SoxSport

Gammons is in the writer's wing of the HOF. The distinction seems to have been lost in the media between ballplayers in the HOF and writers. I have an appreciation for the great sportswriters and sportscasters, but I don't view them in the same light as ballplayers. The core HOF belongs to the ballplayers and MLB related people. The writers/sportscasters HOF should be prefaced as such, as it used to be.

Theo is no genius. He was studying Greek at Yale when Lackey was getting killed by the Sox as an Angel at Fenway. He's an intelligent guy who worked his way up the PR ranks, and read a few books on sabermetrics. That's all. He's made a lot of mistakes the last few years. I wonder if he was really serious about staying if Tito stayed. My impression is both were pushed out very gently by the upper management.

Cherington said a lot in that news conference. He said they wanted Pap and Papi back, though they have a out with both on agreeing on a contract. He did not mention Wake and Tek--at least they're thinking of unloading those two. He mentioned the need for a RHd bat in the OF, plus another buy low Aceves-type starter. Yeah, they grow on trees. He also said Youks is very much in the picture at 3B this year. Get some balls, kid. Look at Middlebrooke and groom Youks for DH. I don't see enough of 'let's get younger'. They still think the status quo can be a winner. It will depend on the pitching.You have to wonder how Bard will take to still another set-up year.

I think the news about Lackey raises the question about why he was even pitching this year. They knew the guy had a bad elbow. Why tolerate sub par performance from an injured player? I guess they were waiting for the time when Lackey had to be made to disappear--or something. I think it's a disservice to the guy--though maybe he didn't want to have surgery. You don't know. It changes my perspective about him--pitching hurt. Though he was a bad sign by Epstein. He should have known Lackey never pitched well for the Angels in Fenway.

Nice job by Cherington at the press conference. He's a smart guy, Amherst grad, New Hampshire native--from the Dartmouth College area. Certainly has the experience to do the job. I would expect upper management to have tighter purse-string control. The big announcement was Tommy John surgery for Lackey--why did they wait so long? The other major things: they will try to re-sign Pap and Papi--it looks like the price has to be right. A good question not asked: will Theo be willing to give up the compensation the Red Sox asked for when he was still the GM? He surely doesn't want to undervalue himself. The compensation won't be Lackey, but will probably be a high prospect pitcher like McNutt, and maybe a low level prospect.

The Globe and Herald treatments of Epstein is an interesting contrast. Today, Callahan put it to Epstein, for fumbling the ball the last few years. Silverman as well. The Globe, on the other hand, has focussed on the "two rings." I don't suppose that $50K ad Epstein took out in the Globe had anything to do with it. The Globe slant on the Red Sox has been one-sided. Blame it on the players and the ownership, but not on the management that actually ran the team--the manager and the GM. Tito wasn't completely left off the hook with disclosure of the personal stuff, but he hasn't been held responsible for his laxity with the players. This is a big negative for the Globe. Nor have they put any emphasis on Theo's declining judgement the last couple of years. Speaking of Tito, I would like to know less about his pill-taking and more about his skirt-chasing. Hazel Mae, for example, has disappeared from the MLB.com radar. Gone. And Heidi? Just a bit envious, that's all. Bull Durham is alive and well.

The James Bible says don't overvalue closers, and the Red Sox pretty much adhere to his principles. I wonder, with Bard the logical cheap successor, if they will just let Pap go. Closers are one inning /one pitch guys.They aren't worth top dollar. Pap had the typical contract year, and you wonder if he will get up that high again after a big contract. I like the two draft picks, with Bard waiting to close. It's his time. Plus they can save the $$ to sign another FA starter.Bard trailed off in September from overuse. He did come back in the end to pitch effectively--at least one outing. He had a long streak of scoreless innings mid-season. I'd do the same with Papi--another popular re-sign. Two draft picks. Papi has a big ego, and I think he'll be surprised to find what an ageing DH is worth on the market. Look at VGuerrero. Big year in Texas two years ago, and couldn't get dork the next year. Stats declined in Baltimore. Use the Papi money to sign Cuddyer. One guy they should re-sign is Scutaro. Unless they are going after Reyes. Furcal is good but prone to injury at this point. So is Reyes. Keep Marco. Pretty steady. The Sox budget last year was $170M, and they didn't get much out of it. They are adding AdGon to the books this year to go with CC. That's +$20M. They will lose some off the books--Drew, Tek, Wake, ???Maybe -$20M to offset AdGon. My guess is they will cut some more. Henry won't be so generous this year.

Both guys are injury risks. Good moves by Phils, who are looking to cut salary to sign Rollins, maybe. Madsen would be a nice pickup, but isn't he a Boras client? If so, he'll be overvalued. The Sox are sitting pretty with Bard as a cheap closer. They can unload Pap, who had a nice year, and get the two draft picks.

sound slike you got your avatar's mixed. i'm referring to doctorron's avatar of the young TSW.

hey amigo! any pitchers down there in Monterrey the Red Sox should know about? :thumbsup:

Cafardo today says Farrell might require compensation, but regardless, I think they should pass. They need a break from the past with this team--too many issues. A manager and coaches from the outside. I'm a little concerned about keeping the FO intact. Baseball is full of bright young sabermetrics types these days--easy to get. I think they have to get away from the Yankeeball thing--throwing big money at free agents--and get more efficient about developing their own. Buy low, sell high. That's why I favor letting Pap go, and moving homebred, cheaper Bard to closer. Closers are not hard to develop. Look at Madsen last year, plus a few others in the big leagues. They can get a couple of draft picks for Pap, plus save a lot of money.And they have a great option ready to step in with Bard. He faded last year from overuse. I also hope they let Papi walk. They can get a couple of draft picks for him, too. And use the money to sign Cuddyer, who is a few years younger and can play the OF. Get those draft picks!

It's hard for the fan to know what the relationships are with the manager, coaches, players, etc on a team. because the media doesn't talk about it. Under the circumstances, it's difficult to understand why any of the Red Sox coaches should be asked back. It's surprising the Yankees are stricter than the Red Sox. On the other hand, Steinbrenner is not Henry--by a longshot. Just about polar opposites, personality-wise.

I see that MLB says it will investigate "drinking in the Red Sox dugout." All because the Globe broke a story with no named sources that the FO and the players denied. MLB knows the score about beer. Heck, it's probably in practically every clubhouse drink machine in baseball. I saw a picture of beer bottles in the visitor's clubhouse machine at Fenway. What I think is happening here is an effort by MLB to save face--with the Red Sox as the victim. If I were Henry, next season, I would bar all alcohol from the clubhouse and the press box. Before and after games. Drinking alcohol, that is.

There's nothing that pisses me off more in a game when a manager takes out a starter who is cruising with a shutout, 2-0, after 100-110 pitches, with no signs of fatigue. And then blows the game bringing in a piece of crap from the bullpen who can't hold the starter's jock. And in some cases will waste 2-3 more pitchers out of the bullpen for the rest of the game. That's typical Francona, who went strictly by the FO book. The result was a burned out bullpen the FO had to replace every year, and a few games lost that should have been wins. I don't know what the James Bible says about this, but I do know that statistically it is unwise to fix what isn't broke. It's also unwise to take any Bible too literally when it comes to the human element. What is the statistical measure of heart?

Epstein still owes the Sox. He owes them for the last three years of not winning a playoff game, despite a humungous budget to work with. And he especially owes them for last season--and for Crawford and Lackey. There must be good reasons why the ownership let him interview the Cubs. I think, in the least, they were sending him a message--as they clearly did Tito. Epstein's performance the past few years--especially last year--dropped off. And they probably thought it was time for a change. You look at Crawford's career stats--his OBP, in particular. Not typical Epstein stats. And the SBs are not valued in the moneyball picture. So why did Epstein go after him? That's clearly what puzzled Henry, who was playing moneyball in Miami before Epstein. He's more of an expert on the subject than Epstein. You get that reading the book about Billy Beane. Henry was a James disciple in the 90s when he bought the Marlins. Even was successful in money ball fantasy leagues at the time. I don't think Henry was that pleased with Epstein's performance . If he were, he would have kept him.

The wild card is screwed up right now, and has to be modified. It's too easy for a team to coast the season, then get hot in September, and wipe out everybody in the playoffs. I think the Red Sox were always playing for the wild card. Francona, it seems, never got serious about winning until September--discounting the last September, that is. Asking the best season record teams in each league (this year, Yankees and Phillies) to play these hot wild card teams in a short 5 game series is unfair. The best record teams deserve a bye in the 1st round--or at least a 7 game series.

Interesting how Young was so successful in Oakland and unsuccessful in Boston. To me, it suggests a radical difference in the environments of the two teams. Maybe the coaches are listened to more in Oakland. In Boston, maybe the players listen more to their agents. The Young experience maybe was a warning signal to Henry.

The Globe is keeping the beer story hot--make that "drinking". Maybe they'll be a congressional investigation. They have to run with something--they have nothing else. No compensation for Theo, no GM, no manager, no coaches, no nothing. Wake up, Henry.

It's happened before --when Beane was signed by Boston and negotiated his own departure with DePodesta. Maybe Epstein will change his mind, too. Nothing surprises me in MLB--they can do anything and get away with it--with their anti-trust exemption. It's a country club.

Well, Theo puts a $50K thank you ad in the Globe, and in return gets a positive spin from their reporters today. That's business.No mention that he is walking away from a disastrous season, in which he did hardly anything right. He is getting away unscathed. Not that he didn't do some good here--he was well paid for it, and it was expected with the budget he had.

A couple of things picked up this morning: -Epstein's thank you to the Boston fans--full page ad in the Globe. (not the Herald, too?) Maybe Theo will find a way to make Lackey disappear, after all. -Varitek, interviewed in the Herald, says the Sox need a "strong manager". Tito was too lax. That could be a signal to Cherington for somebody like Valentine--Henry's rumored favorite. After all, sabermetrics is not as important to the manager as it is to the front office, responsible for getting the players. Sometimes the whole concept of "avoiding outs" on the field clashes with the concept of "creating runs."