Oct
17

If Theo’s so smart, why did he break up the 2004 Sox?

By Joseph Pawlikowski

Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, and Pedro Martinez are the only members of the 2004 Red Sox currently in the playoffs. All three have already made big contributions to their teams’ LCS chances. Manny hit a two-run homer to bring the Dodgers to within one on Thursday, Pedro pitched a gem on Friday, and Damon went 2 for 5 and scored both times. The rest of the 04 Red Sox? At home. The 09 Red Sox? At home. Maybe this guy can write an article about Theo.

Posted on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 11:30 am in Asides, Whimsy.

RSS feed | Trackback URI

66 Comments »

Oh my Mo, one sentence in that article and I puked a lot.
That was pure garbage.

chriskeo says:

I just cried on the inside, that was terrible, Joe, tell me he was joking?

 
 
 
Greg G. says:

Grrr…why did I click on that link? Just reading the first few sentences probably killed a few precious brain cells.

Curse you, Pawlikowski!

 
yankeegirl49 says:

No words..just no words.

 
Edwantsacracker says:

Pedro pitched great last night, but I don’t think you would suggest that the Red Sox should have kept him?

He had one phenomenal season for the Mets posting a .949 WHIP in 200+ innings, but then he broke down.

2006 132 innings
2007 32 innings
2008 109 innings
2009 44 innings

Johnny Damon has hit wonderfully for the Yankees. This year in the 2 hold he made our lineup just a little bit deeper. But we signed Johnny Damon to be out centerfielder and he has looked lost out in the field at points, losing his job to the better defenders of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner. He needs time off to rest his legs which have been giving him all kinds of trouble, often DHing. Boston has a full time DH that they never want to take out of the lineup, so on days they would rest Johnny they would lose his greatest assest.

Manny Ramirez is one of the greatest hitters in baseball, but he is a walking joke. I wouldn’t want to have to make the decision if his production was worth the misplays and I don’t care attitude.

All I am saying is that part of the reason the New York Yankees Payroll skyrocketed in the first place was the desire to keep the championship team together. I hate that Theo Epstein gets to play the charade of a small market team in Boston and the media line up to suck his… well anyway, the three examples you were actually reasonable decisions.

Edwantsacracker says:

***the three examples you >gave< were actually reasonable decisions.

 
TheZack says:

I think you missed the humor in the post. I don’t think anyone will argue about getting rid of Pedro, or rather letting him walk, but its pretty hard to argue against the fact that losing Damon and Manny made the Red Sox a worse team.

 
AndrewYF says:

Sure, they’re a worse team, but at least they’re efficient!

 
 

Of course they were, Ed. It was just a random thought because three 04 Sox had played well. It’s why the post is tagged Whimsy.

 
 
Sweet Dick Willie says:

The world needs idiots.

That’s all I’ve got.

 
JSquared says:

Did that guy say… buy 25 baseball players a year? Does he mean pay all 25? i don’t see cashman signing 2 free agents a year…

If you look at the roster we have, i count 13 players on our roster that were brought up by the Yankees, not counting Matsui.

I’m sorry, but Boston shouldn’t have won any World series in this decade… I’m still confused how they made the World Series, and both times they made it, they got to face the Cardinals and The Rockies…??!!1! Was it a joke?

JSquared says:
 
 
vin says:

I love how people assume the GM is a failure because the team didn’t win the WS. The GMs job is to put the best team on the field relative to the team’s business model, and to be the caretaker of the future. Cashman has excelled in both of these areas. It’s not his fault if a great hitter doesn’t come through with RISP.

If people are going to be so myopic about baseball, fine. The majority of the time they are just casual fans who only know what the sports guy on their local news tells them. I have some friends like that – we just don’t talk baseball.

But don’t publish that type of article by one of those morons.

If someone says something stupid, they should be called out for it. The guy who wrote the Cashman article should be ridiculed to the greatest possible extent.

The Three Amigos says:

The author, Matt Taibi is mostly a political writer, he is on Bill Maher a lot… and as you can tell he has very strong opinions. I just hope he also has the balls to stand up and admit he was wrong and write another article about that.

Admit he’s wrong? Ha! He basically wrote that he’s so smart and could do a better job than Cashman (in so many words, without directly saying it). He’s a pompous ass, and I don’t say that just because he’s wrong. It’s evident in his writing style.

The Three Amigos says:

Oh, you’re absolutely right, however he may be so pompous that he believes that journalistic integrity still exists and therefore makes amends once the Yankees win the WS.

 
 
steve s says:

Anyone who has read this guy’s writings (in Rolling Stone) or seen him on Maher’s show knows he’s the kind of guy who was was probably jumping up and down and applauding when the Trade Towers fell. He is hard-core anti-American, anti-capitalist yet, of course, like the hypocrite Michael Moore, makes a fantastic living off the freedoms afforded him in this country. The beauty of free speech, however, is eventually his rants and hatred of everything that has made him a “success” will be exposed like Joe P has done by linking that vitriol of a hatchet job on Cashman to this thread. Thanks Joe P.!

steve s says:

Another great example (and a creative one Honorable Congressman) of freedom of speech. I hope your migraine feels better by game time!

 
 
Esteban says:

Yea, he’s also the guy who penned a column titled, “The 52 Funniest Things About the Upcoming Death of the Pope,” so I don’t think he should be taken seriously (though he probably disagrees).

 
Tony says:

Holy right-wing nutjob, Batman!

Tom Zig says:

Just because he is a nut job, doesn’t make him a right winger.

No, but the content of his comment does.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
 

This. (I was checking through the comments before writing what you had already said.)

 
 
vin says:

I agree. That’s why I said that garbage should never be published in the first place.

 
 
 
TheZack says:

Anything posted to Yahoo answers is designed to make your head asplode. That’s a given.

But that article was just terrible. Or at least, the first few sentences I read until I got angry, turned green, got huge, ripped my clothes off, and went into a violent and uncontrollable rage…

JMK aka The Overshare says:

I love YA. I troll that shit all the time.

 
 
ClayBuchholzLovesLaptops says:

Okay, I read the introduction and couldn’t keep on going. Please tell me if I missed anything by not reading this article.

 

I just woke up.

My brain = mush.

 
vin says:

BTW, for old time reminiscing, Game 7 2003 ALCS is on MLB network.

I do give Theo a good amount of credit – he helped assemble one hell of an offense that year.

 
Riddering says:

Wow. Methinks Mr. Taibbi is bitter he wasn’t born an attractive female socialite.

There’s nothing better than reading articles from early 2009 that predicted Yankees doing poorly and/or pointing out how well the Sox bargain acquisitions could work out.

Riddering says:

It’s like a car crash…I can’t look away from this article…

Last year at this time, Cashman made one of his few Machiavellian political mistakes by publicly opposing a high-priced trade for Johan Santana and instead hitching his career wagon to a youth movement led by Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Robby Cano. Hughes-Kennedy went 0-93 for the season, and Cano spent half the year being the slow half of a double-play combination that included Derek Jeter, who these days practically needs a walker to cover the hole at short.

Taibbi, you are no Nate Silver.

That paragraph could be reduced to one word.

Hack.

JMK aka The Overshare says:

In Mother Russia, sports play you!

 
 
 
 
Mike Pop says:

He made so many stupid assumptions. Ugh, it’s pathetic.

He’s the definition of a d-bag.

Mike Pop says:

Also, I still find it funny that people talk about the Santana trade. It’s not like CC is arguably the better pitcher or anything.

 
 
JMK aka The Overshare says:

Shouldn’t there be some sort of aptitude test people must pass before using teh internets? On a similar note, I’d be comforted to know such individuals aren’t breeding, but that’s unlikely.

 
Lefty says:

“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.”

/Albert Einstein

 
DP says:

The forecast is improving for tonight, down to a 60-70% chance of rain.

Lefty says:

Only a 60-70 percent chance… Lol

Joe R says:
Lefty says:

I don’t even know anymore… Now a days I just say fuck the weather reports, I just open my window, if I get cold then I put on a jacket when I go out, if it’s raining or cloudy as he’ll, it’s going to rain, etc. etc. Because just when I stet to follow the reports they’re wrong, I mean I know it’s not a perfect science, but c’mon, they can be correct at least more than half of the time. I should be a weatherman, it’s one of the only professions where you are paid to be wrong most of the time… If not the only one…

Lefty says:

Hell, even fucking Kruk can be a weatherman…

 
Sean Serritella says:

I usually open my window and yell out to every one if it’s going to rain or not and I usually get an answer.

Lefty says:

Good idea.. I’ll have to try that…

Sean Serritella says:

You might not like your responses though.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Lefty says:

Haha… That’s what I was afraid of… Ahh, oh well… Maybe I’ll know what it feels like to be papelbon called an asshole by everyone in ny

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
scoopemup says:

Matt Taibbi is a foul mouthed pimp.Crawl back under that rock Matt.

 
Sean Serritella says:

It seems to me that Joseph is asking us Yankee fans why did Theo break up the Red Sox in 2004. I’ll answer that question. Go to Yankee stadium, and you’ll find a box outside near the big bat. Please put your questions in there and I’ll answer them later in the day. Thank you.

whozat says:

It seems to me that Joseph is asking us Yankee fans why did Theo break up the Red Sox in 2004. I’ll answer that question. Go to Yankee stadium, and you’ll find a box outside near the big bat. Please put your questions in there and I’ll answer them later in the day. Thank you.joking.

 
 
pollo says:

Joe, congratulations, any good feelings I had about last night have dissipated. I now want to punch the next fuck face I see wearing a Red Sox cap. Thanks for that.

 
aj says:

Sorry guys, but I think Epstein has done a great job, especially with the young players. That team should have done better than it did.

Lanny says:

They won 95 games. How much better do they need to get?

Zack says:

Swept in the first round?!1 they are the suck!

 
 
pete says:

That team should have done almost exactly as well as it did. I saw that roster at the beginning of the season and thought to myself “92-96 wins, depending on whether or not the rays stay strong and the jays/orioles are competitive or not.” They won 95.

 
 
The Ghost of Scott Brosius says:

This is also inevitably what happens when non-sports media and national media attempt to write about a sports issue. Any real fan of the team will realize that they miss tons of intricacies and make a billion generalizations for the sake of simplicity for the “common man.” Thus derek jeter’s apparent lack of range becomes he’s washed up, slow, and needs a walker, the games most talented player becomes a colossal choke artist, young pitchers struggling to find their way like all young pitchers become epic busts.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_Journal

Men’s Journal is an American men’s lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and “gear”.

Something that Men’s Journal does not focus on: Writing good and well reasoned sports editorials.

You’re out of your depth, boys.

Hey Matt, why don’t you stop talking for a while, you know, maybe sit the next few plays out.

 

Because objectively speaking, the job of New York Yankees general manager should be the single most failure-proof position not only in sports but in all of human society.

Step 1.) Create a false premise out of thin air, totally unsupported by any reason or thought
Step 2.) Write several thousand words of invalid conclusions based on that singular false premise and hope nobody notices
Step 3.) Sell that several thousand word article to a crappy third-rate men’s magazine that only gets sold to dentists offices to sit in their waiting room end tables, gathering dust
Step 4.) Profit.

 
Andrew says:

yea that guy is a self-righteous pretentious prick. cashman has obviously made some bad moves. but hes made more good ones. plus the golden child theo epstein is highly overrated.

i will agree that the arod contract is a bit stupid but other than that im satisfied with cashman. playing monopoly? come on, any gm polled in the league would have done the exact same thing given the resources avaliable to cashman.

my god if epstein or any other gm pulled off aj-tex-cc he would be hailed as a “genius that overcame all odds.” cashman is a greedy idiot. i see the logic, douchebag.

do us all a favor and jump off the highest bridge you come across. maybe then you can actually right something relevant to mens journal.

 
JFH says:

another example of the many brilliant proclamations made before memorial day. it would be great to remind the many media folk of their picks and articles this spring. but they would probably use the “buying a championship” defense.

also another example of the general hatred by the media of the most popular team in baseball. thanks for sharing.

 
leokitty says:

Matt Taibbi’s whole thing is to tear people apart. The problem with attacking Cashman in this manner is that

1) Everyone with a brain knows that he’s not the worst GM in MLB and it’s not even close.
2) Dude doesn’t appear to know anything about baseball, so anyone who does comes away thinking that they just read a really stupid column (which they did).

 
YankeeJosh says:

Best comments from the article:

“Cashman has laid the foundation for 2009 to be maybe the most entertaining year for non–Yankees fans in the history of baseball. We are all trailing six car lengths behind, waiting for the pinstriped truck to jackknife and explode in a giant conflagration of scandals and finger-pointing. In an age when huge, irresponsible financial bets have brought Western civilization to the edge of collapse, Cashman’s Yankees are perfectly positioned to become an object lesson in everything that has gone wrong with American society in the past eight years or so.”

“And unless the karma gods decide to spend the summer in a diabetic coma, it’s almost certainly what’s going to happen to this year’s Yankees. God, is it going to be fun to see. Nothing is more entertaining than watching the rich choke on their own greed.”

Blame it on diabetes Matt!

Seriously though, there are valid criticisms of Cashman and an argument to be made against him but this article is just blatant Yankee hatred. First the author blames the Yankees for spending money on fre agents to “buy talent” and then he kills Cashman when he gives young players like Hughes and Cano a chance. How insanely hypocritical.

And I completely agree with Joe, it’s good to see this idiocy called out!

 
NC Saint says:

It’s hard to blame him for trying. He’s not very bright and knows nothing about finance, but became famous writing about it because he hates Goldman Sachs and so do a lot of people.

He knows nothing about baseball and hates the Yankees. So do a lot of people. Why wouldn’t it work?

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)

You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

If this is your first time commenting on River Ave. Blues, please review the RAB Commenter Guidelines.

Trackback responses to this post