A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[Duran Is The Man]

7 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

 

6 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I dont think that extending our own problems is the whole problem, I think its a part of the problem which is too much scared money.

But what if Bregman ages further? What if Casas comes back and there is nowhere to play him? What if Cedanne/KC become so good that we have a tough decision on our hands down the line?

Bloom was certainly shy and cautious.  Breslow seems to have more balls, and I tried to like him, but I just cant get over how bad of a communicator he is, and I really think its gotten pretty ugly.

Its like some of you (not you, MVP) need to listen to some like rage against the machine.  "FU I WONT DO WHAT YOU TELL ME"

that's the motto i live by.

[JoeBrady]

6 hours ago, drewski6 said:

If Im going to extend, I want massive upside.

This seems to be a RS trend, but why does a player have to be great to get extended?  I would lock in anyone that has a good work ethic and is likely to stay healthy, assuming the $$$ numbers were good.  If Abreu has a love for Boston, and will give us two option years, in exchange for us guaranteeing his three arb years, I wouldn't think twice about doing it.

[JoeBrady]

7 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

His FA years aren't going to be that expensive.

Sure, but neither is his current salary.  Without the contract, we'd still be paying him.  We'd just be paying him more.

[JoeBrady]

6 hours ago, drewski6 said:

The white hooded judges are back to dilute the voice of anyone who dares question the unalienable right of the rich and powerful to take more for themselves and leave less for us.  The bootlickers are back to explain to us why its better this way, even though they dont actually believe it, they just think if they quack like a pet, theyll get adopted.  

Does Talksox have a poitical thread that these rantings can be dumped into?

[JoeBrady]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

It's still important as not all pitches are sent to ABS. You still play a factor throughout the game with passed balls, controlling the running game, etc. Until Fangraphs revises their positional adjustments, CF/2B/3B are staying in third place. 

I agree 100%.  Good framing forces the players into making sub-optimal ABS challenges.  If a catcher cannot fool an umpire into making a bad call, then every challenge will be successful.  If a catcher can pull a ball 1/2 inch off the plate, into the strike zone, early in the game, the batter won't challenge it.

[JoeBrady]

4 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Although having a lot of LOBs is extremely frustrating, it's typically a sign of good offensive production.  Teams that score a lot of runs will typically also have a lot of LOBs.

That was the point I was trying back-hand to make.  Over the course of a full season, the highest scoring teams will always have an above-average number of LOBs.  You cannot have a lot of LOBs if you don't have a lot of hitting.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i still think it's stupid. only guy i can think in the last 10-15 years they should have "locked up" early is Mookie. 

In foresight & hindsight.

[UtahSox]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

If it works out, it may still have been "needless" or help a little, but it's not bad, if it works.

All these deals are still TBD.

With what we know about JHY, any deal that "works" and saves something, is a good think- assuming the money saved goes to another addition and not JH's pocket.

This only matters if the guy sucks or does great, and the break even range is neutral.

 

I think extending pre arb contracts is a microcosm of everything with Red Sox since 2022. They are always seeking to win trades, and get + value vs compensation… Instead of just putting the best teams together.
scared of their own shadows of having a couple guys be negative value late in contracts. (mookie, Schwarber, Bregman) it’s trying to run the Red Sox like the freaking Brewers. It’s just ridiculous. I’m tired of this sh**. 

[JoeBrady]

10 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

it’s trying to run the Red Sox like the freaking Brewers.

Not to detract from your point, but the Brewers have made the playoffs in 7 of the last 8 years, averaging about 92 wins.

[UtahSox]

13 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Not to detract from your point, but the Brewers have made the playoffs in 7 of the last 8 years, averaging about 92 wins.

Trying is keyword

[moonslav59]

I think the players the Sox locked up were.are decent players, and the money given was not major. It was an attempt to keep some decent to good players beyond their control years with the chance that maybe one or two did real well, and we'd save some.

None of these deals have kept us from doing what we needed to do to get much better.

Although Bello has sucked, this year, and KC is back on the farm, these guys make peanuts and are not the reason we suck.

 

[JoeBrady]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

these guys make peanuts and are not the reason we suck.

The reason why we suck hasn't changed since I first started posting it-Story, Anthony, Duran, Crochet and Bello.  And even Bello has delivered two massive efforts B2B.