wyo-sox

And all numbers, deals, moves, and dollars aside- I am certainly going to miss Pap on the team. He added a ton of character and excitement.

I hope they have some master plan here for a good starter. In my mind the better the starting rotation is the less important the bull pen is. I don't think you can replace Paps. So I don't see spending big money trying to. Let Bard have his shot and strengthen the starting rotation.

Does this make it harder for us to get our manager? I have to think the St Louis job would be the most coveted job for top manager prospects.

I know watching some other teams in the play offs blaring motley cr?e or guns and roses during big moments..... seemed to create / reflect a bit more electric atmosphere than Sweet Caroline. Welcome to the Jungle seems touch more bad ass than Sweet Caroline.

On my mind Salty earned another year to see if he will continue Yo improve, which I think he will. For a young guy like him who has had difficulty getting traction on his career- it may help him a lot to have a major market team express trust on him with the message that "you are our catcher next year, we like what you did last year"

I thought Bedard looked ok. Good enough to be a solid 4 or 5 guy if he is healthy. Seems like his first start for us in Minnesota the ump called half his strikes as balls. Then for most of his starts he got pretty poor run support with the sox. His last start was bad- and was that the one his ex had Jim served papers right before the game? As far as him not going deeper games- how much of that was managerial decisions in the hopes he would go deeper and more often in the post season. Overall his attitude seems good, his control looked good to me, his lifetime era is decent and consistent- and he's cheap. I guess to me it comes down to his health assessment. Could someone that understands and knows numbers / stats better then I explain what is right and wrong with my thinking?

Exactly

"The undercurrent here is that regardless of Epstein's commitment to (and childhood dreams to run) the Red Sox, perhaps he could break another historic stretch of no World Series' wins on another team. Olney reports that Epstein's friends have said he believes (or did believe in the past) the Cubs job might be one of*"extraordinary growth potential." This was quoted from Aug. 24th

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/08/hot_topic_theo.html. Here's a link to a Theo Cubs story in Aug. and I think I heard about it earlier then that. So I think there is a good chance he was planning on leaving regardless of what happened in Sept. But like I had said I can't really say.

I have no way to make a guess. It does seem like there were rumors about Theo and Cubs before the collapse started- anyone remember that? But I see the point your making, which is a valid one. Any way, Albert just got a blank check next year from tonights performance, lol.

Which one would have if Theo and Hoyer had not placed Adrian in Boston. Now Theo and Hoyer will be working together to most likely try to sign Albert or Prince. It's at least remotely possible I think that they looked ahead in their planning- I doubt it's likely, but in my mind closer to possible than ridiculous. Let me be clear though- I throw this out only as conversation, I am glad Adrian is at Boston and think if we had the choice of the three he would still be the best choice.

No offense taken- I enjoy message boards but don't take them serious enough to get offended, don't really see see the value of getting offended over much. Somebody once told me that people who get offended often have thin skin and are insecure. That said don't you think if any teams like Boston, Philly, or yankees had an opening at first base that it would change the value and opportunities for the big name 1 base free agents?

I heard someone a few weeks back saying Adrian Gonzalez was a bad signing for the Res Sox. At first this surprised me as I think his work ethic, professionalism, ability, and personality are great. But it was pointed out that had the Sox not signed him they would be looking at this upcoming off season with his huge salary off the books and Gonzalez, Fielder, and Albert Puls as free agents. Now with Adrian locked up with the Sox does it eleminate the two largest bank roles, Yanks and Sox. from competing with other teams for Fielder and Albert Puls and hence lower their future contracts? So just thinking with what the Cubs president and GM will be, it might look fishy if they go after one of the big name first base free agents. Does it look bad or just a silly conspiracy theory?

I would not want balls / strike calls made by an umpire being reviewed because it would take to long. I would however be in favor initially of using technology to determine balls / strike calls in the first place. Why wouldn't I want to watch a game with 100% accurate ball / strike calls?

Sitting here watching interview with Selig. He seems pretty against using much more instant replay. I personally would like to see more- here's why; I think it could actualy speed up the game. I guess I would like to see instant replay replace the phony, pointless and time consuming manager / umpire showdowns. It's been 100 plus years, we know they are not going to change the umps mind. I hate telling my kids that they need to respect authority, from umpires to teachers to policemen - then have them watch a grown man getting paid to be professional yelling because they disagreed with the authority over the location of a baseball. I think it would be cool to give the manager two calls a game they can have reviewed, and don't allow them to run out and "converse" with the umpires. Just give a manager a couple opportunities to have a play reviewed- five minutes later and the call is right. Maybe even penalize them if the review does not go their way (similar to the NFL)- that could maybe add some more strategy to the game. What are your thoughts.

I am generally a Mac guy but have been flirting with getting a 7 inch android based tablet. Anyone use the MLB app to watch games on android tablets- if so reviews?

Just listened to it. Enjoyed it.

Awesome, well played

It seems like the Red Sox had a lot of outs from balls caught in the outfield by the warning track. Is this just my perception- or did there seem to be more warning track outs than most teams? I guess what I'm getting at is did the Sox live by power and die by power? Did they not play "small ball" enough?

I love the idea of Theo, Lackey trade for Garza. That would make me happy happy happy- which I am certain is what the ownership is concerned about.

Well said! Bottem line- we had a terrible four week stretch. I did not hear anyone on here panicking about player development, the clubhouse, the lineup, etc..... that tells me most of this is a reaction to one bad stretch. Maybe not a reflection of the overall team? We still have Pedroia, Ells, Gonzo. Odds are Crawford will have a better year. I think Scutaro proved he has heart to allow him to play beyond his skill. Salty proved better then we thought and Lavarnway showed he could help / compete for catcher. Beckett, Lester, Buckholz, a solid 1-3. This is a good team. They allowed themselves to get bitch slapped- now we will see how they react. And there is a chance we get a great manager.

K, thanks

Do college coaches make the jump to the pros often- ever? Perhaps someone that has led a solid college for years would be what the tram needs? I would think they would be used to stressing fundamentals. Looks like the gamecocks have had a solid program for a good while. Same manager for 15 years I think I read.

Maybe I'll put my name in the hat. I look good in red. I would work cheap for the pro baseball world. With very limited baseball knowledge I've not only finished third place in my fantasy league but my 8 and 11 year old boys dominated t ball ( which means I come from a baseball family). And finally I can do either bubble gum or sun flower seeds. I'll need to discuss it with my family before making any decisions. Please don't leake this to the media yet.

How important is past managerial experience?