fathom

I'm 50-50 on Bonds for one reason: he's so arrogant that he would never think he needed steroids to make him a better player. If Bonds would have been a worse player this year, than I would have thought he was on the roids. Rather, he's as dangerous as ever this year. I don't think there's any doubt that Giambi and Sosa were on the juice, and I'm 50-50 on Boone. Other players that I always thought could be on steroids are Jose Guillen, Richard Hidalgo, Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, and Willie Harris. Ok, kidding w/Willie. I had a very reliable source that said many of the Red Sox players last year were involved with steroids. Take that for what it is.

The pitchers being on steroids was a common discussion earlier in the year because there were a handful of guys that were throwing like 7 mph less than they were the year before while saying that there was nothing wrong with their health. I don't think that Loaiza had been throwing 95 mph the few years before joining the Sox. From what I've heard about steroid use, it's not easy at all to maintain your build after getting off the juice. There's a reason why guys like Giambi and Sosa are noticeably smaller now. Don't you think these guys would love to maintain their build in order to deflect controversy?

Ok....I look forward to Jose improving on his 6.18 ERA with the Sox next year. Is that good enough for you? I honestly think there are 5 people who have no area to be critcized from the Sox this year: Rowand, Lee, Shingo, Konerko, and Uribe. These are the only 5 main Sox players that exceeding expectations this year.

Did you ever think that Bonds just became extremely good because he learned so much about the game from playing it that he's been able to conquer it? Look at Sosa for an example of someone who used the juice to boost his power, and now is an average hitter without it. Taking steroids wont enhance your ability to never swing and miss, etc. BTW, has anyone ever considered that Loaiza might have been on the juice last year? I've heard a lot of rumblings that Borowski on the Cubs was thought to have been on it last year. It would explain a lot of things about Esteban.

Of all the players in MLB, his numbers this year suggest that he wasn't on the roids. Look at Sosa, Boone, and Giambi. All these guys have gone to s*** since the steroids became a big issue. Rather, Bonds continues to be absolutely awesome.

And that's exactly why I think our organization is a lot worse now than it was before the season. Before the season, we still had hope that Crede, Olivo, Bochard, Reed, Rauch, and Honel could be a nucleus for the team in like 6 years (of course not all these guys would pan out). KW's philosophy of win now just doesnt work well when you can't develop any prospects from your system, and the guys that you trade for are not nearly as good as he believes. BTW, Contreras has an ERA over 6 for the Sox so far, and Garcia hasn't exactly been lights-out for the Sox this year. The Mariners really are sitting pretty getting Reed and Olivo in that deal.

The Sox had thoughts of acquiring Contreras to be their closer earlier in the year, but the Yankees didnt want to trade him at the time for Jeremy Reed. The incredible success of Gagne has made many teams believe that they can turn struggling starters into good closers. I agree that he should not be a closer due to his command, but I'm beginning to think that a 2-pitch pitcher without any command isn't exactly the makings of a successful starter.

Can the Sox really afford to have such an inconsistent starter, making 6 million a year, on the squad for the next 2 years? Hopefully, he will improve his command for next year, but he seems a little old for such a turnaround to occur. Any chance that the Sox would try him out as a closer? I know we need all the starters we can get, but it's going to be hard to rely on him to be a consistent starter.

Don't get me wrong, I love the attitude of Matt Morris. However, I can't see JR spending a lot of money on a pitcher coming off the worst year of his career. Will you explain to me how attendance is up this year if we're not matching last years total? I would like more information on that. One quick thing about Morris...I've heard from numerous places that he's likely to go to the Yankees. I believe he's from the northeast, and they've wanted to get him for a while now.

I'm going to have to pretend that I didnt read that line where you said that Jeter was a great defender. Jeter and Nomar have about as much range at SS as Drew Bledsoe has in the pocket. Jeter is a very clutch hitter, but for 18 mil a yr, I'll pass.

Another thing that the Sox have to keep in mind for pitchers is the way the Cell plays now. Guys like Matt Morris would allow like 40 homers in the AL at the Cell.

Good ideas, but the payroll for that team would be like 90 million. No way will JR spend that much, especially after our attendance went down this year!

I agree with you that J. Jones would be a great pickup for the Sox. The guy seems like a winner, and would bring some swagger to a very flat team. Koskie worries me cause he seems to always have little injuries and all, and is getting up there in age. Speaking of age, Vizquel would be a great pickup if he could play the way he did this year. However, he's really getting up there in age, and those type of guys can just hit the wall quickly. I can't see the Indians trading Blake to the Sox. First of all, he might be their 2b next year. Next, Indians wouldnt trade him to a divisional foe likely. And finally, I'm not really sold on Blake. He Ks a lot, and has only had one good season. The Indians would want some young pitching from us, something we dont have alot to give up.

I'm 100 percent of the opinion that Everett in the outfield for the Sox next year will be a total disaster. For a manager that stresses speed and defense, Everett is the total opposite. I would absolutely love it if KW found a way for either Everett to not pick up his option, or for the team to be able to trade him for a bag of balls.

Yep, it would be nice to have top of the rotation guy. However, I really think that Pedro and Pavano are the only 2 guys that are available via FA this offseason. Odalis Perez is nowhere near an ace, and I don't think he'd come close to Buehrle's ERA in the AL in a hitters park. I can't think of any other aces that will be FA.

If we were to sign someone like Pavano, then I would agree with you. However, I see no way that he'll sign with the Sox. He has New York or Boston written all over him. The biggest concern I have is that the Sox came into the season thinking that they had their 3b and catcher of the future in Crede and Olivo. Now, we have gapping holes at each of the positions, as well as question marks in RF, SS, and 2b. I will say that it looks like we solved our CF position for the future. Thankfully McCarthy exploded, it makes up for the loss of Reed and the huge question marks about Honel and Wing.

Why is that? I think there have been some good things that have happened for our future, but I also think there are numerous bad things that have happened.

Vlad is a great player, but in terms of the future, the guy looks like he's going to have to deal with a lot of injuries. It's almost painful to watch him run some times, looks like he's running on needles. However, Vlad at the Cell would be fun to watch. As would any decent hitter it seems like.

Not only are the Twins prospects awesome, but they seem even better cause the Sox prospects come to the majors, and just flat out suck. We're going to be in a lot of trouble in the future if the Twins and Indians continue to develop players as well as they do.

Man, KW really has made some questionable personnel decisions. Does anyone think this franchise is in a better position now than it was coming into the season?

Honestly, has there even been anything suggested on a message board that has taken place in regards to hypothetical managing? That was just my idea at how to possibly put the Sox on track for the future, not just for next season.

Wow Rowand 44, we agree on something!!! Also, let me add to the other poster that I love Pujols, but I'd rather let him stay with the Cardinals so he can torment the Cubs for the next 15 years.

If you put Jeter on the Sox this year, they'd finish 5 games behind the Twins. However, if the Sox had Bonds on the team, they would likely compete for the division title. If I could choose from any of these players, I think the Sox would benefit the most from having think that Johan Santana would be the best fit. Not only is he relatively young, but he keeps getting better as a pitcher. It's getting to the point where it's an automatic win everytime he pitches. Therefore, if you can be almost 80 pct certain you have a great chance to win once every 5 games, then you give yourself the chance to put together winning streaks and prevent losing streaks. Of course, Bonds is best in MLB history. However, he is getting older, and you never know when he just might get sick of all the s***.

I agree we need top of the rotation guys, but I see no way that we can afford one for like 10 million dollars. We're already spending a lot of money next year, even though I know some of those guys could be traded. The problem is, each time we trade someone like Lee, Konerko, etc., we're going to create another hole that we would have to fill. And in terms of Braves not trading Capellan, they would be getting one of the best offensive 1b in MLB (something they've desired for a long time), a dominant lefty reliever (something they've lacked), and Garland, a young pitcher that Mazzone would have a field day with.

I think Sandy Alomar has been horribly overrated by many Sox fans and especially the Sox organization. In his four years with the team, he's never had more than 26 RBI. Considering that we also have never won the division with him behind the plate, and that we paid him a pretty decent salary his first few years, I nominate Sandy Alomar Jr. for most overrated Sox player.