rician blast

The Cubs have a 26 yr old lefty named Rich Hill, a Boston native, who was 6-3 in the second half and might be a viable part of a trade. The thing with Mr. Rod is you are not going to get equal value because of his salary and his well-publicized "prime-time" shortfalls. Eating salary would help the Yankees get more in return. The problem is the Yankees need pitching and every other team knows the value of pitching...so nothing is coming easy in any ARod trade.

I tend to get cynical when a hiring of this nature is made. I'd prefer to hear that the job is going to an individual who has proven success at this level in this position. However, rising stars get their starts somewhere so I'm hopeful that this turns into a great story. Of course he can't throw the ball for the pitchers, so the biggest part of the staff's '07 success will be in their own hands.

These stories almost fall into the category of "please don't tell me, I don't want to know." In retrospect it would have been a huge signing. I wonder how many other close calls there have been such as this. I also wonder who the Red Sox DID get in that 10th round?

This is probably one of the funnier, yet most off-base, posts I've ever read. SCM, different folks post with different styles. Some use the proper paragraph formatting that you'd apparently prefer to see. Others like to make points with one line statements so that there ideas are in a list format and stand out better...sort of "bullets" without the bullets. I like using the ... to seperate ideas or statements within a paragraph. This is a forum, not a term paper, and I'm quite surprised that anyone is so concerned with posters keyboard use and paragraph formatting. Now did you have something to add in terms of the discussion at hand or are you more concerned with busting balls and calling names? I don't recall treating you this way in the past.

scout: like I said I was just kidding. and welcome.

isn't it an oxymoron to use Prior or Wood in the same sentence as "healthy"?

26: 'D' as in di*k, dumba*s, dirtbag, douche, etc...

"moral leader"? millar played a role for sure, a lot of factors worked together to make his contribution effective. but I'm not sure he was a moral leader.

while it may be refreshing to lou to coach in a town where someone cares about the team, i'm not sure how he's gonna fare. The fans will be looking for an immediate turnaround...i think we'll get a glimpse of what's going to happen when the FA signing season comes around. this team is not ready to contend, IMO.

is OC a FA?

one word? hmmmm... is "yankeefan" a word?

can Bellhorn be far behind?

if the Sox $20m payroll advantage, or approx. 20%, over the next 5 or so teams that are grouped around $100m means a third place finish is a disgrace, then I guess in a case where a team's (the Yankees) payroll is $70m-$80m MORE than the next highest payroll (approx. 60%?), anything short of a WS Title is MORE than a disgrace...sorry, I underestimated the extent of the Yankees failure this year. oh, and Knicks? Please, your analogy is ridiculous.

Thanks...and I agree with you regarding fans (regardless of team affilitation) flip-flopping...it is all too common. In fact, I will admit that I was all for the Beckett trade...at the time it looked great and I think it still has merit, regardless of how Hanley and Anibel performed this year. As time goes on, depending on Beckett's performance, those two might make the trade look better or worse..but judging it at the time, I thought it was a terrific move. I won't deny that. Another example? I was all for letting Clemens go and test the FA waters years ago...that 40-39 record over the last 4 years of his Sox contract led me to believe he was done. I was wrong. I understand your point and appreciate your comments.

ORS, not sure the intent of your post...its obviously much more than you stating your opinion on WMP or the Arroyo trade...it seems to be a borderline attack...but its totally off-base, as you've significantly misrepresented my comments. Your claim that I and "others that like to show your hindsight-inspired brilliance" is totally in contradicion to everything I've said. I've stated that I disliked the trade from day one...way before any "hindsight" would be available...and that I hope to be proven wrong...in other words that OTHERS hindsight would show me to have misjudged this trade. The fact that I have what I think are very valid concerns about WMP has nothing to do with an "I'm smarter than the FO" mentality...all it is is my opinion that there are issues surrounding WMP that I think may preclude him, or at the very least delay him, from reaching the heights that some expect. Your discussion of win-shares is a very good point, and I'm inclined to look at the issue with more of an open-mind given the supporting statistics you've provided...IMO, you should have stopped there, as the subsequent paragraphs in which you attempt to label me, categorize me, and misrepresent my position only serve to diminish the impact your first paragraph might have had. I'll thank you to stick to the issue at hand, stating your agreement or disagreement, supporting your position, etc. and not go down the unfortunate and misguided path you've chosen in the above quoted passage, as I don't recall ever using that tact with you.

I was listening to WFAN on the way home yesterday. Mike Francesca reads ARod's statement saying "I'm perfect...it was nothing" Then he proceeds to say "ARod, who asked? Is this even a story? ARod needs to get his head checked. " Mike D ripped ARod for his statement claiming that no statement was needed because this wasn't a big enough story, and that AROd was calling attention to himself. He ALSO stated that ARod should pipe down because of "the type of week this has been", referring to the Lidle incident. More than ever I now see the poison that is the NY media. Unless I'm missing something in ARod's after-incident comments, it looks to me like Mike D is just another Yankee-ballwashing sports personality looking to run ARod down every chance they get, and maybe even run ARod out of town. To the media I'd like to suggest letting the FO decide what to do with this guy. Let the fans critique his on and off-field actions and demeanor. As the media, just report the damn news and quit sucking up to one guy and bashing another guy in order to cast your own views on others...true fans are smart enough to develop their own opinions, they don't need the constant molding and shaping of public opinion that the scribes and heads feel is their absolute priviledge.

his bat has to be called into question. its not an issue of "he hit .301 this year", its an issue of "does he produce to the extent that losing Arroyo in the trade was worth it?" I am rooting for WMP as much as anyone else, but he is a K machine, and that diminishes his value, as does his feeble glove....y'all know I thought this trade sucked...I still do. Someday I HOPE to be proven wrong...but in the here and now, the trade was a mistake, plain and simple. I'm gonna try to stay away from this topic as I know I sound like a broken record.

a move to the NL might be in Zito's future...I could see him with the Mets, and they might be just the team to pony up the big $ and trump a Yankee bid. One great thing about him is that he doesn't miss starts...last 6 years he's started a min. of 34 games. It may turn out the team that gets him is the team willing to fork over the extra year.

why bat Pedroia so high if Lugo was in this line-up? Lugo hit .308 with TB before the trade this year...he hit 12 hrs on the year, 24 SBs, he might be able to do some things in the #2 slot. I'm not sold on Pedroia being ready to have that huge of an offensive impact yet and there'd be less heat on him if he was hitting 8th or 9th. I do hope that he becomes the player so many expect him to become...it'd be great to see a home-grown talent turn out nig in Boston. the issue with Lugo may be that he is a potential 25 E per year man at SS, and I'm not sure that is what the Sox will be looking for. time will tell.

therein lies the rub... you have a 29 y.o. pitcher who can give ya 200 innings NOW and a 4.50 era NOW and decent K's NOW and perhaps could win 15 games with the Sox NOW, all at a bargain price cuz he loves pitching in Boston.... but you move him for a 24 y.o. guy who MIGHT provide some offense someday but k's a lot and isn't a very good outfielder. but we should all be patient and let WMP "mature"....marvelous.

pretty forgiving guy, IMO, after the FO fkd him. oh yeah, and the FO fkd the fans with that trade. and another thing, the FO fkd the team with that trade.