TedYazPapiMookie’s 2025 Trade Deadline Blueprint: Trade with OAK to gain immediate talent

[TedYazPapiMookie]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

On Rafaela vs Duran in CF

I prefer Rafaela in CF and Duran in LF. I don't believe Duran would be all that much better this year if they moved him back to CF. With Duran, he's not a confident fielder. He's a guy that has stated that he doesn't want the ball hit to him. Why do I want that guy in CF? He makes up for bad reads and bad jumps with speed. As his speed goes away (he's slower this year) his defense is going to get worse. Even saw some bad reads this series. That's not going to get better in CF IMO. Duran's game is down across the board this year. I'm not going to move him with the hopes that it will get marginally better and play Rafaela out of position. Rafaela one of the best CFers in the game and I'm leaving him there. He struggled last year when they moved him around, so I'm not going to do that to him this year when he's finally starting to hit too. 

I don't think Anthony is that good in the OF. He's worse than Abreu for sure. Probably is LF only if playing with Abreu and Rafaela. He doesn't have a great arm and only has average range. 

Your opinions don't align with any of the facts, so they are unsubstantiated opinions.  Its fine that you believe whatever you believe but when they don't align with facts, it's hard to justify what you are saying.  They come across as random insights without documentation.  

The concept of maximizing talent doesn't seem to fit into your opinions.  The best OFer is Rafaela and playing him in the toughest position is logical as opposed to an emotional response that simply states what you want.  Duran's multi-year performance in CF clearly qualifies him as the second-best CF on the team and since we need Rafaela in RF this should be a no brainer.  There is too little data on Anthony to conclusively say he's not a better CF than Duran, but I believe time will prove out the fact that he is the third best defender among Rafaela, Duran and Abreu. 

As far as Abreu goes, he can't hit left-handed pitchers, so he needs to be a part time player at best, or the team needs to live with his 72-point differential between hitting RH pitchers .262 and LH pitchers .196.  Since they face LH pitchers roughly 40 percent of the time that means the hitting is severely weakened if Abreu bats in 40 percent of their games against LH SPs.  To me, that's unacceptable.  His value only comes from platooning and his defense isn't good enough to be used when he is platooning so he becomes a 60% of the time DH.  That's why I say trade him and let the other team figure out how to use his very limited set of skills. 

FYI... your analysis of Anthony's outfield skills does not align with most scouting information I've seen.  

Bernie Pleshkoff writes "Defensively, Anthony has a strong and accurate arm, but he is probably an average defender. He could be comfortable playing either corner outfield position."

Baseball America writes "He most likely will become a power-hitting corner down the road, though the Red Sox won't rush him off center field."

So most opinions of his defense vary from strong arm but not a CFer to an average corner OFer.  That's why he is perfect for 81 games in LF in Fenway and the other 81 games in LF in parks with normal dimensions. 

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Your opinions don't align with any of the facts, so they are unsubstantiated opinions.  Its fine that you believe whatever you believe but when they don't align with facts, it's hard to justify what you are saying.  They come across as random insights without documentation.  

Ok, so you say this, but ultimately agree with me that Anthony is probably best suited for LF. 

Someone has to get traded. It's most likely either Duran or Abreu. If it's Duran, Anthony goes to LF. If it's Abreu, Anthony goes to RF, which isn't my defensive preference. 

If you truly believe Anthony has a good arm and is able to play CF, the best alignment would be:

Anthony LF - above average potential (Duran is terrible in LF)

Rafaela CF - GG potential

Abreu RF - GG winner (you don't like him, but it's a fact that he won the GG and has put up great defensive metrics in '24 AND '25)

They've spent years trying to work on Duran's defense. They got one good season out of him and now it's back to yuckville. I don't think they should really be messing around with the roster just to try and fix Duran. 

[TedYazPapiMookie]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Next, your bias against Cora is evident. Don't you realize that all of these moves with Campbell were planned out long before he made it to MLB. Go look at where he played in the minors the past few years: 2b, SS, CF. He didn't just play one position. Why? Of course it was just Cora! He played LF and RF in 2023 in the Complex League, Salem and Greenville because of Alex Cora of course! It wasn't because of an organizational decision to see where he'd fit. It was Alex Cora! Alex Cora was worried about this 4th round comp pick so much in 2023 that he wanted him playing positions he's never played before! Then he deviously said that Campbell should continue a path at 2b/CF in 2024 when he began the season in Greenville! Alex really cares about High A lineups and is often watching Drive games while in the dugout. Man, if only Craig Breslow had control over HIS team and could get Campbell to play his one true position again! I wonder why Breslow isn't stepping in and making Campbell play SS every game if he's so great at it???

Your interpretation of Campbell's minor league positions and mine don't agree.  

The organization was committed to Mayer being the SS, so they pushed Campbell to 2B just like when he was forced to 2B in college due to another incumbent SS.  They didn't start Campbell at SS after they drafted him in 2023 due to Mayer.  What that has to do with my comments about Cora is very unclear since nothing I wrote about Cora tied to that time period.   

At the end of 2023 Mayer was hurt again so 2024 became a trial period for Campbell playing SS in case Mayer turned out to be injury prone or a bust since his fielding % was close to Devers in the minors.  Campbell outperformed Mayer at SS in 2024 on defense and he out hit Mayer so logically one would think he would get a shot at SS in 2025 as the best performer in the minors in 2024 and the fact that Story played 2B in BOS during 2022 and was not a long-term solution.  But Cora intervened and chose to stick with Story pushing Campbell back to 2B keeping the path for Mayer clear from better players who might prove to be the best answer at SS. 

Cora has a history of protecting spots for players not deserving of them.  He never let any of the better qualified 3Bs try out to be the starter ahead of Devers until Bregman finally got the chance.  It took 8 seasons.  Eight seasons from now if Cora is still managing, I'm sure an unqualified guy like Mayer will be playing subpar defense like Devers did but will continue to own the position.  That's Cora's track record of ineptitude.

So, you basically flew off the handle with some ridiculous comments about Cora during a time frame that was never mentioned in my comments related to Cora.  I hope this response clarifies things in your mind about how we got to this point with Campbell.  Clearly your issues with Campbell drive exaggerated and unfounded comments about Campbell's ability.  I guess any competition for Mayer is unwanted to Mayer fans.  To each his own.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Ok, so you say this, but ultimately agree with me that Anthony is probably best suited for LF. 

Someone has to get traded. It's most likely either Duran or Abreu. If it's Duran, Anthony goes to LF. If it's Abreu, Anthony goes to RF, which isn't my defensive preference. 

If you truly believe Anthony has a good arm and is able to play CF, the best alignment would be:

Anthony LF - above average potential (Duran is terrible in LF)

Rafaela CF - GG potential

Abreu RF - GG winner (you don't like him, but it's a fact that he won the GG and has put up great defensive metrics in '24 AND '25)

They've spent years trying to work on Duran's defense. They got one good season out of him and now it's back to yuckville. I don't think they should really be messing around with the roster just to try and fix Duran. 

Abreu is a part time player who can't hit lefties.  He shouldn't be in the mix for defense since he only starts roughly 60% of the time.

Rafaela has the strongest arm so he belongs in RF.  The fact that it's the toughest field for 81 of the game further supports that decision.

Duran has an incredible record on defense in CF.  End of story.  No reason to move him from CF.

Anthony is the next Yaz/Ted so he fits in the legend of BOS left fielders and his defensive skills are third best.

We have no idea whether Duran could play right field but he has the weakest arm so he shouldn't.  That leaves the maximized defense with Anthony in LF, Duran in CF and Rafaela in RF like Mookie the true gold glover that owned the position until they gave him away.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

So, you basically flew off the handle with some ridiculous comments about Cora during a time frame that was never mentioned in my comments related to Cora.  I hope this response clarifies things in your mind about how we got to this point with Campbell.  Clearly your issues with Campbell drive exaggerated and unfounded comments about Campbell's ability.  I guess any competition for Mayer is unwanted to Mayer fans.  To each his own.

1. I didn't fly off the handle. I was just trying to show you how ridiculous it was for you to blame Cora for how Campbell is being treated. It has NOTHING to do with Cora. He's being handled the same way now as he's been handled since he was drafted. It's on the org. It's on Breslow. You wanted to give cover to Breslow for some reason for it and it just doesn't make sense. 

2. I am a Mayer fan. I am a Campbell fan. Both things can be true. Mayer should be the SS. The Sox should find one other position for Campbell and just stick him there rather than shuffling him all over the place. They are doing him a disservice in the way they are handling him. I don't care if they move him to 1b, 2b or LF. They just need to find a plan and stick to it. 

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Abreu is a part time player who can't hit lefties.  He shouldn't be in the mix for defense since he only starts roughly 60% of the time.

Jarren Duran has a 580 OPS vs LHP this season. 

Wilyer Abreu has a 678 OPS vs LHP this season.

Which one should be the part time player? 

[Bellhorn04]

4 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Thank goodness for Breslow's pitching acquisitions other than Buehler, they are keeping a weak hitting team with a crap batting order from failing miserably.

The Red Sox are #6 in runs scored per game, T8 in OPS+, T12 in ERA+ and 18 in ERA.  You do say the darndest things.

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The Red Sox are #6 in runs scored per game, T8 in OPS+, T12 in ERA+ and 18 in ERA.  You do say the darndest things.

Like swatting flies in here. 

[TedYazPapiMookie]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Jarren Duran has a 580 OPS vs LHP this season. 

Wilyer Abreu has a 678 OPS vs LHP this season.

Which one should be the part time player? 

Duran has a career average against LH pitchers of .237 and Abreu has a career average vs LH pitchers of .196.  You really need to understand OPS better.  It's really a poorly constructed derivative stat.

What it is comprised of is the following:  Average, Isolated Power and Walk Rate.  OBP is BA and Walk Rate and SLG is Isolated Power and BA so BA is actually counted twice in OPS!!!  Why?  It made the math easier for fans.  No actual baseball reason.

So lets better understand the difference between the Power hitting Abreu and the all around hitter Duran

BA measures hand/eye coordination and ability to put the ball in play

ISO measures extra base hits and Walk rate measures one's batting eye

BA against lefties are .237 vs .196 for Duran vs Abreu.  In comparison, against righties they are .279 vs .272.

The differential for Duran is .042 and for Abreu it's .076 nearly double that of Duran.

Duran's walk rate vs LH pitchers and RH pitchers is .046 and .058 and Abreu's splits are .075 and .069.

Duran walks roughly the same % of the time vs both RH and LH pitchers and the same is true for Abreu except Abreu actually walks slightly more vs LH pitchers.  Abreu's .271 and .341 OBPs are 70 points different because of the bad batting average vs LH pitchers.  The walks don't off set the problem with OBP versus RH and LH pitchers for Abreu. 

Next is slugging percentage and the ISO portion of it.  Abreu the power hitter has a .103 ISO vs LH pitchers and a .232 ISO vs RH pitchers.  That's more than double what he does vs LH pitchers. (.129 points higher)  Duran on the other hand has a .100 ISO vs LH pitchers and a .171 vs RH pitchers.  A 71 point difference vs Abreu's 129 point difference.   That means all of the advantage Abreu has in power is lost against LH pitchers.

Duran's OPS vs LH pitchers is .617 and vs RH pitchers is .826 and Abreu's  OPS vs LH pitchers is .570 and vs RH pitchers is .845.  Those are the facts about their careers.  It's your call to choose a subset of data that helps make your point but that is called cherry picking!!

Note your OPS is .678 vs his actual OPS of .570 and note that Duran's according to you is .580 vs his actual OPS vs LH pitchers of .617.  The season is barely half over and Abreu has historically fallen off in the second half so why not take the entire career number since both careers are so young?  Or maybe we should just take a day when Abreu does better than Duran against a LH Pitcher?  

The comparable stats are not to be cherry picked like you did.  If you want to claim Abreu has been hotter than Duran so far this season, I have no problem with that.  It's true so far.  But the season isn't over and the true history suggests that this "point in time" advantage is NOT representative of season long performances.

There is NO QUESTION that Abreu can't hit LH pitchers and if you want to argue we should throw out Duran's far better past performances vs LH pitchers so you can claim Abreu is actually better go ahead.  Everyone knows it's a point in time anomaly not the truth.  Picking the right segment of data can show almost anything as you have just proven to everyone.

Sorry but you lose this discussion for using a too small sample size.

 

[illinoisredsox]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The Red Sox are #6 in runs scored per game, T8 in OPS+, T12 in ERA+ and 18 in ERA.  You do say the darndest things.

The self-proclaimed “superior baseball  mind” does inject some humor into this place.

[Soxlover]

2 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Duran has a career average against LH pitchers of .237 and Abreu has a career average vs LH pitchers of .196.  You really need to understand OPS better.  It's really a poorly constructed derivative stat.

What it is comprised of is the following:  Average, Isolated Power and Walk Rate.  OBP is BA and Walk Rate and SLG is Isolated Power and BA so BA is actually counted twice in OPS!!!  Why?  It made the math easier for fans.  No actual baseball reason.

So lets better understand the difference between the Power hitting Abreu and the all around hitter Duran

BA measures hand/eye coordination and ability to put the ball in play

ISO measures extra base hits and Walk rate measures one's batting eye

BA against lefties are .237 vs .196 for Duran vs Abreu.  In comparison, against righties they are .279 vs .272.

The differential for Duran is .042 and for Abreu it's .076 nearly double that of Duran.

Duran's walk rate vs LH pitchers and RH pitchers is .046 and .058 and Abreu's splits are .075 and .069.

Duran walks roughly the same % of the time vs both RH and LH pitchers and the same is true for Abreu except Abreu actually walks slightly more vs LH pitchers.  Abreu's .271 and .341 OBPs are 70 points different because of the bad batting average vs LH pitchers.  The walks don't off set the problem with OBP versus RH and LH pitchers for Abreu. 

Next is slugging percentage and the ISO portion of it.  Abreu the power hitter has a .103 ISO vs LH pitchers and a .232 ISO vs RH pitchers.  That's more than double what he does vs LH pitchers. (.129 points higher)  Duran on the other hand has a .100 ISO vs LH pitchers and a .171 vs RH pitchers.  A 71 point difference vs Abreu's 129 point difference.   That means all of the advantage Abreu has in power is lost against LH pitchers.

Duran's OPS vs LH pitchers is .617 and vs RH pitchers is .826 and Abreu's  OPS vs LH pitchers is .570 and vs RH pitchers is .845.  Those are the facts about their careers.  It's your call to choose a subset of data that helps make your point but that is called cherry picking!!

Note your OPS is .678 vs his actual OPS of .570 and note that Duran's according to you is .580 vs his actual OPS vs LH pitchers of .617.  The season is barely half over and Abreu has historically fallen off in the second half so why not take the entire career number since both careers are so young?  Or maybe we should just take a day when Abreu does better than Duran against a LH Pitcher?  

The comparable stats are not to be cherry picked like you did.  If you want to claim Abreu has been hotter than Duran so far this season, I have no problem with that.  It's true so far.  But the season isn't over and the true history suggests that this "point in time" advantage is NOT representative of season long performances.

There is NO QUESTION that Abreu can't hit LH pitchers and if you want to argue we should throw out Duran's far better past performances vs LH pitchers so you can claim Abreu is actually better go ahead.  Everyone knows it's a point in time anomaly not the truth.  Picking the right segment of data can show almost anything as you have just proven to everyone.

Sorry but you lose this discussion for using a too small sample size.

 

It’s funny how you bashed Cora for not moving Rafaela up in the order based on this years stats, but the throw out the lefty splits for 2025 and bash the poster for using a too small sample size.

you crack me up- literally!

[mvp 78]

🐪

[TedYazPapiMookie]

4 hours ago, Soxlover said:

It’s funny how you bashed Cora for not moving Rafaela up in the order based on this years stats, but the throw out the lefty splits for 2025 and bash the poster for using a too small sample size.

you crack me up- literally!

Obviously, you struggle with the concept of two different topics and how concepts apply to them.  Let me enlighten you since you didn't get the obvious distinction.

1 - The 2025 comparison you referenced when someone CHERRY PICKED data is a common trick that people use to try to misuse stats by segmenting winning time frames for their arguments.

2 - The discussion about Rafaela relates to what CORA did to him.  It's not a comparison between players it is a statement of fact related to how Cora has mistreated Rafaela over time and the impact his actions have on players.  Since you didn't understand the difference between this concept and a comparison between two players, I might be wasting my time trying to explain this to you, I'm guessing you are very inexperienced in baseball but here goes anyway. 

Netflix showed the devastation Cora's actions had on Duran and then Cora did the same to Rafaela and it devastated him based on how he dramatically dropped off from his successful minor league career just like Duran did.  Rafaela came up much like Campbell and was awesome.  Spectacular catches in CF and he hit .305 through his first 20 games in 2023.  He batted leadoff and thrived at it.  By SEP 24th, 2023, he was hitting .294 with a .799 OPS as the leadoff man for BOS.  The team under Cora shut down like they always do in SEP vs the AL East and they lost 3 of their last 5 games to TB (1) and BAL (4).  They got shutout by Glasnow and both leadoff man Rafaela and #2 hitter Abreu went 0 for 4.  Then Dean Kremer shut them out the next game versus BAL with Rafaela going 0 for 4 while BOS got just 3 hits.  Then BOS beat John Means 3-0 with Rafaela going 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored as leadoff man.  BOS had 4 hits that game.  The next game CORA benched Rafaela and BOS lost 5-2 vs Kyle Gibson.  Then the last game of the season Cora benched Rafaela yet again and continued to use Verdugo as the leadoff man.  The end of season brought Rafaela average down from .294 to .241!!!  Yep, 23 good games got ruined by 3 starts where nobody hit for the Red Sox to end the season and on top of that Rafaela's days of leading off which went very well ended.   

In 2024 Duran became the leadoff man and Rafaela never made it to the top of the order again and was relegated to the 9th spot for most of the season despite being more productive than the platoon guy who got to bat 2 when played in games where RH pitchers started.  The demotion allegedly was due to performance so the point #2 that you mentioned related to how Cora doesn't use a performance system for upgrading and downgrading players.  If he had, Rafaela would have earned a top 3 status several times over the last year and a half.  See that's why the current data was important and that's why this use of data was COMPLETELY different than the other example which was cherry picking related to a comparison.  The whole point was if a player performs well, he should be rewarded and that distinction should have been obvious to any knowledgeable baseball fan not looking to take a shot at someone.

You have an unusual sense of humor.  I'm guessing it's embarrassing to not understand things and try to make fun of other people and to have it blow up in your face.  

[TedYazPapiMookie]

10 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The Red Sox are #6 in runs scored per game, T8 in OPS+, T12 in ERA+ and 18 in ERA.  You do say the darndest things.

Great data without context.  To put it into context you need to explain why a team with such an average record can be ranked so high in categories that should create wins but don't.  Do they score over 10 runs a game during blow outs more often accounting for the absurdly high ranking?  And then during normal games struggle to score runs?  If so, does that sixth best runs scored stat mean anything?  Do you see it as a team who beats up bad pitchers but struggles with good ones?  Does that constitute a good offensive team that could win in the playoffs when they will see good pitchers not the clowns, they run the score up on?

Data needs context.  For metric supporters like you, this wrongfully suggests things that simply aren't true based on the "estimates in a vacuum" that you provided and thrive on.  This is why averaging, and normalization is a faulty baseball estimating approach to providing meaningful data.  If you want to show comparative stats you need to show the whole picture.  Ranking is what metrics is all about and why it's meaningless with respect to precision. 

To begin with, how do the 30 teams compare with respect to the pitching they have faced in all their games this year?  Are the teams with a favorable schedule with respect to opposing pitchers being evaluated equally with those with those facing the most elite pitchers?  That's why what you posted is meaningless without context but is an approach most media commentators and TV personalities related to baseball use.  Gross generalizations that simply don't apply.  A team on a hot streak hardly ever gets an asterisk that explains they just played the weakest part of the schedule.  Hey, the team is hot and that's all the analysts have time for and it's completely out of context like your data above.  

SO, to be fair, you actually say the darndest things not me.  

[Bellhorn04]

6 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Great data without context.  To put it into context you need to explain why a team with such an average record can be ranked so high in categories that should create wins but don't.  Do they score over 10 runs a game during blow outs more often accounting for the absurdly high ranking?  And then during normal games struggle to score runs?  If so, does that sixth best runs scored stat mean anything?  Do you see it as a team who beats up bad pitchers but struggles with good ones?  Does that constitute a good offensive team that could win in the playoffs when they will see good pitchers not the clowns, they run the score up on?

Data needs context.  For metric supporters like you, this wrongfully suggests things that simply aren't true based on the "estimates in a vacuum" that you provided and thrive on.  This is why averaging, and normalization is a faulty baseball estimating approach to providing meaningful data.  If you want to show comparative stats you need to show the whole picture.  Ranking is what metrics is all about and why it's meaningless with respect to precision. 

To begin with, how do the 30 teams compare with respect to the pitching they have faced in all their games this year?  Are the teams with a favorable schedule with respect to opposing pitchers being evaluated equally with those with those facing the most elite pitchers?  That's why what you posted is meaningless without context but is an approach most media commentators and TV personalities related to baseball use.  Gross generalizations that simply don't apply.  A team on a hot streak hardly ever gets an asterisk that explains they just played the weakest part of the schedule.  Hey, the team is hot and that's all the analysts have time for and it's completely out of context like your data above.  

SO, to be fair, you actually say the darndest things not me.  

So what exactly supports your contention that the offense is 'weak'?  Seems like your evidence is all anecdotal.  You like batting average, don't you?  The Sox are T6 in batting average.  

Show us some numbers that support your contention that the offense is weak.

 

 

 

.

[Soxlover]

8 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Obviously, you struggle with the concept of two different topics and how concepts apply to them.  Let me enlighten you since you didn't get the obvious distinction.

1 - The 2025 comparison you referenced when someone CHERRY PICKED data is a common trick that people use to try to misuse stats by segmenting winning time frames for their arguments.

2 - The discussion about Rafaela relates to what CORA did to him.  It's not a comparison between players it is a statement of fact related to how Cora has mistreated Rafaela over time and the impact his actions have on players.  Since you didn't understand the difference between this concept and a comparison between two players, I might be wasting my time trying to explain this to you, I'm guessing you are very inexperienced in baseball but here goes anyway. 

Netflix showed the devastation Cora's actions had on Duran and then Cora did the same to Rafaela and it devastated him based on how he dramatically dropped off from his successful minor league career just like Duran did.  Rafaela came up much like Campbell and was awesome.  Spectacular catches in CF and he hit .305 through his first 20 games in 2023.  He batted leadoff and thrived at it.  By SEP 24th, 2023, he was hitting .294 with a .799 OPS as the leadoff man for BOS.  The team under Cora shut down like they always do in SEP vs the AL East and they lost 3 of their last 5 games to TB (1) and BAL (4).  They got shutout by Glasnow and both leadoff man Rafaela and #2 hitter Abreu went 0 for 4.  Then Dean Kremer shut them out the next game versus BAL with Rafaela going 0 for 4 while BOS got just 3 hits.  Then BOS beat John Means 3-0 with Rafaela going 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored as leadoff man.  BOS had 4 hits that game.  The next game CORA benched Rafaela and BOS lost 5-2 vs Kyle Gibson.  Then the last game of the season Cora benched Rafaela yet again and continued to use Verdugo as the leadoff man.  The end of season brought Rafaela average down from .294 to .241!!!  Yep, 23 good games got ruined by 3 starts where nobody hit for the Red Sox to end the season and on top of that Rafaela's days of leading off which went very well ended.   

In 2024 Duran became the leadoff man and Rafaela never made it to the top of the order again and was relegated to the 9th spot for most of the season despite being more productive than the platoon guy who got to bat 2 when played in games where RH pitchers started.  The demotion allegedly was due to performance so the point #2 that you mentioned related to how Cora doesn't use a performance system for upgrading and downgrading players.  If he had, Rafaela would have earned a top 3 status several times over the last year and a half.  See that's why the current data was important and that's why this use of data was COMPLETELY different than the other example which was cherry picking related to a comparison.  The whole point was if a player performs well, he should be rewarded and that distinction should have been obvious to any knowledgeable baseball fan not looking to take a shot at someone.

You have an unusual sense of humor.  I'm guessing it's embarrassing to not understand things and try to make fun of other people and to have it blow up in your face.  

You have an unusual sense of logic.

you are wrong on so many levels it’s not worth the bother to address. Then, you pile on the insults and condescension.

it is you who struggles with two topics that expose your contradictions.

[illinoisredsox]

2 minutes ago, Soxlover said:

You have an unusual sense of logic.

you are wrong on so many levels it’s not worth the bother to address. Then, you pile on the insults and condescension.

it is you who struggles with two topics that expose your contradictions.

TYPM’s real problem is he can’t comprehend a scenario where he could be even slightly incorrect.  One need not look any farther than his insane mancrush on Campbell; he’s right in his assessment and the view of all the people who are actually paid to make those judgements/decisions (all the Sox organizational folks plus the baseball coach at Georgia Tech) are idiots for not seeing it TYPM’s way.   He’s not here to discuss, he’s here to lecture.

He’s both sad and amusing at the same time.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Not much of a statistical difference yet in the post-Raffy offense, as the Sox are still #2 in team Ks and #4 in BBs. But Devers was among the league leaders in both, so season percentages like OPS are hard to gauge. 

Less Devers homers, but more contributions from Story and Ceddanne. And Bregman is coming back. First in team hits and doubles could actually last, and #4 in team stolen bases trends to manufacturing runs -- or at least a balance beyond all-or-nothing.

Raffy and Campbell had a lot of swing and miss in their ABs, and they're gone, but now Anthony and Mayer are full-timers and adjusting through growing pains. The return of Yoshida, a professional contact hitter, should help.

The O certainly feels like it has more energy lately, but let's not deceive ourselves into thinking everyone is suddenly good vs. pitching staffs from Washington and Colorado. 

But: if Boston is still .500 or better at the Break, Breslow owes it to the batting order and Sox Nation living rooms to add a Schwarber-type deadline deal.

[Soxlover]

5 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

TYPM’s real problem is he can’t comprehend a scenario where he could be even slightly incorrect.  One need not look any farther than his insane mancrush on Campbell; he’s right in his assessment and the view of all the people who are actually paid to make those judgements/decisions (all the Sox organizational folks plus the baseball coach at Georgia Tech) are idiots for not seeing it TYPM’s way.   He’s not here to discuss, he’s here to lecture.

He’s both sad and amusing at the same time.

Plus, all the data points he loves show KC is an awful infielder, no matter where he plays. The ones we use do, too. So, let’s put the worst defender at SS is beyond logic. It’s plain silly.

[Soxlover]

9 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Not much of a statistical difference yet in the post-Raffy offense, as the Sox are still #2 in team Ks and #4 in BBs. But Devers was among the league leaders in both, so season percentages like OPS are hard to gauge. 

Less Devers homers, but more contributions from Story and Ceddanne. And Bregman is coming back. First in team hits and doubles could actually last, and #4 in team stolen bases trends to manufacturing runs -- or at least a balance beyond all-or-nothing.

Raffy and Campbell had a lot of swing and miss in their ABs, and they're gone, but now Anthony and Mayer are full-timers and adjusting through growing pains. The return of Yoshida, a professional contact hitter, should help.

The O certainly feels like it has more energy lately, but let's not deceive ourselves into thinking everyone is suddenly good vs. pitching staffs from Washington and Colorado. 

But: if Boston is still .500 or better at the Break, Breslow owes it to the batting order and Sox Nation living rooms to add a Schwarber-type deadline deal.

If we are to be buyers, I think we need a solid SP and set up man. If a cheap bat is there then grab it. (Schwarber was cheap.)

[TedYazPapiMookie]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

So what exactly supports your contention that the offense is 'weak'?  Seems like your evidence is all anecdotal.  You like batting average, don't you?  The Sox are T6 in batting average.  

Show us some numbers that support your contention that the offense is weak.

 

 

 

.

Let's begin with all the all-star hitters on the team.  Bregman - list complete.

Next go by position

C - A player who has NEVER achieved his current numbers in his career

1B - A list of non 1Bs forced to play 1B that have had decent first halves but have no track record of success.

2B - The best 2B is in the minors after getting off to a great start and then struggling to make adjustments to deal with the book opponents created.  Good upside here but not currently.

SS - A poor hitting experienced and expensive player who currently is hitting .249 after being hot recently and a highly touted prospect with questionable defensive skills that is hitting .214 currently.

3B - Best player on the team and only all-star hitter this season.  The team's one current offensive strength.

LF - A misplaced speedster that is an excellent leadoff man who is getting jerked around by Cora and it's impacting his rising performance that Cora stunted recently.  A former all-star that needs some consistency from his manager with respect to his proper position and location in the batting order to be allowed to return to form in the second half.

CF - An excellent kid that is playing the wrong position for his skills and has been crapped on by his manager for two seasons after starting out great when he was allowed to bat leadoff in 2023.  Eventually, he will be a perennial all-star based on his elite defensive skills; his speed and his sneaky power coupled with his timely hitting.

RF - An over-rated platoon hitter that focuses on power which creates a streakiness to his hitting that provides for long periods of being hot and cold.  No skills related to him hitting LH pitchers is a massive liability of this player.  He is a player that should be traded due to his limited hitting skills versus lefties.

DH - Currently the best power hitter in the prospect class who needs to play LF going forward like Ted and Yaz.  This kid most likely will be the best power hitter on the team but isn't there yet. limiting the current team's hitting.

So which hitter jumps out to you that they are currently an above average long-term hitter other than Bregman the lone all-star hitter?  When 8 of 9 spots in the batting order are iffy hitters at this point in time and the metrics suggest this is a great or even good hitting team don't the numbers have to pass the eye test? 

A group of guys who have NEVER been good MLB hitters have accumulated metrics that suggest this is a good or great hitting team.  Seriously, how is that possible and how can it be sustainable in the near term?  Sure, we all believe Anthony, Campbell, Mayer, Duran, Rafaela will be good to great hitters in the next few years but that doesn't make them great right now.  The stats are being put up by pretenders, not legitimate MLB players.  Romy Gonzalez is the only guy hitting over .300.  He's an 18th round pick from 7 years ago who has never done this before!!! 

"Smoke and mirrors" is the phrase that fits this offense.  The metrics you quoted are part of the mirage that is the 2025 season.  Reality will set in after the all-star game just like it has most of Cora's career as manager.  Normally, Cora blames the GM for not giving him enough to win but this year is different, Cora has enough to win but simply can't do that with his skill set being limited to "bench coach".

Will the core players be excellent in the future?  I think so.  Are they now?  No way.

So please refute my assessment of the current status of each player by contradicting what I wrote.  None of the best hitters right now have done it before and the prospects are improving but not fast enough to suggest this a good hitting team.  They are simply a team that pounds the crap out of certain pitchers and fails to hit against good pitchers inflating aggregates like total runs scored but not translating to wins so the totals skew reality.  The totals may be sustainable, but the winning won't pick up as the schedule moves into the down days of AUG/SEP when the AL East historically eats them alive.

I like our future, and I am realistic of our present.  We had next to no chance with Devers, now, the GM needs to focus on the future, especially the pitching.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

43 minutes ago, Soxlover said:

You have an unusual sense of logic.

you are wrong on so many levels it’s not worth the bother to address. Then, you pile on the insults and condescension.

it is you who struggles with two topics that expose your contradictions.

I apologize for making my response too complicated for you.  It was clearly articulated and completely logical in delineating the two situations.  To suggest I was wrong on so many levels can't be more vague so it suggests you either didn't comprehend the answer or simply aren't equipped with information to try and refute it. 

The laughable part is that you consider it condescending for me to point out that you incorrectly distinguished how different the two points were.  That's not condescending.  Look up the word.  I simply tried to bring the discussion down to a level that would make it clearer to you so you could understand the difference.  That's the polite thing to do when speaking with someone who doesn't understand the concepts being discussed.  You should be thanking me for being so polite but instead you try to spin this as me being mean to you.  I'm not mean to you.  I feel sorry for you because you simply don't get what i was talking about and I'm sure that's very frustrating which is why you tried to blame me.

As proof to the fact you don't get what I am talking about, you wrote your last statement which a confirmation of your lack of understanding.  I'm just glad you didn't send me an emoji with a guy sticking out his tongue at me!!

Next time, if you don't understand something don't attack the person ask them what was meant so you can understand it too.

[mvp 78]

Please don't try to actively pick fights on the forum. Thanks. 

Let's just move on. 

[Soxlover]

5 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

I apologize for making my response too complicated for you.  It was clearly articulated and completely logical in delineating the two situations.  To suggest I was wrong on so many levels can't be more vague so it suggests you either didn't comprehend the answer or simply aren't equipped with information to try and refute it. 

The laughable part is that you consider it condescending for me to point out that you incorrectly distinguished how different the two points were.  That's not condescending.  Look up the word.  I simply tried to bring the discussion down to a level that would make it clearer to you so you could understand the difference.  That's the polite thing to do when speaking with someone who doesn't understand the concepts being discussed.  You should be thanking me for being so polite but instead you try to spin this as me being mean to you.  I'm not mean to you.  I feel sorry for you because you simply don't get what i was talking about and I'm sure that's very frustrating which is why you tried to blame me.

As proof to the fact you don't get what I am talking about, you wrote your last statement which a confirmation of your lack of understanding.  I'm just glad you didn't send me an emoji with a guy sticking out his tongue at me!!

Next time, if you don't understand something don't attack the person ask them what was meant so you can understand it too.

You start nearly every post with a condescending attack.

my comp was legit as I pointed out how you used a small ample size to justify why Cora sucks for not moving Rafaela up in the order, but bash someone for using a small sample size to say Duran is struggling vs lefties more than Abreu. 
 

you constantly use the very thing you bash others for using, and question their thinking skills along the way.

you want one example of “another level”, why not show data that proves a player doing well over a month means he will continue to and any good manager would realise that and adjust his line up accordingly? We all know why you don’t support it with data, like you demand we do, is because there is none.

another level is your choice of stats that also are influenced by the strength of teams faced, park factors and more- the same logic applies to your stats as the ones others use to support their position.

i could go on, but it is pointless with someone who thinks he’s mr logic and is clearly everything but logics.

cue next clown rant…

[TedYazPapiMookie]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Please don't try to actively pick fights on the forum. Thanks. 

Let's just move on. 

Since this comment was a response to my comment maybe I am missing something.  Weren't we having the one-on-one discussion before an unsolicited comment was interjected that didn't apply to our discussion?

So, who actively picked the fight?  The person who interrupted out conversation?  Or are you suggesting that I picked a fight by pointing out that the two topics weren't similar?  If you are thinking this is on me, I can now relate to Caitlyn Clark's experience with the refs.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Since this comment was a response to my comment maybe I am missing something.  Weren't we having the one-on-one discussion before an unsolicited comment was interjected that didn't apply to our discussion?

So, who actively picked the fight?  The person who interrupted out conversation?  Or are you suggesting that I picked a fight by pointing out that the two topics weren't similar?  If you are thinking this is on me, I can now relate to Caitlyn Clark's experience with the refs.

My comment was to both of you as you continue to egg each other on for no reason. Please stop and feel free to ignore each other rather than having ongoing tit for tats like the above. Thanks.