Kimmi

Now that they have you reeled back in, the rest of the series will probably be boring. It was a great game last night. The Royals, once again, showed their resiliency. I'm really glad that the Royals were able to win that game for Volquez.

IMO, the Sox need two starting pitchers, a #1 and a #2/3. However, that second pitcher (the #2/3) is really more for insurance and depth than a definite necessity. The Sox could be good to go if they added only a strong #1, but that does leave a lot of question marks or risks. So, I would say that we need two starters. If you're talking bullpen, we need someone who can close in case Koji can't. So we need one top reliever, then several of the "throw against the wall and see who sticks" type.

I don't agree with your implication that Ben made a realization that he was not capable of being a GM. You may be right, but I don't think that's the case. I think he just needed some time away from the game. He's been in the business a long time.

There have been 3 teams (that we know about) who had an interest in hiring Ben in one capacity or another (two of them as GM). Other teams can see and appreciate the good things that he has done for this team.

It's an odd move, to be sure.

And for anyone who still has any doubt that Ben has already drawn interest from other ball clubs, there is this, written before Ben accepted the job with Columbia:

Good for Ben.

If you don't doubt that some other team will "recycle" Ben, then why is he a fool for taking a year off? How do you even know that he wants another GM job?

I think it will take more than what you are offering to bring back a #1 starter, but you never know what some other GM is looking for. Also, if a GM really wants to get rid of a player, as it seems Beane wanted to do with Donaldson, then he might be willing to take less in return. There has been speculation that the Mets want to move Harvey, but we don't know if there is any truth to that. Some of it also depends on whether a team is looking to contend next season or is going into rebuild mode. For any team looking to rebuild or go young, guys like Hanley or Buchholz are not likely to hold much value. For a team looking to contend, they might.

This post is just so wrong I don't even know where to start.

I have heard the Marlins name come up a couple of times as possible trade partners with the Red Sox. I don't know enough about the Marlins to know what they have to offer or what their needs are, but my understanding is that Dombrowski is very interested in a couple of their hard throwing young pitchers, be they starters or relievers.

This just goes to show you that there are any number of reasons why Ben would not be interested in a GM job, none of which make him a fool. Maybe he wants to focus more on a different aspect of baseball like Amaro does, like scouting or working with the minor leagues? Here is another case where you disagree with Ben's decision and hence, it must be wrong. So wrong, that you call him a fool. You have no clue as to what is the best decision for him and his family. Try to understand what his rationale might be, rather than thinking that you know what is best for him.

LOL After reading some rationale behind this decision, it now makes more sense. Amaro is interested in the job because he wants to manage one day. This position gets his foot in the door, so to speak. The Sox are interested in Amaro because of his outfield experience. He is someone who could help our young trio of outfielders defensively.

And this is exactly what Ben has done. In 2013, he supplemented with the right players. In the other years, he did not. In 2015, he supplemented with Pablo and Hanley. As I said before, you can blast him for making some poor decisions on who to supplement with, but his overall philosophy is exactly what you are saying. Farm systems take a while to build. Ben's long term vision is now coming to fruition, and he managed to win a World Series Championship along the way.

There are times when I don't understand or can't see any rationale behind an opposing opinion. There are also times when I can go other either way with my opinion. When anyone forms an opinion, he/she usually thinks it's right. Just because I can understand somebody else's rationale for his opinion or decision does not mean that I don't believe that my opinion is right. That said, I know that the people who hold these jobs know more about baseball than I do. I also know that they have far more information, data, and personnel to form their opinions than I do. Therefore, when I disagree with what they have done, I try to understand their reasoning behind why they did it. It's called having an open mind. Things are not as black and white as you make them out to be. It's not rationalizing after the fact to make myself feel better. These are opinions and rationales that have been stated since the moves have been made, not excuses that I've come up with after the fact. Sometimes bad decisions end up working out. Sometimes good decisions don't work out. It's like Gibbons' decision on whether to pull Price in the 7th inning or not. You disagreed with his decision and so you automatically conclude that it was the wrong decision. There is some very good rationale behind both decisions.

It starts with a strong farm. Blast Ben for all the free agent signings that didn't work out, but at least he understood the importance of the farm system and stuck to his guns when it came to not trading away our top prospects. This team has enough extra pieces that Dombrowski should be able to put together a nice package for a #1 pitcher without hurting our future outlook.

This one has me scratching my head. Amaro is probably the last person I would have guessed becoming our first base coach. Interesting move, to say the least.

I don't have a specific tipping point set. We will be able to get a better sense of what Dombrowski's philosphy and intentions are as we go through the offseason. Honestly, I think it would be very difficult for Dombrowski to strip the farm. Plus, what I'm hearing is that Betts and Bogaerts are still untouchable, along with 3 of our top prospects, so he seems to value the farm system strongly enough. I'm not sure why you find my "I understand the move, but would not have made the move myself routine" so amusing. I'm not so arrogant as to think that just because I don't like a move that it must be wrong. When I say I would not have made the move, it's because I don't think that the move, on the whole, is worth the cost, be it in players, dollars, or years. It doesn't mean that the move is necessarily wrong, or that it won't work out. It means that I think there was a better option or that the risk is too great.

It's a tough call. Gibbons was criticized for leaving Price in too long in Game 2. Once a runner got on base in that game, as you said, the roof caved in. Gibbons surely had that in his mind when he decided to pull Price. Had Gibbons left Price in and Rios got a hit, you can bet he would have been criticized for not taking Price out.

I have not been able to listen to the Fox studio guys since they added ARod. Just seeing him makes me sick. The game has changed though. In the postseason, you absolutely use your best relievers for more than one inning. During the regular season, do you risk injury or burn out to them by having them pitch multiple innings throughout the season?

Really? Are you not interested in the World Series?

It depends on what the moves are. I don't know what the exact point is. Each move may or may not have a sound rationale behind it. We'll have to wait and see. I am not the type to be overly critical of the Sox in any capacity. I always try to understand the rationale and support that rationale, even if I don't agree with the move. You should know that, as many times as you've called me a homer. Why you think I'm sitting around waiting to pounce on Dombrowski is beyond me. Just because I said that I will be critical if he does a 180 on the philosophy does not mean that I'm hoping for a chance or looking for a reason to hammer him. IMO, the drafting has been fine, as is evidenced by the strong farm system. I agree about the changes in evaluating. I fully understand why Cherington was fired, though I don't necessarily agree with it.

I think, at least hope, it will be a good series. I thought that the Jays would end up winning last night's game after Bautista tied it, but the Royals have been resilient. To me, they look like a championship team. That could change in a heartbeat though. No baseball until Tuesday.

With a little help from a generous strike call on Revere, which changed the whole complexion of that at bat. It might not have changed the outcome of the game or even of the at bat, but I hate to see the umpires take the bat out of a hitter's hands like that.

I know that Yankees and Mets fans hate the other teams. I'm being facetious because I know of at least 2 Yankees fans (out of 5 that I've had any contact with) who have suddenly jumped on the Mets' bandwagon.