cp176

Sandoval is just 30 years old. Has he ever been in better shape than he looks to be in right now? The potential for him to be a productive player over the next 3, 4, 5 years is a real possibility. Don't you have to be just a little bit excited for him and for what he might be able to do? He has clearly done the work that he needed to do.

Has there ever been a rumor that Craig was a steroid guy? I'm not trying to start one but it is hard to imagine his decline not being linked to something other than just natural ability. He is young and it is very strange.

Leon + Vazquez - Moses+Ryan or even Tillman + Nixon Hope not but you never know. I don't see an equal to Fisk+Montgomery here. I really hope one of our guys hits a little. Key word is a little. My money is still on Leon.

for me too - and for years I asked kids to do the same thing. they didn't like doing it but they did it.

No one has come out and said anything for obvious reasons but I have to believe that E-Rod's bosses have to be concerned about his planning to pitch in the WBC. If he is healthy, he could be very good if he isn't, not so much. He is taking a risk if he pitches in the WBC. Whatever comes of it, he is the one who ultimately has to live with the risks.

Original games performed naked - do we have to do these things naked?

It is personal that is why it is nonsensical to argue over it. I just appreciate anything and anyone who puts in the time and works hard at anything athletic. On a personal level I consider anyone who is physically fit and works at it an athlete. They want to call what they do a sport - fine by me.

You ever tried it? I don't really mean any disrespect but I try not to judge if I haven't walked along at least a little bit in someone else's shoes. If someone is engaged in a physically demanding activity that they want to consider a sport, ok with me. Might not necessarily be a sport I like to watch or engage in but who am I really to say what they do isn't a "sport". There are plenty of very non-athletic people participating in activities that some would call sports. Some might not. If a person has the attitude that if something is worth doing than it is worth doing well, then i guess that means they have done their preparation prior to participation. If they want to call what they do a sport then it sure works for me. In my particular golf case, it doesn't bother me at all if someone who is ignorant about what it takes to excel at the game doesn't think that it isn't a sport. They have no clue what it takes to do it well. After my playing days were over, I did play a great deal of men's league basketball and fast pitch softball. Sports or just recreational activities? Depends on your perspective and whether or not you just rolled off the couch to play. I was a marathon runner - sport? It was for me and for those who don't consider something like this activity a sport I would ask them it they think that they could do the work entailed to go under 2:40? It is all a matter of perspective.

Whether anyone considers cheerleading a legit "sport" or not is like so much else - personal opinion. I have mixed feelings about the purpose of cheerleading myself but I would never doubt the athleticism of some of the kids who choose it as their activity of choice. Some outstanding gymnasts there!

thanks for saying this.

Did i say this? Actually - yes for me to answer your question. A 6.5 mile hike carrying that bag on a hilly course on a warm day does define an athletic activity for me. But whatever - it is silly to argue with anyone who already has made their mind up about something.

I want some fat bastard to come play (walk 18) with me and then tell me that some relative fitness isn't required to play. lol

I remember watching a young Yaz thinking that he was going to be a pretty good replacement for Pete Runnels and then something special happened. 1967

ok - good Mel Ott was a great player.

I do not believe for one minute that Benintendi is 5'11" nor does he look to be anywhere near 175. Yaz looked to be 5'11" and when he was in his best shape probably was around 175. Benintendi is who and what he is and he may be very good. Comparing him to a young Yaz? nope - not buying that one. He looks to me like a smaller version of Ellsbury. Hope he isn't quite as fragile.

more 'tachments I say!!!

You sure you really live in Maine? I tried to get the town fathers to eliminate the chicken coop in the middle of our town (rooster) - no luck. Does your town have an ordinance about the number or junked vehicles you can have on the front lawn? engine hangers? 'tachments to the old mobile?

I agree with what you have said. My experience in athletics has always taught me that "luck" or what seems like randomness can be directly associated to how talented your athletes are and how hard they are willing to work. Strange things happen every day but usually they can be traced back to a cause. I think 700 has a great grasp of the statistical aspects of the game which I freely admit that I don't. If I cared more about advanced statistical analysis I would but I don't. What I really like about 700's contributions is that they come from an athlete's perspective. Common sense and a passion for the sights, sounds, and feel of the game - that's for me.

I might have been a ball hog - I did like to control things a bit. Anyone who mixed it up inside would have been rewarded by this point guard though. If you got out and ran, all the better! The curveball question is interesting. I learned to hit it over time but it did take time. My point I think is that my overall statistical accomplishments may have been a pretty good predictor of what you were going to see from me overall but certainly not on a day to day basis. My performance quite often depended as it does today on how I felt at the time. Was I rested? Did I have confidence in my abilities on a certain moment in time. What time of day was the game played. Studying the statistics have always been fun and informative for me, but the games still get played out on the field. As a coach, studying opponents, knowing their trends in certain situations actually was more important than knowing what their statistics indicated about them. Just so you know, i think I could have waited a bit for you to get to that outside lane. Workers get rewarded!

I still would have told you to get your ass back to the block and get me the ball!-lol! My entire athletic life has been one of peaks and valleys I'm afraid. That is why I have to keep telling myself that I am never quite as good as it looks like I am when things are going well nor am I quite as bad as I look when things aren't going well. Statistically speaking, I'm sure there was an average that could be found. I just never seemed to experience it. Competitive running was about the only thing that was slightly predictable for me. i'm pretty sure that other athletes have experienced and probably continue to experience something similar.

Too many people today want everything without compromise or sacrifice. Life hasn't worked that way for me. Porcello's statement about where his loyalty and primary commitment is should mean something. I'm sure E-Rod wants to support his country, be a Cy Young candidate, win the MVP as well as the World Series. He gets to decide what he ultimately does I guess but I hope he remembers who is responsible for the good life he has the opportunity to lead. If he is injured or slowed down at all by participating in the WBC, I doubt that he gets to make the trip north with the big club in the spring. A shame for both him and us.

Yes you do, and I understand why. You sound a little like I used to though when talking about that other guy we used to have - Moncada. I think I like Swihart a lot more than you liked Moncada though.(lol) At this point in time, I don't see any reason at all why they would even be thinking of trading Swihart. They've got what they want for starting pitching. i don't see them letting another kid with offensive upside going anywhere for bullpen help. Somewhere along the line, they may need the offense that he has the potential to provide.

Buchollz pitching well next season at some point is bound to happen.

And on the other hand - when good Buch surfaces which is bound to happen?

i really don't think that if E-Rod winds up in Pawtucket it will have anything at all to do with saving any kind of control over him. It could happen though. He could get get injured - he could have a very poor spring. I think that he is taking his chances pitching in the WBC and he will have to deal with what comes of it. He is a big strong kid but he does have an injury history. He also doesn't lay over the other two who will be in the hunt for the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation. It's still possible that Wright out pitches everybody we got. We don't really know what we might get from Wright or Pomeranz. It isn't unreasonable to think that if these two guys are healthy, and E-Rod pitches in the WBC that the Red Sox might just decide to slow him down.