I would think with 6 games to go and what appears to be a Jays win tonight (now up 5-0), the Red Sox will indeed take the WC. Being 2.5 up with 6 to go is a nice cushion.
The pitching will not be strong enough to suvive the ALDS or much beyond. I just have so little faith in the staff at this point...I of course hope I'm wrong.
<< <i>I would think with 6 games to go and what appears to be a Jays win tonight (now up 5-0), the Red Sox will indeed take the WC. Being 2.5 up with 6 to go is a nice cushion.
The pitching will not be strong enough to suvive the ALDS or much beyond. I just have so little faith in the staff at this point...I of course hope I'm wrong. >>
Could be a "For Whom The Bell Tolls" day for the Red Sox. A dheader in the Bronx with Wakefield and Uber Toad.
Now with a thin lead of 1.5, today could be make it or break it. Given that the Red Sox end with the O's and the Rays with the Yankees...I think the Os have the Red Sox #. Could be the Yankees don't play all their starters and the Rays like a lion looking for meat and playing very well.
Not feeling to good about this at all...no surprise here if the season gets toasted before game 162.
if the Sox win two vs. the Orioles, they are alive on Thursday. Win one and TB loses one, the Sox are alive on Thursday. I like their chances of playing at least one playoff game this year.
Uber Toad unloads on media before game one yesterday....check out ESPN sports for video. Claims he got a text message about a personal issue prior to the game...looked very upset and kept saying "it's unbelievable that I have to deal with this". Whoa...Toad, it comes with the territory, suck it up and pitch like you're getting paid to pitch...LOOOOOOOOZER.
ok, GAME 1, we get Hunter (4-4), they get Beckett (13-6); GAME 2 we get Britton (11-10), they get Bedard (5-9); GAME 3 (if need be), we get Simon (4-9), they get Lester (15-9)
the other guys, GAME 1, Rays get Noesi (2-1), Yankees get Shields (15-2); GAME 2, Rays get Colon (8-10), they get Hellickson (13-10); GAME 3 Yankees get Price (12-13), Rays (no pitcher announced by Yankees).
The bats gotta get hot, as said all season, Pedroia and Ellsbury can't do it all. Question comes, which Beckett and which Lester show up. Bedard...could be a shaky game with him...I say start Aceves if the season is on the line.
<< <i>Uber Toad unloads on media before game one yesterday....check out ESPN sports for video. Claims he got a text message about a personal issue prior to the game...looked very upset and kept saying "it's unbelievable that I have to deal with this". Whoa...Toad, it comes with the territory, suck it up and pitch like you're getting paid to pitch...LOOOOOOOOZER.
ok, GAME 1, we get Hunter (4-4), they get Beckett (13-6); GAME 2 we get Britton (11-10), they get Bedard (5-9); GAME 3 (if need be), we get Simon (4-9), they get Lester (15-9)
the other guys, GAME 1, Rays get Noesi (2-1), Yankees get Shields (15-2); GAME 2, Rays get Colon (8-10), they get Hellickson (13-10); GAME 3 Yankees get Price (12-13), Rays (no pitcher announced by Yankees).
The bats gotta get hot, as said all season, Pedroia and Ellsbury can't do it all. Question comes, which Beckett and which Lester show up. Bedard...could be a shaky game with him...I say start Aceves if the season is on the line.
Well, Uber Toad shows his true colors...dump the wife with the serious cancer issues...perhaps when she needs you most. What she ever saw in this POS is beyond me, other than a big paycheck. I would write more on this topic, but doubt I'd get past the moderator...assume we're all in a bar and have already had a few and we're discussing this...what a slime to file now. That I thought he sucked, doesn't even scratch the surface of what a TOTAL TURD he really is as a man. LOOOOOOOOOOZZZZZZZER!!!
We can only hope he is gotten rid of, post haste...AND as far as I'm concerned Theo can drive the bus that takes all those sorry A$$eS away from Boston.
<< <i>is it too early to start the offseason thread...
-Will Francoma survive? -Any teams willing to take #41 and CC if the Sox pay a bunch? -Will Theo be working in Chicago soon? >>
I think it's way too early - and are Boston fans really calling for Francona and Theo's head for this? They haven't been responsible for enough success this past decade? We're not done yet, and history will show that Lackey was obviously a bad signing, the jury is out on Crawford, but the injuries to Bucholz (especially) and Dice-K really are to blame. I think if they sneak in to the playoffs though, the Sox will be a whole new team.
the Sox still have a good chance to back into the playoffs. If I was one of the other AL playoff teams, Boston is the team I would want to play in the first round. Easily playing the worst of any team in all of baseball right now.
<<<I think it's way too early - and are Boston fans really calling for Francona and Theo's head for this? They haven't been responsible for enough success this past decade?>>>
IMO, calling for Francona's head is crazy, but Theo not so much. His track record with high-priced free agents is awful, and has been magnified by the Crawford/Lackey debacles of the last 2 years. He's been given a pass because of the 2 World Series titles, but he either A) needs to go, or start marrying the advanced stats that he claims he looks at with dollars that it takes to sign a guy. Plain and simple, he can't keep giving elite money to guys that aren't elite. How John Henry, who has built a financial empire taking advantage of market inefficiencies, continues to allow him to squander millions on free agent busts is beyond me.
I have no idea how ESPN says Boston has a 63% chance of winning the wild card, when they have Bedard and a worn-down Lester (on 3 days rest), and the Rays have Hellickson and Price going. At best, I'd say Boston has a 20% chance of winning the WC right now.
The past is the past...yes we have 2 WS wins, but that was then and this is now. Are we to sit back and pop in a DVD and watch ad nauseum "back in the day"? I say not.
Theo Epstein has single-handedly squandered millions upon millions of John Henry's money acquiring players that turned out to be total duds, losers, Toads, whatever, but they sure as hell didn't pan out as expected. The following list falls directly at the feet of Theo...they all have stories and I won't elaborate. Anyone that has been a Red Sox watcher over the years should be more than familiar with these players. Many are gone, but there are some serious losers welded to the Green Monster surrounds. It will take a good while to unload these creatures who seem to not really GAS about their performance...JD Drew is a case in point...looks like he really could care less...however, I digress...remember these?:
Eric Gagne (galls the hell out of me to know he got a 2004 WS ring;
Edgar Renteria;
Alex Cora;
Nick Green;
Julio Lugo ($35.6m WASTED);
Alex Gonzalez (let go to Toronto by Theo who then hit career high homers);
JD Drew (thanks for the $14m, just passin' through, oh, BTW, hope I'll be huntin' next week on my spread in Valdosta, GA);
Mike Cameron ($18m when more should have gone to #2);
John Lackey (it hurts to type that name...5yrs at $82.5 WHAT A FRIGGIN WASTE!!!!! - I must add this real class guy is dumping his wife who is now suffering from breast cancer..CLASSY John, real Classy) May some miracle take place and you never pitch in Fenway again EVER
Victor Martinez - let go by Theo, and he signed cheap elsewhere;
DiceK (the $100m fisaco);
Bobby Jenks (bozo maximus)
There are more, including Nomar, but you get the idea. I think Theo needs to go.
Anybody miss Justin Masterson?? I sure do!! Thanks Theo, another brilliant move.
Wow. When you spell it out like that, it's tough to argue. He's had a lot of great signings too, if I had time now I'd dig up a list. But you make some good points.
<<<He's had a lot of great signings too, if I had time now I'd dig up a list. >>>
Name one. Trades don't count, so you can't say Adrian Gonzalez. Don't give me Ortiz either, since he signed him to a 1 yr/$1.25 contract with the intent of platooning him with JEREMY GIAMBI. He had no idea that Ortiz would start juiciing and become the clutch hitter he was for 5 years.
Topps - I think you are being a little unfair including scrubs like Cora, Green but the rest are legit. Also Victor didn't go cheap, 4 yr/$50 for a 31-year old catcher. I can't argue with Theo about letting him go. Also unfair to criticize for letting Masterson go, nobody batted an eye when that trade was made for Victor.
But, don't forget his dogged pursuits of Contreras and Pavano, both of whom turned out to be stiffs for the Yankees.
There isn't a single high-priced free agent (avg salary >$5m) that Theo signed that has even come close to earning his salary.
Good luck to y'all the next couple of days. I say that not so much from a selfish standpoint of wanting to play y'all rather than the Rays (although, I will admit that is my preference, even though y'all might just step up and pound the Rangers into oblivion). However, I say that from the fact that the Red Sox have a lot of ardent fans, including a huge thread on this board, and the playoffs would be more nationally exciting with y'all in it, then Tampa. Although you've enjoyed the taste of World Series winning bubbly a couple times the past few years, you are still IMO, a much more deserving franchise than Tampa Bay. With your quirky ballpark that is always filled to capacity, the people of the Boston community support the team far more than the small fan base and support that the Rays have. Heck, I've been to several Rangers games over the years where we played both Boston and New York, and those fan bases were more rabid with their support then the Rangers fans were in their own park. While a lot of that is the bandwagon jumping that happens to winners, a lot of that was diehard support too, and it makes for a fun atmosphere at the park when the Red Sox or Yankees play down here.
<< <i>Everyone in baseball knows about the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry, but I think we need to admit that there is now a significant rivalry with the Rays. >>
But does it go all the way back to the American Revolution days? Just because the Rays just so happen to have been contending for all of four years doesn't make them any sort of real rival. At least not in the sense of Sox-Yanks, Cubs-Sox, Giants-Dodgers, and so on.
Players not playing for the Yankees right now: Cano, Granderson, Jeter, Jones, Montero, Swisher, and Teixeira (who had 5 RBI). Girardi either managed this game terribly or he didn't care if they won or lost. I hope using everyone but Rivera comes back to bite them in the butt somehow.
So many things went wrong. There's so much to say and yet all I feel like saying is that this reminds me of what it used to feel like to be a Red Sox fan before 2004. I almost forgot how much it sucks to feel this way.
<< <i><<<He's had a lot of great signings too, if I had time now I'd dig up a list. >>>
Name one. Trades don't count, so you can't say Adrian Gonzalez. Don't give me Ortiz either, since he signed him to a 1 yr/$1.25 contract with the intent of platooning him with JEREMY GIAMBI. He had no idea that Ortiz would start juiciing and become the clutch hitter he was for 5 years.
Topps - I think you are being a little unfair including scrubs like Cora, Green but the rest are legit. Also Victor didn't go cheap, 4 yr/$50 for a 31-year old catcher. I can't argue with Theo about letting him go. Also unfair to criticize for letting Masterson go, nobody batted an eye when that trade was made for Victor.
But, don't forget his dogged pursuits of Contreras and Pavano, both of whom turned out to be stiffs for the Yankees.
There isn't a single high-priced free agent (avg salary >$5m) that Theo signed that has even come close to earning his salary. >>
um, Adrian Beltre? Signed for $9m and posted $28M worth of value last year. There might not be more high profile players, but smaller signings such as Mike Timlin and Okajima would be two more successful signings off of the top of my head. I know you guys hate J.D. Drew, but he posted $58.8M worth of value over his Red Sox career (all things added with baserunning and defense) so if it weren't for this season ($0.8M value) he would have actually came pretty close to reaching his 5/$70MM contract like it or not. Not trading ManRam and Lester to TEX for A-rod should top your list of his best moves. Regardless of his FA signings, it would be pretty difficult and wildly unfair to analyze his tenure without factoring in his drafting record
2005-Jonathan Papelbon 2006-Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester 2007-Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz 2008-Justin Masterson 2009-Daniel Bard
or his trading record for that matter. Anyway, there are 26-28 other teams that would be happy to take him off of your hands. Even with the Lugo, Renteria, DiceK, Lackey etc signings. He's still a top 5 GM...and unlike Andrew Freidman, he isn't cashing in on the work that Gerry Hunsicker did before he arrived.
Well guys, Dandy Don and the Fat Lady have sung. This loss will probably go down as the September Implosion. This is right up there with the Bucky Dent moment. Won 7, LOST 20...in the vernacular of my beloved New England...wicked bad
I could post stats, but to what point? Let all those sabermetric fanatics (like Theo), chew on the numbers for a while...the team just went rapidly downhill and lost total control of their fate. Changes ahead me thinks!!!
Gotta hand it to the Rays and the Orioles. They hustled and clearly outplayed their opponents when it counted.
So...Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. CYA next year.
Adrian Beltre was a 1-year stopgap measure, I don't count that. If he truly thought Beltre was great, he would have given him a long-term deal instead of a 1-year deal, waited for Ortiz' deal to expire this year, and made Youk a full-time DH, while Adrian Gonzalez played 1st. Although, to be honest, I agreed with the 1-year deal, because I always thought Beltre was a dog that only played during contract years. This year he proved me (and Theo) wrong.
I will give Theo full credit for his drafting skills, he is excellent at it. But guys like Lackey, Crawford, and Drew played in the major leagues for 7+ years, and he missed on all of them. You'd think being able to evaluate a player that has faced major league competition would be easier to do, but clearly it is a weak spot for him.
I guess Theo visits the same web site you do to determine % of contract earned because he said the same thing you just did about Drew. While Drew is good defensively, and perhaps doesn't run into outs, I want to punch something when I hear that Drew nearly lived up to his contract. Frankly, I can't remember a single defensive play that stands our for me that he made in his 5 years here. Not a diving catch in the gap, not robbing someone of a home run, not throwing out a runner in a key game. I didn't realize being fundamentally sound (but not exceptional) defensively and on the basepaths warranted $14m/year.
<<<and it's now time to move on to try and rescue Brady (with his new haircut) >>>
I know you meant this as a joke, but unfortunately for too many New England/Boston fans, that is a serious point of discussion.
If anything comes out of this Red Sox collapse, it is that it will snap Boston fans out of their complacency. We need a good come-uppance every so often (hopefully not too often) to really appreciate the winning we've enjoyed for the past decade.
I miss the days when the panic button was always within arm's reach.
Indians are glad they got Masterson....hopefully he continues to pitch next year and so on for the Tribe. Sorry to hear the sox lost, well maybe not that sorry since my only experiences in the past with Red Sox nation was one that really turned me off....anyways, I just wish the Yankees had gone into the toilet along with them and I'm not even a Rays fan. Unfortunately lack of pitching did the sox in, they need to get some more starters. Can't win with just two quality starters.
Comments
The pitching will not be strong enough to suvive the ALDS or much beyond. I just have so little faith in the staff at this point...I of course hope I'm wrong.
<< <i>I would think with 6 games to go and what appears to be a Jays win tonight (now up 5-0), the Red Sox will indeed take the WC. Being 2.5 up with 6 to go is a nice cushion.
The pitching will not be strong enough to suvive the ALDS or much beyond. I just have so little faith in the staff at this point...I of course hope I'm wrong. >>
We all feel that way but the facts are the facts.
The way they are going today (8-0) maybe the rays or angels will end up in a tie and the red sox will be looking up at them.
Now with a thin lead of 1.5, today could be make it or break it. Given that the Red Sox end with the O's and the Rays with the Yankees...I think the Os have the Red Sox #. Could be the Yankees don't play all their starters and the Rays like a lion looking for meat and playing very well.
Not feeling to good about this at all...no surprise here if the season gets toasted before game 162.
I'm with you on that. It all depends on Wakefield today as Lackluster is going to lose no matter what he does.
-Will Francoma survive?
-Any teams willing to take #41 and CC if the Sox pay a bunch?
-Will Theo be working in Chicago soon?
Mike
Don't hope for the Yankees bench players to beat Tampa.
ok, GAME 1, we get Hunter (4-4), they get Beckett (13-6); GAME 2 we get Britton (11-10), they get Bedard (5-9); GAME 3 (if need be), we get Simon (4-9), they get Lester (15-9)
the other guys, GAME 1, Rays get Noesi (2-1), Yankees get Shields (15-2); GAME 2, Rays get Colon (8-10), they get Hellickson (13-10); GAME 3 Yankees get Price (12-13), Rays (no pitcher announced by Yankees).
The bats gotta get hot, as said all season, Pedroia and Ellsbury can't do it all. Question comes, which Beckett and which Lester show up. Bedard...could be a shaky game with him...I say start Aceves if the season is on the line.
Oh, in the off season, trade Theo.
<< <i>Uber Toad unloads on media before game one yesterday....check out ESPN sports for video. Claims he got a text message about a personal issue prior to the game...looked very upset and kept saying "it's unbelievable that I have to deal with this". Whoa...Toad, it comes with the territory, suck it up and pitch like you're getting paid to pitch...LOOOOOOOOZER.
ok, GAME 1, we get Hunter (4-4), they get Beckett (13-6); GAME 2 we get Britton (11-10), they get Bedard (5-9); GAME 3 (if need be), we get Simon (4-9), they get Lester (15-9)
the other guys, GAME 1, Rays get Noesi (2-1), Yankees get Shields (15-2); GAME 2, Rays get Colon (8-10), they get Hellickson (13-10); GAME 3 Yankees get Price (12-13), Rays (no pitcher announced by Yankees).
The bats gotta get hot, as said all season, Pedroia and Ellsbury can't do it all. Question comes, which Beckett and which Lester show up. Bedard...could be a shaky game with him...I say start Aceves if the season is on the line.
Oh, in the off season, trade Theo. >>
Toads personal issue........what a guy!
"If I ever decided to do a book, I've already got the title-The Bases Were Loaded and So Was I"-Jim Fregosi
I cant believe he would divorce his wife while she is going through this.
Fine to go through it after she is over it but not in the middle of it no matter what the problem is between them.
What ever happened to your wedding vows.
All I have to say is "WOW".
Trade him to the Montreal expos even though they don't exist any more.
As far as I am concerned he doesn't exist anyway.
Of course we do not know what has transpired between them since they got married.
It may have been a mutual thing.
Lets hope so as we still have 3 more years of him as no one will want him.
We can only hope he is gotten rid of, post haste...AND as far as I'm concerned Theo can drive the bus that takes all those sorry A$$eS away from Boston.
<< <i>is it too early to start the offseason thread...
-Will Francoma survive?
-Any teams willing to take #41 and CC if the Sox pay a bunch?
-Will Theo be working in Chicago soon? >>
I think it's way too early - and are Boston fans really calling for Francona and Theo's head for this? They haven't been responsible for enough success this past decade? We're not done yet, and history will show that Lackey was obviously a bad signing, the jury is out on Crawford, but the injuries to Bucholz (especially) and Dice-K really are to blame. I think if they sneak in to the playoffs though, the Sox will be a whole new team.
IMO, calling for Francona's head is crazy, but Theo not so much. His track record with high-priced free agents is awful, and has been magnified by the Crawford/Lackey debacles of the last 2 years. He's been given a pass because of the 2 World Series titles, but he either A) needs to go, or
I have no idea how ESPN says Boston has a 63% chance of winning the wild card, when they have Bedard and a worn-down Lester (on 3 days rest), and the Rays have Hellickson and Price going. At best, I'd say Boston has a 20% chance of winning the WC right now.
Theo Epstein has single-handedly squandered millions upon millions of John Henry's money acquiring players that turned out to be total duds, losers, Toads, whatever, but they sure as hell didn't pan out as expected. The following list falls directly at the feet of Theo...they all have stories and I won't elaborate. Anyone that has been a Red Sox watcher over the years should be more than familiar with these players. Many are gone, but there are some serious losers welded to the Green Monster surrounds. It will take a good while to unload these creatures who seem to not really GAS about their performance...JD Drew is a case in point...looks like he really could care less...however, I digress...remember these?:
Eric Gagne (galls the hell out of me to know he got a 2004 WS ring;
Edgar Renteria;
Alex Cora;
Nick Green;
Julio Lugo ($35.6m WASTED);
Alex Gonzalez (let go to Toronto by Theo who then hit career high homers);
JD Drew (thanks for the $14m, just passin' through, oh, BTW, hope I'll be huntin' next week on my spread in Valdosta, GA);
Mike Cameron ($18m when more should have gone to #2);
John Lackey (it hurts to type that name...5yrs at $82.5 WHAT A FRIGGIN WASTE!!!!! - I must add this real class guy is dumping his wife who is now suffering from breast cancer..CLASSY John, real Classy) May some miracle take place and you never pitch in Fenway again EVER
Victor Martinez - let go by Theo, and he signed cheap elsewhere;
DiceK (the $100m fisaco);
Bobby Jenks (bozo maximus)
There are more, including Nomar, but you get the idea. I think Theo needs to go.
Anybody miss Justin Masterson?? I sure do!! Thanks Theo, another brilliant move.
Name one. Trades don't count, so you can't say Adrian Gonzalez. Don't give me Ortiz either, since he signed him to a 1 yr/$1.25 contract with the intent of platooning him with JEREMY GIAMBI. He had no idea that Ortiz would start juiciing and become the clutch hitter he was for 5 years.
Topps - I think you are being a little unfair including scrubs like Cora, Green but the rest are legit. Also Victor didn't go cheap, 4 yr/$50 for a 31-year old catcher. I can't argue with Theo about letting him go. Also unfair to criticize for letting Masterson go, nobody batted an eye when that trade was made for Victor.
But, don't forget his dogged pursuits of Contreras and Pavano, both of whom turned out to be stiffs for the Yankees.
There isn't a single high-priced free agent (avg salary >$5m) that Theo signed that has even come close to earning his salary.
Good luck, I hope y'all advance to the playoffs.
Mike
<< <i>Everyone in baseball knows about the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry, but I think we need to admit that there is now a significant rivalry with the Rays.
But does it go all the way back to the American Revolution days? Just because the Rays just so happen to have been contending for all of four years doesn't make them any sort of real rival. At least not in the sense of Sox-Yanks, Cubs-Sox, Giants-Dodgers, and so on.
Dimes: 54S, 53P, 50P, 49S, 45D+S, 44S, 43D, 41S, 40D+S, 39D+S, 38D+S, 37D+S, 36S, 35D+S, all 16-34's
Quarters: 52S, 47S, 46S, 40S, 39S, 38S, 37D+S, 36D+S, 35D, 34D, 32D+S
74 Topps: 37,38,46,47,48,138,151,193,210,214,223,241,256,264,268,277,289,316,435,552,570,577,592,602,610,654,655
1997 Finest silver: 115, 135, 139, 145, 310
1995 Ultra Gold Medallion Sets: Golden Prospects, HR Kings, On-Base Leaders, Power Plus, RBI Kings, Rising Stars
But now it's 7-6 Yanks? WTF? I mean, at least don't make it look so obvious.
I'm angry.
As I said 2 weeks ago, its wait until next year.
I hope we see a lot less of a lot more than Drew.
<< <i><<<He's had a lot of great signings too, if I had time now I'd dig up a list. >>>
Name one. Trades don't count, so you can't say Adrian Gonzalez. Don't give me Ortiz either, since he signed him to a 1 yr/$1.25 contract with the intent of platooning him with JEREMY GIAMBI. He had no idea that Ortiz would start juiciing and become the clutch hitter he was for 5 years.
Topps - I think you are being a little unfair including scrubs like Cora, Green but the rest are legit. Also Victor didn't go cheap, 4 yr/$50 for a 31-year old catcher. I can't argue with Theo about letting him go. Also unfair to criticize for letting Masterson go, nobody batted an eye when that trade was made for Victor.
But, don't forget his dogged pursuits of Contreras and Pavano, both of whom turned out to be stiffs for the Yankees.
There isn't a single high-priced free agent (avg salary >$5m) that Theo signed that has even come close to earning his salary. >>
um, Adrian Beltre? Signed for $9m and posted $28M worth of value last year. There might not be more high profile players, but smaller signings such as Mike Timlin and Okajima would be two more successful signings off of the top of my head. I know you guys hate J.D. Drew, but he posted $58.8M worth of value over his Red Sox career (all things added with baserunning and defense) so if it weren't for this season ($0.8M value) he would have actually came pretty close to reaching his 5/$70MM contract like it or not. Not trading ManRam and Lester to TEX for A-rod should top your list of his best moves. Regardless of his FA signings, it would be pretty difficult and wildly unfair to analyze his tenure without factoring in his drafting record
2005-Jonathan Papelbon
2006-Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester
2007-Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz
2008-Justin Masterson
2009-Daniel Bard
or his trading record for that matter. Anyway, there are 26-28 other teams that would be happy to take him off of your hands. Even with the Lugo, Renteria, DiceK, Lackey etc signings. He's still a top 5 GM...and unlike Andrew Freidman, he isn't cashing in on the work that Gerry Hunsicker did before he arrived.
I could post stats, but to what point? Let all those sabermetric fanatics (like Theo), chew on the numbers for a while...the team just went rapidly downhill and lost total control of their fate. Changes ahead me thinks!!!
Gotta hand it to the Rays and the Orioles. They hustled and clearly outplayed their opponents when it counted.
So...Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. CYA next year.
BE WELL !!
Al
I will give Theo full credit for his drafting skills, he is excellent at it. But guys like Lackey, Crawford, and Drew played in the major leagues for 7+ years, and he missed on all of them. You'd think being able to evaluate a player that has faced major league competition would be easier to do, but clearly it is a weak spot for him.
I guess Theo visits the same web site you do to determine % of contract earned because he said the same thing you just did about Drew. While Drew is good defensively, and perhaps doesn't run into outs, I want to punch something when I hear that Drew nearly lived up to his contract. Frankly, I can't remember a single defensive play that stands our for me that he made in his 5 years here. Not a diving catch in the gap, not robbing someone of a home run, not throwing out a runner in a key game. I didn't realize being fundamentally sound (but not exceptional) defensively and on the basepaths warranted $14m/year.
Sorry guys, tough way to end the season.
However, when I saw Ron "Eric Mangini" Burgundy make this prediction, I knew the Sox were in trouble.....
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
May this thread R.I.P. and it's now time to move on to try and rescue Brady (with his new haircut) and the Patriots.
I know you meant this as a joke, but unfortunately for too many New England/Boston fans, that is a serious point of discussion.
If anything comes out of this Red Sox collapse, it is that it will snap Boston fans out of their complacency. We need a good come-uppance every so often (hopefully not too often) to really appreciate the winning we've enjoyed for the past decade.
I miss the days when the panic button was always within arm's reach.