Red Sox (Bello) vs Astros (Brown): 3/31/26, 8:10pm

[vegasbob]

32 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Sox can still finish 158-4.

Very true but the other case of 1-161 is possible , so we will never find out if Chapman's 2025 season was a fluke or not.

[Duran Is The Man]

looks like Bailey's magic has worn off. this team is f***ing pathetic.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

14 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Very true but the other case of 1-161 is possible , so we will never find out if Chapman's 2025 season was a fluke or not.

I'm guessing 78-84.

[Duran Is The Man]

good news: the Sox now lead the league in home runs........allowed. fine job Craig, you f***ing stiff.

[alsoason]

Fire Cora, make Veritak the manager, and light a fire in the clubhouse, I can not take another season of him telling us they are a good team. with 13 runs scored in one inning shy of 5 games, they are lucky they even are 1-and 4.

[Maxbialystock]

Only two things the Sox don't do so well--pitch and hit.   

1 hour ago, FredLynn said:

Cheer up. We have the rest of the season for them to suck even more. It’s Crochet, Anthony, and a prayer.

Forget Anthony.  It's early, but his sophomore slump has epic potential.  

[Maxbialystock]

11 minutes ago, alsoason said:

Fire Cora, make Veritak the manager, and light a fire in the clubhouse, I can not take another season of him telling us they are a good team. with 13 runs scored in one inning shy of 5 games, they are lucky they even are 1-and 4.

i'm unhappy too, but firing Cora fixes nothing.  

[alsoason]

I think I will take tomorrow off and just ignore them.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, Old Red said:

Cora will find a way to get everyone playing time. Whether it works out, or not is another story. Masa was going to play, so would you rather Anthony, or Abreu got benched?

None of the above. We should have traded an OF'er.

[Deja Doh]

Our pitching is beyond terrible.  We have no power.

[moonslav59]

Crochet and 4 days of rain.

[Duran Is The Man]

i miss DD.

[harmony]

The Red Sox should be in contention come September.

[Old Red]

What’s up with Anthony? Last night he looked like he didn’t even want to be there standing with the bat on his shoulders watching 3 pitches go down the middle of the plate without even talking the bat off his shoulders to leadoff the game. 4 k’s last night, and 10k’s in his last 17 AB with one hit.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

54 minutes ago, Old Red said:

What’s up with Anthony? Last night he looked like he didn’t even want to be there standing with the bat on his shoulders watching 3 pitches go down the middle of the plate without even talking the bat off his shoulders to leadoff the game. 4 k’s last night, and 10k’s in his last 17 AB with one hit.

Anthony needs a day.

The first three Ks were an immaculate sombrero: 3 strikeouts on 9 total pitches. Just for bad measure, he whiffs for a fourth time. But there is hope: the last three ABs each produced a foul ball.

As for Breslow's six NL Central imports, at least Contreras can play first base and mix in an occasional line drive. He looks the most likely to earn legit AL East status. 

Regarding the others, heed the words of a famous rock band from Boston:

Life's the same, it's Monasterio

Life's the same, except for my shoes

Life's the same, you're shaking like tremolo

Life's the same, it's all inside of you

[mvp 78]

9 hours ago, alsoason said:

Fire Cora, make Veritak the manager, and light a fire in the clubhouse, I can not take another season of him telling us they are a good team. with 13 runs scored in one inning shy of 5 games, they are lucky they even are 1-and 4.

Maybe it wasn't Bailey after all? 

https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-justin-willard-pitching-coach

[mvp 78]

7 hours ago, harmony said:

The Red Sox should be in contention come September.

2028? 

[drewski6]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

None of the above. We should have traded an OF'er.

So because of how our anemic our offense looks, we need to trade Duran?  Or did you mean Masa?  But thats not really "trading an OF'er".  

[mvp 78]

16 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

So because of how our anemic our offense looks, we need to trade Duran?  Or did you mean Masa?  But thats not really "trading an OF'er".  

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

9 hours ago, harmony said:

The Red Sox should be in contention come September.

Agreed. If they move to the NL Central.

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

 

Im aware of the "lf" next to his name.  Generally speaking; however, when posters have said trade an OF'er, they meant specifically dealing with the logjam of Duran/Cedanne/Abreu/Anthony.  Anything centered around trading Masa was framed as a cost saving measure, not as a fix for the OF logjam - and we didnt even know until like 3 games ago that Masa was this much in the plans for OF.

I heard its wasteful to have Anthony/Cedanne/Duran/Abreu all on the same roster with one at DH (because DHs were deemed unimportant by the "the only thing that matters here is optimizing the defensive alignment" folks), but imagine how different these teams would look if Yordan Alvarez played for us.  Or Devers.  Or Schwarber.   But cant go there because "where would they play?! (Spoiler: DH).  But some decided that we have too many DHs (positional issue) and forget getting a big bat for DH, we NEED to trade either Duran or Abreu (e.g. Duran for prospects and a reliever or Abreu for Paredes and a reliever, in both cases getting worse from a hitting talent standpoint but having a more clean roster+ getting a reliever).  I see these would be moves as misguided and even more de-prioritization of hitting talent, so no, I dont agree that our issues stem from not going even more all-in on having a clean roster. The fact that Cora is choosing to juggle Cedanne/Duran/Yoshida is not magically making Durbin, Contreras, Anthony stink.  

Again, what we would up with wasnt the plan  - we ultimately prioritized a) signing 3 pitchers, b) cleaning up the roster from a positional point of view (role for everyone),  c) looking for defense-defense-defense from our positional players, d) being ultra efficient from a budget (we cant sign Schwarber, then the Masa contract goes to waste). This may be what you all want, but its not even what Breslow wanted..  What Breslow wanted was more offense because the playoffs made it obvious and Breslow even said it.  But the stiff's inability to negotiate in a way that doesnt condescend botched any big bat acquisition and so he panic signed more starting pitching that we didnt need , overpaid for it, and tried to pretend like it was a choice.

Its hard for me to even believe that theres lingering belief that our issues stem from any remaining murkiness regarding positional fit. The best moves we made this offseason were 1) not trading Duran, 2) not trading Abreu, 3) not trading Story.  Had we traded any of them, the season would be on life support. And its not. Duran will turn it around and it will be a good season, I still believe.  Sure we should have gotten an elite bat (I care 0 what position he plays), but I dont think we will be out of it by mid-may.  But if Duran was traded for prospects and Story opted out out like you hoped for, then the season would very likely be a "skip". 

[Duran Is The Man]

19 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Agreed. If they move to the NL Central.

Currently tied with the lowly White Sox, Rockies and A’s, along with the equally underperforming Padres with the worst record in baseball. Nice job Breslow. And nice job Cora and Wong not paying attention to a batter that f***ing strikes out and gets to keep batting. The entire organization has mailed it in 5 games into the season. 

[a700hitter]

No excuse for this:

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

37 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Currently tied with the lowly White Sox, Rockies and A’s, along with the equally underperforming Padres with the worst record in baseball. Nice job Breslow. And nice job Cora and Wong not paying attention to a batter that f***ing strikes out and gets to keep batting. The entire organization has mailed it in 5 games into the season. 

It's easy for fans to overreact when their favorites start the season in dead last place.

And people who post 365 days a year about a baseball team may possibly be prone to overanalyze... (some who used to hammer me no longer post here, so I'm glad to take shots at myself).

So if we excuse the opening series where the home team got a boost from a giddy crowd at a time when hope springs eternal, what's left to describe the two Houston debacles?

One serious take: star power. Altuve and Alvarez have as many home runs in the two Boston games as the Red Sox do in their 6-game season. And it's no fluke, because the first guy is a Hall of Famer, and the second is one of the most feared sluggers in the world; the Sox can't match either.

It's also folly to blame 25 strikeouts on tough luck running into two good Astros starting pitchers. Maybe the front office is afraid to admit that the Red Sox offense is bad enough to make McCullers and Brown look better than they are. They're talented pitchers, but so are Suarez and Bello...at least they're paid that way.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

Im aware of the "lf" next to his name.  Generally speaking; however, when posters have said trade an OF'er, they meant specifically dealing with the logjam of Duran/Cedanne/Abreu/Anthony. 

The logjam INCLUDES the LHB LF/DH Masa. He's been part of that logjam going back to day one. If he wasn't there, a path to 162 games for Duran is very clear. 

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

The logjam INCLUDES the LHB LF/DH Masa. He's been part of that logjam going back to day one. If he wasn't there, a path to 162 games for Duran is very clear. 

But Moon said the issue with our offense is that we should have traded an OF'er.  If he had meant specifically Masa, he would have said that.   He has screamed for  Abreu for Paredes and a lefty pen pitcher.  Thats a step back offensively and would have made our issues worse.  He also proposed a lot of Duran out the door trades beause "Masa isnt much worse as a DH and the real value is Duran in the field, and Duran should go because he has more value to another team because he can be in the field" .... 

These are not moves to bring in offense.  These are moves so everybody has a set position or for pen help.  You may think well make these moves and everybody will have a clear role, and that has an effect, and maybe - but I remain skeptical that having a clear path to playing time for Duran/Abreu/Masa is going to make Durbin , Anthony, or Contreras wake up.  I still think that this is a better team with Duran AND Abreu.  And I would play Cedanne in the infield before I traded either one of them.  

Personally, I trust Cora, but I am not sure why he thinks its important to get Masa enough PT where he starts benching Duran vs righties.  He could just, not do that.  My hunch is that Duran got the day off because "he hasnt had one yet"....Didnt seem like the right time to do it, but maybe Cora is thinking do it now before he heats up.  I understand making Durbin sit for a game but Duran made no sense to me.  Maybe if Masa hadnt gotten into a game yet.  Even Durbin , I have some issue because it looked like his at-bats were starting to get better.  Im a Cora guy, but Im not loving what I see from him this year. And its not the roster.  He didnt have to bench our best hitter vs righties against a righty based on a non-existent sample size.

I get Masas presence is clunky but that doesnt mean we have to force him into 60% of games right now.

My point is simply - if you want to win more games, we need more offense. That may come internally (as in bats waking up), it may come externally (but hard to trade this early in season).  But I dont think that moving Duran or even waiving Masa is the catalyst for getting the offense we need.  One thing I can see serving as a "wake us up" catalyst is some freaking home games.  This team can win tonight because Crochet, salvage 2-4 road trip, and then sweep Padres at home and wind 5-4 through 9.  Im not sweating it that much right now.  But a big reason why Im not sweating it much right now is because of Duran, Anthony, Story, and Abreu.  

I understand that its a little clunky when 3 of your best 4 hitters are corner outfielders, when you have a fourth CO in Masa, but its the team we got and its not going to get better offensively by subtracting one of our better hitters for prospects and pen help (talking about Duran and Abreu), even if that gives a worse player (masa) a path to PT.

[mvp 78]

21 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

But Moon said the issue with our offense is that we should have traded an OF'er.  If he had meant specifically Masa, he would have said that.   He has screamed for  Abreu for Paredes and a lefty pen pitcher.  Thats a step back offensively and would have made our issues worse.  He also proposed a lot of Duran out the door trades beause "Masa isnt much worse as a DH and the real value is Duran in the field, and Duran should go because he has more value to another team because he can be in the field" .... 

moon has tried to trade Masa more than any other poster here, including this offseason. 

[Old Red]

44 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

But Moon said the issue with our offense is that we should have traded an OF'er.  If he had meant specifically Masa, he would have said that.   He has screamed for  Abreu for Paredes and a lefty pen pitcher.  Thats a step back offensively and would have made our issues worse.  He also proposed a lot of Duran out the door trades beause "Masa isnt much worse as a DH and the real value is Duran in the field, and Duran should go because he has more value to another team because he can be in the field" .... 

These are not moves to bring in offense.  These are moves so everybody has a set position or for pen help.  You may think well make these moves and everybody will have a clear role, and that has an effect, and maybe - but I remain skeptical that having a clear path to playing time for Duran/Abreu/Masa is going to make Durbin , Anthony, or Contreras wake up.  I still think that this is a better team with Duran AND Abreu.  And I would play Cedanne in the infield before I traded either one of them.  

Personally, I trust Cora, but I am not sure why he thinks its important to get Masa enough PT where he starts benching Duran vs righties.  He could just, not do that.  My hunch is that Duran got the day off because "he hasnt had one yet"....Didnt seem like the right time to do it, but maybe Cora is thinking do it now before he heats up.  I understand making Durbin sit for a game but Duran made no sense to me.  Maybe if Masa hadnt gotten into a game yet.  Even Durbin , I have some issue because it looked like his at-bats were starting to get better.  Im a Cora guy, but Im not loving what I see from him this year. And its not the roster.  He didnt have to bench our best hitter vs righties against a righty based on a non-existent sample size.

I get Masas presence is clunky but that doesnt mean we have to force him into 60% of games right now.

My point is simply - if you want to win more games, we need more offense. That may come internally (as in bats waking up), it may come externally (but hard to trade this early in season).  But I dont think that moving Duran or even waiving Masa is the catalyst for getting the offense we need.  One thing I can see serving as a "wake us up" catalyst is some freaking home games.  This team can win tonight because Crochet, salvage 2-4 road trip, and then sweep Padres at home and wind 5-4 through 9.  Im not sweating it that much right now.  But a big reason why Im not sweating it much right now is because of Duran, Anthony, Story, and Abreu.  

I understand that its a little clunky when 3 of your best 4 hitters are corner outfielders, when you have a fourth CO in Masa, but its the team we got and its not going to get better offensively by subtracting one of our better hitters for prospects and pen help (talking about Duran and Abreu), even if that gives a worse player (masa) a path to PT.

Masa, Masa Man I want to see more Masa Man. Obviously that’s Cora’s favorite song.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Masa, Masa Man I want to see some Masa Man. Obviously that’s Cora’s favorite song.

Yoshida: zero hits, .500 On Base percentage. 

But we don't want a guy like that on this offense, because he'll only clog the bases and set up the defense for a double play.

[FredLynn]

14 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

Only two things the Sox don't do so well--pitch and hit.   

Forget Anthony.  It's early, but his sophomore slump has epic potential.  

Anthony is going to be fine. So is Crochet. Maybe Suarez will get his bearings and a couple of RPs will likely contribute positively to the team. The rest of these guys I am not optimistic about. I still think this is a fourth place team. Right now they are dead last.