rippedsounds

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 27, 2012 -> 11:04 AM) This is going to be brutal. 1. RF Alejandro DeAza 2. 3B Jeff Keppinger (if healthy) 3. DH Adam Done 4. 1B Paul Konerko (is this the year of the massive decline?) 5. CF Alex "every other year" Rios (he's do for an "other" year!) 6. LF Dayan Viciedo 7. SS Alexei Ramirez 8. C Tyler Flowers (at this point he's going to have to start 162 games) 9. 2B Gordon Beckham That might, honestly, be the worst lineup in the AL. We have to expect regression from our best hitter in his age 36 season after watching his OPS+ plummet in the 2nd half of last season. It's not a terrifyingly powerful lineup and it is a little rusty but I'm basing our success this year on our pitching rotation more than anything. If this lineup can produce four runs a game, which I think it can (and it might even be improved a little bit by the time we get to opening day) we have a good shot at the wild card and a decent shot to upset the Tigers if our pitching staff achieves its potential.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Dec 27, 2012 -> 08:45 AM) While I can appreciate the sentiment, it strikes me as odd coming from a Red Sox fan. Boston has done there share of offering big money contracts to lure players from the smaller market teams and the Red Sox are hated by other teams almost as much as the Yank$$s are. Boston is absolutely the wrong team to compare to Potter / Bailey. You've just nailed the reason why I stopped being a Red Sox fan. But I was a kid though once.

I've got mixed feelings about Youk leaving. First and foremost I'm originally from Boston and I'm tired of seeing veteran Red Sox heroes landing in NY for the last few years of their career with overpaid contracts. It just feels like greedy baseball and emphasizes how much of a business the sport is. In interviews all of these players would say how much they hate the Yankees and how they would all pull together against them but then many of them would run over to Yankee stadium when they wanted money. Feels like Mr. Potter in "It's A Wonderful Life". On the other hand, he was asking for more money than he was worth and I would rather roll the dice with Keppinger as a younger player. Good things could happen.

Shoeless Joe, Appling, Minoso, Konerko (First post!)