rician blast

Neither did I and I didn't get that from anywhere other than knowing that the Sox and Yankees both make moves with their competition in mind. Doesn't mean that the Sox FO didn't think he might potentially land in NY (or anywhere else for that matter)...it's not like the Yankees are exactly pitching rich.

Sean you've obviously witnessed this too as you are dead on. My Dad was a guy who never called in sick to work, balls to the walls 24/7... never admitted to having even a cold... never complained while going through chemo/radiation for Hodgkins disease at 46... When he was diagnosed at 72 with lung cancer which had spread to the brain, abdomen, neck, chest and some bone he looked at me and said "72...not bad" then said to call the lawyer, let's make sure everything is in place...but still no complaint. 2 months later, its Thanksgiving Day and I'm in his hospital room and he looks at me and says "I don't know if I can take it." I knew then how painful that fkn disease must be to have enticed those words from that man's lips. 2 weeks later he was gone. May God strike me dead on the spot if I ever put a cigarettte to my lips, and if my kids ever do it I'll drag their asses right down to Hospice and show them their potential fate (not that everyone in hospice is a smoker, but you get my drift.)

I think CYCLING is a steroid-related term used to describe how an athlete uses a performance enhancing drug for a specified period of time, then goes off to purportedly let the body recover. Cycle on, cycle off. Cyclists themselves have been known to cycle.

No doubt. I've seen it up close and personal and it killed me to watch it. My Mom's side of the family all smoked...Her Dad died at 62. Her uncle was 58. My Mom was 62. Her brother was 48. My Mom's mom never smoked...she lived to about 85. My Dad and his brother smoked...both died in their early 70's. My Dad's parents never smoked...they both lived till their mid 80's. All of these people woulda lived a good 10-15 years more without smoking. Think of how many more Manhattan's, wine and beer they could have enjoyed in those extra years!

Word on the tube this a.m. was at the FO veiws him as a long-reliever/spot starter...sounds like a Tavarez type of gig to me. IMO this was move was made to (1) provide insurance and (2) keep him out of NY. I say put him on a healthy dose of HGH and get what you can out of him before he totally falls apart for good.

If ifs and buts were candies and nuts......

My thoughts: (1) I never thought any less of Jeter for not offering to make the move to a new position...in fact I think he did the right thing. It's his position, they want him to move, they should move him, but he had no responsibility to offer up such a position change. (2) As for ARod's supposedly commendable actions I viewed his decision to move to third as pathetic and desperate. When we were all growing up and playing ball what was the most prestigious position on the field when we weren't pitching? Shortstop. Hands down. So if you are supposedly one of the top SS in the game why would you ever agree to play 3B unless you were desperate to get out of a situation and were handicapped by your excessive contract?

OK, the following is a not-so (IMO) hypothetical situation... Imagine being one of the best 10 or so hitters in the game...your numbers are consistently in the 28-32 HR range, you hit around .290-.300 or so and you're a good fielder to boot. Then along comes someone who really couldn't hold your jock...and after several years of middle of the road offensive seasons they hit 30, then 35, then 50, then close to or perhaps more than 60 HRs and garner awards, money, adulation and media attention...and you've learned that the individual's accomplishments were fueled by performance enhancing drugs. At the same time, you learn that more and more players, even the pitchers you are facing, are using something. Seems it would be awfully hard NOT to go down that same path.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did the sh*t, as I wouldn't be surprised with any ballplayer doing PEDs. I don't trust any of them, nor do I care what they inject. Hell, given the $ at stake, the egos at stake, I can't say I wouldn't do it too.

Not to mention he's got the best fist-pump in the game.

And Pettitte turns out to be the liar many of us knew he was, huh? Yet he's some sort of hero to some. f*** Andy Pettitte too and those who defended him when he said "I only did it for two days." What a douche.

I seem to remember hearing that he was a legendary skirt-chaser and that plus some other extra-curricular activity (boozing) was not appreciated by the FO.

This is a very good point...I wasn't expecting huge things from Schilling in 2008...figured if he went 14-10 or so that'd be serviceable. I believe the youngsters could do that if not better. To me the issue is really starting pitching depth. With Schill in the rotation AND some young arms backing him up, I'd be a little more comfortable. I'd like to see Coco as part of a package in a move for a decent "back-up plan" kind of starter, but the stronger the reports are that Schilling is out for a long time, the higher the price to the Sox for such a starter, particularly in terms of prospects. Still, I don't expect the Sox FO to panic and act out of desperation here at all.

While this may make the Mets the big dog of the NL, where does it place them in terms of the best teams on MLB? In no certain order, the best teams for 2008 are likely to be the Sox, Tigers, Angels, Yanks, Guardians, Mets...personally, and objectively, I like the Sox. After that I'm not quite sure.

Who said anything about anyone being worth their contract? I know I didn't. But since you raise the issue, Meche is irrelavant since he's a pitcher...Hunter is irrelevant because his FA contract took place a full year later and clearly reflects the contracts of those before him. Specifically talking about the season Drew had, the seasons he had prior, the proneness to injury and the option that was on the table...no one in baseball thought he was worth more than the option on the table...yet he far exceeded his option $ AND got a extra years. Well no one except he and Boras...Boras had said "It was a business decision, the demand for a five-tool defender, a 25-homer guy, a guy who can drive in 100 runs is pretty clear in today's marketplace." Uhhh, right...the guy exceeded 20 hrs only twice and reached 100 rbi's once. And his declaration of FA took place before Matthews signed his contract so you can't say that factored into his declining the option. I remain skeptical as to how they KNEW they'd get a better offer than the $33m remaining from the Dodgers.

My thought is that this move positions the Sox for some other move(s)...i.e. Carter may be dealt, etc. So we may still get to see if Carter is as good as some believe...just in a different uni.

I love this. One of baseball's premier lead-off hitters, being paid about $13m per year, is "vying" for AB's. Not sure if this is more of an indictment of the Yankees FO, the Damon signing or Damon himself.

surprised the Yanks didn't go after Casey too...s*** they coulda had 4 or 5 guys battling for that 1B spot.

Random thoughts: - is he an insurance policy? -how is it that a guy 6-4, 237 lbs can only manage 4 HRs last year? -did ya know he's a devout catholic, his nickname is "the Mayor" and he's extremely well liked by teammates and opponents alike? Good clubhouse guy, if they decide to keep him.

I agree. I still wonder if there was some tampering involved or something and that the FO had to move on him once he was convinced that he'd be able to command so much as a FA...I mean his year with the Dodgers was good, but not $14m per for 5 yrs kinda good, IMO. So how'd he and his agent know those $ were attainable?

OK, PC, I'll go easy on him. But he is slightly wacked, IMO.

Drew is a bit different in his approach to health and wellness (some would call him a wack job I think). - Sleeps, or has slept, in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber....like Michael Jackson. - Has chips implanted in his cell phone and computer to limit radiation - Has an infrared sauna -follows "The Maker's Diet"...a diet based on on health precepts found in the bible.