece. When you do that, you will have some consistency and usually be successful. Jake Peavy was acquired to pick up the slack for Buch and a slumping Doubs. He performed consistently too taking 10 starts. It was the healthiest year for our rotation since 2008 -- a year that we should have won another champion.

I can't have a problem with him if I can't see his posts. That being said, the quote feature does make a mockery of the ignore feature.

I follow the Vin Scully philosophy of stats.

It's interesting that's for sure, but until I read a report that there are some negotiations I don't get too excited. BTW, It seems like the Phillies are not getting interest in Hamels. It looks like no one wants to do business with Amaro. Phils President is reported to have said that he thinks interest in Hamel will pick up in the Spring.

I'm in on Betts for Strasburg, but it is just conjecture. There are no reports that there have been any negotiations between the 2 teams.

I would not trade Pedroia for 1 year of Zimmerman, but I might consider it for Strasburg. Pedroia's health and performance have been declining. I am not sure that he can be what he used to be. But damn, it would be hard to part with him. Also, isn't Rendon their second baseman?

Will Ryan Zimmerman be moving to 1B for the Nats this season. If not, they could use a first baseman. Maybe Napoli would be a good fit.

Thanks Bells. I would do that trade in a heart beat. In my opinion, a package of Some of Allen Craig, Joe Kelly, Garin Cecchini, Matt Barnes, Jackie Bradley is a collection of garbage and spare parts. The best player in that package is Kelly and the Nats are alread stacked with pitching. They would have no use for him. Cecchini is most likely blocked for a long time by Rendon/Zimmerman.