Money for Nothing

Doug:
So did you see this bit from Rockies ownah Monfort?

 

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Doug:
Even after getting his ass whooped by the Red Sox he insists his Rockies are the bettah team.

 

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Al:
Yeah, and if they played a 10 game series, the purple-vested dudes would take 6.

 

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Mike:
You know, typically this kind of crap would annoy me, but coming from Monfort, nah.

 

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Mike:
I mean this is a guy who wakes up every morning fully expecting that today is the day Christ will descend from heaven in the second coming to begin the fiery apocalyptic "end times."

 

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Al:
Yeah, no logic, reason, science, statistics, etc. are going to convince someone like that. If the Sox won 10 straight he'd insist the Rockies would win the next 20 and so and so forth ad infinitum.

 

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Doug:
With that said, though, I actually think we could use a little New Testament Jesus going batshit on the money changahs around here.

 

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Doug:
I mean first it was the "Red Sox Nation ID Cards" and now the Globe is trying to fleece people out of $19.95 to "sign the wall."

 

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Mike:
Absolutely. This idea that you need to hand ovah money in order to be a "real"fan is getting absurd.

 

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Comments

[Bob]

It would be cool if both Jesus and the Flying Spaghetti Monster descended on that douchenozzle and unleashed their mighty powers.

Of course, Jesus might turn the other cheek, but his vengeful Father would then zap that owner with a lightning taser. And the Flying Spaghetti Monster would go all Italian Mafia on his ass.

[vermonter]

Of course, if signing the wall for 20 bucks helps to pay for Mikey Lowell to stay at third base...then maybe not so bad.

I'm not even sure I believe what I just wrote, but somehow it helps.

[Bob]

I already have my name inside The Monster. Really. I did a Shawmut bank commercial at Fenway years ago (starring Mo Vaughn), and got to do all kinds of cool things (go inside the wall, play the organ, be the PA announcer). I stll have a chip of green paint from the base of the Monster.

Now cue PT to do a riff on the "play the organ" line. In 3...2...1...

[Jeffrey]

I appreciate Monfort's optimism, but when you go over the top like that people just think you're crazy.

[COD]

I might pay $20 if it buys me a promise that they won't sign ARod.

[michaelmc]

Now that it's been suggested, I'd personally send Mikey Lowell an Andy Jackson if he accepts a deal with the Sox. Fan-based signing bonus, anyone?

[Bob]

Shit, A-Fraud would probably charge the Red Sox to sign the inside of the Monster.

I really, really, really hope they don't even consider signing him.

I just despise the a-hole so much.

[Rock]

I never even considered buying a "Red Sox Nation ID Card" just to prove I'm a real fan. I certainly won't pay good money just to sign the Green Monster either. I spend enough money on tickets and merchandising as it is.

[Jeffrey]

Okay, someone with some interwebs savvy should set up a website that is a petition not to sign A-ROD. It would cost $5 to sign the petition.

Or maybe $5 to buy a "virtual brick" to build a wall to keep A-ROD out...

Proceeds can either be sent to the Sox to subsideize Lowell's signing, or to pay for A-ROD's moving truck to send him to Arizona (seriously, funds could be sent to some Charity)

Can someone get on this please??

[h.b.]

I think people will get over their A-Rod angst pretty quickly, if he were to be signed.

[lc]

I'd never want a RSN card, but I would pay $20 just to stand inside the Wall, signature or no.

go figure

lc

[vermonter]

Me too, Bob. I can't remember ever hating a player so much. Even the other Yankees...I dislike them because they are Yankess, but I'd warm up to most of them by Opening Day, I think. Posada, Jeter, Leather-Face...let bygones be bygones, but A-Rod has a special dick-ness about him that goes way too deep.

[Bob]

//I think people will get over their A-Rod angst pretty quickly, if he were to be signed.//

Probably (and unfortunately) true, H.B. At least until October.

[Son of Hamulack]

Somebody called the Rockies a bunch of Jesus-Freaks and I thought he had a lot of gall considering the number of born-agains on the Sox. But then he pointed out the Rockies don't only supply room for players to testify... they mandate attendance:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060619/zirin

Not starting Youk in Colorado... that's turning the other cheek.

[h.b.]

Here's armchair shrink take on A-Rod.

He needs to be on a team where he isn't seen as "the difference maker" but is just another really good player among other really good players.

I think that is what he thought he was getting with the Yankees, but he caught them too late as so many of their players were already in decline.

I think there is only 1 team in the MLB were A-Rod wouldn't really stand out as being "the star" and, consequently, wouldn't press and tighten up.

I really can't imagine what kind of numbers a relaxed A-Rod is capable of, reg season and postseason.

[Natalie]

Doesn't Montfort sound like something out of Harry Potter? Just me? Hmm.

I'd get over my A-Rod angst very quickly if we signed him, I'm kind of a Sox slut that way.

I could actually see the Sox keeping Mike Lowell, getting A-Rod at short and (sigh) trading Manny (you know he is going to ask again).

[Son of Hamulack]

//I think people will get over their A-Rod angst pretty quickly, if he were to be signed.//

I don't know... I don't think I'm alone in saying I'm still not over my J.D. Drew angst, despite the 4-bagger.

[h.b.]

The thing with A-Rod is, whether you want to face it or not, so much of our angst comes from the fact that he was 99% signed to the Sox only to have that fall through and the Yankees swoop in.

And that fact that he was almost signed is why I think he will be signed this time.

Theo doesn't seem to let go of things. He wanted Lugo, didn't get him first try, got him eventually. He wanted JD Drew, didn't get him first try, got him second try.

[vermonter]

But as a fan, h.b., isn't there too much water under the bridge with A-Rod? Who else have you ever detested this much, even in all of the heartbreak years?

"...to forgive, divine", and all, but Christ...him?

the part of it that is REALLY bothersome is that I know deep down that I WOULD accept him because what is the alternative. And I just don't want to.

[Natalie]

I also think one of our bigger losses, should it come to pass that he takes a managerial job, will be John Farrell, the pitching coach.

[yazbread]

I would pay $20 to urinate in a plastic bucket inside the Green Monster.

[Kaz]

I'm just here for the "Chicks for free".

[Kaz]

By the way, Montfort: we've played 7 this season, you douchenozzle, and we've won 5 of them. You're going to have to go higher than a 10 game series to get 6 wins against us. Go blow it out your Hallelujah Hole.

[Tarrkid]

//The thing with A-Rod is, whether you want to face it or not, so much of our angst comes from the fact that he was 99% signed to the Sox only to have that fall through and the Yankees swoop in.//

True, but I remember feeling relieved when the deal fell through. Honestly. I had steeled myself for him coming. I knew he was a tremendous player, but there was something that bothered me. But I had started to move past it when I heard that it had fallen through, and I cursed the Union for a while, and then... Then I realized that we might have just dodged a bullet.

And think about this...

//He needs to be on a team where he isn't seen as "the difference maker" but is just another really good player among other really good players.//

That's why he would have crashed and burned the first time around... The pressure was on to win the WS, and SuperSchilling brought us to the pinnacle. A-Rod would have folded like a house of cards.

NOW, though... NOW, with 2004 and 2007 in the books, the pressure is off...

h.b., you're right... He might actually perform here.

...

I'm still not crazy about it, though.

[h.b.]

Now no doubt this is a huge risk, but the thing that has me more amiable to the A-Rod possibility is this:

Imagine what it would do to Yankees fans if the Red Sox sign A-Rod and he goes on to great success with the Red Sox including 1) Winning at least 1 WS 2) Breaking the all time HR record.

It would be one hell of a blow to their fan psyches and further evidence that something is quite wrong with the Yankees organization, almost as if they are "cursed" or something. Bwaahahaha.

[DickRaditz]

H.B. say it ain't so. You want AROD? That guy represents all thats wrong with baseball and to a larger extent modern life.

If we sign him then we really have become the Yankees.

[Scott]

Ole Charlie is still pissed that the Sox front office backed out of a trade a short time ago that they had "agreed" upon. Maybe if he spent a few more dollars on his team they might have competed. What a cheap tool.

Some fun links from Denver. Greg is Jim Lee Hunt's son. You Pat's fans should know who that is.

http://greg69sheryl.livejournal.com/149504.html

Photo's from the parade from my old fraternity brother. Some good closeups.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=182074323/a=37237705_49689114/t_=37237705

[vermonter]

Well h.b., at least that is something to think about.

That's why you write and I read.

[CuracaoSox]

Can't agree more with you HB. The thing is, Lowell is going to decline soon, maybe next year, Manny's contract expires next year, and Papi is not getting any younger.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

h.b., that's dreaming big and I like it.

[Scott]

I forgot to add.

Bob's good on the piano but sucks on the organ...

One more funny link if you haven't seen it:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/gallery/10_10_07_photoshop_the_sox?p1=email_to_a_friend

[Ray Saunders]

What will be will be – but I would hate to lose Lowell.

I think that Boras has over-estimated the market for A-Rod – that talk about the YES network co-sponsoring his Yankee extension – it is almost absurd. He clearly views himself and his client as bigger than the game – see ws game 4 announcement. His subsequent ‘apology’ is a load of crap! The announcement accomplished exactly what he very intentionally planned for it to accomplish – he probably had the apology scripted ahead of time too.

If A-Rod really, truly, wants to win as bad as he says he does, why is it always about money? Why do discussions about his next team always start and stop with who can afford his demands? Why not pick a hot, small market team, and make a pennant run with them for 5 million?

BUT, Theo & Co. don’t play that way. They assign a value to a player and don’t deviate from it. They will NOT make one position player’s salary a third or a fourth of the total team payroll. They will not tie up 10 years or 300 millions to enable this self-absorbed, record-chasing, stat padding, choker. If Lowell’s demands are at all within reason (and I suspect that he won’t ask for an out clause after a few seasons, or investment by NESN) I bet that the difference between player demand v team assessment of value will be much closer with Lowell than A-Rod.

A-Rod is a supremely gifted baseball player – let’s put him in a museum so everyone can look at him in awe. Let’s call him retired, and vote him into the H.O.F. today. Dip him in bronze, put him on a pedestal, and I’ll pay my respects to the legend.

Having said all that, I will cheer for the a$$ if he is wearing a Sox uniform in April.

[Sox Fan in VA]

I read the article on Boras in The New Yorker, and it would agree with Ray's remark that the agent is getting too big for his britches.

Apparently, Boras penned a letter to Bud Selig saying, in part, the World Series needs to include sponsored menswear at an awards show, additional games in neutral cities around the planet, and other things. Seriously.

I despite both Boras and Rodriguez, and do not look forward to having to somehow root for the latter if he comes to Boston. Y'think I could still call him 'Slappy McBluelips' if he was on Tito's roster?

[Kev]

Monfort?

Who is this Monfort?

Sounds like somebody with a bruised ego who just got his ass handed to him.

Must be the high altitude in Denvah.

[buckner was framed]

what's he complaining about, anyway? His team won 21 of 26 to finish the season

[h.b.]

Check out this Halloween Costume a buddy of mine came up with.

[Sonoma Sox]

Love the hi-tech costume...more coffee on keyboard.

As for ARod - it all goes back to us being a crazed group of emotional, hypocritical FANS - just like the characters - the best in the world btw. And if ARod arrives and helps win another WS, we'll chant and have signs "Re-sign ARod"...people hated Beckett last year and now he's Cy friggin Young. That's why we show up everyday and bleed RS angst and glory.

[Jeffrey]

Great costume!!!

[Harwich Rich]

A-Rod? He's a renaissance man.Did you know,among his many talents he's a virtuoso musician. You should just see him perform the skinflute sonata.(He's no slouch blowing the sax either) Thanks,I'm here all week-try the sausage AND onions :)

[Harwich Rich]

Am I being too HARD on Alex?

[COD]

My pumpkin this year.

[h.b.]

I've had as much fun as anyone piling on A-Rod and making jokes at his expense, so it's quite weird to somewhat defending him today.

Regarding "always about the money" it's worth noting that A-Rod was willing to take a paycut when the Sox wanted him, but the the player's union blocked that.

But I agree 100% with the previous comment about had A-Rod come then, pre-2004 WS win, it would have been a disaster. We would have crushed him with the weight of our expectations.

[vancouversoxfan]

h.b., you make some very good points about Slappy (and yes I'd cheer for him if he was on the Red Sox) but isn't the pressure of playing in Boston on a day-today basis (forget the WS) a negative factor? (See Rent-a-wreck et al)

BTW Bob, what is better than roses on a piano?...Tulips on my organ.

[h.b.]

//but isn't the pressure of playing in Boston on a day-today basis (forget the WS) a negative factor?//

It can be. But my thinking is (per previous comment) that if he isn't the sole "difference maker" on a team, he'll relax more.

And considering we already have some really great clutch hitters (c.f., Papi, Ellsbury, Youks, etc), there'd be less expectation on his every at bat.

And maybe it was just me, but the Red Sox seemed like a really loose club all season. The Yankees seemed just the opposite. Maybe that loose style is just what he needs?

I don't really know. Perhaps just putting the best spin on it.

[Bob]

I knew, just knew, that the organ line was going to come back and haunt me. Oh well.

Hey, H.B. check-out BigBri's Halloween costume (kinda-sorta not safe for work; but it really is; sort-of):

http://bp2.blogger.com/__XCWUd8FFjQ/Ryh2Ll1KRQI/AAAAAAAACB8/gPeqXiQ9u84/s1600-h/dickwad.jpg

[ParkerStPete]

The way I see it we had to win it in 4. I mean, suppose the Apocalypse had come on Monday?

[yazbread]

My two cents on ARod. He is not a clubhouse cancer (e.g., Albert Belle) but he is disruptive (a la Sammy Sosa). Dropping the shoulder, public display of his baseball Annies, constant need of affirmation and adulation, crying about sleepovers, etc. The Sox don't need the grief that comes along with him. I'll take the team's chances at another WS victory without him.

[professional hitter]

More two cents: doesn't it seem like A-Rod puts it upon himself to be the difference maker? It's almost like, because of his talent, and he does have talent, he feels like he has to be the difference. And then he grounds into a DP.
I always thought that putting Manny on waivers a couple years ago would preclude Theo from making any huge, questionable signings. But we all know how that worked out (despite the $14 million granny).

[vasoxfan]

Bob, since you seem to be waivering on this point... that is definitely NSFW, specially if women are nearby.:)

[Kev]

In the spirit of the holiday, I wanted to pass along this classic.