Maxbialystock

Good line, good song.

Indeed.

They are freaking amazing.

Will wonders never cease. The Sox hitting/scoring was beyond moribund, but 22 year old Anthony decided to fix that.

I pretty much agree Contreras would help but not save the Sox. On the other hand, Anthony just might. What a game! I said the Sox were dead, dead, dead--but it was a little early to look for change in their pockets. Breslow definitely blew it on getting hitters, but you gotta love the Sox pitching.

Gorgeous play by Kiner-Falefa to make good on Wong's off target throw to nail the Cubs basestealer.

And one no baloney RISP single for 2 runs--for which I'm taking full credit.

Heckuva double by Anthony!

Nope. He still has pain and can't swing a bat. He's not even sure he can play in the Yankees series.

I sure hope you are right, but the Sox just scored their first run since Wednesday but guess what? Anthony made it home on an error. Unearned run and yet again no rbi.

The lineup is busted, period. I expect the Sox to lose all 3 games to the Cubs and both games to the Yankees. you want fun as a Red Sox fan, think back about the good times this season and hope Breslow fixes the hitting for next season. Do I think a healthy Contreras would help? Sure I do. But no way, no how can one player fix a prostrate lineup.

I don't at all disagree with the expectation that the Sox should be in the conversation. In fact I fully agree they flopped in 2022, 2023, and 2024. But I chalk that up to a new CBO (inexperienced) and JH's intent to spend less on the payroll. I also chalk that up to his enthusiasm at the end of Moneyball for hiring what he thought was the best GM/CBO in MLB precisely because the A's won so much in 2002 with a low payroll. Right now the Sox are 12th in payroll and appropriately headed for the postseason. However, right now I expect them to lost all three to the Cubs and the first 2 games to the Yankees because their hitting seems broken beyond repair (this season). So, yes I'm also disappointed with this team even though their pitching is terrific. Overall, as I keep saying, JH has my support because of ending the curse and winning 4 WS. He is trying something new with Breslow and it is working on the pitching side but not on the hitting side.

Actually, we're not so far apart in terms of expectations. I think the post-Dombrowski downslide was a combination of descending payroll, new and inexperienced CBO (Bloom), and, I believe, JH's intent to try a different way. At the end of the movie Moneyball the brand new owner (JH) of the Sox tries to hire Billy Beane (with a record breaking salary offer) to duplicate the sabermetrics genius that made the Oakland A's so successful in 2002. As it turned out, JH, who already had MLB and MiLB ownership experience, pretty much stayed with a high payroll and gave Epstein a pretty free rein which in fact led--thanks to his smart GM/CBO's--to those 4 WS wins and especially 2018, the best Sox team ever DD as CBO and the Sox with the highest payroll in MLB. In 2019 the Sox still had the highest payroll in MLB and didn't even make the postseason, mostly because the pitching collapsed. Also by 2019 the smartest program in MLB belonged to the Tampa Bay Rays, who had their ups and downs but consistently made it to the postseason with low payrolls. If you're JH you see tons of examples of high payroll-low performance teams out there. The Mets especially, but the Yankees, owners of 27 WS titles, are not the Yankees of old despite consistently high payrolls. True, the Dodgers have a big payroll and consistently terrific teams--and their CBO was the mastermind of the Rays before the Dodgers hired him. Even so, they have just 2 WS to JH's 4 since 2003. Back to not signing more big bats last offseason. Do you remember Devers and his .900 OPS last year with the Sox when as DH he never missed a game? He left in June and the Sox took off and finally made it back to the postseason. They dumped his $35M x infinite years and got better. Smart. They also didn't re-sign Bregman for $35M x 5--which the Cubs with their 7th biggest payroll were happy to do. The Cubs are having a pretty good year--as is Bregman with his 14th best WAR in MLB--but, like the Sox, they will be a wild card with their record of 87-70. They are 3 games ahead of the Sox. I honestly don't think JH is a cheapskate. I think he's a smart businessman who has already proven himself as an owner--he didn't just end the 86 year curse, he added 3 more WS--and now wants to try a different way by letting Breslow emphasize pitching over hitting and going with small ball. That approach is completely antithetical to the entire history of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway is a ballpark for hitters.

We see the "facts" differently. DD loves to spend and the Phillies agree with him. No WS in the JH era. Yankees are a lot richer than the Sox and have a richer history in winning 27 WS. 1 WS win since 2002. The Dodgers are the cat's meow with the best attendance/income in MLB, the biggest payroll, and pretty smart CBS. They've won 2 WS (last year and the year before) in the JH era. Maybe JH could spend more than he is (Sox payroll is 11th this season and their total wins so far are 9th in MLB), but I think 2019 and DD convinced him it was time to stop spending top dollar and getting low dollar results. That's especially true when you look at teams like the Rays who don't spend much but sure get results. Did I get po'd tonight when the Sox lost 3-2 at the Fens vs Cleveland? You bet I did. The lineup stinks and it has for most of the season. They were typically 0/9 with RISP (!!!!!!!!). Over the last 6 games they are I think they have 2 hits with RISP.

I agree the results speak for themselves from 2019 on. Not good even though 2021 saw the Sox beat the Yankees and Rays before losing to the Astros in the ALCS. That was a good season. Boston ain't a big money market when it has one of the oldest (and most decrepit) ball parks in MLB and are ranked 26th in population among USA cities. It's 673K, not even a million. On the other hand, of course, are the Rays with a tiny attendance and equally tiny payroll. The have the best W-L percentage in the AL. Meanwhile, the NY Mets are in a big city and have pretty good attendance and the 2d highest payroll in MLB with a record of 71-85. They Yankees typically have the 3d highest payroll in MLB and excellent attendance. They've also won the WS 27 freaking times. But since 2003, JH's first season as Sox owner, the Sox have won 4 WS to the Yankees 1. So, frankly, your insistence on calling the Sox the "flops" is just blather. I think you do it just to get attention because you certainly don't have much of an argument to support it. Too bad you missed the 86 year curse because you would have been in your glory.