cp176

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.

Well - Notin first of all really that is all I'm talking about here - the sports world. I am absolutely sure that there are many people who can get a job done in high pressure situations better than I can. That isn't even debatable. They would be clutch as well. I played, taught, and coached, I have enough common sense and knowledge to know that I could not consummate a deal like my brother in law in the finance world can and does. I haven't lived his life, I know my limitations. He makes a lot more money than I did as well. On the other hand, although he was a pretty good athlete in the day, he also understands that there are things that I have done in my world of athletics that he could not do and he respects me for it. I have no clue what it means to even compete at the level the people we are talking about do but I have at least sampled some of the things they do. You may think that I am narrow minded, maybe I am. I live in a small sports dominated world. Have to have a grasp of what you can and and cannot understand. You have your opinion - others have theirs. I'm not competing with you. Don't you have to admit though that there are plenty of people out there who want to think that they know everything about everything?

I knew that I would get a response here Notin if I said what I said. I respect all opinions of others and I'll stick with mine. To truly understand it yes you have to have lived it to some extent. I'm not trying to be offensive either here but I think that you have to have at least been in the arena to some extent. To those of you who have never really played - I'm glad that you care deeply about this topic. Doesn't matter what the sport is though, if you have never been in a situation that is defined by what you do then you really don't know what it means to make or not make the play.

I could see that.

like wins and losses and batting averages and rbis and all that old stuff. It is all just so so so old. lol

Clutch hitters are defined by clutch moments which are defined by us individually. I would argue that Yaz's base hit in the last game of the season in 67 was as big as any hit in Red Sox history - maybe even Lonborg's bunt. People might disagree for sure but to me it might have been. It is the beauty of something that literally cannot be statistically proven. Thank God for that. Maybe your clutch hit has to lead to victory or it isn't clutch. Maybe it leads to a franchise becoming better than anyone ever thought that it would or could. I'll define it might way - you define it yours. To understand these types of things yes - you have to have actually played the game or at least have been a decent athlete who actually had the opportunity to fail or succeed in high pressure moments.

Whoever told you that was absolutely right!!! Jim might not have known where it was going all of the time but he could pound it. So could Bob Montgomery (remember him).

Who will be our David Price if Thunder gets the start?

I like the Celtics new look. Kyrie is for real. I really liked Baynes and some of the guys coming off the bench. Tatum is going to be a star.

My son by law did not hit the ball off Manny but to be fair Manny was not going to be tackling that boy on the football field either.

I would bet that that is what we are going to see.