Maxbialystock

Sorry the Sox lost, but it was still a terrific ballgame. Sox pitching was fantastic and the defense helped.

Terrific ball game.

Career OPS .775. Given that he can't field, cost $105M for 5 years, and has missed a bunch of games, I'd classify him as subpar.

Back to my hobby horse--Devers defender. To me it's criminal Breslow wants to move him from DH to 1b so that no-field no-hit Yoshida can DH. If Devers had been able to play a bunch of games (and practices) at 1b during spring training, that would have been OK. The neat thing about Devers at DH is that he is at less risk of getting injured, plus he's a pretty good hitter.

All good comments, but I'm definitely looking forward to the game. When I was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, I used to go to several games each summer, 1986-89, at Royals stadium. Nice ballpark, but it can get awfully hot. One year I saw Bo Jackson play--absolutely worth the price of admission. He was better at football than baseball, but should have stayed with baseball. There was big money for a good diddley player, but Bo didn't know how to.

Why Yoshida? He is nowhere near the hitter Devers is, and DH is all about hitting. I think Devers, who badly wanted to stay at 3b, has found a good niche at DH. Moving him to 1b is stupid when Gonzalez is already playing 1b with an OPS 200 points higher than Casas's this season and 10 points higher than Yoshida's .775. Devers ain't the problem, not by a longshot. Yoshida is the problem. Replacing Casas couldn't be easier, but all this bs going on is because it's so hard to find a spot for our $105M nonfielder.

Management made the first move by taking him out of 3b, which he very much loved playing, then moving him to everyday DH, which took some adjusting, and then asking him to take over a whole new position 6 weeks and 39 games into the season. We can assume all this is to prepare ye the way for one of the Sox all-time great hitters, Masataka Yoshida, whose .775 OPS with the Sox is lower than Gonzalez's .785 this season. Am I the only one who can see that Yoshida's insane salary ($90K plus a $15M posting fee for 5 years, of which this is the third) is the real problem here?

Actually, the dummie in this little charade is Breslow. Replacing Casas was/is the easiest thing in the world because he was a liablity. Would I have preferred a willing Devers? Sure I would. But I also like having a DH with the potential of an Ortiz or JDM. Plus there is no question Devers has been jacked around. And since when do you force a great hitter to take over a completely new position in the middle of the season when it's not necessary?

As it turned out, Casas was dead weight the day spring training ended. Given his track record, he absolutely should have started from day one and probably would still be starting today but for the injury. He did get some hits and did make some good plays in the field, but his WAR of -0.8 says he was a liability. Wong's injury made Narvaez possible, and right now he (with a WAR of +0.7) looks as good as Wong (WAR 0.0) or better. Giolito, Breslow's $40M arm (plus giving Sale and extra cash to the Braves) are the two big mistakes I've seen. Until his going public with what a deadbeat he thinks Devers is.

I think Casas' career might have died. To me Sox management is stupidly, nastily making a big deal out of replacing the worst player (WAR -0.8) on the team. Gonzalez has much better numbers than Casas had--problem solved. In Devers defense, we can already see the possibility that his hitting will be better than ever if only because he is less likely to get hurt. Think Ortiz or JDM, both of whom were keys to winning 4 WS. Also in Devers defense, the simple fact is that all three positions--3B, fulltime DH, and 1B--require some adjustments. So in fact the Sox player with the biggest salary is being jerked around by management. If they want to move him to 1b, fine, but do it next year and give him a whole spring training to make the adjustment.

I'm completely with Devers on this. He's going to be one of those great DH's--like Ortiz and JDM--who were key to winning four WS after the 86 year drought. Devers is more likely to play in lots of games as a DH than as 1B or 3B. And being asked to give up 3b, then DH in the space of 2 months is insulting for a player of his stature. Moreover, Breslow is acting as though replacing Casas--he of the -0.8 WAR--is some big emergency when in fact it's the easiest thing in the world. Gonzalez's WAR is +0.4 and his OPS is 200 points higher than Casas'.

The best use of Devers is to leave him where he is at DH. Think David Ortiz, who only played 1b when the Sox were playing at an NL team. He did not get into the HOF because of his fielding nor for his versatility. It may have helped that he hit well when the Sox won the WS in 2004, 2007, and 2013. It also helped the 2018 Sox to have JD Martinez (OPS 1.073) at DH. So far this season the Sox have had just two good lefty bats--Abreu and Devers with OPS's of .988 and .834-with Duran lagging at .709. Despite missing ST and being moved from 3B to DH, Devers could be headed for an OPS well above his career .854. At the very same time, his not playing 3b has dramatically improved the 3B defense with Bregman. On top of that injuries to DH's are significantly rarer than to third basemen or first basemen. Also, replaceing Casas is the easiest thing in the world right now. His WAR was -0.8 was the lowest on the team. Gonzalez's OPS is .785 and his WAR +0.4. Problem solved! All that said, I'm also in favor of bringing up Anthony and Mayer--both good lefty batters-- as soon as practicable. Mayer (or Story) to 1b and Anthony to LF (Duran to CF). If the pitching (ranked 16th in MLB in ERA) doesn't improve, the front office may decide to wait until next year.

Good win, mostly thanks to Bregman and Abreau and the bullpen. Tomorrow it's Bello vs. Leiter at 1:35. Then off to KC and Detroit for six road games.

I see it very differently and wonder why in the wide, wide, world of sports did Bregman think he had to go home when he was on 3b with nobody out? If it was the third base coach's call, one has to wonder why he sent Bregman home.

Casas was indeed good at catching throws on the hop. Plus he had reach.

While I firmly agree home plate umpires miss calls on balls and strikes, I also think the griping is pointless. If the rectangle were removed from our screens, we would see what everyone on the field of play sees--no freaking rectangle. My favorite call by an ump is the one by the 1b and 3b umps when they are asked to rule on whether a swing was checked in time. They make the call quickly, and it's not up for debate.

The injury to Casas has been overblown. He had a negative WAR for the season because he's neither a good fielder nor a good hitter (I know he was terrific before the injury). So literally anyone would be an improvement over Casas. Well, probably not Dalbec. Back in March I was sure 1B was right for for Devers, but now I think he was made for DH the same way Ortiz was, especially now that both Leagues use the DH. Devers' value is his hitting, period. Wherever he fields, he will be a liability and at greater risk of injury. I would love to use the absence of Casas and the poor hitting by Rafaela as an excuse to bring up both Mayer and Anthony. Mayer goes to SS and Story goes to 2b or 1b. Rafaela becomes a supersub, Duran goes back to CF, and Anthony to LF. All that said, the real problem with this team is the pitching, especially the bullpen.

Alex Mayes got it right--these Sox are as good as they are bad. The problem--my opinion--is that we are getting tired of the bad because the Sox were good as recently as the 2021 season when they they made it to the ALCS game after beating the Yankees in the wild card and the 100 win Rays in the ALDs. Before that, 2004-2018, 4 World series wins after 86 years of frustration. The Rangers can pitch, but not hit, and the Sox are the reverse. We're 4-6 in our last 10; they are 3-7. They are 5-10 on the road and 12-8 at home. The Sox have hit righties well, especially Bregman OPS 1.017, Abreu .977, Gonzalez .908, Devers .890, Campbell .888, Refsnyder .800. Less good are Rafaela .618, Story .612, Narvaez .610, Hamilton .478, and Wong .322. So my guess the line up could be Duran, Devers, Bregman, Abreu, Campbell, Gonzalez, Story, Refsnyder, Narvaez with Rafaela and Wong sitting. Last year the Sox were lefty bats heavy. This year the reverse.

Thoughtful, as always. I love the title of the latest Alex Mayes offering--"The Red Sox are as good as they are bad"--because it's hard for me to give up on them. The hitting is above average and the pitching below average. Mayes points out that the Sox are tied for the most quality starts (6 or more innings, 3 or fewer ER's) in MLB with 16, but have won just 18 games. I see Casas' injury as an opportunity, and I think Rafaela needs to become a handy-dandy backup CF/SS. I see little value in moving Devers to 1b. He won't do it well, and he will have greater risk of injury than as DH. Campbell or even Grissom would be a better choice. If Campbell goes to 1b, Story goes to 2b, and Mayer takes over at SS. And Mark Anthony replaces Rafaela in the outfield. However, I am absolutely clueless on how to fix the bullpen, which is far and away the biggest problem. If the bullpen is deemed unfixable, I can understand management's reluctance to make bold changes/bring-ups to the lineup.

It's simpler than that. The hitting is fine. I even like the baserunning and defense. But the overall pitching stinks despite the addition of Crochet. The Sox ERA, 3.95, is ranked 16th in MLB.

I wouldn't object to Grissom at 1b, but wonder why Campbell shouldn't play 1b.

I do like that last line. Ruth pitched great for the Sox, but was better in RF for the Yankees. Mookie was a second baseman until he was told the Sox needed an outfielder, plus Pedey was anchored at 2b. Some firstbasemen are better than others, but it's the easiest position in the infield, so of course I think Campbell to 1b, Story to 2b, and Mayer to SS makes sense. Story was excellent at 2b in 2022 when Bogey was the SS.

Your last sentence was prophetic. Casas seems to have taken himself out with that episode hitting first base the wrong way.

Meh. The Sox are ranked 4th/5th in runs scored and 6th in team OPS. I personally think the defense is much better than last year, despite the errors. I like the infield with Bregman, Story, Campbell, and Casas, the outfield with Duran, Rafaela, and Abreu, and the new catcher Narvaez. The team ERA, on the other hand, is 4.05 and ranked 14th. As I said elsewhere, the Sox currently have 4 starters with ERA's below 4.05: Crochet 2.05 in 44 IP, Dobbins 2.45 in 11 IP, Fitts 3.18 in 18 IP, and Bello 3.27 in 11 IP. In addition, Giolito's only start was a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER's). Plus, if you throw out Houck's 2.1 IP and 11 ER's game, his ERA for the season is 3.96. Is it worth mentioning that Chris Sale's ERA is 4.84 with the Braves this season? So the problem is demonstrably with the bullpen, a reality reinforced by the last two losses.

Very good comments and exactly the way I see Slaten, Whitlock, Giolito, and Houck. Houck's ERA stinks because he gave up 11 runs in 2.1 innings. For all other games, his ERA is 3.96