And Red Sox nation guffaws!!

Ah-I wish the man well, he's seems like a good person, the players love the guy. He still should have taken Pedro out, despite what my crackpot Uncle says! :)

that's one guy who should be down on his knees everyday thanking the good lord for the year 2004, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. but he should have pulled pedro.

Good for him. He seems like a nice guy. He seems like a dolt, too, and I'm glad he's not managing the Sox. But good for him.

And he did the same thing as he did with Pedro in game 4 of the ALDS that year with John Frigging Burkett. As Bill Simmons correctly noted in his column at the time, the manager was the last of the 35,000 present to realize that Burkett had to be taken out of the game.

I laugh at the high brow Red Sox nation, looking down their proverbial noses at, the 'dolt' Grady Little. Stop living in the past.

And he did the same thing as he did with Pedro in game 4 of the ALDS that year with John Frigging Burkett. As Bill Simmons correctly noted in his column at the time, the manager was the last of the 35,000 present to realize that Burkett had to be taken out of the game.

Hmm, didn't the Red Sox have an especially poor bullpen that season for much of the year? I know they were excellent in the postseason, but I wonder if Little's reluctance to use the bullpen was because they were so bad for most of the season. Maybe the bullpen's good performance over 10 games wasn't enough for him to get over how bad they had been for most of the year.

Hmm, didn't the Red Sox have an especially poor bullpen that season for much of the year? I know they were excellent in the postseason, but I wonder if Little's reluctance to use the bullpen was because they were so bad for most of the season. Maybe the bullpen's good performance over 10 games wasn't enough for him to get over how bad they had been for most of the year.

Kim, Embree, and Timlin all had good seasons. Arroyo had an excellent year in AAA and was good in a brief callup. Williamson fits the profile you mention above: lousy in the regular season but excellent in the postseason.

He had plenty of options but he hamstrung himself by alienating Kim for no good reason.

#6. Burkett turned into a pumpkin after 90 pitches every game. Grady Little was taken by surprise when this happened in a playoff game. That's a dolt.

He had plenty of options but he hamstrung himself by alienating Kim for no good reason.

Well, there was that whole thing where Kim got left off the ALCS roster after he flipped off the Fenway fans, because Kim didn't like their booing him :P

That's why GL's team improved 17 games in the standings last year, cause he's such a 'dolt'. Nomar and Lowe sure hate playing in LA. They got a good thing going - the fan base is insecure back in Beantown - why else waste your time hatin' on Grady Little?

Well, there was that whole thing where Kim got left off the ALCS roster after he flipped off the Fenway fans, because Kim didn't like their booing him :P

It was a little bit more complicated than that.

I forgot abot 2003 ALDS Game 4, Rough. Papi bailed him out with the double into the sun field of my favorite recently retired Sock.

Nomar and Lowe sure hate playing in LA.

Yes, Lowe blew up his marriage in L.A., but at least he had the good sense to do mess up with someone smokin' hot.

He's got nothing on Nomar, though. I love Mia Hamm with a stalker-like intensity.

There's a difference between manifestations of insecurity and justified anger. There's also a difference between being the manager of a team and being responsible for that team improving by 17 games. Most anyone can see that.

"He had plenty of options but he hamstrung himself by alienating Kim for no good reason."

Uh..did it even work that way? I thought Kim has a long history of alienating many of those around him so if Little gave up on Kim I'd give him the benefit of that doubt that its not for "no reason"

You suck Grady Little. You will always suck. And we will never forget that you suck.

That is all.

Hmm, didn't the Red Sox have an especially poor bullpen that season for much of the year? I know they were excellent in the postseason, but I wonder if Little's reluctance to use the bullpen was because they were so bad for most of the season. Maybe the bullpen's good performance over 10 games wasn't enough for him to get over how bad they had been for most of the year.

They had a crappy bullpen for the first month and a half. Then they acquired Kim, Embree and Timlin straightened themselves out. While Kim was off the ALCS roster, Williamson was throwing the ball very well, in addition to Timlin and Embree being really effective.

The simple fact was, the Red Sox knew (or everyone but Grady knew), that Pedro lost effectiveness after 90+ pitches. On top of that, there was visible evidence that he was tiring. He labored to get through the seventh (Giambi's massive homer, plus back-to-back hard hits by the potent 1-2 punch of Enrique Wilson and Karim Garcia). He only got out of the inning because he knew Soriano would swing at anything he threw up there. Considering how effective the pen had been in the series _ something like one run allowed in 16 or so innings _ the decision to start Pedro in to start the eighth was poor. But the thing is, this wasn't a single boneheaded decision, but one he made three more times in the inning after the double by Jeter, the single by Williams and the double by Matsui.

That being said, unlike pkb33, I'm glad he's getting a second chance in L.A. He seemed like a nice dolt, and unlike the ######### Shea Hillenbrand, was pretty gracious on his way out (at least to Theo).

Uh..did it even work that way? I thought Kim has a long history of alienating many of those around him so if Little gave up on Kim I'd give him the benefit of that doubt that its not for "no reason"

Uh... it did. Grady overworked Kim mercilessly (for no reason often), but Kim still dominated as a closer. Then in the playoffs, Kim allowed a couple baserunners and Grady yanked him. After that, Kim decided that all that overworking making him a little too sore to pitch.

Kim was certainly a difficult personality by all accounts, but a big part of a manager's job is dealing with personalities. It should have been very easy to see that Grady was alienating and ruining one of his best pitchers.

and unlike the ######### Shea Hillenbrand, was pretty gracious on his way out (at least to Theo).

"I'll be another ghost, fully capable of haunting." --Grady Little

He was a dolt up to that point, but that quote vaulted him past One-M to the top of the list of Sox managers I can't stand.

"I'll be another ghost, fully capable of haunting." --Grady Little

I never saw that quote. The only things I saw post-firing from Grady were generally complimentary remarks about Epstein.

So that's why the Red Sox finally won it all! Grady trying to haunt them was all it took.