Article: The Red Sox Have Lost the Human Element Under Craig Breslow's Leadership

[drewski6]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

My top 5 candidates:

1. Carlos Beltran (should be HOFer, knows Cora!)

2. Charlie Blackmon (very hairy!)

3. Chad Bradford (former Sox, weird throwing angle)

4. Colten Brewer (former Sox, helped us through COVID)

5. Co-CBO's: Clint Barnes and Clint Barmes

What about Jeremy Renner in character as Clint Barton? He was in the town.

[notin]

9 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

My top 5 candidates:

1. Carlos Beltran (should be HOFer, knows Cora!)

2. Charlie Blackmon (very hairy!)

3. Chad Bradford (former Sox, weird throwing angle)

4. Colten Brewer (former Sox, helped us through COVID)

5. Co-CBO's: Clint Barnes and Clint Barmes

No to Beltran.  Do you really think a Beltran/Cora/Bregman reunion is good for baseball? Why not just bring back Marwin Gonzalez too?

 

No to Blackmon.  Blackmon is useless outside of Colorado.  This has been proven scientifically.  You can argue with me, but you can’t argue with science. (I think this applies to Barmes as well, but maybe Barnes can pick up the slack.)

 

No to Brewer.  He’s still active and would therefore probably sign himself.  And signing Colten Brewer has never worked out for anyone.

 

Im flexible on the rest…

[notin]

6 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Which one?

Princeton.

 

Unless you mean which Chris Young.  In which case, it’s the former 6’10” LHP.  And by former, I mean he’s no longer a LHP.  He’s still 6’10” to the best of my knowledge…

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

A lot of people do NOT like the smell of popcorn butter because of what it smells like. 

Wally: I like the renovations to the condo inside the monster but why did you not paint over the manny piss stain?

Realtor: Thats , um, popcorn butter to fit the retro movie theater theme.

[notin]

2 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Wally: I like the renovations to the condo inside the monster but why did you not paint over the manny piss stain?

Realtor: Thats , um, popcorn butter to fit the retro movie theater theme.

Realtor:  and since this is Fenway and we like to ship out anything that works, we traded your streaming service for a laser disk player…

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

No to Beltran.  Do you really think a Beltran/Cora/Bregman reunion is good for baseball? Why not just bring back Marwin Gonzalez too?

 

No to Blackmon.  Blackmon is useless outside of Colorado.  This has been proven scientifically.  You can argue with me, but you can’t argue with science. (I think this applies to Barmes as well, but maybe Barnes can pick up the slack.)

 

No to Brewer.  He’s still active and would therefore probably sign himself.  And signing Colten Brewer has never worked out for anyone.

 

Im flexible on the rest…

1. Baseball needs good guys and bad guys. People are loving the SDP/LAD stuff right now. We need Beltran here.

2. Fair on Blackmon, but he is very hairy.

3. Make Chris Bassitt the first player/CBO. 

[drewski6]

33 minutes ago, notin said:

Princeton.

 

Unless you mean which Chris Young.  In which case, it’s the former 6’10” LHP.  And by former, I mean he’s no longer a LHP.  He’s still 6’10” to the best of my knowledge…

I did mean which Chris Young. The pitcher, I like his fight (against Derek Lee)

[dgalehouse]

The Sox are on the upswing. Breslow is doing a good job. Who cares what some disrespectful, disgruntled supervisor of scouting thinks ? A guy that is too dumb to know he is live on Zoom. Good riddance to a bad apple. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Red Sox News & Links: Is Craig Breslow on the hot seat already?

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

12 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Red Sox News & Links: Is Craig Breslow on the hot seat already?

Hell, Devers was on the cold seat(the cooler) and he's gone. Maybe the hot seat's better.

[notin]

20 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

1. Baseball needs good guys and bad guys. People are loving the SDP/LAD stuff right now. We need Beltran here.

2. Fair on Blackmon, but he is very hairy.

3. Make Chris Bassitt the first player/CBO. 

The SDP/LAD stuff isn’t good fits and bad god; it’s bad guys and worse guys.  I’m not sure who the worst person in that whole mess is, whether it’s Dave Roberts, Mike Shildt, Andrew Friedman, the Dodger ground crew, MLB Betwork, or the umpiring crew that let it all happen…

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, notin said:

The SDP/LAD stuff isn’t good fits and bad god; it’s bad guys and worse guys.  I’m not sure who the worst person in that whole mess is, whether it’s Dave Roberts, Mike Shildt, Andrew Friedman, the Dodger ground crew, MLB Betwork, or the umpiring crew that let it all happen…

MLB Betwork. 😀

[notin]

Just now, Bellhorn04 said:

MLB Betwork. 😀

It was a typo originally, but I liked it…

[Duran Is The Man]

21 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

My top 5 candidates:

1. Carlos Beltran (should be HOFer, knows Cora!)

2. Charlie Blackmon (very hairy!)

3. Chad Bradford (former Sox, weird throwing angle)

4. Colten Brewer (former Sox, helped us through COVID)

5. Co-CBO's: Clint Barnes and Clint Barmes

I'm going with Chris Berman. 

[Bellhorn04]

My vote is for Corbin Bernsen.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

My top picks:

1) butch hobson - certainly the guy to help with their fielding woes

2) bill buckner - do I really need to explain?

3) mike torrez - well, because, you know

4) bobby valentine - just because I have always hated him

[moonslav59]

On 6/20/2025 at 7:40 AM, mvp 78 said:

Uh, we don't know that yet. 

No, We don't know jack about just about any pitcher, and these days, even the very best can go down with an injury, at any moment.

I gotta think Hicks will be better than Kelly

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

No, We don't know jack about just about any pitcher, and these days, even the very best can go down with an injury, at any moment.

I gotta think Hicks will be better than Kelly

Why?

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Why?

Kelly sets a low bar.

Using recent data, I got nothing.

Harrison, maybe.

[vjcsmoke]

On 6/19/2025 at 8:00 AM, Bellhorn04 said:

Another fine article, Maddie.  I like that you're not afraid to write stuff we may not want to hear.

Personally I'm going to judge Breslow mainly on results.

In a way this makes me glad that we have a very 'human' manager with Cora.

I'm doubtful that Cora will stay long with the Red Sox.

It sounds like there are big personality conflicts if a scout would utter an expletive directed at Breslow.

Although the Crochett trade looks like a big win, the Devers trade looks like a big loss, especially the way it was handled. Negotiating through the media, creating team unrest before shipping out an established star player. It's not a good look.

The communication problems are an issue. You can't rely on analytics alone to run a franchise. You need to be able to lead men and convince them that your project is worthy of passion and belief. I don't get that vibe from Breslow during his tenure so far.

AI hiring practices and analytics do not create a ballclub atmosphere. I do like the fact that Bregman appears to be a leader who the players seem to look up to and can talk to. But we've had way more moves shipping OUT that type of player than bringing them in.

If Cora hadn't gone to the mat asking for Bregman, I don't think he joins the Red Sox. What happens when the manager who recruited him gets dumped by this front office? Who builds the locker room if Bregman gets the boot in another salary dump? Can't say I feel optimistic in the wake of the Devers trade.

[mvp 78]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Kelly sets a low bar.

Using recent data, I got nothing.

Harrison, maybe.

Higher hopes for Harrison. Hicks is salary dump IMO.

[moonslav59]

26 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Higher hopes for Harrison. Hicks is salary dump IMO.

Hicks was a dump, but not without hopes.

He HAS been pretty bad over the last couple of years.

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Hicks was a dump, but not without hopes.

He HAS been pretty bad over the last couple of years.

My hopes are low for Hicks.

[Duran Is The Man]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

My hopes are low for Hicks.

Hicks is the Red Sox paying part of Devers salary without paying part of Devers salary. the whole narrative that the Giants took on all of Dever salary is BS.

[Maxbialystock]

On 6/21/2025 at 9:24 AM, Bellhorn04 said:

MLB Betwork. 😀

Well said.  

[Bellhorn04]

34 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Hicks is the Red Sox paying part of Devers salary without paying part of Devers salary. the whole narrative that the Giants took on all of Dever salary is BS.

OK, but it's chump change in the big picture, roughly 10% of Devers's contract.

[moonslav59]

I fully understand that the $12M paid to Hicks over 2026 and 2017 was to lessen the cost of Devers by a slight amount. I can understand people thinking he is a total salary dump-type player, barely worth mim wage.

When looking at his recent tow year numbers, there is nothing that gives evidence otherwise.

That being said, I have so little faith in Kelly and to a lesser extent Guerrero and others used in our 7-8 pen slots, that I do have some hope he could do well in those slots. I'm not sure it's "more faith," but having another option gives me some hope.

I have more faith in Harrison.

 

 

 

[Maxbialystock]

11 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Hicks is the Red Sox paying part of Devers salary without paying part of Devers salary. the whole narrative that the Giants took on all of Dever salary is BS.

Not BS.  The Sox were paying $30M for Raffy and $18.6M for Yoshida, both of whom had to be DH.  

Sooner or later, Raffy was gone the day he was told Bregman was the new third baseman, a position he had cherished for 8 seasons.  Plus Breslow lied to him.   Raffy was great as the DH, no question, but that's a lot to pay for a DH.  Plus, because of Yoshida, the Sox were really paying $48.6M for their DH.  

That said, I think the Giants got a good deal, but I also don't think this deal was terrible for the Sox.

I like this lineup proposed by moonslav:  Bregman 3b, Mayer SS, Story 2b, Toro/Gonzalez 1b, Narvaez/Wong Catcher, Duran OF, Rafaela OF, Abreu OF, Ref/Yoshida DH, and Anthony OF/DH.    

Bregman's rehab is going well.  His physical Thursday was positive, and he started baseball activities yesterday.   When he arrives, he replaces Hamilton in the lineup.  

I think the money saved on Raffy should go toward pitching.  

[Maxbialystock]

17 hours ago, vjcsmoke said:

I'm doubtful that Cora will stay long with the Red Sox.

It sounds like there are big personality conflicts if a scout would utter an expletive directed at Breslow.

Although the Crochett trade looks like a big win, the Devers trade looks like a big loss, especially the way it was handled. Negotiating through the media, creating team unrest before shipping out an established star player. It's not a good look.

The communication problems are an issue. You can't rely on analytics alone to run a franchise. You need to be able to lead men and convince them that your project is worthy of passion and belief. I don't get that vibe from Breslow during his tenure so far.

AI hiring practices and analytics do not create a ballclub atmosphere. I do like the fact that Bregman appears to be a leader who the players seem to look up to and can talk to. But we've had way more moves shipping OUT that type of player than bringing them in.

If Cora hadn't gone to the mat asking for Bregman, I don't think he joins the Red Sox. What happens when the manager who recruited him gets dumped by this front office? Who builds the locker room if Bregman gets the boot in another salary dump? Can't say I feel optimistic in the wake of the Devers trade.

I don't see your logic.  I think Breslow was heavy-handed about Raffy, but Cora reconciled him to DH, where he delivered.  Cora's job is to be the leader, give the orders, and connect with the team.  He does that well. 

Breslow's job is to get Cora the players to be successful.  This year he added Crochet, Chapman, Bregman, and Narvaez.  That's pretty doggone good. Sale was a mistake, but that's mostly hindsight.  Other moves also show that Breslow ain't perfect, but I think he is right for this team at this time.  

Breslow was heavy-handed with Devers, but I think Devers became unaffordable when he moved to DH.  As moonslav points out, Yoshida can only be DH, and the Sox are paying him $18.6.  $48.6M for your DH is unacceptable.  Bringing in Bregman set all that in motion, and I refuse to accept the idea that Bregman was a mistake.  

That said, time will tell.  

 

[moonslav59]

Max,

I do not think Devers was gone the minute we signed Devers. It happened after Devers failed to do what is expected of every player.

I do not want Yoshida as our DH or platoon with Refsnyder or Romy DH. It may end up being the best plan, but this is a long way away. We need a bat, now. For now, I'd like to see Duran at DH v R and LF v L and Ref or Romy at DH v L. Anthony can DH some, v R, too. When Bregman returns, maybe an infielder gets cycled into the DH, as well.