Dipre

Hey, he agreed to play paintball with me......

As long as "Nancy" keeps hitting, he could f*** guys right after the game for all i care. Just stay healthy and hit the ball.

Fixed.

Please show respect for our extremely awesome number three hitter who's batting leadoff tonight, demonstrating awesome versatility.

Understood you wrong first, but yeah, captain Bench is still right about Joba's issues stemming from mechanical failures.

According to FanGraphs, Joba has exhibited the following year-to-year average fastball velocities: 2007: 97.4 2008: 95.2 2009: 92.5 2010: 93.8

Saying your point is more valid doesn't make it more valid. My point stands, he's a bad tactician, and it's a thing basically everyone agrees on. You're the ones putting words in my mouth. I don't hate Francona, i've always defended his positives on the board, but it doesn't make me blind to his negatives. Doesn't mean i hate him and i've never said as much.

The word i'm not supposed to say but i want to in this phrase is delicious.

I'd agree with most of the above, but couple points: 1) A manager's job is to put his team in the best position to win. When you bring in a guy who's obviously struggling back for an extra inning with a fresh long reliever,(this is the key point) you're not giving your team the best chance to win. It doesn't matter whether the pitcher is supposedly an ace or not, if he's getting hammered, he shouldn't be out there. 2) This is about Francona, because he's the guy you're defending. I don't dislike the guy, he's a good fit for the team, but as i said, he's an awful tactician, because he's the ultimate player's manager. I'm not in the dugout, so i'm only speculating, but he seems to be easily persuaded by pitchers to get that "last inning" or that "last batter" and more often than not, it winds up costing him. 3) The Girardi comment was tongue-in-cheek, i wouldn't want him within a 100 KM radius on Fenway, but that doesn't excuse Tito's shortcomings as a manager.It's either him or Farrell, but there seems to be an issue with both the conditioning and usage of the pitching staff this year, a pitching corpse as talented as this one shouldn't be this bad for so long.

The starter of this thread or "Whinus Maximus" as i like to call him comes to mind.

If you read above, you'll notice i said "If Wakefield hasn't pitched the day before". You can't pitch your long reliever in consecutive days, i know this. However, let me ask you this: How many times has Tito brought an SP that's given up 3-4 runs back for a 6th/7th inning with 90+ pitches only to see him get hammered and watch the game get out of hand? Answer: Multiple times. All through the season. Mostly with Wakefield available to pitch. I can name off the top of my head at least three Beckett starts, a couple of Lester ones, and a Bucholz one. And i bet if i did some research i could stumble upon at least ten losses in which this has been the common factor. Don't let your loyalties fool you. Francona is a good fit for the Sox, but he's an awful tactician.

You mean the accuracy in handling bunts? The strong arm? The great range and mobility? But, but, but he sucks......

They have Wakefield as a long reliever for exactly that reason. All through the season he's let starters get burned in the middle innings when it's clear they have nothing on the mound. If Wakefield pitches one day, it's understandable, but if he's got his long reliever fresh (and a damn good one at that) he has to pitch him.

But he doesn't leave his starter to give up 5+ runs every time out. That's pissing me off.

Jeremy Hermida is awesome.

This team has heart.

No one they didn't like Cervelli. But he's not as good a hitter as he's shown. Neither is Marcus Thames or Brett Gardner. What about Hermida, would you like him on your team? (oh snap)

Bump. Any new thoughts?

It's a common occurrence for Closers to not be as effective in non-save situations. Absolutely no explanation why though.

Well done. I stand corrected. And this is an unfair take, by the way. Y228 is one of the few Yanks fans who doesn't talk s*** but always takes his lumps.

:lol::lol::lol: