moonslav59

Actually, it's probably more accurate o say he spent that money on Victorino, Napoli (1st & 2nd signings), Dempster, Drew, AJ P, Mujica and other minor signings from 2013 to 2014, but your point is well taken, The fact is, we've failed pretty miserably at signing FAs, especially big named ones. If one looks at the record or most big signings, only a handful could be called big successes from the team's standpoint.

The guy had one of the most grueling off season workout regiments in MLB. I think that's what made him so good with the Rays, but if you look closely at his numbers, even with the Rays, he was always awful vs LHPs. That's why I called him a "glorified platoon player" when we signed him. I also said his contract would "cripple us for years to come". Luckily, Ben found a way to undo Theo's biggest mistake.

These are probably our deadline options: 1) stand pat and pray one our our many mediocre or worse starters catches on fire 2) trade (overpay) for a 4th/5th starter type that may or may not end up being better than option A 3) trade (way overpay) for a good pitcher who is clearly better than our #4/5 starter, but who is only under team control for 2+ months. 4) trade the farm for a controllable SP'er that is a solid #1 or #2 or top #3 type. I'm always for upgrading the rotation near the top, but I'm just not sure any of the above options appeals to me.

I don't think this helps our position one bit, but if you do.... http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills Most demanding sports: 1) Boxing 2) Ice Hockey 3) Football 4) Basketball 5) Wrestling 6) Martial Arts 7) Tennis 8) Gymnastics 9) Baseball/Softball 10) Soccer and... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/832927-what-is-the-worlds-toughest-sport/page/12 Youghest sports... 1) Water Polo 2) Aussie Rules 3) Boxing 4) Rugby 5) Ice Hockey 6) Football 7) Hurling 8) Basketball 9) Gymnastics 10) Gaelic Football 11) Soccer/Tennis 13) Ironman Triathlon Again, this isn't my choice of proving anything, but neither is ghost busters, errr, I mean Myth Busters.

Yeah, I mean no Myth Busters references so no legitimacy.

Yes, and I'm fine with that angle, since I was referring to Papi's physical issues. I still think injuries are more likely in the NBA, especially if you are not in good shape. I think a significant amount of baseball injuries are due to the fact that players do not need to be in good shape to be good at it, so they tweek hammies and backs, and groins, and...

For Papi, it doesn't matter which one, but I was intending to mean Physical fitness needed to play the game well- injuries were secondary but focused on foot stress.

Can't be much worse than what we've had so far.

We play in a hitter's park. I'm not trying to say our pitching is fine as is, because I think it needs a serious upgrade, but it's not as bad as ERA shows it is: 17th ERA- at 101 15th WHIP at 1.31 14th in SIERA at 4.07 Now, if we breakdown our SP'er numbers: 18th ERA- at 108 15th in WHIP at 1.34 19th in SIERA at 4.38 Bad, but still not bottom third in MLB. I went through the rosters of all the teams that look like they may be serious sellers this July, and I couldn't find anyone I felt would be the type of guy we need AND who could realistically get without giving up too much of our future. I hope we don't settle on a band-aid pitcher for a very good prospect or two.

the NBA. But, in the context of Papi's situation, I can't see him running up and down the court with NBA players. Playing any MLB position, other than maybe catcher and pitcher, would rank as less physically demanding than the NBA. Out of all positions in the 4 major sports, in my opinion, only punter and placekicker rank as less demanding positions than DH.

This topic has gotten off course. This all was started in the context of Papi playing DH vs other major sports (in general- not specific positions) and how it relates to his injuries. . I meant it in the context of Papi playing DH in MLB vs another major sport (other than maybe as a punter or place kicker). I was too vague in my initial statement and have been roasted alive with tangents and semantics. Only a few have actually responded to the, what I felt was obvious, intent of my statement.

I lived in the Portland area most of my life.

Yeah, playing baseball is a horrible grind and is much more physically demanding than other major sports. You guys win. Those football players are woosies. I mean, only 16 games!

Oh, Mythbusters is absolutely factual in every sense. I said baseball "In general", not the hardest position in every sport. Man, you guys like to nit-pick. Hitting is a very difficult skill to master, but that's not the same as saying it is "physically demanding". I've said I erred in the wording of my initial statement, but if you want to roast me alive for that, then have fun.

Now, who is talking in absolutes?

I should have been clearer when I said "easiest sport in the world", that I meant major 4 sports, but just to be clear, are you saying major league baseball, in general, is a more physically demanding sport than the NFL, NBA and NHL?

Sorry. Newbie mistake.

How quickly he fell.

So, what you're saying is that Erik Johnson can throw stirkes? And I'm unrealistic to think 2 from Owens, Johnson or Kopech is so wildly worse than Erik J? Have you looked at Erik's numbers? Here, I'll do the legwork for you: 4.5 BB/9 rate career in 98 IP (3.4 in AAA) 1.57 WHIP career (1.34 AAA) Owens: 4.4 BB/9 in 75 IP (4.3 in AAA/3.7 AA) 1.49 WHIP (1.207 in AAA/ 1.12 AA) Maybe 2 of these guys are not equal to Erik, but it's got to be close. In 2014, Erik had a 6.98 ERA in AAA. He pitched much better in 2015, but this guy is not clearly better than 2 from Owens, Johnson and Kopech.

I didn't say baseball was the easiest to be good at or master. It's the easiest to play, in terms of physical demands, especially in the context of foot injuries and being a DH. Would Papi fair better in skates playing in the NHL? How about any position, excpet kicker in the NFL? NBA? I think speaking in absolutes here is not being ignorant.

Then why not take your chances on 10+ years of control with both Owens and Johnson or maybe even Kopech instead of one?

I do recall the steep decline of Jim Rice, but in no way do I define him by his last year or two. Does anyone define Schilling by his 2008 season? I don't. He got paid $8M to not even play. Yes, it would be sad to see Papi bat .225 with 10 HRs in 450 PAs next season, but I seriously doubt anyone would look at his career and see that as a significant event. Besides, it's all about his choice, and if he's firm about the choice he made last winter, I'm not going to argue with that choice. My position is that the Sox should go out of their way to make him feel welcome to come back, if HE CHOOSES to. If the first overtures are rebuffed, then of course we respect his choice and go out of our way to plan the best send-off any Boston athlete has ever experienced.

Yeah, and I'm the "ignoarnt" one. I hope you're being sarcastic, but a significant percentage of injuries are from guys running to 1B in a straight line. It's really not even close. Football, Basketball and Hockey are much more physically demanding and in many cases involve violent collisions on a regular basis- not once every 5-10 games.

It would be his choice to weigh the risks vs the possible massive enjoyment of having a similar year to this one so far. The fact is, people here have said "I want him to retire". I'm wondering if BILL805 is on this site.

I played baseball, football, basketball and hockey maybe about 300 days a year until I was in my late 20's (mostly baseball and basketball after 21). I played some soccer, raquetball and volleyball as well, but I was talking about the 4 major sports when I said baseball was the "easiest". I guess I was assuming that was implied. Golf, car racing and other mentions are games or hobbies to me- not really sports, but I don't want to get into semantics or arguments about what we should call a sport or not. It's not even close: baseball is by far the easiest sport. Okay, maybe a couple positions are demanding and might be harder than being a placekicker in footb, and if you want to go down that road to prove I was wrong, feel free to go there. Overall, baseball is a cakewalk over any other major sport, especially physically, and that's what we were discussing with Papi and his feet. I never claimed MLB wasn't a mental grind. As much as I played baseball over my life, I never became a very good hitter. Hitting a round ball going 80+ mph with a rounded bat is an exercise in futility. I marvel at the skills of guys like Papi. I realize it takes work, but the work is not as physically demanding as being great at other major sports. Papi is not a pitcher or a catcher. When he does play in the field, he plays 1B- the second most easy position next to DH. I don't say this to try and minimize the pain Papi might feel just walking to the plate. It was meant to put his situation in perspective. Only Papi and his doctors know just how bad his feet are. Like I've said all along, if they are in that bad of shape, then the argument is essentially over, unless Papi chooses to continue to play through pain due to feeling the enjoyment of the game outweighs the pain. If his pain is as bad as many of you seem to think it is, then I guess he should have retired last year or the year before. This season is evidence that Papi enjoys the game enough to play one more season- at least. I don't understand why my position of wanting us to just offer him a tremendous offer and let him decide has been met with such ferocious opposition.