Red Sox's Craig Breslow Era Is Set to End With A Whimper

[notin]

46 minutes ago, Alex Mayes said:

It's more so that I believe Cora has the characteristics that are found in GMs who put together a winning team. I think Breslow's biggest fault is he believes he's the smartest man in the room and doesn't listen to other people because he thinks he knows better than they do. With Cora, I think he understands the human element of baseball and would surround himself with assistant GMs who support the team vision. 

That being said, there's a list of possible replacement candidates I'd like. Cora just happens to be on there.

Are we sure Breslow isn’t listening to other people?  Maybe his biggest flaw is he can’t discern good advice from bad advice..,

[Alex Mayes]

32 minutes ago, notin said:

Are we sure Breslow isn’t listening to other people?  Maybe his biggest flaw is he can’t discern good advice from bad advice..,

That’s an idea. It’s possible for sure. I do know his “trusted circle” is incredibly small. 

[mvp 78]

3 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Agree 10,000%

Plus, I believe Cora is a better leader.

He’s not shown to be a better communicator.

[notin]

48 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He’s not shown to be a better communicator.

Not to mention, if you think the Sox are too analytically-driven, Cora is definitely not your guy…

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Not sure how we're defining going out with a bang, but DD got fired for reasons never explained to him.  He didn't say much about it but he did say Henry never get in touch with him about it at all and that was the one thing that bothered him.

Well, I think a guy of DD's stature getting fired is "out with a bang."

I'm fine with saying Bloom's departure was a whimper, as many wanted him gone for years.

Ben's departure was not a major deal, since adding DD and the loss of Lucchino were both bigger stories.

Theo's loss was siesmic.

Before that, we get into the pre-JH era.

 

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

21 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Major moves: Suarez, Contreras & Gray

Moderate moves: Durbin w infield depth, Oviedo & IDK

Minor moves: Coulombe, Watson, Kahnle, Gasper and others

Moves not made: No second big bat and no Duran trade.

Sure doesn't look "impeccable" to me.  There is much I can add to the Moves Not Made list.  Again 6th inning relievers are just not that hard to find, this lineup sucked and we all knew it in March.  

[moonslav59]

20 minutes ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

Sure doesn't look "impeccable" to me.  There is much I can add to the Moves Not Made list.  Again 6th inning relievers are just not that hard to find, this lineup sucked and we all knew it in March.  

I wasn't the one calling it impeccable, but I will say no other GM added a better 3 players than the top 3 by Brez.

I'm still waiting for you to say which of his major moves were not good. 

Moderate to minor moves are not supposed to net studs, but it does happen from time to time.

(BTW, IKF + Seigler have a better OPS than Bichette & Bregman, and I'd rather have Durbin than either of those two, even at half their costs.)

[Bellhorn04]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I wasn't the one calling it impeccable, but I will say no other GM added a better 3 players than the top 3 by Brez.

I'm still waiting for you to say which of his major moves were not good. 

Moderate to minor moves are not supposeh,d to net stud s, but it does happen from time to time.

(BTW, IKF + Seigler have a better OPS than Bichette & Bregman, and I'd rather have Durbin than either of those two, even at half their costs.)

You could accuse Breslow of just sitting on his hands hoping the offense would get better.  He fired Cora and the hitting coaches and seemed to blame them for the underperformance.  But nothing has improved much.  A few glimmers like Durbin, but we're still virtually dead last in runs scored.  And that's the main reason for our record.

[Old Red]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I wasn't the one calling it impeccable, but I will say no other GM added a better 3 players than the top 3 by Brez.

I'm still waiting for you to say which of his major moves were not good. 

Moderate to minor moves are not supposed to net studs, but it does happen from time to time.

(BTW, IKF + Seigler have a better OPS than Bichette & Bregman, and I'd rather have Durbin than either of those two, even at half their costs.)

 

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

You could accuse Breslow of just sitting on his hands hoping the offense would get better.  He fired Cora and the hitting coaches and seemed to blame them for the underperformance.  But nothing has improved much.  A few glimmers like Durbin, but we're still virtually dead last in runs scored.  And that's the main reason for our record.

The only thing that would have helped as things have played out is a Schwarber type bat.

[notin]

5 hours ago, Old Red said:

 

The only thing that would have helped as things have played out is a Schwarber type bat.

Or, you know, Duran not hitting like a pitcher and Story not trying to play injured for two months. Also Yoshida stopping hitting after April.  Let’s not forget those factors.

Would adding a Schwarber bat fixed any of that?

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

You could accuse Breslow of just sitting on his hands hoping the offense would get better.  He fired Cora and the hitting coaches and seemed to blame them for the underperformance.  But nothing has improved much.  A few glimmers like Durbin, but we're still virtually dead last in runs scored.  And that's the main reason for our record.

I fully agree that Brez dropped the ball on adding another big bat or two. (I wanted two more.)

I've mentioned the "moves not made" as the major negative to his off season, and why despite 3 very nice ("singular," I called them) major additions, I give him only a B-.

[Old Red]

16 minutes ago, notin said:

Or you, Duran not hitting like a pitcher and Story not trying to play injured for two months. Also Yoshida stopping hitting after April.  Let’s not forget those factors.

Would adding a Schwarber bat fixed any of that?

Huh? It wouldn’t have fixed it, but it would have more than helped offset it. WOW! Even would have helped offset little Anthony.🤭🙈

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Huh? It wouldn’t have fixed it, but it would have more than helped offset it. WOW! Even would have helped offset little Anthony.🤭🙈

How much would it have helped offset the 11 game difference between wins and losses?  Sign Schwarber and maybe the Sox are 39-46 or 40-45.  
 

Everyone keeps saying “we needed a big bat! We needed a big bat!”  We did get one.  But something else the Sox needed was for two of best hitters from last year to not do disappearing acts.  If Duran and Story were just the .774 and .740 hitters they were a year ago - not a big ask given each’s career - this team would be much, much better.
 

What I blame Breslow for is loading up on sophomore players.  Durbin is working out finally.  Narvaez is useless offensively but I get keeping him.  But Mayer was only called up due to injury, and didn’t exactly dazzle like  Anthony did. And I mean any Anthony, not just Roman.  So why was Mayer penned in to start?

Also Breslow completely neglected the bullpen.  Although Tyron Guerrero seems to be bailing him out there somewhat…
 

 

 

[moonslav59]

Just now, notin said:

How much would it have helped offset the 11 game difference between wins and losses?  Sign Schwarber and maybe the Sox are 38-46 or 40-45.  
 

Everyone keeps saying “we needed a big bat! We needed a big bat!”  We did get one.  But something else the Sox needed was for two of best hitters from last year to not do disappearing acts.  If Duran and Story were just the .774 and .740 hitters they were a year ago - not a big ask given each’s career - this team would be much, much better.
 

What I blame Breslow for is loading up on sophomore players.  Durbin is working out finally.  Narvaez is useless offensively but I get keeping him.  But Mayer was only called up due to injury, and didn’t exactly dazzle like  Anthony did. And I mean any Anthony, not just Roman.  So why was Mayer penned in to start?

Also he completely neglected the bullpen.  Although Tyron Guerrero seems to be bailing Breslow out there somewhat…

Most of us wanted 2-3 big bats or 3 upgrades at the least. We got one in Contreras.

We also added Coulombe to the pen, but yes, just about all of us felt  Brez neglected the pen.

The idea that SP'er depth can be used to fill pen needs never seems to work out.

To me, the hindsight solutions would have been...

Schwarber- fat chance he comes to BOS, unless we blow PHI away, which would likely mean no Suarez, so how much does Schwarber minus Suarez add?

BLowe- he was talked about some

Murakami- almost everyone disliked the idea.

Arraez- was roundly laughed at as an idea for a Sox winter addition.

Somehow, Brez would have to have obtained Murakami and B Lowe and still have enough to afford Willson, Sonny & Ranger.

[notin]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Most of us wanted 2-3 big bats or 3 upgrades at the least. We got one in Contreras.

We also added Coulombe to the pen, but yes, just about all of us felt  Brez neglected the pen.

The idea that SP'er depth can be used to fill pen needs never seems to work out.

To me, the hindsight solutions would have been...

Schwarber- fat chance he comes to BOS, unless we blow PHI away, which would likely mean no Suarez, so how much does Schwarber minus Suarez add?

BLowe- he was talked about some

Murakami- almost everyone disliked the idea.

Arraez- was roundly laughed at as an idea for a Sox winter addition.

Somehow, Brez would have to have obtained Murakami and B Lowe and still have enough to afford Willson, Sonny & Ranger.

It seems like many just wanted Henry to spend more money.  Heck I mentioned Miguel Vargas (currently 3.0 bWAR, 19 HRs, .842 OPS) and was told to stop proposing cheap solutions.  And then they tell me free agency isn’t just PR.
 
Their lineup of C - Narvaez, 1b -Contreras, 2b - Mayer 3b -Durbin LF- Duran CF - Rafaela RF -Abreu DH - Anthony.  Thats better than the lineup the fielded last year (post Devers) and much better than the team of benchwarmers they used in the playoffs.  But multiple bad seasons from too many players killed them this year, and one more bat wasn’t going to save this lineup from itself.  Two veterans having career worst seasons coupled with a handful of sophomore slumps, another rookie struggling because he was pressed into duty last year, and another who might be a notoriously slow starter.  Thats an awful lot for any one hitter to overcome when 6 or 7 other players just aren’t hitting.  Bringing in Schwarber and sending out Breslow isn’t going to change this…

[mvp 78]

16 hours ago, notin said:

Not to mention, if you think the Sox are too analytically-driven, Cora is definitely not your guy…

Bloom to Breslow to Cora

If you’re going with a green CBO, at least get a guy that can build a farm or something, not guy destined for tv.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I wasn't the one calling it impeccable, but I will say no other GM added a better 3 players than the top 3 by Brez.

I'm still waiting for you to say which of his major moves were not good. 

Moderate to minor moves are not supposed to net studs, but it does happen from time to time.

(BTW, IKF + Seigler have a better OPS than Bichette & Bregman, and I'd rather have Durbin than either of those two, even at half their costs.)

I never claimed you said "impeccable". But that was the comment I have been responding to.   I don't feel the need to list the major moves that were not good.  I'm simply evaluating the GM the way every GM is evaluated, by the record.  And nothing about this record indicates he had an impeccable offseason, just the opposite in fact. And the holes, specifically the lineup and the middle relief, were obvious all along. 

 

 

 

 

[Bellhorn04]

To me the most damning fact for Breslow right now is that he ostensibly fired most of the coaching staff because he didn't think players were performing up to their potential, but the needle has barely moved, so he was wrong, and maybe he is just a lousy manager and evaluator of talent - especially with the offense of course.  It sure doesn't help the optics that Durbin only started to hit after going for outside help. 

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

5 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

To me the most damning fact for Breslow right now is that he ostensibly fired most of the coaching staff because he didn't think players were performing up to their potential, but the needle has barely moved, so he was wrong, and maybe he is just a lousy manager and evaluator of talent - especially with the offense of course.  It sure doesn't help the optics that Durbin only started to hit after going for outside help. 

Yeah the Cora haters have been pretty quiet.  

I didn't know that about Durbin but it adds to my concern.  I'm getting pretty convinced that our player development sucks. 

 

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

Yeah the Cora haters have been pretty quiet.  

I didn't know that about Durbin but it adds to my concern.  I'm getting pretty convinced that our player development sucks. 

 

From what I've been gathering, the hitting approach being taught by the Sox goes like this: swing as hard as you can, pull the ball and hit it in the air.

And yet the results being achieved are the opposite: we are dead last in baseball in home runs.

[Bellhorn04]

16 hours ago, notin said:

Or, you know, Duran not hitting like a pitcher and Story not trying to play injured for two months. Also Yoshida stopping hitting after April.  Let’s not forget those factors.

Would adding a Schwarber bat fixed any of that?

No, but you can question whether counting on Story and Yoshida for anything was a mistake.  Story has obviously had enormous problems staying on the field and has only had sporadic good stretches when he does.  Yoshida is just a replacement level player.

Duran seems like a guy who needs help he isn't getting - but admittedly that's just my speculation.

[notin]

49 minutes ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

Yeah the Cora haters have been pretty quiet.  

I didn't know that about Durbin but it adds to my concern.  I'm getting pretty convinced that our player development sucks. 

 

Have I?  
 

I suppose I’m not a Cora Hater, but certainly not a Cora Lover, either.

But my theory on Tracy is he was brought in as a familiar face to help some of the younger Sox players adjust, with winning secondary (if that high)…

[notin]

48 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

No, but you can question whether counting on Story and Yoshida for anything was a mistake.  Story has obviously had enormous problems staying on the field and has only had sporadic good stretches when he does.  Yoshida is just a replacement level player.

Duran seems like a guy who needs help he isn't getting - but admittedly that's just my speculation.

But how much were they counting on Yoshida?  He only had 61 plate appearances before Anthony got injured.  Thats only 14 more than Connor Wong had.  Yoshida was the 4th OF/backup DH behind Anthony, Rafaela, Abreu and Duran.  I don’t think he was being counted on for much, and he certainly didn’t need to be.

Story has been spotty the last few years, and will likely go down as one of the 5 worst FA contracts in team history.  Arguments may persist where on the last, but none for his inclusion.  So there is that, but he was also one of, if not their best players last year and not so readily replaced.  

 

[Old Red]

40 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

No, but you can question whether counting on Story and Yoshida for anything was a mistake.  Story has obviously had enormous problems staying on the field and has only had sporadic good stretches when he does.  Yoshida is just a replacement level player.

Duran seems like a guy who needs help he isn't getting - but admittedly that's just my speculation.

There were many culprits for the Red Sox to start the year on why the Red Sox scored so few runs, which led to the record they have now. I don’t think being the DH, and in , and out of the lineup helped Duran at all, and Masa getting infrequent AB didn’t help either to start with. Just counting on Story to be anything more than healthy, and stay in the lineup was a stretch.

[notin]

10 minutes ago, Old Red said:

There were many culprits for the Red Sox to start the year on why the Red Sox scored so few runs, which led to the record they have now. I don’t think being the DH, and in , and out of the lineup helped Duran at all, and Masa getting infrequent AB didn’t help either to start with. Just counting on Story to be anything more than healthy, and stay in the lineup was a stretch.

Duran’s play at DH is exaggerated; he’s played DH like 3 times since April 1, and he has been a mainstay in the lineup all year, missing only 7 games and playing practically every day for the last two months.  And yet he has turned nothing around.  He has brief flashes, but then goes right back to sucking…

[Old Red]

29 minutes ago, notin said:

Duran’s play at DH is exaggerated; he’s played DH like 3 times since April 1, and he has been a mainstay in the lineup all year, missing only 7 games and playing practically every day for the last two months.  And yet he has turned nothing around.  He has brief flashes, but then goes right back to sucking…

HUH? I said to start the year. You just like to run off to parts unknown. EVERYONE knows except for a brief stretch Duran hasn’t recovered, and it wasn’t even in question.

[Behindenemylines]

Breslow's failure to bring in right-handed power last winter remains the major problem with this team! They have not taken advantage of quality starting pitched games and lost games that they should have won. They get behind by 3 or more runs the game is over. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

31 minutes ago, Behindenemylines said:

Breslow's failure to bring in right-handed power last winter remains the major problem with this team! They have not taken advantage of quality starting pitched games and lost games that they should have won. They get behind by 3 or more runs the game is over. 

I'm amazed that posters still argue against this. Or that they still give Breslow a passing grade because of who he did acquire. 

So what if you ace your term paper; you can't skip the final exam.

Last place for a team supposed to contend for at least the postseason can only be a big fat F.

And while I wanted multiple bats added to the offense last winter -- and still do exponentially, gaaad -- I think some posters underestimate the positive effect one more good bat in the middle of the order could have on a few of the underperformers this season...