RedSoxFan84

Wait... what? We're losing Jacoby? Is this certain, or is it a prediction? Why would we be losing him? I would expect that with a player of his quality, ownership would pick up the check to keep him, even if it means paying the tax.

That would be great if it works out that way. I, and most other Sox fans from what I can gather on this board, would love to see Oswalt signed for the 2012 season. I'm expecting that it wont happen, but praying that it will. Either way, once Oswalt finds a new home, at least it will all be over and we'll be able to stop speculating about where he is going to sign.

As I said before, it was going to cost me $200 total to get a $50 hoodie from MLB.com which was only kind of like what I wanted sent to me. I called the screen-printing place and they said they can't do it because it would be a $50,000 fine. On eBay earlier tonight, I found exactly what I was looking for in the first place, and got it for less than $50 including shipping. God bless eBay!

I was curious as to what this Ilemi thing is that you're talking about, so I tried ilemi.com to see what it was. Guess they wont be broadcasting any games anytime soon...

This may have already been asked, but I'm not sure considering that I only read this last page. Anyway, on behalf of myself and my fellow Aussie Sox fans, does anyone have links to any sites where we can watch Sox games here in Australia? I'd love to be able to watch my Sox play, but there are hardly any MLB games on free-to-air tv here, and most of the time they pick crappy teams to show.

I just finished reading this thread, and I must say that I enjoyed it greatly. Watching a Chargers fan try and talk s*** about a team like the Bears gave me the best laugh I've had in a long time. As for Cutler, he sucks ass? Really? I'm honestly not interested in getting into a pissing contest with fans of other teams, so I will depart with the following words: GO BEARS!!! :thumbsup:

I'm a new member here so I have just found this thread, and thought I'd give my thoughts on it. I remember back when the news that he was seriously ill popped up on MSN.com and other sites, and I felt terrible. This guy was one of the all-time greatest boxers in the history of mankind, and while I never got to see him fight (being born in 1984), all of the footage that I have been able to find online and so on just strengthens that knowledge of how great he was. I remember a short time later when I read that he had passed away, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had a tear in the corner of my eye and that lumpy feeling in my throat. In this day and age, he really passed away far too soon. RIP Smokin' Joe.

I can see that Oswalt is being talked about at the moment. So what is the current train of thought regarding him coming to Boston in 2012? Most of the media articles that I read seem to suggest that we should go after him, and I tend to agree, but I would love to get other posters takes on that.

I appreciate retro as much as the next guy, but there's something weird about that logo. The guys chin is huge and reminds me of Jay Leno...

I just read an article titled "10 Bold Predictions for Daniel Bard in the Boston Red Sox Rotation" and this is their 10 predictions: 1 - He will start 28 games 2 - His ERA will be better than you think (3.26 ERA in 2012) 3 - He will come close to 200 innings (197.1 innings in 2012) 4 - He'll still be a strikeout pitcher (200 strikeouts in 2012) 5 - He wont walk many batters (1.003 WHIP in 2012) 6 - His win/loss percentage will be 0.684 7 - He'll post a sub 3.00 ERA against the Yankees in 2012 (2.48 ERA) 8 - Toronto will give him the biggest fits in the AL East (3.94 ERA) 9 - He will pitch himself into significant trade talks in July (Giants, Brewers and Cardinals may be interested) 10 - He'll help the brass feel better about getting rid of Lackey Now keep in mind that these aren't my predictions, rather those from an article I was just reading. Personally, I would be pretty happy with that sort of result from Bard in 2012. What do you guys think?

Thanks guys, I'll check out that store you linked me to as well.

Once again, all I can say is that I more or less agree with the majority of what has been said. Do I think Bard can make for a nice starter? Sure. He will need to keep adding more strings to his bow, and there will be bumps in the road in the early going, but he has the great size and arm to be a quality starter. When you look at it in context with the rest of the rotation though, all we really need from him (especially in 2012) is to be good enough to be the 4th or (if we acquire an experienced guy) the 5th starter in the rotation. I see no reason why he can't do that, even if it does take him some time to adjust to the role. Do I think that they WILL use him as a starter? I'm pretty confident that they will. The only way that I can see them not using him as a starter is if they get active on the trade/free-agent market and bring in some more experienced guys, because with the lineup that we have now, Bard and Aceves are pretty much all we have to rely on after the main three guys (Beckett, Lester and Buchholz). As for the impact on the pen, I think we should be ok. Losing Papelbon sucked, but Bailey is younger and is an All-Star quality closer, and should at least go a long way towards filling Papelbon's shoes. As for Bard's now-vacated role as a setup guy, we have another young guy who I think has plenty of talent in Melancon. Now I'm not going to say for 100% certainty that Melancon/Bailey will replace Bard/Papelbon, but I feel confident that they have the talent to do so, and will only get better as the season wears on and they get more of a feel for pitching at Fenway. So if you assume for the sake of making this argument simple that Melancon/Bailey will replace Bard/Papelbon, then it would appear that we have, more or less, covered those two losses with two new guys who can get the job done. When you look at it that way, the pen really shouldn't be hit too hard by Bard becoming a starter. The thing that I can see really hurting our depth in the pen is if Aceves is forced to become the 5th starter. That would really be a hit to our relief depth. That is why I'm hoping and praying that we sign an established starter, even if just for one season so as to give ourselves money to spend next year. It would mean that Bard could learn the job as the 5th starter on the depth chart, and it would also mean that Aceves would stay in the pen, which in my opinion at least, is a big plus.

I'm not sure if this is the place to post this or not, so if it's the wrong place, feel free to move it wherever it should be. The situation that I have is this: I want a Red Sox hoodie, and while they're available at the MLB.com Store for about $50, they charge and extra $150 on top of that to post it to me here in Australia. So, with that in mind, I've decided to get myself a plain gray hoodie and have the Red Sox logo embroidered on it. That means that I have to choose which particular logo to go with. I'm going to go with either of these two: http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/53/53/full/0bzkkgggeec16jy2ktp8jl7ej.gif or http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/53/53/full/671.gif Which do you guys think would look better on the front of a plain gray hoodie? I'm going to get "Boston Baseball - Est. 1901" on the back in some sort of font/style that I haven't decided on yet.

Speaking of Kalish, what are you guys expectations for him long-term? I like Sweeney and am pretty much ok with him playing RF, but I think Kalish has some nice potential. If he can add a bit more power to his bat, then he could be a really good player in my opinion.

That's great to hear. If true, it meanns good news for us. No one really doubts his ability to hit, but it was his defensive game that was considered to be his main weakness, so if that isn't as bad as people have been led to believe, then I'm very happy to hear that. I still see him as a backup C and DH, because I'm quite a fan of Salty, but it's comforting to know that he'll be better than we're led to believe when the times come where we have to put Lavarnway behind the plate.

Well, Kuroda is gone now, so that further limits our short-term options. I know Bobby V has said that he's not worried about the Yankees and their much-improved rotation, but to be honest, I am worried about it. I love Beckett, Lester and Buchholz, but I really want us to add one or two experienced quality starters who can take the pressure off of Bard having to feel like he has to pitch perfectly straight away. I just looked up Ethier and Cain, who were mentioned previously as possible targets this time next year, and I must say that I would be very excited to land one or preferably both of them. Who from our team is a free-agent after this coming season, and will we have enough money to go after both of those guys?

Welcome aboard mate! I had no idea there was this many fellow Sox fans in Australia.

I hadn't really looked at it that way, but you may have a point. Of course I, and probably most other Sox fans here, want the team to dominate every year, but perhaps saving some money this year may put us into a better position long-term. I think the reason that I hadn't really looked at that option is because outside of the Sox, I only know anything worthwhile about a handful of other players, so I didn't (and still don't) know who is going to be available after next season, and how good/bad they are. I take it from your post that there are some really good options to fill our weaknesses (SP and RF) available as free-agents after next season? If so, I guess it's like what a lot of NBA teams did when they tried to open up as much cap room as possible for the big free-agent class a couple of years ago.

Thanks mate! I'm getting the hang of the positions and most (well, some) of the stats, but some stuff still confuses me, such as defensive strategies and so on. When someone hits the ball, the fielders just react and know where to throw the ball without even thinking about it. I guess that's what comes from growing up with the game and playing it all your life, but for an Aussie at 27 years old, it's a little harder to understand

I used to really like the Swans, until the AFL showed how gutless they are and let him play in that Grand Final when he should have missed AT LEAST a few weeks. I'm definitely a fan of that young bloke Jack though... I'd love to get him to the Blues. We just picked up a bloke who was on your rookie list, by the name of Sam Rowe I believe. He's a mature-age pickup for us, and looks like a big bruising key-forward. If he turns out to be a steal, I'll make sure to send you a box of cookies or something!

I'm no expert on baseball or the Sox, as I mentioned in my introductory post, but I tend to agree with what has been said so far. With his defense/game-calling looking like a weakness at this point, I think it will do him good to spend some time in AAA ball where he can play a major role and work on his game. With Ortiz getting older, we will need a new DH before too much longer, and if Lavarnway is able to improve enough to be our full-time backup C by that point, he can also play as our DH which would give us an extra roster spot.