Red Sox (Suarez) vs Blue Jays (Cease): 4/27/26, 7:07pm

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

11 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

Most of the team started off slow.  I tend to think the idea of a hitting savant is overrated.

Opinion noted, but actual Red Sox big leaguers raved about the impact on their hitting by the sudden presence of JD Martinez, Kyle Schwarber, and Alex Bregman in the line-ups, at the cages, and scanning iPads.

That trio arrived in 2018, 2021 and 2025, respectively. 

Those were the only years Boston made the playoffs since.

[JoeBrady]

On 4/28/2026 at 8:25 AM, Old Red said:

You can poo poo stats in April, but they are played in games that count in the standings just as much as any other time of the year. The final stats may tell a different story, but they all count just as the infamous SSS do. You don’t get games back after they’ve been played.

You cannot possibly win this one.  Giving a slumping player a day off is fine.  That happens all the time.

Benching a good hitter after a slow start almost never happens.  Players on the bench don't adjust, and you will never get a signal that a hot streak is about to start.  Just from guys on my fantasy teams, before and after splits:

• Naylor  .390/1.210
• JRod .503/.860
• Raleigh  .511/1.116
• Turner  .481/.756
• Busch  .377/.774
• Tork .566/1.622
• Jose Ramirez  .464/.975

And I could easily find another 20 names.  Players get hot, and players get cold.  But they generally revert to their career numbers.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Opinion noted, but actual Red Sox big leaguers raved about the impact on their hitting by the sudden presence of JD Martinez, Kyle Schwarber, and Alex Bregman in the line-ups, at the cages, and scanning iPads.

That trio arrived in 2018, 2021 and 2025, respectively. 

Those were the only years Boston made the playoffs since.

Did the JD raving stop in 2019 and 2022?

No,  because they weren't having career years in those seasons.

Who did Casas rave about when he had a couple nice seasons? How about Abreu who was better in '23-'24 combined than '25? O'Neill & Duran had great seasons in 2024. Who helped them?

[JoeBrady]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Another comp might be...

Bregman + Alonso= 6 WAR

or 

Bichette + Alonso= 6WAR

vs

Contreras + Mayer/Durbin= 5.9 WAR

I assume that all these guys (just like ours) will revert some.  But imagine a world in which we have:

Bregman-Bichette-Alonso with their 0.5 bWAR and $101M salary, instead of

Contreras-Suarez-Durbin with their 2.0 bWAR and $46M salary.

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I assume that all these guys (just like ours) will revert some.  But imagine a world in which we have:

Bregman-Bichette-Alonso with their 0.5 bWAR and $101M salary, instead of

Contreras-Suarez-Durbin with their 2.0 bWAR and $46M salary.

I've been super high on Willson- perhaps too high. I was glad we got Suarez over what we offered Bregman and certain over what he got. I like Durbin, but he's not the big bat we needed. He may work out fine.

When I look at this last winter's moves, while I think we left a big hole on offense, I liked the overall additions. That makes it hard for me to then turn around and blame Brez for not doing better than what I thought was good.

Let's hope teh additions more than make up for the power slot hole that was left unfilled.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

59 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Did the JD raving stop in 2019 and 2022?

No,  because they weren't having career years in those seasons.

Who did Casas rave about when he had a couple nice seasons? How about Abreu who was better in '23-'24 combined than '25? O'Neill & Duran had great seasons in 2024. Who helped them?

No idea. Why are you asking me? Ask them.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

No idea. Why are you asking me? Ask them.

My point is the raving is only listened to  ane reported when he team does well.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

My point is the raving is only listened to  ane reported when he team does well.

Right, fans were all yelling "Fire Fatse" because the team can't hit, and now that he's gone, guys like Merloni are saying he was an old school coach -- and the Driveline guys are the ones they kept.

Durbin had a decent rookie year for Milwaukee with the second-lowest Slugging% in the line-up. Then he comes to the Red Sox where everyone struggles with the "Hit the ball in the air" mantra. And all we get to see is him pull his head with his new uppercut swing and hit in the .100s.

How's that working out, Craig?

 

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Right, fans were all yelling "Fire Fatse" because the team can't hit, and now that he's gone, guys like Merloni are saying he was an old school coach -- and the Driveline guys are the ones they kept.

Durbin had a decent rookie year for Milwaukee with the second-lowest Slugging% in the line-up. Then he comes to the Red Sox where everyone struggles with the "Hit the ball in the air" mantra. And all we get to see is him pull his head with his new uppercut swing and hit in the .100s.

How's that working out, Craig?

 

Well said, but as this pertains to having some players in leadership roles, would Bregman be telling batters something different from Fatse?

Or was he just a confidence builder we never replaced?

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

I assume that all these guys (just like ours) will revert some.  But imagine a world in which we have:

Bregman-Bichette-Alonso with their 0.5 bWAR and $101M salary, instead of

Contreras-Suarez-Durbin with their 2.0 bWAR and $46M salary.

Nobody cares about the guys we didnt sign except for those who gave the team an A+, the offseason an A+ and want to perform enough mental gymnastics to justify a victory lap.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Well said, but as this pertains to having some players in leadership roles, would Bregman be telling batters something different from Fatse?

Or was he just a confidence builder we never replaced?

Maybe both or maybe the young hitters just regarded his words more because he had actually starred in the big leagues. But we do know he was a veteran voice immediately respected by teammates once he joined.

It's hard to say Breslow ever replaced that in the clubhouse. But the dugout silence to Contreras challenging the Brewers one night says a lot.

 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Nobody cares about the guys we didnt sign except for those who gave the team an A+, the offseason an A+ and want to perform enough mental gymnastics to justify a victory lap.

The point being made is that many who are highly critical of Brez and his winter choices wanted guys that are not doing well or are doing worse than who he added, except Durbin & Oviedo.

[drewski6]

57 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The point being made is that many who are highly critical of Brez and his winter choices wanted guys that are not doing well or are doing worse than who he added, except Durbin & Oviedo.

I didnt say that I dont understand, I said that I dont care.  Breslow has to have accountability.  

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I didnt say that I dont understand, I said that I dont care.  Breslow has to have accountability.  

Agreed, but to me it's kinda hard to put much of the blame on a guy who seemingly made good moves over the winter.

I also think it's disingenuous to blame a guy when he made better moves than most of us wanted made.

I'm not calling you out, and I have been critical of Brez, too, after suggesting guys like ESuarez, Polanco & KMarte.

So many players are under performing 2025 numbers and/or 2026 expectations. I guess the GM is supposed to foresee that and make choices based on knowing this. Yes, they hold the ultimate accountability for the team success.

I think Cora was let go (first) because the underperformance is usually blamed on the manager and not the GM, firstly.