cp176

You are not wrong at all- you are absolutely right. We have a very small contingent pf posters here who I think believe that positive support of DD can be seen as a direct criticism of Cherington. How many times do we hear - DD has done a good job but but but. It is ridiculous but that is the way it seems to be. I also do not believe for one single second that talented players signed like Craig kimbrel are signed simply to appease fan interest. I'm pretty sure that they are signed for their talent and that usually is enough to appease the masses. Criiticizing the moves made by any GM of course is ok and is expected. I'm a DD supporter but I have really no problem with anyone who sees things differently than I do and subsequently chooses to criticize the man. It does get tiresome having to hear how Cherington would have done things differently. I look forward!

I think that this is very true. The best Red Sox team of all time with respect to every aspect that makes a team great.

Happy New Year!

stop the presses!!! If I had known you were going to respond thusly, Workman might have looked a lot better to me all of a sudden. lol You know I am good for you.

We might have won I guess without any number of players that we have. We have and had them though. This is an interesting direction that the thread is heading in. We normally talk about these types of things after we have lost not won. I'm fine thinking that there is no way we could have won without Kimbrel. If we had not won, we all would have been wondering if we could have if we had had him.

I really really doubt this one.

I do not think that Workman is going to be with us. Johnson still has value as a back of the rotation starter. Hembree is a guy if used correctly could help any team in the role he plays.

Nothing wrong with Hembree at all. Cora knows how to use him best to maximize what he can give us.

this makes me chuckle - correct too. If DD read and actually bought into much of the stuff posted here, he would quit.

In all honesty as much as I love seeing him in a Red Sox uniform, Mookie Betts is replaceable. Likely not with someone as capable as he is but someone not so bad that it would limit the team that much. If prevailing wisdom is that we are going to be so poor in the next few years, that we won't be able to compete, what sense would it make to even consider a long term signing? None - with that thought in mind, he should be traded for a windfall of potential talent.

Once again a good move I think. Carson Smith likely will be very motivated to resurrect his career. I bet he has a real sit down meeting with Alex Cora though before he steps on to the big field for the Sox. He didn't leave in a very good light.

I'm pretty much one of those fans I guess. Falling off a cliff to me, implies something somewhat catastrophic. I doubt seriously that that happens. I seriously am wondering if the people who have been promoting the cliff concept will be upset if it doesn't actually occur simply because they were not proven right. For most people it is a gross misuse of a term unless you truly believe that we will be entering a season with virtually no chance of success. I'm not one of the "bright" people who claim to sort of know what JH must have said to DD about budgeting so I will just continue muddling along in my space and believe that as long as Henry owns the franchise we will be competitive and I will have a team worth watching as we move along. Oh well - sometimes ignorance is bliss - right?

pretty much what I said notin. I'm sure the GM did what he thought was the right thing to do.

I think that this actually says more about the people doing the projecting and the data they used than it does about Ben Cherington. People can use all of the data in the world to attempt to make a point but the games still are played on the field and not on the computer.

I was going into worry mode about you ! I am glad that you posted this. Maybe that is actually the scenario that some of our cliff dwellers are actually talking about. lol - I think that as long as JH owns this team we will have something fun to follow.

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.