The Red Sox Thread

[ArodEra]

I kind of like Farrell. Too bad he went to the Sox although I'm sure that's an upgrade for them over BV.

[b-ball-lunachick]

I think it was Heyman who tweeted it, but it said the Jays were upset about the Sox tampering with Farrell but they moved past it as they wanted the deal done as well. Only reason I can think of is that they had someone in mind they preferred as manager as I don't see Mike Aviles as reason to get the deal done.

I saw it in Buster's blog too. There was definitely tampering...everyone knows it.

I somehow think even the Sox FO will be able to identify another SS who can give them a .663 OPS

I do find it a little funny that Scutaro was the NLCS MVP.

[nhyankeefan]

Toronto's GM wasn't happy with how the hiring of Farrell was played out in the media before it became official...

"There was a lot of, to be completely candid, gamesmanship and a lot of things that went on from a negotiating standpoint. Not on our end, just a lot of things that were coming out that were completely false," Anthopoulos said. "We're pretty good in terms of not putting things out there in the media and leaking things or saying things. The upsetting part for me were how many false reports were out there that I didn't think were fair to John or to myself or to the organization."

Anthopoulos also is annoyed that the news was leaked to the Boston media late Saturday night. The deal, he said, was not approved by commissioner Bud Selig until Sunday.

"It probably didn't go as smoothly as we think it could have," Anthopolous said. "That's just reality. ... The fact that this even leaked last night, this was not a done deal last night. It was not supposed to happen that way. It was supposed to happen collectively today."

Anthopolous said he doesn't know Red Sox GM Ben Cherington well but believes him to be honest. He also said the ownership groups have mutual respect.

"Beyond that, I think there's so many other potential people involved with ties. I wish I could tell you where a lot of this stuff came from," he said. "I just thought it was unfortunate overall. ... With a transaction like this, you'd love it to be a little more smooth. It just seemed like a lot of the things that came out didn't come out from the Toronto media. It seemed like it came out of the Boston market."

Seems pretty clear he thinks the source was Lucky.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...o_gm_perf.html

[Yanksfanintoronto]

Toronto's GM wasn't happy with how the hiring of Farrell was played out in the media before it became official...



Seems pretty clear he thinks the source was Lucky.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...o_gm_perf.html

Why is wonder boy so shocked about this being leaked? These reports were there last offseason if im not mistaken where the Sox wanted to get Farrell back after letting go of Francona. I don't think its a secret that there was a lot of tampering involved but quite frankly if Toronto wanted to keep Farrell im sure they wouldv'e tried harder. The Jays ownership is such a joke....theyre one of the richest corporations in the world but don't even give their team a fighting chance.

But eh its ironic that the same Toronto fans who complain about the Yankees outspending everyone now want their ownership to spend a bunch. I hope that both the Sox and Jays linger at the bottom of the AL East for years to come.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Seems pretty clear he thinks the source was Lucky.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...o_gm_perf.html

good bet. old Lucky is always at the center, isn't he?

[b-ball-lunachick]

Some quotes from Aviles:

During a standard fielding drill, Valentine chewed out Aviles for being in the wrong position, going after the good-natured infielder to a point where veteran players spoke up against it. A series of other incidents followed.

“I don’t know what the effect was on other people, but for me it was forgotten pretty quickly,” Aviles said. “In baseball, those things happen. It’s like a marriage, you’re going to have your fights. When you’re around people for so long, there are always going to be issues and you have to move past them. People butt heads and for me, it’s normal.

“It can be with players, coaches, mangers. Things happen. For me it wasn’t a major issue. Maybe it was for other people. I guess it was. I appreciated them having my back.”

I wonder if it was a case where they were told they wouldn't be hiring a BV type, then hired him and then the players glommed onto the first problem that they saw...

“It was a band of brothers. We all got along and we hung out together. That part of it was fine,” he said. “The team had issues because of injuries and the new manager and things like that. But it was never an issue of the players not getting along. I think that stuff was overblown.”

I never really thought it was amongst the players that was the problem...it was pretty clear it was us against him...

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...YeN/story.html

[Gigi Buffon]

I somehow think even the Sox FO will be able to identify another SS who can give them a .663 OPS

I'm not so sure.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Bobby V taking aim at Ortiz

Former Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine on Tuesday said slugger David Ortiz sidelined himself after a brief return from an Achilles injury -- not because of soreness but because the team made a blockbuster deal that sealed their playoff fate.

He realized that this trade meant that we're not going to run this race and we're not even going to finish the race properly and he decided not to play anymore," Valentine said in an interview airing Tuesday night on "Costas Tonight" on NBC Sports Network. "I think at that time it was all downhill from there."

Ben's response:

"I wouldn't be trying to re-sign him if I had any concern about David's commitment to baseball or to the Red Sox," Cherington said. "During a trying year, David was a leader for us on and off the field. Unfortunately, an Achilles injury cut his season short. It was a tough break in a season full of tough breaks for us."

I hope Ortiz comes out with a good response.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/...elined-himself

[CoyoteYankee]

Bobby V taking aim at Ortiz





Ben's response:



I hope Ortiz comes out with a good response.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/...elined-himself

There will be no winners in this fight...just two losers.

[Mr Coffee]

Bobby V taking aim at Ortiz[/img]

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/...elined-himself

I wouldn't doubt that was true, but I also wouldn't blame Ortiz in that situation.

Why risk further injury in a free agent year for that group of stiffs?

[NerfBall55]

I just looked at the sox again and decided that they have Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz and a bunch of crap.

And Pedroia is a fraud and Lester's been bad.

Realistically, someone tell me how they're going to contend in the AL East next year.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

I just looked at the sox again and decided that they have Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz and a bunch of crap.

And Pedroia is a fraud and Lester's been bad.

Realistically, someone tell me how they're going to contend in the AL East next year.

Clearly you're forgetting that John Lackey will be back this year

[b-ball-lunachick]

In discussing the spring training incident with Mike Aviles, Valentine said he was "still incredulous" about the sensitivity shown by some of the Red Sox. Valentine said his words in explaining pop-up procedure were "loud," but that he was surprised when players came into his office to tell him not to yell at Aviles that way.

"Was I surprised that guys came in in that situation? Yes," Valentine said." I think that is unique to that group of guys. I don't think it's indigenous to all of baseball, or at least I pray it's not. It's not functional, with the tail wagging the dog or taking a vote every time you have to decide things. A leader needs to lead."

I think he's calling Pedroia, Agon, etc a bunch of oversensitive p-words.

http://blogs.providencejournal.com/s...th-costas.html

[4bronxbombers]

Bobby V taking aim at Ortiz





Ben's response:



I hope Ortiz comes out with a good response.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/...elined-himself

LOL @ the popcorn and

BV just can't shut his freakin mouth. I'm so sad he's not with the Sox anymore. Damn...

[4bronxbombers]

I wouldn't doubt that was true, but I also wouldn't blame Ortiz in that situation.

Why risk further injury in a free agent year for that group of stiffs?

BV would have done the same if he was in Ortiz's shoes. What a dope.

@ a group of stiffs

[RenoHightower]

I wouldn't doubt that was true, but I also wouldn't blame Ortiz in that situation.

Why risk further injury in a free agent year for that group of stiffs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B_X4YUFjVg

[teknetic]

I just looked at the sox again and decided that they have Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz and a bunch of crap.

And Pedroia is a fraud and Lester's been bad.

Realistically, someone tell me how they're going to contend in the AL East next year.

I think everyone's expecting them to suck next year and the year after that. They apparently have a bunch of demigods in their farm system that will catapult them back into third place, or so I've heard.

[35Knucklecurve]

Valentine does remember that Ortiz is a very large individual who could crush him into a fine powder......doesn't he?

[hongchihkuo]

It's good that Valentine can be honest about his players. Ortiz probably gets more excited about the HR Derby than his team's playoff prospects at this point in his career.

[hongchihkuo]

Realistically, someone tell me how they're going to contend in the AL East next year.

Che-hsuan Lin-sanity!

[b-ball-lunachick]

I wouldn't doubt that was true, but I also wouldn't blame Ortiz in that situation.

Why risk further injury in a free agent year for that group of stiffs?

I completely agree..he's not a spring chicken - if he's favoring the foot, something else would get out of whack..they traded everyone away so to me, the front office/ownership gave up on the team before Ortiz did..

[b-ball-lunachick]

Bogar defending his reputation from Bobby.

"I did my best, along with all the other coaches, to keep everyone on track," Bogar said. "Some things are public, some will stay private, but no one will truly understand what had to be handled behind those clubhouse doors. Being professional in these matters is the only way to go about it."

Bogar said Wednesday he felt he had a great rapport with the Red Sox players.

"You don't know how many times these guys would come and talk to me about stuff," Bogar said. "The last couple of times I've read stuff about that there was no communication or the communication was bad; the only bad communication was between Bobby and everyone. The rest of the communication was great. I talked to the players daily about stuff. We talked about everything. The coaches talked about everything."

from Aviles on Bogar:

"During the tough times, Bogey was definitely the bridge. He was able to talk to Bobby and Bobby was able to talk to him, and vice-versa with the players. Bogey was a great bridge communicating to both sides because he understood Bobby the best. Bobby was here only one year, so nobody really understood him or knew him. No one had that long relationship and it was tough for Bobby, but Bogey knew him from his playing days. And Bogey knew the players and was able to communicate and be the bridge to have things run a little bit smoother than normal."

Bogar said that, beginning in spring training, several incidents contributed to the lack of communication between him and Valentine.

even his problems with the coaches went back to ST. And he needed a bridge to communicate with is players? what a mess.

I just love how wrong Lucchino was about BV...he got his choice last year - good job Larry.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/...ed-sox-coaches

[b-ball-lunachick]

I'm sure i'm the only one but Farrell reminds me of a slightly younger version of the senator/actor guy from Diehard 2:

[sweet_lou_14]

I'm sure i'm the only one but Farrell reminds me of a slightly younger version of the senator/actor guy from Diehard 2:

Fred Thompson ... yeah, now that you point it out, I see it too.

[RenoHightower]

I see more of a doughy Powers Boothe.