Bellhorn04

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."

Well, the offer is a 4 year extension on top of the 2 years he has left on his current deal. So it does offer a lot of security. As great as he is, something could go wrong the next 2 years. Nonetheless I imagine he'll hold out for and probably get more.

Looks like a disastrously stupid move alright.

By the time Felix is available from the Mariners his arm will be shot.

Details of Mike Napoli’s contract By Alex Speier According to a baseball source, the one-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox and Mike Napoli includes the following incentives that could increase the value of the deal to $13 million: Active roster bonuses $500,000 each for 30, 60, 90, 120 days on the active roster Plate appearance bonuses $500,000 each for 300, 325, 350, 375 plate appearances $1 million each for 400, 475, 550, 625 plate appearances Catch-all bonus If Napoli is active for a minimum of 165 days in 2013, he will get the full $8 million in incentives for a total of $13 million

The Lakers are absolutely screwed. I saw it live yesterday in Toronto. They just have way too many problems to overcome. The lowly Raptors made them look silly throughout the game. Mike D'Antoni kept calling timeouts looking angry and exasperated but the timeouts accomplished little. The only hope was one of the patented Kobe firestorms at the end and sure enough he was jacking it up from all over but it was much too little and too late.

Farrell says Victorino will hit second against LH starters and Pedey second against RH starters.

Maybe that's even in the contract terms? Catching can't be a good thing for someone with a hip problem.

He's Jarrod 'Too Tall' Saltalamacchia.

This deal may not free up a nickel. If Naps' hip doesn't cave in he'll get his $13 million, according to the tweeters.

You're kidding, right? Here's the incompetence gang's reaction for you: "Benny the Boob got lucky on this one because of Napoli's bum hip. It was nothing Ben did. Meanwhile, while he let this thing drag on forever, we could have signed the healthy and much better Adam LaRoche for 2 years and 24 million."

It's $5 million guaranteed, but according to Rob Bradford it could be worth close to $13 million if Napoli doesn't go on the DL because of the hip.

Now Theo has come out and refuted/explained all the apparent shots at the Sox front office like a master diplomat.

Take off! SCTV...great show.

Sometimes message boards are for entertainment only. http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/53213.gif

I'll be a little surprised if Napoli gets just a straight one-year deal. I thought he would probably get one year plus a vesting option for a second year based on playing time.

According to Francona, and I believe him, what's come out so far is only a few negative or controversial things (or maybe 'sexy' things would be appropriate under the circumstances) and that the book is full of positive stuff about his time with the Sox.

I would like to ask Theo this question: whose idea was Carl Crawford? That might explain a lot. What I've heard so far is: -The Red Sox scouted Crawford extensively, even reportedly following him around a bit to check him out as a person. -Ben Cherington strongly supported the signing. -John Henry had doubts about the signing but left it to 'baseball operations'.

He was traded to Cleveland for knuckleballer Steven Wright.