Posted on 09/28/2011 9:38:31 PM PDT by SMCC1
You can get all of the ESPN channels on the iPad, if you are a Verizon FIOS subscriber for free.
Do you support banning the known freeper football fans from FR?
No,of course not.
Socialist sympathizer? :)
Interesting. Thank you for that information!
In 1964, in the first issue of National review after the Goldwater loss, they summed up the election results in ONE word:
"arrrrghhh"
That's about how I feel..
After the Red Sox score was posted, I was sort of glad that the Rays won, because there was no way that the Sawx were gonna win a one-game playoff..so might as well end it now..
To be honest, Ken, my husband and I were "happy" that the Rays put the Sox out of their misery. I couldn't take anymore. I agree, there's no way the Sox would win vs. the Rays - at the Trop - in a one-game playoff.
Earthquake in Red Sox Nation this morning... WEEI radio reporting that Red Sox Manager Terry Francona will be sent packing.
**Francona's firing is NOT confirmed yet as I type this.**
Francona, his bench coach DeMarlo Hale, and Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner all left Fenway Park in separate cars just before noon today. They wouldn't talk to the media.
My knee-jerk reaction: This is awfully severe, perhaps GM Theo Epstein should be the one to step down. However... there are multiple reports that there was severe dysfunction in the 2011 Red Sox club house... Francona's job is to keep that under control, and it sounds like he didn't do that. Local news reports as of 1:00pm ET stating it's not official yet that Francona is out.
More info here:
1. I never believe much in the greatness/importance of managers..you have to have the players to win..howver, in a 162 game season...with a pretty decent team...there should be 3-5 games a season which a good, smart manager should be able to "steal" for his team...substitutions..pinch hitters, lining up the bullpen..and there were mnay games this year where Francona failed to do that.
2.Carl Crawford, who is a GREAT player, and blessed with exceptional speed ( which can't be coached) had a season long slump. All players have slumps..even the superstars..and one of the most important jobs of a manager is to get the player turned around. Francona had an ENTIRE season to get Crawford straightened out..and he totally failed..
A divided clubhouse could have contributed greatly to the September implosion.
Friday 5:42 in Boston. Its now official. Francona is gone. Sad.
No. Free speech sympathizer.
Thanks for the ping and the links.
I digested The Globe articles today and now will read the others.
Most disheartening.
FYI-—I saw “Moneyball” last week. Very good movie.
I geuss this is the difference between Atlanta on one hand and Chicago/Philly/Boston/NYC. Bobby Cox can win 15 division title and only win one world series and he keeps his job. I dont think that would have heppened if he had managed in any of those other cities. I dont know if there is some inner ego battles in the Red Sox management which might be causing Francona and company to be headed out. I dont think it will be long before Francona gets a job. Say maybe Chicago or dare I say Cincinnati.
The advantage a team like the Yankees has is that they can afford to absorb the cost of huge mistakes, like signing A.J. Burnett to a large free-agent contract and then sitting him down or putting him in the bullpen during the post-season. The same with the Red Sox and "Dice-K" or whatever that guy's name is. Most teams could never afford to throw a lot of money at questionable talent like that in the hopes that it might pan out.
The natural economic forces in an industry are pretty predictable over a long period of time. As an industry matures, there is a natural tendency for it to go through a period of growth, followed by a period of consolidation to the point where one of two things happen: (1) the industry gets completely "commoditized" when competing products are almost identical by any measure and it is not an attractive industry for growth because the profit margins are so low; or (2) the industry is dominated by a single company who may or may not function as a true monopoly.
This is a very important concept to consider because I can think of no industry where the number of competitors offering similar -- or even identical -- products has remained stable or grown over time. Change is what defines an industry over time, and yet professional sports is one industry where change cannot be tolerated -- or at least must be harnessed, controlled, and "socialized" by sharing it among all competitors.
This is why a professional sports league doesn't function like an industry at all, but as a cartel that would never be permitted in a truly competitive capitalist environment. If professional baseball were truly a capitalist venture, then a team like the Yankees would be permitted to have 40 players on their roster instead of 25, a team like Tampa Bay would be permitted to grow trees in the outfield to add some excitement for their fans, a team like the Mets might use aluminum bats to give them some more power, etc. While all of this sounds ridiculous, a look back at the history of organized sports will reveal that this sort of thing (well, maybe not the trees in the outfield!) wasn't all that unusual way back in the days when sports were much more "capitalist" and less structured.
...the team that has gotten the least number of mentions on this thread so far.
Watch out...they're the sleepers this year. On virtually nobody's radar.
this is a good tip, saving it for later:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2785261/posts?page=141#141
this, not so much:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2785261/posts#30
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