cp176

I'll tell you what type of a dopey old fan I am Slasher. Since 1955, I have always believed that the Red Sox have had a chance every single time. It is just who I am. I don't believe in cliffs either. what is going to be for me - 1. I am just not being realistic 2. I will never admit defeat until the games get played. yup - it is always about choice number two for me. The way i was raised the way i played and the way I coached. I'm going to support the GM no matter who he is too.

i like your post primarily because it is an equal opportunity criticizer. lol Ben is gone - DD is gone - but the beat goes on.

The way I see it - the "post of the day" has to be one that espouses your viewpoints almost expressly whether they are meant to or not. Ben cxerington is being made out to be some kind of wonderman minor league builder. His proponents can't be satisfied with simply saying that he did a good job. On the other hand DD is being represented as a farm wrecker by the very same people because he traded role players for the most part to strengthen our team going forward. That is silly. There is always a middle ground. Also it is the constant refrain of "win now at any cost" that annoys me. I have to believe that that is why it is repeated. Doesn't the same old song ever get tiresome?

yup - the night i watched them, I'm glad an on field fight didn't break out.

Sad but true to a great extent. I think that there is a talent level that is being overlooked by some of our super scouts possibly. Just big = 0

i forgot

In general, this is absolutely true. The but is the Seadogs were overpowered by a bigger faster stronger lineup. I like talented little believe me but I also think that there is some truth to this statement -Little people help big people win games.

Ben Cherington has been gone for awhile now but the legend lives on in "talksox lore" where GM's are viewed on an importance scale as important as any future HOFamer to some(1). As this conversation never ends, will his reputation as the consummate builder of all things farm related even rival that other guy Theo whoever? yes he clearly could be the answer for our future success. My only problem is that I have this endearing image in my mind: Every time I went to a Seadogs game when he was our GM to watch them play the Yankees double A franchise, I could not help but wonder how the Yankees prospects all appeared so much bigger stronger and faster than ours. Oh well - optical illusion i guess. I wish him the best of luck in Toronto but do not feel that following his prescription leads to sure success.

I'll admit that at the time of the incident I was not impressed but after learning a little more about the situation my thoughts became a little more neutral. After watching him compete in Boston, I think that there is a lot more to this story than I ever knew. Placing a gifted highly competitive athlete in a lousy situation can lead to all sorts of bad things. i am very hesitant to judge a person before I get to know them or at least in Sale's case see him in action. I am so very happy that we have him on our team. he looks like everything an athlete should be.

I think I need you here.

childish yes I agree but wrong no matter the circumstances? Did you know something that the rest of us didn't. I'm not on the high ground looking down. Judging this man because of that particular incident is what is wrong.

Hey I actually do agree with you here. What I would really like to see JH do is in some way make the Fenway experience more cost affordable and in my personal case a little more comfortable. The last time I was in Fenway my wife and I were wedged into our seats between two people who should have paid for two seats apiece. I realize that I should be happy that I can still fit nicely in one of the seats but unfortunately it is getting to the point where much of America can't. Now with all of that said - the rules of baseball dictate in many instances the size of the budget making it limited to a certain extent. With respect to much in his life, JH has very few budgetary constraints. I'm not jealous because life is good and I appreciate what he has done with the team. I'm just not sure that I like him much.

Ok - couple of things - i coached for a very very long time and one thing that I learned was that it was much much better for me to judge a person based on what I learned about him as I got to know him. I was pleasantly surprised many many times. Chris Sale cut up the jersey- yup he sure did. Based on what I have seen from him once he got to Boston, I find it hard to believe that he isn't exactly what I would like to see in one of my athletes. You know that I do not believe he ever placed personal goals over team goals. There has been nothing to substantiate that at all. I am ok with you believing that. that is your choice. Would I have liked to have seen him signed for less, of course but I feel absolutely no sympathy for a billionaire struggling to whittle down payroll so that they can stay below any tax limit. I do not care one iota how much he decides to spend. Now if I knew precislely how much of his fortune he is giving away yearly to help the less fortunate maybe I would feel differently. If he decides to to cut back on his spending to get below the luxury limit, nice nice good for him. Here is what I hear everyday - tax the rich tax the rich tax the rich. I am opposed to that of course but I am confused by so many who have such a great concern for how that guy spends his money. Lastly I wish that you and I were sitting somewhere having this discussion as opposed to doing the keyboard dance. I guarantee you that we have a number of things in common and would be having great time.

What it means is that I like Chris Sale and would have been happy with the signing regardless of the cost. It also means that I truly believe that he will be back and continue to pitch at his expected level for the duration of the contract. This team needs more players like him. Players that are passionately motivated by their team's success. When around people like him, it is easier to catch what he has - a burning desire to win and play the game the "right" way.

I wonder about some of the same things that you do.

Slasher I am so glad that he guessed wrong on Sale and i bet that you will be too pretty soon.

This isn't necessarily about you . it kind of sounds like you are trying to educate me. Thanks but I'm ok. I think that it is good that you like dd. I'm not sure that using your wife as an analogy is right but once again I'm ok with that (lol). I will hold my ground on this one - it has been absolutely hypocritical for some here who have been over the top negative about any of the moves that DD made but still continue to see an image of John Henry bathed in sweet sunshine. To each his own right. But hey - I liked Ben Cherington but thought that he was in no way the person that could do the job required of a GM.

i sort of agree with you here. maybe what is bugging me is the tiresome abuse of dd by quite a few people posting here. some of them being very hypocritical. hard for me to understand constantly berating someone and still claiming that they like someone. i do not think that jh gets off the hook here. there is just something that bothers me about the way he does business.

This at least makes sense. If I am the owner and what you say is accurate, then the firing had to happen.

i agree with this unfortunately this guy gets judged in part because of the injuries that could not be overcome. i do think that he likely should have tried at least to do a little more with that bullpen. I am just going to stand pat on my feelings about an ownership that continues to make money on the backs of the fan base while at the same time cutting payroll to stay below a certain number well knowing that it could be at the expense of the product being put out there on the field. I probably would be doing the same thing but i don't think that I would feel good about doing it.

Ok - I think that i get it now - John henry is our hero and anyone who works for him sucks when the players do not perform. Just trying to sort things out. Sounds good - i'm ready to roll. I get everything that you are saying. i absolutely do not want to see the wealthy pay more than they should from percentage standpoint. I am so on board with this. I am ready to become a tea member this board. I am a red blooded capitalist all the way - sincerely.

Wait - I absolutely get the concept to which you refer. I absolutely abhor the socialist trends that some are advocating for.

No question that whoever comes in will face an uphill battle. Not having a moving target from ownership might be one of them. I'm not particularly concerned at all. I haven't been spoiled basically because I have a memory. Clarity and support from ownership needs to be number 1. If the primary goal becomes to save money via trades and non-signs fine. It is a bit of an about face but fine. Do what needs to be done starting with Betts and Martinez. Mookie ain't gonna be had for a small ball discount and Martinez is and will continue to b I think one of baseball's best hitters. Seems to me - "ain't gonna be no miracles here..." but bear in mind our ownership will continue to thrive and make money regardless of the panic being created by the tiresome lament of having to get below a certain dollar figure. hate on Dombrowski all you want folks this one rests squarely on the backs of our owners. I'm not real sure I trust the ******** they are slinging.

4 - Porcello has been to damned physically consistent (not good consistently) but so damned durable. I doubt he will take much of a hit with respect to what he is making but it would be silly not to at least make him an offer that he can refuse. He is what in reality he always has been - a solidly consistent innings eating number 3 or 4 kind of guy.

Not for me - there you go though. Once again, i like those trades and will continue to support GM's of the future if they do what they can to help us be successful without prior years of suffering.