Kimmi

I am not sure that there is anyone here who has not contributed to the fat jokes or assumptions on Pablo's character because he is fat. FTR, fat people are strongly discriminated against. There is a very strong perception of them as being lazy, worthless, or lacking self control, much of the same sentiments that have been posted here.

Of course. It's still a very straightforward question.

Click on Pablo's name from here: http://www.soxprospects.com/40man.htm At any rate, I agree that that as Pablo ages, his weight will become more and more a factor in his ability to play. So, what am I ignoring?

The question can't get any straighter.

And Castillo can't hit. Is his defense going to outweigh his complete inability to hit?

My apologies.

I am not trying to coddle anyone. In case you haven't noticed, I will defend almost any Sox player until I'm blue in the face, veteran or rookie. Personally, I prefer the home grown players over the veterans. I never thought Pablo's contract was a good one to begin with. The bottom line is, I don't think he is being given a fair chance. Anyway, Shaw is the man now, and I hope he kicks butt and leads the team to a WS.

Once the fat jokes and character assassinations are made, and continue to be made, it detracts from the sincerity of the argument. That's all I'm saying.

Let me give you a more serious comparison. If all of these Pablo fat jokes and slurs were instead racial jokes and slurs, or sexist jokes and slurs, would it be any different? If I were mostly very competent at my job, then had a bad month and got demoted, and then men made jokes about how I was a dumb bimbo who slept my way into getting my job, and that women only have one good purpose, or that women belonged in the home. Then when someone called them on those comments, they said but oh, "this has nothing to do with her being a bimbo or a woman, she didn't attend the training that was offered last month, so she deserved to get demoted". In the meantime, the bimbo/sexist jokes continue to be made at every chance they get. Would you not think that these people had more of an issue with their perception of me as a bimbo/woman, rather than with the fact that I didn't attend training? What if they were racial jokes and slurs? Would that be okay? At the very least, it takes away from the sincerity of the argument.

Thank you. The link from Sox Prospects to Pablo's player page has him officially listed at 180 lbs. Seriously, a buddy of mine on another site posts literally every article and tweet regarding the Sox imaginable. He has posted nothing about an amount that Pablo weighs. If he hasn't found the information, it probably doesn't exist. Which means that there is a lot of speculation going on about how much weight Pablo has gained.

Fair enough that it's my opinion. And yet, no one will give me a straight answer to the question. Which leads me to believe that everyone agrees with my opinion.

I'm not ignoring any information that is posted here. The jokes and the attacks detract from the validity of an argument. Honestly, it gives the impression of an emotionally based argument over any rational thinking.

I can understand if that's the way you feel. It still doesn't answer the question about what harm it would do to give him 1-2 months. Again, what I'm hearing from that statement is that he doesn't play because he's fat and lazy.

I would trust information that I found at Fangraphs over information that I find at most other baseball sites. Those guys are brilliant.

I don't get your analogy at all, but I'm assuming you mean Baseball Reference and not Baseball Prospectus? Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus, and The Hardball Times are my three go to sites for information. Baseball Reference is excellent for some stats, and I use it quite often as well. Anyone who blows off Fangraphs is doing themselves a disservice.

I keep forgetting that you guys don't do Fangraphs. FTR, when I quote WAR, it's going to be fWAR. 2012 2.8 WAR 2013 2.9 WAR 2014 2.8 WAR Yes. Nearly.

If you're going to make a sarcastic comment, the least you can do is quote me correctly.

Good plan, didn't work out. Did you expect, or even reasonably think that Pablo and Hanley would both be -2 WAR players, AND that Porcello would stink, AND that Castillo would stink?

If Shaw plays like an All-Star, I will be saying "Pablo who"? At this juncture, however, it's still not the right call. And I will ask again, where are you getting your information that Pablo is 40 pounds overweight?

I am not ignoring anything. I have acknowledged that Pablo's weight is likely hindering his range. But you bring up a good point. All of the fat jokes and fat Pablo character assassination posts do not help your arguments.

That was last year. How does that harm giving him a chance this year?

Castillo has never shown that he can hit though. At least Pablo can hit and he has a proven track record, aside from last year.

LOL Fair point. But no one has answered with a simple yes or no. Because what I say is the truth. If you can honestly and sincerely answer no to that question, I will accept your word on it.

No, you have provided the "Pablo is fat and lazy" reason.

Personally, I can agree more with Castillo's benching than I can with Pablo's. That said, the decision to release Murphy, knowing that they were not starting Castillo, as well as the decision to not send Castillo down to AAA since they are benching him are both stupid decisions.