cp176

Hopefully no one would question that the health of a solid franchise begins with the farm. Non-debatable for me. That being said, I also do not believe in stock piling players forever. I also am not as sure as some seem to be that the "farm" is all that healthy. Outside of Rodriguez and Bogaerts, if the moves actually looked like they might help us, I think that I would move just about anyone. I consider Ramirez's contract long term. I consider Sandoval's contract long term. I really think that a contract is long term when you might be blocking a better player from moving up. I would add Castillo's contract to that list. #3 - I really don't know much about this one. Only what I have read. I believe that you must use all available help when it comes to assembling a quality team. But - I will also add that the stats don't do a very good job of measuring the mental aspects of the game. I just looked over that 2013 roster again because I thought that I was confused. It didn't look that good to me. I believe that mental toughness, character, and chemistry played a great role in the success of that year. if Ben was responsible for that then heres to him. I really like these back and forths with you Kimmi but maybe you could tell sox and whatever that I don't dislike you and he doesn't need to support you by being nasty to me. I have some people that have my back to and I appreciate it but it is not necessary here. I like you.

He will be just fine I would think. Chicago bound maybe?

I'm fairly sure he knows something about the value of pitching for sure. You are saying that it was all Ben with respect to the Beckett deal?

That is how you interpreted what I wrote. That is not what I meant at all. Since you are the logical thinker, I guess I think it is logical to see that issue both ways.

That makes sense to me. The high school analogy works for me as well. Even though I do think you think you have to grab the good ones early, I still am partial to those that have either a PG year or some college experience.

Kimmi - Come on Ben Cherington 1. Large contracts given to free agents 2. Not trading prospects and reluctantly bringing them up to the big club 3. Too much reliance on analytics - not enough balance 4. Does not recognize the importance of solid pitching and solid defense Ben Cherington is an excellent person by all accounts. Good luck to him. Time for a change.

I don't think that anybody on this timothy maybe Ortiz should be buying property in the Boston area. How is Castillo's stock looking these days? 72 mil. is a hunk of $ but who is to say really that he is a safer bet than JBJ.

logical thinking - Ramirez is definitely the square peg in the circular hole here.

Should we be at all concerned that Moncada and Guerra might not be as good as we are led to believe they are due to the inferior quality of the competition?

That statement about the quality of competition faced at Greenville makes me worry a little bit about some of our our more highly touted prospects. They are at Greenville.

sk - not really sure i follow you on this one. I haven't heard about anything going on in the Red Sox clubhouse and I think that speaks well of the organization. I don't know if anyone would consider Ramirez a fraud in left-field - grossly misplaced for sure. If he is taking some crap for not being able to do a decent job out there from anyone, he at least has the satisfaction of knowing that he is being well paid. He very well might be very sensitive and misunderstood. That would not be unusual for professional athletes. The Red Sox signed him and as a result owe him more than than just a paycheck. He needs to be in a position where he can succeed. If he hits even close to his career best stats, his play in left field is still going to be incredibly noticeable. If you have 3 players who have the potential to all hit and become possibly the best fielding and throwing outfield in the game, don't you have to at least consider putting them out there together on an everyday basis? There are other options for Hanley Ramirez that should be explored.

The coaching staff's defense of Hanley Ramirez does not make them look supportive. It makes them look stubbornly stupid. To say that he deserves more time in left field than either Castillo or JBJ is incredible. They would be more praise worthy if they just shut their mouths, put him somewhere else, or admitted that they might have made a mistake. He could be the major league's worst defender at any position. His bat just doesn't make up for his poor fielding.

A fine big three - Spieth, McIlroy - Day - Good young stars to grow the game. It was a great last day leader board at the PGA.

they are choosing to put a flat out bad player out there. Ridiculous!

I believe that they were much bigger gambles than a franchise like the Boston Red Sox needed to take. I would not have been happy particularly if Porcello had performed as his career stats said that he should. It was pounded into us that he was going to be better than a middle of the rotation pitcher. He wasn't and shows no signs of being any better.

I'm really hoping that next year they don't play the game of wishing and hoping. If they go out and trade for or sign players for whom there isn't much reason to just hope for things to develop the right way, it might be exciting again. I realize that things can happen to players that are known for quality play as well but they took some pretty big gambles that just didn't work out. Depending on Buccholtz - Hoping Porcello would be better than he has been (thus the contract) - hoping that Masterson would heal. For a back of the rotation guy, Miley doesn't look too bad. Hoping that Ramirez would stay healthy and be able to transition to left field. Assuming Sandoval would not eat himself out of the league. I don't feel sorry for myself. I am a fan and will probably continue look forward to another year. I don't feel sorry for the people involved who did all of the studying and decided on the current strategy. I at least avoided going to watch an inferior product that anybody who did go paid more to see than they did last year. They weren't little gambles.

Not in left field.

It depends on who you ask and who you are talking to.

I agree (how about that) . When I originally posted that, it was only to point out what could be a weakness in a potential very good players wide array of tools. It was not mentioned to make anybody overreact and think that he can't get it done defensively. We can all think what we wish, but to many that number of errors in that many games would be cause to think that he needs a little work before moving on if they think he is going to be playing second base in the future. Personally, I think that he is going to be a very good player.

He has been a good trooper and at the age of 25 is still young enough to become that player that we all have hoped he would become. He is forcing them to use him everyday I hope. In his case, the old expression about mental to physical seems to hold some truth.

It could very well be his and their only option. It is worth a shot.

I'm not sure what Red Sox fans expectations were fair for either one of these two guys. They were both given huge contracts to come to Boston and do what? Perform better and to play more than their career norms. I understand the Sandoval signing. There may have been better options and his contract is ridiculous and he is over weight, and everything else but he is an upgrade over what we had. Can we expect more from him? I think so. It was probably even logical to expect Ramirez to be able to play at least a decent left field. He can't. He is not going to be The Red Sox third baseman. Maybe he will be willing to try first base and maybe he won't. I would love to see them move him along somehow. He will probably wind up playing in as many games as he usually does and performing about as well as he usually has. His contract coupled with his inability to play in the field has got to have upper management very frustrated. If Castillo can actually stay healthy, Ramirez should not be seen in Boston's outfield ever again. I think that he would make someone else's team a great outfielder or third baseman or first baseman or maybe even a dh.

really - ok - It does tell you that he likely needs to work on his defense though?

Jbj!!!

Signing Ramirez in the first place was one of the bigger risks taken in the off-season. I agree with you that the sooner he is gone the clearer the overall picture becomes and this team can move forward. The only place for him next year, might be first base - might. I would far prefer to see what someone like Shaw can do there. Actually using someone who has played the position might be a good thing.