SoxSport

Are you referring to Ortiz?

Just looking at the guy tells you something. He's not aggressive enough to compete with other aggressive GMs. It's not in his nature. Ben was picked as GM because he was the next guy in the pecking order after the top 3 had left.

Soscia's getting some heat in LA, and he could be available off-season. A good possibility for the Red Sox.He's a no-nonsense guy and an outsider who could command respect from this team--and the higher ups. The Angels' problems are higher than Soscia--their GM simply doesn't value pitching enough. Funny, that's the same problem in Boston. Regardless of what happens with the manager, I don't see the Red Sox going anywhere until they recognize their front office sucks--and that more than Epstein has to go. They lost a couple of other senior guys, too, Hoyer and somebody else I can't recall, and didn't replace them. They need a much more aggressive GM or VP who can compete with other aggressive GMs out there. Lucchino? He needs to get away from the team and back to his old job selling tickets. Henry needs to hire a PR spokesperson to be a Red Sox voice to the media--and everybody else upstairs should shut up.

I wish to hell Valentine would resign. This is a ridiculous situation for him. Get out of this swamp.

Santana has not been very good lately. But the Red Sox are becoming established as losing streak breakers. It's remarkable how far they have fallen. In the past, the Angels have had no chance at Fenway.

Manny was a big hit while his show was running. But his exit was all wrong. Trouble is, both he and Papi, it appears, were juicing it all those big years. Probably most all the big hitters 8-10 years ago were juicing it.

He has had a power outage since the all-star game last year, though he has come back some lately.

What Henry should have done. He never replaced Epstein.

Nobody really knows who did what here. It's like a political TV commercial where you never know what the truth is.

I don't think anyone good on the outside would want to manage this team right now--not after what Valentine has been through. There has to be changes upstairs first.

I read Iggy sprained his ankle, and didn't play Monday because of that. They'll be hell to pay if he isn't in the September callup. Aside from the Bard fiasco, I think the single stupidest thing Cherington did this year was not to bring up Iggy sooner. You wonder how long Ben will continue to get a free ride from the media. The team would have been much better off this year had Lav and Iggy been on the team from the start like Valentine wanted. Valentine backed down because of his buddy Lucchino.

Mills should immediately get his old job back as bench coach. The team fell apart when he left.

Let's see. Cherington hired McClure. Valentine hired Niemann. Lucchino's way of compromising, courtesy of the season ticket holders, etc. who pay the salaries. Obviously, they only needed one.

I see this is an old thread. I thought I had filled out something like this before. I don't think I've changed much.

fan since 1948. remember since 1949. probably Red Sox over Braves because of Ted Williams--living in Boston. Ted Williams would be my favorite. Hero of all the kids my age in those days. And really, a great American hero. Least favorite? I guess it would be one of those overpaid princes that lousy front office has been signing the last couple of years. Also the two managers who screwed up the '75 and '86 world series they should have won--Johnson and McNamara. Greatest thrill would be winning the 04 World Series, sweeping the Cardinals, and predicting it to a couple of ESPN sports reporters I ran into at the airport (I had met one of them previously). They predicted the Cardinals in a sweep. I told them they were nuts. The Sox had better pitching. There it is, pitching is always the difference. Least favorite Yankee would be Nettles--who ruined Bill Lee's career by going after his left shoulder in a fight. f*** you, Nettles. Favorite Yankee was Mantle--who handed me an autographed picture at a dinner 3 months before he died. As good a ballplayer as ever lived, in my view. Also liked Billy Martin and Yogi. Great competitors. Hank Bauer,too. Battle of the Bulge hero, WWII. Favorite Yankee now would be Jeter. First Fenway game? I was at the playoff game against Cleveland they lost in '48, but don't remember it. I do remember '49-50 and still have Fenway programs from '50-52.

The Peter Principle is alive and well in the Red Sox organization. The media would have you believe Cherington is at the same level Epstein was. Not true. Epstein was a VP of player personnel, one step up from GM. He was promoted after his gorilla suit tantrum. Lucchino moved over to VP of marketing, etc. Cherington doesn't have the same authority as Theo, and shouldn't--as a first year GM. But the media ignores these differences. He never should have led the managerial search as a newly appointed GM--not with his lack of experience. The mistake Henry made was not replacing Epstein by an experienced guy at the same VP level. Somebody from the outside with clout, free of all the infighting. Somebody, as I've said, like John Hart. But they screwed it up. The outsider they brought in was the Manager-- a lower level without any clout. What happened is predictable. How a guy like Henry, who has made a zillion dollars in hedge funds, can screw up a ball team with the wrong moves, is beyond me. And Lucchino was no help, either. These guys completely swung and missed.

Ellsbury is about 0 for his last 20 and still batting leadoff.

Ichiro just proved any left handed hitter can hit in Yankee stadium. The Yankees have been doing this for 50 years--getting old washed up left handed hitters from other teams and making them useful in Yankee stadium. Remember Johnny Mize?

Well, Crawford will be leaving on a moderately high note. He's now playing at about a third of the level of what he's being paid. It would be half if he was stealing more bases. If they don't have him stealing more, they should trade him--because they'll never get close to the value they're paying him unless he runs.

Beckett pitching OK? Well, I watched him throw one of his patented meatballs to Granderson in the first inning. Luckily Grandison pulled it into the RF corner for a double instead of into the grandstand. Lavarnway looks like Salty will never get his job back. Smaller than Salty, and a better target, but still not aggressive enough framing outside corner. I remember Perez used to setup 6 inches outside for Glavine and Maddux --and get the call. Switched to the Colts-Steelers just in time to see Collie catch a pass over the middle and get forearmed in the head by a Steelers' back. Dropped the ball and went off the field to the locker room. I don't know how they could rule that a fair hit, in the light of all the concussions in the league--including Collie, who is one concussion away from retirement. But then these are substitute refs. You hate to see guys hurt in these pre-season games. Some of those defensive backs are killers. You want them fighting next to you in a war. Back to the Red Sox, who definitely are not killers. Has anyone at ESPN asked Tito on the air what happened last September?

Farrell is no big deal. Toronto is last, last time I looked. Though they have had injuries in their starting pitching. They need leadership higher up on the baseball side, and an experienced manager who has been successful enough to control the players--and who doesn't blabber to the media all the time. The other thing they could use is a good PR person to keep the media at bay. Henry and Lucchino suck talking to the media. So does Valentine. And the players should shut up, too.

Somebody put a cherry bomb on Cherington's seat--to wake him up.

Pitiful performance by Ells and Crawford in the 9th , 2nd and 3rd with one out. When is Valentine going to get Ells off the leadoff? The guy couldn't get a walk if his effin'' life depended on it. Ciriaco is the logical leadoff guy at this point. Hotter than hell. 4 hits today. And stinging the ball like an all-star. The Red Sox are so effin' stodgy. They take forever to make changes. And what was wrong with pitching Breslow in the 9th with two left handers coming up? Oh, pardon me, we can't interfere with Aceves' save opportunity. BS. This is a dumb organization playing dumb baseball. They ain't going nowhere without changes upstairs. Don't hold your breath. I pity those season ticket holders. Bail out, folks.

Lav looked pretty good today. Seemed to be framing pitches better on the corners. There has to be something to that poor W-L record with Salty catching. Another question the media should be posing instead of this crap about Valentine.

The Media says the Yankees have Morales number. Sounds like pure conventional wisdom. Watching the game, it's clear he isn't getting much help from Salty, who doesn't frame pitches on the corners. Another big mistake by the front office was going with Salty instead of Martin, who wanted to play for them and now catches for the Yankees. Martin is a much better defensive catcher. He's hitting .200 but kills the Red Sox almost every at bat that counts. The front office has made so many mistakes the past few years it has caught up with the Red Sox. Henry continues to have a blind eye about what's really wrong with the team. So does the media, with all their emphasis on Bobby V, who didn't cause the mess.