cp176

One time- as in this past summer, I was on route 302 and did not see any car with Maine plates. All Mass. Wait - I'ma Mainer. I think I missed something. 302 is the major East- West highway in Maine? Only if you are one of those Portlanders. route 2 might be a little closer. lol all in fun. You are certainly right about one thing - our state is in a different world.

You don't get a vote! Before you get to vote, we have to see your Maine card. would establish that you have been a resident of the Great State of Maine for what say roughly 20 years.

yes - ok - I think I understand that.

The last sentence is a tad nasty I think but oh well. I'm just guessing that I can understand most of the concepts that get thrown around here. You always risk losing a very good player every time they step on to the field. If you are saying that you think that there is any justification for sending better players down because you are planning for the bad things that might happen in the future and you want to have them there just in case - that's good I guess. Your opinion not mine.

Ok - now you crossed the (state) line. North of Portland where men are men.(You get to decide for yourself about the women). We let the gov. handle you down staters.

ok - I'll be the sucker and bite. let's say you got 3 spots already locked up right? You agree? In their cases, it doesn't make any difference what kinds of whips, bips, knockouts or whatever right? Those 3 are in for sure. So now you got Pomeranz, Wright, E-Rod, and buck snorts all battling it out for the last 2 spots in the rotation. I guess I should have been clearer- I agree with you in the event that E-rod really sucks and gets outpitched in spring training then yes I would consider sending him down. but since I happen to think that he is a better pitcher than all of them, he would have to suck a lot more the way I (and probably a few ) others see it. Good try with the Pedro comparison but sorry I would not just send a better pitcher back to the minor leagues just because you wanted to have a stronger bench. I'm trying to be nice here because obviously no one else agrees with me (sarcasm) but I think it would be a sorry assed day when then happens to someone if they have earned the right to be there.

You are a Mainer so I obviously am going to respect your opinion. I think that we both live in real Maine too. Leon has been known a defense first catcher. I'm ok with either of these two actually. And to be honest with you, I don't think either one of them has the all-stamp on their head. They both could get the job done though.

But, I would add to my previous statement that if he pitches in the WBC and the Red Sox shut him down because they feel he has over worked and could jeopardize his future as a Red Sox pitcher , I am ok with that. That is my idea of nothing in life being fair. You don't always get your own way. As a pitcher, his first loyalty should be to the Boston Red Sox.

This seems to be a damn difficult concept for some people to understand. Your best players play. That is just the way it is. All things being equal - everybody healthy - best players play. In basketball, you actually might be able to convince a kid that coming off the bench makes your team stronger by telling him that it is more important who is on the floor when the game ends as opposed to when it starts. That kid probably gets more pt than someone you choose to start. Not the same in baseball. There is nothing wrong with rewarding someone who is a better player. Being fair means running an intramural program. Don't think that flies.

thank God that Farrell now is able to let the best players play. If E-Rod is one of our top 5 starters when the season begins, he will and should be in our starting rotation.

Hey don't be infringing on my "whoop ass in a can" or the cheese might slide off my cracker. Glad to see that someone (obviously not me) has made you realize that your Espi love might be a case of "clouded " judgement.

Not my discussion but what the heck- Doesn't it really come down to who you like more personally when you are talking about Vazquez or Leon. Leon is only a year older. does Vazquez's defensive stat line look better than Leon's? I'll bet it is very close. Will Leon put up the offensive numbers that he put up last year? Probably not but will he outhit Vazquez? He very well might. I think that in this case it will boil down to which of these two hits better. Until Vazquez proves that he can do it, it is going to be Leon's job.

My understanding of this is that both Moncada and Devers weren't going. We need someone else to play third base for us at some point.

you clearly stated the point I was trying to make. Pomeranz is already here. I don't disagree with you about about his future status being a little up in the air though. What I would say is that he is still just 27. His best years could be right around the corner.

I don't read where many people say they don't care about 2021. Some of us actually disagree with you and think things will work out just fine.

alas - hindsight - the Pomeranz deal was done for a good reason that made sense. Espi might be working back wherever he came from as well 4 years from now.

This has been a good diiscussion. Since it is kind of a guess, mine would be that we have done a job that is better than some and poorer than others over the years. My guess would be that we will be very competetive with anyone going forward. The problems that we will be dealing with are probably same ones that other teams will deal with as well. I like our chances. Off to the golf course for me! Got to make some$!

So just out of curiosity, which teams do you think are doing a better job at drafting and securing players? It has been a long time since the Red Sox have been disastrously non-competetive.(don't want to hear about bobby Valentine's experience) Is it even remotely possible that a closer look at other franchises might show similar results when it comes to the identification and signing of talent? There don't seem to be any sure things. If I had to bet right now based on what we know - I would bet that in the end the career Pomeranz has will be better than Espinoza's. He has a good head start.

an Opal

You are killing me with the data here. My hats off to you. You are a research guru. Of course you aren't changing my mind but I bet you already knew that. DD's decision to not listen to trade partners when they brought up Devers name tells me something. As much as I like Moncada, finding a place for him to fit would not have been that easy. Much not all but much of this top of the line talent that has been recently traded was blocked by legit ml talent. Having a backlog of talent isn't a bad thing of course but I think there are others ways to look at it in terms of value. My approach is somewhat simple - I get that and I'm ok with it. If I worried as much about tomorrow as some people seem to, honestly, I don't think that I would enjoy today nearly as much. It's kind of like having a ton of unused $ sitting around and not being used. You get to pat yourself on the back and say you are rich but in reality until it is being used it isn't doing you much good. Being prepared and saving for the future is a good thing but without a little risk taking along the way - yawn. I'll say again - although I have 0 data to support - as long as our current ownership remains in place, I absolutely believe this team will compete at a high level - 5, 10, or 15 years down the trail.

What the hell do they even mean when they use the word toll? You are a Mariners fan who makes very sensible contributions here. Jackson whatever is a Yankee who also enlightens and brings a lot to the table. We have a couple of people here who claim to be Red Sox fans who only post to incite, argue, and in simple terms to be *******s. They must be domestic trolls right. Thank goodness they are not regular posters and have not been here long. This is a great site. Stay with us and keep it coming.

I get the fact that you are fine with things and the way they appear to be set at least for now. The Red Sox have drafted poorly on occasion with respect to higher draft choices and subsequently they have struck it rich on the other end of the spectrum on occasion. Of course some people have left our organization. You know very well that is just the general nature of things. Any comparison to this franchise and the way the Yankees have done business in the past doesn't fly with me. Since my Mom first put a Sox hat on my head in 1955, I have anxiously looked forward to the next season. Not once in my lifetime have I had a better feeling about a team going forward than I do this one. With respect to the future of this franchise 5 to 10 years from now, we definitely disagree. There is so much more to just be positive about that we have ever seen. If big George was alive and still the owner of the Yankees, do you think that they would have seen this type of decline? Even with aging veterans, I doubt it very much. He would find a way. We have been given no reason to think that under the current ownership things will be any different for us. They have proven that they want to win yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I will also add that it is never easy to win. It is conceivable that you could have the best system in the league and still not win.

I think looking ahead it is important to remember that the draft position that this team has is not nearly as significant as having the right people in place with respect to scouting and player selection. Granted there have been and always will be players going in the first round who do become impact players but more often then not, future stars are found buried somewhere in the draft process. I'm not particularly concerned at all about this groups ability to locate and sign the best available players going forward. No one likes to see good prospects leave town and develop possibly somewhere else even if the return far outweighs their loss at the tim. I have faith in the franchise and honestly there is plenty of time for "our guys" to work their magic out there. As our scouting core goes to work finding the best talent out there, we are going to be in the hunt for titles at the ml level. It is a great time to a Red Sox fan now and certainly as far as I can see into the future. Still got pretty good vision here too.

Exactly

Since John Henry bought the franchise we have had exciting reasons to look forward to the next season every year. I doubt seriously that that changes. We now have become legitimate contenders to win a championship as opposed to being a team that will battle for a playoff spot. We are set up very nicely for the next few years. We have an owner with a proven track record of wanting to win and with doing what his GM's suggest it takes to win regardless of what it takes. That isn't going to change as long as he owns the franchise.