Maxbialystock

A fair article and a good analysis of Houck's issues and the available remedies/roles for him.

It's beyond question that JBJ's playing time depended heavily on his hitting. He started the 2014 season (after Ellsbury went to the Yankees) in CF, and his hitting was so bad he was sent back to Pawtucket. That happened at least twice in 2014. However, in August he started to hit and stayed in Boston, ending up with 127 games and an OPS of .531, but an overall WAR of +0.7. Then came an OPS of .832 in 2015, .835 in 2016, .726 in 2017, .717 on the 2018 Sox, the best team in Sox history, .738 in 2019, and .814 in 2020. So to me he had 6 pretty good seasons, 2015 thru 2020 (even though I regard 2020 as a nonseason). His WAR's for those seasons were +2.2, +5.7, +3.4, +2.5, +2.1, and +2.0. After 2020, the wheels came off and JBJ had negative WAR's in 2021, 2022, and 2023. For reference, here are Ellsbury's OPS's when he was being paid $23M/year with the Yankees: 2014, 3.6; 2015, 1.7; 2016, 2.6, and 2017, 1.7.

Tonight was a fantastic win given who started for the Mets and that the Sox knew, going in, they could not let Dobbins face the Mets lineup a 3d team. So he needed to be good, as did the bullpen. Plus the Sox had to score 3 runs off a pitcher who gave up 3 runs total in his last 6 games and 39.2 IP. Tomorrow it's Buehler, just off the IL (but has 3 quality starts in 6 games) against Holmes, who has 3 quality starts in 9 games. Gonzalez is still feeling discomfort and could be out another week. So Sogard is likely to play 1b again.

Meh. It was Cora who set things up for tonight by using just one reliever last night. In his first two seasons with the Sox he managed the best Sox team ever (108 wins, 11-3 in the postseason) with pretty close to the same players Farrell had the year before when he won 93 games and lost again in the ALDS. The Sox had a winning record in 2019, but underperformed because the pitching collapsed. Then came the 2020 nonseason. In 2021, despite the losses of Betts, Price, Sale, Kimbrel and others from the 2018 crew, the Sox won 92 games. Then, without a closer, the Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card and the 100 win Rays in the ALDS, and lost to the Astros in the ALCS, 4 games to 2. In the most recent 4 seasons (2022 thru 2025), the Sox pitching has been ranked 25th, 21st, 17th, and now 20th in team ERA. In the three WS seasons Sox team ERA's were ranked 11th in 2004, 2d in 2007, and 14th in 2013. I think those more recent ERA rankings reflect JH's reluctance to pay big money for great starters, which he was willing to do for Price and Sale and others. Thus did Eovaldi, a player DD signed in midseason of 2018, leave the Sox when he asked for "too much money." On this Sox team, we have two players, Story and Yoshida, who are performing below their $140M and $105M pay packages--the result of CB. Plus on this team we are missing Sale, who was given away by Breslow--along with his first year's salary with the Braves (where he won the Cy Young)-- and replaced him with Giolito ($40M for 2 years), who has been a disaster. Despite the above recitation, I agree managers are hired to be fired. But I definitely think Cora is a keeper.

Maybe because there ain't no Bailey on the team.

Agree. He played 144 games in CF for the 2018 team (best Sox team ever) and had the 5th best WAR on that team.

I'm not listening (but had to on the radio feed, which I think is excellent) to any complaints about failure to hit with RISP, of which there was a lot. The Sox pitching was excellent, and the hitters scored 3 runs off of a tough Kodai Sengai, His ERA was 1.43 going into tonight's game, and he gave up 3 runs total in his last 6 games and 39.1 innings pitched. Also, good defense--especially the 3 double plays. Watching the Sox pitchers was like watching the perils of Pauline, so a good thing the Mets were 1/8 with RISP. The radio team hammered the point that no way, no how would the Sox allow Dobbins to go through the Mets lineup a 3d time--and that's exactly what happened. He left with 2 outs in the 5th and the Mets leadoff man, Lindor, coming to bat. Baseball is full of surprises.

In May, all things are still possible. Perhaps unlikely, but possible.

Good points. Plus Hamilton is good on the bases. Given that a whole bunch of us want Mayer to be moved up to Boston, Hamilton's solid play makes that harder to do.

Might be worth trying.

Probably true. Nevertheless, to me Cora's support of Devers is why he might have his best season yet as a hitter.

I'm astounded. Someone else who just might agree Cora was right about Devers and Breslow was not.

I'm sure you're right. But right now we don't know what Yoshida's status is. Plus, frankly, I'd rather have Devers as the DH--in the tradition of Ortiz and JDM. I'm convinced that DD made two great moves after the 2017 season to enable the 2018 season. First, he dumped both Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. And second he brought in a terrific DH, JDM, who I am convinced made the whole lineup better. Maybe the two best hitters in the history of MLB--Babe Ruth and Ted Williams--were the practical equivalent of DH's because their defense was so-so at best. I think they put Ruth in RF because he still had a great arm. Williams got LF because he didn't have the great arm, plus he spent most of his time in the outfield thinking about hitting.

Whoa, Nellie. I should have said so, but I believe very strongly that Devers' .920 OPS is mostly because he has embraced the DH position. I also believe that trying to play 1b this season would be a big distraction and result in his OPS plummeting--to say nothing of the increased risk of injury. About Yoshida's .750 OPS. Gonzalez's OPS is .785 and he is due back this week to play 1b. I am sympathetic to Breslow's trying to get some use out of Yoshida's $105M contract. Same goes for Story's $140M contract. In Story's last season for the Rockies, his WAR was 4.3. Now in his 4th season with the Sox, his cumulative WAR with the Sox is 4.2. DD struggled with a similar problem when Hanley Ramirez and Pedro Sandoval played for the Sox. But that Sox team was way better than this one. And that's the point, isn't it? Our problem is that the pitching stinks, and there doesn't seem to be much Breslow can do about it that in the short term. It did not help that he dumped Sale and brought in Giolito.

The Mets have the best pitching in MLB and are tied with the Dodgers, also 29-18, for the 2d best record in MLB. Detroit is best at 31-16. They are ranked 4th in runs scored and 4th in team ERA. The Mets batters have scored the 12th most runs. So tonight's game is a no-brainer and the Sox will fall to 23-26. Except that baseball has a vast capacity for surprising us. Thus will I be watching the game intently. Cora has said publicly his rotation (not including Crochet) needs to "step up." Breslow, the guy who brought in Crochet, a terrific acquisition, is also the guy who dumped Sale (and paid his salary with the Braves where he won the NL Cy Young) and brought in a disaster named Giolito for a cool $40M for missing one season and stumbling this one. Funny thing, but Breslow was a MLB pitcher for 10 seasons. My opinion, which ain't worth much, is that all this hullaboo about 1b and Devers is Breslow's way of covering up this disastrous pitching staff. Despite the brilliance of Crochet, the team ERA is ranked 20th in MLB. Breslow has tried to get us to believe that the team is faltering because Devers won't play 1b (even though Devers' OPS of .920, all as the DH, is his highest ever).

One more time. 1b was never a predicament because Casas' OPS was .580 and his overall WAR -0.8. Gonzalez, due back any day now, has much better numbers. Breslow is the villain in this little charade. I say that because Cora correctly and wisely told Devers--after he was told he would have to relinquish the position he'd played for 8 years--to embrace DH. And that's what happened, so much so that Devers could be headed for the best season of his career. His current OPS, .920, is a tad higher than his best, .916 in 2019. Despite that, Breslow not only went directly to Devers (through a translator of course) to tell him he was needed at 1b, he made sure the press knew about it. Then JH went to KC to make the situation even more public, with the result that Devers has been unfairly condemned as a malcontent. I think Breslow is better than Chaim Bloom, plus it now appears he is being given more money/leeway to hire real talent like Bregman and Crochet. Nevertheless, one of his first moves was to dump Sale and pay his first year salary for the Braves--where Sale flourished and won the NL Cy Young award--and replaced him with Giolito, who is being paid $40M to miss one season and have an ERA of 7.08 this season. So, despite the additions of Crochet, Chapman, Buehler, Fitts, and Dobbins, the Sox ERA is currently 4.16 and ranked 20th in MLB--compared to last year's 4.04 and 17th. Someone has to tell me why Breslow is making all this noise about 1b when it's the pitching that is killing the Sox.

While I certainly agree managers are hired to be fired, I would first remind you that Terry Francona was fired despite breaking the 86 year curse and winning a 2d WS 3 years later. He later was successful as the Cleveland manager, and my guess is that, should the Sox fire Cora, he will be another team's manager pretty quickly. The second thing is that the 2017 Sox, who won 93 games in the regular season, had a lower ERA than the 2018 Sox--and basically the same pitchers both seasons. However, the hitting and scoring were much better, and I honestly think it was because DD brought in JDM, who seemed to me to have a magical effect on that lineup because just about everybody improved a lot from 2017 to 2018. Nevertheless, we have to give Cora a lot of credit because in 2016 and 2017 the Sox won 93 games both years and were eliminated in the ALDS both years. With Cora they won 108 games in the regular season and won the ALDS 3 games to 1, the ALCS 4 to 1, and the WS 4-1. And he did that despite the closer Kimbrel having a postseason ER of 5.91. The collapse in 2019 is easily explained: the pitching collapse, going from an ERA of 3.73 to 4.70. Chris Sale and David Price, both high-priced starters, had horrible years. Meanwhile JH was again footing the bill for the highest payroll in MLB. So he fired DD and brought in Chaim Bloom (CB) no doubt with instructions to somewhat follow the Rays system of low salaries and winning teams. However, the 2021 season was actually pretty good, especially from the managerial perspective. The Sox finished 2d in the AL East with 92 wins, but still won the wild card game over the Yankees, the ALDS series against the 100 wins Rays, and finally lost, 2 games to 4, to the Astros. And he did that without a closer, without Betts, and without Sale, Price, Kimbrel or Porcello. That season confirmed how good Cora was and is. 2022 and 2023 were unsat because the personnel were--and I think the blame belongs to both Chaim Bloom and John Henry. I think Breslow is a better fit, but I sure didn't like his hiring Giolito and dumping Sale (while paying his salary with the Braves). Those two moves alone would explain the continuation of a .500 team last year and again this year. Both seasons the Sox team ERA has been ranked 17th in MLB.

They are both hitting well, but neither is a pitcher, let alone a good pitcher. This reminds me of the hullaboo about moving Raffy to 1b. Everyone who has played 1b since Casas went on the IL has done as well or better than Casas. Meanwhile, as the DH Devers could be about to become our best hitter despite the terrific season Bregman is having. So far Raffy's OPS this month is 1.132, not including today's game. Bregman's OPS for the season is .951 and Raffy's is .920. Is that remotely possible because he has been the DH? Someone needs to explain to me why Breslow insists on messing with success. Right now the hitting/fielding half of the team is doing much better than the pitching half, so management has some justification for not bringing up Mayer and Anthony. On the other hand, I would love to see them play for Boston. Not sometime this season, but right now.

20 years is elite.

Oh, for crying out loud, it's a judgment call on errors. Most are pretty obvious, but seem are close calls. I'm fine with whatever is decided. I completely agree errors are just one part of judging defense, especially with the 2025 Sox.

Agree. Duran is coming around, and I think Rafaela as well (.800 OPS in May). Narvaez WAR is a whopping 1.4. And so on. You can't expect a perfect lineup, so you have to accept Story not hitting, and Gonzalez (1b) on the IL) and now Campbell struggling (at the plate and at 2b). If people would only appreciate how valuable a good DH can be, they would stop pointing fingers at Devers, who was told by Cora to embrace his new position of DH. FWIW In short, the hitting and fielding are pretty good. It's the pitching that stinks.

Got it. The real issue with this team is psychological. If they wanted to win, they could. Simplest in the world. The central reality of baseball is that pitching and hitting dominate game outcomes and are both very hard to do well. While I'm sure there is a psychological dimension to pitching and hitting, it affects players as individuals far more than as members of a team. Last night Giolito had a bad night, but the Sox still won. Today Bello had a bad game, and the Sox couldn't cover his 7 runs which, by the way, are the norm for a starter before he is pulled. Then Newcomb gave up 3 more, but in 4.2 IP, which was actually commendable. The rest of the bullpen rested. Back to your point. I don't see a "losing mentality" but do see a lousy pitching staff even though every single one of them wants to get hitters out, not give up runs, etc. And this. The one player on this team who should/could have a "losing mentality" is Devers. I mean, isn't that true of all DH's (and former thirdbasemen) who refuse to play 1b? But Devers is hitting up a storm.

Don't blame Cora. This is on Breslow. I now understand why he went public about what a bad guy Devers is and then got JH to go to KC to drive that point home publicly. I think Old Red has labelled him insubordinate. To remind everyone: replacing Casas at 1b was and is the easiest thing in the world because he was having a lousy season. It's all to distract the fanbase from realizing this team is unlikely to make the playoffs because of the pitching. Full credit to Breslow for bringing in 2 very good pitchers, but less credit for spending $40M on Giolito and letting Sale go (while paying his salary of course). And guess who is getting close to being the best hitter on a team whose only strength is hitting? The guy Breslow has gone out of his way to paint as an unworthy teammate and player. Apparently, anyone who becomes a DH is a leper.

Verdugo was insuborinate, repeatedly. Devers is just defending himself from the big moves Breslow wants to make. Not--I repeat, absolutely not--to replace Casas at 1b because anyone could do that. He was having a lousy season. Breslow wants Devers on 1b so that Yoshida can DH, but he won't admit it. Also, do I need to remind you that for 8 years straight it was open season for castigating Devers for his no good, low down, rotten defense? Now, suddenly, he is expected to play a nifty 1b. Maybe he could, but we don't know that. Meanwhile, he is flourishing as the DH, is the only Sox player who has played all 47 games, is tied for the team lead in rbi's with 37, has the 2d highest OPS, and has the 2d most total bases on the team. Plus he is a lot less likely to get injured as a DH and as a result will play more games (160?) and wreak havoc with his bat. Why mess with success?

So far this season Wong has 0 passed balls. It's also pretty obvious that Narvaez is our best catcher (who also can hit).