SinceYaz

There ya go! I love all this little stories about him trickling out like that. Eduardo was saying all sorts of things about him in ST...

He doesn't think he needs a poker face ... he has that outathisworld curve. I have to say, while he's wearing thin on me, tonight was far better ....

I think his plus plus attitude has been great for the rest of the staff. Especially the younger ones.

In our recent history, to support your point, see a fella named Pedro. He was a terrific pitcher not just ... but then I don't have to tell anyone here that.

S5 .... the other one who is having these early season struggles is with the Diamondbacks ... his situation is worse. He's just as much a fore sure ace as Price. Zack Greinke is 2-2, ERA of 5 and a half ... I DO think that Price's being here had taken a load off of Porcello, though. He can just be himself and not overpitch. He ain't too bad, just being himself. I have little doubt Price will come around. But you know me. Optimism overload.

Thank you sir. We MUST be related. Resident old fart ... OFS ... a term I use when I warn youngsters when they reminisce and I join in. Old Fart Stories ...

Thanks! Things are going quite well. I usually troll - uh - stroll through when I get home. Love your avatar!

Glad to be here. Your are words kind. It is good to be with folks who are FOR the Sox! My contributions may be somewhat limited now. My leg has healed well enough that I've been given the green light to go back to work! Good news! Bad news? I work 2nd shift. Good news? I can still follow on my tablet!

Heh, thanks ... I don't recall the games, before my time. Baseball, Bosox and I met in 1962. First grade, first full year in country.

JF screwed the line up again, eh? Oh, wait .....

Thank you for the clarification.

I concur completely. Yaz and the triple crown, the Impossible Dream ... I had a morning paper route, so I was always available to follow the games. My best friend had an afternoon route, so he sometimes had a conflict. Sometimes we had the radio going while we played homerun derby with whiffle balls. I am getting mixed memories .... Yaz in 1971, "The Summer of '42, (Hellooooo Jennifer O'Neill)"

Ahhhh Here I find that some stats are obviously flawed. Or at least don't tell the whole story. I saw several of these folks play and can tell you there is no way Reggie Smith, much as I liked him, was better than Manny, just the first of several I would disagree with. Do the ratings include all the years they were a Sox only?

Excellent parallel ... I don't know what more to say about Papi. Lighting struck. Several times. Pedro. Manny. Then Papi. I know there were other key pieces, but Papi did not make it happen all by himself ... this isn't tennis or golf. All the pieces had to come together. (No duh) That doesn't in any way take away from what he has done. It only embellishes it. We now know what it feels like to be on the other side of "Yaz pops up," "Bucky F'n Dent," and so on. Going out on his terms is poetically perfect. The couple seasons that were effected by hand injuries had some malcontents calling for his removal. Poor saps ... they neither enjoyed Papi nor his immense impact on the team every year. Isn't it something that we actually had "fans" that were constantly down playing his marvelous-ness? Like Ted, there won't be another Papi. I will close by saying that there is at least one more thing about the teams with Papi. My dad took us, as many as 8 of us, family and my friends, to Fenway, from '64 to '70. We loved every one of the trips. But there was nothing like sharing 2004 with Dad from a distance and 2007 with Dad as we watched the Sox together. Dad was born in 1917 ... those were joyous times and we had a blast sharing them! Dad didn't make it to the third act, 2013. But we had the other two, plus all the plenty of memories from '62 on. Talking Ted with Dad was wistful. Living Papi with Dad was beyond words... How could I be more thankful than either one? Papi was more fun ... a whole lot more fun.

You're saying sooooo much that is very reminiscent of another team's situation ... won't mention which. ) Big contracts ... big drags on so many other things. The need to stay near championship form makes folks do certain things that are often later regretted. (I won't lie, I wanted Tex and ARod ... I was stupid and didn't know better.) We got out of one set of overpays ... and Pablo and Hanley came along. Hanley seems to be well on the way to redeeming himself. Pablo is becoming the incredible - not shrinking - invisible man. Porcello had a terrible first half but is becoming almost all I had hoped for. Price? Working out kinks ... I hope. But his being here has relieved the others from having to be aces and now can pitch within themselves. Clay is still doing that ... Reboot ... not easy, but we know what it could mean. A couple of uneasy years, at least. Not being relevant is hard to take. How Cashman rebuilt your farm so fast is remarkable. But I can tell you, as much as I love our young talent, if one isn't patient (more time) they won't seem like a bright future as much as another failed present.

I cannot disagree with you, sir. He does seem to get the most out of a scrap heap. His predecessor had talent all over the place and therefore we chased you often. I look at the Yanquis when they are down and always cast a wary eye their way. I have no doubt that the offense will start to warm up. There is no way they all stay below or at the Mendoza ... I do think they are truly showing age, but then Papi and Koji are ....

His wording reminded me quite a bit of JF in 2014... He is still honorable in his presentation.

Thanks for all fields covered, S&C. We, the good wife and I, concur about both of the "boys"... I was a dad by 24, then at 28. But we aren't pushing them. I yield to the good intentions of the mod. The old BDC forum had countless repetitive, and worse, trolling threads.... I will attempt to reconstruct my creativity in other ways.

Let's just hope that Big Papi's kids don't decapitate his breathless head, stick it in a freezer and argue over his estate in the embarrassing children of the Splendid Splinter did .... Teddy cannot really be placed second. But Teddy would have given his left n+t to have even just one of Papi's 3 WS rings. I can't properly qualify the distinction ... I am just glad to have witnessed Big Papi. I missed out on Teddy.

On the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast (May 1), Hanley was being interviewed ... and I have to admit his personality was quite winning, happy and such. I mention this because he was asked if they (his teammates) were trying to talk Papi into not retiring. He said every day they were all trying to talk him into staying. The clubhouse seems like a happy, hungry place. David seems to be given a lot of credit for that. Winning surely helps.

Max, We've faced a few lefties, but the Yanquis have faced like 10 or 11 lefty starters and Skipper Joe was wondering out loud before the 2nd game at the Fens why they are facing so many. He too thought maybe it would balance out over the long haul, but right now they have had their fill of lefties ... poor little fellas.

I'm probably stepping over a line here somewhere. It might be considered gloating or some such terrible thing. Consider it your Skipper Joe's fault. So often he has the poker face on. The look on his face tonight when Betances offered up a gopher ball to Vazquez was priceless. It's been a rough patch lately for you Yanqui fans. We understand that, well. Now that you're away from the Fens, perhaps your luck will change. I never count ya'll out.

Gonna be a good game! We go in feeling pretty good. I just hope I don't have to hear Hawk talk about the "Carmines"

15-10 ... Starters are getting better. Price must be really po'd at himself, but the team bailed him out. Clay is the weak link, obviously. But after tonight, again ... I have a feeling that there are few on the pitching staff that fear putting up poor numbers and not getting baled out. Price I see getting straightened out. Clay not so much. What a pleasure to watch Wright and Porcello do so well. JKelly and ERod are going to put Clay on the shelf. Unless ... he begins to improve immediately. It's early, but welcome to first place!

Max, I could be wrong, but I don't think Xander has been thrown out ... not just this season but all of last. Mookie is choosing better times to run. But I heartily agree with you and am enjoying it completely. It seems to have given new basepath life to HanRam, too. Hardly make a mistake as a team. It is a blast. I like the fact that it even has the other teams announcers bothered. They are almost trying to get their team to catch a hint from them ...