cp176

No question in my mind! He'll be back.

I would be in the minority I guess. I far prefer to be competitive every year which means with the current playoff format you always have a chance. the Dave Kingman approach of either a clout or an out never made it for me.

I'm with you here. The bottom line for me is quite simple - a great enough effort was not made to keep a generational future HOF player. If indeed bloom was given some type of mandate which no one knows for sure, the simple fact is that a small market GM was brought in to boston. Many here have more than suggested that a major reason he was brought in was to deal with what some would consider runaway spending. If special players are developed in your own program, my opinion is that if you don't do what it takes to keep them, if the money is there, the local fan base is getting screwed.

Why should building the farm not be one of anyone's highest priorities? It has to be if you're planning to win titles. It is how you use what you have that counts. To date, although I do like many of the athletes now competing in our system, I don't think that Bloom has done anything that many other GM's couldn't have done. Part of his reputation as a farm builder might be because in Tampa that is about all he could do. I might feel differently about him if I had the impression that he was a great communicator but I don't see signs of that. Do me a favor though - don't bring up any past GM's in an effort to compare them with Bloom. He is his own man with his own game and his own way of doing things. Once again, I think that there are quite a few young players that will at least get a look up with the big club, I just don't see any world beaters down there just yet.

If we do have the next Mookie, Bogey, or Raffy, I don't think that they are currently playing at the AA or AAA level. What I saw in Portland were better players in general but no one looked like an up and coming superstar.

Just left Portland after watching the Sea Dogs. Haven't been for a few years. Overall I think they have a very athletic group of players. They look and act like athletes. Great looking fitness levels overall. Likely doesn't mean much to most but I like to watch athletes compete. Wilson and Hamilton are two of the fastest players I think that I have seen down there. Picture perfect day to watch a good team win a good game.

I hope Casas becomes the player we all have been hearing and talking about and not our next Lars Anderson.

You might be right I guess but tell me what is wrong with this picture if he is tired and worn. He is 24 - 6'4" and weighs over 200 pounds.

The forum is really getting rich these days. Thanks for the entertainment. Can I be on someone's team? Everybody wants to be included somewhere. Much of the discussion here these days doesn't have much meaning for me. I'm far more interested in the way the game is actually played as opposed to constant rants about the people making the major decisions inspite of the fact that they don't play. I'm guessing that if this team was just a little bit entertaining to watch, there would actually be more discussion about how the bases are run, how the plays are made, stuff that happens on the field. If I didn't get a chuckle out of this forum, I don't think that I would even check the box score in the morning. So thanks guys and keep the good times rolling. by the way - not only am I a DD fan, I also think that JH could purchase just about anything that he wants to purchase. I still believe that there is a time to bunt, hit and run, in addition to stealing a base. Oh and I'm damned happy that Sale was signed to an extension and I think that you will be too. I also think that the people here who constantly go off about how DD ruined the farm are over doing it just a bit. Quantity does not make quality. He created a quality team by using the farm in one of the ways it is meant to be used. I liked all of his trades.

This is pretty much how I feel. If there are exciting players to watch in Portland, I will on occasion go watch. I really do hope Casas is able to meet the high expectations of some posters here. Nothing is a given until they play with the big club.

I'm a DD fan but I don't think that I can be pigeon holed into one set mold.

Chris Sale is one of my all time favorite pitchers and competitors. He has had a massive tough run but I'm still hoping that we all get to see him pitch again.

I'm the youngest old guy that my younger friends know so i've been told.

Me as well. I have a great friend who refers to me as Eddie as in Eddie Haskell! I don't tend to take myself seriously most of the time.

once again - what? You think that my comment related in some way to players involved in a debate about the use of metrics?

What? I was being humorous. For the record, because I am not a fan of an overdosing deluge of information doesn't mean I am opposed to someone who thinks otherwise. I wonder how many of our ml ballplayers constantly check and worry about their metrics?Once again, this debate simply amuses me. I have no pony in the game.

Guys like us share a special bond that these youngsters who are always squabbling about useless stuff will never share. Maybe I grew to love the game so much partly because of the anticipation of next year. The expectation of winning every year was tough as well. When the Sixers finally got past the Cs in '67/68 it hurt just as much as any Red Sox loss. We just weren't prepared for it. We were supposed to win every year.

i've been called a pain in the ass by many and i am completely comfortable with it. I wonder if others posting here prolifically can say the same?

Whoops i left out '75.

i know right. Can you can get anymore screwed up than we are now? If Tony C. hadn't gotten injured, we might be in a much better place.

1967 made 1978 and 1986 really stink!

Limit your statistical reading. Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Pick 4 stats that you like the most and go with them. Keeps headaches to a minimum. Plus the fact that you might not become a pain in the ass to others by trying to impress them with a solid grasp of possibly some useless information.

A post that i can support! WAIT 'TILL NEXT YEAR. It always made me look forward to the spring. 1967 came and screwed everything up.

Answer = Did you use your eyes? Good to see that we are starting to come full circle here. I'm all about momentum and clutch as well. There has always been only so much this brain could hold. Box scores worked pretty well for me and still do actually.

I have been a sox fan since 1955. I have never been as turned off by a team as this one in all of my years.