2026 MLB post-Red Sox postseason thread

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I dont think looking for a walk is a good idea unless you are a defense first player hitting ninth.  Its not saying I think solo HRs are better than baserunners. Its because I think being passive is a bad idea, and you need to jump the pitcher when you get something where you are looking.

You take your walks. You dont hunt em. You dont celebrate em.

You take your walks. You dont hunt em. You dont celebrate em.

That sounds a bit more nuanced.  But it is much more complex than that.  The very first objective is to know the strike zone and recognize the pitches.  The second is, when you are ahead on the count, NEVEN swing at a pitch you can't hit.

Other stuff like the score, your level of power, etc., all count.  But what I'd put 3rd is to simply swing as hard as you can at pitches in the zone.  If you swing at nothing but strikes (theoretically) it's fairly difficult to strike out.  Guys like Soto, Judge, Schwarber, etc.., prove this all the time.  They'll swing from the heels all the time, but seldom swing at bad pitches.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Alonso has more RBI in all of baseball the last 5 years, and he and Schwarber are in the top 5 in HR. Con Man is nowhere to be found, you can cite AB all you want, but Con Man is not in the same tier as those two, and never has been. I’m not dissing on Con Man, but he’s just not as good, or productive no matter what OPS says.

If you’re going to compare RBIs for players on two different teams that came up with different numbers of men on base, at least do it right.

Alonso came up with 432 runners on base and drove in 70 of them (16.2%)

Contreras came up with 327 runners on base  and drove in 54 of them (16.5%)

That’s pretty equal.  And pretty good by both of them.

Alonso’s true strength is his health.  He has never been on the IL in his entire career, and therefore gets more opportunities to hit home runs and drive in runs than a lot of other sluggers not named Matt Olson, who is equally freakishly healthy..

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

The only real magic formula is to get good players and stay healthy. 

I agree on this.  I think OBP has proven itself over and over, to the degree it is accepted as gospel.  But I'd rather a good HR over a mediocre OBP guy.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, NHNative said:

The way I see it is you need bat control to get on base and the slugger to drive em home. Having both is the better yielder. We have shown we can do this. We just need at least one more elite bat, regardless of cost--if we want a WS. I also agree with those who have confidence in our core and pitching.

No objection there.  Losing Anthony was part of the problem, but watching our #1/2 not getting on base was painful to watch.  Even guys like Judge become statues with no one on base.  They either get an IBB, or they have to watch the pitcher throw 4-5-6 curveballs on the outside of the plate.

[Old Red]

15 years ago today JH made his one, and only appearance on the F&M show to as he said set the record straight on the Red Sox. One thing he did say was LL ran the Red Sox. Happy ANNIVERSARY to all.

[notin]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

If the Sox switched to the AL Central, maybe they are in the ALCS now too. 

Or if they just won 4 fewer games and got into the “soft bracket”…

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

If they were in the NL they wouldn’t even have made the postseason🤫

How is this different than when I mentioned playing in the toughest division.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notin said:

If you’re going to compare RBIs for players on two different teams that came up with different numbers of men on base, at least do it right.

Alonso came up with 432 runners on base and drove in 70 of them (16.2%)

Contreras came up with 327 runners on base  and drove in 54 of them (16.5%)

That’s pretty equal.  And pretty good by both of them.

Alonso’s true strength is his health.  He has never been on the IL in his entire career, and therefore gets more opportunities to hit home runs and drive in runs than a lot of other sluggers not named Matt Olson, who is equally freakishly healthy..

Also, RISP:

Alonso 174 times (23 BBs) and 143 ABs

.259 and 60 RBI

Contreras 146 PAs (22 BBs) and 115 ABs

.304 and 52 RBIs

RBIs are largely a result of opportunities. Willson did very well when given the chance. Our 1-2 batters had OBPs below .307. He was not given enough chances. It's not his fault.

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, notin said:

If you’re going to compare RBIs for players on two different teams that came up with different numbers of men on base, at least do it right.

Alonso came up with 432 runners on base and drove in 70 of them (16.2%)

Contreras came up with 327 runners on base  and drove in 54 of them (16.5%)

That’s pretty equal.  And pretty good by both of them.

Alonso’s true strength is his health.  He has never been on the IL in his entire career, and therefore gets more opportunities to hit home runs and drive in runs than a lot of other sluggers not named Matt Olson, who is equally freakishly healthy..

Good stats, but that really doesn’t change anything for me. I guess Alonso has just been luckier in his career to come up with more runners on base, and get more AB to have the discrepancy in the difference in HR, and RBI. Maybe the Con Man will get lucky like that someday , but he is getting older.

[moonslav59]

46 minutes ago, Old Red said:

15 years ago today JH made his one, and only appearance on the F&M show to as he said set the record straight on the Red Sox. One thing he did say was LL ran the Red Sox. Happy ANNIVERSARY to all.

Thanks to JH for hiring him.

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

How is this different than when I mentioned playing in the toughest division.

I was just repeating what I heard the other day just going by the record.

[moonslav59]

Just now, Old Red said:

I was just repeating what I heard the other day just going by the record.

Oh, that changes everything.

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Also, RISP:

Alonso 174 times (23 BBs) and 143 ABs

.259 and 60 RBI

Contreras 146 PAs (22 BBs) and 115 ABs

.304 and 52 RBIs

RBIs are largely a result of opportunities. Willson did very well when given the chance. Our 1-2 batters had OBPs below .307. He was not given enough chances. It's not his fault.

I fully understand what RBI opportunities mean, and like I said earlier I guess Alonso has just been luckier to drive in more RBI, and hit more homers throughout his career than the Con Has had in his.

[Old Red]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Oh, that changes everything.

I love being in a tough Div myself. Makes it more interesting. Add the Dodgers, and Braves to the Red Sox division, and it would be even better.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I fully understand what RBI opportunities mean, and like I said earlier I guess Alonso has just been luckier to drive in more RBI, and hit more homers throughout his career than the Con Has had in his.

Alonso has also had the opportunity to drive in himself over 100 times more than Contreras (reg. season HRs: Polar Bear 307, Willy the Beast 199).

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I love being in a tough Div myself. Makes it more interesting. Add the Dodgers, and Braves to the Red Sox division, and it would be even better.

I know your position. You've stated it dozens of times.

It just seems funny you bring up that point after being critical of me bringing up the playing in the toughest division point. It's kinda the same thing in reverse.

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

I know your position. You've stated it dozens of times.

It just seems funny you bring up that point after being critical of me bringing up the playing in the toughest division point. It's kinda the same thing in reverse.

I agree, but it was Nothing more than just repeating what someone said the other day just going by the record they ended with . Yes my position hasn’t changed that the Red Sox has been in the same division since divisions came into play. When they have been good enough they have gotten into the postseason, and advanced, and when they wasn’t good enough they didn’t. To me that’s the way it should be.

[notin]

29 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Good stats, but that really doesn’t change anything for me. I guess Alonso has just been luckier in his career to come up with more runners on base, and get more AB to have the discrepancy in the difference in HR, and RBI. Maybe the Con Man will get lucky like that someday , but he is getting older.

Luckier in some respects, but he is also the closest MLB currently has to Cal Ripken (along with Olson).

RBIs are a function of home runs plus opportunities.  Most top RBI producers drive in themselves more than anyone else and then drive in 13-16% of the base runners on when they come up…

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I agree, but it was Nothing more than just repeating what someone said the other day just going by the record they ended with . Yes my position hasn’t changed that the Red Sox has been in the same division since divisions came into play. When they have been good enough they have gotten into the postseason, and advanced, and when they wasn’t good enough they didn’t. To me that’s the way it should be.

 

18 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I agree, but it was Nothing more than just repeating what someone said the other day just going by the record they ended with . Yes my position hasn’t changed that the Red Sox has been in the same division since divisions came into play. When they have been good enough they have gotten into the postseason, and advanced, and when they wasn’t good enough they didn’t. To me that’s the way it should be.

I enjoy watching us play better teams more, too, but I also feel like a tougher schedule should be a factor in evaluating W-L records, much like college sports rankings use.

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, notin said:

Luckier in some respects, but he is also the closest MLB currently has to Cal Ripken (along with Olson).

RBIs are a function of home runs plus opportunities.  Most top RBI producers drive in themselves more than anyone else and then drive in 13-16% of the base runners on when they come up…

Indeed, and 16% by Alonso and Contreras is very good. More homers by Alonso helped but more opportunities was a major factor, too.

[notin]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Indeed, and 16% by Alonso and Contreras is very good. More homers by Alonso helped but more opportunities was a major factor, too.

They were both equal at driving in teammates, with Contreras driving in a whopping 3 more for every 1,000 baserunners.  Alonso is better at driving in himself and again, he never gets hurt.  I am 99% sure he has never been on the IL, which is pretty crazy for a guy with a care as long his has been…

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, notin said:

They were both equal at driving in teammates, with Contreras driving in a whopping 3 more for every 1,000 baserunners.  Alonso is better at driving in himself and again, he never gets hurt.  I am 99% sure he has never been on the IL, which is pretty crazy for a guy with a care as long his has been…

His great health was one reason I wanted him as much as Schwarber.

Getting Contreras was a great get- much cheaper and with no longterm decline in the forcaste.

Maybe had we traded for AR and a 2Bman (BLowe?) last winter we'd not be here bitching about the offense. Deadline deals are always more costly and usually for rentals.

[Old Red]

17 minutes ago, notin said:

They were both equal at driving in teammates, with Contreras driving in a whopping 3 more for every 1,000 baserunners.  Alonso is better at driving in himself and again, he never gets hurt.  I am 99% sure he has never been on the IL, which is pretty crazy for a guy with a care as long his has been…

I know you like breaking things down like this to the tiniest detail, and that’s fine, but when fans talk about Home runs, and RBI leaders, or any other category you don’t see it broken down or talked about just who comes out on top. Hank had 3000 more AB when he  tied the Babe at 714. Didn’t hear much about that if anything.

[notin]

9 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I know you like breaking things down like this to the tiniest detail, and that’s fine, but when fans talk about Home runs, and RBI leaders, or any other category you don’t see it broken down or talked about just who comes out on top. Hank had 3000 more AB when he  tied the Babe at 714. Didn’t hear much about that if anything.

It is worth noting, of course Ruth had other advantages over Aaron as well.

But these breakdowns happen.  I didn’t invent any of them (to my knowledge).

I do think in baseball it’s probably the worst sport to take some stats a player got on one team and assume they translate to other teams (arguments accepted for football, especially running backs).   I mean, we haven’t even gotten the differences in parks and fields and into Alonso’s super-hard line drive home runs in Camden that, being lower than 37 feet off the ground at the 310 foot marker, might just be wall ball singles at Fenway.  Now Alonso does hit with power to all fields, and the RF wall at Fenway doesn’t stop many home runs.  So there is debate.

I don’t considered missing out on Alonso to be as big as not getting Isaac Paredes, who was just built for Fenway.  And unlike other Fenway-potential monsters (notably Junior Caminero and Miguel Vargas), Paredes was reportedly somewhat available last off-season.

Weirdly, Marcus Semien seems like a good Fenway fit, but it is so understandable to pass on him at that age and contract…

[Old Red]

53 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

 

I enjoy watching us play better teams more, too, but I also feel like a tougher schedule should be a factor in evaluating W-L records, much like college sports rankings use.

Going to some kind of rankings system like college would be the worst thing they could do IMO. The fairest way to do it would be to just have 1 league, and everyone play the same schedule, and take the top 8 teams, or however you want to do it. Of course that would take away games like how many times the Red Sox-Yankees played but outside of something like that you’re always going to have discrepancies.

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

It is worth noting, of course Ruth had other advantages over Aaron as well.

But these breakdowns happen.  I didn’t invent any of them (to my knowledge).

I do think in baseball it’s probably the worst sport to take some stats a player got on one team and assume they translate to other teams (arguments accepted for football, especially running backs).   I mean, we haven’t even gotten the differences in parks and fields and into Alonso’s super-hard line drive home runs in Camden that, being lower than 37 feet off the ground at the 310 foot marker, might just be wall ball singles at Fenway.  Now Alonso does hit with power to all fields, and the RF wall at Fenway doesn’t stop many home runs.  So there is debate.

I don’t considered missing out on Alonso to be as big as not getting Isaac Paredes, who was just built for Fenway.  And unlike other Fenway-potential monsters (notably Junior Caminero and Miguel Vargas), Paredes was reportedly somewhat available last off-season.

Weirdly, Marcus Semien seems like a good Fenway fit, but it is so understandable to pass on him at that age and contract…

Like I said it’s fine for you, but I don’t think too many fans break it down like you do, and nor do they care. 

[notin]

Just now, Old Red said:

Going to some kind of rankings system like college would be the worst thing they could do IMO. The fairest way to do it would be to just have 1 league, and everyone play the same schedule, and take the top 8 teams, or however you want to do it. Of course that would take away games like how many times the Red Sox-Yankees played but outside of something like that you’re always going to have discrepancies.

Yeah- computer-based seeding.

Simplest way to- just stop giving preference to teams for winning bad divisions.  Was anyone less impressed with the Yankees winning 93 games while playing a division schedule that included the two other best AL teams than they were with Houston, who basically won the AL West by default?

Seed by record and be done with it.  Other sports should consider this as well…

[notin]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Like I said it’s fine for you, but I don’t think too many fans break it down like you do, and nor do they care. 

And I don’t care if they care.  I’m not out here pushing my baseball podcast (which doesn’t exist).

I will say, teams break things down far, far more than I do with my cursory research.  No team in MLB signs a player based on RBI totals on the hope they translate.  They used to go all in on EV and launch angle, but they’ve probably moved past that now and are on to scouting using DNA Sequencing Predispositions or something even freakier…

[Old Red]

15 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

His great health was one reason I wanted him as much as Schwarber.

Getting Contreras was a great get- much cheaper and with no longterm decline in the forcaste.

Maybe had we traded for AR and a 2Bman (BLowe?) last winter we'd not be here bitching about the offense. Deadline deals are always more costly and usually for rentals.

I don’t believe the Red Sox had any plans to go after AR last offseason, and Mayer was part of the so called future at either 2B, or 3B depending who the Red Sox picked up to play the other. Con Man was cheaper than Alonso. DUBin was cheaper than Bregman, and turning to Ranger was cheaper than Bregman. It worked out to some degree, but not good enough.

[Old Red]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

Yeah- computer-based seeding.

Simplest way to- just stop giving preference to teams for winning bad divisions.  Was anyone less impressed with the Yankees winning 93 games while playing a division schedule that included the two other best AL teams than they were with Houston, who basically won the AL West by default?

Seed by record and be done with it.  Other sports should consider this as well…

Computer-based seeding? I thought it was men smoking cigars in a smoke filled room.🤫