cp176

So based on the Dombrowski moves to date do you really think that any GM could get any more than he has gotten? I understand that not every move works out as well as we would like them to but moves absolutely needed to be made. I understand that you don't seem to like much of what he has done but what were the options? Suffer with what might amount to lifelong minor league players or actually do something to keep us competetive.

I agree with you very much here. Larry Lucchino has served as a great scapegoat for anything that happened that was bad during his time in Boston. Maybe the criticism is justified but I sure don't know and I think that I have read quite a bit all the goings on. In my book, no one wears a halo when dealing with a professional sports franchise.

Still can't get over how dimwitted this one game playin might be. Only good thing is that the Sox will play hard to the wire. Much more entertaining.

yes I think that it is an embarrassment of riches. The popularity of this great game seems to be in decline. There are lots of reasons for this for sure but one of them might certainly become that there are so many pathetically poor teams playing these days if something doesn't change going forward. I'm ok with it because our team is what one of the best 4 out there. I really do think that it is and embarrassment of riches that we can be so damn good with a starting center fielder who struggles to hit .200 whether he is gold glove calibre or not. But - I think that everybody is ok with it as long as we continue to be one of the most dominant teams in the game. It is all good.

So ok now I bet you are seeing how it works here. You are upset with 30 pages of discussion based around the merits of keeping or possibly seeing JBJ being traded. Here we are at 35 on a thread dealing with our starting pitching and the discussion reverts back to an old tired one. For the record I agree with your opinion. No one really knows what or for whom Cherington would have traded for. A "pretty sure he would have" could be equally countered with "but maybe he wouldn't have". No one knows. It is basically the same as people here claiming that they know Theo left because of LL's presence. DD has the job and to date he has done it very well. Yup - he could have kept the so called prospects at the expense of not making the signings that he has made. That sounds like a lot of fun - Not. There are many ways to build a winner and it kind of looks as though he believes in a combination of ways to get it done. Personally I could care less about who the better GM is or was - I really like this team and the direction it has taken from a personnel perspective. This is what we do here and it is fun - rehash tired topics.

Start a new one!

the greatest hitter of all time!!! plus a pretty fair pilot and a damn good fly fisherman.

Who is to say that any replacement for JBJ would come from our system? I think just about everybody would favor keeping JBJ but I would highly doubt that he would accept the kind of extension that he would likely be offered. If DD makes an offer based on what he has done for us, I don't see JBJ happy with what he might be offered. JBJ is a very valuable player for us right now doing what he does. I'm happy everytime he hits but we all know that it is his defense that gives him value. We do not currently need his bat and if we don't in the future all is good. If we do happen to need his bat, sorry but his value drops dramatically I think. I really do like him but with out the complete package, he isn't going to get the money he might want from Boston. I'm done with this topic primarily because I can see it turning in to those that see no weaknesses in his game and I guess people like me. I really am trying to be realistic but I would also say that right now he presents a big old "no problem".

i bet that he has already figured out that dhing and playing in the field is likely helping him get some needed physical rest. He strikes me as that type. I hope that he stays in Boston for years to come. His approach to the team and the game in general seems to be just what any good franchise wants and needs.

What does it mean then? Also what does the statement imply? If it says something negative about, someone who isn't immersed in the metric way, speak right up.

JD has said on many occasions that he wants to play on the field. He seems to be happy with a compromise role. If that is what it takes to keep him happy and hitting, so be it. Maybe years from now he becomes a full time dh but I hope his current team doesn't screw up something that is really working.

Anyone who has ever been even around the game just a little bit gets that pitching and defense are extremely important to any team's success. I really like JBJ just as much as anyone. The but here is that if he does not start putting something together that resembles decent just decent offensive numbers, I doubt seriously that the Red Sox will pay much to keep him. I'm sure that they value his defense greatly but I'm also pretty sure that as has been said many times when it comes to payroll, paying very much for a .200 hitting center fielder. I hope that JBJ stays but if his offensive woes continue I wouldn't be surprised if he gets moved to help save a few million. I hope that no one tries to turn this debate into the proverbial 2 sides - those who value offense and those who value defense. Any baseball person understands that it takes both with a special emphasis on pitching and up the middle defense.

I couldn't agree more. I call this mixing the old reliable with the necessary new which can equal a successful formula. I think that people get upset when it appears that decisions are made that don't agree with their specific ways of looking at things. it is compromising at its best.

Who among us knew that he was this good? Maybe some but for sure not me. Some of these types of deals work out and some don't. This one did.

Well that is all good but you don't need to apologize to me. I am and I repeat I am not looking at batting Mookie in a different position as having no affect on the rest of the batting order. Whether or not changing his position in the order would be a good thing or not is obviously up for debate. He is happy where he is so I say that is where he should hit. Sorry but I will not buy into the metrics to the point that hitting him third would be anything but a good thing. If I really cared to do so, my guess is that I could come up with an arguable stance statistically speaking to support my statements.

Really - Interestingly phrased! I'm not denying anything. Of course moving Mookie affects the rest of the batting order. It is my opinion that he would knock in more runs if batting in a different spot in the lineup. I'm not advocating for it. I'm just not overwhelmed by the wealth of statistical information indicating where he should or should not be in the lineup. If he is content leading off, I think that that is where he should be. Am I being prosecuted here? Do I need a good attorney? I bet I could find one not to far away.

There really is nothing wrong with line of reasoning. It is another way of looking at things other than your way. I'm ok with it.

"back of the cards" stats. My oh my -

JBJ frustrates mostly all of us but we continue to be one of the best 4 teams in baseball inspite of what he does not give us offensively. Replacing him I think should be way down on the improvement wish list. Looks like DD is beginning to look at adding bullpen help for now and the long term. I think that he will also be looking for one more high quality starter during the off season. Even without the guy everybody (except one guy here) would love to see back at second, we still field a good solid team from top to bottom. We have a chance once again. I don't ask for or expect any more than that.

I think that is a realistic way of looking at things.

The more I think about it the more I think that this is a great(er) post and shows one of the glaring pitfalls of over relying on simply one point of view to formulate any opinion on just about anything. Mookie has hit 21 home runs and has a total of 42 rbi's. That seems very low to me but I'm not backing that statement up with anything measurable. I can't help but think that if he was hitting third he would have just a few more rbi's. He is one of if not the best hitter in the game today. Now, if he is comfortable leading off and wants to hit in that position, I say leave him alone even though it might not optimize his ability to knock in runs.

I'm not sure if this comment was sort of directed my way in a an indirect manner or not but no one has ever said that getting hits in a major league game was particularly easy. i loved seeing JBJ drop that bunt down the third baseline line for a hit last night. It is about goddam time. If he was pounding the ball out of ballparks on a regular basis than maybe to some his poor hitting would be more tolerable. If he doesn't start getting "luckier " as some of you like to say with all of his hard hit balls, he needs to at least try some of these apparently forgotten ways of hitting regardless of how incredibly hard they might be. For the record, I think that shifts are great. It is on the field management and if as a hitter you can't figure out a way to beat them maybe you shouldn't be playing ml baseball. Oh and I am very proud to be saying all of this from my armchair the same way probably everybody else does. Once again - here's hoping this gifted defensive player can figure out a way to hit the ball hardly or softly where the defensive players are not standing.

I really like JBJ but trying to sell me on the fact that because of his outstanding defense that his failings at the plate don't seem to matter would be akin to me telling folks here that Martinez really isn't as bad a fielder as metric lovers say that he is. Or maybe even that because one of the best pitchers in the game should not be your first option come playoff time because of past failings is the way to go. I'm sorry but if JBJ can't hit .200, he has to be replaceable. Heres hoping he continues to hit the ball hard but I guess just gets lucky and hits it somewhere other than where the opponents are standing.

I think that you are right about this but I tend to think that someone who is good with and knows how to use statistics can use them frequently to justify about any position that they want to take. The old ways vs the new ways - neither really can stand alone. Kind of like politics, what would be wrong with using the best of what both have to offer.

Probably going unnoticed here was that the Sox mustered up only 4 hits last night. One by Leon and one by Swihart. Severino is the real deal and that Yankee lineup ain't bad.