Maxbialystock

Obviously, nobody wants him. Besides, this year he is in fact the 3d outfielder with Anthony out. He is 4th in total bases, 2d in rbi's and 2d in dingers. He has 5 assists and 0 errors. His measly 14 SB's lead the team. His WAR is a measly 0.8, but he is useful.

Agree, but I thought they made the strike zone smaller this year.

Wild applause for waking up in the morning.

Excellent OP!!! I disagree of course but that's irrelevant. What counts is getting responses and you knocked that one out of the park.

Love your ramble, with which I heartily agree. About that "missed big bat"--salary wise, he already had them in Story and Yohsida, both CB/JH hires, who both have another season to goi on contracts and have utterly failed to hit in consonance with their pay. Moreover, Breslow was smart to let Devers and his big contract go--ditto Bregman. Meanwhile, Contreras has the 8th highest OPS, .921, in MLB. He isn't just a newly acquired big bat, he's better than Bregman and Devers are this season. Plus these two tidbits. The first is unearned runs to date--26 in 90 games. Last year that number was 80 in 162 games. So the defense has definitely helped. The Sox team ERA of 3.70 is tied with last year's and better than any other Sox team in the JH era. The other is the wild card standings. The Sox with their horrible, rotten, disgusting, frustrating lack of hitting are just 4 games out of a wild card. Why so? The AL ain't winning much this year.

After a longish (for me) absence, a few thoughts about these Sox and Breslow, whom I have regularly condemned and priaised. Right now I'm trending for Breslow because I love the pitching which has persevered despite all the injuries and the up and downness of the bullpen. They are ranked 7th in team ERA and have been 5th and they are 3d in quality starts. The 2018 108 win Sox with the highest payroll in MLB were ranked 8th in team ERA and 9th in quality starts. We all know the hitting stinks, but much of that is on CB and John Henry who signed Story and Yioshida, who are pricey, long term (thru 2027) and rotten at the plate. Contreras, on the other hand, is a Breslow blue plate special with a .926 OPS. Bregman was good for a while last season, but was not a smart buy by the Cubs. Dumping Devers also helped. So, while I agree the 2026 Sox can't hit worth beans, I'm willing to be patient. Anthony is the real deal with one horrible finger. So far Durbin's season is no worse than Bregman's with the glove and at the plate. Contreras, Abreu, Rafaela, and maybe Gonzalez and Wong are hitting well (but with few at bats)., Heck Duran is 2d on the Sox in rbi's and dingers despite his .625 OPS. Durbin had a great June after lousy April and May, but so far July is like April and June. And so far the Sox have just 26 unearned runs--the lineup is providing the best Sox defense in years,

Don't forget Tolle, the guy with the error on a popup he had no business going after, Then he failed to cover first base in time on an easy grounder to the right. Sox were actually lucky it was such a close game, what with the bonehead plays by Gasper and Tolle. Rays had 12 hits but just 4 runs. Big play by Durbin at 3d base. Also nice assist by Rafaela.

A lot of pessimism with which I mostly agree.

Sox are 16-14 on the road and 10-21 at home. The Rays are just 15-14 on the road but are 21-9 at home. Baltimore and Toronto are 19-15 and 17-13 at home and 11-18 and 12-20 on the road. The amazing thing is Sox attendance is over 34K and ranked 9th in MLB. Sox are 26th in runs scored with a lower team OPS and runs scored at the Fens than on the road. Agree about Breslow and Henry.

Agree on the 3 titles. Mookie definittely helped, but the Dodgers were already consistently good thanks to their CBO and manager. Plus they were backed by a much bigger budget and could outbid us for Mookie. Once JH committed to Chaim Bloom and a lower budget, Mookie was not going to be able to save the Sox. By the way, Sox hitting without Mookie was still pretty good in 2021 and without him they made it to the ALCS despite so-so pitching, which continued to decline in part because JH would not permit the kind of contract Crochet signed last year. Or for Chapman. Even without Crochet this Sox rotation is pretty good this season as it was last season with Crochet.

Meh, Mookie just went to a better team with a smarter CBO who also had more money. In 6 seasons with the Sox Betts cumulative WAR was 46. In his first 6 seasons with the Dodgers it was 32--and for a whole bunch more money.

I'm not sure. I've been really po'd at Breslow this season with his focus on pitching and ignorance about hitting, which stinks. That said, Breslow's payroll is 12th largest in MLB, well below all previous CBO's under John Henry. I think he went after pitching because that's what he knows best. Also, two of his priciest bats, Yoshida, and Story, are leftovers from the CB era. Plus Anthony and Mayer and Campbell, all studs in the minors, are now struggling with MLB pitching. Abreu and Rafaela, both from CG era, look good. Contreras right now is better than Bregman was last year (especially after injury).

I have never blamed management for the loss of Betts. LA was always going to outbid us and JH was tired of having the highest payroll in MLB, which they had in 2019 when they didn't even make the playoffs. Thus DD was let go and in came CB from the Rays system. Right now the Rays are once again playing great baseball with a ridiculously low payroll, forced on them by having the worst fan base in MLB history. They hate the Trop and players probably do too. And the Sox payroll continues to be mid-range (12th in MLB), which means Breslow can't count on thel support provided to DD and his predecessors.

His numbers so far ae unimpressive. They were lousy after he came back from the injury last season.

Agree. In fact I'm slowly trending in favor of Breslow. I liked him last season even after he dumped Devers. i like the pitching he has brought in. Plus I agree so far that not only Mayer and Anthony are subpar, but also Story and even Yoshida. Plus Breslow is working with the 12th ranked payroll further decimated by a bunch of injuries. Or to put it another way, he had enough $$ to provide a pretty darn good rotation, but not enough for a good lineup.

This one's on the manager. Great idea to let Bello start the 2d inning, but not if his "reliever" stinks. So far it is rare when Bello's "reliever" pitches a scoreless inning. The lousy hitting is mostly because of Breslow.

No doubt the hitting is the biggest weakness.

Feel free to check the following out. I went to Spotrac and looked at MLB team payrolls. The Sox are ranked 12th in total and 15th in "actual" (not counting players on IL) payrolls. If those numbers are correct, I believe it's fair to acknowlege that Breslow is working at a disadvantage compared to all John Henry CBO's before him. It might also be fair to say his budget allows him to acquire good pitching or good hitting but not both. It does not help that two pricey hitters, Story and Yoshida, ain't earning their pay. They were here when Breslow was hired. Also, among the injured are the Sox best starter--Crochet--and potentially their best hitter, Anthony.

Thanks. I reversed the numbers I read. That said, 11 of the 18 losses at home were charged to the bullpen. The starters are 6-7 at home. On the road the starters are 13-9 and the bullpen has 4 losses. The Sox OPS at home is .639 and away .718, a big difference. At home so far the two best OPS's belong To Sogard, .921, and Gasper, .858. Small samples, of course. Both are switch hitters.

Lest there be any doubt I have by far the best insights on game threads. Sox are losing 6-0. Oh, wait.

Am I allowed to mention that Sale in his 3d season with the Braves is 7-3 with an ERA of 1.89 in 10 starts and 62 IP. Breslow was so eager to dump Sale the Sox paid some of his salary and asked for very little in return. I think Sale won the Cy Young his first season with the Braves.

Look at the freaking lineups!!!! Atlanta starts 7 righty bats against lefty starter Early. Thanks to the green monster in LF the Braves have huge advantage. Sox start 4 righty bats and 5 lefty bats against righty Elder. Two of the lefty bats are Sogard and Gasper, both switch hitters.

Sox are desperate for hitting. They stink at the Fens because they start mostly lefties and lack righty power. Breslow had ignored the green monster to his peril.

2020 was a nonseason.