cp176

Holy s*** - we are doomed. My God - what will ever become of our beloved Sox?

The answer would be absolutely none! Betts i guess comes the closest but really? I don't think so. No legit big hitting superstars here.

I agree with you and louvollo (or whoever) is Farrell junior!

Seriously - Who gives a s*** about these f***ing stuffed shirts? Let's all vote for our favorite GM - big f***ing deal. You people that claim to know what so and so's plan is fry my ass. If you know what anyone's real plan is, tell me who your are. If you are not closely affiliated with upper management, then you don't know s***. I'm still a Lou Gorman fan - so sue me.

Nunez has now become damaged goods. I think that we can do better.

The reality just isn't what we want to face. Most people realize that when a long term contract is signed you will not get the same performance for the entire length of the contract. We have gotten great value out of Pedroia - one hell of a player - but his time is probably over with respect to giving us what we need going forward. Him playing in maybe 90 games and dhing is absolutely ridiculous. We all will remember him for what he has done but if championships are what the goal is, we can do better than carry a second baseman who might give us a half a year.

I'm not a big Farrell fan by any means but we have just won two division titles in a row. If we get eliminated, of course it will be upsetting but really - whether you like him or not, do you really think that you fire the manager after this? I know that I have have over rated most of the players that we have. I can only speak for myself but it is not that unusual for me to do. With the injuries that we have had and with the way that we have played, I think that is is quite an accomplishment to get where we have gotten. It has been a very entertaining spring summer and fall for me. As much as I think Houston is as good as there is in baseball right now, we aren't done just yet. Winning the World Series is of course the goal every year, but it is so difficult to do that just getting into a playoff position has to be worth something.

I pretty much live in those gray areas.

Stupid wouldn't even be a strong enough word to describe it.

Of course what constitutes clutch players and clutch situations is a belief. I'm sure that both exist and hope that no one ever can come up with a definitive way to prove the existence of either. As I have said many times sort of this is why I believe people who have real experience in athletics know more about what it really means than those who don't. You don't believe that - that is fine. Your attempts to intellectually stun me really are accomplishing much. I'm the guy who just coughed up a bunch of $ because the tooth fairy just made a visit.

For the most part it does look to me like a bunch of physically fit very strong individuals vs us guys. They look bigger and stronger. Someone mentioned Altuve's size in a post and I thought that they were trying to make him seem small by stating his height and weight. Put him standing side by side with Pedroia and if you are being honest what do you see? There is virtually no comparison. For the most part we really are a team made up of fairly small lightweight hitters.

No offense for sure but I would hate to live in a world where nothing could be believed in unless there had to be some sort of statistical proof to support it. A real believer in anything I'm pretty much sure doesn't feel a need to justify their feelings. There isn't always a right or wrong answer to every question.

I understand your honest efforts to educate me but you have to understand that I love many things that can not be tracked and proven particularly when it comes to discussions dealing with athletes and athletics. This presents no problem for me. I absolutely love discussing things with people with respect to things like the existence of clutch and clutch players. That is fun for me perhaps because it is so subjective. I get to know people and the way they think this way. I might not agree with them but I listen and respect their feelings and their passion for the games. If things like this were definable in any way statistically, they would hold absolutely no interest for me at all.

This was a team that was supposed to hit (slightly but often) with an all hands on deck sort of approach. No real big run producers to really count on. Hanley's drop off has really hurt us greatly. 93 wins is 93 wins and that ain't bad. The pitching and defense got us here. Just a few moves necessary I think. You cannot count on Ramirez and Pedroia to have some type of youthful miraculous return to the old days. They are old these days. We need at least a couple of guys who at least look as though they can hit the ball over the fence. More balance!

He does keep trying doesn't he. We have seen this type of effort before I think.

You are trying - i'll give you credit. It is my secret recipe.

It would depend upon your personal interpretation as to what it is wouldn't it? Mine would be very stingy.

That is not important to me. Mine would likely change. Just like rules sometimes just have to be fluid for me. As I have said many times here, not everything I believe in has to calculated or statistically proven to content me or make me happy.

yes - it is dependent on results - guy makes clutch hit or shot - we win - I have seen him do it on a number of different occasions - he is a clutch player who quite often comes through in the clutch.

no not really - the results ultimately are what really count isn't it. You need things defined and statistical proof to support all of your arguments. I'm happy for you. We come from two different directions - I do not need to prove what a clutch player or performance is. You don't need to believe in what I believe in. That is fine. In the world I lived in and experiened, I'm fairly comfortable in knowing that I have some idea about what I am talking about. In your world, wherever or whatever it might be, you probably are pretty sure that you are right. Good

I like this post Notin. I couldn't really describe clutch in any sort of statistical way at all but then again I don't really want to. I know that it goes against the grain of many here but I know it when I see it. If my feet were really held to the fire, I would probably say that the players that I considered to be clutch at any level certainly were our better players in general. There just were some who just seemed to want to be in and often thrived in high pressure situations more than others. I'm not going to bore you with what I have done athletically in my lifetime other than to say that I studied not just played the games I coached because that was my job. During the decades of the 70's,80's,90's, and from 2000-to 2013 I could have shown you clutch players IN MY OPINION on a daily basis. They had certain attributes that could not be taught but it wasn't all just about the talent they brought to the table. They didn't always come though in high pressure situations but I think that they always felt that they would.

Very true! My idea of clutch very likely would not resemble yours. It doesn't have to. Clutch moments as well as clutch players - my opinion. I'm quite pleased to say that it cannot be supported by your factual concepts. Not everything of importance in my world can be proven mathematically. If you think that the concept of clutch cannot be real if it cannot be measured through repeatable skills, guess that is just the way you want to think of it.

Yes - I will stand behind these words for as long as I can stand. With that being said, I am now hearing people talk about their athletic experiences. If it cannot be proven mathematically it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. If you have never been a competitive athlete, I think that it is wonderful that you have an opinion of your own. I feel sorry for you though if you have never had to make a big play at an important time.

Sigh - really. Did I actually say the things that you attribute to me. Maybe close I guess but if I actually said those words, must have been a in a weak moment.

Glad you said that. There are plenty of people here who seem to think that they know what "the plan" has been. What do they know that others don't? Is it possible that "the plan" is just to be as good as you can be every year.