As I said last time this came up.

Your 3-4-5-6 would be some combination of Papi, Manny, A-Rod, and Youklis.

You'll get over it.

Daniels: Your 3-4-5-6 would be some combination of Papi, Manny, A-Rod, and Youklis.

I'm amazed how many fellow Sox fans beat on me for suggesting that doesn't sound half bad.

toonz: Daniels: Your 3-4-5-6 would be some combination of Papi, Manny, A-Rod, and Youklis.

I'm amazed how many fellow Sox fans beat on me for suggesting that doesn't sound half bad.

Because you do not realize how sick with Yankee hatred they are. Their Yankee hatred far outweighs their Sox love. it's a bitter, negative mentality, and it defines the Sox-fan template. (note: not all Sox fans, just most).

One thing I promise you: Here in NYC, we do not hate the Sox as much as you hate the Yanks. Not even close.

toonz: I'm amazed how many fellow Sox fans beat on me for suggesting that doesn't sound half bad.

Nobody beats on you for suggesting that on paper that doesn't sound half bad. What many Sox fans don't want is public Enemy #1 wearing our uniform. I rather have some home grown guys come up like Paps, Pedroia, Ellsbury combineds with good finds like Oki, and surrendipitous aquisitions like Lowell instead of a douchebag like ARod who has a very tainted history with us. Sadly, knowing our front office, Lowell won't be here next season. Hey, it still kinda bothers me that the Red Sox are the most expensive team to ever win a World Series (not as much as it would bother me to hold the record of Most Expensive team to not win a WS, but still).

I am also in favor of a cap with a hard min and a hard max of something like $55M-$105M. May never happen, but I wouldn't mind it at all.

toonz: I'm amazed how many fellow Sox fans beat on me for suggesting that doesn't sound half bad.

I would understand if you guys had some incredibly awesome shortstop that like came up through your organization and everyone loved. Unfortunately, he's playing in Florida last I checked.

You're looking at a line-up of Crisp, Drew, Papi, Manny, A-Rod, Youklis, Lowell, Varitek, and Pedroia. That is a disturbingly awesome line-up with like an eleventy-billion OBP

Daniels: Unfortunately, he's playing in Florida last I checked.


Meh, who cares, that trade yielded two all*stars.

GimpyNip:
I am also in favor of a cap with a hard min and a hard max of something like $55M-$105M. May never happen, but I wouldn't mind it at all.

Gimpy, what do you do for a living, and what is the legislated maximum on what you can earn?

(I bet the answer is "market value based on geography". It's why Administrative assistants in NYC earn twice what they do in Milwaukee).

Ya wanna know what the real payroll crime is in baseball? The Brewers having a total payroll that is less than the money they get from cap tax.

They do not put it back on the field. George does. So do the Sox.

HulkHands: The Dynamite Monkey: Trivia Question: Which team was the last one to break the color barrier?

In baseball? The Red Sox. Mostly because Tom Yawkey was a racist piece of shiat. I fail to see what this has to do with any thing any one has said in this thread so far.

It was just a random trivia question, and was not intended to cast any historical aspersions on a city or its club in any way.

GimpyNip: Meh, who cares, that trade yielded two all*stars.

I didn't say it was a bad trade... just that your awesome short-stop prospect was playing in Florida. If you knew Hanley was going to turn out this good, you'd probably still make that trade.

It's not The Pierzynski Trade or anything.

The Dynamite monkey They do not put it back on the field. George does. So do the Sox.

Which is why there would be a minimum cap to force revenue back on the field. 105 M is perfectly acceptable amount since it limits the market inflation that the Yankees represent and to a slightly lesser extent the Red Sox do. It also would make the Red Sox actually use there farm guys instead of them being these rumored prospects we hear about season after season. Pedroia may as well be Jackie Robinson as far as the Sox & prospects over the past few years are concerned, heck, he even opened the door for Ellsbury (and closed it for bad-trade Wily).

GimpyNip: 105 M is perfectly acceptable amount since it limits the market inflation that the Yankees represent and to a slightly lesser extent the Red Sox do.

A salary floor, if you believe that the small market clubs currently lose money, will either force them to contract or move.

A salary cap will never be backed by the union and it will, therefore, never happen.

Daniels: If you knew Hanley was going to turn out this good, you'd probably still make that trade.

QFT. Even less of a chance now. Truth be told, though, I watch Lowell 6 times a week & Beckett every 5th. I never see Marlins games, with that said, no way they'd even consider trading back now or lamenting a mulligan.

Now, if we could have traded a few duds like Craig Hansen for Beckett/Lowell instead, well that woulda been awesome!

A salary floor, if you believe that the small market clubs currently lose money, will either force them to contract or move.

I don't believe that. It will force them to spend or sell. Anybody have that Forbes revenue per team spread sheet? If the Pirates didn't make any money then why did Mark Cuban want to buy them?

/realizes a cap will never happen anytime soon if ever

GimpyNip: I don't believe that. It will force them to spend or sell. Anybody have that Forbes revenue per team spread sheet? If the Pirates didn't make any money then why did Mark Cuban want to buy them?

The Pirates are a different case, sorta. They've been in that town for like 120 years. They draw two million in years when they lose 100 games. I'm talking about a team like the Devil Rays that have no history in the city.

The Pirates are also reasonably close to being a decent team... and they're in a pitiful division, which helps.

Since the cap/cellar will probably not happen, I still think the best bet is to take a page from the NFL, and cut off the sharing privileges of teams that don't re-invest into their team. A few weasel-y owners will balk, but the players' union sure can't argue with THAT, can they?

Also, perhaps a greater percentage of merchandising revenue should go to the teams whose merchandise sells more. Currently it is shared across the board. This is great for the weasel owners who don't invest and just reap. But if there was a greater profit turned for the merchandise of star players, then paying out more could be considered more of an investment than a payroll 'hit'.

A team with less money could consider dropping $50 mil on Dice-K
because that would be an investment when all the Japanese money rolls back in, theoretically. Currently, as I understand it, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Tampa, KC, etc are getting as much from Dice-K'mania' as the Sox.

GimpyNip: 105 M is perfectly acceptable amount since it limits the market inflation that the Yankees represent

I think we can probably fault San Francisco and Chicago for this a bit, too, don't you?

toonz: I'm amazed how many fellow Sox fans beat on me for suggesting that doesn't sound half bad.

Championships are won on the field and lost in the clubhouse. How many World Series have the Yankees won since ARod arrived?

/Thought so.
/Gimme Cabrera any day.

Daniels: The Pirates are also reasonably close to being a decent team... and they're in a pitiful division, which helps.

Dude, they are staging walkouts at their home games

toonz Currently, as I understand it, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Tampa, KC, etc are getting as much from Dice-K'mania' as the Sox.

This is probably a much more feasible idea. On your last point though, I don't believe that the Sox have to share overseas market investments but that might just be limited to advert deals like the new one with Funai. If a kid in Japan goes to MLB.com and buys a Sox hat everyone still gets a cut albeit not an equal one as your post seems to presume.

toonz: A team with less money could consider dropping $50 mil on Dice-K because that would be an investment when all the Japanese money rolls back in, theoretically. Currently, as I understand it, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Tampa, KC, etc are getting as much from Dice-K'mania' as the Sox.

The Royals just signed Gil Meche for $55 million and they're working on putting a competitive team on the field. (The ROYALS, for crying out loud!) The Twins contend almost every year because they've figured out how to use their payroll effectively. The Brewers are currently competing for a division title. Tampa has a talented, but inexperienced team (so, they're trying). I don't know WTF is wrong with Pittsburgh.

The reason that the Red Sox bid so high for Dice-K is because all of the bidding was done blind. They figured that's how high the bidding would be for Dice-K, so that's the figure they went with in order to obtain his services.

Daniels: I think we can probably fault San Francisco and Chicago for this a bit, too, don't you?

Don't forget the Dodgers and the Rangers.

Tim Wakefield

To all the Sox fans who can't wait to get rid of their number 5 pitcher and all the Yankee fans who make fun of him ...

1) How many Yankee pitchers have 9 wins?
2) How many have pitched 100 innings?

/The sum of those two answers is 1

robsul82: Oh, another glorious thread.

Okay, let's talk about Josh Beckett.

/"Josh Beckett" would make a great "Baseketball psych out" for robsul
//Ssssttteeeeeeeeevvvvvveeeeeee PERRY!

GimpyNip: Dude, they are staging walkouts at their home games

Which is essentially meaningless because they still bought tickets.

Morlith: I don't know WTF is wrong with Pittsburgh.

No middle relief, 2 starters, and 2 hitters. Management that makes awful trades. A fan-base who thinks that buying tickets and walking out is more meaningful than not buying tickets.

During Robsul's nightmares the puss from Beckett's blisters drips on his forehead like Chinese Water Torture.

The Dynamite monkey: Boston: The town that Loved Fred Lynn and hated Jim Rice.

Yep, it was pretty racist of Boston to trade away Rice Rice and keep Fred Lynn. Oh wait! It was the other way around.

/Now sit quietly and have a snack of your troll chow

lilbjorn: The Dynamite monkey: Boston: The town that Loved Fred Lynn and hated Jim Rice.

Yep, it was pretty racist of Boston to trade away Rice Rice and keep Fred Lynn. Oh wait! It was the other way around.

Where did I say it was racist? While they were both on the team, one was one of the all time greats, the other one was the town's hero. Do you dispute that?

Now sit quietly and have a snack of your troll chow

Yum. Thanks! Tasted like Rice Rice to me me.

Daniels: Management that makes awful trades.

Ah, that's the cause, then. Thanks for the info.

GimpyNip: During Robsul's nightmares the puss from Beckett's blisters drips on his forehead like Chinese Water Torture.

I would think that he'd be hit in the balls by each pitch that records an out for Beckett.

/That's a hell of a lot of groin shots.
//Ow.

I think he is just sore because he hasn't gotten a chance to make a good bacon joke in a week.

Daniels

J.D. Drew for Jason Bay, does that sound like something you might be interested in?

GimpyNip: Nobody beats on you for suggesting that on paper that doesn't sound half bad. What many Sox fans don't want is public Enemy #1 wearing our uniform. I rather have some home grown guys come up like Paps, Pedroia, Ellsbury combineds with good finds like Oki, and surrendipitous aquisitions like Lowell instead of a douchebag like ARod who has a very tainted history with us.

What exactly is A-Rod's "very tainted history" with the Red Sox?

The fact that he was willing to take a huge pay cut to go to Boston?

The Pedroia play? Give me a break.

The slap? YOU WON THE FARKING SERIES-- LET IT GO ALREADY.

GimpyNip: J.D. Drew for Jason Bay, does that sound like something you might be interested in?

I'd take Joey Ramone over J.D. Drew.

GimpyNip: I think he is just sore because he hasn't gotten a chance to make a good bacon joke in a week.

Schilling will be on the DL until he's 'cured.'

lilbjorn: To all the Sox fans who can't wait to get rid of their number 5 pitcher and all the Yankee fans who make fun of him ...

Who the hell was talking about Wakefield?

Anyway, the thing with Wakefield is he has trouble with the Yankees.

Wise_Guy: GimpyNip: J.D. Drew for Jason Bay, does that sound like something you might be interested in?

I'd take Joey Ramone over J.D. Drew.

Joey can't hit the breaking ball anymore.

/ big Ramones fan!

Wise_Guy:

The slap? YOU WON THE FARKING SERIES-- LET IT GO ALREADY.

NEVA!

I don't like the guy and wouldn't root for him. I'd rather watch players I feel I can cheer for like my ace Julian T-Vaz, Scrappy Doo, Lowell, Youk, Oki, Paps, Cora, Schill, Tek, Papi, Manny, etc. Not a purple lipped dildo. To reiterate:

GimpyNip: Wise_Guy:

The slap? YOU WON THE FARKING SERIES-- LET IT GO ALREADY.

NEVA!

I don't like the guy and wouldn't root for him. I'd rather watch players I feel I can cheer for like my ace Julian T-Vaz, Scrappy Doo, Lowell, Youk, Oki, Paps, Cora, Schill, Tek, Papi, Manny, etc. Not a purple lipped dildo. To reiterate:

I got three words for you pal:

Babe.

Ruth.

Goat.

I got umm 12 words for you!

Signing Schilling instead of ARod won the Red Sox a World Series.

GimpyNip: I got umm 12 words for you!

Signing Schilling instead of ARod won the Red Sox a World Series.

Can't really argue with that.

The Dynamite Monkey: GimpyNip: I got umm 12 words for you!

Signing Schilling instead of ARod won the Red Sox a World Series.

Can't really argue with that.

Except maybe to say why wouldn't you want to try it again?

Wise_Guy: Schilling will be on the DL until he's 'cured.'

We'll know he's back to top form when he starts 'smoking' the opposition.

Either that or he'll sound like the dog from the "Beggin' Strips" commercials.

Hulk Hands: I submit he is the ump behind the plate, and the catcher is attempting to catch four-seamers from Beckett and succeeding like Josh Bard did when trying to catch Wakefield's knuckleballs.

Only if he has to call strikes.