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The 2016 Boston Red Sox

MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
Somebody had to start it, won't be long. AND, I'm gonna get the baseball package this year, I think they really have a shot at it. Make no mistake, if Walrus and HanRam begin to stink, I will post accordingly...hopefully not.
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Comments

  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I knew you would not be able to resist starting this thread.Hope they have better luck this time around. I always get the baseball package so will be watching faithfully. Supposedly walrus has been on a diet so we shall see what he does but I have no faith in han ram being able to handle 1st base but hope I am wrong.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    No lack of patience here...I thought you were gonna kick off the season.



    BTW...dump the Geppeto thing, at least use a Red Sox logo.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I forgot how to change it back! I'll work on it.
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,340 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm not even thinking of the Sox until the Pats season is over, win or lose. Nice to see this thread started though, hope all is well AL
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey Paul...



    Wish I had more exuberance over the Pat's. Can't figure their last couple of games...they better bring their A-game next week, or I think their season may be over.



    All is good on this end. Going to Vegas next week to see Celine Dion...and have a 2-week Italy trip on the horizon a few months out. I was at a North Carolina casino for New Year's...the noise and crowd was crazy!



    Big change for you with regard to snow from this year to last. Finally some cold weather in Atlanta, nice to have a fireplace. Summers here are nasty hot with humidity.



    Happy New Year !!



    Al
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey Steve...the $ is fine, anything but the other one! image
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,340 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Al so far so good with the weather but I'm still bracing for the impact because this winter has so far been a mirror image of last year before the snow hit brutally in late January, the 25th if I remember correctly so we are not even close to bein in the clear. Glad to hear all is well my friend!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just to clarify the Celine thing...it was my Christmas present to my wife. She's been wanting to see her for years. So, Wednesday night we'll be at Caesar's for the show.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Sounds like a Christmas gift right up your alley.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I might be able to squeeze in a little time at the tables playing blackjack. image
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Too bad you did not get in touch with me when you were out here I could have shown you how to count cards.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What makes you think I don't count cards? Ever hear of K-O blackjack?



    At your former job site (Rte 66 in Rio Puerco), I won $1.6k in about 45 minutes and left. I played next to that rag single deck 6:5 table at a $25 table with a guy who had no clue about Surrender. After I Surrendered the first time, he asked the dealer..."what was that?"...she then explained the rule and he responded with "Gee, I didn't know you had that here". Doofus loooozer.



    I won over $3k at Sandia.



    Overall, a very nice trip, thanks, I do pretty good with my skills. I'd post some pics of the stacks of chips I won at both places, but this is the Sports page, not a gambling page. I think the Rio Puerco chips are very cool with the "Route 66" logo. Sandia's chips are kinda dull and boring...but, they all work at the cage.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    The only trouble with Sandia is the smoke is so thick in there that you can't breath. Route 66 has high ceilings and good ventilation.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    How you went from card counting to air conditioning is beyond me.



    Suffice it to say, I play a pretty good game of blackjack, BUT, I quickly leave smoky tables. Especially the clowns that smoke cigars.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I belive in being comfortable when I play and the smile bothers me. Card counting is an art and if you overstay your welcome they kick you out.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Played in Bellagio and MGM Grand...both pretty smoke free, unless you have a bozo at the table. Hit a $2.5k slot at MGM Grand...now I gotta deal with a W2-G...still nice to hit it.



    BTW, I don't particularly think card counting is the answer to a successful gaming trip playing BJ. Card counting merely gives you an indication of the deck composition in terms of high value cards vs low value cards, no more, no less. Just because the deck may be rich in high value cards, there's no guarantee they will come to you as opposed to the guy next to you, or two spots over, even the dealer. I've seem a lot of dummies win when while making incredibly bad moves, yet catch the right cards. I have a different viewpoint, which has been pretty successful for me over the years.



    Celine was fabulous and worth every penny. Sadly, her husband died the next morning and her brother yesterday AM. That lady has a lot on her plate !!



  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    OK crying time is over for the Patriots so now it's time to focus on the Red Sox.
    Do you feel that panda and han-ram have lost enough weight to help them and the sox this year or do they still even have enough left to help some other team?
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have no clue how much weight either of these clowns have lost, nor do I care.



    My issues IS, and always has been the stupidity of guaranteeing enormous salaries to unproven future performance. It is clear that neither The Walrus or Hanram had their heads in the game last year, knowing their coin was coming rain or shine. It's the mentality of the player, the hubris that creeps into their brains thinking they're better than they really are and don't really have to produce...after all, they have enough money to live like kings for the rest of their lives. Kindofa screw you, I got mine.



    Aside from the obscene salaries, I doubt Hanram at first and El Gordo Hombre still floundering at 3rd will not benefit the Red Sox. The idiot that signed these two is gone, and for good reason. So what if they pop a home run here and there, it's consistency that's lacking and the overall esprit de corps...play for the glory of the game and the team.



    I think the Red Sox have a better than fair shot this season, but I won't hold my breath on BO and ZO, the BOZO boys that we're stuck with. I can only hope John Henry will jettison these two, and as unceremoniously as he did to Don Orsillo.



    As for the Patriot's...where was the offensive line??? Had it not been for a blown PAT, the ending could have been a classic Brady thriller with the Gronk TD so late in the game. An overtime thriller was at hand, but not to be.



    Carolina by at least 10.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Truck leaving Fenway today with 20,400 baseballs. That should be enough to get them going!
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I give up on this forum! Everybody wants to talk football and spring trying is upon us. I'm sick of hearing about Manziel and Manning already. Baseball is in the air guys!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, Pit...I responded to your fatso ? shortly after you posted it...like an hour or so, and you didn't respond. How in God's name am I, or anyone else supposed to know how much weight El Gordo and LoserRam lost? AND, why should I care? They're uber-millionaires who have been mailing it in...and I WILL HAMMER THEM AGAIN this year if they play as poorly as last, so, get ready.



    AND, you gotta write something a bit more enticing than 20,400 baseballs leaving Fenway Park. A thought provoking post might generate responses...BUT, if you gotta go, go.



    BTW, Manziel and Manning are the current topics, NOT baseball or the Red Sox, or any truck driving down I-95 with a bajillion boxes of baseballs.



    C'mon!!
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Ram and fatso are both losers as far as I am concerned. Why wait to hammer them as if they play even I will not watch this year as I do have other things to do with my time besides spend 3 hours a day on tv. I will spend my time working on the most important election of my lifetime to make America great again.
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,340 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hanley Ramirez is going to be the same old lazy not a care in the world ball player this year as he was last year. The guy simply don't care enough about the game after he gets paid and is straight up lazy. He reminds me a lot of JD Drew except way more lazy
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Fortunately the idiot who dumped the two BO-ZOs on the Red Sox has been fired...that would be one Ben Cherington. He completed the trifecta with Theo, who brought us the disaster known as DiceK, who probably now runs a noodle kitchen in Tokyo.



    How on God's earth can these people in managerial positions entomb MLB teams to incredible monetary commitments without a scintilla of proof that the performances they are paying for will happen??? El Gordo and HanRam are the epitome of this mindless activity.



    The jury is out on the Red Sox, I haven't ponied up for the MLB package yet and am leaning not doing so. I predict that BO will not recover at 3rd base, and ZO will be less then stellar at fist base. There may be spurts of brilliance...geez, you out to get something for all that $$$, but long term they are still a train wreck.



    Hey Paul...my brother had 26 below last week at his Loudon, NH home, with a wind chill of 49 BELOW!! Holy Molley !!! Hope you're doing well pal...at least you dodged the big snows of last year. Hang in there, Spring ain't that far off.



    Take care.

    Al
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,340 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Haha thanks AL! Other than that -9 degree day recently this winter has been pretty good! 100 times better than last year!!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ok, mark your calendars, this is my first 2016 yawn from John (I look at the team through rose-tinted glasses) Farrell. This from ESPN Boston while chatting with Farrell...



    "The work is only beginning for Hanley Ramirez with infield coach Brian Butterfield, who is trying to transform Ramirez from one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball into a serviceable first baseman. They spent about 15 minutes together on a practice field Friday morning.



    "The more they get a chance to work one-on-one ... the nuances of the position are being talked about in addition to fielding ground balls," Farrell said. "So it's his footwork, how he anchors to the bag, it's his positioning, it's different angles to anchor to the bag when he's in an overshift position. So there's a lot of background to the movements as there is to just fielding ground balls in those one-on-one sessions."




    FIFTEEN MINUTES??? You gotta be joking, what can you accomplish in 15 minutes?? I should think this ZO should be humping the 1st base bag for a few hours a day, April ain't that far away. But, then again, he does need some time to spend all that Red Sox money.



    Maybe I shouldn't read the blogs, they set my hair on fire.image

    They give this clown a gazillion $$$ and put him in the outfield where he is so inept, that I could play better than him...now they wanna coddle this ZO at 1st base!



    FIFTEEN MINUTES??? Gonna be a disaster at 1st base, mark my words !!!
  • BLUEJAYWAYBLUEJAYWAY Posts: 7,938 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Looks like the keyword here is "serviceable". Could mean if he performs even slightly better than previously that would merit the "serviceable" denotation, and thereby a "success".
    Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey Bluejayway,



    I caught that "serviceable" also, but I type too fast and hit the reply key and let it go.



    Yup, "serviceable" is de rigueur Red Sox speak now. Not let there be a bad word said to these sickeningly overpaid and underperforming egos. Mmmmm, let's see...



    The Red Sox will pay HanRam $22,750,000.00 for 2016. A quick calculation will tell you that comes to a stunning $140,430 PER GAME. The average game lasts 3 hours, half of that time (in theory), you're sitting in the dugout out of the sun and elements. So, assuming 3 hours per game, 162 games, = 486 hours equals a truly mind-boggling $46,810.70 PER HOUR. All this for a "serviceable, untested, unskilled, infielder, who has not played at the 1st base position in any recent memory. Gonna be exciting to see BO throw to ZO and the ball doesn't get caught, runners advance, or win the game on the error at 1st. How I hope I'm wrong !!!



    I suspect when the wheels start to come off at 1st, Ortiz, now in his sayonara season, may see more action at 1st, enabling ZO (twin to BO) some "off days" here and there. Imagine getting an off day where you get $140,430 for sitting in the dugout? CRAZY STUFF !! When you really think that the baseball season is only 6 months long, you can double all the stats...opening is in April, the party ends in late September, unless you head to the playoffs...oh yes, more money for making the playoffs.



    Yup, decided not to get the baseball package, better things to do than chase the Red Sox rabbit this year.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
    fatman reported early. Among his gems that will further endear him to fans: “No, I don’t got nothing to prove”

  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    The ***** did not lose any weight at all over the winter. Said no one told him to. Either trade him for whatever they can get ( i don't care if it's a new waterboy ) or a stick of gum. He has to go! I have not renewed my MLB package either.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I just called direct tv to cancel my MLB package and they told me it was free for me this year so I did not cancel. Maybe everyone here should call them to see if this is countrywide. Free is good even if you are going to watch occasionally.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow Barndog, that is spot on ! Love the stretch marks...thanks for the grin. imageimage



    Dombrowski is gonna have a seizure over BO and ZO. Two players that will go down in the history of Red Sox acquistions as the worst ever. Wouldn't you love to be able to hear the upcoming conversations between John (I love everybody, it's all good) Farrell and Dombrowski? Bring on the Maalox.



    Thanks Ben, you really hung a pair of turds on the Red Sox!!



  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I had some banana cream pie tonight. Just one slice. I am so fortunate that I do not share a room with PablO S



    There would be no leftover pie for tomorrow
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey Barndog,



    The Red Sox are paying BO $17,600,000.00 this season...pls note that I don't use the term "per year", which is widely used for salary purposes, when in fact the "per year" is only 6 months long.



    So, let's see...$17,600,000.00 / 162(games per season) = $108,642.00 PER GAME, assuming El Gordo plays in every game, which we know he won't do because moving that much girth around in the hot Summer months may cause him a stroke. Happy John will give him some days off.



    Let us look a bit further...$108,642 / 3 hours(average length of a game) = $36,214.00 per hour. You can further break down this insanity, but at $36k++ per hour, the craziness of his salary becomes crystal clear, given his attitude and contribution to the team.



    I leave you with this...he gets $17.6m in 2017 and a PAY RIASE to $18.6m in '18 and'19. Hopefully by then one of two things will have happened...(a) He has a miraculous transformation into a stellar player; (b) John Henry eats it and dumps this dud. I'm hoping for the latter and, the sooner the better.



  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
    wow, the hourly wage of $36,214 works out to 5,180 pies (at $6.99 each) per hour! That should be just perfect for the fat man!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says he is not concerned about Pablo Sandoval's weight. Well, I guess ole Dave is sucking on the Kool Aid too !! Wait till it starts to hit the fan. Oh, Happy John says BO is gonna start switch hitting again...really Happy?? Isn't that why the former GM brought him over from San Fran to do just that?



    I left out the ZO stuff about being a disaster at 1st base, I think that's a given. Wait till fatty and ZO do their comedy routine in key moments. I can hear it now from Remy...a hard grounder to third, Pablo bobbles, but contains the ball, then throws wildly to first. Or we have option 2...it's a routine grounder to 3rd, Sandoval tosses to 1st and Hanley tries to backhand the throw...it goes into the tarp area down the right field line, 2 runs score...



    Oh, here's a little hubris for you... Big Papi would love to get a standing ovation in his last appearance in Yankee stadium. Really? WGAS? So a bunch of Yankee fans clap for a minute or two and you're at peace with the world. Get a clue Dave, they hate you and the rest of the team.



    Geez already!!!
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    For those who have Directv...



    If you live outside the New England area, where NESN is probably already in your tv package and you'd like to see "some" games, both Red Sox and others, and you don't wanna pony up the big coin for the MLB package...I have a solution.



    Yesterday I added the "sports package" for $10 a month. This package includes NESN, which is channel 628 and all the other channels in the 600 series. You will get to watch many other teams and games, unless MLB blacks out the game(s) for reasons known only unto them. This package, coupled with nationally televised games, which may otherwise be blacked, should give you enough baseball fix to get through the season. 60 bucks for the season and if you want, just cancel anytime, unlike the MLB package, which I think is a sunk cost up front.



    Spring training is in high blower, and yesterday I watched a bit of the Boston College/Northeastern double header from Ft Myers.



    El Gordo went 0-2, got booed by the crowd and some silly big deal was made of ZO's first putout at 1st, a dribbler that a 10-year old could have made.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,340 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Can't say I'm getting as excited for the start of the season as I have before. I can't even begin to think about how good or bad this team will be.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well Paul...the good news is the snowy season is pretty much toast...although I do recall a stray monster in April, long, long ago.



    The bad news is that the Red Sox are hard to figure. BO and ZO on the corners are the key wildcards and I stand by my former comments about poor play just waiting to happen. I'm kinda tired of the math, but when you pay a slug $80-$100k per game guaranteed, there isn't much pressure to perform, or, for that matter a self-motivation for stellar "give it all I've got" attitude. I would cite FATTY'S texting in the clubhouse during a live game...which head is in the game?



    So, I didn't get the baseball package, but did pop for the sports package on Directv, $10 per month. Charlie Moore is crazy as ever, he's gonna swallow one of those cigars one day if he hooks a real monster.



    I'm pretty much old school, always excited to visit Fenway and the thrill of watching the team play and win, but today, more than ever it's all about $$$$$, not so much winning or esprit de corps.



    Thankfully, my world doesn't revolve around Red Sox performance, win or lose, I just keep rolling along. They don't put any bread on my table, so it really isn't a big deal to me, although I'd like for them to excel this season, I think it'll be more of a farewell tour for Ortiz...who's prime objective is to hope the Yankee fans give him a standing O in Steinbrennerville on his last AB. I guess he has low expectations, as I suspect that's almost a given. Mariano of course is perhaps the only Yankee to have been so honored at the Fens.



    So, my friend, I'd focus on the happy things in my life and let the Red Sox stats roll off your back, can't do anything about it anyway. Perhaps some road trips up through Camden and Boothbay Harbor area, maybe a cog railway trip up Mt. W, or the tram up Cannon mountain in your free time to enjoy where you live. Halibut Point State Park is a winner, but not alone !! imageimage



    Stay well,

    Al
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I just want the Red Sox to have a decent season but it will not happen if they keep the fat man as he is useless. I have not made up my mind on ram boy yet. We shall see.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
    speaking of the fatman...



    it's early, it's Spring Training, nothing much matters, but:



    Sandoval: .125 AVG, .375 OPS

    T Shaw: .526 AVG, 1.466 OPS
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Time for the sox to eat some money!
  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,340 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The problem I have is what I'm sure bothers most " Fans" of MLB and that's the ludicrous contracts they are giving out and the work ethic that follows. I can't stomach it
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    They just raise the ticket prices to pay for their screw ups. They don't care.
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So far they're stinking up the grapefruit league. Ever watch how long it takes Mr. Ego, aka ZO between pitches. He puts Pedroia to shame with his antics...then grounds out. El Gordo, aka BO, sucks, he just sucks.



    Said it before, gonna say it again, the BO-ZO team are a disaster just waiting to happen, like lighting a cherry bomb, just waiting for the fuse to hit the powder. We'll see how many errors, or runs score with these two doofus loozers.



    Not much excitement in this team...so far... I'm more concerned with the pollen now in full blower in Atlanta, powdery green crap everywhere.
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Bo can't hit or field, zo can't hit and is doing fair in the field. I have not watched any of the games yet.
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm interested to see who starts at 3B come opening day. If the Sox pay homage to contract dollars (and not performance), expect to see the fatman there. If they want to win and value performance, Shaw will be starting.



    I'm for winning...
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Its not going to cost them any more money to play Shaw as he makes almost nothing and no matter what they have to pay fat man anyway so he may as well warm thew bench. If he has an attitude about that then release him. Still the same money but the desire to play will be there with Shaw. Ramariz is doing ok so they might as well give him a shot. At least he is trying!
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