cp176

It's always the fans right? How about a bring back Ben thread? Damn us guys.

I get that I think. Guess I am just one of the impatient old guys who just doesn't understand how it works. I enjoyed 2013 - not so much the other years.

nice -

I can remember playing Strato in the early to mid 60's. I cheated - I actually started Dick Radatz. I truly never thought that the day would come that the Sox would ever become anything more than someone's doormat. Since 67, there have been very few seasons where the team has not competed for a playoff birth. The championships are great for sure but this franchise has proven over the years that they can compete year in year out. The recent team performance has been abysmal. It also has been unnecessary. Most people like Ben Cherington just not as a GM. I don't need anyone trying to educate me with respect to being patient as a Red Sox fan. Already been there and it sucks. We have learned through the decades that it is quite possible to compete year in and year out while still building a very good minor league program. It's great that people still express loyalty to Ben for what he helped to do in the past but a decision was made to bring in DD because it needed to be done. He has addressed issues and taken care of business. He is here - Ben is not - and it looks like the Red Sox are ready to compete at the highest levels once again. Most people applaud Dombrowski for what he has accomplished in a very short period of time. Very few are ready to give him the keys to city just yet which makes sense as well. I am just glad that our team offers a little more hope for us this year than it has for a few.

and there goes Johnny. So much for that dream - oh well.

I would go with choice B everyday. Catchers with the type of all round catching talent Vasquez has just don't come along that often.

I know that it is a little bit of a dream. Sure would look good though. Although he was signed with the best intentions, the Ramirez contract put us in a hole.

We all know that hitting is not the issue. He will become a good catcher. He is adequate right now. Save the negative stat picture. Boston is prepared to use him as their starting catcher going forward. The question is what becomes of him when Vasquez the real catcher is ready to go? I think that his greatest value to his team will be as a trade chip. We have players in the system that likely will hit at least as well as Swihart at the corners. My guess is that before it is all sorted out either Vasquez or Swihart get traded.

Most likely, Swihart will hit. Big question comes when Vasquez is eventually ready to go.

I bet that they are talking. We know how much DD loves a strong rotation. I don't mean one that we think might be strong. One that really looks strong based on past performances. He knows that they still look a little light.

Not to change the subject for sure because even though he wasn't technically fired, no way was Ben going to run the show but is there any concievable chance that Cueto could be coming to Boston.? Something I would really like to see. The potential of that rotation would look pretty good. Good to hear of his desire to come to here.

i'll go with this one.

Wow - I am glad to see this. I was beginning to have some doubts. Middle of the pack for the year. Better than that over the last half.

I was wrong. Swihart is an above average catcher right now and he will get better if he continues to catch. I guess I said that because when I saw him last year, it looked like he had some trouble keeping the pitch in the dirt in front of him. I think that it was Buchholz who wanted Hannigan to catch for him also (might be wrong there too) which also troubled me. I also realize that some of his passed ball total can be attributed to the fact that he was catching Steven Wright. I think that Vasquez is a serious defensive upgrade but I do like the kid. Have to say though that if we really knew that Vasquez would be ready to go by the first of May, I would be dangling this guy out there as part of a package to get us more pitching. You never know when somebody might take the bait.

Looks to me like this is a dead end argument. What do you think? You and I and most of the people that I know believe that the use of advanced metrics is a very important piece of the puzzle. Dombrowski believes it as well. Statistics are there to be used but they don't represent an end to the story by any means. For what it is worth, it looks like I don't believe in using them because I place a great deal of importance on what a player actually does on the field day to day. Stats represent a primary piece of the story if used correctly but they aren't the only piece.

Dombrowski has a pretty good feel for things it seems. Although we are better in the starting pitching area than we were going into last season, we could still use one good not average, healthy starting arm. Buchholz and Kelly - HOPE - not counting on either one of them to stay healthy though. Porcello might be that good middle of the rotation guy we need. I want to feel confident that E-Rod will continue to just get better. Actually I am sort of confident about that one. Infield defense still has some questions that need to be answered on the field. Can Pedroia stay on the field? Who will catch. If it is Swihart, we start the season average at best in a pivotal position. Ramirez at first ranks about a 0.1 on my confidence chart. From a power perspective, I don't know. I think they will hit. Once again though, I'm not counting on the pre-2011 Ramirez to show up. i really wish that he would show up on somebody elses roster. I bet DD feels the same way.

I've told you many times that I consider the use of metrics to be very important with respect to talent evaluation. I am pretty much in Dombrowski's camp though with how much importance to place on them. He has people in place who know how to use everything imaginable with respect to data collection.

It was meant as a compliment.

Going into last year's season, we had a ton of questions. Many of those issues have been dealt with. Lots of things can happen still but first base looks like the biggest issue to me right now. I also think that if Hanley shows early that he cannot do it, we have that position covered fairly well also. I like this team. I am curious to see what happens with the following - catcher, first base, and will Castillo and Bradley hit.

Sandoval might get dealt. maybe somebody would want him. Nobody wants hanley. We would have to pay his whole contract. i don't see Hanley being our future dh either. Encarnacion. If he can't play first, they will have to give him away.

Bogaerts is one of the best shortstops in the game. He will continue to get better. I am optimistic about Sandoval at third base. We won't know until it all gets going, but I think that he will get it done. As for Ramirez at first, I don't see how anybody can have an absolutely optimistic feeling about this one. He will be involved in too many plays to make me feel real optimistic. We hoped he could become an outfielder last year and we hope he can become a first baseman this year.

Talk about prospects - remember Casey kelly. Just got traded again.

Also wanted to add that I do think that you a very serious poster and that you are sensitive about what you write. I like that . You certainly are not nasty with your comments.

Also, just so you know, even though I think that Miley earns what he is paid to a greater extent than Buchholz, I am glad that it was Miley that got traded as opposed to Buchholz. We can cover Miley's loss. If Buchholz should have one of his good years, we can't cover his loss quite as well. It is worth the risk.

Personally, I like reading other people's opinions. I might not agree with them but that doesn't mean I don't like their opinion. I post here because I enjoy reading different viewpoints whether I agree or not. I'm not going to use data to try to change the way someone feels about an issue. We all are capable of drawing our own conclusions based on the tools we decide to use. I think that the way the MLB contract system operates is ridiculous. There is no justification at all for paying any of them what they are getting paid. I have my preferences. You can call them biases if you like. I prefer the types of players who work for their money. Thus I do not think that Buchholz is worth what Price is worth. I think that Miley is worth more than Buchholz. When I think a contract hurts the team, I will let you know. Saying this does not mean that I dislike Buchholz. I hope that he pitches well for us. You use great statistical data to support your arguments. Good for you. I do things differently than you. I'm ok with that. If someone has the money and wants to pay a pitcher 13 mil. for a half season of work, that is ok with me as long as it does not hurt the team in general or stand in the way of another player's progress. if someone wants to pay a player 200 plus for 7 years, as long as it doesn't hurt the team once again, fine by me. At this point in time, I don't think the Buchholz contract hurts us. I think that the Price contract helps us. Not because of the ridiculous contract but because he will play for us. Hanley Ramirez and his contract could hurt us. Posting here is fun for me. When it becomes over the top argumentative and nasty, which it clearly can, I will stop posting.