Maxbialystock

Big hit by Rafael Devers! He really battled 2d time around and hit that grounder hard. I think they say it's a hit.

Good thing you don't have a vote. My reaction to those 3 hits was the same as yours, but I wanted to see more before saying anything. Even with the balk, he held Florida to just the 1 run and then set them down in order in the 2d inning. Right now I'm more worried about the Sox weak hitting with RISP.

Agree young additions/prospects could redeem some of Bloom's rep.

It's terrific, but he has just 4 starts this season.

Thanks for the info on 2020. 40% makes sense. They played 60/162 games, 37%, so 40% was just a tad over. Plus, of course, no one came to the games.

Two kinds of winning--before July 31 and after July 31. While a win is a win is a win, it's the wins after July 31 that seem to ensure making it into the postseason. If the Sox dump Jansen, O'Neill, Pivetta, and whoever on or before July 31, I think that could adversely affect their ability to get to the postseason. If the Sox keep everyone and maybe add a player or two, that should improve their ability to get to the postseason, but it also means that all three will be free agents at the end of this season and therefore have no trade value. Right now this Sox team of mostly no-names is pretty likeable, despite the weak defense, etc. Given the losing record at Fenway, I think a good righty bat would help in the stretch run. Same goes for a good arm or two. I think Jansen's salary of $16M is insane. Last year he was also paid $16M--for 44.2 IP, which translates to $362K per IP. This year so far he's pitched 28.1 innings, so the cost per innings is $285K. But right now I think he is worth it.

Interesting question. I think his income is mostly from outside baseball. He made a lot money as a commodities trader, which is what enabled him to buy the Sox for $660M. That said, however, his current estimated net worth, $4M, is mostly based on the value of the Red Sox franchise. As it turns out, buying the Sox was a terrific investment, but it was made valuable by those WS wins and other Sox-related schemes. I have to agree those WS wins were frequently the result of investments in players, some of whom, like Mookie, came up through the Sox system, and some of whom were traded for or simply hired as free agents.

Wacky? I think it's a truism that a player's best playing years are before age 30 and his best income years are after 30. Yes, absolutely, in his early years with the Sox Mookie was an unbelievable bargain. Right now so are Duran and Houck. On the other hand, thanks to arbitration, in Mookie's last year with the Sox, 2019, his salary was $20M. When I looked up his Dodgers contract, it said he was paid the $65M bonus up front and not pro-rated.

So far I think it is fair to say that the offseason acquisition of starters by both Chaim Bloom and Craig Breslow has been uniformly disastrous. Breslow giving up Sale and plumping down $38M for Giolito is just the latest example. Midseason deals need not be terrible. Eovaldi was one--2018. So was Schwarber--2021. In both cases the Sox still had the option to keep both of them, for a price of course. I like this current Sox team despite the weak infield defense and the so-so RISP hitting. The pitching--without Sale, Giolito, Whitlock, et al--is the best it's been in a long time. Even Story on the IL hasn't hurt much because of his weak hitting. Casas is missed, but not his defense. Besides, I continue to believe that the Sox biggest lineup need is a good righty bat because Fenway Park favors righty bats. I completely agree that, if the Sox stay comfortably above .500 and in the hunt for a wild card slot, they should be buyers later this month. I would love to see Breslow make a deal that isn't idiotic.

We need as close to 5 decent starters as we can get. Houck and Crawford are more than decent, but Pivetta, Winckowski, and especially Bello are suspect. The team ERA of 3.62, ranked 7th in MLB, is still better than the 2018 Sox who won 108 regular season games. Sox pitching never nevertheless--and despite our griping (which I have done my share of)--remains their one real strength. The defense, ranked dead last in MLB, and the hitting--ranked 12th in runs scored--remain suspect.

Sometimes I have the sneaking suspicion that the Sox FO and JH himself could do worse than read the comments on this thread. Not my comments, of course.

If I'm pounding my chest, I'm wrong to do so because when Sale was let go and Giolito and Grissom were acquired I was paying absolutely no attention. Somewhere in my rantings is the valid point that I think the Atlanta Braves FO is a lot smarter than the Red Sox FO.

Indeed. I'm humbled.

I know. I looked it up--in complete disbelief.

Kelly leaks runs like a sieve.

Nights like this, games like this make one think, along with the 1969 Mets, "you gotta believe." Crawford is throwing good stuff, which, I hasten to add Houck is also fully capable of doing, Winck seems capable of doing, and even Pivetta, on his good nights, is capable of doing. Bello used to throw good stuff, but he's always struggled with command of his pitches. Do not under-estimate our rotation. Lovely single, hard hit, by Devers to drive in our first 2 runs. Also lovely--the dinger by our 165 lb weakling batting 9th and 2d on the Sox in rbi's. I just think SPLENDIDSPLINTER brings out the best in our guys. Don't forget--in his last two outings behind the plate, Wong and the Sox pitchers gave up a total of 20 freaking runs. No wonder Casas wanted to play in Miami.

Gotta love Rafaela's range in CF and his routes, but Duran gets higher on those jumps against the wall.

6 lefty bats.

Great discussion, everyone about Baseball Digest and other sources of stats. I confess I mostly use espn's MLB section for mine. Plus for individual players I will consult baseball reference. I'm also an NCAA basketball fan and there kenpom.com has the best stats. Since this is the Sox ownership thread, a reminder--I'm inclined to defend John Henry. I have absolutely zero affection for the man, but think his stewardship has been excellent. In addition, I too am appalled at some of those large and long contracts for individual players, especially pitchers, who rarely live up to them. Consider, for example, Mookie Betts. In 6 seasons with the Sox, his accumulated WAR was 42.3 and he was paid a total of $32M. In 5 seasons with the Dodgers his accumulated WAR is 26.6, for which he has been paid $194M, including the $65M bonus and all of this year's salary.

Because Casas injury was the result of simply swinging at a pitch, I'm less sure than you he will bounce back as the Casas we saw last year and early this year. I agree he has demonstrated he can hit MLB pitching, but maybe his swing has changed or will change because of the injury.

Agree completely on Eovaldi, who was fantastic for the Sox in 2018. Thereafter, kind of up and down in terms of IP: 67 in 2019; 48 in 2020, 182 in 2021, 109 in 2022. With Texas he had 144 last year and 73 so far this year. He entered MLB in 2011 at age 21, and his lifetime ERA is 4.07. Schwarber could not have been better for the Sox in 2021, and I for one wanted him to stay, regardless of his defense. However, in 2022 the Sox still had JDM, plus their big problem was pitching, ranked 25th in MLB in ERA.

Absolutely. I've written way too much on this topic, but you have hit on the heart of the matter. The Braves saw potential in Sale, and the Sox saw an ongoing, hopeless disaster. The Sox also failed to see the real possibility that Giolito was due for TJ surgery (or the lesser version he finally went with). It is still possible that Sale's elbow/shoulder/arm will go bad before his new contract, through 2026, ends. But I don't think so because he actually works on his fitness, plus the Braves have been spacing out his starts. He has yet to start/pitch 5 days after his previous start. He gets either six or seven days rest. However, in his 15 starts this season, he has also gone over 100 pitches in 7 of them. In June, he began with an awful start, 4 innings, 8 ER's--but then had three starts in which he went 7 innings in all 3, give up 2, 2, and 1 run. Against the Yankees he went 5 innings, 1 run, 95 pitches.

I think the Sale/Giolito/Grissom deals demonstrate we still have one of dumbest FO's in MLB. The Braves FO, on the other hand, has been pretty crafty, especially about pitching, where our FO has been consummately stupid in recent years. I include DD in the stupid category because he left CB with Sale and Price who turned out both to be pricey and useless, 2019-2022. Let's not forget that Sale had the right to refuse the trade and therefore insisted that, whoever got him, had to sign him for 3 years, not just 2024. Apparently the Braves found this acceptable and the Sox thought it was so stupid--by the Braves--they agreed to pay $17M to Sale this year to seal the deal. Free at last! Free at last! These days TJ surgery is so common it's being done younger and younger. It's not a matter of whether any more, but when. In Sale's case, there were clear signs in both 2017 and 2018 that something was wrong because both seasons he turned back into a pumpkin in August-September-October. But such was his determination that the need didn't fully show itself until 2019. Last year Giolito was showing signs, late in the season, something was amiss, and the Sox ignored them. At the same time Giolito was struggling, Sale finally showed signs that he just might have a good year in 2024. TJ surgery almost always gives the pitcher new life and additional seasons. Because of the bicycle accident, last year, 2023, became Sale's first real post-Tommy John season. Also, not only does he keep himself in shape, he is probably the most professional pitcher I've seen pitch for the Sox. To me the Braves simply understood Sale better than the Sox did. Plus they may have been helped by John Henry, who quite possibly might have said, "dump him, now." At the same time the Sox did not recognize the semi-inevitability of TJ surgery for Giolito or any of the signs there was a reason why, with all those good seasons under his belt, he was now completely available. Grissom might turn out to be OK, but his good year was 2022 when his WAR was +0.9 for 41 games. Last year it was -0.7 for 23 games. This year is a dead ringer for last year: 23 games, WAR -0.6. His MLB OPS's have been .792 in 2022, .659 last year, and .367 in 2024. Meanwhile, going into this season the Sox already had Story and their top prospect, Marcelo Mayer, who is reported to be gifted defensively. Plus, as we now know, the Sox also had/have adequate guys like Hamilton, Gonzalez, Valdez, and even Rafaela to fill the two middle infield positions.

Buying is only a good idea when your CBO knows what he is doing, and ours dumped Sale while also paying $17M of his salary this year. Then he acquired Giolito for $38M for 2 years, one of which is already gone and the other is suspect.

Whoa, Nellie. Count me as one who thought last year that the old Sale was emerging and that he would be pretty decent this year. What kept him out longer than expected was that bicycle accident in ST. But the TJ surgery did in fact give Sale a new lease on life, good enough for the Braves to commit to two more years, 2025 and 2026.