Tied Up Guys

Theo Epstein talks prospects, trade deadline

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein visited with play-by-play announced Joe Castiglione on the WEEI Red Sox Pre-Game Show to discuss a number of topics. Among them:

–The Red Sox’ strange history in Philadelphia during his tenure;

–The amazing performance of Adrian Gonzalez ;

–The status of several prospects (including Ryan Kalish , Josh Reddick and Jose Iglesias ); and

–Where the Sox stand with regards to the July 31 trade deadline.

To listen to the complete interview, click here . A transcript of highlights is below:

On memories of the Red Sox’ visits to Philadelphia since Epstein took over as Sox GM in 2003:

We’ve had some big games here over the years. We were talking about the Vet, and our series here in 2003 when Jim Thome tied up a game in the ninth and won it in extra innings. We had a rainout and came back in early Sept., Trot Nixon won it with a big home run when Manny [Ramirez] was either benched or refusing to play – I can’t remember – and that put us into the wild card lead and we went on a good run there in Sept. We were joking about the grand slam that Manny hit here in this park where he threw his bat in frustration. He thought he popped out, but it carried and carried and was a big hit for us. So it always seems to be entertaining games, hard-fought series when we come here.

On his view of this Red Sox series in Philadelphia :

It seems like they’re the class of the National League, and we’re fighting to get where we want to be in the American League. You know when you face the Phillies that you’re going to go up against some great, great starting pitching, a dangerous offense with some really good left-handed hitters. So we need to scratch and claw, have a good approach against their starting pitching, be opportunistic when we have runners on and keep their left-handed hitters at bay in this ballpark.

Has Adrian Gonzalez been better than advertised?

As a person and as a player he’s really special. I think it’s more that we all get to be around him day after day now. instead of looking at his numbers, fans get to see what he does in the batter’s box, the consistency of his approach, how beautiful his swing is. A lot of guys have pretty swings, but it’s how often he can repeat it. He can out-think the opposition more often than not. It always seems like when he’s looking for a pitch, he’ll get it, sometimes during that at-bat, and not miss it.

Guys Who Need To Be Tied Up And Gagged – Part 10 « The ...

Why is it that all in this series have been african-american? you seem really into this idea of taking the freedom away from only black people. it has me really weirded out. ten days in a row. seems racist to me. I like bdsm as much as the next guy, but I think we’ve got to be really careful not to use it as a way to cover up other things, like racism. it’s one thing if you think all hot muscular guys should be tied up. but why only black ones? it seems that something’s very wrong here . . .

I appreciate your thoughtful comments. Don’t get me wrong, I think the guys you are posting are really hot. But by the series being exclusively african-american, it fetishizes that one group. And yes, the black body is underappreciated in a white-valuing gay culture. But swinging to the reverse (ie: rice-queens, guys who only date black guys) is nearly as problematic as privileging whiteness (ie: guys who are only attracted to people who look like them). I do agree that the bdsm community is mostly white, and pehaps its worth wondering why that’s so. I must say that often seeing black guys in bondage is too similar to visions of the past of slavery and makes me uncomfortable, unless it is done just right, and it’s CLEAR that the person enjoys and wants this. Which is why when you mentioned taking these guys’ freedom away, it bothered me even more. Now if they asked to be tied up, that’s a different thing, no? Because then, as with any sub, they are controlling the scene! As someone who’s dated guys of all backgrounds, and who’s definitely into bdsm, but who also works constantly to fight homophobia and racism, I think it’s important we continue to think about these things. Granted, our desires are not really that much under our control, but how we express them is, and a blog is a public forum. I think desires can also change slowly over time. And I think showing the black body as desirable helps this. But, I think fetishising it can be problematic too. I am going to disagree with one point…you mention being bothered by guys having their freedom taken away. This is a staple ingredient of certain bondage fantasies. I’d quite happily have that guy in Part 10 kidnapped and chained spreadeagle to the wall without hesitation. I mean…have you SEEN some of these guys??!? I go to the gym a lot…some of these guys are my inspiration.

I have been reading this thoroughly and i have a hard time taking either side. Yes, i agree that its a touchy subject, taking freedom from black men and what not. And being one such guy who is really into this idea, i feel a little bad about it now that its actually been said. But, Petes got a point as well, bondage is usually about having freedom taken away, and to not include black men in that would also be racist. Also, this is just one series, its not as though the entire blog is turning into nothing but removing the freedom of african americans, just this one series that IS turning out to be popular. As for why I personally love it, 2 reasons. 1) These men are HOT. I find dark colored skin so imensely wild and appealing that the idea of seeing a black man in bondage drives me nuts. 2) Black bondage is so RARE these days. Ive scoured Recon and A4A for months and have found a handful of black men into any kind of bondage. This series is very nice as it breaks away from the oh so common trend of white men in bondage. Both sides are valid, but its hard to tell which one holds a better standing. As far as overall popularity Pete, if you want to please me in particular (and i imagine a few others) please continue with the story “The Bet” In the meantime, this series is definitely something I am enjoying quite thoroughly.

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