The 2025 postseason, post-Red Sox

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It's OK to have an evil empire if they're vulnerable...the Dodgers may not be that for a while.

We always think that with an empire. 

[Bellhorn04]

19 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

We always think that with an empire. 

True, but this one might be more entrenched than we give credit for.  Last time they missed the playoffs was 2012.  They've got Ohtani and Yamamoto for a long long time.  And several more years of Mookie.  

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

You are a passionate baseball fan, Kimmi.  I used to be but now I'm much more of an impartial onlooker.  I still love every Red Sox win and every Red Sox loss, and the 4 titles are balm for my soul.

But the game itself has become a little boring to me.  Pitching is just so dominant that a lot of games are over early.

I'm not thrilled about the Dodgers rolling like this, either.  Not as bad as if it was the Yankees, but it's starting to get pretty annoying.  I think they're going to win another one this year.  I'll try to jinx them, that's about all I can do. 😉

Blame the other clubs.  We are high fiving that Bregman opted out.  This is the landscape of MLB.  Yayyyy, owners new yacht!!

Dodgers are what they are because we gifted it to them.

[drewski6]

4 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

True, but this one might be more entrenched than we give credit for.  Last time they missed the playoffs was 2012.  They've got Ohtani and Yamamoto for a long long time.  And several more years of Mookie.  

Boy, we better stop settling at a lineup that has 2-3 proven hitters.

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

True, but this one might be more entrenched than we give credit for.  Last time they missed the playoffs was 2012.  They've got Ohtani and Yamamoto for a long long time.  And several more years of Mookie.  

Some people said Mookie's contract wouldn't be worth it by the end! 🕰️

[mvp 78]

24 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Boy, we better stop settling at a lineup that has 2-3 proven hitters.

Anthony

and? 

[mvp 78]

27 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Blame the other clubs.  We are high fiving that Bregman opted out.  This is the landscape of MLB.  Yayyyy, owners new yacht!!

Dodgers are what they are because we gifted it to them.

Dodgers are what they are because their owners actually use ticket sales and tv monies towards payroll. 

[drewski6]

17 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Anthony

and? 

I dont count him.

[drewski6]

17 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Dodgers are what they are because their owners actually use ticket sales and tv monies towards payroll. 

Exactly.

[drewski6]

When I said we better stop going into the season with 2-3 proven hitters, I was referring to Duran, Bregman and Wilyer.  ANd i was talking about this last season.

Going into this next season , I struggle whether or not to count Anthony.

I think hes a monster of a regression candidate.  Whats his batting average on balls hit into the ground? Doesnt feel sustainable.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Some people said Mookie's contract wouldn't be worth it by the end! 🕰️

He's so short. Those guys never age well! Andre the Giant didn't even die until he was 46.

[Kimmi]

6 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

You are a passionate baseball fan, Kimmi.  I used to be but now I'm much more of an impartial onlooker.  I still love every Red Sox win and every Red Sox loss, and the 4 titles are balm for my soul.

But the game itself has become a little boring to me.  Pitching is just so dominant that a lot of games are over early.

I'm not thrilled about the Dodgers rolling like this, either.  Not as bad as if it was the Yankees, but it's starting to get pretty annoying.  I think they're going to win another one this year.  I'll try to jinx them, that's about all I can do. 😉 

It's because I have no life.  LOL  I've always preferred a pitcher's duel over a slugfest, so Game 1 of the NLDS was right up my alley. 

I 100% agree with your last paragraph.  I spend way too much energy trying to jinx other teams.  🙃

[Kimmi]

6 hours ago, Old Red said:

Been a Dodger fan since the early 60’s watching Sandy Koufax, so love watching them in the postseason. Ring #4 for Mookie would be great.

After the Yankees, the Dodgers are the team I most want to see eliminated from the postseason.  The odd thing about that is that I really like all Dodgers players not named Mookie or Shohei.

[Kimmi]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

MLB is better when there's an evil empire though. Maybe the Dodgers need to win a few for the good of the game? 

No.

[moonslav59]

5 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I dont count him.

I think we basically have to, and I am convinced we need to add two power bats, hopefully 1 RHB & 1 LHP or switch hitter. I think the rest of the line-up has enough secondary power that we can get by with "2-3 power bats."

The league ISO was .159 in 2025. The Sox were 10th as a team at .167. The Yanks were first at .204, but .178 puts a team in the top 5. We are not that far away, and losing Bregman is not a big hit to our ISO. (Losing 2 months of Devers is.)

When you set the PA sample size at 300, here is how our current players and targets ranked in ISO in 2025:

5. Schwarber  .323

6. Suarez .298

15. Alonso .252

_________________________

26. K Marte .233

29. Polanco .229

30. Grisham .229

(Devers was at #32 with a .227 ISO)

35. Abreu .223 (I think he has legit power and should no longer platoon.)

38. B Lowe .221

______________________

50. S Murphy .210

52. Bellinger .207

58. Paredes .204 (Talk of trading him down here.)

_____________________________

63. Tucker .198 (Yes, Abreu is higher)

76, Bregman .189 

84. Duran .185

87. Naylor .184

91. Y Diaz .182

95. Narvaez, Hoskins & J Bell .179

100. Romy .178

_______________________

(Vladdy was at .175 in 2025!)

.171 Anthony at 122 out of 300

.170 Story at 123

.165 Rafaela at 140 (still top half and better than the league .159 mark)

Less than 300 PAs:

.214 Ref in 209

.173 Mayer in 136

.140 Lowe in 119

.122 Yoshida in 205

I think if we add Suarez and KMarte, we'd be okay with Abreu, a higher number from Anthony, along with some decent power from Story, Narvaez, Rafaela and Romy/Ref/Casas.

 

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Ketel Marte would be the position player prize of the offseason for Boston! He's in his prime right now, a positive dWAR second baseman with more home runs this year than anyone of the Red Sox roster. And a 14.9% K-rate!

Question: but why do we keep talking about him, as if he's available this winter? Is Arizona in complete tear-down mode or looking to get back in contention soon? Corbin Burnes is expected to be back in the second half, but can't be as good as new so soon.

Marte, 31, was recently extended and is under contract through 2031. He just had an All-Star year and was still third on the team in WAR to two guys age 25 and 24 -- Perdomo and Carroll.

[moonslav59]

13 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Ketel Marte would be the position player prize of the offseason for Boston! He's in his prime right now, a positive dWAR second baseman with more home runs this year than anyone of the Red Sox roster. And a 14.9% K-rate!

Question: but why do we keep talking about him, as if he's available this winter? Is Arizona in complete tear-down mode or looking to get back in contention soon? Corbin Burnes is expected to be back in the second half, but can't be as good as new so soon.

Marte, 31, was recently extended and is under contract through 2031. He just had an All-Star year and was still third on the team in WAR to two guys age 25 and 24 -- Perdomo and Carroll.

They probably are not in teardown mode. They only traded away FAs-to-be. 

K Marte has had some issues on the side, but like Cincy, they'd want MLB ready players in return. Mayer would probably top the asking list, along with Tolle or Early, but maybe if they like Duran or Abreu, we could probably save one one of those guys. I doubt they'd view Campbell as a 2B replacement, and DHam would be just a throw in. 

They might take Duran, Campbell and Crawford or Duran, DHam and Tolle.

Maybe they'd insist on Duran, Mayer and Sandlin. If we could get them to take Hicks, I still don't know if I'd give this much.

I do thin they'll entertain offers.

[notin]

23 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Ketel Marte would be the position player prize of the offseason for Boston! He's in his prime right now, a positive dWAR second baseman with more home runs this year than anyone of the Red Sox roster. And a 14.9% K-rate!

Question: but why do we keep talking about him, as if he's available this winter? Is Arizona in complete tear-down mode or looking to get back in contention soon? Corbin Burnes is expected to be back in the second half, but can't be as good as new so soon.

Marte, 31, was recently extended and is under contract through 2031. He just had an All-Star year and was still third on the team in WAR to two guys age 25 and 24 -- Perdomo and Carroll.

The main (only?) reason he might be available

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/08/diamondbacks-teammates-reportedly-frustrated-with-ketel-marte.html

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

29 minutes ago, notin said:

The main (only?) reason he might be available

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/08/diamondbacks-teammates-reportedly-frustrated-with-ketel-marte.html

Thanks! I dunno... seems like we just got rid of a guy that was a downer for the team.

Marte in his 30s leaving the warm climes of Az to come to Boston with its non-existent Springs? 

Maybe a change of fandom sparks enthusiasm? Solid career numbers through 11 years, and even better stats in the postseason...

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Thanks! I dunno... seems like we just got rid of a guy that was a downer for the team.

Marte in his 30s leaving the warm climes of Az to come to Boston with its non-existent Springs? 

Maybe a change of fandom sparks enthusiasm? Solid career numbers through 11 years, and even better stats in the postseason...

I guess we can't count on Cora to knock some sense into Marte, but I'd roll the dice on him. He just turned 32, and he's had 2 of his best 4 seasons in the last 2 years and 3 of his top 5 in the last 3 seasons by OPS+ (3 of his top 4 bWAR seasons.)

We'd go from easily the worst 2B position for nearly a decade to maybe the best in one stroke. We'd add a power bat and improve the defense. Add a corner IF'er via free agency, the only strong category of this FA class and then maybe sign a Merrill Kelly or make a second trade for M Keller and call it a winter.

[moonslav59]

TOR and Vladdy with a big statement game, tonight!

[harmony]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

TOR and Vladdy with a big statement game, tonight!

On the bright side, ticket prices for Thursday's game have plummeted on the secondary market.😉

This Seattle fan will witness a Luis Castillo start for the second time this offseason.

[moonslav59]

32 minutes ago, harmony said:

On the bright side, ticket prices for Thursday's game have plummeted on the secondary market.😉

This Seattle fan will witness a Luis Castillo start for the second time this offseason.

Castillo will pitcha  gem.

[notin]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

TOR and Vladdy with a big statement game, tonight!

Can the Brewers keep up the road perfection in the LCS’s so far?

[notin]

12 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Thanks! I dunno... seems like we just got rid of a guy that was a downer for the team.

Marte in his 30s leaving the warm climes of Az to come to Boston with its non-existent Springs? 

Maybe a change of fandom sparks enthusiasm? Solid career numbers through 11 years, and even better stats in the postseason...

Well, we got rid of a guy who didn’t like changing position.  Marte has played 2b,SS, CF and maybe others without ever saying a word.

But mention his mom (who died in 2017) and he needs a week off…

[Bellhorn04]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

TOR and Vladdy with a big statement game, tonight!

What is a statement game, exactly?

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

What is a statement game, exactly?

They said, "We're not quite dead, yet!"

[notin]

4 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

What is a statement game, exactly?

Think of it as like what Florio told Arya to say when Death comes calling…

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, notin said:

Think of it as like what Florio told Arya to say when Death comes calling…

Florio? 

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Florio? 

Ok so his name was Syrio Florel.  

I suppose his friends could have called him Florio, if anyone did.  Certainly his enemies couldn’t, as they were probably all dead, since he was the First Sword of Braavos…