greg775

This probably would have been a better way to word it, but yes I'd rather have Pods. Damon can't throw the baseball. Yeah he's a grinder who has had some great at bats in the WS. We need to get more creative. No thanks to Johnny.

Damon can't field just like Pods. Is he an upgrade? No.

Phillies show some spunk to cut it to 3-2. I can't get worked up about this series, though. The Phillies having won it last year takes a lot of drama out of it. They show their fans scared in the stands at times, but how can you feel for them. They f***ing won it last year. There's no feeling sorry or drama for Philly considering they are merely trying to win another one.

That was very good stuff, reading the opinions of a guy who covers the team on a daily basis. It dealt with a lot of topics, pretty much all the topics fans like to debate concerning this team: Walker, lack of fundamentals, lack of veteran leadership, how a lot of money is tied to 10 players, what to expect next year. Interesting that Gonzalez has no idea what the team will be like next year. He says the only thing for sure is the team appears to have a very good starting rotation. Gonzales comes across as a good guy full of good information.

The choker tag was stupid. Baseball is a funny game. He didn't choke in past postseasons, he just sucked. He's a stud. Now if you want to blast him over the steroids thing, fine. But he's not a choker. --On another note, nice pregame radio interview with Swisher. Hard to hate the guy after hearing his personality. He gave a great interview.

Dye will be DH for Texas next season and probably hit 28-35 home runs; not bad. As far as this statement: You're right though. Our current team as it stands is not good enough to compete with those juggernaut 2010 Twins and Tigers teams. I hear the Tigers are going to bring back Adam Everett and the great Orlando Cabrera might even return to Minnesota for - get this - a full season. The Indians are going to be a force too when Matt Laporta makes up for the Lee, Sabathia, and VMart deals all by himself, and 2010 should be the dreaded Year of the Hochevar. I know, my knees are shaking too. Kenny better hurry up and overpay for a veteran in decline to DH and a couple spotty relievers or else we're doomed." I'm talking about getting over .500 and doing something significant, not just squeaking into the playoffs. Assuming Dye is gone, we have to replace that bat and we need bullpen upgrades or we are not going to top .500. And not topping .500 is a recipe for being about 7 out in September which we were this year. Right now we have an excellent starting rotation, sub-par lineup (no Thome, Dye), sub par bullpen and average defense.

Mattingly is a good example, thanks. Rose probably needed the money with all his gambling. I don't know everything about McGwire's personality, just the mope who "testified." Maybe he's the greatest guy in the world and a hard worker. He'll probably delegate the grunt parts of the job to somebody else anyway. McGwire prolly carries a lot of clout still in that clubhouse. If I had to bet, he'll be perceived worse than McRae at least publicly. Was LaRussa looking for a scapegoat for his team's flameout? At least the Sox don't take the easy cliche way out and fire Walker as scapegoat for the bad season. Those of you who go to Soxfest who get worked up about hitting coaches should grill KW about the job and get some candid answers about the Sox organization's philosophy on Walker. Aren't KW and Oz pretty candid at that session?

The people on here who claim Dye is the worst thing in right field since a statue would disagree. No way should Dye ever step foot in an outfield again they probably would say. I wouldn't mind a change and trying somebody besides Dye. We are going to miss his production, though, meaning his 'usual' production, not that second half lousiness. Our lineup and bullpen need some huge tinkering or we are again not a .500 team next year.

When Bell b****ed, it was completely wrong and fans were pissed. I can't remember everything about it, just that it was ridiculous. I don't remember if it had something to do with the DH or what. I just know it was ridiculous and Bell came across as a f***ing moron.

Actually it was joke and a trip down memory lane. George Bell b****ed about not getting to play or his spot in the batting order in our playoff series that one year. Long time Sox fans might remember the specifics. Bell had the audacity to b**** while playing for our playoff team.

I will predict the hiring of McGwire will be a disaster. How many zillionaires actually work hard as coaches on MLB staffs? I would love to see a study on this vs. how many assistant coaches need the money. McGwire must be awfully bored to take any position excpt 1B or 3B coach.

I probably shouldn't assume anything like that. How many home run hitters are hitting coaches?

Did he really say that in the media? Unwritten rule: Players NEVER b**** during the postseason unless they are named Reggie or George Bell. You shut the f*** up and try to contribute to a WS title. Where did Swish b****? NY Post or ? If he complained he should be booed out of town.

You know KW has already developed his offseason game plan. I wonder what it is. The team needs some fixin. I wonder if they'll have the courtesy to tell Dye right away that he's not to be re-signed. It'd give him a chance to look elsewhere right away. Some enterprising reporter would be smart to get that story first. You would think KW has already decided whether Dye will be part of the team or not. KW has had a lot of time to work on his future blueprint.

The hiring of McGwire by St. Louis proves how meaningless hitting coaches are. McRae has a good hitting philosophy and they let him go. What is McGwire going to teach?? Uppercut, try to hit every pitch out of the park. And of course take enhancers? McGwire, like many (most) sluggers, tried to hit every pitch a mile. That was his hitting philosophy. All or nothing for Mark. LaRussa better hope the millionaire has a good work ethic, cause it seems to me hitting coaches are grunt boys: Make sure the players have their tapes ready, schedule extra BP, etc. What the heck is McGwire going to teach any hitter??

Cliff Lee is a great example of an acquisition that can lead a team to greatness. Just think if we could have had Peavy for a much longer period of time? Lee made the Yankees look like Little Leaguers. Amazing.

I disagree. Worst than the "vast majority" of players around baseball? This past season? Are you exaggerating a bit? How many of you actually believe that?

When you finally get to watch a team play several games in a row, you discover many players are just like ours ... inconsistent. When you don't see them on a consistent basis, you tend to overvalue them because they are the unknown. They get hot and cold just like our players. That's why a .300 batting average is considered godlike. Three successes in 10 at bats. Figgins is no savior; just as Pods is no savior. But Pods arguably was better than Figgo this season; Pods was better than a lot of players. If people watched all players as closely as they do the Sox they'd see it. That said ... the Yankees' dominance in the playoffs shows it truly was their year.

It's got to be the home run power he showed, which is weird cause our fan base seems to be more in the mold of wanting less power, more speed and all that. Not that Nix is a plodder. I hope the Sox give Getz one more year to prove he can or can't be a great starter. If not, we should go a different direction. Make Nix or Getz the backup to some stud if Getz can't hack it.

That describes perfectly what I feel Nix is. I'm not crazy bout Nix as a starter, but as you said he's a decent bench guy. If he is our starter, we're in trouble.

Yankees really spanked the Angels tonight. Pretty impressive. But we were just as dominant or moreso the year we won it. So I wouldn't say they have a dynasty brewing yet.

I just don't see Liney bringing anything of value. Why not dump his salary for a hack (reclamatiion project) hopefully for less money. I really don't get why baseball teams overpay these middle reliever guys (Farnsworth, Dotel, Liney, etc.)

Glad to see the Angels hit the gapper, score the run and make this a series. Go Angels!

I'm not an expert, but I'd think so or hope so. I can't imagine anybody offering him more than that considering the fact his career was over til it was resurrected here. He's kind of a different case in that he seems to only play well for us.

This has been asked before, but why would this guy leave the Angels? Would we really offer him much more than Anaheim?