I want to visit the four places I can trace my four family branches back to and harass the locals
Genoa, Italy
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Meppel, Netherlands
Brosna, Ireland
Hard to say if he'll live up to the hype. Being Cuban makes it even more difficult to guess. The track record for Cubans is pretty good though, so we shall see.
They say he can play anywhere but pitcher and catcher...but they think he's best suited for 2nd base, which could work out very nicely as Pedroia winds down his career. The big question is centerfield. Betts/Castillo/Bradley all can play there and want to play there. I think what will happen is Castillo will win the CF job, Betts will play RF and Bradley will ride the bench until we trade him.
They have him starting out at Single A, so I doubt we will see him anytime soon. We seem to have a pipeline into Cuba now which is great, but just how well these players are being scouted is a question mark. Rusney Castillo is going to be on the team this year, so he's the Cuban we're all looking at intently right now. Moncada is one for the future.
What are your thoughts on the Europa League? Where would you rank it in terms of importance? Is it too much of a drain on clubs trying to compete in their domestic leagues? Does the effort justify the payoff? Some clubs field players they'd normally have on the bench in league matches...is the tournament irrelevant to all but the club that wins the trophy? Are the extra gate receipts such a boon to the club that it's a big priority?
For Villa, I think qualifying for this tournament would mark a massive turning point, but do we trot out our best players on a Thursday night in Croatia at the expense of a weekend league game against a 4th place rival?
MON took a lot of grief for laying down in Moscow, but I understand why he did it. It backfired spectacularly of course, but I can appreciate his approach, if not totally support it.
It's a tricky one for me. What say you?
how nice is it that we have a player of that quality on the bench! Been a long time since we've had decent depth. Westwood, Vlaar, Gil, Cissokho, Given, Sanchez, Weimann. Add a handful of good signings, this team can challenge for 6th-7th place.
not safe yet, but all signs point in that direction. this squad was always better than their results, so with the right guidance, we should be fine. can't wait for swansea