I can't put my finger on it, but I am finding less intensity in Red Sox Nation this Spring Training about the team than I have in many years. My theory? Combination of:

1) So turned off by kerfuffle that was last year's finish.
2) General feeling that this team is "stuck" with the expensive roster it has (Carl Crawford is the personification of this feeling, that we have two crappy corner OF slots, despite spending ####loads of money).
3) General feeling that the team is slowly sliding away from the top of the division.
4) Continued residue of winning two WS after so long - I'm not hearing the sort of intensity we heard for so long.
5) The sense in New England that, after years of championships, the region's teams may be entering a period where it could be a while before we win much more. (I'm not complaining - as somebody born in New Hampshire in 1974, all I knew about sports success in my lifetime was the Bird Era Celtics. Since early 2002, I've experienced 5 Super Bowls (3 wins); 2 WS (and two more ALCS Game 7 losses); an NBA Championship (and another Game 7 Finals loss); and a Stanley Cup. That's 10 finals appearances from four teams in about a decade, and seven rings. The Law of Averages is going to catch up to you sometime...)
6) The Bruins. I listen to some sports radio in the car most days, and the amount of talk about the Bruins this year FAR exceeds anything I'd heard in the prior 20+ years. This makes sense, given the Stanley Cup, and the fact that most people see the Bruins as capable of competing for the Cup again this season. It takes some of the bandwidth that normally go towards talking about Bard, Iglesias, Crawford, etc., and keeps it on things like the Bruins' trades at the deadline last week.

I say all this in this thread because the Daniel Bard Experience would normally dominate the New England sports scene right now...and it is not. Nobody I know is talking about it, despite the fact that it's a pretty big factor in whether or not the Sox can make the playoffs this year. I'm telling you: the combination of the crappy end to last season, the totally unlikability of Josh Beckett, and the historically bad, payroll-freezing impact of the Carl Crawford signing has put a big, cold wet blanket over the fan base of this team...

I live in Maine and I agree with the Balb. More people are talking about Hockey East tournament than Red Sox spring training.

Which pitcher is it, competing with Bard for a starters' slot on the Sox, has as his agent Scott Boras?*


*just doing the standard, compulsory, Heyman sort-thru.

Heh, I checked Cook and Doubront on BBRef for the same thing.

I'm a complete newb at OTM, but my general sense there is, "One can only whine and predict doom-and-gloom for so long." It seems to have reached a point where everyone can join together and whether it's "gallows humor" or genuine optimism....bring on 2012!! We'll make it together or go down together!

That of course is website though, and not a geographic area.

Oh...and of course, Professional scouts, guys who are getting paid a the top ####### level, once again cover themselves in glory. How do you become a scout? Is it too late for me?

5-first, develope a taste for cigars. Then a drinking problem. Next, start hanging around minor leauge ballparks, wearing a worn-looking straw fedora. Should work...be patient.

I spent about 4 innings chatting with a scout on Thursday. Say what you will but scouts have the best stories.

If anonymous scouts say it's a bad idea, then that makes me all the more confident that it's a good idea. Those guys are never right and their motives are obviously suspect.

Heyman: Two scouts say Red Sox are erring and Bard should be in the pen

Who knew that Heyman was a Stratfordian?

“How poor are they that have not patience!”

"What wound did ever heal but by degrees?" - Red Sox team doctor 

Should work...be patient.

The bad news is I made the federal sexual predator list...the good news is that the Mets hired me.

An N.L. scout agreed but said he figures the Red Sox are committed to Bard in the rotation for maybe half a year.

Dice-K is a Boras client. Who is scheduled to come back from his TJ surgery...after half the year.

Dice-K is a Boras client. Who is scheduled to come back from his TJ surgery...after half the year.

And will be playing for a new contract. So glad we cleared that up then.

Thanks, #11 & #12, for finding the Boras angle. Every Heyman piece should be footnoted for such...

I'm still bullish on Bard as a starter. One poor spring relief appearance isn't going to change my mind, especially given the circumstances (multiple rain delays, etc). I think Bard will last the whole year in the rotation (or at least as long as they're willing to let him accumulate innings).