Take a bow Mr Breslow

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

The Sox absolutely could have kept Devers, but MLB won’t let them use a lineup with 4 outfielders and two DHs.  Devers’ exit was prompted by his stubborn inflexibility.  If they kept him at DH, were they going to bench Duran, Rafaela or Abreu to get Anthony into the lineup?

They had some limited options:

Rafaela to 2B FT.

Trade and OF'er in June.

Just tell Devers to shut up and play 1B like you will in SF, if we trade you.

[drewski6]

33 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Meh.  Public utterances by senior management are always calculated and seldom fulsome.

You have to go by how this team is playing, which is pretty doggone well.    They even have a halfway decent shot at the best W-L record in the AL.  Detroit has the most wins, 80, and the Sox 77, but the Sox have been winning since the ASG and the Detroit has been playing .500 ball.

And can there be any doubt that the additions of Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, and Narvaez have made a difference?  Giolito has helped too.  CB gets credit for Anthony, Mayer, Bello, Story, Duran, Rafaela, et al, but the Sox finished last in the AL East in the last 3 seasons.  

I agree Devers was jacked around, but that was inevitable the day the Sox signed Bregman.  Devers hated moving to DH and even more being asked to play 1b.  SF has been good for him, and his absence has actually improved the Sox won-loss record.  

Breslow has a reputation of being very smart but not very personable.  Plus he's just in his 2d season ever as a CBO.  I don't care if he's personable.  John Henry never was.  I like results, which both have brought to the Red Sox.  

 

I dont have to go by anything, but what I go do go by are my own experiences.  And Ive seen plenty of leaders come in and do well at first, but you can still tell that something isnt quite right.  Ive seen plenty of CEOs come in and go on about results but without considering input and without considering context.  

A couple things that broke our way out of dumb luck go the other way, and you are looking at a .500 team. Thats not a knock on the team, I do like it.  But when Breslow talks , I am simply not willing to overlook the brazen lies, arrogance, robotness just because we are a couple more games over .500 than I expected.  

Everything in context.  The context is that the Crochet trade was obvious. That Bregman fell into his lap.  I still give him credit for these things, but Im not extending him nor am I screaming his praise from the rooftops. 

Hes had 2 bad deadlines and seems to leave a list of people who dont like him in his wake.  YOu may think personality is not important, but I wouldnt work for him, and Im top talent (granted in a different industry). Personableness ALWAYS matters and it matters more than anything else. 90% of the success YOU will have in life is your ability to communicate.  Getting others to see your vision is a huge part of leadership.

There are red flags with this stiff, and im not willing to just overlook them because of our record.  If Cora says he wants him gone, I get rid of Bres without a second thought.  Even if we win the WS.  If he earns Coras trust and respect, he keeps his job.

[drewski6]

There have been plenty of bad GMs that have had a winning record at some point in their tenure.  And ability to communicate, personality, salesmanship, leadership - these are all important traits for a CBO.  I find Breslow to be brazen, arrogant, personality lacking. I consider these things important.  I am happy with the team and current record. Im not necessarily replacing him after this year.  But I think this guy might be too high up.  You cant have a CBO with a bad personality. You can have a good scout with a bad personality.  But salesmanship , getting others to see your vision, facilitating compromise, public face - these things are part of his job.

You cant be a good CEO if you dont communicate well.  You can be a good analyst. We'll see what happens with Breslow, but I find him to be arrogant, a stiff, dishonest, and not particularly likeable. 

[notin]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

They had some limited options:

Rafaela to 2B FT.

Trade and OF'er in June.

Just tell Devers to shut up and play 1B like you will in SF, if we trade you.

Well, we still liked AL April Rookie of the Month Kristian Campbell back then.  One slump later and he’s disappeared faster than Chuck Cunningham…

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, notin said:

The Sox absolutely could have kept Devers, but MLB won’t let them use a lineup with 4 outfielders and two DHs.  Devers’ exit was prompted by his stubborn inflexibility.  If they kept him at DH, were they going to bench Duran, Rafaela or Abreu to get Anthony into the lineup?

Masa has played in 35 games. Asking how they'd fit Devers into the lineup with the 4 OFers is a bit silly IMO. They've figured it out for a guy OPSing 609!

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, notin said:

Well, we still liked AL April Rookie of the Month Kristian Campbell back then.  One slump later and he’s disappeared faster than Chuck Cunningham…

Campbell's wishing this season would disappear. 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

Well, we still liked AL April Rookie of the Month Kristian Campbell back then.  One slump later and he’s disappeared faster than Chuck Cunningham…

Anthony was not crowding the OF until after the Devers trade and Campbell demotion,

We could have started the season with Campbell at 2B, Devers at 1B, Casas at DH and the OF, as is.

The Rafaela to 2B option was available after the demotion of KC, and KC could have been demoted earlier, if they wanted to make this move in May.

True, if they made the move the second we traded for Bregman, then Rafaela at 2B would have meant KC is not on the opening day roster.

[drewski6]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Masa has played in 35 games. Asking how they'd fit Devers into the lineup with the 4 OFers is a bit silly IMO. They've figured it out for a guy OPSing 609!

Asking how youd fit any plus bat in any lineup is silly in 2025.  Teams figure out how to get their plus bats on the field.  Ideal defensive alignment is so out.  Versatility, plug and play, find a way to keep your mashers in the lienup is so in.

Positions are hardly a thing in 2025.

[Maxbialystock]

3 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Breslow may always be defined by his prediction of improvement after trading Devers (unless the starting rotation all wear Tommy John underwear and the Sox fold)...

And it's fair to believe this salary dump was part of the plan for signing Bregman. The front office had a young core they knew needed to be locked up if they wanted to sustain contention and avoid kajillions in taxes. How would all those extensions fit into the budget? Hmmm... who makes the most AAV, taking up funds we'd love to spread around the roster?

It just defies logic that all those execs with advanced degrees never thought for one second to give their sensitive man-child superstar the respect of discussing their offseason plans for him before they acquired his replacement!

All those meetings, all those Assistant VPs, considering all the angles -- the idea must have occurred to someone: "Hey, maybe we should contact his agent... or at least have Cora talk to Raffy... if not, he may throw a fit!"

Reply: "Ya, if we don't, he may speak out to the media, sour on the org, maybe even force us to trade him..."

Superior: "Exactly- everyone at this meeting is now forever forbidden to repeat this with anyone."

There is absolutely no way--none whatsoever--Devers was going to react well to losing the 3b job which was for him a big part of how he saw himself as a MLB player.  

In fact, Cora did a great job of getting Devers to buy into the DH job, which Devers did well at.  Then came the big deal over Devers replacing Casas at 1b.  To Breslow it was reasonable.  To Devers it was being jacked around.  

I think losing Devers was inevitable the day Bregman was announced as the Sox 3d baseman.  On the other hand, I think his agent or someone convinced him that he needed to be willing to play 1b for the Giants if they asked him to.  

The Sox overall have been worlds better this season without Devers. His bat is missed, but not the other stuff. 

 

[drewski6]

If I was giving a presentation to a team I inherited and somebody called me a stiff thinking he was on mute, I would pull him aside and ask him why he thinks that.  I would ask for the chance to win him over.  I would try to determine if he is going to be a problem.  But the first thing I would do - is laugh.  I wouldnt fire him because of my fragile ego. Breslow gives me tyrant vibes.  Ive seen more leaders of this ilk flame out (sometimes they are successful at first).

Now is Breslow an actual tyrant or has he made a few foot in mouth statements, and maybe made some rookie mistakes from a leadership perspective? I dunno, but Id trust Coras read of the situation. In either case, I want Breslow reporting to Cora, not Cora reporting to Breslow. Because the higher up you go, the MORE your personality matters.  The more your leadership matters. The more your communication skills matter.  Cora has these, so Id rather him be CBO and Breslow be GM.  Because Cora is an effective communicator.

[Maxbialystock]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Anthony was not crowding the OF until after the Devers trade and Campbell demotion,

We could have started the season with Campbell at 2B, Devers at 1B, Casas at DH and the OF, as is.

The Rafaela to 2B option was available after the demotion of KC, and KC could have been demoted earlier, if they wanted to make this move in May.

True, if they made the move the second we traded for Bregman, then Rafaela at 2B would have meant KC is not on the opening day roster.

Devers at 1b and Casas DH would have stunk because Casas' OPS was .477 and Devers needed time to adjust to 1b.  

To me having 4 good hitting and good fielding outfielders--Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, and Anthony--was never a problem once Devers left.  Anthony arrived a week before Devers was traded.

You can keep Rafaela in CF all day long and twice on Sundays by making one of Duran, Abreu, or Anthony the DH on days when the opposing starter is a starter.  Against lefties, make Ref the DH and give Duran a day of rest.  He stinks (.584) against lefties.  

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

If I was giving a presentation to a team I inherited and somebody called me a stiff thinking he was on mute, I would pull him aside and ask him why he thinks that.  I would ask for the chance to win him over.  I would try to determine if he is going to be a problem.  But the first thing I would do - is laugh.  I wouldnt fire him because of my fragile ego. Breslow gives me tyrant vibes.  Ive seen more leaders of this ilk flame out (sometimes they are successful at first).

Now is Breslow an actual tyrant or has he made a few foot in mouth statements, and maybe made some rookie mistakes from a leadership perspective? I dunno, but Id trust Coras read of the situation. In either case, I want Breslow reporting to Cora, not Cora reporting to Breslow. Because the higher up you go, the MORE your personality matters.  The more your leadership matters. The more your communication skills matter.  Cora has these, so Id rather him be CBO and Breslow be GM.  Because Cora is an effective communicator.

Leadership, shmeadership.  At the CBO and higher level in MLB it's smarts that count.  John Henry is to me a cold fish who nevertheless has made a lot of good decisions about the Sox.  He has never hesitated to fire a manager or CBO or to support the good ones.  DD, good as he was, had to go because after the 2019 season the Sox needed a lot more money to fix the pitching and already had the top payroll in MLB.

I like Cora too--a lot.  But he's the guy who has to be a leader--and to communicate with his CBO. The available evidecne is that he does both very well--and  Breslow has done a solid job of bringing in good players.  

 

 

[drewski6]

8 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Leadership, shmeadership.  At the CBO and higher level in MLB it's smarts that count.  John Henry is to me a cold fish who nevertheless has made a lot of good decisions about the Sox.  He has never hesitated to fire a manager or CBO or to support the good ones.  DD, good as he was, had to go because after the 2019 season the Sox needed a lot more money to fix the pitching and already had the top payroll in MLB.

I like Cora too--a lot.  But he's the guy who has to be a leader--and to communicate with his CBO. The available is that he does both very well--and  Breslow has done a solid job of bringing in good players.  

 

 

Id like it more if Cora was Breslows boss.

[Bellhorn04]

42 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Asking how youd fit any plus bat in any lineup is silly in 2025.  Teams figure out how to get their plus bats on the field.  Ideal defensive alignment is so out.  Versatility, plug and play, find a way to keep your mashers in the lienup is so in.

Positions are hardly a thing in 2025.

What MLB team would you say exemplifies this approach?

[moonslav59]

40 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

There is absolutely no way--none whatsoever--Devers was going to react well to losing the 3b job which was for him a big part of how he saw himself as a MLB player.  

In fact, Cora did a great job of getting Devers to buy into the DH job, which Devers did well at.  Then came the big deal over Devers replacing Casas at 1b.  To Breslow it was reasonable.  To Devers it was being jacked around.  

I think losing Devers was inevitable the day Bregman was announced as the Sox 3d baseman.  On the other hand, I think his agent or someone convinced him that he needed to be willing to play 1b for the Giants if they asked him to.  

The Sox overall have been worlds better this season without Devers. His bat is missed, but not the other stuff. 

 

IMO, it would have been easier to talk Devers into 1B over DH. He liked playing in the field and believed he was good on D. It would not have necessitated a second move, later, which was the one that broke Devers' back.

I totally disagree that they started the trade clock on Devers once they signed Bregman.

Maybe all that "other stuff" never happens, if they started him off at 1B not DH. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Looking at our budget, now. I can't see how we extend all these guys AND do anything meaningful, this coming winter with Devers on the roster. While we did take back the Hicks salary, it is only for 2 more years and 1/3 what Devers costs in 2026 and 2027.

[moonslav59]

32 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Devers at 1b and Casas DH would have stunk because Casas' OPS was .477 and Devers needed time to adjust to 1b.  

 

Casas is not a .477 batter. He was that for one isolated month. If he's a .477 batter, then Story and Narvaez are .650 hitters and Rafaela is a .600 hitter.  Campbell's a .900 hitter on his way to ROY!

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

They had some limited options:

Rafaela to 2B FT.

Trade and OF'er in June.

Just tell Devers to shut up and play 1B like you will in SF, if we trade you.

Rafael at 2b is dumb, dumb, dumb when he has so much talent in CF.  One reason why the pitching if flourishing is that the defense behind them is pretty good.

  Once Devers left on 16 June, a week after Anthony arrived, there was no real need to trade an outfielder.  As it turns out, missing the fourth, Abreu, right now sucks because Yoshida is crap as a DH.  

I'm beginning to think that the five tools should add a sixth--hit, hit with power, field, throw, run the bases, and stay off the IL.  

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

IMO, it would have been easier to talk Devers into 1B over DH. He liked playing in the field and believed he was good on D. It would not have necessitated a second move, later, which was the one that broke Devers' back.

I totally disagree that they started the trade clock on Devers once they signed Bregman.

Maybe all that "other stuff" never happens, if they started him off at 1B not DH. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Looking at our budget, now. I can't see how we extend all these guys AND do anything meaningful, this coming winter with Devers on the roster. While we did take back the Hicks salary, it is only for 2 more years and 1/3 what Devers costs in 2026 and 2027.

They started no freaking clock when they signed Bregman.  But fate sure did.  I'm saying Devers was excess once Bregman was signed and even though he was a terrific DH (OPS ,905).  Don't forget Casas was already at 1b.  Plus his hitting stunk before his injury.  Maybe Devers hitting would have stunk too when playing 1b.  

Good point on the budget.  

 

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

  Maybe Devers hitting would have stunk too when playing 1b.  

Then, maybe Casas hits .877 as the DH and never gets hurt.

[Hitch]

I'm looking forward to another 5/6 years of people trying to score points on either side of the Devers trade. 😬

Seems obvious to me it was a good deal for all involved. Even if the Sox get nothing out of the trade player-wise, it has freed up the room for real leaders to stand up (no judgement on Devers) and fill the leadership vacuum and given the youngsters room to not only grow, but feel that this is their team, too, and given much needed wiggle room financially. On the Giants end they've got one of the best power bats alive and he's doing just fine there. They might like the contract less in 5 years, but by that point who gives a s***. 

Everyone should be fairly happy with it from my viewpoint. 

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, Hitch said:

I'm looking forward to another 5/6 years of people trying to score points on either side of the Devers trade. 😬

Seems obvious to me it was a good deal for all involved. Even if the Sox get nothing out of the trade player-wise, it has freed up the room for real leaders to stand up (no judgement on Devers) and fill the leadership vacuum and given the youngsters room to not only grow, but feel that this is their team, too, and given much needed wiggle room financially. On the Giants end they've got one of the best power bats alive and he's doing just fine there. They might like the contract less in 5 years, but by that point who gives a s***. 

Everyone should be fairly happy with it from my viewpoint. 

Well, if SFG fans are anything like Sox fans, they are not happy. They are 29-38 since the trade, and it's all about wins, right?

They were doing rather well before the trade:  41-31.

[Hugh2]

I was on the Breslow bandwagon day 1.  Sure, some of that might of been the internal optimist that lives within mixed in with some homerism, but I always loved the blend of brains and experience actually playing the game that Breslow brings.  It's like having the best of both worlds, the jock and the nerd all mixed into one. 

There's certainly a few moves I'm sure he would have taken back, but that's what happens when you make a lot of moves.  Many of them have been great.  

I'm not sure this team has what it takes to go all the way this year, the Anthony injury concerns me, and I wonder how much gas Crochet has left in the tank, but I think they should be even better next year. 

[Hitch]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

Well, if SFG fans are anything like Sox fans, they are not happy. They are 29-38 since the trade, and it's all about wins, right?

They were doing rather well before the trade:  41-31.

But we're all grown up enough to accept that one player is not responsible for wins and losses, right? 

[Hitch]

1 minute ago, Hugh2 said:

I was on the Breslow bandwagon day 1.  Sure, some of that might of been the internal optimist that lives within mixed in with some homerism, but I always loved the blend of brains and experience actually playing the game that Breslow brings.  It's like having the best of both worlds, the jock and the nerd all mixed into one. 

There's certainly a few moves I'm sure he would have taken back, but that's what happens when you make a lot of moves.  Many of them have been great.  

I'm not sure this team has what it takes to go all the way this year, the Anthony injury concerns me, and I wonder how much gas Crochet has left in the tank, but I think they should be even better next year. 

Agree with all this. 

I think he struggles with communicating with the press. Something I can live with very easily. 

[Hugh2]

4 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Agree with all this. 

I think he struggles with communicating with the press. Something I can live with very easily. 

I can live with that too, I almost wouldn't mind if he just F**** with the press a little bit.  A la Bill B. 

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, Hitch said:

But we're all grown up enough to accept that one player is not responsible for wins and losses, right? 

Of course. I'm not sure SFG management is happy with the trade results, either. Devers has done fine, but I think they were hoping for .900+ not .840.

It's early yet.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Agree with all this. 

I think he struggles with communicating with the press. Something I can live with very easily. 

I agreed with this when it happened. I think his statements were taken out of context and blown up. That just made it worse.

Did you see the fight, last night, after Devers HR "trot" drew the ire of the Rockies- not an easy thing to do.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Of course. I'm not sure SFG management is happy with the trade results, either. Devers has done fine, but I think they were hoping for .900+ not .840.

It's early yet.

He has a career 858 OPS. He has only OPS'd above 900 one time in his career. Why would they expect something HIGHER in their dreadful ballpark? 

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

But we're all grown up enough to accept that one player is not responsible for wins and losses, right? 

Yes.  But the parallels with the Nomar trade are pretty strong to this point.  It felt like a cloud was lifted when Devers was traded.  Not that he's a terrible guy, but the situation was so uncomfortable that it just always seemed to be lurking there as an unhelpful distraction and you didn't know if there was more bad stuff yet to come. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

He has a career 858 OPS. He has only OPS'd above 900 one time in his career. Why would they expect something HIGHER in their dreadful ballpark? 

 

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

He has a career 858 OPS. He has only OPS'd above 900 one time in his career. Why would they expect something HIGHER in their dreadful ballpark? 

Okay. Higher than .840.

He is entering peak prime and CF & RF is shorter in SF than BOS.