Article: Red Sox Week in Review: Return of the Mid Sox

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Duran Is The Man said:

and with the talent this team has, there is no reason they should suck so bad, year after year after year. i blame the constant....and that is Alex Cora.

Maybe the talent isn't as good as you think it is?

[mvp 78]

43 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Weren't they basically a .500 team before the injuries?

Gio's missing the start of the year due to a leg issue? Bello missing the start of the season? Fitts being sent to the IL early on. The injuries happened prior to Opening Day. 

Sean Newcomb wasn't expected to be on the 40 man roster let alone in the starting rotation in the first time through.  

 

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe the talent isn't as good as you think it is?

We don't have much in the way of proven commodities.  Lots of guys we've had high hopes for...  

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Gio's missing the start of the year due to a leg issue? Bello missing the start of the season? Fitts being sent to the IL early on. The injuries happened prior to Opening Day. 

Sean Newcomb wasn't expected to be on the 40 man roster let alone in the starting rotation in the first time through.  

 

Those weren't long term situations.

Every team has a few injuries out of the gate. 

It's not like gio and bello were Cole and Gil.

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

We don't have much in the way of proven commodities.  Lots of guys we've had high hopes for...  

It's just Devers right now. That's it. 

Crochet isn't even a proven commodity TBH.

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Those weren't long term situations.

Every team has a few injuries out of the gate. 

It's not like gio and bello were Cole and Gil.

They weren't long term situations, but they dragged the team down. 🫠

Once Bello and Gio were back in the rotation, Fitts was out. Buehler has missed time. They have not had health luck early on in the rotation. Do other teams typically have 4 different starting rotation pieces hit the IL before the end of May? 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They weren't long term situations, but they dragged the team down. 🫠

Once Bello and Gio were back in the rotation, Fitts was out. Buehler has missed time. They have not had health luck early on in the rotation. Do other teams typically have 4 different starting rotation pieces hit the IL before the end of May? 

As I mentioned, the Yanks have been without Cole, Gil and Stanton season to date. Stroman, Loasiga, Chisolm, Cabrera, LeMahieu, Cruz and Velasquez have all missed extended time with a few done for the season.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

As I mentioned, the Yanks have been without Cole, Gil and Stanton season to date. Stroman, Loasiga, Chisolm, Cabrera, LeMahieu, Cruz and Velasquez have all missed extended time with a few done for the season.

I don't watch as many Yankees games as you do I guess? 🤔

Not sure what they have to do with the Red Sox being .500 as they have not played each other. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't watch as many Yankees games as you do I guess? 🤔

Not sure what they have to do with the Red Sox being .500 as they have not played each other. 

They don't have anything to do with the sox record to this point.

I was just giving an example that many teams, not just the sox, face injuries.

It's part of the game.

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

They don't have anything to do with the sox record to this point.

I was just giving an example that many teams, not just the sox, face injuries.

It's part of the game.

Do many teams face 4 different starting rotation injuries at the start of the season like I said? 

I think it's fair to say that the rotation is the reason they are struggling. You followed up with "well actually they were .500 before the injuries happened" but I just explained it wasn't the case. 🫠

If they didn't have injuries, they'd be above .500 IMO. 

[vegasbob]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

This team feels like 78-84 to me. It just has that vibe. 

It does have that vibe. in fact, it would have to exceed  the Sox current pace to make 78-84 .

If Cora's players/pitchers could  reach 78-84, you would have to give  field management and FO big props for hitting that mark 3 of 4 years running.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

Do many teams face 4 different starting rotation injuries at the start of the season like I said? 

I think it's fair to say that the rotation is the reason they are struggling. You followed up with "well actually they were .500 before the injuries happened" but I just explained it wasn't the case. 🫠

If they didn't have injuries, they'd be above .500 IMO. 

One could argue that the Yanks losing Cole for the season and Gil & Stroman for a large chunk were far greater than the sox loss of their pitchers.

And the Yanks haven't struggled with trying to find .500

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

One could argue that the Yanks losing Cole for the season and Gil & Stroman for a large chunk were far greater than the sox loss of their pitchers.

And the Yanks haven't struggled with trying to find .500

The Yankees forum is that way bro. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

The Yankees forum is that way bro. 

And the line for excuses starts around the corner, bro.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

And the line for excuses starts around the corner, bro.

 

[jdc69]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

We don't have much in the way of proven commodities.  Lots of guys we've had high hopes for...  

I think most of our roster have been good, especially starting the season. Casas was really the only one that never had a good period. Narvaez, Crochet, Buelher, Chapman, have all been good. Bregman has been solid throughout, except for now obviously. Devers got it going after actually being historically bad. Duran is getting better. Story and Campbell started good but have trailed off. Abreu was the best hitter in baseball for a time. The K's and not hitting with runners in scoring position, must be the from the approach told to them from manager and front office. That makes sense to me considering their numbers in other areas.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

30 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

 

So, you asked about other teams and their injuries and I responded with an example.

Now that you didn't like the answer you get upset.

 

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

So, you asked about other teams and their injuries and I responded with an example.

Now that you didn't like the answer you get upset.

 

I don't ever get upset on here. Was just posting my favorite Yankees gif for you. As a fellow Red Sox fan, I figured you'd like it! Guess I misread the room. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't ever get upset on here. Was just posting my favorite Yankees gif for you. As a fellow Red Sox fan, I figured you'd like it! Guess I misread the room. 

never claimed to be a sox fan, just a baseball fan.

But never been a fan of excuses.......

[Kimmi]

10 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

I agree that a change won't make a difference. 

I think there is horrible communication between Cora and Breslow. They are either not on the same page or just not communicating effectively somewhere. We just don't have insight to know where the breakdown is. 

I agree.  I don't know where the breakdown is, but I agree there is a breakdown in communication happening somewhere.  I'm wondering if Breslow and Cora are butting heads over team philosophies and roster construction.  Yet, Breslow was the guy who extended Cora so you would think they are on the same page.

[Kimmi]

9 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Personally I think it's really hard to know what all went down there.  It sure looked bad.  I think at the end of the day the real problem was Raffy.  His absolute refusal to play first is about as selfish as it gets.  It seems Cora thought the best play was to protect Raffy for the sake of his bat.  It seems Breslow didn't feel the same way.  

It does feel like the whole episode has dragged the team down. 

If what we've heard is correct, when Devers signed his extension, he was assured (by Bloom?) that he would not be moved off of 3B for at least 3 years.  I can understand Devers being upset by then being told that he would be the permanent DH.  That doesn't excuse his initial unwillingness to be the DH or his later unwillingness to play 1B, but the FO failed in communicating their plan to Devers.

[Kimmi]

7 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe the talent isn't as good as you think it is?

Maybe it's not, but some of the losses can be chalked up to the randomness of 1-run losses and extra-inning losses.  There's been some bad luck sprinkled in with the mediocrity.

[Kimmi]

We're just one good, 8-game win streak from being right back in it.  😀

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

2 hours ago, Kimmi said:

  Yet, Breslow was the guy who extended Cora so you would think they are on the same page.

That may have been mandated from above.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

On 5/27/2025 at 3:15 PM, Kimmi said:

I am a Cora fan.  I agree that a change of manager probably wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure how much it would help either.

That said, I'm also not sure who is calling the shots on Devers not playing 1B, but I don't like it.  Why is Devers being treated with kid gloves?  It's not just this 1B thing.  Verdugo was once benched for not running hard to first base, yet Devers is allowed to often not run hard with no consequences from Cora.

Don't get me wrong.  I really like Devers.  I just feel like something is amiss here.

First, with Devers, Cora told him he's never going to use his glove again.  In all his years here in Boston it was the first time I agreed with Cora.  In 2017 after 14 errors in 1/3 of a season I said the kid has to be a DH and suggested JD play the outfield to maximize the defense.  JD was not a good outfielder, but damage would have been far less.  NOBODY should wish for Devers to play 1B or 3B.  His only defensive skill is at DH.

Theo had advanced scouts all over Latin America and one of them found Devers at age 14 and a published scouting report suggested he was the future of the Boston Red Sox.  That's 14 years ago in 2011.  He was signed by Boston after that and has been a prima donna since.  Long before Cora got here, the Latin coaches in the farm system raved about his hitting and constantly suggested his defense was improving.  It was a bold-faced lie.  His fielding from 14 years old until now has always been horrendous and that's why he has the most errors by an active 3B in all of MLB baseball after less than 8 full seasons.  His real fielding percentage lies between .940 and .880.  League average is over .960.  No amount of metric massaging can turn that bad a fielder into an acceptable player on defense.  They need to burn his gloves.  There are so many acceptable alternatives, but Bregman was an extraordinary alternative.  I am thrilled that we made the move.  What a huge difference on defense and his offense has been better than expected.

Casas, while a league average defender has shown some sparks of becoming an excellent hitter and potential all-star, but his weird personality seems to trigger excessive negativity from the fan base.  If folks stop trying to push him out the door, he might be an all-star someday given a fair chance at 1B and an end to his injuries.  That's why I say you bring up Anthony to play 1B, a power hitting position and let 2025 be his year to train there with the understanding 2026 will see him back in the outfield with Casas as the 1B.  It give Anthony and the team needed at bats that will develop his MLB offense sooner rather than later.  This team won't be in the playoffs this year so why not make the rest of the season about building a cohesive team with the young players.  Move Story to 3B until Bregman returns and put Mayer at SS to see if his issues on defense in the minors are a long-term problem or something he's gotten past.  If he doesn't work there, try Campbell and put Mayer at 2B. 

Go for the next month with Anthony at 1B, Campbell at 2B, Mayer at SS and Story at 3B.  The outfield can stay as Duran, Rafaela and Abreu/Refsnyder and Devers at DH.  The fans can watch their future team develop and grow on offense and defense.  If things start clicking, maybe they will have a chance for the playoffs but don't let that be the priority.  The priority needs to be more playing time for the future starting line-up and stop over-sharing playing time with guys like Wong, Toro, Sogard, Hamilton and Gonzalez.  Set a batting order that makes sense with Duran lead-off, Story second until Bregman is back, Devers third, Campbell fourth, Anthony fifth, Narvaez sixth, Mayer seventh, Abreu/Refsnyder 8th and Rafaela 9th.  Let them get used to the order for the future.  The line-up is balanced with right- and left-handed hitters but they may not deserve to bat in their future slots in the batting order today but do it anyway so they can have a vision of their future.  This team would resemble the Orioles from 2 years ago or the Astros before they started winning big.  Winning will happen but not this year.  This might bring the success sooner rather than later and it should be fun for the fans who have had to put up with retreads or AAA players like Hamilton and others since 2020.  

I say the front office needs to be bold and set the future right now and let fans enjoy watching their growth.  There will be bumpy times, but the future will come sooner this way.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

15 hours ago, vegasbob said:

It does have that vibe. in fact, it would have to exceed the Sox current pace to make 78-84 .

If Cora's players/pitchers could reach 78-84, you would have to give field management and FO big props for hitting that mark 3 of 4 years running.

Each year I break down each series throughout the year and predict the season wins based on most series being 3 games and each team is either GOOD, AVERAGE or BAD.  Good teams win series 2-1, Average teams win 2-1 when at home and lose 1-2 if in Boston.  The BAD teams get swept 0-3 if in Boston and finish 1-2 when they are at home.  Simple formula that generates an annual prediction.

This year it predicted 79 wins.  Going into the ATL series, the team is 1 game behind the prediction at a 78-win pace.  In 2024, the system said 68 wins and they had 81 thanks to beating up NY, TOR, TB and TX compared to the prediction.  The team exceeded expectations against the four teams by 10 games.  In 2023, the system said 74 wins and the team won 78 mostly because they did better against TOR and NY than expected.  In 2022, the system said 78 and the team won 78.  The individual series were not very accurate, but the greater and lesser wins balanced out.  Boston beat up the weak teams to excess and lost more than expected to the good teams.

Looking forward in June this year's club plays should go 13-11.  With Bregman out, that seems like a very aggressive number.  July is 13-12 and August is 12-16 and September is 12-12.  As long as Bregman is supposed to be out, I think only the August and September predictions look reasonable.  June and July could be losing months.  August along with May were the most difficult months so Bregman needs to be back for August.

Prior to this year, the talent level was significantly lower but with the addition of Crochet and Bregman the talent level sky-rocketed to a highly competitive level.  Not high enough to win the division but definitely high enough to make the last playoff spot.  By next year, if all the youngsters get to play and don't get hurt, this team will be the most competitive it's been since 2019 before the injuries hit.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

4 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

First, with Devers, Cora told him he's never going to use his glove again.  In all his years here in Boston it was the first time I agreed with Cora.  In 2017 after 14 errors in 1/3 of a season I said the kid has to be a DH and suggested JD play the outfield to maximize the defense.  JD was not a good outfielder, but damage would have been far less.  NOBODY should wish for Devers to play 1B or 3B.  His only defensive skill is at DH.

Theo had advanced scouts all over Latin America and one of them found Devers at age 14 and a published scouting report suggested he was the future of the Boston Red Sox.  That's 14 years ago in 2011.  He was signed by Boston after that and has been a prima donna since.  Long before Cora got here, the Latin coaches in the farm system raved about his hitting and constantly suggested his defense was improving.  It was a bold-faced lie.  His fielding from 14 years old until now has always been horrendous and that's why he has the most errors by an active 3B in all of MLB baseball after less than 8 full seasons.  His real fielding percentage lies between .940 and .880.  League average is over .960.  No amount of metric massaging can turn that bad a fielder into an acceptable player on defense.  They need to burn his gloves.  There are so many acceptable alternatives, but Bregman was an extraordinary alternative.  I am thrilled that we made the move.  What a huge difference on defense and his offense has been better than expected.

Casas, while a league average defender has shown some sparks of becoming an excellent hitter and potential all-star, but his weird personality seems to trigger excessive negativity from the fan base.  If folks stop trying to push him out the door, he might be an all-star someday given a fair chance at 1B and an end to his injuries.  That's why I say you bring up Anthony to play 1B, a power hitting position and let 2025 be his year to train there with the understanding 2026 will see him back in the outfield with Casas as the 1B.  It give Anthony and the team needed at bats that will develop his MLB offense sooner rather than later.  This team won't be in the playoffs this year so why not make the rest of the season about building a cohesive team with the young players.  Move Story to 3B until Bregman returns and put Mayer at SS to see if his issues on defense in the minors are a long-term problem or something he's gotten past.  If he doesn't work there, try Campbell and put Mayer at 2B. 

Go for the next month with Anthony at 1B, Campbell at 2B, Mayer at SS and Story at 3B.  The outfield can stay as Duran, Rafaela and Abreu/Refsnyder and Devers at DH.  The fans can watch their future team develop and grow on offense and defense.  If things start clicking, maybe they will have a chance for the playoffs but don't let that be the priority.  The priority needs to be more playing time for the future starting line-up and stop over-sharing playing time with guys like Wong, Toro, Sogard, Hamilton and Gonzalez.  Set a batting order that makes sense with Duran lead-off, Story second until Bregman is back, Devers third, Campbell fourth, Anthony fifth, Narvaez sixth, Mayer seventh, Abreu/Refsnyder 8th and Rafaela 9th.  Let them get used to the order for the future.  The line-up is balanced with right- and left-handed hitters but they may not deserve to bat in their future slots in the batting order today but do it anyway so they can have a vision of their future.  This team would resemble the Orioles from 2 years ago or the Astros before they started winning big.  Winning will happen but not this year.  This might bring the success sooner rather than later and it should be fun for the fans who have had to put up with retreads or AAA players like Hamilton and others since 2020.  

I say the front office needs to be bold and set the future right now and let fans enjoy watching their growth.  There will be bumpy times, but the future will come sooner this way.

There is absolutely no way that story should ever bat #2.

On top of being a terrible hitter, he is hitting way too many groundballs that would lead to many double plays should duran get on base.

[moonslav59]

It's interesting to see the numbers for our pitching staff.

.654 OPS Against Pen (4.15 ERA)

.738 OPS Against Starters (3.76)

I know we can never all agree on anything, but to me these were out top 5 SP'ers going into the season (not counting Sandoval)

.567 Crochet 2.04 in 12 GS

.920 Houck 8.04 in  9

.702 Buehler 3.95 in 8

,795 Bello 3.83 in 8

.799 Giolito 5.27 in 5 GS or N/A Crawford

Our depth has not done all that badly, except Newcomb's last start or two:

.603 Fitts 2.70 in 4

.765 Dobbins 4.21 in 7

,836 Newcomb in 5

I realize rbis is a stat many do not value all that highly, myself included, but here are the numbers as we just passed the 1/3 mark to the season and approach 40%:

50 Devers (leads leasgue)

35 Bregman

34 Duran

29 Abreu

21 Story, 20 Rafaela, 17 Narvaez, 16 KC, 11 Ref

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Maybe it's not, but some of the losses can be chalked up to the randomness of 1-run losses and extra-inning losses.  There's been some bad luck sprinkled in with the mediocrity.

I agree that some of this slump is due to the randomness of baseball, especially when people start posting OPS with runners in scoring position, close and late states or whatever. I think those things even out over time. 

[mvp 78]

4 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

First, with Devers, Cora told him he's never going to use his glove again.  In all his years here in Boston it was the first time I agreed with Cora.  In 2017 after 14 errors in 1/3 of a season I said the kid has to be a DH and suggested JD play the outfield to maximize the defense.  JD was not a good outfielder, but damage would have been far less.  NOBODY should wish for Devers to play 1B or 3B.  His only defensive skill is at DH.

Theo had advanced scouts all over Latin America and one of them found Devers at age 14 and a published scouting report suggested he was the future of the Boston Red Sox.  That's 14 years ago in 2011.  He was signed by Boston after that and has been a prima donna since.  Long before Cora got here, the Latin coaches in the farm system raved about his hitting and constantly suggested his defense was improving.  It was a bold-faced lie.  His fielding from 14 years old until now has always been horrendous and that's why he has the most errors by an active 3B in all of MLB baseball after less than 8 full seasons.  His real fielding percentage lies between .940 and .880.  League average is over .960.  No amount of metric massaging can turn that bad a fielder into an acceptable player on defense.  They need to burn his gloves.  There are so many acceptable alternatives, but Bregman was an extraordinary alternative.  I am thrilled that we made the move.  What a huge difference on defense and his offense has been better than expected.

Casas, while a league average defender has shown some sparks of becoming an excellent hitter and potential all-star, but his weird personality seems to trigger excessive negativity from the fan base.  If folks stop trying to push him out the door, he might be an all-star someday given a fair chance at 1B and an end to his injuries.  That's why I say you bring up Anthony to play 1B, a power hitting position and let 2025 be his year to train there with the understanding 2026 will see him back in the outfield with Casas as the 1B.  It give Anthony and the team needed at bats that will develop his MLB offense sooner rather than later.  This team won't be in the playoffs this year so why not make the rest of the season about building a cohesive team with the young players.  Move Story to 3B until Bregman returns and put Mayer at SS to see if his issues on defense in the minors are a long-term problem or something he's gotten past.  If he doesn't work there, try Campbell and put Mayer at 2B. 

Go for the next month with Anthony at 1B, Campbell at 2B, Mayer at SS and Story at 3B.  The outfield can stay as Duran, Rafaela and Abreu/Refsnyder and Devers at DH.  The fans can watch their future team develop and grow on offense and defense.  If things start clicking, maybe they will have a chance for the playoffs but don't let that be the priority.  The priority needs to be more playing time for the future starting line-up and stop over-sharing playing time with guys like Wong, Toro, Sogard, Hamilton and Gonzalez.  Set a batting order that makes sense with Duran lead-off, Story second until Bregman is back, Devers third, Campbell fourth, Anthony fifth, Narvaez sixth, Mayer seventh, Abreu/Refsnyder 8th and Rafaela 9th.  Let them get used to the order for the future.  The line-up is balanced with right- and left-handed hitters but they may not deserve to bat in their future slots in the batting order today but do it anyway so they can have a vision of their future.  This team would resemble the Orioles from 2 years ago or the Astros before they started winning big.  Winning will happen but not this year.  This might bring the success sooner rather than later and it should be fun for the fans who have had to put up with retreads or AAA players like Hamilton and others since 2020.  

I say the front office needs to be bold and set the future right now and let fans enjoy watching their growth.  There will be bumpy times, but the future will come sooner this way.

Alex Bregman has been getting is butt kissed and acting like a prima donna ever since he turned an unassisted triple play in his first t-ball game at age 4. Who did that little snot think he was? 👎