[coloradojack]

I blame myself. Sadly, no option for that.

[VoteRiceIn]

ghostoffoxx, on 26 September 2011 - 11:11 AM, said:

As an aside, Lackey getting divorced (and/or his wife's cancer battles) have probably contributed to his performance.

I don't have any inside info but I suspect that it's because of his performance that she is divorcing him & not the other way around.
I imagine the letter went something like this, 'Dear John, sorry but you're not the pitcher I thought you were when we first met. I'm now seeing a top tier prospect from AAA, a real 'sure thing', best of luck'.
Sure, I feel sorry for Mr. Lackey but who can blame her...I mean a season ERA well north of 6, she can do better than that.

http://www.terezowens.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/John-Lackey.jpg

This post has been edited by VoteRiceIn: 26 September 2011 - 02:09 PM

[ghostoffoxx]

I'm just going to assume that Lackey is a total prick and didn't want to be with her after her double mastectomy. To be fair, it's what I would have thought of him while he was on the Angels and that 6.41 ERA isn't helping me think any differently of him.

[rominer]

ghostoffoxx, on 26 September 2011 - 02:15 PM, said:

I'm just going to assume that Lackey is a total prick and didn't want to be with her after her double mastectomy. To be fair, it's what I would have thought of him while he was on the Angels and that 6.41 ERA isn't helping me think any differently of him.

To be fair to Lackey, though, he was already right there on the cusp of "I've got bigger tits than my wife." That has to be rough. The surgery would just put things over the edge.

I don't know. It seems like a shitty thing to do, but who really knows what the situation is. Some people use illness as an excuse to be complete assholes, too, so maybe she earned the divorce. Either way, I would imagine wife with cancer and job that has you on the road for half the year is not an easy combination to make work.

He pitched well enough yesterday. That works for me.

[BigSlick]

ghostoffoxx, on 26 September 2011 - 02:15 PM, said:

I'm just going to assume that Lackey is a total prick and didn't want to be with her after her double mastectomy.

At least he waited longer than Gingrich did.

[Manny's PS2]

Honestly, nobody but John and Krista know for sure. It could be a mutual decision that was brewing before she was even diagnosed. Or, he could be a vapid douchewad, but I doubt it since he's a pro athlete - they are pillars of the community and heroes to children everywhere.

[BigSlick]

Manny, on 26 September 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

heroes to children everywhere.

That's only because so many of them have children in many different parts of the country.

[Hail Cesar]

BigSlick, on 26 September 2011 - 12:07 PM, said:

I'm talking 2004 Derek Lowe proportions

I think someone already used 2004 Derek Lowe today in reference to 2011 Carl Crawford. I'd be happy if 2011 Lackey ends up as a 2007 JD Drew. Maybe those should be switched.

[rominer]

Manny, on 26 September 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

Honestly, nobody but John and Krista know for sure. It could be a mutual decision that was brewing before she was even diagnosed. Or, he could be a vapid douchewad, but I doubt it since he's a pro athlete - they are pillars of the community and heroes to children everywhere.

I'm sure TMZ knows. They know everything.

I hope that everyone who works for them gets AIDS. And, unlike most of my "I hope so and so gets AIDS" comments, this one is meant to be taken literally. I hope they all get AIDS.

[Hail Cesar]

rominer, on 26 September 2011 - 03:20 PM, said:

I'm sure TMZ knows. They know everything.

I hope that everyone who works for them gets AIDS. And, unlike most of my "I hope so and so gets AIDS" comments, this one is meant to be taken literally. I hope they all get AIDS.

This AiDS? That's a funny thing for you to want them to get.

[The Ghost of Ned Martin]

JMDurron, on 26 September 2011 - 09:59 AM, said:

It's on the starting pitching, IMO. It's not Theo's fault that guys who came into the season as the 6th, 7th, and 10th or so starting pitching options are being forced to make meaningful starts. It's not the bullpen's fault that they've been throwing 10 million innings this month, that's because the starters can't pitch more than 4-5 innings every night.

Sorry but I think you are being to easy on the boy genius. A big part of an MLB GM's job, especially one with the budget he has, is to build enough depth to withstand injuries, including those to the starting staff. How many teams are able to roll out the same 5 starting pitchers for the entire season? You have to have alternatives and he didn't have them. At the start of the season, who besides Tim Wakefield, was a remotely viable option to slide into the rotation when the inevitable injuries occurred. I understand that there is not an abundance of available MLB arms, the Sox minor league system has provided no help. I thought that was supposed to be Theo's strength?

Quote

Theo has, by and large, in my opinion, made the right moves over the last two seasons. The players have just mostly failed to perform, or been injured once they took the field. Theo has certainly overpaid guys like Crawford and Lackey, but I don't think that any honest evaluation would have expected those two to suck as horribly as they have in 2011. Risks not panning out is one thing, and that's partly on the GM, but personally I find it more reasonable to blame the individual players for their own under-performance than to blame management for buying into their previous track records.

Risks not panning out is ALL on Epstein. The Red Sox pay him to guess right more often than not on risky players. That doesn't excuse the player from criticism for failing to live up to expectations but, from a management perspective, Epstein and his team need to do a significantly better job of accurately predicting how a given player will perform on this team and in the unusual environment of Boston.

And I disagree that Epstein's decisions have mostly been the right ones. Mike Cameron was an aging outfielder who's only skills were speed and defense, which happen to diminish with age. Edgar Renteria? Wrong guy to play SS here. He was uncomfortable from day 1. Julio Lugo? He did live up to his past performance. Unfortunately, his past performance wasn't really all that good. I don't have a problem with the Victor Martinez trade but if they didn't have an intention to sign him to a new contract, then i do have a problem with it.

If the team fails to make the playoffs, that will be two years in a row and that, given the financial resources available, should get Epstein fired.

[roidrage]

Hail Cesar, on 26 September 2011 - 02:30 PM, said:

I think someone already used 2004 Derek Lowe today in reference to 2011 Carl Crawford. I'd be happy if 2011 Lackey ends up as a 2007 JD Drew. Maybe those should be switched.

That would be me, but not today, it was last week. Since I have made this prediction, Carl has clearly done his best to make the coming turnaround look as improbable as possible. Although probably still not as improbable as Lackey a) having an ERA under 3 in the postseason; or b) finding another wife even half a attractive as Krista, given his horseface and manboobs. Although $85MM does help, but Krista's probably going to be taking at least half that.

[Mike LansWho]

The Ghost of Ned Martin, on 26 September 2011 - 03:52 PM, said:

And I disagree that Epstein's decisions have mostly been the right ones. Mike Cameron was an aging outfielder who's only skills were speed and defense, which happen to diminish with age. Edgar Renteria? Wrong guy to play SS here. He was uncomfortable from day 1. Julio Lugo? He did live up to his past performance. Unfortunately, his past performance wasn't really all that good. I don't have a problem with the Victor Martinez trade but if they didn't have an intention to sign him to a new contract, then i do have a problem with it.

I don't disagree with your Lugo and Martinez points, but the other two I do. It's easy to sit here and criticize moves like that in hindsight. The tricky thing is to go back and find the alternatives. What outfielder should they have signed other than Cameron? Should they have stuck with Jason Bay for more money/years? Who else was available? Should they have gone with Orlando Cabrera over Renteria? Again, who else was available? Same thing with Lackey. Same thing with Drew.

[The Ghost of Ned Martin]

Mike LansWho, on 26 September 2011 - 04:05 PM, said:

I don't disagree with your Lugo and Martinez points, but the other two I do. It's easy to sit here and criticize moves like that in hindsight. The tricky thing is to go back and find the alternatives. What outfielder should they have signed other than Cameron? Should they have stuck with Jason Bay for more money/years? Who else was available? Should they have gone with Orlando Cabrera over Renteria? Again, who else was available? Same thing with Lackey. Same thing with Drew.

I never quite understand that line of thinking. Neither of us is paid to be the GM of the Boston Red Sox and thus don''t have access to the information that Epstein has. Whether I had would have been able to find a better alternative to Cameron is a moot point. It's his job to do that. Following your thought process, I shouldn't criticize the Patriot defense because I can't design and present a scheme that doesn't allow the Buffalo ****ing Bills to go 95 yards in two plays.

Under his stewardship, this team failed to make the playoffs last season and may very well fail to do so this year. That's unacceptable when one considers that he has a blank check to spend on players. How the **** do teams like the Rays and Brewers contend with a fraction of the financial resources?

Fire his ass.

[ghostoffoxx]

The Ghost of Ned Martin, on 26 September 2011 - 04:32 PM, said:

Fire his ass.

Something that I think is forgotten/overlooked/taken-for-granted is the very good homegrown talent that Theo has produced. That is an extremely valuable talent and a facet where most organizations fail. It allows for cost controlled players so money can be allocated for free agent signings as well as the ability to trade for talented players from smaller market teams.

[The Ghost of Ned Martin]

ghostoffoxx, on 26 September 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

Something that I think is forgotten/overlooked/taken-for-granted is the very good homegrown talent that Theo has produced. That is an extremely valuable talent and a facet where most organizations fail. It allows for cost controlled players so money can be allocated for free agent signings as well as the ability to trade for talented players from smaller market teams.

Who has the system produced since 2007? Which farm talent do you expect to have an impact in 2012? Again, Epstein has the luxury of overpaying on draftee bonus money and there should be a steady supply of impact and/or productive MLB talent. Other than Clay Buchholz, who has he produced? Michael Bowden? Felix Doubront? Ryan Kalish? Daniel Nava?

Who?

[rominer]

The Ghost of Ned Martin, on 26 September 2011 - 03:52 PM, said:

Mike Cameron was an aging outfielder who's only skills were speed and defense, which happen to diminish with age.

And power, and great numbers against lefties. And, ironically, durability.

They overpaid for Cameron – but clearly not to the point that it affected payroll flexibility. It didn't work out. The team's performance over the past two seasons would obviously have been a whole lot better if it had worked out. But I really don't see that deal as a significant lapse in judgment. It just didn't work out.

Lackey: Overpaid, but there's no way he should have been this bad.

Crawford: Overpaid, but there's no way he should have been this bad.

You can blame the GM when risks don't pan out. But these aren't risks that we're talking about. They didn't sign Andrew Miller to be the 5th starter, they signed him to be the 8th starter. Bobby Jenks wasn't the only guy they brought in for a bullpen job. The one legitimate risk that they took was relying on Jarrod Saltalamacchia to be the #1 catcher – and that has actually panned out reasonably well. And even at that, they made an effort to get Russell Martin into the mix, but, as it turns out, Martin is an asshole.

I think the bulletproof "In Theo We Trust" genius luster has worn off, but he did not assemble a bad team. A month ago, even with injuries piling up, there was every reason to believe that he had in fact assembled the best team in baseball. I just don't see this month's slide as the fault of management on the field or in the front office.

[The Ghost of Ned Martin]

rominer, on 26 September 2011 - 05:07 PM, said:

I think the bulletproof "In Theo We Trust" genius luster has worn off, but he did not assemble a bad team. A month ago, even with injuries piling up, there was every reason to believe that he had in fact assembled the best team in baseball. I just don't see this month's slide as the fault of management on the field or in the front office.

If they don't make the playoffs he should be fired. Simple as that.

You guys can blow him if you want. I think he is overrated. I'd like for the Sox to bring a GM in who has built a winning team with out Sugar Daddy John Henry's checkbook.

Maybe Brad Pitt. That would be awesome.

[BigSlick]

rominer, on 26 September 2011 - 03:20 PM, said:

unlike most of my "I hope so and so gets AIDS" comments, this one is meant to be taken literally. I hope they all get AIDS.

Wait a second!!!! You mean we aren't supposed to take the other times literally? You're clearly only a shell of the man I thought you were.

roidrage, on 26 September 2011 - 04:02 PM, said:

finding another wife even half a attractive as Krista, given his horseface and manboobs.

Well at least one of the two had boobs.

Oh stop your whining. it's not like every one of you didn't think the exact same thing. You wimps just didn't have the cajones to say it. (or maybe I'm the only one lacking in the class that stopped you from saying it)

This post has been edited by BigSlick: 26 September 2011 - 05:31 PM

[rominer]

BigSlick, on 26 September 2011 - 05:30 PM, said:

Wait a second!!!! You mean we aren't supposed to take the other times literally? You're clearly only a shell of the man I thought you were.

At the time, you probably were supposed to take it literally. But I usually get over it.

TMZ, though...they really should all get AIDS. That's not a "dammit, I'm pissed, and if they got AIDS I'd feel better" reaction. It's a self-evident truth.