Manny a Dodger

Jason Bay is a nice player who like you said hasn't been able to play with such a good team and other players. From what I have read he is a hard worker and is well respected. Good for him. I'd rather see a guy like this get the money and opportunity than a self centered guy like Manny.

 

I understand just fine. You said something that was wrong, you now realize that it was wrong, and you're trying to spin it so that you can pretend you weren't wrong. You said "the Red Sox have been the best organization in baseball at knowing the value of their players and the market." Based on the Drew & Lugo signings along with some other questionable moves, that's clearly not true. Other organizations have a better record of knowing the value of their players and the market. You're trying to throw in championships because you know that what you said was wrong, but championships are a separate issue from how well you do at valuing players (as demonstrated by the '96-'00 Yankees who spent like drunken sailors but have four championships to show for it). Just drop it.

You should if you're arguing about knowing the value of players and the market. No one has done a better job than Oakland of parting with players at the height of their value and replacing them with players of comparable value. They've done it year after year for a decade now.

Downtown Oakland is overwhelmingly black, but even if you want to quibble with the word "overwhelmingly," the demographic difference between San Francisco and Oakland is still dramatic.

You're talking about median income per household, which could compare a two person household in San Francisco with a six adult household in Oakland. Per capita income is a more accurate measurement, and Oakland's sits at $28,409 with 19.7% of the population living below the poverty line. Meanwhile San Francisco's per capita income is $39,929 and only 10.2% live below the poverty line. (Source) In fact, San Francisco is the richest city per capita in America, while Oakland is relatively poor. People who have been there already knew that, and while it's fine that you didn't, you should really check your facts before making assertions because you might embarrass yourself.

Oh good grief. The more you talk, the more clear it is that you have no idea what you're talking about. Anyone with any sense knows that Oakland is an economically depressed area. It simply cannot compete with large, high capital areas like Boston and New York. The demographic disadvantages are enormous.

It isn't fact, it's just the prevailing opinion: http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/prospect-pulse/2008/266560.html

"Last October, Oakland general manager Billy Beane gathered his braintrust in Phoenix for a stark and startling determination. The A's may be good enough to be also-rans in the American League West, but they lacked the depth of talent that would make them a contender for the future. If the A's were to build themselves back into a big-time contender, the organization must be stripped and rebuilt—built around young talent that would eventually mature to challenge the well-constructed and deep-pocketed Angels.

The result was a virtual dismantling of the major league team, trading away stars and fan favorites to acquire young talent that might someday meld together to build September runs and October surprises. And if that were to happen, it would take plentiful pitching.

Eight months later, the Athletics possess so much young pitching that other organizations gawk in awe. From the majors to the Dominican Summer League, Oakland's system is filled with talent and potential. One of the main reasons is the talent acquired by dealing away their established players, for the likes of Smith and other young guns. "

That would be a smart move for you. You made some good points about the Red Sox making the right decisions on guys like Pedro, but you've gotten yourself in trouble with extremely dubious statements about Matsuzaka's $17.2 million per season being a better value than Lowe's $9 million, along with saying that guys like Damon and Lowe had a "significant drop in productivity" after leaving Boston. Plus there's the whole issue of you pretending not to understand that a team in Boston has economic resources that dwarf ones for a team in Oakland. The A's don't keep shedding payroll just because their owner is cheap. It wouldn't matter who their owner was, they couldn't sustain a payroll like Boston's without incurring tens of millions of dollars in losses every season.

But yeah, Epstein has done a good job as general manager for the most part, and the Red Sox have done a phenomenal job of turning what had been a fallow farm system into one of the game's more productive ones.

 

Fuck Manny. He was clearly being a disturbance and he most definately didn't want to be there. What was Boston supposed to do? How many travel agents do you let a guy beat up before you trade him? How many games do you let him miss with a fake injury? Boston got a good player to replace him. It sounds like a no brainer to me.

 

I'm not claiming Ortiz had more IBB's than Manny but I know that on more than one occassion over the last 2 seasons teams intetionally walked Ortiz to pitch to Manny. That is a fact you flaming pile of shit.

 

More than once, yes, but not "many times" as you initially claimed.

 

I HEART MAN RAM. I don't give a fuck what yall say. My Dodgers won back to back, 1 game back in the west. Man Ram starts out 8-13, 2 home runs and Casey Blakes been a good pickup thus far. Nomar should be healthy next week (prolly for a game though, then he'll go back on the DL) Penny will be back next week, Furcal and Schmidt come back in September and it's looking like we might be able to win a playoff series.

 

It's looking good for you guys in terms of beating out Arizona, but it's still hard to see what other playoff team you guys would be favored to beat.

 

don't worry. I don't have my hopes up. I'm sure we will fuck it up somehow.

 

Well having Manny at least gives you a decent shot at anyone in the N.L. Plus I read that Penny is lighting up the radar gun at 98 mph, so he might be back soon.