jung

It requires voters not voter for a player to make his way to the HOF. Therefore the more issues you can pile up on one side of the scales or the other, the more or less likely a player makes it. Unfortunately negative issues tend to garner more "group support" than positive issues which tend to be more individual as they impact voters. Add to that, periods of baseball history that present as loaded with candidates for the HOF vs those that are not so defined. IMO, the PED controversy combined with the DH issue are two big issues that will capture and have a hold on a number of the HOF voters and it will make it difficult for Ortiz to get there, certainly to get there quickly. I don't think any of that will be nearly as relevant if at all to an effort to get Ortiz up on Fenway's wall. However not being up on Fenway's wall will add fuel to those arguing that he should not get to the HOF as frivolous as the Wall argument vs Hall argument is in fact. This is a political discussion, not a baseball discussion.

Part of the problem with nailing Farrell for how he has pushed starting pitching this year simply overvalues a very weak part of the Sox team and what appears to be a particularly weak link on most all of the prominent AL teams, that being relief. Farrell is not my favorite in game manager by a long shot but I think he is forced to push the starters cause he has no reliable options if the starters can't get past the 5th or into the 6th inning. It simply takes too long to get to the guys or the guy at the back end. That is exactly how the Sox lost three out of four series soon after the ASB. The starters went into a bit of a funk and the Sox just could not get to the back end of the pen fast enough. I don't want to blame injury cause everybody has to deal with injury. It does not matter what created the weak link. I am not even sure I would argue that injury really had much of anything to do with it anyway. Workman emerged as a guy that could be of service there but just as he has emerged Taz has faded and Farrell is now forced to move Workman closer to the end of the game to fill the whole Taz will likely create. As it is, Workman is virtually the only choice Farrell has had for any period of time that matters.

Ortiz to me is critical in the lineup but nobody else the Sox have can even play in Fenway's RF nor even RF generally. Nava is a joke out there regardless of what his supports suggest. Ells has no arm and would not be able to play RF. Those two guys are the only two players that have been on the 2013 25 man for any length of time that could even play a few games in RF without totally embarrassing themselves. Not only does Vic play out there but he has made significant contributions to run prevention from out there to combine with his contributions at the plate. In Ueh's case, while I would never recommend spending big bucks for a closer nor even arriving at a closer by bidding for one, nobody else on this roster would have been able to close for any length of time with the possible exception of Taz who would not have held up. Not only has Ueh excelled there, he is the only option the Sox have there. If some combination of other players went down and out of the lineup at the same time, the Sox would really miss Ortiz. But in truth they already went without Ortiz for a period early this year. I don't think anybody else on the Sox could have fit the roles that Vic and Ueh have played this year even competently let alone exceptionally which to me is what creates such a gap between those two players and anybody else.

There are so many separate debates that will likely separate a guy like Ortiz from the hall that I do not think that MLHOF and Red Sox Retired Number are the same discussion nor should they be. At the same time, the number of significant AB's from Ortiz at critical moments over the course of his Sox career and particularly post season in the WS runs, especially one of them, combined with his consistently excellent performance in instances where he was at times the only power bat in the Sox lineup suggests to me that Ortiz should have his number retired. I suspect that will happen long before he has a shot at the HOF and might even suggest that one reason he will get up on the wall is that it will be part and parcel of a Sox effort to get him to the HOF. The Sox will want to head off some of the detractors who will knee jerk their way to "how can we consider him for the HOF when the Sox won't even retire his number".

Shane in a near dead heat over Ueh. I honestly don't think anybody else comes close to those two though.

Napoli must totally hate the hot weather in a way that is way beyond the norm. Maybe that is why he often looks so exhausted and swings such a slow bat during the really hot days of summer. Sort of the opposite of some of the Latin players that look like frozen popsicles in April and May.

More fresh meat in from the Spanks pen. Joe has to bring in Sloba at some point. It just would not be right.

Oh it hit him on the foot you f***ing turkeys...shut the f*** up and at least go down with a little class. In fact why don't you all just slit your bellies open. We actually have a couple guys that can help you with that.

Unless Farrell starts substituting in a couple innings which is probably likely, they could lay a 20 spot on the Spanks.

I don't know why Napoli laid off of that one....being merciful I guess.

Look at those f***ing pitches. When you see them all lined up like that one after the other it looks even worse. If they show that to Girardi he may not survive it.

Nice choice Joe. Got any more bright ideas?

Here comes another Spankee to throw on the barbecue.

Even when this clown is not up in the zone he is right in the middle of the plate with nothing on the ball. Should be another double digit output for the Sox.

After listening to Eck the last few nights these guys are even more useless than their usual.

Ah yes, nothing like the September smell of Spanks roasting on the barbecue. Should have to flip them any time now.

Girardi already wearing that helpless, hopeless look...like "do I have even one guy that does not throw a meatball every fourth pitch (the other three being balls)?"

Girardi is going be in an even bigger mess than he has been in the last two nights once he has to dig into the pen today.

People are referring to the Pedey injury. But Pedey's foot was confirmed broken. Is that the early report on Ells or are they just reporting the swelling and inflammation?

In Pedey's case the foot was confirmed broken right. Has Ells foot been confirmed broken?

That thing went out right at the end of the 2nd deck where that wind tunnel effect takes over. That was nothing more than a fly ball that was not even headed for the warning track before the wind tunnel got it and send it over the short porch. Clearly Iche initially did not think he was even going to have to go back to the track and he does not misjudge fly balls. That park is a joke and it is about time it came back to bite the Spanks in the ass. That was just too funny and immense retribution for what that s*** park does. The place is an embarrassment.

I don't think the Rays series is important for the division now. Now the Sox are working on who they can knock out of the WC. I would not spend much more effort burying the Spanks. They are done. Even if they survived based on the numbers, they are losing too many guys from their pitching and they are just too old...just like we said they were when the season started. Rest some guys tomorrow, switch off and rest some others on Sunday. Get ready for the next series.

Heck I would rest guys just to try something else behind Lackey. We have not scored any runs for him all year and he is up again tomorrow. Put some fresh legs in and at least give Lackey a shot.

Wow come on Farrell what the f***...you just can't live with prosperity. I am sure post game you will have some other f***ed up reason for this.

The only ones left are the old farts that have to wait for the crowd to disperse so they don't get run over.