Another lost season

[Randy Red Sox]

Once again the Sox are horrible. They are actually so bad I truly could care less and as most of you can tell that by the fact I have been absent on here for most of the last month.  I came into the year with great hopes but they quickly were dashed.  Once again the team is floundering at the bottom of the AL East standings. I could go on and on about where this is heading but like John Henry [who SHOULD BUT DOESN'T care} I could care less. i don't even bother to check the results day by day.  This is where the Sox are at for me.  Sad !!

[vegasbob]

Even if you watched and checked the details daily, you would not be encouraged.   They are leaderless, directionless and incompetent with a bat in their hand.

The pitching has been superb, capable of winning 10 more games than they have achieved.  The hitting is non-existent.  This was predictable since the last 10 days of ST when this team's batters went into a funk that has now lasted a month and a half.

Breslow needs to cure his f*** up quick.

[Bellhorn04]

It all comes back to Henry's Hubris in 2019, firing Dombrowski and ordering Betts to be traded.  Turning the Red Sox into an experiment with newbie CBOs and a helter-skelter approach.  Throwing stuff at the wall.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

7 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It all comes back to Henry's Hubris in 2019, firing Dombrowski and ordering Betts to be traded.  Turning the Red Sox into an experiment with newbie CBOs and a helter-skelter approach.  Throwing stuff at the wall.

Might as well; Red Sox batters can't reach it in the air.

[Bellhorn04]

Notice the contrast between what the Red Sox did after firing their manager and what the Phillies did.  The Red Sox apparently have an interim manager for the rest of the season.  Dombrowski offered the job to first Cora and then Mattingly.  The Phillies have turned it around, 13-4 since the change.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

10 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Notice the contrast between what the Red Sox did after firing their manager and what the Phillies did.  The Red Sox apparently have an interim manager for the rest of the season.  Dombrowski offered the job to first Cora and then Mattingly.  The Phillies have turned it around, 13-4 since the change.

Dombro didn't look for a young yes-man who'd be thankful for the opportunity and do whatever he's told. Instead, he went right after ex-big league managers with experience handling veteran players.

But here's the real contrast we all notice: Schwarber and Harper 30 home runs, Boston Red Sox 32.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Notice the contrast between what the Red Sox did after firing their manager and what the Phillies did.  The Red Sox apparently have an interim manager for the rest of the season.  Dombrowski offered the job to first Cora and then Mattingly.  The Phillies have turned it around, 13-4 since the change.

Interestingly, last time Philly fired a manager it was the exact opposite when they brought in an inexperienced interim manager to replace Joe Girardi in 2022.  The results were good then, too, since it was that interim manager they just fired…

[Duran Is The Man]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It all comes back to Henry's Hubris in 2019, firing Dombrowski and ordering Betts to be traded.  Turning the Red Sox into an experiment with newbie CBOs and a helter-skelter approach.  Throwing stuff at the wall.

that's it. he could have built on their dominance but decided to flush it all down the toilet.

[notin]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Dombro didn't look for a young yes-man who'd be thankful for the opportunity and do whatever he's told. Instead, he went right after ex-big league managers with experience handling veteran players.

But here's the real contrast we all notice: Schwarber and Harper 30 home runs, Boston Red Sox 32.

The thing about the Sox is they’re not loaded with veteran players.  Narvaez, Anthony, Durbin and Mayer all have less than 2 years.     The Sox oldest starter is Contreras (34) and Story is the only other veteran that’s played for another team.  After those two, Yoshida is the only other player over 30, and he’s only starting due to injury.

It is a young team…

[vegasbob]

By making and oft repeating that Tracy and his coaches are INTERIM Breslow immediately neuters any power or changes  Chad may think necessary.

One more poor decision by the master of disaster

[Old Red]

The farm boys are coming, the farm boys are coming is all I’ve heard the last three years. Just wait to then you’ll see. Casas has fallen by the wayside due to injuries. Teel has been traded, and KC is still languishing down in WOO striking out 16 out of 29 AB in May. little Anthony is hurt again, and wasn’t doling much with the bat before he got hurt anyways. As Michael Holly said for all the hype, and expectations placed on him he’s been one of the biggest flops.  Mayer is still a platoon player who hasn’t done much with the bat either. As I have said many times the past few years that hype, expectations, and hope doesn’t always lead to success especially dealing with lots of SUSPECTS.🤔

[Bellhorn04]

33 minutes ago, Old Red said:

The farm boys are coming, the farm boys are coming is all I’ve heard the last three years. Just wait to then you’ll see. Casas has fallen by the wayside due to injuries. Teel has been traded, and KC is still languishing down in WOO striking out 16 out of 29 AB in May. little Anthony is hurt again, and wasn’t doling much with the bat before he got hurt anyways. As Michael Holly said for all the hype, and expectations placed on him he’s been one of the biggest flops.  Mayer is still a platoon player who hasn’t done much with the bat either. As I have said many times the past few years that hype, expectations, and hope doesn’t always lead to success especially dealing with lots of SUSPECTS.🤔

When you see so many guys struggling, including the kids, you really have to wonder if they are getting a lot of bad advice.

[Old Red]

11 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

When you see so many guys struggling, including the kids, you really have to wonder if they are getting a lot of bad advice.

I can understand the younger guys, but not Duran, and Story.

[moonslav59]

22 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

When you see so many guys struggling, including the kids, you really have to wonder if they are getting a lot of bad advice.

That certainly is a strong possibility, but there are likely other reasons.

As much as hot streaks seem contagious, so do slumps. Of course, this can't be all to it, either, but it may contribute to the cluster you-know-what.

It's never a great idea to put a lot of faith in rookie and two year players, but we did keep 4 OF'ers as insurance against a drop by Anthony, and the 2B position was apparently not handed to Mayer before ST'ing began. (The infield depth was not nearlt at the level as the OF, so it did look obvious that not many other options were too viable at 2B: IKF, KC, Monasterio, Seigler, Cheng, Sogard, Capra... Lots of name but not much hope.) The Catcher position was handed to Narvaez and running Wong back as the #2 seemed skeptical. The front office added a lot of minor league depth at the C position, even down to the lower levels, but Delay or Thaiss are not anyone you get excited about.

To me, the killers go beyond big let-downs by vets like Story & Duran, but let's not minimize how much both have dragged this team down. Those two were the senior batters in the organization and they have flopped mightily. It's hard to be a leader when you suck, and if you were a leader by example, it's even worse.

The younger players always have to be viewed with speculation, but it does seem unexpected that nearly all have failed to show any growth- Abreu & Rafaela as the only exceptions. (Their growth has been minimal and not earth-shattering.)

Anthony, Mayer, Durbin and Narvaez could have expected second year struggles, but all four at once hurt us badly.

Contreras has not declined as some thought he might due to his age, but he can't do it all.

The in system options might have some nice numbers in AAA and AA, but most offer little hope. What Gasper has done in his short time should not be something we can expect to last or be duplicated by these guys being called up:

AAA

.957 Capra (infield)

.871 Sogard (1B & infield)

.853 Ward (OF)

.822 Seigler (UT)

.792 Delay (C)

.725 Campbell (DH?)

.710 Thaiss (C)

____________________________

AA

1.257 Brannon in just 51 ABs (1B/DH)

1.072 Arias (SS)

.880 Ferguson (infield)

____________________________

A+ (No way we jumps these guys to MLB)

.963 YRod (OF)

.930 Godbout (2B)

.885 Cespedes (DH)

.880 Gonzales (OF)

Of course making some splashy trade for someone like Paredes or even Yordan had gotten some talk, would that be enough? Even if we got both? And what do we give up to get them?

It's gonna start with Tolle or Early & Arias or Mayer and maybe 3 of these 4.

[Old Red]

12 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

That certainly is a strong possibility, but there are likely other reasons.

As much as hot streaks seem contagious, so do slumps. Of course, this can't be all to it, either, but it may contribute to the cluster you-know-what.

It's never a great idea to put a lot of faith in rookie and two year players, but we did keep 4 OF'ers as insurance against a drop by Anthony, and the 2B position was apparently not handed to Mayer before ST'ing began. (The infield depth was not nearlt at the level as the OF, so it did look obvious that not many other options were too viable at 2B: IKF, KC, Monasterio, Seigler, Cheng, Sogard, Capra... Lots of name but not much hope.) The Catcher position was handed to Narvaez and running Wong back as the #2 seemed skeptical. The front office added a lot of minor league depth at the C position, even down to the lower levels, but Delay or Thaiss are not anyone you get excited about.

To me, the killers go beyond big let-downs by vets like Story & Duran, but let's not minimize how much both have dragged this team down. Those two were the senior batters in the organization and they have flopped mightily. It's hard to be a leader when you suck, and if you were a leader by example, it's even worse.

The younger players always have to be viewed with speculation, but it does seem unexpected that nearly all have failed to show any growth- Abreu & Rafaela as the only exceptions. (Their growth has been minimal and not earth-shattering.)

Anthony, Mayer, Durbin and Narvaez could have expected second year struggles, but all four at once hurt us badly.

Contreras has not declined as some thought he might due to his age, but he can't do it all.

The in system options might have some nice numbers in AAA and AA, but most offer little hope. What Gasper has done in his short time should not be something we can expect to last or be duplicated by these guys being called up:

AAA

.957 Capra (infield)

.871 Sogard (1B & infield)

.853 Ward (OF)

.822 Seigler (UT)

.792 Delay (C)

.725 Campbell (DH?)

.710 Thaiss (C)

____________________________

AA

1.257 Brannon in just 51 ABs (1B/DH)

1.072 Arias (SS)

.880 Ferguson (infield)

____________________________

A+ (No way we jumps these guys to MLB)

.963 YRod (OF)

.930 Godbout (2B)

.885 Cespedes (DH)

.880 Gonzales (OF)

Of course making some splashy trade for someone like Paredes or even Yordan had gotten some talk, would that be enough? Even if we got both? And what do we give up to get them?

It's gonna start with Tolle or Early & Arias or Mayer and maybe 3 of these 4.

Brez is still looking for that 3rd option in the fork in the road.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

When you see so many guys struggling, including the kids, you really have to wonder if they are getting a lot of bad advice.

It’s not so surprising about the 4 second year players.  The term “sophomore slump” has been around for decades.

It’s not so surprising Story would struggle.  He’s reaching the end of the road despite being only 33.  The injuries and wear and tear might be catching up.

Duran? Bad seasons happen, and the guy is a notorious tinkerer when it comes to his swing and his stance, and he can be his own worst enemy.  But this level of (non-)production is beyond surprising.

And while Yoshida was never a slugger, it’s getting bad with him too.  He’s morphing into Freddy Sánchez before our eyes.  But at least he keeps up the OBP.

But all this at once? Thats just ridiculous.  Heck 4 simultaneous sophomore slumps probably defies Vegas odds…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

4 hours ago, notin said:

The thing about the Sox is they’re not loaded with veteran players.  Narvaez, Anthony, Durbin and Mayer all have less than 2 years.     The Sox oldest starter is Contreras (34) and Story is the only other veteran that’s played for another team.  After those two, Yoshida is the only other player over 30, and he’s only starting due to injury.

It is a young team…

That's why I was in favor of upping Tracy, a young manager the young players are already familiar playing for.

It's not his fault they're just not that good. But there are certain policy changes his bosses need to let him make immediately:

1. since it's a fact they can't hit, everybody better learn how to bunt again, and do it in every inning there's a ghost runner on second the rest of the season;

2. since it's a fact they don't know the strike zone, the entire offense should be banned from challenging any strike calls the rest of the season. Save them for our catchers for close, late games.

[notin]

9 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

That's why I was in favor of upping Tracy, a young manager the young players are already familiar playing for.

It's not his fault they're just not that good. But there are certain policy changes his bosses need to let him make immediately:

1. since it's a fact they can't hit, everybody better learn how to bunt again, and do it in every inning there's a ghost runner on second the rest of the season;

2. since it's a fact they don't know the strike zone, the entire offense should be banned from challenging any strike calls the rest of the season. Save them for our catchers for close, late games.

You are hung up on strike zone challenges, once even making a point that the Yankees had meeting upon meeting to delegate their usage.  Worth pointing out at the time, no team ran up more unsuccessful challenges than the Yankees.

I do somewhat agree with the catcher strategy, but not because of a lack of faith in the hitters.  Catchers around the league are the most successful challengers.  The downside to this is, many of them are so good, you’d probably never burn through your two unsuccessful challenges…

[moonslav59]

Many second year players improve, even ones that had good first years.

Another thing to consider is that our 4 "second year players" only had these PAs in 2025:

136 Mayer

303 Anthony

446 Narvaez (granted, this is "FT" for catchers)

506 Durbin (just enough to "qualify.")

We also fail to mention our "sophomore" pitchers:

1.99 Tolle (6th in GS)

3.21 Early (1st in IP & GS)

 

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

35 minutes ago, notin said:

You are hung up on strike zone challenges, once even making a point that the Yankees had meeting upon meeting to delegate their usage.  Worth pointing out at the time, no team ran up more unsuccessful challenges than the Yankees.

I do somewhat agree with the catcher strategy, but not because of a lack of faith in the hitters.  Catchers around the league are the most successful challengers.  The downside to this is, many of them are so good, you’d probably never burn through your two unsuccessful challenges…

I am hung up on things the Red Sox do badly that have less to do with God-given physical talent and more to do with thought processes that can be improved.

I read somewhere -- maybe here this week -- the Sox players had above-average sprint speed. But we all know how hard it is for them to reach base this year. And last night, in another one-run game, we had baserunners picked off or caught stealing at 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Uncanny.

[notin]

56 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I am hung up on things the Red Sox do badly that have less to do with God-given physical talent and more to do with thought processes that can be improved.

I read somewhere -- maybe here this week -- the Sox players had above-average sprint speed. But we all know how hard it is for them to reach base this year. And last night, in another one-run game, we had baserunners picked off or caught stealing at 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Uncanny.

I have heard somewhere that Rafaela has been parsing together data from his challenges to better learn the strike zone, like a velociraptor testing the electric fence in Jurassic Park. If thats working for him and it’s reflected in an uptick in his stats, is it so wrong that he uses challenges?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, notin said:

I have heard somewhere that Rafaela has been parsing together data from his challenges to better learn the strike zone, like a velociraptor testing the electric fence in Jurassic Park. If thats working for him and it’s reflected in an uptick in his stats, is it so wrong that he uses challenges?

All the dinosaurs died except for snapping turtles.

[notin]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

All the dinosaurs died except for snapping turtles.

I know some crocodilians that want to have a word with you…

[illinoisredsox]

34 minutes ago, notin said:

I know some crocodilians that want to have a word with you…

Also a whole lot of birds.

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

All the dinosaurs died except for snapping turtles.

and birds

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

and birds

Bird weren't dinosaurs -- though they've been around since then, sent to Earth to monitor all the native species.

Birds are also how we can tell that people are aliens. too. Notice birds in nature, how they hop around branches and on the ground amongst indigenous neighbors like squirrels and rabbits.

But when a person gets too near, they always fly away. Unless it's a Red Sox player with a bat in his hand.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Bird weren't dinosaurs -- though they've been around since then, sent to Earth to monitor all the native species.

Birds are also how we can tell that people are aliens. too. Notice birds in nature, how they hop around branches and on the ground amongst indigenous neighbors like squirrels and rabbits.

But when a person gets too near, they always fly away. Unless it's a Red Sox player with a bat in his hand.

Not Terradactyls.

[notin]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Not Terradactyls.

Pterodactyls were neither birds nor dinosaurs. They were pterosaurs.   
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, notin said:

Pterodactyls were neither birds nor dinosaurs. They were pterosaurs.   
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur

Bupt could pthey pronounce silenpt pees?

[Randy Red Sox]

On 5/16/2026 at 9:58 AM, moonslav59 said:

That certainly is a strong possibility, but there are likely other reasons.

As much as hot streaks seem contagious, so do slumps. Of course, this can't be all to it, either, but it may contribute to the cluster you-know-what.

It's never a great idea to put a lot of faith in rookie and two year players, but we did keep 4 OF'ers as insurance against a drop by Anthony, and the 2B position was apparently not handed to Mayer before ST'ing began. (The infield depth was not nearlt at the level as the OF, so it did look obvious that not many other options were too viable at 2B: IKF, KC, Monasterio, Seigler, Cheng, Sogard, Capra... Lots of name but not much hope.) The Catcher position was handed to Narvaez and running Wong back as the #2 seemed skeptical. The front office added a lot of minor league depth at the C position, even down to the lower levels, but Delay or Thaiss are not anyone you get excited about.

To me, the killers go beyond big let-downs by vets like Story & Duran, but let's not minimize how much both have dragged this team down. Those two were the senior batters in the organization and they have flopped mightily. It's hard to be a leader when you suck, and if you were a leader by example, it's even worse.

The younger players always have to be viewed with speculation, but it does seem unexpected that nearly all have failed to show any growth- Abreu & Rafaela as the only exceptions. (Their growth has been minimal and not earth-shattering.)

Anthony, Mayer, Durbin and Narvaez could have expected second year struggles, but all four at once hurt us badly.

Contreras has not declined as some thought he might due to his age, but he can't do it all.

The in system options might have some nice numbers in AAA and AA, but most offer little hope. What Gasper has done in his short time should not be something we can expect to last or be duplicated by these guys being called up:

AAA

.957 Capra (infield)

.871 Sogard (1B & infield)

.853 Ward (OF)

.822 Seigler (UT)

.792 Delay (C)

.725 Campbell (DH?)

.710 Thaiss (C)

____________________________

AA

1.257 Brannon in just 51 ABs (1B/DH)

1.072 Arias (SS)

.880 Ferguson (infield)

____________________________

A+ (No way we jumps these guys to MLB)

.963 YRod (OF)

.930 Godbout (2B)

.885 Cespedes (DH)

.880 Gonzales (OF)

Of course making some splashy trade for someone like Paredes or even Yordan had gotten some talk, would that be enough? Even if we got both? And what do we give up to get them?

It's gonna start with Tolle or Early & Arias or Mayer and maybe 3 of these 4.

they bloody well better not trade EITHER Tolle or Early.  Both have proven their worth at the MLB level.