Red Sox Pre-Offseason Mega Thread

[Hitch]

17 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

It doesn't matter if other contending teams have the same or worse 5-8 SP'ers?

Other contending teams have superior hitting lineups. 

If you're fine with this years Bello at 5 and that depth, I don't know what to say to you.

[mvp 78]

47 minutes ago, notin said:

Do you think Bello is the only pitcher ever demoted to the minorsThe Brewers didn’t demote anyone??  I mean other than Drohan and Gasser and Sproat and Logan Henderson and Priester and DL Hall and…

It's clear that people really have no idea what other rosters look like. Oh, the Brewers and Rays couldn't win if they had Bello at 5. They might not like his salary, but they'd take Bello the pitcher at 5. 

[Old Red]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

It's clear that people really have no idea what other rosters look like. Oh, the Brewers and Rays couldn't win if they had Bello at 5. They might not like his salary, but they'd take Bello the pitcher at 5. 

I don’t think most fans care what other rosters look like.

[mvp 78]

42 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I don’t think most fans care what other rosters look like.

The argument was made that Bello wouldn't be good enough on a playoff roster as a 5th man. It's clear if you look "at other rosters" that he would be. 

[drewski6]

Playoff teams dont use a 5 man rotation.  And teams are starting to carry less and less playoff pitchers as well, which is something ive been screaming for.

For the playoffs, you need 3 good starters, 4 good relievers, and 11 good hitters.  FIght me.

[drewski6]

Pitching depth is for the regular season.

[drewski6]

But one way for us to go farther may be to try to win the division or at least be WC1.  So not to sneeze at the need for more pitching depth.

I think we could use more pitching depth.  BUt I think if we make that a priority, we will finish WC2 or WC3 and lose in the first round again.  And when you lose in the first round , your 5th (and 4th) starter are irrelevant to that series.

[drewski6]

Trade for a great hitter, add a second good hitter, bring back Gray, maybe bring in another starter, preferably one with options, get a better lefty reliever, and maybe a better righty one.  And if this sounds like too much - ask yourself if settling for less is why we havent won a playoff series (or finished above 3rd in teh division) for 5 years running.

Demand more.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Sato has had one game at 2b. It's a ridiculous idea to sign him to play 2b. 

OKay, he plays DH and Mead 2B, or Durbin to 2B

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

Other contending teams have superior hitting lineups. 

If you're fine with this years Bello at 5 and that depth, I don't know what to say to you.

I agree on batting. We have a nice 1-4 SP'er group and a decent 5-8 group.

I've suggested we add DLC, Sato or Suzuki or one of them plus another really good bat.

We have Mead, AR and Anthony as possible major "adds" to 2027, too.

[moonslav59]

16 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Pitching depth is for the regular season.

Except when you need them to start in the playoff due to injuries or pitch from the pen.

[moonslav59]

14 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Demand more.

We are.

[mvp 78]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

Except when you need them to start in the playoff due to injuries or pitch from the pen.

If you are using your 6th starter in a playoff game, you may not be reaching the WS anyway. 

All the Sox WS winners had solid rotation health or supplemented at the deadline (Peavy, Eovaldi) and weren't relying on 6th-7th starters in the playoffs. 

[notin]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Unless we improve our hitting, it wont even matter who our #3 pitcher is.  Abreu no higher than five FTW.

What if the Sox focus on OBP, situational hitting, aggressive baserunning, and small ball to score runs?  Like Milwaukee and Tampa do?

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Demand more.

Almost everyone on here is. All I've been saying is that offense is missing two bats at the top of the lineup. Moon is asking for more bats. I think most of us are saying the same things TBH. 

[NHNative]

Just now, notin said:

What if the Sox focus on OBP, situational hitting, aggressive baserunning, and small ball to score runs?  Like Milwaukee and Tampa do?

Like we did mixing it up in the streak.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

What if the Sox focus on OBP, situational hitting, aggressive baserunning, and small ball to score runs?  Like Milwaukee and Tampa do?

The Sox don't teach situational hitting in the minors. How are they going to transition to that in one offseason? 

[notin]

19 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Trade for a great hitter, add a second good hitter, bring back Gray, maybe bring in another starter, preferably one with options, get a better lefty reliever, and maybe a better righty one.  And if this sounds like too much - ask yourself if settling for less is why we havent won a playoff series (or finished above 3rd in teh division) for 5 years running.

Demand more.

From who?

Not so sure either Breslow or Henry care about the content of this little one-off forum.  
 

If you want to actually be heard, contact Breslow directly at cbreslow@redsox.com, which may or may not be his email address…

[NHNative]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

From who?

Not so sure either Breslow or Henry care about the content of this little one-off forum.  
 

If you want to actually be heard, contact Breslow directly at cbreslow@redsox.com, which may or may not be his email address…

Little one off? I thought this was 'THE' Red Sox forum.

Dang.

[notin]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The Sox don't teach situational hitting in the minors. How are they going to transition to that in one offseason? 

By hiring a coach?  
 

Most of the Sox major league players spent their minor league development years with other organizations that (probably ?) do teach situational hitting.  Take advantage.  At a minimum take advantage of the fact that they weren’t ruined by our sadistic player development personnel…

[notin]

Just now, NHNative said:

Little one off? I thought this was 'THE' Red Sox forum.

Dang.

Were ranked 19th among Sox forums around  the Internet, with a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Small, but worth the expense…

[NHNative]

Anyway--how about an elite pitcher and a great one---same for bats.

Who has the Brezkies number?

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, notin said:

By hiring a coach?  
 

Most of the Sox major league players spent their minor league development years with other organizations that (probably ?) do teach situational hitting.  Take advantage.  At a minimum take advantage of the fact that they weren’t ruined by our sadistic player development personnel…

It takes just a few months to become a situational hitter? Wow!

[notin]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

It takes just a few months to become a situational hitter? Wow!

Absolutely.  Even less with my one step program. 
 

Now becoming a good situational hitter, that’s a different story…

[drewski6]

12 minutes ago, notin said:

From who?

Not so sure either Breslow or Henry care about the content of this little one-off forum.  
 

If you want to actually be heard, contact Breslow directly at cbreslow@redsox.com, which may or may not be his email address…

I dont know, like a poster on a wall.

Do you walk into your bosses office and read a poster that says : "strive for excellence" and ask your boss whom it is talking to?

I mean demand more as like a mindset, Im not asking you to sit down and write a letter.  Although, Im not asking you to not do that either

[notin]

33 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Almost everyone on here is. All I've been saying is that offense is missing two bats at the top of the lineup. Moon is asking for more bats. I think most of us are saying the same things TBH. 

I want more cleats…

[NHNative]

1 minute ago, notin said:

Absolutely.  Even less with my one step program. 
 

Now becoming a good situational hitter, that’s a different story…

Change of angle for a line drive to one of the sweet spots.

Piece a cake.

[drewski6]

33 minutes ago, notin said:

What if the Sox focus on OBP, situational hitting, aggressive baserunning, and small ball to score runs?  Like Milwaukee and Tampa do?

Thats not mutually exclusive with adding strong men who can hit the ball to the fence.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

First thing the new coach needs to clarify is how to choke "UP" not just choke.

 

[Nick]

"Since Craig Breslow became the President of Baseball Operations in Boston, the designated hitter position has been treated as a way to cycle a number of outfielders through the spot to keep them all in the lineup, as well as giving guys a rest day without putting them totally on the bench. Since Breslow took over as POBO in October of 2023, the Red Sox have featured 33 players at designated hitter. Let that sink in for a second—the team that relied on one hitter in the middle of their lineup for 14 seasons has had 33 different players cycle through the spot in three years."

Bres is an idiot when it comes to DH. And I would say it to his face.

Let me see, I would take a defense first shortstop and combine the salaries of Yoshida and Story ($41M) and signed Schwarber. I bet you my combination would have helped the Sox more than what Bres did.