TheKilo

John Smoltz would have been a better deal, IMO.

Fine, not 100%. What would you agree with? 75%? 90%? With a shredded shoulder. Did you happen to watch him in the playoffs? It is absolutely a hypothetical. I've given my reasons as to why I feel the Sox are the 3rd best team in the ALE. I couldn't give a s*** less if people agree with me or not. I get that it's proven over the course of the season. What I don;t understand is why people can't offer an opinion on what they feel. They cop out and say "I prefer to let it play out." Well duh. I'd be interested in hearing how you think the teams stack up 1-3, instead of just offering excuses. What a wonderful thread - because I have offered dissenting opinions on the way this offseason has gone so far I am cocky and I am a duncetard. I'm learning so much. There is no way the ALE will have three 95+ win teams this season.

Racism = fail

I'll play. If the improvements from the Sox players you mention don't equal more than two wins from the improvement of the Tampa contingent, the Sox finish behind the Rays in 2009. The improvement from Beckett will be more than offset from Jackson -> Price. Longoria is a 100% certainty to be more productive than a 35 year old coming off hip surgery. BJ Upton has chunks of Jacoby Ellsbury in his stool. Do you get it? If so, why is calling the Sox the 3rd best team in the division such a crime? Because right now, 12/29/2008, the Red Sox are the 3rd best team in the ALE. I find it difficult for anyone to refute that, which is all I've said all along. They can be a good team and the 3rd best in the division, and what does that get them?

For 2009? This is an argument I'd like to hear. What prospects are even close to making an impact for the Sox in 2009? Clay or Bowden? I'd rather have David Price. Jeff Bailey and Jonathan Van Every? OOOOHHHHHHH excited! Tampa has had a decade of top 10 picks in their farm system. Something tells me their guys may be better suited to make a more immediate impact. Holy crap why is this so difficult to get? There are members here who are frustrated that the FO feels the best way to improve the team are bounceback years from a 35 year old coming off hip surgery and a guy pushing 275 who has had wrist and knee problems the last two seasons. They did nothing to improve the team in 2007, which is fine because they won the WS. However, when you are the 2nd most profitable team in baseball and then cry poverty, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sorry if this offends others. Who is saying this? I'm happy the Sox exercise some restraint with most contracts. Johnny Damon. Pedro Martinez. Etc. What I don't get, is Mark Teixeira IS the guy who spend big time FA dollars on. They made him their #1 priority and did nothing but wax poetic about the guy. Then something went wrong, JWH sent out an unprofessional (pissy) email and then cried poverty when they lost the bid by $10 million over 8 years. These are the facts as they played out - no conjecture or projection at all. I haven't received an answer on this board yet - if you don't spend that kind of coin on a guy like Mark Teixeira, who do you spend it on?

95% of this post includes sayings that no one on this board has mentioned. They have plenty of time to improve the team. Josh Bard and Brad Penny don't inspire confidence. Right now, they are the third best team.

lol I'm so f***ing glad you grace this site with your presence. Why not? They finished five games behind the Sox last season, suffered just as many injuries as the Sox did, and made up the difference by adding Tex, AJ, and CC. It's called objectivity. Try it sometime. lulz kill me now lulz Oh wait, was that too duncetard for you? It also doesn't make any f***ing sense to say that Tampa and New York are CHASING US because EVERYONE WANTS TO BE US and WE WERE 100 RUNS BETTER THAN NY and WE OUTPERFORMED OUR PYTHAG. If the big splash move from this FO is Brad f***ing Penny, when they make money hand over fist every goddamned season, the fan base has a right to be pissed off. It's called discussion...but I see we can't handle it.

Why do you even have questions about the success of this team for 2009? Everyone is CHASING US. Everyone wants to BE US. No doubt this is a 98-100 win team this season, we don't need to improve at all.

That's right - guess I'm not enough of a fan to think he'll have a 20 year HoF career. How many games do you think we'll win the division by?

Ok, I'll post with rose colored glasses on, and you'll see how boring it gets really quickly. Lars Anderson is a lock to stabilize this lineup over the next decade, and the Sox will for sure win the AL East. If you don't think so, you're just not a true fan.

Other than the fact the Sox finished two games behind the Rays last season.

Yup. They'll get 162 out of Longoria, Crawford, and Upton. Scary thought.

That's pathetic. Heaven forbid fans criticize the personnel decisions the team makes. If everyone here was waving the pom poms like you love to do there'd be no reason to actually discuss the happenings of the team. Criticizing the FO for not landing Teixeira and questioning their policies on free agents and "rooting" for the Sox are not mutually exclusive - you can do both. I've said it all offseason, the two biggest question marks surrounding the Sox were the health of Lowell, Drew, and Ortiz and the stabilization of the lineup over the better part of the next decade. Outside of Pedroia, I do not have confidence that any player that suits up for the Sox in 2009 does so in 2012. Mark Teixeira solves both of those problems with certainty versus wishing and hoping for bouncebacks from a big man who is experiencing joint issues and a player in his thirties returning from hip surgery. I have not seen or heard anything out of Yawkey Way saying that Lars is anywhere close to being MLB-ready, at least before the 2011 season. When you get a chubby for every prospect that the Sox develop or say "the FO can do no wrong" you are doing the exact thing you accuse those who may be more negative of doing - maybe it's you that needs to look at this team a little more objectively. Then again, you did say the Sox were screwed for the ALDS in the 8th inning of game 2. I don't think you can really dispute the fact the Yankees and Rays are better than the Sox right now.

http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/2008_12_28_Red_Sox_agree_with_Brad_Penny__Josh_Bard/srvc=home&position=also

Damnit should have been a poll.

Similar to the other thread. Team I'm pulling for? It's a tie between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. Both have really likeable teams (aside from DeSean Jackson, but I digress). McNabb and Reid have been somewhat vindicated over the last month. Matt Ryan helped the Eagles rise from the depths of hell that Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino dragged them into. Both really likeable teams and I'll be pulling hard for both this weekend. Favorite to win the NFC? Carolina Panthers. Six straight games of over 28 points. Pounding running game, solid defense, QB with playoff experience, solid HC. Recipe for success in the playoffs. Oddly enough, their most impressive game was last week in the Meadowlands, when they were one kick away from knocking off the defending Super Bowl champs. New York will miss Plaxico greatly.

Who are you rooting for in the AFC playoffs? As a follow up, who is your pick to win the AFC? I'm rooting for the Miami Dolphins - incredible turnaround, incredible coaching job, home game in the playoffs. Ten game swing from last season. My pick to win the AFC? Baltimore. If Roethlisberger isn't right from his concussion and if the Titans D-Line isn't healthy, I don't think there is another team who has the balance of offense and defense that the Ravens do. Bit of an upset pick, but I like the Ravens to roll this weekend and then beat the Titans next week. I see a lot of parallels between this team and the Steelers team that won the Super Bowl a few years back.

f*** Tony Romo http://i42.tinypic.com/apjp1h.gif

Brad Boyes: 35 GP, 16 G, 15 A, 31 points, -21 Dennis Wideman: 34 GP, 7 G, 14 A, 21 points, +20 lulz

I'm so glad we got the Montreal castoff, Michael Ryder. Only 7 GWGs? Loser.

http://blogs.weei.com/robbradford/2008/12/28/penny-confirms-deal/ Penny confirms.