Elktonnick

Does your team have hitting woes? We have the cure. Red Sox starting pitching

Worse still how many of those were on third with less than two outs.

I 'lltolerate 6 games but no more. Although the way A-Gon is struggling at the plate, I am not sure about his health.

I think it is risky to have A-Gon play RF. Greater chance of a pulled hammy or other injury. The one thing that I think everyone can agree to is this club doesn't need another veteran going down with an injury.

Do not exaggerate or misquote what I posted which you have a tendency to do. Never said Youyklis's behavior was comparable to the utter disaster that was Manny. But rather that even in the extreme case of Ramirez's behavior (Youklis never assualted a 60 plus traveling secretary) players are loathe to comment publically on their teammates. What Jackie Mac said in addition to her article was that Youklis was a problem in the clubhouse and that he needed to go. I think her article is pretty damning actually. She doesn't have to use the loaded term cancer but " insisting on inserting himself in other people affairs" is a pretty tough statement considering that these are 25 plus guys who have to work and travel with each over six plus months. Hey if you think it isn't a tough indictment well then I guess you must be easy to work and live with. Kudos to you. I think I can understand why the club should trade him asap and they were foolish not to do so sooner. Let me add that personnel problems such as those described by Jackie Mac are some of the toughest and most persistent problems one faces in a senior management role. Based on my experience these are the most divisive, insidious and time consuming problems an organization faces. Frequently the only way to resolve them is to move some one, quickly

Hence the inherent foolishness of over reliance on these stats as meaningful when it comes to winning championships.

You clearly are totally clueless who Jackie MacMullan is or her standing in sports journalism.

Believe me that's not the way it works. In the world I used to work there are several levels of press ground rules. There is background and deep background etc. Baseball is a faternity. Negative on the record quotes about a team mate are as rare as hen's teeth. Background or deep background attribution is the norm. Just because someone is not willing to go on the record doesn't mean what they have said is any less reliable than someone willing to go on the record, actually it can be the reverse. Plus remember how long it took for the team to go public with its criticisms of Manny after he had been a jerk for a long long time. I trust Jackie Mac who has a reputation for journalistic integrity more than the public pronoucements of "Mighty Mouth" and "Everything is Fine" Gonzales.

BTW that isn't the only reason Cherrington is an incompetent fool. He fouled up virtually the entire off season. What does he expect to get for Youklis now that he wouldn't have gotten in the off season? The best he is likely to get is a prospect. It is doubtful that he'll get anything that will help this team right now. So instead of playing Middlebrooks he is playing a guy who is withering before our very eyes or he has a gold glove first baseman struggling at the plate running around right field. You don't believe Jackie Mac: "he turned so sour and cynical that his carping and insistence on inserting himself into other people's affairs turned him into a detriment." Her exact words. Heck her article is full of corroborative detail and she only won the Curt Gowdy Award. But that's okay in Halifax Nova Scotia you probably have more access to these players than do the Boston sports media. Some of whom travel with the club daily. If it gives you comfort to believe what you do then go with it.

Accurate as to what? In order to get the results sabermetricians keep changing the exponent. It is a nice toy but only predictive within a margin of error which over the course of a season can be from three to five games. There are nurmous other issues with the formula that make interesting reading on the various sabermetric sites but quite frankly they don't change the outcome that the Red Sox score a lot of runs over the course of the year but still suck

Pumpsie, you should know to these apologists nearly a year is too small a sample. Do not confuse the poor lad with facts, He has sabermetrics and advanced statistics to comfort him.

Youk's stats are dropping off a cliff. Your so called evidence is all in the past. Calling me names won't change the facts that Youk is following the same career path as JD Drew. Besides you can ignore me or not at your pleasure makes no matter to me. What you post isn't that insightful to begin with.

Just goes to show you that the inherent margin of error in such calculations makes them irrelevant except for parlour games. There is another variable that this particular calculation doesn't take into account that is the umpiring. Just ask BV after today's game if you doubt their importance.

Again you misquote me. You aren't precise in your analysis What I said was the only way the Scuturo trade makes sense since they got nothing in return was if he was the clubhouse snitch. The Scuturo trade still doesn't make sense. What have they done with the whopping 6 million they saved? Wasted 2 of it on Punto that leaves 4 . They would have been better served if they unloaded Youklis. They didn't unload Youklis because Cherrington is an incompetent fool.

Agreed but some fans also enable that behavior.

The informed speculation by writers who travel with the club and several who have collaborated with players on books. You can deny the writers expertise if it gives you comfort. But the facts are there. The market for Youklis is a bear market. They'll never get full value for him and it is better to cut their loses now rather than later. He is gone it is just a question of the damage that is done before he goes. This team will never get right until it stops placating their non producing overpaid entitled veterans at the expense of their future.

He has less value now than he did in September. The longer he plays the more chance he has of getting injured again. As I said your stats are meaningless when it comes to Youklis because he is getting worse not better just like JD Drew did.

Yes I am. Youklis is declining at the plate before our very eyes. His past performance is irrelevant. He isn't the player he was. So all those sabermetric stats are bs becuase they are what was not what is or what will be. Punto and Youklis suck at the plate. Middlebrooks Aviles Scuturo A-Gon and Pedroia are a stronger defensive and offensive infield than the combination of Middlebrooks Aviles Punto Youklis Pedroia and A-Gon especially when you add the fact the Middlebrooks Youklis and A-Gon can't and don't play in the infield simulataneously.

The FO made a huge error in not moving Youklis during the off season. In the end when he finally does go it will be for no material gain over what they would have obtained had they moved him during the offseason. Everyone in baseball knows what Youklis is or has become, good glove no hit if and when he plays. The rise of Middlebrooks points to the absurdity of not moving Youklis. Moreover keeping Youklis resulted in the Sox trading Scuturo for nothing. If they had kept Scuturo they wouldn't have needed Punto. Face it this off season was a disaster, demostrating just how incompetent Cherrington and the "storied" baseball ops whiz kids are. Budget woes are a lame excuse for their utter incompetence.

That pretty much sums up my thinking as well. Supposedly this team was put together by a computer program but you would never know it. The team is simply not equal to the sum of its parts. That is what happens when you go dumpster diving during th offseason. A-Gon looks lost at the plate. Pedroia shouldn't be playing with his hand despite how much one admires his spunk. Avilles shows why he is not an everyday player at short despite some flashes. Nava while a surprise is unlikely to continue to play at this level. While the bull pen is a surprise I can't see them going anywhere with Aceves as their closer. Lester simply hasn't lived up to his potential although he is still a very good pitcher if he maintains his composure. While Buchholtz has improved of late, one can't but think he is one bad break in a game from a complete meltdown in every start. Youk shouldn't be starting. The idea that they have to showcase him so they can get some trade value is a fool's errand. The longer he plays the more his hitting weaknesses are showcased. Plus everyone knows that he is a rent-a wreck. While there is still a lot of baseball yet to play, this team without a dramatic turnaround and the arrival of their reinforcements is unlikely to win 85 games. One only hopes the Cavalry arrives before they are so far out, it doesn't matter.