Maxbialystock

With apologies for interrupting the trade talks, a brief "realistic view of the 2026 Sox-- 1. 15 wins to go from 37-48 to 52-48 was supremely unrealistic. 2. Nevertheless, pitching and defense have been consistently good all season long and remained so during the 15 wins. Sox ERA is 3.56, 4th best in MLB and the best in the JH era. 27 unearned runs--projected to 43 for the season is the best (for a Red Sox team) in a long time. 3. Sox OPS after 101 games is .707 (ranked 21st in MLB). But in July it's .771 . If the Sox can average .745 OPS for the remaining 61 games, they will be fine. 4. They hit lefties great--.775. 5. But they stink against righties--.683. That's a huge swing. The 7 best Sox OPS's (not on the IL) against righties are: Contreras .927, Wong .745, Yoshida .728, Rafaela .726, Durbin .717, Seigler .697, and Abreu--yes, Abreu can't high righties--.684. Duran's OPS vs righties is .575. Gonzalez is .422. Story (on the IL now) was .540. 6. So, while I agree the Sox could use a bat, I think it should be someone who consistently hits righties. 7. I think they make the postseason, but won't guarantee it.

Emphatically agree with your bottom line.

Really? I see no reason to impinge upon fans at games. Drunks, yes. Abusiveness, yes. But not for failing to stand for the National Anthem or whatever????

covid was a real threat, especially before the vaccine became available--well after the 2020 season ended. The only available remedies were physical separation and masks. As for platooning, that option has been available for two managers all season long and rarely used. Duran is tied for the 3d most games played, 94, 2d most rbi's, 4th most total bases, most SB's--and has the third best DWAR among MLB leftfielders. In July so far he is tied with Contreras for the most rbi's, 13 Little wonder he has not been platooned.

With his .948 OPS I'm fine with how he swings. He also hit a double and scored the Sox only run.

The anthem before games has been around for a long time and requires no fan response/action. Do Americans overdo the anthem and the flag? Probably. But it's endemic. I would of course be against the Lord's Prayer at games, but don't see any harm in that announcement. For crying out loud, MLB is pushing on line betting, which is pernicious.

I think his role right now is just right, the ideal long reliever. He is eating innings and not giving up runs. What the heck else do the Sox want/need?

Two day-night doubleheaders in 5 days. Plus Rivera's abominable first inning last night. On the other hand, Bello had another excellent unstart with 5.1 scoreless innings. 3 more home games, Fri-Sun, vs the Jays, then 4 @ A's and 3 @ Dodgers. Then the 3 Aug trade deadline.

Even with a loss tonight these Sox got a shot, which argues in favor of going for it. The problem with that is it's rare to get a really good player at anything like reasonable price in the summer. The guys we got--missing Crochet, Anthony, "good" Story (last season) and assorted others--have done pretty well.

My thought on the August 3 deadline is that Breslow should continue to be cautious. His best deals are the offseason ones.

Sox have one of the best outfields in MLB, including hitting and defense.

Too old, too pricey, too iffy this season.

You got me, pardner.

What's with this "we" stuff paleface? We're just fans with no say, for which I am personally thankful. There was no evidence Anthony or Crochet were going be riding the IL pine for virtually all of this season. In fact, last year those two were crucial to the Sox success in getting to 89 wins. Anthony missed the last 21 games during which the Sox were 11-10. And can there be any doubt that Breslow has assembled maybe the best pitching staff in Sox history--with Crochet out since April 25? Yes, we do need Anthony and Crochet, which is all the more reason to go nuts with this 13 game winning streak.

Fair comments. I'm going ape because of the 13 straight--recency bias run amuck. As you say, the hitting seems unsustainable. But my rejoinder is that the Sox are over .500 despite having their fewest runs (at 98 games) and lowest OPS in decades. They should be at least 10 games under .500. Story and Yoshida have not produced (but one can hope Yoshida is turning things around) and cost $40M/year. Last year's three golden boys up from the minors--Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell-- haven't done squat this year. Last year Bregman looked like a great addition, but hasn't done much for the Sox or Cubs since that May 2025 injury. Breslow was smart not to give him that $35M x 5 contract and the trade for Durbin instead. Firing Cora, one of my favs, was a big decision and, it turns out, the right one. He was 10-17 with Crochet and Anthony. Chad Tracy is now 40-31 without them. No

Crochet and Anthony are both no earlier than August. See notes from Ian Browne on mlb.com. A fairly positive game thread, with which I agree. I would add that the Sox just swept 4 from the Rays--best record in AL--at the Fens. Righty now the pitching--starters and relievers--is terrific, the hitting/scoring is actually functioning, and the defense is the best it's been in years. As I said elsewhere, right now Breslow looks like Billy Beane in Moneyball. Dumping Devers and not re-signing Bregman have not hurt because Contreras and Durbin have been better. Keeping Duran has paid off with Anthony out. Bringing in a plethora of good starters had completely changed the Sox for the better--and the defense has backed them up well with just 27 unearned runs in 98 games. Crochet and Anthony injuries have not hurt nearly as much as they should have. I have periodically railed against the fiasco of sending Sale to Atlanta along with $20M in cash, but right now Breslow looks like the real deal, especially given the relatively low payroll (12th in MLB) and the talent on the IL.

Brilliant. 🙂

So true. However, this year the Sox defense has helped the pitching.

Misery? Try 1949-2003 on for size. That worthless, no good, rotten owner JH only brought us 4 WS, including 2018, the best season in Sox history. But in 2019 the Sox still had the highest payroll in MLB and didn't make the playoffs, so off goes Dombrowski and in comes Chaim Bloom with a steadily decreasing budget/payroll. Now it's Breslow, another Ivy Leaguer, but one with 10 years MLB pitching experience. I think he inherited a mess, but in his 2d year the Sox won 89 and made it back to the postseason, primarily with good pitching. Now the Sox are looking even better than last season and once again thanks mostly to good pitching. Historically (over a century) the Sox have prized hitting way more than pitching because Fenway favors hitters. 9 of the 13 wins were on the road. Sox pitching is helped by good defense, another Sox rarity.

Sox starter Grey's ERA is 2.54 and he is ranked 5th in MLB in quality starts (6 IP, 3 or fewer ER's). And these are July ERA's for 5 Sox relievers: Guerrero 0.00, Moran 1.23, Weissert 1.50, Bello 2.08, and Slaten 2.08. I think the Sox pitching will be fine with or without Guerrero, Chapman, and Whitlock. Plus the Sox are hitting, including 22 runs in 3 games vs the Rays. Rays have the best record in the AL and will be determined to avoid a 4 game sweep.

Absolutely fascinating numbers. Thanks.

This season Breslow is starting to look like Billy Beane in the movie Moneyball. I'm not talking sabermetrics as much as his insistence that pitching can make a difference. As for the hitting, I now see that neither Bregman nor Devers is needed--especially not at the cost of their contracts. Instead, Breslow brought in Contreras and his .900+ OPS and Durbin who has looked solid at 3b and improving at the plate. Even with last year's best hitter, Anthony, on the IL--maybe for the rest of the season--the hitting now seems to be coming around with the likes of Contreras, Abreu, Rafaela, Durbin, Yoshida (!!!!), sometimes even Duran, and hopefully the rotating guys at 2b and 3b. Wong's OPS is a respectable .762. The Sox team OPS for July so far is a solid .805: Contreras 1.118, Yoshida 1.117, Abreu 1.007, Cheng (SS) .968, Durbin .768, Rafaela .760, Wong .740, Narvaez .686 (big improvement), and Duran .540. 20 dingers in 13 games. The Rays have the best W-L in the AL. If they lose today to the Sox, it will be a 4 game sweep. At the Fens, no less.

The .181 guy has a higher OPS than Jones and is a better fielder. Duran has played in all 12 games of the winning streak.

That was Devers last year: 73 games, 15 dingerrs, 58 rbi's, and .905 OPS.

I think Cora was happy with Devers as the DH, where his OPS was .900. I agreed with that and disagreed with Breslow. Without Devers the Sox made the postseason last season and are looking pretty good this season. So I gotta give Breslow credit. Ditto for not spending a king's ransom to keep Bregman. Breslow has also had to live with Story and Yoshida, who are both pricey and not hitting well (although Yoshida is having a heckuva July).