I support the strategy of playing for the wild card position if it makes sense in the last month of the season to rest players and line up pitchers, etc. But it is not a good strategy in my mind to go into the season knowing you are inferior to your division rivals.
I disagree with the "anyone can win if they're in" theory. Did the Twins have a chance to win last year? Did any team from the NL? Did the Red Sox really have a chance? Oh sure, there was a statistical chance, but in the absence of some anomaly, the Yankees were steamrolling to a World Series. I think the Sox need to construct a team that has the horses to beat the Yankees. They have the resources to do it, but they choose maximizing profits over maximizing competitiveness. ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ray Salemi Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 8:26 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Jason Bay Hence the "anyone can win if they're in" theory. On Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 2:38 PM, Tom Salemi <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: If this team gets in the playoffs, I like their chances with three top of the rotation starters. Furthermore, you can't look at last year's playoff results as a predictor for what will happen next year in the playoffs. Teams, pitchers and hitters get hot and cold--see Papelbon's meltdown. On Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 9:07 AM, Steve Gendron <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I'm not sure how you figure we will "do fine" when we got swept in the first round of the playoffs last year by a team who then got crushed by the Yankees. If by "do fine" you think we will make the playoffs, then yeah I think we have a good chance for that goal, which I think is the goal of Sox management. ________________________________ From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Tom Salemi Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2009 4:39 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Jason Bay I'm not as concerned about our offense as some people. I'm not going to run through the 09 stats, but if I look at the roster I see reason for some hope. Comparing the 09 team to the potential 10 team, I see offensive improvement at catcher and short-stop. I see equal performance coming from 1b, 2b, CF, RF, and DH. And I see us likely taking a ding in LF and 3B, unless we sign Beltre for the latter then it may be equal. So if we go into 10 with a slightly weaker lineup but a stronger pitching staff I think we'll do fine. My one worry, and it's a biggie, is Victor Martinez. Unless we go into 2010 without an everyday 3B, he'll pretty much be required to catch every day. Is he capable of that? I thought he'd been transitioning to a 1B role. On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 9:53 PM, Ray Salemi <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: That gets back to the fans goal: Win a World Series. The fans don't care if we win the division, though I do. I think winning the division is harder than winning the World Series once you're in the playoffs. On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 8:03 PM, Steve Gendron <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I guess that makes some sense, except that you have to beat the Yankees eventually to win the World Series. But the Red Sox have adopted exactly the strategy that you stated here - get to the playoffs as inexpensively as possible, and then hope for something unusual to happen. As a fan, I'm not satisfied with that strategy because they have the money to compete with the Yankees, they just choose to maximize their profits instead. ________________________________ From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Ray Salemi Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 7:40 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Jason Bay To win the World Series you need to get into the playoffs. In a division with the Yankees, the cheapest way to get into the playoffs is to win the Wildcard. Winning the division is too expensive. On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 4:26 PM, Steve Gendron <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I'm not sure I understand that. Seems like just the opposite. ________________________________ From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Ray Salemi Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 1:28 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Jason Bay When your fan base only cares about World Series rings, playing for the wildcard is the smart strategy. Ray -- Author of "Leading After a Layoff: Reignite Your Team's Productivity in Just 12 Weeks" www.leadingafteralayoff.com<http://www.leadingafteralayoff.com/> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Red Sox Citizens" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. 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