SoxSport

The Mets have made two reckless moves in recent times, taking two FAs Pedro and Bay, away from the Red Sox by overpaying, with negative consequences. That's how teams get bad--by overvaluing players. The Yankees are going through that right now--all their excessive contracts have caught up to them. With no prospects, they had no choice but to get more--and now they are in deeper. Who knows what Pedro and Bay would have done the next year in Boston? Pedro might have been slightly worse staying in the AL than he was with the Mets his first year. The rest of his contract was a writeoff. Bay might have had another good year at Fenway. he might not have gotten a concussion, etc. You don't know. But one thing you know: the Red Sox stuck to their guns about contracts, and weren't going to go long term with either player. This year, they stuck to their guns about Ellsbury. The Yankees had to way overbid for him to get him. He isn't a $22M player. In fact, most of the better players in baseball aren't making even $20M. But it's the Yankees and big media NY. Win at any cost.

Arroyo could have played RF better than Wily Shmo--and probably hit better, too. LOL.

It was one of Epstein's worst moments when he traded Arroyo for Wily Shmo Pena--a guy who needed insurance to play the outfield. What was he thinking? He wasn't.

The Mets owner Wilpon is a friend of Selig and Madoff. He is one of the few who made money in the Madoff scandal. He was sued to pay back some of the money others had lost. He wound up paying less than was asked for, which helped him keep the Mets. He is fanatical about keeping majority ownership of the Mets. That's one of their problems. If it wasn't NY and his relationship with Selig, he would have be long gone as Mets owner by now. He should have been forced to sell the team just by his connection with Madoff. But Selig made his money selling used cars, and it does show. It is the great game itself that keeps Baseball going. The rest of it stinks with corruption from the vast amounts of money.

You never have enough pitching. Just make sure you sign the right guys.

Not quite, sk7326. All they have to do is stay in the hunt. Red Sox fans are not like Yankee fans. It's not the end of the world when their team loses. Not anymore. 3 championships is enough for a lifetime in Boston for many fans. In NY, the expectations are much higher. The fans there know the Yankees outspend everybody else and enjoy favored status in the media. They expect a championship every year. At one time, they got it.

I'll give credit to Clemens for his clean years with the Red Sox. But not for the rest. Who knows? He may have left Boston because they said no to steroids. I suspect the media knows a lot more about steroids history than they let off. After all, that's where the money comes from to pay for it. Conditioning was probably part of it, too. I know that tire around his middle disappeared in Toronto. I'll give him credit for this. I'll never believe he left that 6th WS game in '86 because of a "blister." He denied it. Plus he had been dominant to that point with a lead. No, it was that dumbass MacNamara who overmanaged and put in that rookie closer--then lied about the reason. Mrs Yawkey fired him in ST. Managers are still overmanaging, taking out cruising starters for dumbass closers--and getting burned. Leyland did it twice to Verlander in April last season. Cost him 2 wins.

Yeah, the Red Sox are playing with house money this year. That means they can take chances with prospects and allow their young players to develop on the job. The Yankees, on the other hand, are the anti-Red Sox this year. They don't make the playoffs, it's Siberia, baby.

Better with red logo than blue. But I still prefer Red Sox logo for both home and away. Some teams do that. What pisses me off is when those TV announcers say Boston vs the Yankees. The two team city stuff is a bunch of crap. It's the Red Sox vs the Yankees.

Just think, we have a whole season to enjoy the Red Sox being World Champions.

I posted on the other thread about this. Schilling is one of the great competitors--his World Series heroics for two teams should get him into the HOF. Hello Catfish Hunter. If Curt had played for the Yankees, it would be a no brainer in the media. Get well, Curt. Beat it. Red Sox fans everywhere love you.

Gammons was a good writer when he was at the Globe, but then he sold his soul for big bucks to ESPN-NY and became a TV pundit--a rumor guy. The next thing you know, he is "hall of famer" Peter Gammons, which tells you something about the clout the TV sports media has these days. Now he's back in New England at NESN, I guess, so he's closer to the Red Sox. I figure the guy has some FO connections--especially with his pal Cherington. So maybe he knows a bit more than others. As for Drew, I don't think they have the money to sign him--aside from the other problems with blocking their good young players. They might consider him if he has nowhere to go for $5M one year. I have to think the Yankees will come into the picture at some point. Their infield right now sucks.

I hope all you guys predicting a repeat for the Red Sox are right. But I'm too much of a realist to think lightening can strike twice. Not that I think they won't be in the hunt.

Just saw on twitter Schilling diagnosed with cancer. Only 47. Tough break for a great competitor. Hope he beats it.

Shouldn't that be Tanaka and the Yankee rotation? LOL I was watching the movie Major League II the other night--the comedy about the Cleveland Guardians (not that the Guardians are a comedy--LOL). Seems that the Guardians in the movie signed a kid left fielder from the Japanese Giants by the name of Tanaka. Yup, Tanaka. This one turned out to be a crazy Samurai warrior, flashing his sword around the locker room before games scattering everybody. That should be a warning to the Yankee players.

I hate the title of this thread. Wish there was a way to change it. Hope Middlebrooks never sees it.

Yeah. Schilling was a warrior. He'll make the HOF someday for his WS heroics. For two teams. I also remember that Yankee ass-kisser from CBS who said on the air during a game that Schilling's bloody sock was faked. He's still announcing-which tells you something about CBS. The media gets away with outrageous things sometimes.

That would be '67 the Impossible Dream season. Yaz was unreal. Dominating player, especially down the stretch. I remember being in a parking lot across the Charles from Kenmore Square. listening to the Tigers-Angels game. When the Angels won, which clinched the Pennant for the Red Sox (they had just beaten the Twins at Fenway), you could hear the roar in Kenmore Square from across the river. Many years later, I sat with Jim Kaat in the owner's box at a local race track, and discussed that final 3 game series at Fenway. Kaat pitched one of those games for the Twins. I don't remember a damned thing about what we said. LOL.

When your agent is Boras, I suspect you don't make any decisions. You put yourself in his hands with the expectation he will get you the highest dollar. That's what it's all about. Most of the time he does.

Gammons says Ben has "made it clear" X will be starting SS, and that there might be "roles" for Drew. http://www.gammonsdaily.com/gammons-notes-braves-extend-heyward-freeman-free-agency-and-the-system/ Butterfield is working defensively with MBrooks at 3B and X at SS. It isn't clear what those "roles" would be for Drew. Sounds like a political stance, more than anything. Especially since he traded for Herrera, who looks like an ideal IF backup.

I say impossible to predict the standings right now. For sure, you'll have the usual suspects plus a few surprises coming out of nowhere. I would not expect the Cardinals and the Red Sox to be in the World Series again. There is just too much luck involved getting there.

Well, he always can go to the old folks home in NY. Not sure they want that.

Papi has had a ton of big hits for the Red Sox in the playoffs over the years. Walk offs galore. He spoils it some with his lack of humility. But you can't take his contributions away. He puts the Red Sox in a tough position, asking for more. Especially at this time. They can't really say no, coming off a championship. Chances are they'll extend him another year, but he's a big risk. Age, injuries, and a possible retreat to his form of a few years ago, when everybody thought he was in decline. My guess is he has a very good trainer who is keeping him well-stocked with the fountain of youth. Whatever that means. It's a question of how long he can go on and whether he can maintain his motivation. You got to feel a bit sorry for Peyton. Getting anointed by the media is always the kiss of death.

The thinking with some major pitchers is it isn't the total pitch count, it's the tough innings that make a difference. Some low pitch count games can be tougher than some higher pitch count games. Halladay was the first I heard say that. Others have picked up on that recently.

Front offices can mess up a guy's career by overmanaging. In the Red Sox case, it's possible to say moving Bard to starter messed him up, especially when he had a history of such problems in the minors--why he was moved to reliever in the first place. Further, others have suggested that Dice-K's routine in Japan may have been messed up when he came to Boston. The Red Sox seem to have well cast ideas about how to condition pitchers--or at least did then, regarding pitch counts, in particular. Maybe less so, now. I've read the whole pitch count philosophy is being reexamined in Baseball. I've often thought it was misused. It has never made any sense to me to take out a starter cruising in a quality start just because he reached some magical pre-set number of pitches. I've read about some major pitchers lately taking issue with just that. Last year, Farrell showed some awareness of this, and was flexible at times with pitch counts. Another area that concerns me is moving guys around positions at the major league level like musical chairs. That can mess up a guy, too. Especially if he's a younger guy who hasn't fully developed his confidence at the ML level. That's an argument not to shuffle X or Middlebrooks around to accommodate Drew--a one position guy who will be paid big to start. Maybe that's one of his problems finding a taker--along with the draft pick.