DocHolliday

Cook is not an answer for this team long term and will only be back next year as insurance in AAA. No worries if he's giving it up tonight - particularly against a team that has a greater chance of knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs. Hopefully Texas can beat up on Baltimore and the Royals can find a way to beat Tampa.

Atleast we are letting the Angels get back into the wild card race.

My hope is that the calendar year from September 2011 - now will give them enough reason and courage to make the "bold" changes theyve always talked making. They must accept that this group can't get it done and make foundational changes- even if it means eating a lot of money. The majority of fans understand that is what has to happen. I doubt they will get near the amount of enthusiasm in March 2013 they received this year if they essentially do nothing to change the core of this current group. Let's be honest - if they make changes we expect and hope for and the group they end up with can't make much progress on the field but genuinely tries their best and the off field drama is eliminated, most fans will call it a step in the right direction. I doubt anyone will say "if they kept it the way it was, things would have been better." It's clear - this group needs to be renovated. Some core pieces should remain going forward and some should not.

Lee was tremendous in the 2010 playoffs save for Game 1 of the WS. Wilson had a decent playoffs in 2010 but was terrible last season. If it wasn't for Wilson's good regular season in 2010 and his tremendous regular season in 2011, the Rangers don't make the playoffs either year. The Angels we're trailing on them down to the wire last season and Wilson kept the Rangers from being a WC team. He did so much while he was in Texas, but all Rangers fans remember of him was his 2011 playoffs and the fact that he is from California and wanted to play for his home town team. The Rangers have next to nothing to hang their hat on as a franchise outside of the past few years and Wilson was an intregal part of that. Why Rangers fans despise him so much is beyond me. For this season, they have to hope Dempster/ Harrison thrives and Holland repeats his performance from last years playoffs to have a shot past the 1st round.

I honestly wouldn't mind seeing the Angels get into the playoffs. They are the most legitimate threat to knocking the Yankees out, IMO. And I'd like to see someone new represent the AL this year. Texas had their best opportunity to win last season and will have to win this year without Lewis starting and Feliz in the back of the bullpen. Hopefully the Angels, Tigers, and White Sox get in and we can have some redemption for the way the Rays and Orioles ended our season last year.

If he really wants to stay here, as has been speculated by certain members of the media, he will try to work out a deal long term regardless of what Boras wants. From a different angle, he may not want to risk getting hurt in his contract year and then having to settle for a 1 year, 2010 Adrian Beltre type of deal to raise his value for securing a multi year deal the year after he's FA eligible. Like some of the other Sox players, he may prefer the LT security. But it all comes back to what the player wants- which in most cases is to make the most $.

More evidence of disconnect and incompetence in the organization surfaced today when V told reporters the search for a pitching coach in the offseason was rushed. You would think that an organization that witnessed their pitching completely collapse in the last month of the season would prioritize the search for a pitching coach and not rush to a decision because "we had run out of time". Unless they plan on renewing V and/or Niemman for next year, they had better start that search earlier this season. This is not to say the pitchers deserve no blame, but the procrastination by this FO in the managerial/pitching coach search last offseason must be more thorough and thought out beginning this October.

In many ways, it feels like last offseason never ended. I wouldn't go so far to say that this is worse than a player's strike, but it feels very similar. We are coming up on a full year of pathetic monstrosity on a daily basis with this team. Things have simply never been the same with this team since they won a double header with Oakland at home before Hurricane Irene came. My family and I were here for that series and I remember we were stuck in Kenmore Square all day Sunday because the city shut down. Nothing to do but bar hop and stay out of the rain. The T was shut down and none of the activities we had planned for that day were feasible to do. But I had absolutely no worries because we all were able to go to Fenway and see our beloved Sox. The rest of the season looked extremely promising and I remember asking myself not IF the Sox would make the playoffs, but if my wife and I would be able to see them play if they were matched against the Rangers in the 1st or 2nd round. Nearly 365 days later, I am stunned to see how far this entire organization has fallen and how it has played itself out, literally, on a daily basis into the abyss they find themselves in today.

Dice K's contract should be up at the end of this season, if I'm not mistaken. That will be roughly $10 M coming off the books, according to Cot's. Some pitchers, Buchholz and Lester will see pay increases. A trade of Beckett can free up around $5 to $7 M, assuming we pay $10 - $12 M next year for him to play somewhere else. That's around $10 M after you factor in the increases in pay to other pitchers.

I bet they could get by eating $20 -$24 M of the remaining $ ($10 - $12M each year). Or they could wait until the trade deadline or next off season and hope he has increased his trade value by then. We can all live with the fact that he will most likely turn things around elsewhere. He's done this throughout his whole career.

I'm sure you were very happy the red sox were in "turmoil" on your join date as well. 6 days later, I doubt you were as happy as you were when you first joined. I'd be willing to bet that on your join date you didn't think there was any way your beloved team would become the only team in 100+ years of playoffs to blow a 3-0 series lead in a best of 7 series. You never know what's going to happen in this game. Look at those days in 2004 and the month of September and into the playoffs last year. The one thing that may be constant in this game is change- for better or for worse. The rest is a crap shoot. There may be better bets to choose from, but nothing is certain. Happy Galavanting!

4 pitching coaches in 2 years- countless pitching coaches over his baseball life. Could any of these guys change Beckett's attitude? He's always been this way. In his younger years, his talent was able to suppress this attitude that's simply who he is. Now, for the first time in his life, he is having to adjust his entire approach to pitching and the results aren't there. I don't think it's too soon to say that he will never make the adjustment to being a crafty veteran pitcher. But I do think that it won't come in a Red Sox uniform. Think back to his days in Florida- he was all gas, approach was to try and blow guys away in each at bat. He comes to the AL East his first year and realizes that approach won't work and gives up the most home runs of his career to that point. He makes the adjustment to becoming more of a control power pitcher and has the greatest season of his career in 07. Has a few seasons riddled with injuries and off/on stretches to cover his final "prime" seasons. Currently, he's in the next stage of his transition as a pitcher. The one constant with all of these transitions is that he not only needed a new pitching coach, but also a completely new environment to successfully make the transition. There is no doubt in my mind he can be successful again - but it won't happen here.

Still not sure why they couldn't have made this decision weeks earlier. Hopefully Crawford will learn from past mistakes and not rush his rehab to get back by a certain date. Whenever he comes back, he needs to resemble the Crawford we've seen this year from the time he steps on the field, with steady improvement from there. This team can survive a couple of weeks into the season without him - not a couple of months.

I think I read somewhere that Iglesias was taken out due to a minor ankle injury and might be out a few days. Regardless, Aviles needs to be traded soon before he gets injured as well. The amount of injuries, phantom or not, has been off the charts for this year's team.

From Alex Speier of WEEI: John Lackey is progressing in his rehab to the point where he will probably appear in some rehab games in one of the fall leagues after the season ends. With a full year lost to Tommy John surgery, this makes his 2014 year contract at the league minimum, with approximately $16 M owed for 2013. --- As much as many Sox fans despise Lackey, he will be very difficult to trade in this offseason unless he shows some real signs of recovery in whatever rehab outings he has. And even then, the task seems to be quite difficult. If the Sox choose to keep him, he essentially becomes an $8 M AAV pitcher over the course of the next 2 seasons (not for luxury tax purposes, but practical purposes.) This will make the decision to deal Beckett in the offseason a little easier from the financial perspective. Instead of paying out close to $66 M to Beckett and Lackey over the next 2 seasons, the total amount will come out to be around $51 M with the clause in Lackey's contract. Beckett is owed $34 M over the next 2 seasons. If the Sox were willing to pick up $20 M (or $10 M per season) to have him play somewhere else, I'm sure many fans would be fine with this - even if he turns it around somewhere else. This would free up $7 M of payroll for 2013 and 2014 (not including the approximately $15 M in savings for 2014 from Lackey's contract drop). This increased payroll flexibility, coupled with the end of the Dice K contract at the end of this season, should allow the Sox to pursue various avenues to improve the quality and depth of the staff while simultaneously improving the attitude of the entire clubhouse.

I agree with this 100% and don't understand why Aviles is still starting games with this team. He's done adequate - about what many expected of him this season. He's not in the long term plans for this team at shortstop and yet they keep throwing him out there. At best, he's a backup infielder on a contending team at this point. Throw Iglesias out there and let him face major league pitching with his new plate approach. Like you and others have posted on this forum, all he has to do is hit around .250, obp around .300, and make productive outs in his AB. His defense will more than make up for his line at the plate if it's close to this. After all, this offensive line is what Aviles has given us all season.

They should have done this 4 weeks ago. Atleast now he will still be on schedule to be ready by April 2013. Tomorrow should mark the beginning of their sole focus shifting to making this team better in 2013 and beyond. To continue trying to salvage this season, outside of giving the prospects a good look, is a lost cause.

I like the idea of going with younger talent in the rotation. However, I think there needs to be an effective veteran thrown into that group - one who truly sets the example for the rest of the staff. What are the thoughts of signing a guy like a James Shields when he hits free agency (this offseason or next, depending on whether the Rays pick up his option)? Unlike former free agent busts in SP (Lackey, DiceK), Shields is atleast a proven commodity in the AL East, has a good work ethic, and doesn't seem to show any signs of age in his recent future. Assuming the Rays don't win a WS in his time there, this will also be a guy who should be motivated to do whatever it takes to win and not be satisfied by past glory and glutttonous behavior (Beckett). Not sure what his price tag would be- but would likely not be as high as others in this year's class.

Given their recent history with acquiring talent from the outside, I'm skeptical that they can even bring in the right fit for a number one starter. Either way, they have to change the mentality of the starting staff next season and get to the point where they aren't relying on Beckett and Lester to be aces. They have had ample opportunity to step up and they simply aren't capable. Beckett simply can't be counted on anything with next year's team. He needs to be counted on by someone else's squad.

If it is going to be a 2-3 year fix, the resurgence will have to come from a new crop of younger players. The current core of the team (Pedroia, Gonzalez, Lester, Buchholz, etc) will be at or near the end of their prime years. What a waste of talent to childish bs. At that point, this team will need new anchors to lean on both in the rotation and on the field. If the current core is still with the team at that point, they will be in a more supporting role and shouldn't be expected to carry the same load they should be carrying now. I'm not saying this current core will be terrible, but I doubt they will put up the numbers they should be putting up now and have put up in the recent past.

Absolutely fed up with these guys who take it to us each and every time they face us. Does not matter who is pitching or how they are pitching. David Murphy, Mike Napoli, Mark Reynolds, Chris Davis (with the bat and on the mound), Robert Andino come to mind - but I'm sure there are more.

The real master strategy seems to be finding every possible way of humiliating one of the most dedicated, loyal fanbases in the sport on a daily basis. Enough is enough already. If this team was playing like this and the off the field stories were non existent it would be different. This is beyond and frustrating and must stop. NOW.

1 for 10 with RISP. 11 runners left on base. 1 run scored. 14 runs scored last game.

Let's all text the FO and request a "round table" discussion to vent OUR frustrations with this pathetic display. Oh and our frustrations will be MUCH more heated and warranted than this spoiled group of under performing players. Enough is f***ing enough already.

f*** you Mark Reynolds Perennial strikeout all or nothing fool has the Napoli syndrome against us. 11 home runs on the season - Atleast 5 of them have come against us. This is beyond comprehension. Even pathetic pitching has to come out on top from time to time.