rician blast

Not only are there the usual questions about JBJ, but let us not forget Castillo is unproven as well. This OF group can either be very good or very bad, collectively. On the upside, at least Hanley won't be out in LF butchering the position.

I was up at my buddy's cottage this past weekend with a few friends...all Sox fans...and we laughed about the 2013 WS title because we all viewed it as extremely opportunistic if not lucky. A couple of hot pitchers and Ortiz led a flawed team that somehow got a lot of production out of some marginal talent. I don't think any of us expected this big of a fall off, but 85-77 seemed to be about right given the team they fielded in '14. That said, I am less disappointed in the team's performance than I am in the riculously over-the-top, mismanaged and ill-conceived ball washing that the Sox FO tried to rain down for Jeter. It was a joke. An absolute joke. The scoreboard debacle? Bobby Orr? Paul Pierce???? Rico Petrocelli? Louis Tiant? Some chick singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T? More embarrassing than the Red Sox W-L record!

I get your point, but there's a caveat...if, for instance, the Sox salaries were 1/2 of what they are while other teams held their salaries at current levels, the Sox would have a poor product (2014 would be the norm) and fans would not be willing to pay the current prices. There are interconnections between payroll, the product on the field, ticket prices, etc.

Agree. The biggest casualty of the 2014 season may very well be the Sox perceived strong farm system...but it's been an ongoing process of declination.

Yeah, I think I agree. I was more in the 65-97 range initially. SUffice it to say that that rotation would be a pile of suck.

ummm...71-91?

If the offer stated above was a starting point, here's how the "negotiation" could have gone. Sox offer $100/6 years. Lester's agent counters $140/7. Sox say $115/6. Agents says $125/6 with a mutual option. They settle on $120/6. I don't see how that is a horrific initial offer. It's a starting point. You don't come in high to start and you certainly don't say "take it or leave it." If anything, assuming Lester's camp didn't counter at all, it's probably a good indicator that a deal wasn't going to get done without the Sox overpaying. This is business, that's all.

Our town's legion team could get him out 75% of the time.

Haha. Yazzy. My kid just finished his senior year, played a ridiculous 2B, I couldn't believe the plays he made..but they hit for him for the 1st dozen games. WHo hit for him? Coach NoseHair's kid. Tough pill to swallow. Irony i guess. How's things?

Hmmm. How about this conspiracy theory: Farrell and BC have a talk after the game. "Tell Webster his release point was off...blah blah blah. But you have to make him believe you could see it. We'll do the rest." Then Farrell gives the body out front mumbo jumbo to preserve the idea that Webster is a stud prospect. Meanwhile they are thinking "Bard #2...we gotta move this kid."

Wow, that's big of him.

OPening the door for a Sherzer signing? Nah, to much $$$ too many years.

There is that chance that by rolling a bunch of prospects through the MLB roster over the next two months, some players' perceived upside might be diminished if they don't perform well. On the other hand, I'd hope that other teams' scouts and FO understand that not every player makes a splash right off...there is ample data available on the prospects that a short-term struggle shouldn't signifcatnly affect marketability. It's the extreme poor performance you want to avoid. Like Webster?

Kemp is a HUGE gamble a this point. Big upside, but his health scares me. Sox are not the Yanks who are comfortable paying now, regretting later.