Elktonnick

Do not need to my conjecture is as good as yours.

Really righted the ship, I think not. The mediocre play of late is a natural progression and result of the current manager's implied message to the team in the spring that they did not have to work hard to achieve championship results. That they could take it easy and still win.

No that playing is better than not playing.

Oh I thought the sabermetrics approach had empirical data for everything in baseball. This is a results oriented business. One could make a credible case that the results achieved thus far do not favor the conjecture that the current manager's philosophy has proven to be an effective one, unless one calls 1 game above 500 and 8.5 games behind an effective strategy.

You know of course about the road to hell and good intentions. It didn't backfire a bit. It backfired a lot.

The reasons the Sox balked at paying Kimbrel were two fold one they don't want to exceed the salary cap and two his diminished effectiveness. Having Sale as a closer is of course a non starter (no pun intended ) as long as he is an effective starter however once he or any other starter are no longer effective in that role it is prudent to consider the alternative. Dennis Eckersley is certainly a perfect case in point.

Really Why do you say that. What empirical evidence is there to demonstrate that this philosophy is valid now it wouldn't be in August or the reverse if it is not valid in August it wouldn't be valid now.

The team looks listless right now.

Who fills the void at closer? No matter which way you shake it the Sox have holes in their pitching either at the front end, back end or in the middle.

I think Mal's idea has merit but I still wouldn't want to the one to tell him. I think the only one with the stature to pull it off if Boston were serious would be Dennis Eckersley

I would hate to be the one sent to tell him.

Red Sox need to remember the first rule of holes; when in one stop digging

For the last time no one said anything about destroying the rotation what were talking about was the opening of the season. The facts are irrefutable, the starters got off to an horrendous opening. What the starters have done since is interesting but not germane to Smoltz's Palmers and several other respected baseball analysts contention that they were not prepared for the beginning of the season. The results of those ball games speak for themselves. They lost 8 out of their first 11 games. The Sox find themselves in a hole as a result, 2 games above 500 7 and half games behind with over a third of the season played. Amend that to 8 and half behind heading into June.

Again I never said anything about Kimbrel or Kelly but there are other moves and acquisitions that could have been made. I just don't think they feel it is prudent from a business perspective to exceed the salary cap in the current situation especially when they look at their future requirements.

I always find interesting when people infer positions that are not explicitly stated. To be clear though, the current manager will be fired, one day. That is a truism in baseball.

I never said that ST destroyed the rotation. What I believe is that a failure to properly prepare the starters in spring training put the sox in a big hole. It is not only what I believe but John Smoltz said as much at least on two occasions on national broadcasts and Jim Palmer said the same several times on the Orioles Red Sox broadcasts. They aren't the only former big leaguers who have commented negatively on the Sox's ST pitching approach. I will concede that the manager is gambling that his rotation will finish strong. I hope he is right. But even if he is correct it may not be enough for sox to make the playoffs except as a wild card, which I believe Dombrowski and Henry are ok with since neither has shown any inclination to spend money to improve the club. If that will be the case then everyone gets to rest in October and should be bright and chipper for those big games in Ft Myers against the Twins next March. One thing you can bet, God willing, my wife and I will be there to watch. There is nothing like the atmosphere at Jet Blue and Hammond Stadium when the Sox and Twins play for that all important Commissioners Cup or is it the Chairman's Cup who the hell knows anyway.

I think Henry and Dombrowski took a very hard look at the salary cap restrictions and made a conscientious hard nosed business decision that worst case scenario they would win a playoff berth. This is the reason in my view that Dombrowski has not made a major move at spending money fixing the pen. I am sure he knows what the sox need to do but as they say "When they got you by the budget their hearts and minds will follow."

If I didn't admire what he did in 18 I would haven't said Hooray! My point is that a number of baseball men other than someone named Farrell would have taken that team to the Championship. That doesn't make him the greatest manager ever. But last year is over. It was obvious to those of us who attended Spring Training Games in March that he wasn't properly preparing the club for the season. And in my case I am on record of saying so at the time. John Smoltz and Jim Palmer as well as others made similar comments on this with respect to the pitchers. In any event, my opinion is my opinion, the current manager will one day no longer be the manager and the luster of what he accomplished in 18 will fade and an overall assessment will be based what he did or failed to do afterwards. Based on what I see him doing this year I think that will be a lot less favorable and his eventual departure will be sooner rather than later.

That is not true I admire what he did last year. But last year is past. I sat through spring training games at Jet Blue and I said after they broke camp that the team was in for a tough April and possibly May because the way the team was mismanaged from beginning of March on. And for the record, if the Sox get swept this weekend I suspect that we will begin to see the tensions in the clubhouse become public. Oh and I believe there are tensions in that clubhouse which are being papered over. Why do I say there are tensions in the clubhouse because I am watching virtually every game and I see the way the team is playing and interacting with each other. The Sox absolutely need to win this series. If they do then I may change my attitude to a more positive one. But right now I do not agree with the way this team is being managed.

I guess you have never managed or coached. I use build in the much broader sense of the term. General managers and VP of baseball operations assemble players. Baseball managers build and mold them into a team.

Nothing is ever accomplished without a solid foundation. I think your analysis is spot on. The current manager had the benefit of a team built up to win. It wasn't a team that he built or molded. He was just lucky to be given the helm and he brought home a winner. Hooray for him. However, I think the events of this year showed just how ordinary the current manager is. I don't think he can hold a candle to many past Red Sox managers. I fully expect he will be well gone and forgotten before the Red Sox are lucky enough to win another world series.

You are 100% correct. Worse than that the ill preparation sent the implicit message to his position players to take it easy because they need their rest. I have never seen a professional manager in any sport who preaches the philosophy of rest over preparation and toughness as much as the current incumbent manager of the Red Sox.

I know

For those who anoint the Red Sox current incumbent manager their greatest of all time would do well to remember that John Stahl, Ed Barrow, Dick Williams, Terry Francona and John Farrell all won either the Pennant or world titles their first year as Sox skipper. In recent memory Williams, Francona and Farrell were all fired, unceremoniously. I would wait a bit longer than one season before I would designate any manager the best in a lifetime as history has shown that the fall from grace can be somewhat swift and sudden.

You must be very young!