Dipre

Yeah, because there's no way the kid's development in itself and the fact that he's missing a bone in his wrist is going to affect him at all. None. He's a sure bet to post an .840 OPS next year, because he's been in the league for years and pitchers have never adjusted to him like they've had the chance to do with Youkilis. Youkilis had ligament damage in his throwing hand, an easy-to-come back from injury that never shows any lingering effect, and he's a proven hitter (one of the best) in the league year after year. It's not just a matter of defense, but a matter of offensive expectations. By the way, do you remember WMP? How'd that wrist surgery turn out for him? So even if his D is below-average, there's nothing to be concerned about because he's a proven offensive producer and not a gamble. Logic people. Let's live in reality. If the Sox don't want to throw the kid into the fire, there has to be a reason for it, and the most likely reason is the fact that they don't believe he can handle the rigors of everyday play right away. Now i know Lowrie is an amazing specimen capable of no wrong, but i'll believe the choice the team makes ten times out of ten rather than "but but but but he's the player i like" analysis. Just sayin'

We have Jed. The answer is clear.

But i'm an idiot for thinking Crawford's abilities would be maximized at the two-spot, right?

Jed Lowrie, being the outstanding specimen that he is, could play SS for the Sox, QB for the Patriots, PG for the Celtics, Center for the Bruins and Goalie for the Revolution. At the same time, and with absolutely no injury concerns.

A-Rod could've been an NFL QB. Jacoby Ellsbury could have been a WR.

Mo Vaughn, Prince Fielder, David Wells and CC Sabathia in competitive eating. Nyjer Morgan in boxing.

Mike Cameron's the OF you're referring to, Spud, and his health is very important, since he'll play a large part of the 2011 Sox, with the team being so left handed and all. Jenks is also a concern, since he had questionable health during '10, and his velocity didn't creep up to its usual levels until the end of the season. Wakefield's back and shoulder are also of concern, even though that may not be a problem in a reduced role.

Still Lol'ing. It's a matter of this: And i'd avoid the "miserable life" comments. That's another argument ya ain't gonna win.

Lol @ worrying about the fact that Youk (a consistent offensive performer) hasn't played a full season at 3rd while Lowrie's (not a consistent offensive performer and hasn't played a full season in the Majors) health and SSS issues can be brushed aside. Dear Lord. @ForSyth: Ortiz is not good against lefties at all (OPS under .700 the last two seasons) anyone else on the team can perform better against them, and with Lowrie having seen time at 3B before and having solid minor league splits against them, he's the obvious candidate.

Longoria too. But this is why counting stats are a bit misleading. Granted, i believe Youk is kind of a fragile player (please don't jump on me, i'm not bashing the guy) since he hasn't played a season with 145+ games yet, but when he's healthy, he puts up a better OPS than basically anyone in the league.

I believe what Spudboy means is that a lot of people seem to not have a lot of confidence in the "total" package Youk brings to the table. "Above average" refers to someone who's just above the means, and with his offensive numbers and more than passable defense, there should be no doubt when referring to him as an "elite" 3B. The average 3B last year had an OPS right below .800 and FLD value right around 3.0 (per Fangraphs). Youkilis is a career .891 hitter, (surpassed only by Beltre last year), and has a 6.9 UZR/150 on the defensive end, both top four at the position.

Now defense does really really matter. By the way, Youkilis is actually very good at 3B, and should be even better since he'll be preparing for that position instead of jumping around the diamond all the time. If healthy, he could be one of the best 3B in the league. And we're talking about a guy with the pedigree that backs up making such a substantial claim.

You're misinterpreting the law, Chris, and are failing to note the specifics of the case. The problem with this "minimum" of 10 years, is that there are many "factors" which help the culprit avoid the "minimum" charge, given the necessity to prove that there was criminal negligence, which is a very fact specific charge, when you combine that with the family's willingness to accept the plea bargain offered by Stallworth's side, his lack of a previous criminal record, cooperation with the la enforcement individuals, and willingness to accept responsibility, i'm not surprised he "got off easy". I'd like to say that this doesn't mean i agree with him getting off the hook, but it's just the way the law works, and having money always helps get away with this kind of stuff.

The problem with the lengthy trials that force the courts to last years and years to finally decide to take a prisoner to death row is found in the 5th amendment of the constitution: The problem with this is that it's an interpretative clause, and the courts deem the loss of life by someone to require the maximum amount of due process due to the likelihood of them making a mistake, and the mistake not being fixable (since the person has been infected with an incurable disease called "dead"), and there basically two things to look at when going through a process, which are efficiency and fairness, for the process to not be so lengthy, you have to sacrifice fairness (in the law's case, fairness is deemed the maximum reduction of arbitrariness), and for the process to be fair, you need to lengthen it as to make sure the process is as close to perfect as possible and this takes a lot of time and resources. In conclusion, the courts want to cover their ass from the public backlash that would stem from committing mistakes with the prisoner sentenced to death row, because you can let a guy out from jail, but once they're dead, you're f***ed, and you're going to receive the wrath of the public opinion.

I think other than WAR, there are many situational statistics that can be used to defend the worth of a team, there are some things, (like platoon weaknesses) that WAR doesn't account for. As for evaluating teams when the season is over, there's no way we will maintain interest until the end of the season IMO. There has to be another alternative, like doing the voting at mid-season.

For all i dislike Derek Jeter (filthy Yankee) he sure chose the correct path to deal with women. Screw around as much as you want, then just as you're about to exit your prime, find a younger, more relaxed girl (good luck with that) whose temper you can manage and get married. No ********, no drama, no manipulation, no pointing the finger, no guilt trips, no fear of commitment, no "everything is your fault, nothing is mine". The man is a genius.

By that, do you mean when people put words in my mouth, call me a racist and then feel "offended" when i call them out.

Disagree, it's a pretty simple and excellent world filled with booze, women with big butts and baseball. Unfortunately, the "ignore" function is something that's not worth the time over the internet, because, well, it's the internet. On a side note: To answer your question, multiple factors: 1) The Red Sox organization views Iglesias as the SS of the future, and Lowrie as a backup, now since neither you nor i (nor Doiji and his love for Yamaico Navarro) are talent evaluators, that should aco**** for a lot. 2) Questions about health, they see him as a backup (straight from the horse's mouth) and everyone who has a boner for him ignores it because it doesn't back up the idea that he may just be on his way to being the best SS in the AL (Doiji said this, not you). 3) Iglesias is a 20 year-old in AA, he has an absolutely amazing contact rate, and scouts rave about his glove and ability to spray line drives. He's also faster than either Scutaro or Lowrie. What's not to like? And considering that, again, initially this was not even about Lowrie but about why Jose Reyes, dominican shortstop for the New York Mets shouldn't be brought to the Red Sox, and i made a joke about how Doiji has a boner for Lowrie, and you turned it into a "Dipre hates Lowrie" s***-fest, i believe that if anyone should be using the new-and-improved super powerful ignore feature, it should be you. I may use it on Doiji though, for pulling the race card on me, that pissed me off, even through the internet.

Whatever man, grow a pair. This is the internet. I should be more offended by your reluctance to stop putting words in my mouth than by me telling you that you should the things i say into proper context, which is valid. You know what's an insult? "Stop hanging from Jed Lowrie's nuts". That's an insult.

On a side note (since Talksox decided to let me post again) we have set the start date to right around New Year's unless the people who are playing decide they'd like to start at an earlier time. So far, the following ideas have been presented: 110 million cap. 25-man rosters. Draft is to for 2011. 2010 salaries will be used. Teams to be constructed like real baseball teams, not fantasy teams, meaning defense will be taken into consideration. Any other ideas can be presented in this thread, and good luck everyone!

To the bolded part: That is absolutely untrue. Papelbon threw the lowest percentage of fastballs (69.5) highest percentage of sliders (9.3%) and highest percentage of splitters (21.2) of his career (whatever remains between the actual percentage and 100% were pitches unidentified by pitchFx) The true problem isn't over-reliance on the fastball like everyone seems to assume, but a combination of the fact that his fastball simply isn't as effective as it used to be (i've read in different places that his four-seamer lacks movement, and his two-seamer lacks control and runs right into lefties' wheelhouse) and hitters laying off the split, which, according to scouting reports, never touches the strike-zone. Hitters have adjusted, can Papelbon do the same? To the rest of the post, absolutely agree.