cp176

That probably is quite likely. He might have known what he wanted to do with his veterans but a wealthy talented athlete under contract I bet could be tough to deal with.

It does look like you could be right but I don't know what was going on in there. I do know that it bothered me. One thing that I will say about Farrell is that his reaction to Pomeranz's little fit in the dugout seemed to turn the big lefties season around. Personally I can say that I really don't know who was leading the way and who represented the distractions. Reading what some of these guys have said this spring has made me aware that all things were not great and that things could be different in a good way this year. Oh well, it seems that for the majority of fans these issues don't really matter as long as the team wins. Sometimes I wish that they didn't matter so much to me.

I don't think that the dysfunction was colossal by any means but there sure looked as though there was some. If Cora becomes the manager that we hope that he becomes, trying to get a player in his corner will not be a priority for him. it will happen naturally if he is good at his job.

One of my questions would be why would anyone trade a commodity that you really need as in hitting for a commodity that you are not desperate for? I would love to see Archer in Boston but I think that the Rays are likely to be willing to talk trade for a lot less than a hitter who could help us a great deal going forward. I really hope that our players are able to block out all of these analytical reports.

I guess my primary point was (is) that if they improve as a group wonderful but the other guys I mentioned in addition to a better better version of Betts will be where the biggest positive difference will be made.

I'm not arguing with your statistics and I certainly hope that all of these guys improve this year. I just don't think that it is a given that they will. I think that Betts likely falls somewhere between the high and the low if he has a good season. I don't know really what to expect out of JBJ and I doubt that anyone else does either. I expect a healthy Bogaerts to be better than last year. Holt I don't really care about and as for Beni who knows - hope for the best. Once again though signing Nunez, having Devers for a full season, hopefully signing Martinez and having a healthy Price on the mound are the players that will make the biggest differences on this team IMO. Obviously Betts once again is a key figure for us. I just think that with the four pivotal players that I mentioned for this team maybe some of the pressure to perform to career whatevers will be lessoned on the rest of the troops and as result they will be able to relax and just play the game. i hope that none of them really gives a crap about all of the predictions being made as to how everybody thinks that they will perform. Day to day - pitch by pitch - inning by inning - block out the ******** jibber jabber and just play this simple game. Don't try to make this an intellectual endeavor.

I actually think that when it comes to character in general this organization has done a very good job in general of bringing in quality people. I do continue to believe that many of the things that can't be measured are far more important than many things that can be measured. Qualities like the ability to lead, mental toughness, and character in general most often outweigh measurable statistics in my mind. I'm a fan for life but I want a team that I like as opposed to one I don't like. I really am and have always been a believer that good things generally happen more often to good people. Character counts in other words. Wins and losses just take care of themselves but I think good people tend to win more than people of questionable character. Once again, I don't think that we have one dink on this team. We have some nasty tough players but good people can certainly be nasty and tough. Obviously as I have stated before I would like to see some better leadership and fewer of what I consider to be mental mistakes but I am really looking forward to this year. One reason is because I do expect Price to be more like what we have all wanted to see and with Sale and Price leading the way, life in Boston could be very good.

no!

With a full year of Nunez, Devers, and possibly Martinez we could have an offense that finally looks pretty good.

Porcello's bounce back should make him an effective number 3 starter.

This is pretty much the way it worked, will work, and has always worked. One thing more for me is that I expect a very good year out of Price. If he stays healthy, having Sale and Price leading that staff is what we have all expected should and would happen.

That is my take on things as well. I know that this a tough crowd to say this in but here goes - I'd rather lose with good, honest, hard working guys as opposed to win with a bunch of dinks. Inevitably, those links will let you down.

I think the key word here is should.

This I agree with very much. I'm not sure where the fault lies if anyone is even at fault. I think that living in an age of information overload is as much a problem as anything. The guts of the game have not changed. I hope that they can block out all of the distractions which of course includes social media.

There were a number of the boys who had poorer years last year for whatever the reasons might be. I'm a one year at a time kind of guy. I think that it is great to have lofty expectations but until I see something different, they are what they are. We'll have to take what comes. It is still possible and seems likely even to me that some of these players just aren't as good as some think that they are. You add Nunez and Devers to the mix and a little life got injected into the group. Having Nunez back if healthy and a signing of Martinez might make all of these guys appear better. One thing I do hope for is that our players don't drool over what the analytics are saying with respect to how they should be playing. It is ok for us I guess, but for them I kind of hope that they just go out and play the game as well as they can. If they do, I think that we will be just fine. Block out all of the distractions and just play the game.

that would be a waste of time -

I think that you are right and for the record I'm not hearing many people really suggesting that if we sign Martinez then we need to keep Brentz. The story of Brentz and Barfield is a good story. If JD Martinez is not signed, I would hope that the Sox would find a way to both of these guys one way or another. I'm not suggesting that they both make the ml roster either. But when you need power throwing either one of these guys away just doesn't make much sense to me. Holt, Marrero, and maybe even Hernandez (who I think if healthy will make the roster) might be gone.

I haven't read a thing about the players being too focused on their everyday stats. I'm sure that we agree that that is not a good thing. I'm really thinking that regardless of how much help the information age might provide, too much information can be a bad thing. I want these guys to just play and forget how everyone else suggests that they should be playing.

It's just so belittling don't you think? lol

What are you trying to say notin that you think I said? You now are trying to be a little too shrewd. Obviously the signing of a big bat like Martinez makes a big difference. I never even insinuated the our team should keep Brentz or Barfield as opposed to a Martinez signing. I don't think that we have signed him just yet though. Maybe I missed something.

I have no clue who you are talking about but I really think that you underestimate me. If there are people here who actually believed what I said about blaming the analytical minds to be for real, I will say that they need to check the wattage in their light bulbs. Does that include you? Say it's not so notin ...

Oh and yes - you continue to make too much of an issue about age. If they can provide what we need better than others, is a player's age really that important to you?

I don't think that it is about what anyone deserves. It is more about actually earning something to me. It certainly becomes much more important to me when there exists even a chance that a player might have something that a team dearly needs. Holt has a had a great opportunity and at times has certainly helped us but I truly believe that it is time to move on from him. I do not feel that Hernandez or Swihart really have had much of an opportunity to show us what they are capable of just yet. I still believe that there are roster spots up for grabs at this time. No one gets owed anything - no one deserves something that they just don't earn.

I think that you thought I was being serious there huh.

I'm good withs notin. Sounds like placing the blame entirely on the department of analytical research and development to me.