Red Sox Pre-Offseason Mega Thread

[notin]

12 minutes ago, Nick said:

"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.

You do realize Breslow signed neither Yoshida nor Story, right?

[Nick]

17 minutes ago, notin said:

You do realize Breslow signed neither Yoshida nor Story, right?

Yes....but my point is more of we need a good DH, not a revolving door to give bats to all the players not playing defense on a particular day.

I only bring up Story and Yoshida because they have not earned their paycheck and I'm sure you can come up with 10 names that we've wasted money on....maybe that's why Henry is cheap. We have millions of dollars not being productive.

It's always about the allocation of money. We have not chosen wisely.

[notin]

5 hours ago, Old Red said:

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

And yet they make statements comparing Boston’s roster and the Sox stats to them all the time…

[notin]

1 minute ago, Nick said:

Yes....but my point is more of we need a good DH, not a revolving door to give bats to all the players not playing defense on a particular day.

Absolutely true.

But I am not sure blaming Breslow for giving money to Yoshida and Story instead of waiting out Schwarber is going to give you any cred…

[NHNative]

3 minutes ago, Nick said:

Yes....but my point is more of we need a good DH, not a revolving door to give bats to all the players not playing defense on a particular day.

I only bring up Story and Yoshida because they have not earned their paycheck and I'm sure you can come up with 10 names that we've wasted money on....maybe that's why Henry is cheap. We have millions of dollars not being productive.

Good points and possible real insight into a tight purse.

[notin]

41 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

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?

 

f*** yeah.

And then I look at what he does and ask exactly what his definition of excellence is.

No way I’m alone in this…

[notin]

4 minutes ago, Nick said:

Yes....but my point is more of we need a good DH, not a revolving door to give bats to all the players not playing defense on a particular day.

I only bring up Story and Yoshida because they have not earned their paycheck and I'm sure you can come up with 10 names that we've wasted money on....maybe that's why Henry is cheap. We have millions of dollars not being productive.

It's always about the allocation of money. We have not chosen wisely.

Slight pet peeve.  Calling Henry “cheap” and saying he wastes money are mutually exclusive.  If he was truly cheap, then he would not have wasted money on Yoshida and Story.  And Bregman and Suarez and m, etc.

[NHNative]

We  are smart.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Nick said:

"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.

Until they get rid of the 18M already paid to play DH, they are probably not going to get another FA DH. They should though! 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, notin said:

And yet they make statements comparing Boston’s roster and the Sox stars to them all the time…

We're Number Last! Tied with the Astros and Cubs as the only playoff teams eliminated before October!

[moonslav59]

2 hours 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?

Like what Bloom tried?

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Like what Bloom tried?

With the Cardinals? 

[moonslav59]

22 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

With the Cardinals? 

I didn't say he was successful.

[jdc69]

On 10/19/2026 at 7:28 AM, mvp 78 said:

If Tracy leaves Gray in for two more innings, the Sox still lose that game. The bullpen totally imploded against NYY. 

Ive been saying this all along but its not provable but it seems to me that the bullpen always implodes when they take the starter out too early. To me that says the relief pitcher feels extra pressure because he feels he isn't really needed. If Gray was struggling, then the reliever would feel more needed. I hate analytics.

[NHNative]

11 minutes ago, jdc69 said:

Ive been saying this all along but its not provable but it seems to me that the bullpen always implodes when they take the starter out too early. To me that says the relief pitcher feels extra pressure because he feels he isn't really needed. If Gray was struggling, then the reliever would feel more needed. I hate analytics.

Yup---the human element is baseball. Or should be.

[notin]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Until they get rid of the 18M already paid to play DH, they are probably not going to get another FA DH. They should though! 

They might have already in Mead…

[notin]

2 hours ago, jdc69 said:

Ive been saying this all along but its not provable but it seems to me that the bullpen always implodes when they take the starter out too early. To me that says the relief pitcher feels extra pressure because he feels he isn't really needed. If Gray was struggling, then the reliever would feel more needed. I hate analytics.

Explain?  Seems to me not being needed puts less pressure on the reliever.

Most teams in MLB use analytics and game plans and have for years.  If you’d watch just about any other post-season series, you’d notice teams are doing that exact same maneuver, if not earlier.

[notin]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Like what Bloom tried?

When?  
 

Bloom basically built the farm in Boston - and did a pretty good job - and the MLB level teams he built were always incomplete and he was too wishy-washy to fortify them at the deadline…

[jdc69]

21 minutes ago, notin said:

Explain?  Seems to me not being needed puts less pressure on the reliever.

Most teams in MLB use analytics and game plans and have for years.  If you’d watch just about any other post-season series, you’d notice teams are doing that exact same maneuver, if not earlier.

Well its a combination of replacing a pitcher early who was doing well but maybe just got a hit, or maybe two, then yank. So Im not talking about relievers who have clean bases, nor am I talking about starting pitchers who loaded the bases. Its more like 1 to 1 score in the 5th and they yank the pitcher because hes pitched 95 pitches. Bam, lose the game. That used to be a strategy, have long at bats so a team can get to the bullpen but we say, "dont worry about it, we'll go to the bullpen early."

I just had a long discussion with AI,  and they confirmed it, we have a good bullpen but when we replace a pitcher doing well, we fall off.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

24 minutes ago, notin said:

Explain?  Seems to me not being needed puts less pressure on the reliever.

Unless he's still a teenager. On antisocial media.

[moonslav59]

20 minutes ago, notin said:

When?  
 

Bloom basically built the farm in Boston - and did a pretty good job - and the MLB level teams he built were always incomplete and he was too wishy-washy to fortify them at the deadline…

He wasn't building a juggernaut power team.

[notin]

20 minutes ago, jdc69 said:

Well its a combination of replacing a pitcher early who was doing well but maybe just got a hit, or maybe two, then yank. So Im not talking about relievers who have clean bases, nor am I talking about starting pitchers who loaded the bases. Its more like 1 to 1 score in the 5th and they yank the pitcher because hes pitched 95 pitches. Bam, lose the game. That used to be a strategy, have long at bats so a team can get to the bullpen but we say, "dont worry about it, we'll go to the bullpen early."

I just had a long discussion with AI,  and they confirmed it, we have a good bullpen but when we replace a pitcher doing well, we fall off.

Was it ChatGPT, aka The Cheeriest Doomsday Device ever programmed?  It’s like the reverse of Marvin, the Paranoid Android from Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?

 

But more important - did you use AI to confirm your theory about the need for a greater human element in baseball?  Thats some serious world class irony right there.  I mean like, if irony became an Olympic event, your picture would be on a Wheaties box!!

[jdc69]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Was it ChatGPT, aka The Cheeriest Doomsday Device ever programmed?  It’s like the reverse of Marvin, the Paranoid Android from Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?

 

But more important - did you use AI to confirm your theory about the need for a greater human element in baseball?  Thats some serious world class irony right there.  I mean like, if irony became an Olympic event, your picture would be on a Wheaties box!!

Speaking of paranoid android.

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, jdc69 said:

Ive been saying this all along but its not provable but it seems to me that the bullpen always implodes when they take the starter out too early. To me that says the relief pitcher feels extra pressure because he feels he isn't really needed. If Gray was struggling, then the reliever would feel more needed. I hate analytics.

Which bullpen? The Red Sox? The Brewers? The Dodgers? All across the playoffs, many elite starters were pulled early in these playoffs and the bullpen did just fine. It's just that the '26 Red Sox bullpen with an injured Guerrero and a beleaguered Miller could not. If it was the July/August bullpen, the Sox may have had a better chance with that strategy. 

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, notin said:

They might have already in Mead…

Maybe, but I'm not just going to plug him in and feel comfortable enough with the lineup to not make further moves. 

[mvp 78]

12 hours ago, jdc69 said:

I just had a long discussion with AI,  and they confirmed it, we have a good bullpen but when we replace a pitcher doing well, we fall off.

Well that clearly settles that then! 😎

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Which bullpen? The Red Sox? The Brewers? The Dodgers? All across the playoffs, many elite starters were pulled early in these playoffs and the bullpen did just fine. It's just that the '26 Red Sox bullpen with an injured Guerrero and a beleaguered Miller could not. If it was the July/August bullpen, the Sox may have had a better chance with that strategy. 

True, but July/Aug Gray would not have been pulled like he was, or when he was. Just, because other teams do it doesn’t mean it’s right for your team. Time, and feel should be real.

[Old Red]

9 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe, but I'm not just going to plug him in and feel comfortable enough with the lineup to not make further moves. 

I know some have already penciled Meade in as the real deal, but I’d want to see more myself, before I do that.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

True, but July/Aug Gray would not have been pulled like he was, or when he was. Just, because other teams do it doesn’t mean it’s right for your team. Time, and feel should be real.

Then you should talk to the other teams that were pulling their starters in the 5th innings too. 🤷‍♂️

[mvp 78]

Just now, Old Red said:

I know some have already penciled Meade in as the real deal, but I’d want to see more myself, before I do that.

I'm certainly not comfortable with him at 2b. If he's the everyday DH, fine. Need to move on from Masa though. Roman would need a permanent location in the OF, so you'd have a second trade to make too.