cp176

agree here

Sadly this is the way it is in many very very important jobs across this country - jobs a lot more important than umpiring. Seniority just seems to be rewarded far more often than just being good.

!!!! - and boy did he ever pitch a gem. A real Yankee killer this guy. Young guy - rebuilt arm - keep him.

There were also people here suggesting for real that Devers not be on the playoff roster. That one I could not believe.

I guess we found out where Holt and Devers were!!!

This is a very determined focused, all in kind of team.

Liking this a lot!!!

You have a offered great deal here. You played the game! You were and might still be an athlete. Statistics are important to you for sure but the big but is they don't dictate quite to the extent that the primarily metrics folks think they do the outcomes of games. Home field - the crowd - momentum- how you feel about a pitcher on any given day - these are the things that truly matter. Using statistics might give someone a safe bet from day to day but in the real world of athletics you just never know. I think that David Price is an obviously gifted pitcher. I also believe that he has a thing about the Yankees. It is in his mind. I guess to some it might seem condescending but I also I guess I don't care. To understand the importance of these types of things , yup I do think that you have to have had some hands on practical experience in the game or games.

The days of players not wanting to come to Boston are long gone. I'm glad that you mentioned this though since if the belief is that feeling wanted makes more players want to come here and play harder then I'm all for making them feel wanted although I think that if John Henry shows them that they are wanted that probably is enough. If the thought is that happy players play better then clearly someone else believes in all of the unquantifiable things that I do. Momentum can change in a heartbeat but indeed it matters. If you believe that you can do something, quite often you can. I also like seeing the use of the word pride here - having some can also be a great motivator. This has been a wonderful season. We have a team that is young and hungry. They play together and they obviously like each other and understand how all of the intangibles can help lead to winning. I like our chances but I also recognize That the Yankees a damn good team as well. I don't think that me saying that makes me negative. I think that it makes me a realist. There will always be people who want to poke the bear but I don't think that too many fans right now are nasty negative. I do love your positive passion as a real Red Sox fan though.

I'm not arguing that! What fool would. 0-2 - I think I have earned a little credit for minor amounts of baseball wisdom. Yes you do and there isn't anything wrong with it. We all like to have people agree with us. He got squeezed!

He likes it when people agree with him even if what is being said is ********.

Pretty sure that I am going to stand by what I said. You get to praise that home plate umpire all you want to and criticize Price all you want. Never did I suggest that he pitched well nor did I say anything about him not serving up the gopher balls. He got squeezed which very well might have affected his game. Tanaka got calls that he did not.

lol That is right Moon because here on this forum it has been confirmed that there is no such thing as momentum, home field advantage, clutch players, or players who choke. I'm saying that last night Price got screwed by the home plate umpire. He is a pitcher not a thrower. If he can't get the corners, he isn't going to beat a team like the Yankees. Despite that, I have no interest in robotic strike callers. Lord knows all of the wonderful technological "advancements" that we live with have already screwed up enough things. Here we have two excellent baseball teams playing in a series that could go either way. The Red Sox can certainly win this series. Hopefully they will but sadly so can the Yankees.

I like the fact that you still like watching highlights from this incredible time in baseball. We suffered for so long that "wait till next year" seemed to be an expression we got used to by Memorial Day. Captain Carl - Dick Williams - and the rest of those great young athletes helped to change the history that we had had to deal with for so long. Go back to 1967 and watch Yaz's catch in April when Billy Rohr came so close to throwing a no hitter. He had times during that season that he literally did carry that team right on his back. That catch seemed to set the tone for the season in my mind at the time.

This is so so true. An absolute pleasure to be able to cheer for a young exciting Red Sox team that had obvious rising stars. In '75 we played the series without Rice. In '67, we played the series without Tony C. Having them in their day could have made all of the difference.

I agree with you here for sure. I don't like seeing these types of unfounded statements being made but it is what people do these days. People who cannot accept the fact that JD will be used in the outfield from time to time because it disagrees with their thinking, will probably want to believe something like this. Martinez, although having expressed an interest in playing in the field, hasn't appeared selfish to me at all. He appears to be exactly the type of player that we need.

As for the debate about the best outfields that we have seen in Boston, from an all around baseball perspective there is no question in my mind - Rice - Lynn - Evans. From simply a defensive perspective, which I find extremely limiting and an unrealistic way to look at outfields in general, I'd go with the group we have out there right now.

I really haven't been paying much attention lately here so forgive me if I have missed something. Has JD complained or been lobbying for more field playing time? I do think that there is a chance that JBJ gets traded during this off season but I doubt if it has anything at all to do with the team feeling any pressure to play JD in the outfield. He hasn't struck me as that kind of guy.

LOL - Many of you weigh in on what you consider to be your favorite posts. Mostly and rightfully so, they tend to agree with the way you view things. This is one of the very best posts that I have read since I have been on board!!!

Larry very well might be right regardless of whether he comes off as being particularly pessimistic from time to time. No one can have the right answer to the Benintendi question. I would have to say fellas that if Larry sounds pessimistic with that comment then our "cliff dwellers" do cast a very dark shadow on our future despite all of the figures and statistical evidence they have to support their stand. It is all just a guess. No one knows what the future might hold. I'm solidly on the optimistic side of that coin. Benintendi has been and will be just fine and that there really is no impending cliff.

There probably are lots of people who feel this way me included. I'm fairly sure that every team in baseball with any type of closer has thought about this as well. Since most seem not to use this strategy, I guess it just isn't the direction they want to go in. They know more than I do for sure about how to best use a bullpen. Hey what do I know though, I still would have tried to get Betts to buy into possibly hitting third in the lineup.

I don't think anyone has suggested at all that Kimbrel might take less to say in Boston. i get each and of the points you make and it doesn't hurt at all for everyone to play the what might happen game. Fact remains that no one knows.

You seem to be questioning how JH is going to use his money going forward. That is ok for sure. My guess which is though that Kimbrel has no current "philosophy" He may want more than 3 years at 20 per. If he does, he probably will be walking away. No one knows what he will want, how many years he will seek, or even more realistically what he will take at this time.

Ok - I think that I have it now. You stated some good and strong opinions here. Some of which I agree with with respect to the role of relievers in general. They are opinions that at this time don't seem to be accepted by the Red Sox though. As long as the Red Sox believe that the role of a closer in general is not going to change, then having a closer like Kimbrel is very important. Until the Sox change their concept of how to use relief pitchers (if they ever do), having a guy like Kimbrel out there is extremely valuable. For the people who think that replacing him with someone as good is no big deal, sorry can't agree. People can beat around how they think JH should spend his money but thinking that he would just let Kimbrel walk easily and try to replace him by others hoping that someone will get the job done eventually is likely not going fly.

Everybody of course has the "it doesn't make any sense to sign" price, but once again, when you have one apparently steady piece in your bullpen you make a reasonable effort to sign him. A few people have made a point of saying that the closer's role in general is over rated. It is a role that seems to be pretty important to all teams in this day and age. If it makes you feel better by saying that you think the role is over rated or possibly that this team would be just as successful without Kimbrel at the backend, good for you. It doesn't appear to be a thought that is shared by many others. I do get a little confused when people say that having Kimbrel out there has not been all the important to this team's success. Now understand this isn't comparing him to anybody else. Has nothing to do with who we could or could not sign if we did not sign him. Some people really don't feel that he has been fairly important to this team's success - really? It really isn't worth any more comments from me if anyone in fact feels this way. i don't understand that particular thinking at all. Mentally, when I eliminate Kimbrel and try to replace him with someone or any group that we currently have, I feel like throwing up. Put Kelly's head on Kimbrel's body and see how you feel.