cp176

ok moon thank God there is finally something that I can disagree with you over! If I could trade Mookie for Fisk, Lynn, and Burleson in their primes, I would do it and never once look back. We are talking about 4 very special players here.

Mookie Betts is willing to play the gambling game and that is exactly what it is. He has to answer the question - How much is enough to take care of me and mine forever and ever? If the Red Sox make him an offer based on the current market expectations long term and he chooses to gamble that is up to him. It is a risk that he is taking. He could be one step away from an injury that could affect his ability to earn a living playing baseball as we move ahead. I believe that he gets every ounce out of himself that he can get. There is no reserve. I do not blindly believe that someone his size who plays the way he plays will last for the entire duration of whatever the contract he signs might be.

I have a hunch that that is what Mookie is doing. My guess is that Mike Trout is quietly watching all of this unfold. He has the potential to set the bar higher than anyone else.

i don't think that anyone here has a clue as to what the organization is willing to spend. DD didn't get to where he has gotten simply by having the ability to outspend everyone else. He is and has been a successful GM. No one that I know of just spends without being pretty much aware of the ramifications of what goes along with the spending. I guess for some it sounds better when they assume that JH has imposed a spending limit on DD. Personally I think that he is well aware of how to spend the money that we have to spend and that he works quite closely with JH. I don't see him as being a financially reckless GM who only wins by spending. It is apparent to me that he knows how to put at team together - of course I am only basing this opinion on the results that we have seen.

Also mentioned a healthy number of pretty good closers that DD has found throughout his career. The article certainly might be viewed in a positive way. People are going to draw their own conclusions about Dombrowski's ability to do anything.

i believe that Dombrowski knows the difference between a decent deal and a bad deal. i don't think that it would make any difference at all even if JH gave him an open check book - he would still be looking to sign a potential closer to the best deal possible. He is a little brighter than some think in my opinion.

I think that you are absolutely right. There may be numerous guys out there who would be willing to change their current roles to play the closer role on this team. Kimbrel obviously is one of the best but I think the notion that the closer role cannot be filled very well by a decent starter who might want to take that role on is not accurate. We all saw first hand how 4 or 5 of our starting pitchers could have done that role and personally I think done it better than Kimbrel. DD for all we know may have already had discussions inside and outside of the organization with guys about filling that role.

If you have enough "good" relievers, you will find the guy that you want to use at the end of the line. What I don't agree with is that we will potentially bring in a bunch of unknowns and hope that one of them becomes that next great one. I'm in a minority here in that I don't think that our bullpen really is all that bad. It won't take much to make it better. If we sat still and did nothing that would be a little unnerving, but I doubt that that happens.

Even with the sarcasm here notin, I really do agree with you. Paying huge money in terms of years and dollars to a potential closer would not be a good call nor would it really be necessary. The but for me is that a good GM isn't going to pay for someone to come in and hope that it all turns out right. They aren't going to spend much time searching for a guy to get the job done. Whoever comes will be someone who has proven that they can actually pitch before the role is handed to them. You obviously know the names of most of the guys out there and who has done what. I sure don't. One thing that might make thins a little difficult for us is that the Sox really might actually think that they still have their potential guys here already and they might. Although I doubt a Kimbrel return because I highly doubt that Boston would be willing to give him the years and money that he is looking for primarily because it would be a bad deal as opposed to our franchise being unwilling to hurdle financial barriers, you just never no. Whatever, you have to believe that our GM knows who is out there and that it is likely that he brings someone else in.

We don't know Bell. A lot of chatter about what JH is willing to pay for whatever. I don't believe that anyone will be signed to a silly contract but that does not mean that there is any cap to what JH is willing or apt to spend. We just don't know. Fun to guess I guess.

I don't believe that DD is done for one second. Maybe perhaps good old common sense is being used here. I think that JH will want to win each year just as much as he has every other year. Signing older players to long term contracts doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. The fact that a lot of money has not just been thrown around might even mean that it isn't a good idea just to waste it. Our team as is really isn't that bad folks. If you believe that DD isn't going to sign anyone else, I think that you are deluding yourselves. It might even be Kimbrel at a reasonable contract rate. None of us know.

Look what you started.

And all this time I thought that WAPM was native American currency.

Is that a Stanley Steamer by any chance? I am a little curious actually - I wonder how many different websites there are out there from which we can get the same data?

I wasn't suggesting that you grow the game at the AAA level at all. I agree with you entirely or maybe not. If young kids are going and want to keep going to minor league games at any level, then I guess I would say that you are growing the game. I'm pretty sure that you know as well as I do what some of the obstacles are that baseball growth faces today. I'm not sure that many of these obstacles can even be overcome. It is a dramatically different world today.

I agree with you on this but my favorite kind of ice cream is vanilla - no nuts, no swirls, no nothing.

I loved Nomar as did most Red Sox fans but I never thought he was the type of player who handled the routine play - the ones that need to be made every time - very well. You have to have those types of players especially up the middle. It isn't about the spectacular plays so much as just being very consistent.

No of course not. I'm pretty sure that some people really do want too see some good entertainment though. Normally a consistent loser doesn't produce much in the way of entertainment for most folk. For the record, i'm not opposed to any of these signings. I don't even know who this guy is but I still think that there is great value in going after low cost players who might possibly recapture some pat magic. I was actually being a little serious though - attendance is down and I think that the "real" baseball fan is becoming a thing of the past in a way. I do not think that the way to grow the game is to add teams. Also - i'm still that guy that sees that we don't have an abundance of talent in the system but i do see some talent - some with really good potential. I'm anxious to see how it works out for them.

Hey I think that it is a good idea. We need to grow the game without adding more teams. Being able to shag all those home run balls is one way to get the kids interested.

It is just a matter of time. These types of recent signings certainly don't hurt. It is what a good GM should do but I also think that sooner or later we will see another significant sign.

Indeed and of course it goes without saying that although I am not a follower of his, I say nothing particularly nasty about Ben.

I would be very surprised if Castillo was not good enough from a talent perspective to play in the bigs. It really is a bizarre situalion. For the last couple of years he has produced well enough for sure to at least get a chance somewhere.

There he goes again - that damned Dombrowski! lol

It had to have been Larry - wasn't it somehow him with respect to any of the crappy moves made while he was anywhere in New England. woo hoo Ben !! You go Ben.

I will be so happy when the day comes that any discussion of the pros and cons of Dave Dombrowski do not prompt an immediate reply with regards to Ben Cherington. I wonder if anyone else sees what I see here. News flash - some might not like it obviously but Ben is gone and Dave is here.