Brock Beauchamp

It's something we do on all of our active forum sites. About ten years ago, I looked at the rise of reddit, and how they basically siphon piles and piles of free content without paying any of it back. So we've implemented twice-yearly community awards, and every moderator gets a year-end gift for all the volunteer work they do.

Hello again, Red Sox fans! Twice a year, we sit down and find the most popular posts and blogs on Talk Sox, and their creators receive prizes for their contributions to this community. The 2026 Red Sox gave us a little bit of everything, from an ugly start and a historic power outage to a midsummer surge nobody saw coming, and our community had something to say about all of it. We look at the most popular posts and most popular blogs created by our amazing community contributors. Most Popular Post Sometimes you just need someone to say what everyone is thinking. In late May, with Boston sitting at 22-29 and near the bottom of the league in nearly every power category, @Tedballgame responded to our breakdown of the team’s offensive collapse with a no-holds-barred review of the lineup: no hard contact, no clutch hitting, nobody who could bunt a runner over, and, from a man with more than 60 years of watching this team, the weakest-hitting third basemen he could remember. His verdict? “Utterly pathetic.” Plenty of you agreed, and it earned Tedballgame this really cool Pudge bobblehead! It's not even plastic, but instead it's old-school ceramic! Tedballgame, please private message me (click on my name at top of post), and let me know your address so I can ship your prize! Most Popular Post Runner-Up By mid-July, things looked very different. The Red Sox had won 16 of 18 and climbed into a Wild Card spot, and the debate in our 10,000-reply “Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox” thread turned to what happens when injured regulars return. @a700hitter made the case for the kids: when Marcelo Mayer and Trevor Story come back, Cheng and Seigler should keep their jobs, thanks to their situational hitting, defense, and knack for making things happen. Congratulations, a700hitter, you win... well, nothing. Sorry about that. Most Prolific Posters We like to tip our hat to the poster who earned the most reputation points over the season, and this time around we have a tie! Congratulations to @mvp 78 and @moonslav59, who also happen to be the top two posters in that marathon 2026 season thread. Thanks to both of you for being such an integral part of the Talk Sox community! Most Popular Blog Entry Every Talk Sox user can create their own blog that will be read by thousands of fellow Red Sox fans. Timed to Hall of Fame weekend, @Charlie Hoke's Too Late for the Baseball Hall of Fame started with a painful piece of Red Sox history: Luis Tiant appeared on 22 Hall of Fame ballots without being elected and passed away in 2024 without the honor. Charlie argued the Era Committees meet too rarely and called for annual votes and a wider electorate, including living Hall of Famers and baseball historians, so players like Dwight Evans can be recognized while they’re still here to enjoy it. Charlie, private message me with your address so we can ship you this signed Roman Anthony card! Most Popular Blog Entry Runner-Up Way back in April, @Jakob Kazlauskas was already waving the flag for a lefty in Worcester. Jake Bennett Emerging as Key Left-Handed Option for Red Sox Bullpen broke down Bennett’s five-pitch mix and his scoreless start at Triple-A, highlighting a changeup that could play in the big leagues and predicting he’d be in a Red Sox uniform by midseason. By July, fans in our forums were calling Bennett a revelation. Nice call, Jakob! This was our second-most-popular blog entry of the season! That’s all for the 2026 season, folks. Give a round of applause to everyone mentioned in this piece, and here’s to a busy offseason and a big 2027 at Fenway! View full article

Welcome to Talk Sox!

Welcome to the site! Ideally, I think you'd want Contreras at DH, or a 1B/DH platoon of some sort.

Welcome to the site!

Welcome to Talk Sox!

Well, this is it. Best-of-threes are always shocking. One game, and the team is up against the wall. Today's pitching matchup is an interesting one. Boston has been pretty good against LHP pitchers this season (8th in wRC+), but Fried has been excellent against the Sox in 30 innings pitched over the past two seasons.

This is today's game thread!

Boston will hand the ball to left-hander Payton Tolle for Tuesday's 8:00 p.m. Eastern start to the Wild Card round. New York counters with right-hander Cam Schlittler, an AL Cy Young favorite and the man who started the game that closed out the Red Sox season last year. The Yankees (93-68) took the regular-season series 7-6 over the Red Sox (87-75), and they will be without Aaron Judge, who is not expected to be available after straining his right calf. Tolle enters on six days of rest after finishing his regular season on Sept. 22 against Cleveland. He posted a 3.03 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 26 starts, with 171 strikeouts against 40 walks in 148 2/3 innings. His September was the best stretch of his year: 17 2/3 innings, three earned runs, 24 strikeouts and three walks. He has also handled New York well. In two starts against the Yankees, Tolle allowed one earned run on four hits over 13 innings, with 18 strikeouts. That included seven one-hit, scoreless innings on June 26. Without Judge, the Yankees lineup is quite a bit thinner. Ben Rice was one of the few who finished the season strong. He hit .333/.450/.605 in 100 September plate appearances, with six home runs and 17 walks against 21 strikeouts, to cap a 41-homer season. He is 1-for-3 against Tolle, and his numbers against lefties are more modest: .246/.321/.452 on the year. Cody Bellinger posted .287/.308/.494 with five home runs in 91 plate appearances but is hitless in three trips against Tolle. Heliot Ramos is expected to handle most of the right-field work with Judge out and hasn't faced Tolle. He hit .255/.323/.491 in September and has a .297/.383/.525 line against lefties across his two stops this year. Paul Goldschmidt hit .299/.393/.573 with 11 home runs in 183 plate appearances against left-handers. Payton Tolle vs. New York Yankees: Current Batters Table Payton Tolle vs. New York Yankees: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Amed Rosario R 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0 0 0 2 José Caballero R 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .200 .000 .200 0 0 0 0 0 3 Jazz Chisholm Jr. L 5 5 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 .200 .200 .800 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 4 Cody Bellinger L 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 5 Paul Goldschmidt R 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 6 Ben Rice L 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 .667 0 0 0 0 0 7 Spencer Jones L 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 8 Ali Sánchez R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 9 Anthony Volpe R 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 10 Austin Wells L 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 9/28/2026. Schlittler finished the regular season with a 1.95 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 239 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings. He was even better down the stretch: 30 September innings, four earned runs, 38 strikeouts and seven walks. Boston has had no answer for him. In four starts against the Red Sox, he went 2-1 with a 0.74 ERA, allowing 15 hits over 24 1/3 innings while striking out 27. The hitters on Boston's current roster are a combined 12-for-64 (.188) against him, with four walks and 19 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances. His one wobble against the Sox came on Aug. 28, when he walked five in 5 2/3 innings, but he still didn't allow a run. His final regular-season start on Sept. 24 lasted only three innings and 70 pitches. Cam Schlittler vs. Boston Red Sox: Current Batters Table Cam Schlittler vs. Boston Red Sox: Current Batters Table Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP 1 Wilyer Abreu L 12 9 2 1 0 0 0 1 3 .222 .300 .333 .633 0 0 0 0 0 2 Willson Contreras R 12 12 1 1 0 0 1 0 5 .083 .083 .167 .250 0 0 0 0 0 3 Jarren Duran L 12 11 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .182 .167 .182 .348 0 1 0 0 0 4 Ceddanne Rafaela R 12 11 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .364 .417 .364 .780 0 0 0 0 0 5 Caleb Durbin R 11 9 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 .222 .364 .556 .919 0 0 0 0 0 6 Adley Rutschman B 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0 0 1 7 Nick Sogard B 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 8 Trevor Story R 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 1 Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 9/28/2026. This will serve as our game thread for the game, so log in and join the conversation! View full article

TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Tyron Guerrero 0 22 0 0 0 22 Patrick Sandoval 0 0 12 0 0 12 Jovani Morán 16 0 0 0 0 16 Jedixson Paez 0 0 0 77 0 77 Jake Bennett 0 0 0 65 0 65 Greg Weissert 0 0 0 22 0 22 Garrett Whitlock 0 20 0 0 0 20 Erik Miller 22 0 8 0 0 30 Aroldis Chapman 0 12 0 0 0 12 Alec Gamboa 29 0 0 40 0 69

The Red Sox face the Cubs and Imanaga at Tropicana Field.

SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Tyron Guerrero 0 12 0 0 22 34 Raymond Burgos 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jovani Morán 0 0 0 16 0 16 Greg Weissert 0 0 0 0 0 0 Garrett Whitlock 19 0 0 0 20 39 Erik Miller 0 0 0 22 0 22 Aroldis Chapman 0 0 0 0 12 12 Alec Gamboa 0 0 0 29 0 29

Suarez takes the mound for the Red Sox against the Guardians at Fenway Park.

FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Tyron Guerrero 0 0 12 0 0 12 Raymond Burgos 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jovani Morán 0 0 0 0 16 16 Greg Weissert 27 0 0 0 0 27 Garrett Whitlock 0 19 0 0 0 19 Erik Miller 32 0 0 0 22 54 Aroldis Chapman 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alec Gamboa 0 0 0 0 29 29

Gray starts for the Red Sox against Griffin and the Guardians at Fenway Park.

THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Tyron Guerrero 0 0 0 12 0 12 Raymond Burgos 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jovani Morán 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greg Weissert 0 27 0 0 0 27 Garrett Whitlock 12 0 19 0 0 31 Erik Miller 0 32 0 0 0 32 Aroldis Chapman 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alec Gamboa 7 0 0 0 0 7

Tolle starts for the Red Sox against Messick and the Guardians at Fenway Park.

TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Wyatt Olds 14 0 12 18 0 44 Raymond Burgos 0 18 0 0 0 18 Jovani Morán 23 0 0 0 0 23 Greg Weissert 0 15 0 27 0 42 Garrett Whitlock 0 0 12 0 19 31 Erik Miller 0 22 0 32 0 54 Brayan Bello 19 0 0 0 93 112 Aroldis Chapman 0 0 0 0 0 0 Alec Gamboa 18 0 7 0 0 25

Sandoval starts for the Red Sox against Jax and the Rays at Tropicana Field.

SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Wyatt Olds 0 0 0 14 0 14 Raymond Burgos 0 0 0 0 18 18 Jovani Morán 0 0 0 23 0 23 Greg Weissert 0 11 0 0 15 26 Garrett Whitlock 11 9 0 0 0 20 Erik Miller 0 16 0 0 22 38 Brayan Bello 0 0 0 19 0 19 Aroldis Chapman 16 25 0 0 0 41 Alec Gamboa 0 0 0 18 0 18

Gray starts for the Red Sox against Alexander and the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Wyatt Olds 0 0 0 0 14 14 Raymond Burgos 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jovani Morán 23 0 0 0 23 46 Greg Weissert 18 0 11 0 0 29 Garrett Whitlock 0 11 9 0 0 20 Erik Miller 12 0 16 0 0 28 Brayan Bello 0 0 0 0 19 19 Aroldis Chapman 0 16 25 0 0 41 Alec Gamboa 0 0 0 0 18 18

Bennett starts for the Red Sox against Gore and the Rangers at Globe Life Field.