Maxbialystock

The offense produced 4 runs and had the tying run at the plate in the 9th inning. The surprise in this series is the Jays scoring 13 runs in 3 games. They are ranked 29th in MLB in runs scored.

Agree on the Contreras play, but Abreu demonstrated once again why he is the best defensive right fielder in MLB today. Rafaela going for 3b was another mistake, but born of the need to tie the game at 1-1. With him on 3d and 1 out, the Sox have 2 shots at bringing him home.

Those 35 games made this season.

Not that little. 35 games with the best W-L record in MLB history. They went from the outhouse to just outside the penthouse. And what's this "we" stuff? You go out of your way to see the downside.

Breslow built this team around pitching and defense, both of which are still good. And the hitting was good enough to contribute to 15 straight wins and then 9 straight. I think they had the best 35 straight games in MLB history, so you're calling them a bunch of losers is just wrong.

5 straight losses speak for themselves and justifiy wondering whether the playoffs are still in sight.But it's hard for me to buy into that because I still like the rotation, hitting, and defense. Bullpen is a worry right now. Baserunning is atrocious.

A fair question. First, I meant last season and specifically July and August. When he was injured on Sep 3, the Sox hitting/scoring suffered. This year he stunk but I think it was that injury and I also think he's still a good hitter. He finished last year with an OPS of .859 in 71 games.

Vehemently disagree. If there is one thing we can be sure of it's that neither Breslow nor Tracy keeps and plays guys for no good reason. Of the top 13 position player WAR's of 2023, Bloom's last season, only 4 are still with the Sox. I do agree his OPS of .613 is dismal, but, as I've said too many times, he also has a bunch of pluses--rbi's, dingers, total bases, stolen bases, and an OPS of .823 with RISP. He's tied for the MLB lead in assists--7-- from left field and has 1 error.

Agree. He had an excellent 3 games, but Wong is the guy who knows the staff.

What prospects?????!!!!! You think Duran was a hot ticket last winter? And why oh why would you opt for two leftfielders when you already have freaking Anthony--plus Rafaela in CF and Abreu in RF. And neither one is as good a leftfielder as Duran (or Anthony for that matter).

Absolutely true about Anthony vs Duran. Yet Breslow kept Duran, who I argue has been usable this season despite his abysmal OPS of .613.

Back to a "Realistic View of the 2026 Sox"-- Yes, 3 straight losses, 2 of them to the lowly A's, are dismaying. But guess what? The Dodgers, easily the best team in MLB, loss 3 straight to the Sox at Dodger Stadium. I defer to no one on my ability to worry too much. Despite that, I know the season is already memorable because of that amazing 33-5 streak from June 24 tthrough August 7--without their best hitter, Anthony, and best pitcher, Crochet, from last season. And they did it with pitching--team ERA 3.49, 3d best in MLB and the lowest in the John Henry eara--and hitting that improved and is now 14th in MLB in OPS with .720. they are also 10th in fielding percentage and have just 33 unearned runs compared to 80 last season. Abreu, Rafaela, Durbin, and Duran are ranked 1st, 2d, 2d, and 4th in DWAR's at their positions. Contreras is awful at 1b with a DWAR of -0.7, but he also has just 4 errors in 828 total chances and a fielding percentage of 99.5%. Wong's DWAR of 0.7 ties him at 10th for catchers. It could be the Sox are slumping, but that remains to be seen. Tonight the new pricey catcher plays and down the road we can hope/expect to see Crochet, Anthony, and maybe even Mead. I think Story is being kept on hold. One June 23 the Sox clearly had no hope of making it to the postseason and now it's a pretty good bet. 3 seasons ago, 2023, was Bloom's last. None of the top 13 pitchers (in WAR) from that team are in the top 13 of this season. That's an astounding turnover and mostly because of Breslow. 3 seasons ago these 13 position players had the highest WAR's: Devers, Verdugo, Casas, Duran, Wong, Turner, Duvall, Yoshida, Story, Abreu, Refsnyder, Tapia, and Regia. This year only Duran, Wong, Yoshida, and Abreu are in the top 13 in WAR. The 2023 team finished 78-84. One big similarity is that in both seasons the AL East had/has the best W-L record in MLB.

No rule like that although suckees have definitely started for the Sox and every other MLB team. The issue is why Duran doesn't just start but starts the 3d most games on the team. And my answer is that he ain't all bad and that his hitting, while infrequent, is sometimes timely. Last night he stunk to high heaven until the 9th when he led off with a double in a 2-1 game and against a closer with heat, 25 saves, and an ERA of 1.31. I say again, he is 3d in dingers, 4th in rbi's, 4th in total bases, and 2d in stolen bases. He also K's way more than anyone else but nevertheless has an OPS of .832 with RISP. I don't think we are going to reach common ground on this because I also think it was smart of Breslow not to dump Duran last winter. Remember all the brouhaha about 4 outfielders being 1 too many? Well this year Anthony has played in 30 games--17 as DH--and Duran in 111 of 118. Both Cora and Tracy have played Duran a ton despite his season to date OPS of .614. So three different honchos--Breslow, Cora, and Tracy--have agreed that Mr. Suckee is playable. In a season which includes a 35 game stretch now claimed to be the best in MLB history. If Mr Suckee's job was to drag the Sox down and keep them in mediocrity, he did a lousy job of it.

Certainly.

Sloppy annd hitless beyond question. Not sure about the "back" part. When was the last time we saw the Sox not know how many outs there were with both baserunners acting upon it. I'd fine the Sox 1b and 3b coaches.