Athletics (Ginn) vs Red Sox (Bello): 9/18/25, 1:35pm

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

I’m so sorry you feel that way

But let me correct you. A “ troll” intentionally stirs the pot just to stir the pot. Everything I write here is something I actually believe in.  For example, if I write that the game is over (and by your own admission I’m right more often than not) then I believe it’s over. If I write that Rafaela stinks or that the flops are a franchise of chokers that’s what I believe. Each to his own.
See the difference?

And frankly I don’t give a rats ass if you agree with what I write or even if you detest it. 

Why don’t you just ignore what I write. You might feel more balanced that way.

🙄

A troll can be right, sometimes, or actually believe some of the crap he spews.

Saying I need balancing is trolling, too.

[notin]

1 hour ago, illinoisredsox said:

IMO, Scwarber's not going to leave Philly; it's a much better park for him and from what I've heard, he really likes it there.

The offer that might temp him to leave will be astronomical.

I could see Kyle going back to Chicago to replace Kyle…

[notin]

18 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

They didn't develop Password and he would be a wild card if he could perform. He may have a higher potential, but it be a surprise if he was ready. Campbell has more experience but was a questionable defensive. Cora doesn't have many options, but this is four years of frustration now for the fans. New leadership is called for.

Oh Password is a long shot.  Hes a three card draw hoping for an inside straight.   But Ref/Eaton/Romy is a pair of 4s.  Easily beaten…

[FredLynn]

23 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

A troll can be right, sometimes, or actually believe some of the crap he spews.

Saying I need balancing is trolling, too.

I have participated in other forums where I used that term referring to another poster and rightfully received a suspension. 
But hey-if name calling here is cool I’m in!

I’ll defer to what the mods think here regarding name calling. If it’s ok then it’s fine with me.

Now here’s the definition of a “troll”. I never post simply to evoke a negative response. I don’t don’t do personal attacks and I don’t knowingly post false statements.

”Trolling someone means deliberately provoking, upsetting, or causing conflict by posting inflammatory or off-topic comments online. The goal is to elicit an emotional response, create drama, or humiliate others, often through false statements, personal attacks, or harassment.”

Thats all I have to say on this . It’s a baseball forum. Back to baseball.

 

[Duran Is The Man]

2 hours ago, illinoisredsox said:

IMO, Scwarber's not going to leave Philly; it's a much better park for him and from what I've heard, he really likes it there.

The offer that might temp him to leave will be astronomical.

yeah, no way Dombrowski lets him go.

[iortiz]

This was a fun season with a lot of bittersweets throughout, which we will fall short because we simply can’t hit with the current product. It is what it is. 

We are still rebuilding. The pitching will be stacked. We will need a couple of elite bats though assuming Bregman stays next season. A 1B and DH IMO. We gotta get rid of Yoshida, Hamilton, etc. 

[FredLynn]

7 minutes ago, iortiz said:

This was a fun season with a lot of bittersweets throughout, which we will fall short because we simply can’t hit with the current product. It is what it is. 

We are still rebuilding. The pitching will be stacked. We will need a couple of elite bats though assuming Bregman stays next season. A 1B and DH IMO. We gotta get rid of Yoshida, Hamilton, etc. 

it’s going to have to be an extensive rebuild from the GM on down. There are only a handful of position players I’d keep. The pitching imo is in better shape and there are players in the minors who are likely to contribute. We are probably a few years away from competing for a ring-if the rebuild is done properly.

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, FredLynn said:

The Flops were on track to win a WS in 1986 when Buckner made his infamous error in game 6 with the flops ahead in the series 3-2. They went on to choke away a chance for a ring. 
It’s who they are. They find a way to choke.

Poor Sox. Will prob never win a WS or 4 in my lifetime.

[mvp 78]

7 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

A troll can be right, sometimes, or actually believe some of the crap he spews.

Saying I need balancing is trolling, too.

Pumpsie isn’t a troll, just annoying to some people. We’re all good at being annoying so he’s got good company in that department.

We have trolls here (stork is a prime example). There’s a big difference IMO between what they post and what Pumpsie posts. If you can show up in every gamethread and truly participate, you’re part of the community. Maybe you have a more negative opinion on this version of the team. Maybe you have a more positive outlook. It’s not being a troll to simply have a differing opinion.

Now, if you disappear for weeks and only show up when things are bad to crap on the Sox and other fans, you’re probably a troll.

[cp176]

7 hours ago, iortiz said:

This was a fun season with a lot of bittersweets throughout, which we will fall short because we simply can’t hit with the current product. It is what it is. 

We are still rebuilding. The pitching will be stacked. We will need a couple of elite bats though assuming Bregman stays next season. A 1B and DH IMO. We gotta get rid of Yoshida, Hamilton, etc. 

An outfield of Anthony, Abreu, Duran, with Rafaela coming off the bench would at least give us a shot at producing more runs.  With Mayer at second, I see the big needs next year are two big bats - first base not named Casas and a real dh.  I love defense as much as anyone could but all the metrics in the world aren’t going to make me change my mind about Rafaela at this point.  I feel sad that in his development it looks like just making contact with the ball wasn’t a point of emphasis.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

10 hours ago, FredLynn said:

The Flops were on track to win a WS in 1986 when Buckner made his infamous error in game 6 with the flops ahead in the series 3-2. 

That game was already TIED before the ball went through his legs. 

The Sox had already blown a two-run lead in extra innings on the road.

All the momentum had shifted, Boston wasn't rallying again, and the Mets were going to walk it off -- it was just a matter of how and when.

Anyone watching in the dugouts, in the stands, in living rooms or bars could feel it... (just like when Posada's pop-up fell in, in '03).

[moonslav59]

9 hours ago, FredLynn said:

I have participated in other forums where I used that term referring to another poster and rightfully received a suspension. 
But hey-if name calling here is cool I’m in!

I’ll defer to what the mods think here regarding name calling. If it’s ok then it’s fine with me.

Now here’s the definition of a “troll”. I never post simply to evoke a negative response. I don’t don’t do personal attacks and I don’t knowingly post false statements.

”Trolling someone means deliberately provoking, upsetting, or causing conflict by posting inflammatory or off-topic comments online. The goal is to elicit an emotional response, create drama, or humiliate others, often through false statements, personal attacks, or harassment.”

Thats all I have to say on this . It’s a baseball forum. Back to baseball.

 

You think I need to be balanced.

I think you are being a troll.

We both have our opinions. I'm not for censoring.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Pumpsie isn’t a troll, just annoying to some people. We’re all good at being annoying so he’s got good company in that department.

I think some of the things Pumpsie says is trolling- not all.

If he truly wants the Guardians to win "Go Guardians", you know the team that sold at the deadline, and his big beef is what we did not do at the deadline, it sounds like trolling, to me.

Just saying he doesn't give a "rats ass" what others think seems shallow, to me. He feeds off it, IMO. He enjoys stirring the pot in a trolling manner.

 

[drewski6]

13 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

If one loss can lose you 7%, I don’t know how I feel about their system TBH.

Its because it was to Oak.  Each game has an assigned chance of win %, so if you lose one the predictive algo penciled you to win, its gonna hurt more than if you lost to LAD in LA 

[drewski6]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Pumpsie isn’t a troll, just annoying to some people. We’re all good at being annoying so he’s got good company in that department.

We have trolls here (stork is a prime example). There’s a big difference IMO between what they post and what Pumpsie posts. If you can show up in every gamethread and truly participate, you’re part of the community. Maybe you have a more negative opinion on this version of the team. Maybe you have a more positive outlook. It’s not being a troll to simply have a differing opinion.

Now, if you disappear for weeks and only show up when things are bad to crap on the Sox and other fans, you’re probably a troll.

What if you are none of those things but you have bright orange hair that sticks straight up and a gem in your belly.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I think some of the things Pumpsie says is trolling- not all.

If he truly wants the Guardians to win "Go Guardians", you know the team that sold at the deadline, and his big beef is what we did not do at the deadline, it sounds like trolling, to me.

Just saying he doesn't give a "rats ass" what others think seems shallow, to me. He feeds off it, IMO. He enjoys stirring the pot in a trolling manner.

 

Ive told him before that he oft overlooks how badly other teams are run.  The dodgers, phils and yankees got to where they are because the rest of the league let them.

[drewski6]

guardians as sellers dont desrve anything.  None of these teams do. KC passed us last year, they didnt deserve it. Neither did the twins.  The mariners dont.

These teams are just not aggressive enough about building their roster. They look at their team and settle.  We did too.  Too much offseason hopium, especially on the lineup side.  Thats where we are.  I agree that our injuries are providing too much cover.  

Not counting the guys who we knew were going to have issues this year (Houck, Sandoval, Craw)...How many all-stars do we have on the shelf? 

You should have never been in a position to bat rookies in the top 5 of your lineup.  You shouldnt be one bat injury away from batting Masa clean up and seeing a big drop off after him.

If Mayer never got hurt, he should be in AAA.  We shouldnt be using RA injury as some excuse either because its not like we entered the season counting on him.  Like Ive said before, you have to prepare for attrition on BOTH sides of the ball.  SO you need like 7-10 proven solid hitters so when the playoffs come you have 4-5 still standing.  ANd you need to add throughout the year. We didnt. 

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

That game was already TIED before the ball went through his legs. 

The Sox had already blown a two-run lead in extra innings on the road.

All the momentum had shifted, Boston wasn't rallying again, and the Mets were going to walk it off -- it was just a matter of how and when.

Anyone watching in the dugouts, in the stands, in living rooms or bars could feel it... (just like when Posada's pop-up fell in, in '03).

So you’re saying they choked BEFORE Buckner choked. I can live with that. It’s their personality. 

[FredLynn]

17 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

guardians as sellers dont desrve anything.  None of these teams do. KC passed us last year, they didnt deserve it. Neither did the twins.  The mariners dont.

These teams are just not aggressive enough about building their roster. They look at their team and settle.  We did too.  Too much offseason hopium, especially on the lineup side.  Thats where we are.  I agree that our injuries are providing too much cover.  

Not counting the guys who we knew were going to have issues this year (Houck, Sandoval, Craw)...How many all-stars do we have on the shelf? 

You should have never been in a position to bat rookies in the top 5 of your lineup.  You shouldnt be one bat injury away from batting Masa clean up and seeing a big drop off after him.

If Mayer never got hurt, he should be in AAA.  We shouldnt be using RA injury as some excuse either because its not like we entered the season counting on him.  Like Ive said before, you have to prepare for attrition on BOTH sides of the ball.  SO you need like 7-10 proven solid hitters so when the playoffs come you have 4-5 still standing.  ANd you need to add throughout the year. We didnt. 

Who is responsible for adding players that put the team in a position to win? 
Breslow. Last year he played it halfway and this year he did essentially nothing at the TD. 
He isn’t doing a good enough job. I don’t think he is long for Boston.

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I think some of the things Pumpsie says is trolling- not all.

If he truly wants the Guardians to win "Go Guardians", you know the team that sold at the deadline, and his big beef is what we did not do at the deadline, it sounds like trolling, to me.

Just saying he doesn't give a "rats ass" what others think seems shallow, to me. He feeds off it, IMO. He enjoys stirring the pot in a trolling manner.

 

Allow me to correct you: I never said I don’t give a rats ass what “others” think. 
I said I don’t give a rats ass what YOU think. It’s a natural reaction when personal insults and derogatory names are hurled one’s way. 

[mvp 78]

35 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

What if you are none of those things but you have bright orange hair that sticks straight up and a gem in your belly.

Dinosaur Jr album cover.

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

So you’re saying they choked BEFORE Buckner choked. I can live with that. It’s their personality. 

Schiraldi choked then Stanley Steamer choked.

If BB had fielded the ball cleanly, Mookie still gets a single. 

[FredLynn]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Schiraldi choked then Stanley Steamer choked.

If BB had fielded the ball cleanly, Mookie still gets a single. 

The point is that the Flops TEAM choked. They were a game away from winning a ring and ahead in the late innings. It was a team effort. It’s their personality and it’s happening again this year. Do you honestly think they will make the playoffs? They’re in Tampa this weekend where they always seem to have trouble. Then they play two division leaders. I’d give them maybe a 20% chance of getting in. 

 

[moonslav59]

48 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Ive told him before that he oft overlooks how badly other teams are run.  The dodgers, phils and yankees got to where they are because the rest of the league let them.

Hid biggest beef seems to be how little Brez did at the deadline, then say "GO Guardians" - the team that was sellers at the deadline and says "They deserve it."

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

The point is that the Flops TEAM choked. They were a game away from winning a ring and ahead in the late innings. It was a team effort. It’s their personality and it’s happening again this year. Do you honestly think they will make the playoffs? They’re in Tampa this weekend where they always seem to have trouble. Then they play two division leaders. I’d give them maybe a 20% chance of getting in. 

60/40 that they get in vs they don't. 

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Hid biggest beef seems to be how little Brez did at the deadline, then say "GO Guardians" - the team that was sellers at the deadline and says "They deserve it."

Craig traded away Devers and said "we'll be buying at the deadline, we'll win more games going forward." They had already called up Anthony when they traded Devers. There was a path to keeping them both. The org just couldn't work it out. The team would have been better this year if they had Devers. They traded Devers for Harrison and some garbage. At the deadline, they were definitely NOT buyers. They didn't improve themselves. Breslow said they would, but they didn't and it's not fair to say "it was a seller's market" because IT ALWAYS IS A SELLER'S MARKET AT THE DEADLINE. People started falling all over themselves when Lowe had a few good games and how shrewd Breslow was for picking him up. Be real. He was a DFA'd player and is continuing to play like one. 

[notin]

17 hours ago, notin said:

Not all teams are injured equally.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/which-teams-have-suffered-the-most-from-injuries/

Quote from this blog (Was I the only one who read this?):

“If the Red Sox end up missing the playoffs, injuries may arguably be the biggest deciding factor. If they don’t make the postseason, it’s unlikely to be by more than a game or two, and they’ve certainly missed out on more than a few wins in value to the IL. Some of those impactful players who hit the IL include Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Triston Casas, Alex Bregman, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer. The Mets and Diamondbacks are fighting for the final NL Wild Card spot, and both teams have also suffered more-than-average injury losses in 2025. So have the Braves, but they’re so far back that they can’t reasonably cite injuries as their reason for not making the postseason.”

 

I mean, the team was winning.  People got hurt .  They stopped winning.  The Fangraphs author cites them losing 14 fWAR due to injuries, fourth most in MLB, behind Houston, Baltimore and Los Angeles.  I assume he counted Wilyer Abreu, despite not specifically mentioning him by name…

Just because every team has injuries didnt make them equal…

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, notin said:

Quote from this blog (Was I the only one who read this?):

“If the Red Sox end up missing the playoffs, injuries may arguably be the biggest deciding factor. If they don’t make the postseason, it’s unlikely to be by more than a game or two, and they’ve certainly missed out on more than a few wins in value to the IL. Some of those impactful players who hit the IL include Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Triston Casas, Alex Bregman, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer. The Mets and Diamondbacks are fighting for the final NL Wild Card spot, and both teams have also suffered more-than-average injury losses in 2025. So have the Braves, but they’re so far back that they can’t reasonably cite injuries as their reason for not making the postseason.”

 

I mean, the team was winning.  People got hurt .  They stopped winning.  The Fangraphs author cites them losing 14 fWAR due to injuries, fourth most in MLB, behind Houston, Baltimore and Los Angeles.  I assume he counted Wilyer Abreu, despite not specifically mentioning him by name…

Just because every team has injuries didnt make them equal…

Ok? The org's push towards velo is going to get pitchers injured more often than in other orgs. Mayer is always injured and can't be relied on. Casas was injured very early in the season and wasn't replaced for a long time. Abreu has a history of nagging injuries. Bregman is older and has had leg injuries before. The only injury that I would point to as being unexpected is Roman Anthony. 

[notin]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

That game was already TIED before the ball went through his legs. 

The Sox had already blown a two-run lead in extra innings on the road.

All the momentum had shifted, Boston wasn't rallying again, and the Mets were going to walk it off -- it was just a matter of how and when.

Anyone watching in the dugouts, in the stands, in living rooms or bars could feel it... (just like when Posada's pop-up fell in, in '03).

Of course his premise was the Sox have a long history of choking “down the stretch.”  The 1986 team made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, and while Game 6 of that series fell apart, let’s not forget that team had an equally impressive comeback from the brink in the ALCS.

Oh and that was also 39 years ago.  I would bet not a single person affiliated with the team then is still in the organization, including hot dog vendors.  Might as well lead with “This team choked when Pesky held the ball in ‘46 and THEY’RE DOING IT AGAIN!! Same story every 79 years!!!”

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Craig traded away Devers and said "we'll be buying at the deadline, we'll win more games going forward." They had already called up Anthony when they traded Devers. There was a path to keeping them both. The org just couldn't work it out. The team would have been better this year if they had Devers. They traded Devers for Harrison and some garbage. At the deadline, they were definitely NOT buyers. They didn't improve themselves. Breslow said they would, but they didn't and it's not fair to say "it was a seller's market" because IT ALWAYS IS A SELLER'S MARKET AT THE DEADLINE. People started falling all over themselves when Lowe had a few good games and how shrewd Breslow was for picking him up. Be real. He was a DFA'd player and is continuing to play like one. 

I have agreed Brez should have done way more at the deadline. I was focused more on pitching, since I did not forsee the Anthony & Abreu injuries, as well as the prolonged slumps by Bregman and others.

I admit I was wrong, but it's hard for me to bash Brez over not doing something I wasn't calling for at the time. I did mention getting a better 1Bman, at the time, but it was not my top priority or criticism, at the time.