Mr Crunchy

I didnt know that, a rare and welcome post from talk sox's nicest member and informative at that. That changes the price of poker but I think that Dice K could be swayed if hes headed to a west coast team with a large asian market, that said he may have competetive fire that would prevent him from leaving the ruff and tumble east coast where every game is dissected like a bullfrog in 10th grade biology.The sox fans havent turned on him but that may change if he continues to struggle. I am sure the sox got a ton of money back on marketing, more than enuff to satisfy the marketing end of the deal but we're looking for results on the field at this point.

he could be a bargain for a west coast team looking to improve its image.

The move would be a quick fiscal boost for either team,SanFran has a 40% asian population,Seattle has a ton of asians as well and i believe its owned by the Nintendo crew.Both teams suck and lack a face on their franchises, of course unless Dice improves it wont help their long term goals.

That ASU team looks rather impressive.

Had the pleasure of being in Arkansas for a month in a place called El Dorado which is about 25 miles north of the Louisiana border and in the center of the southern part of the state.... I found the people there to be rather courteous as well as curious and if not some what suspicious of someone who sounds like teddy kennedy.I did like the food with the exceptions of the game feeds that are put on frequently.Raccoon and possum are loaded with cholesterol and chewy, catfish and farm fresh bacon eggs and sausage are regular staples along with hominy grits, couldnt seem to get a decent cup of coffee and the coldcuts are simply terrible,the Northern plain states are moving down there slowly but steadily, Chicago'ans are plentiful in HotSprings. I liked pretty much the entire south with the exception of Dothan Alabama,the only place I felt compelled to carry a sidearm in public...When the sign says PLUMS, 5/1.00 and they charge 1.25 for 3 of them,dont argue,just pay the man or be prepared to go to jail or the morgue. I also think that the Ozark perimeter will be competeting with the Carolinas and Georgia for retirees looking for a warmer climate in the next 50 years, Hot Springs is going balls to the wall in recruiting people and Florida is full, real full and it will only get worse.

2 ego maniacs running an 8 page thread over why Jorge Posada isnt as good as Yaya Molina? You guys should chip in for a hooker, theres no possible way you get laid without paying.

When this crew took over their 1st act of business was waiving Manny so they werent in love with him from the begining.Neither Nomar or Manny were Epstein guys and both were so f***ing sullen and cancerous at the end that he essentially had no choice but to move them, this is different. This is Theos prize acquisition and what was supposed to be the best pitcher on the market in the 06 offseason. The cost is around 20m per when you factor in salary and negotiations costs. So I ask again, will he expose himself for ridicule by trading Matsusaka and is there a home for him on a losing team or is he destined to play out his next 2.5 years in Boston... After paying 19m for 1 year of Renteria, the Matt Clement disastorous experiment,36M to Julio Lugo and 75M for JD Drew will Theo pay what will amount to be 28M for 2.5 yrs of Dice K and thats if we dont eat any of his current salary.I think theyve pimped out every dime possible on this thing in Boston and the Dice K jerseys arent exactly flying off the shelf these days. A move to say Seattle or even out to SanFran or LA would help both the pitcher,the marketing oppurtunities and possibly even the RedSox if they can get a lefthanded bat out of the deal...Would we trade him straight up for Nick Johnson and would DC agree to the deal?

Whats sick is the fact that he went 18-3 with a sub 3 era last year which makes it even a bigger enigma cause i dont know how he did it in this league.Its a nice spot to be in if your Epstein but Im not sure that Theo has the stones to trade a guy that we spent 50M on just to negotiate... I just dont know, I do know John Smoltz is one of the best money guys ever and along with Beckett makes our post season staff very scary if hes still got his velocity . What would a losing team offer for a pitcher who went 18-3 last year,is still young but is struggling?

With Becks and Lester coming into form and the putrid effort of Matsusaka Im not adverse to seeing them send Dice to Pawtucket for an extended visit and maybe he can find some of the courage thats been lost, the guy is an instant sedative every time he takes the mound. Hes an interesting candidate to be sent packing, i believe his real salary is 9-10M per and in the right place he could be a marketing bonanza for a team looking for a revenue boost. I dont hate him I just think he was tremendously overrated and patient teams crucify him.

A national league thats contending will bite on him and if moved to an nl west park he could deflate those #s...Is it me or does he look real fat?

I thought he retired 2 years ago

Im not sure theres any game footage of walter johnson. he and abner doubleday were classmates, he was also 1 of the 1st 5 men inducted into cooperstown. 1st 5 men selected were Honus Wagner Ty Cobb Christy Mathewson Johnson and...Babe Ruth.

Pitt back in business with a huge 2nd period

banner day for wang, he cut his era in half

99.9# of the time i wont argue balls and strikes on a sox chatroom and even now im not arguing but if that was a strike we should see a couple dozen no hitters this year...Even if it were a strike its a pitch you lay off of on a 3-1 count with the bases juiced and down 3 runs. I wear reading glasses and my eyes get really tired at night with diabetes so maybe it was me and the bar full of guys who were watching the game with me. I'm busting here but I do think Arod is a gag artist of historic proportions.

Why they have hughes in the minors is a mystery because he has been effective and is their golden boy even more so than Joba.I dont think that keeping a lid on a guy with an innings count is a bad thing,especially with the money they invest in these prospects but it got a bit ridiculous with Joba,especially under Torre... If they can do it then let em air it out, confidence is part of the equation and the back and forth trips to the minors are not exactly confidence boosters. just dont do what the Phillies have done over the years, they've burnt more arms out by over use than any other franchise and they had that reputation since the 80s.

agreed, we got guys who get on base, we have a couple of speed guys in Lugo and Ells and are team OBP has to be amongst the best in the business without any help from our DH..I got laffed at several years ago when Aubrey Huff was available for a sack of apples, i have no idea how hes doing but he cant be doing any worse than papi at this stage of the season.

1st in war 1st in peace last in the american league was their old battle cry.

3 hitters arent really a dime a dozen. We can go with what we got IF we get some production in replace of Ortiz's abyssmal bat. Whether we move bay to 4 and Youk to 3 or vice versa wont matter much if we get consistant production from our leadoff and # 2 guys.Both men have had 100rbi seasons and as it stands the only huge hole we have is at DH, we should be able to find a guy that can fill that role.

Kg has some questionable fascinations like this one with the 07 Rockies,a team that played 750 ball in September and won its last 10 games in a row, 6 on the road and all against the teams they were battling with for the wildcard and or division & needed a blown save by Trevor Hoffman to win the w/c. Josh Fogg really pumps his gnads I'm told.

The 05 white sox also had a 151/2 game lead in mid august that was whittled down to 1.5 by late september and needed to win the last weekend of the season to win the division. ya, they did have the best staff in the game that year but it was the rookie closer bobby jenks who saved them from disaster...Thats when the courageous Roger Clemens threw 53 pitches in game 1 and was getting beaten like the 10 cent whore he really is when his "'trick"" hammy acted up causing him to limp off the field as if he were f***ing Barbaro with a broken hoof..Oh the memories are special.

I wish I didnt open this up, best of luck. Kids and cancer just isnt fair and we've certainly seen our share over here. Let me take the pin out of the eye of my steinbrenner voodoo doll and I'll stick it in the one I made for Jacko back in 04, theres plenty of room on that piece. God be with ya's.

Colorado went 16-1 down the stretch in 07 and beat SD in a playoff win the wild card,they had to sweep the Dodgers and Padres on the road and then sweep Arizona at home to get that playoff game.How did this happen?they may have been the worst team in baseball history Ive seen to appear in the world series, the NL in general has had a ton of collapses in recent years and nothing stands out like the Mets failures.

Pitching doesnt guarantee you winning it all but it improves your chances dramatically and generally keeps you competetive year in and year out, pitching costs money and this is why the higher payrolls are usually the ones running for the money in October, not always but usually. Mulder Hudson and Zito had great regular season #s but never really dominated in the playoffs and when they left Oakland they were either mediocre or simply awful. Oakland plays in the coliseum, their pitchers have artificial #s due to the vastness of that ballpark, the f***ing foul ground is the size of logan airport,baseball over and under totals are about a run lower in Oakland than they are in the rest of the American League. The playoffs can be a crap shoot but the team with DEEPEST pitching and hottest arms usually wins. Time after time the ball will be in the hands of your 11th or 12th pitcher with the season on the line and a couple of outs needed. or if you're lucky you can have Josh Beckett or Schilling or Johnson or Smoltz or Petitte circa 1999 and you'll definitely win more than you lose...Orel Hershiser 1988 comes to mind. The playoff pitchers who succeed are generally power guys.Rarely did Greg Maddox get the same results in October that he got in April and rarely did anyone hit John Smoltz in October. The 2 teams this century that werent the best teams in the league were the 06 Cards who played a Detroit team that gagged all over themselves with horrendous defense and no big hits and then perhaps you could say the 02 Angels who out slugged the Giants, got some great bullpen work and simply out hustled and outcoached the Yanks that year..Philly was clicking last fall but I think Boston wouldve handled them, too bad that Beckett was cold and Garza was untouchable.

Historically hold outs have been ostracized with the exception of Richard Seymour.