mvp 78

Anthony - extended Rafaela - extended Duran/Abreu - cheap and under control I don't see them going large on any position player TBH. If Freeman was on the market and 4 years younger, you do it, but only for a guy like that.

You know it's the offseason when you start seeing things like this discussed. 😎🔫

Casas was terrible at 1b. Romy was really bad early on (was injured because of it), but became playable over time. Toro was bad IMO. Lowe was capable. If you have a bad 1b, it really brings down the IF.

LOL no. One year for a 1B/DH like Yandy isn't fetching a top 100 guy. If Brezzz trades Witherspoon for Yandy one for one, he should be fired on the spot.

And Duran isn't a guy that gets a great jump on the ball. He's bad at reading the ball and needs his athleticism to catch up to the ball. He's not a good OFer. His speed in LF skews the metrics. The metrics are what they are. We don't have anything better right now. I've read that some people use OAA for OFers and DRS for IFers. IDK. 2025 in LF: DRS 11 OAA -3 (dinged by LF wall with formula)

At times it was ok, at times it was not good. Behind the plate, it was much better. 1b was on and off a train wreck. Story was average at best. Bregman was average. 2b felt like 1b to me. Duran was worse than last season. Rafaela was great in CF but stunk at 2b. Anthony was good. Abreu missed a lot of time which made the defense worse. Sure, you didn't have the bad version of Connor Wong or Enmanuel Valdez/Rafael Devers out there, but you can't convince me that Romy is an average defender no matter what the metrics say.

That's all I'm saying. If they want to make that next step from playoff team to WS winner, they need to tighten that up. Go from 30th in errors to 15th or whatever. Just don't be SO boneheaded. I've seen at other places people say "well, they only get errors because they are just so dang athletic and get to balls that no other players would get to." It's just not the case. Duran gets to those balls and if it doinks off of him, it's NOT called an error. He doesn't even get called for an error on 80% catch balls that just drop right next to him. What they are getting errors on are just the normal plays where they throw the ball away or just goof up so bad that the scorer needs to call it an E. Even Merloni has said on the broadcast that they barely call errors anymore, but somehow the Sox are getting them in droves.

The Yankees are a terrible fundamental team. The Dodgers famously wanted to play them last WS because of it.

I've said all season that you can't play bad baseball and expect to win in the postseason. I've talked about the issues with errors long before now. I don't think it's the only thing to go by, but you can't hand wave it away and say "well, the METRICS say they were good."

852 vs RHP, 600 vs LHP Maybe he should have been a platooned more, I agree. Hard to have Abreu AND Duran in the same lineup with those splits.

Sandlin would definitely get picked based on his stuff. Compare his numbers to Slaten's.

Duran also led the team in PA's by 42. Third highest was 109 behind him. Fourth highest was 200 behind him. He had a worse OBP than 5 guys with 200+ PA's. There were 6 guys with better OPS's with 200+ PA's.

Teams aren't going to want to load up on Rule 5 guys prior to the draft.

I would have traded him last offseason. Sox didn't want to.

The trades could look better down the line, but they set the 2025 Sox back. Maybe the 2026 Sox too. Hard to say right now.

Narvaez great. Rafaela great. Abreu very good. I don't know why the metrics keep giving Duran such high marks. If you just look at the metrics, you'd think he's a great LFer. If you watch him play, you wouldn't trust him with a flyball to clinch a WS win. He has said that he doesn't want the ball hit to him during the game. Hamilton is also seen as a plus plus defender, but only plays parttime. Story has taken a huge step back in his defense and is now average to below average. Breggie is about average. Wong had a better than expected season. Romy was really rough at the beginning when playing 1b, but got a little better. Casas is awful. Rafaela should have his cleats in the grass only. Overall, I'm not worried about Story's defense, but it would be better at 2b. I think they'd be better off with Mayer at SS and Story at 2b. Find a solid 1b that can pick it a little, unlike the schlubs they threw over there in the beginning of the year. I'd trade Duran because he is just untrustworthy out there. An OF defense of Anthony/Rafaela/Abreu is one of the best in the league. I would NEVER play Rafaela anywhere but CF.

Maybe they should have kept Devers?

And we were told that the defense would be better now that Story and Breggie would be together. 🤔

3 of the top 7 highest error totals in the past 3 years. Not good!

Even if Giolito was healthy and Bello pitched a great game, they still lose because of a lack of offense and defensive miscues. Saying "they were outgunned because Gio was out" doesn't make sense. They didn't lose because of their pitching. "But they were playing backups!" Nate Eaton had a 1100 OPS in the series. Sogard went 833. The problem was the starters (Duran, Abreu, Rafaela, Romy, Lowe, Narvaez). The backups and the pitching were ok. It was the defense and the hitting IMO.

Yeah, they don't need more OFers right now. They will have a puzzle to fill at 3b/2b/1b/DH with a combination of inside and outside options. That's where the upgrades are desperately needed.

DD not making "the right offer?" What world do you live in?

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I said all year that due to the high number of errors and bad baseball IQ that this team showed, that they didn't exhibit "playoff baseball." Once they got to the playoffs, those mistakes became magnified and they are now the reason the Sox are out of the playoffs. Having good defensive metrics is all well and good, but playing smart baseball is just as important IMO.