Is this 2026 Red Sox team…CONTENDERS or PRETENDERS?

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, notin said:

A month ago half the forum called this the worst Sox team they’d ever seen…

Indeed, but what I laughed at the most was the "6 teams between us and the WC slot," talk with 90 games still to play.

We passed em in 30 games.

Not many stayed optimistic, and the one who kept the door open were often berated, but such is sports.

[FredLynn]

34 minutes ago, notin said:

A month ago half the forum called this the worst Sox team they’d ever seen…

That would be because they were playing like the worst Sox team ever 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

That would be because they were playing like the worst Sox team ever 

And let this be a lesson to those who look only at the record when determining how good a team really is.

Nobody saw this coming, but some did feel a slower comeback was possible.

[FredLynn]

14 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

And let this be a lesson to those who look only at the record when determining how good a team really is.

Nobody saw this coming, but some did feel a slower comeback was possible.

You should have stopped at “nobody saw this coming”….you know-while you were ahead

[Old Red]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

And let this be a lesson to those who look only at the record when determining how good a team really is.

Nobody saw this coming, but some did feel a slower comeback was possible.

 

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Indeed, but what I laughed at the most was the "6 teams between us and the WC slot," talk with 90 games still to play.

We passed em in 30 games.

Not many stayed optimistic, and the one who kept the door open were often berated, but such is sports.

There’s that BERATED word again the new favorite word. MOOn even the players thought they were a bad team, and Sonny Gray said as much himself. You’re not actually berating the players too are you in your think I gotcha back patting ? 🤔

 

[notin]

8 hours ago, FredLynn said:

That would be because they were playing like the worst Sox team ever 

Some of us didn’t think so.  Of course we also didn’t think this team had a double digit winning streak on the horizon…

[UtahSox]

I think the scouting report on Seigler is out now…. I love him, want him to stay on 26. But LF, SS, 2B, C…… we need a bat. Go figure something out Breslow. 

[mvp 78]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Indeed, but what I laughed at the most was the "6 teams between us and the WC slot," talk with 90 games still to play.

We passed em in 30 games.

Not many stayed optimistic, and the one who kept the door open were often berated, but such is sports.

Because talking about the WC spot with 90 games left to go is inherently silly especially when there are now 3 WC spots. 

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, FredLynn said:

That would be because they were playing like the worst Sox team ever 

They were on pace to be the worst team since the 30's and had the worst offense in the league. It was fair to be skeptical. 

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, notin said:

Some of us didn’t think so.  Of course we also didn’t think this team had a double digit winning streak on the horizon…

They were the worst offense in MLB. If you didn't think so, you don't believe in statistics. 

[Old Red]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They were on pace to be the worst team since the 30's and had the worst offense in the league. It was fair to be skeptical. 

Fair? It was more than justified. Just hoping the team would get back to 500 was a low bar.

[notin]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They were the worst offense in MLB. If you didn't think so, you don't believe in statistics. 

I said I didn’t think they are there worst Sox team ever, which is not the same as worst offense in MLB…

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Fair? It was more than justified. Just hoping the team would get back to 500 was a low bar.

They needed a 2025 Guardians run just to get over .500 to be buyers at the deadline and they got it. 

[notin]

18 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

I think the scouting report on Seigler is out now…. I love him, want him to stay on 26. But LF, SS, 2B, C…… we need a bat. Go figure something out Breslow. 

As much as his initial hot streak was fun, yes, Seigler is not thr solution at 2b.  Hopefully Story can be upon his return, or the Sox can acquire Mead or Steer or someone…

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

I said I didn’t think they are there worst Sox team ever, which is not the same as worst offense in MLB…

Their W/L was on pace with the 1930's. Their offense was at the bottom of the league. 

It was worse than 1992. I guess the argument is 1965 then? To me, the demarcation in the Red Sox is '67. Everything before then is ancient history. The modern Sox started with the impossible dream. 

[mvp 78]

Just now, notin said:

As much as his initial hot streak was fun, yes, Seigler is not thr solution at 2b.  Hopefully Story can be upon his return, or the Sox can acquire Mead or Steer or someone…

He's great for a bench player. If you have a high caliber SS, maybe you can keep running him out at 2B. Sox aren't in that position though. Right now, they are kind of holding their noses in a few areas and just getting by. Durbin has 9 HR in his last 33 G. I don't see him keeping up that pace. 

Sox are 24th or lower in wRC+ at DH, C, 2B, SS, LF. 

[notin]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Their W/L was on pace with the 1930's. Their offense was at the bottom of the league. 

It was worse than 1992. I guess the argument is 1965 then? To me, the demarcation in the Red Sox is '67. Everything before then is ancient history. The modern Sox started with the impossible dream. 

So you weren’t even considering the 1907 Red Sox (59-90), a team so bad their manager committed suicide and in his note left a message to the team saying “you drive me to it, boys”…

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

So you weren’t even considering the 1907 Red Sox (59-90), a team so bad their manager committed suicide and in his note left a message to the team saying “you drive me to it, boys”…

[notin]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

He's great for a bench player. If you have a high caliber SS, maybe you can keep running him out at 2B. Sox aren't in that position though. Right now, they are kind of holding their noses in a few areas and just getting by. Durbin has 9 HR in his last 33 G. I don't see him keeping up that pace. 

Sox are 24th or lower in wRC+ at DH, C, 2B, SS, LF. 

I see LF and maybe 2b.

I liked Taylor Ward but Baltimore might be back as a buyer.

Steer is nice because he plays both positions.  And by “plays” I mean he knows where they are and can limit the number of times he embarrasses himself out there.

Mead is no defensive whiz either but he as come a long way ss a hitter…

[notin]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The note is an urban legend.  Chick Stahl’s suicide while managing the Red Sox is not…

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

I see LF and maybe 2b.

I liked Taylor Ward but Baltimore might be back as a buyer.

Steer is nice because he plays both positions.  And by “plays” I mean he knows where they are and can limit the number of times he embarrasses himself out there.

Mead is no defensive whiz either but he as come a long way ss a hitter…

Asking for 2 bats will get us 1. As long as he plays better than Danny Jansen, I'm fine. 

[notin]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Asking for 2 bats will get us 1. As long as he plays better than Danny Jansen, I'm fine. 

Who are the better available hitters?  

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

They were on pace to be the worst team since the 30's and had the worst offense in the league. It was fair to be skeptical. 

Exactly. In other words, they sucked. While this run has obviously been fun and has made the team worth watching now I still don’t think they have the talent to compete for a ring this year. Add another good RHH and maybe they do. They certainly have the pitching and defense to get the job done. Breslow still hasn’t filled out the team-he hasn’t done his job. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Because talking about the WC spot with 90 games left to go is inherently silly especially when there are now 3 WC spots. 

Far from silly. 

GB the WC slot is the gauge for distance from being significant.

This team may not be "this good," but we were not "that bad" a month ago, either.

Playing badly and being bad are not the same.

[JoeBrady]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

And let this be a lesson to those who look only at the record when determining how good a team really is.

That's one of the things that separate baseball from the other sports.  My left tackle either gets hurt or stays healthy, but doesn't otherwise get much better of much worse.  Baseball has a huge amount of variance.  That, in turn, requires is to look deeper into why teams are winning and losing.  But only if fans want to.

[JoeBrady]

58 minutes ago, notin said:

I see LF and maybe 2b.

It won't be popular, but I'd go with Duran/JJ in LF.

Our worst sOPS+ in the lineup is the lead-off slot.  Our worst sOPS+ by position is 2B.  IMHO, Arraez would be a perfect pickup.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

They were on pace to be the worst team since the 30's and had the worst offense in the league. It was fair to be skeptical. 

It was skeptical to even be fair with them.

Can Durbin win Comeback Player of the Year for rising from the grave in the same year? And don't compare him to Bregman any more, since they're now the same guy:

Bregman 1.2 dWAR, 10 HR, .699 OPS

C. Durbin 1.2 dWAR, 10 HR, .699 OPS

Red Sox fans of this year care more about the one key difference -- and it's not salaries... because the Durbin acquisition also brought in Seigler and Monasterio!

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

That's one of the things that separate baseball from the other sports.  My left tackle either gets hurt or stays healthy, but doesn't otherwise get much better of much worse.  Baseball has a huge amount of variance.  That, in turn, requires is to look deeper into why teams are winning and losing.  But only if fans want to.

Good point.

We are currently on our 5th and 6th string 2Bmen and SSs!

Our LF/DH who was expected to be a top 3-4 weapon has been out all year, and Duran might as well have been.

The "Catcher of our future" slumped so badly we reverted to our 2025 five hundred-hitting Catcher for about half the starts.

The rotation has been 3/5 to 4/5 non top 5 SP'ers pretty much all year. We can argue about who was #5 and #11 and everyone in between, but IMO, we have missed these guys pretty much all year AND saw our #5 (Bello) get demoted to AAA and now the pen.

#1 Crochet

#4 Houck

#5 Bello (demoted)

#6 Crawford

#7 Sandoval

#8 Oviedo

(# Suarez and #9 Early have been on the IL recently)

Tolle was maybe our #10 and Rivera was not our #11 to start the season, but he is now.

Our pen has stayed relatively healthy, but Slaten (Maybe the #3) has missed a lot of time.

[mvp 78]

25 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Far from silly. 

GB the WC slot is the gauge for distance from being significant.

This team may not be "this good," but we were not "that bad" a month ago, either.

Playing badly and being bad are not the same.

They were below .500. That's enough of a gauge to tell if the team was good or not. 

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

It won't be popular, but I'd go with Duran/JJ in LF.

Our worst sOPS+ in the lineup is the lead-off slot.  Our worst sOPS+ by position is 2B.  IMHO, Arraez would be a perfect pickup.

My worries about Siegler being anointed the 2Bman seem to have a foundation.

I still think SS is our weakest slot, but I love great D at SS and think it carries a lot of value, so a 2B upgrade looks fine by me. BLowe (LHB) or Arraez (LHB) seem like big upgrades for 2026 only. Arraez has the better L-R splits, but Lowe has way more power.

Duran/JJ in LF

Yoshida/Romy at DH are okay but could be mildly upgraded at a lesser cost than SS and 2B, IMO.

If we could upgrade two slot- WOW!

We also need a pitcher to take the innings from out limited innings pitchers (Bennett, Tolle, Early and maybe even Suarez.) Trading Early takes away one "limited" pitcher, but also the IP expected from him, assuming he returns from the IL.

I fully understand the all-in cries, but I'm keeping Arias & Eyanson.