A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[mvp 78]

48 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

It seems like 5GG doesn't understand why Yoshida isn't in the starting lineup, and you don't understand why he is even on the team.  Interesting times.

I believe he SHOULD be in the starting lineup. I believe the Sox have no interest in putting him there so they should have just traded him in the offseason. They see him as a barrier to having a more versatile player on the roster. 

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, notin said:

How long is the leash on a $6mill utility infielder?  Probably about 162 games.  If they replace IKF, it’s not going to be wuth Matt Shaw,; it’s going to be with some other multi-positional scrub whose bat keeps him on MLB benches. 
 

Might as well release the bullpen catcher while we’re at it…

Drew Ehrhard? He just took the position! 

[mvp 78]

Sox are optioning Bennett and recalling Anderson. 

[drewski6]

29 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I believe he SHOULD be in the starting lineup. I believe the Sox have no interest in putting him there so they should have just traded him in the offseason. They see him as a barrier to having a more versatile player on the roster. 

But do you bo-lieve?

[drewski6]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox are optioning Bennett and recalling Anderson. 

Karl Anderson?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

It seems like 5GG doesn't understand why Yoshida isn't in the starting lineup, 

I totally understand -- he's a bad fit: Masa can hit but a last-place team last in every batting category doesn't need a hitter. 

They don't call themselves the Boston Run Preventers for nothing.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

But do you bo-lieve?

Not even once.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I totally understand -- he's a bad fit: Masa can hit but a last-place team last in every batting category doesn't need a hitter. 

They don't call themselves the Boston Run Preventers for nothing.

I just like watching his little legs run the bases TBH.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

I just like watching his little legs run the bases TBH.

Yoshida's career stolen base success rate is better than those of Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock and Ty Cobb.

[Bellhorn04]

18 hours ago, Old Red said:

A good 3 mile walk everyday gets the kinks out.

I get out for a walk a few times a week, but my body and mind seem to vastly prefer I do what I'm doing now, tapping on a keyboard.  And when this gets tiring I have to go lie down for a while. 😄  

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Yoshida's career stolen base success rate is better than those of Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock and Ty Cobb.

They need to let him be free. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

They need to let him be free. 

If only he wasn't working in a country where the lies will keep him prisoner.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notin said:

How long is the leash on a $6mill utility infielder?  Probably about 162 games.  If they replace IKF, it’s not going to be wuth Matt Shaw,; it’s going to be with some other multi-positional scrub whose bat keeps him on MLB benches. 
 

Might as well release the bullpen catcher while we’re at it…

Good point on IKF, and it's not like we're playing him a lot. Hell, even Montasarion has more PAs!

How about Story? Story as the SS?

Durbin, if he stays under .550 through May?

(The leash got yanked for Monasterio.)

[oldtimer]

Look at the start the Rays have had vs the Sox. We have had  and continue to have a larger payroll but they get results. It's got to be roster construction, management and coaching. I had hoped for a series win against the Rays but we are off to a bad start. Even a split at this point would be okay but we can't afford a series loss.

[moonslav59]

36 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

Look at the start the Rays have had vs the Sox. We have had  and continue to have a larger payroll but they get results. It's got to be roster construction, management and coaching. I had hoped for a series win against the Rays but we are off to a bad start. Even a split at this point would be okay but we can't afford a series loss.

This was the reason we hired Bloom- literally the guy who wrote the book on the Rays.

[notin]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Drew Ehrhard? He just took the position! 

And already on the hot seat…

[moonslav59]

How about our non 1B infield bats?

.528 3B

.544 SS

.591 2B

(Our hyped OF & DH? .663 LF, .666 CF and .849 RF. DH is .664.)

Our .643 Catcher position beats 3 positions and is just 20 points from LF, 21 from DH and 23 from CF.

Our 7-8-9 slots beat the 1-2, 4 and 6 slots!

.579 6th

.594 2nd

.610 4th

.623 8th and .625 1st

.657 7th

.673 9th

.747 3rd (Thanks to Contreras)

.910 5th (Thanks to Abreu)

 

[moonslav59]

The team has a .669 OPS

.717 RISP (surprisingly better than without RISP)

.693 Men On Base (also better but still bad.)

.638 Late & Close (very bad)

.612 High Leverage (the killer)

[moonslav59]

Pitchers OPS Against in last 14 days:

.300 Suarez

.357 Chapman

.376 Tolle (.207 last 7 days)

.427 Crochet

.505 Samaniego

.578 Gray

.679 Kelly

.736 Bennett

.843 Early (1.097 last 7 days0

.894 Moran

.940 Whitlock

.947 Watson

1.038 Bello (.367 last 7 days!)

1.092 Weissert

[moonslav59]

The Sox are now 0.5 GB the middle tier of the AL (middle 5 teams.)

1 GB the 6th best AL record.

2 GB the 5th best record (19-20 SEA)

What a cluster league. 3 of the top 5 teams may not end up there: TBR, ATH & CLE.

It's gonna be a long season.

[Old Red]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

The Sox are now 0.5 GB the middle tier of the AL (middle 5 teams.)

1 GB the 6th best AL record.

2 GB the 5th best record (19-20 SEA)

What a cluster league. 3 of the top 5 teams may not end up there: TBR, ATH & CLE.

It's gonna be a long season.

Bottom line this may be the weakest I have ever seen the league. 18 out of the 30 teams have a losing record. All the teams in the wildcard hunt have a losing record except for 1 team. The Red Sox at 17-22 in a league this weak makes the Red Sox really look worse than they really are. They may be in postseason contention, but this team is far from a playoff team. 27th in HR, and 25th in runs scored. I’ve been saying for a few years now that this was a watered down league. Can’t say that anymore now, because it’s under water.