IRON HORSE

Hey, I am making the trip to Comerica to see the Sox play against the Tigers on June 22 and 23. I just wondered if anyone knew which hotel the Sox stay at? Also, where/when is the best time/place to get autographs? I am not a collector who sells autographed stuff on the Internet, I just like to have a baseball or two signed to put on my desk to commemorate the games as I'm going with my dad. Thanks All!

Anyone here have a subscription to this magazine? Just wanted to know if its worth the money or not? Thanks.

Any Internet links? I don't get the MLB network

What about the Yankee Killer, Josh Beckett? Love or hate him, he was our ace and played a monumental part in our '07 World Series championship

In time, Ellsbury and Pedroia will be on this list. As for managers, I know I might get some rebuttal against this, but for best manager I would take Tito any day of the week. What does everyone else think?

Anybody know any links for this show? I would like to watch this. Gratitude

Where would Jason Varitek fit in? He showed great leadership qualities during his tenure with us and would make a great manager some day. Also, how about Tim Wakefield?

I just thought that I would pose this question as to who is the greatest red sox player of all time? I know this might be a very vague and complex, but with our franchise being so rich I decided to ask everyone this question.

Thank you Spitball, the new biography that I was referring to is the Leigh Montville one!

With pitchers and catchers due to report to their respective clubs for spring training, I thought this would be the perfect time to start this thread. Anyone going to see any spring training? Any reports on prospects and any standouts would be appreciated!

I'm about to dive into this book. I bought it the very first release date but I have had strep throat for the past two weeks. Spring training is just around the corner! How exciting!

It sounds like an interesting topic to write about. As a History major myself, I actually would not mind reading it and I could give you pointers and help on grammar and what not. For research check out David Halberstam's, "Teammates" and "Summer of '49". I know there was a Williams biography just recently released. It is a shame that we do not have players like Teddy Ballgame anymore in the age of Free Agency. I hope this helps, if you have any questions please post!

Hello, Red Sox nation! It has been a while since I have posted anything. With management unloading so much money, one should begin to speculate as to who the sox will buy this offseason? Will Ellsbury get his big contract? Will the sox land Josh Hamilton and/or Zach Grienke?

It is a sheer and utter shame to hear this story. In my personal opinion, Francona was thrown under the bus in Boston's hot bed media. If Boston did not collapse in the end of last year than he would still be Manager and these "hot button" issues of Francona taking pain pills, and the whole "chicken and beer" in the club house controversy would not see the light of day. I agree with the previous posts that he did bring a championship back into the franchise after quite the drought. Seeing as this season marks the centennial of the franchise, Francona should make an appearance and receive the right reception that he deserves. I really liked Francona as manager of the Sox, (as you can tell) and he personally was the scapegoat!

Hey Sox fans, just wanted to open this thread up as Heidi Watney is no longer the reporter for NESN. What a sad day, as I, and a lot of memebers of Red Nation have grown a little fond of her. haha. Just wanted to see what other Sox fans had to say......

When is it going to be announced what the Sox got for Epstein going to the Cubs? It has been months and last thing I heard, Selig had to intervene. Would like some light shed on this issue. Cheers, All the Best IRON HORSE

I personally really liked Dan Halberstam's Teammates: A Portrait of Friendship which is about Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky. Halberstam accounts the career long relationship and dynamics that these Red Sox greats shared. I highly recommend this book as it is really easy to read and Fenway recently made a statue commemorating these highly acclaimed figures of Red Sox folk lore. I cannot wait until Matt Damon and Ben Affleck make a movie adaptation about this book. You read this for the first time here, I deserve all the credit as I was the first to say this here, lol. As mentioned previously, Dynasty by Tony Massarotti is a very easy to read account as to how the red sox machine rose to win the World Series of 2004 and 2007. It is a very insightful account as to how the red sox rose to prominence. Currently, I am working on David Halberstam's Summer of '49 which is about the Yankee/Red Sox series in the summer of '49. Additionally, I know for a fact that my brother bought me the new Fenway book and I cannot wait to dive right into it. If anyone knows of anymore Red Sox books, please respond. Thanks

The man is beast, there is going to be a lot of interest shown in acquiring him from many teams. He is a right handed batter that the sox need. I hope everyone enjoys this video on him, as I found it really interesting. I hope the sox get him. thx http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/07/the-scouting-video-of-yoennis-cespedes-is-absolutely-ridiculous/related/

Ok, first and formost, what is the big deal if a pitcher who is not pitching drinks beer, fried chicken, and plays video games? I know all this may lead to conditioning concerns, but if a pithcer (Lackey, Beckett, Lester) is not playing then really who cares? Now, I know some may say they are members of the team and they should be out in the dugout with their team. I get that but is this really such a big issue that the media is blowing it up to be? It is really sad to see a bunch of fingers being pointed as to who was at fault for the infamous "September Collapse" as in my opinion you cannot just point at merely one player and deem them a "scapegoat". We lost Theo and Tito, and judging by the popular consensus in this forum people are glad to see them go. Do you not remember all the success they brought to this franchise? Do you not remember all the injuries we had during this season? Nobody is perfect so give Crawford a chance for he missed that catch, big deal it happens. This is his first year in a Sox uniform and coming from the Tampa limelight to the Boston limelight will and I repeat WILL take a while to get used to. It would be nice to see John Farrell come back to Boston but the price for his compensation may be a lot.

Whoever says Francona is done managing the red sox needs their head examined. Tito has worked magic for the red sox and in my opinion one of the best managers in MLB. If you think Tito is done then truly you are not a geniune red fan. This month as been atrocious for the red sox but unfortunately if you have an old team and the season is coming to an end you will be plagued with injuries. As we all know we have had a bunch this year (especially with pitching). I believe we will make the playoffs and Bucholz will return to the roster. Being a member of Red Sox nation you have to believe, so lets believe and hope that the red sox will make the playoffs and will be playing the Detroit Tigers. GO SOX GO!!!!

Bedard has not been effective in a sox uniform. In his last outing, Francona should have put Albers in to relieve Bedard. I cannot see Bedard being a long term solution to their pitching roster. However, considering their predictiment with injuries to Bucholz and Dice-K they improvised and had to settle on Bedard.

The red sox are not pulling the plug on the "Crawford Experiment" yet in Boston. Crawford started off very rusty and had an unfortunate injury that sidelined him. He was trying too hard to be more than he was in Tampa, now Crawford seems to be shaking the cobwebs off and adjusting very nicely in the red sox roster. Like previous posts mentioned, a lot of players are placed on waivers.

Theo has built the red sox (with exception with a few trades when he resigned) into the team they are today. It would be a sad day in our history if he did leave to go to the Windy City. I think anyone would leave if they were offered the right sum of money and a high position within the franchise.

It was good to see Lavarnaway get his first big league hit the other night; especially since his family was in the stands. Without a doubt, Varitek is a good teacher to learn the art of batcatching from. Salty is definitely having a good year, throwing runners out at second and producing good hitting numbers. I personally like Salty and I'm hoping to see him in a Red Sox uniform for a really long time. Currently, Lavarnaway seems to be a good replacement for Youkilis. We just have to wait and see how he develops and adjusts to the majors.

Just if anyone is interested, I live semi-close to London, Ontario, Canada and there is a ball park- Labatt Park, that is the oldest in North America that is still in use. I sincerely believe that it does not get the recognition that it so rightfully deserves. It opened up in 1877. Thanks