Bellhorn04

And good luck finding the forum of your dreams.

Let's face it, if Ivan Nova was a Red Sox we'd be looking for him to rebound from his bad 2012 season to his good 2011 season.

According to Verducci, Selig now has power to suspend even without a flunked test.

The starting rotation is the complete x factor. 1) Lester 4.82 ERA in 2012, 5.40 in Sept/11. Why, and can he rebound? 2) Buchholz 4.56 ERA in 2012. Only his second full year in the majors. Had a terrible start, nice stretch in mid-season, and a terrible finish. Very hard to predict. 3) Lackey 5.26 ERA as a Red Sox. Coming off missed season and TJ surgery. 4) Dempster career National Leaguer, 5.09 ERA in first and only AL stint last year. 5) Doubront 4.86 ERA in 2012. And jump in innings has him on the 'Verducci list'. Optimism that several of these guys will have decent seasons is certainly not unwarranted and I hope they do. But there's really nothing there to feel especially confident about.

I appreciate your optimism, I really do. I just can't see where it's founded on much except optimism itself. Our team is 76-113 in its last 189 games. Our upgrades on that team, aside from the bullpen where we have definitely improved, are a group of journeyman players. Our rotation is a complete mystery and x factor. It might improve greatly on last year's 5+ ERA, but it might not.

This is becoming a big story in a hurry and Selig has to be pissed. I think he would be more than willing to issue suspensions if the evidence is strong enough.

Interesting to see Gio Gonzalez is one of the names.

It's definitely going to be interesting. But after a season in which the starting rotation posted the worst collective ERA in franchise history and made no major upgrades, any optimism I have is very cautious. Actually my attitude is more like, let's just see WTF happens.

Yep. If we're going to part with some of our top prospects I think it should only be for a top pitcher.

That was on the short list for nuttiest games in Red Sox history.

The OP is proposing an 85 million extension for J Upton so it would be a $100 million+ contract.

Victorino is starting RFer unless they move Ellsbury?

J. Upton has some crazy splits. 937 career OPS at home, 731 on the road. Last year, in 79 road games, 305 at-bats, he had a grand total of 16 extra-base hits.

I can absolutely guarantee that if you conducted a poll of hockey fans old enough to have seen them both, Orr would beat Gretzky by a wide margin. I would predict that the top 3 would look like this: 1. Orr 2. Howe 3. Gretzky This is not a diss on Gretzky by any means. He was undoubtedly the greatest point-producing machine that will ever exist, a mastermind of getting the puck in the net.

And apparently D'Antoni isn't getting along with either Howard or Gasol. So you put together a 'dream team' and then get a coach who doesn't like 40% of it...nice work!

And the second sign is - Ryan Sweeney.

I think it would be dumb to move any pitcher who can start.

Nava...oh boy, here we go.

The ruptured spleen occurred when he fell down while shovelling snow.

Tito didn't like to bunt, but he did like the stolen base. In 2008 we had 3 guys with 20 or more steals and 4 guys with at least 12.

I also hold Pedro Feliciano in great reverence. One of my Yankee idols, along with Carl Pavano and my personal favorite, Kei Igawa.

It was such a colossal bummer when Bo Jackson had the career-ending injury. I remember the play.

I think you have to give the edge to the guys who proved they could play 2 sports successfully at the major league level. LeBron is a great athlete, of course, but could he succeed in the NFL or MLB? We'll never know. Michael Jordan found out he wasn't good enough for MLB.

Like you said, bringing Wally along would have been a good move.

Mike Napoli discusses hip condition that altered his deal with Red Sox By Scott Lauber / Boston Herald Turns out, Bo knows all about Mike Napoli's hip problem. A physical exam administered by the Red Sox in December showed that Napoli is afflicted by "avascular necrosis," the slugger revealed today after finalizing a greatly reduced contract to be the Sox' primary first baseman. The medical condition, which can result in the death of bone tissue, exists in both of Napoli's hips, according to agent Brian Grieper, and was the reason the Red Sox insisted on turning the three-year, $39 million contract that was agreed upon Dec. 3 into an incentive-laden, one-year deal worth only $5 million guaranteed. AVN led to Bo Jackson's retirement from baseball and football, although both Brett Favre and NHL goalie Ray Emery have played with the condition. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington noted the situation is far less urgent for Napoli than it was for Jackson, and Grieper and Napoli insisted AVN was caught early. Cherington said the Red Sox are confident Napoli won't be adversely impacted in 2013. "I have no symptoms of it," Napoli said. "We really don’t know what causes it. We saw a bunch of doctors, got a bunch of opinions, and went from there. I got on medication. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be healthy and ready to go for Opening Day." Napoli is taking medication to treat AVN and has seen Dr. Joseph Lane at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery. According to Grieper, the condition wasn't spotted on an MRI administered by the Texas Rangers last March or during any physical until Napoli saw the Red Sox' medical staff. It developed at some point last season, although Napoli didn't miss time with any hip-related injuries. The Red Sox believe Napoli's move to first base will reduce the stress on his hip. Napoli has spent most of his career as a catcher. "We don't have a lot of concern about 2013," Cherington said. "There's no reason that Mike Napoli won't be our primary first baseman in 2013. There's no reason that won't happen starting Opening Day. It's very important to note that, although this condition is less common in baseball players that some other issues, from all the information that's been gathered, this has been caught very early. We're a long way ahead from Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson's circumstance was entirely different. From all the information we have, there's a good prognosis."