Maxbialystock

I don't see upgrade/downgrade. I see righty bats going against lefty starters--see today's lineup--and lefty bats--see last night's lineup--against righty starters. I also see Anthony DH'ing now and then because Yoshida and Ref ain't that great. The only price paid is Rafaela at 2b instead of CF, where he is a freaking game saver. Duran is fine in CF, but nowhere near Rafaela. The odd man out is usually Abreu against lefty starters.

Wrong word, no doubt, but at least the Giants are overpaying him, not us. Agree also the savings have yet to be invested, but would argue July is the wrong month for good investments.

I see it differently. However, because the Sox are playing the toughest schedule in all of MLB, I can't argue too much with your last paragraph. To repeat what I've already said, this Sox pitching staff has the same team ERA, 3.74, and the same ranking, 8th, as the 2018 Sox. The hitting isn't nearly as good as 2018, but the defense is better. And this. Breslow last offseason signed Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, Narvaez, and Buehler. Plus this season the Sox brought up Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell. Story is worlds better than he has been for the Sox. Rafaela is too. Narvaez is a huge improvement at catcher. Giolito is finally paying off, and Bello seems to be finding himself. Granted, Buehler stinks, but in July he pitched 22.2 innings in 4 games with an ERA of 3.57. Two of those games were quality starts. Based on those observations, I think the 2025 Sox have been a transitional team and are now hitting their stride. I suspect the departure of Devers helped. The glass is not half empty.

I see it differently. However, because the Sox are playing the toughest schedule in all of MLB, I can't argue too much with your last paragraph. To repeat what I've already said, this Sox pitching staff has the same team ERA, 3.74, and the same ranking, 8th, as the 2018 Sox. The hitting isn't nearly as good as 2018, but the defense is better. And this. Breslow last offseason signed Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, Narvaez, and Buehler. Plus this season the Sox brought up Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell. Story is worlds better than he has been for the Sox. Rafaela is too. Narvaez is a huge improvement at catcher. Giolito is finally paying off, and Bello seems to be finding himself. Granted, Buehler stinks, but in July he pitched 22.2 innings in 4 games with an ERA of 3.57. Two of those games were quality starts. Based on those observations, I think the 2025 Sox have been a transitional team and are now hitting their stride. I suspect the departure of Devers helped. The glass is not half empty.

I see it differently. However, because the Sox are playing the toughest schedule in all of MLB, I can't argue too much with your last paragraph. To repeat what I've already said, this Sox pitching staff has the same team ERA, 3.74, and the same ranking, 8th, as the 2018 Sox. The hitting isn't nearly as good as 2018, but the defense is better. And this. Breslow last offseason signed Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, Narvaez, and Buehler. Plus this season the Sox brought up Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell. Story is worlds better than he has been for the Sox. Rafaela is too. Narvaez is a huge improvement at catcher. Giolito is finally paying off, and Bello seems to be finding himself. Granted, Buehler stinks, but in July he pitched 22.2 innings in 4 games with an ERA of 3.57. Two of those games were quality starts. Based on those observations, I think the 2025 Sox have been a transitional team and are now hitting their stride. I suspect the departure of Devers helped. The glass is not half empty.

Could you be more specific, please? I ask because I thought we needed a really good starter. However, Crochet, Bello, and Giolito are the best starting threesome since the 2018 Sox. Plus the Sox team ERA is 3.74 and ranked 8th in MLB--same as the 2018 Sox.

One nutty thread. We are at game 111 (last night) and the Sox are 60-51 and 5-5 against four Division leaders over the past 2+ weeks. The pitching staff, ERA 3.74, ranked 8th in MLB, has the exact same numbers as the pricey one in 2018. Crochet, Bello, and Giolito are the best starting threesome since 2018, and even the bullpen is looking pretty good lately. The Sox hitting is ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored and 5th in OPS--and that's after sending Devers to the Giants on June 16th. The defense is as good as I can remember despite those errors--LF, RF, CF, 3b, SS, and catcher are all above average in DWAR's. Bregman is back and making a difference. Anthony is amazing and leading off because his OBP is .400. Duran is sneaking back toward last year's numbers and is tied for the Sox lead in rbi's. Rafaela and Story are exceeding expectations at bat and in the field. Cora has four outfielders and employs them brilliantly. Mayer is injured and Campbell bombed, but both have solid potential. But here on Talksox none of that counts. Pessimism rules and the postseason is out of reach. To be honest, that could happen because the 2025 Sox are playing the toughest schedule in MLB.

like Army greens and fatigues of yesteryear.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. The fault lies with Casas and Devers far more than with Breslow.

This roster is now 5-5 in 2+ weeks against four Division leaders. The pitching staff is statistically as good as the 2018 Sox. Both were/are ranked 8th in MLB in team ERA and both had/have team ERA's of 3.74. Also, if you will recall, Casas was our first baseman, but took the horrible risk of running to 1b--just like last year when he unwisely swung a baseball bat. That's when Breslow tried to get Devers to play 1b, but he refused--and was sent to the Giants. This is definitely a competitive roster despite both Casas and Devers both cashing out.

While I agree segregation limited the pool of players, I would point out that back then MLB had 16 teams, half of what we have now. Plus they only played 154 games. Plus they didn't play night baseball, which Williams said favored pitchers. On the other hand, I think today's game tends toward pitcher dominance. They are throwing harder with better stuff if not always with better command. The best starters make big bucks. Complete games are a rarity because stats tell managers to use their bullpens. I think pitchers benefit from interleague play.

All good, including the semi-defense of Hicks. These 2025 Sox are now 5-5 against the four Division leaders they've played in the last 2+ weeks.

Great line.

I suppose.

Meh. The Sox are playing their 4th Division leader in 2+ weeks and are 5-5 (1-2 @ Cubs, 1-2 @ Phillies, 2-1 Dodgers, and 1-0 Astros)--which includes last night's win. You seem to think the Sox lost. Sox rbi leaders, both at 75 rbi's, are Duran and Rafaela. Duran has led off most of the season, and Rafaela has stayed near the bottom of the order. Last night the Sox two rbi's were by Anthony in the 1 spot and Abreu batting 8th.. I personally would not have batted Toro 4th, but I trust Cora's lineups. I would be delighted if Devers were our first baseman, but he chose not to do that. Now he's at the Giants, who have basically collapsed since his arrival.

Anyone here remember the pricey but very good Sox pitching staff of 2018 with studs like Sale, Price, Porcello, ERod, Kimbrel, Eovaldi, et al? Their team ERA was 3.74, ranked 8th in MLB.. This year's no good, stinking, rotten pitching staff which Breslow refused to get any real help for has a team ERA of 3.74, ranked 8th in MLB. The Sox are now play their 4th Division leader in 2+ weeks and are 5-5 (1-2 @ Cubs, 1-2 @ Phillies, 2-1 Dodgers, and 1-0 Astros). Meanwhile the local and national sports press--and a bunch of us here on talksox--have said the Sox midseason acquisitions have doomed the Sox to failure. Kind of reminds me of the local and national sports press announcing the Sox were dead, dead, dead when they sent Devers to the Giants. To be honest, I loved Devers as the DH here, but also thought sending him away was necessary.

You need a course in anatomy because thinking with your balls is a losing proposition. The Sox already sold Devers to the Giants. How did that go? As for buying, I would have loved to have seen Breslow get a terrific starter. So would the rest of the known universe want their CBO's to do the same thing. And guess how many teams want to fork over a great starter? Tonight the Sox played their 4th Division leader in about two weeks, and their record against them now stands at 5-5. So just maybe this team is good enough with the guys they kept plus the 2 guys they acquired.

Hah!!!!!!

He sure was. We all love Anthony's huge hit in the 10th, but it was the Sox pitching that made this game winnable.

Poor Vaughn. Poor, poor Vaughn. The Sox know him one heckuva lot better than you or I, and they picked Hamilton instead and despite his lousy OPS. He's good on defense and fast on the basepaths. That's why his Wins Above Replacement is +0.3 this year and +2.8 over 3 seasons.

Meh. I agree Devers is the better hitter, but I also think his absence has improved the teamwork in the clubhouse and on the field. Tonight's game is a reminder that Devers was/is just one bat in a 9 player lineup. The Sox won tonight against a tough Astros team because of superb pitching.. Criswell surprised the heck out of all of us, and then the bullpen was lights out for 4 innings--helped by a great throw from Story to nail the guy going home in the 10th. To me the real replacement for Devers is Anthony, who came up a week before Devers left--and we never missed Devers!!

Absolutely. They were gangbusters.

I'm talking more about style and presence than accomplishments. Both were/are tall, had/have a good eye for balls and strike, and showed their ability in their first year. . However, to me it's a dead heat between Ruth and Williams as to who was the greatest hitter ever. In his rookie year, age 21, Williams OPS was freaking 1.049 in 149 games. No way do I put Anthony in their company,--which doesn't trouble me the least little bit. Anthony is still amazing.

He sure is. Heck, he's even decent in the outfield.

Nope. More like Ted Williams.