Alonso is actually a great example of teams not necessarily lining up to pay a truckload of money to a bat-only guy. Some cash in and some don't. There's some luck and timing involved. And the Vlad Jr lockup by the Jays had a significant PR component.
Toro is still doing fine. And I did not not realize he's Canadian until looking at his B-R page. Now I like him even more. And you naysayers need to relax and let him produce. 😀
I see no reason for fear. No doubt he was included by the Giants for some payroll relief. I'm sure Breslow hopes he can be a solid late inning guy, but I'm also pretty sure Breslow doesn't see him as a slam dunk replacement for Chapman...
In 20 games with the Giants, Devers has a .735 OPS, 2 HR and a 0.1 bWAR. That's not very good for a $30 million DH. And the Sox offense without him is starting to look a lot better.
Regardless of other past mistakes, this time they got it right.
I get that too, but Cora is also trying to win games and there's no guarantee Mayer is going to hit this year. Mayer is getting his chances, Cora is trying to get him most of his chances against righties. They eased Anthony in a bit too. It's good management IMHO.
The thing about Mayer is he looks good even when he's not playing good. That's what these old timers are falling for.
I'm joking, but these complaints about Cora not playing him enough are a tad overblown.
So what exactly supports your contention that the offense is 'weak'? Seems like your evidence is all anecdotal. You like batting average, don't you? The Sox are T6 in batting average.
Show us some numbers that support your contention that the offense is weak.
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Plus MLB pitchers have a ton of data and video at their disposal. Fred's 'wait till pitchers learn they don't have to throw him a strike' take is pretty amusing. 😀
The Devers trade was just plain unusual and everyone has their opinion on why they did it.
You and others thought the Priester trade was jumping on an opportunity to get a big haul for a starter with weak peripherals that the Sox probably didn't need.
So I think the real story is yet to be told.
An elite closer like Chapman is in a different category. They don't become available that often.
Chapman has been traded for Gleyber Torres and Cole Ragans.
But they're 9-3 against the Yankees and Rays.
Beating up on the bad teams is something the Sox have had trouble with.
There's a ton of randomness involved in all of it.
Bottom line is they're 2.5 games out of the playoffs with 71 games to go, and there are some positive trends. And a guy named Bregman should be back soon.