Maxbialystock

You should be mad. I hate it when mlb.com does this to us. I got lucky--my ipad gets the game.

I am a huge Ted Williams fan and like to point out that he was as good a pilot--on jets in the Korean War--as he was a baseball player. When he enlisted in the USMC he did so because he was getting a lot of heat from other players. He did not fly combat missions in WW II, but was reportedly an excellent instructor. 7 years later he did fly in combat over Korea. He gave up roughly 5 years of his career to serve, and the World War II years were especially dear because 1941 was the year he batted .406. And no, I don't think Devers is anywhere near the hitter Williams was. Williams was 41 in 1960, his final season. His OPS was 1.096 and hit 29 dingers in 113 games. Devers will never have a season that good.

I sure did. What the commentators said was he is one of the best sluggers in MLB today. That could well be true. But what really irritated me was that practically every commentator said letting Devers go was a huge mistake. After 6 weeks, it doesn't look that way. Quite the opposite.

I agree with you of course, but will defend the rights of others to gripe, moan, obsess, whatever about missed opportunities That's what we're here for, right?

Agree. Of course.

Meh.

I think it says the Sox FO likes the players they have. Heck, they dumped the greatest Sox hitter ever and got better! Both Gonzalez and Toro have higher OPS's than Devers' .692. So do 8 other Sox regulars. Crochet, Bello, and Giolito are the best top 3 in the rotation since 2018 and the team ERA is ranked 10th, the best since 2018. Forget the total errors. Individual DWAR's say this is the best Sox defense in a long time. The lineup is 4th in MLB in runs scored and 5th in OPS. The bullpen has a pretty good duo in Chapman and Whitlock, plus guys like Weissert (ERA 2.93), Wilson (ERA 2.65), and Murphy (ERA 2.70) who can contribute. New lefty Matz, ERA 3.44, could also help. I would have loved for Breslow to get a frontline starter and believe he tried. I think trying to get a better first baseman and/or backup catcher was unnecessary. Cora has even been able to solve the "too many outfielders" problem by moving Rafaela to 2b or Anthony to DH. Speaking of Anthony, he is now leading off because his OBP is .402. To be honest, I would have loved to get a frontline starter, but think the FO almost certainly tried to get one.

Edge to the Astros.

DD had carte blanche and the highest payroll in MLB. JH doesn't want to do that again and has no doubt given Breslow limits on what he can do. On the other hand, Breslow was allowed to sign Bregman, Chapman, Crochet, Buehler, and Giolito, none of whom were bargains The first three are clearly worth bucks. Buehler isn't but still might be a decent 4th starter--and the same goes for Giolito. Plus Narvaez is an amazing bargain. I think JH and probably Breslow too have decided that July is the wrong time to go after real talent.

My scorecard says the Sox are much better without Devers and the Giants worse--and that's over a 6 week period. And that's with the Sox playing a tougher schedule. Those other names are just chicken feed. You said Devers would be fine at 1b, and I agreed with you. But who the heck cares when job 1 is hitting? In 37 games with the Giants Devers OPS is .692. In 43 games, Anthony's OPS is .830 and rising--and he has DH'd and played both LF and RF with positive DWAR's. These ten (!!!!) Sox players have higher OPS's than Devers: Bregman .922, Gonzalez .885, Ref .843, Anthony .830, Abreu .807, Duran .793, Rafaela .752, Narvaez .751, Toro .719, and Story .708. To be honest, I think Devers real problem is that he is in a crappy lineup.

Meh. I'm sure you're right about the numbers, and I also don't care. The Sox have just been through a gauntlet of 16 games, 9 of which were on the road, and came out 10-6 and 59-51 overall. I rooted for Devers and always found excuses for his defense. This season I thought he was perfect as the DH. However, if you look at the Sox schedule, you will discover that the Sox were 26-26 the day before Bregman went on the IL. 2 weeks later, with Devers and without Bregman, they were 30-35. Then the Sox came roaring back with a 6 game winning streak--to which Devers contributed almost nothing--that put them at 38-36. Without Bregman and Devers, June 16 and after, the Sox should have collapsed. But on July 13, right before the ASG, they were 53-45. So why oh why should the Sox have spent a zillion bucks to replace Devers? That would have been stupid.

You sure are persistent, and of course you could well be right. Maybe a 3-way trade would have worked. As for ESPN and other commentators, they have to say something outrageous because their readers expect it. As I've already said, they kept saying the Devers trade was disaster for the Sox and a bonanza for the Giants--over and over and over again. You are a far better informed critic than those guys.

To quote Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field, "Amen. Amen. Amen, Amen."

He currently has the highest WAR (wins over replacement), 3.8, among the 13 Sox lineup players. He is 3d in total bases, 2d in runs scored, 3d in SB's, 4th in dingers, 5th in rbi's, and tied with Bregman for fewest K's per AB's (which is 1 every 5 at bats).

You could be right about farm assets. I'm less sure that dumping Duran would have brought back anyone better than Cease. As you have pointed out, no one wants Abreu and the Sox wisely won't cough up Rafaela or Anthony. And Cora has been able to play all 4 outfielders almost any time he wants to because Rafaela can go to 2b or Anthony to DH. Aren't you the one who has said the best deals are in the offseason and not in July?

The past is the past. Breslow has reshaped this Sox team to make it better even after sending Devers to the Giants. ESPN is the same outfit that said Devers to SF was great for SF and a disaster for the Sox. They and all other so-called analysts never, ever like any form of standing pat because it isn't news.

I'm sure you're right about the other contenders improving more than the Sox and that the reliever and starter coming to the Sox will make a small difference, if any. I completely disagree that going "all out" would have accomplished much. Thus do I cite San Diego's insistence that the Sox needed to cough up Duran to get Cease. You are also the one who calls game outcomes early to underscore how hopeless this current Sox team is. That's of course your right, but mine is to say this team is already competitive. Their first 3 starters are the best since the 2018 Sox. And Buehler was pretty decent in July. The incoming guy might be an adequate 5th starter and the lefty might help in the bullpen. The lineup looks pretty darn good to me--scoring and defending. The Sox are 4th in MLB in scoring and 5th in OPS. The 2021 Sox were 5th in runs scored and 3d in team OPS. And the Sox defense this year is way better than the 2018 defense in terms of DWAR's of individual players. Rafaela>>JBJ; Duran> Benintendi; Narvaez>>Vazquez; Bregman/Mayer>Holt/??: Story>>Bogaerts; Gonzalez/Rafaela/Hamilton>Nunez. However, Betts>Abreu; and Moreland>Toro/Gonzalez. The above is why the Sox have won 10 of their last 16 games against the Rays, @ Cubs, @ Phillies, Dodgers, and @ Twins. Of those 5 teams, 3 (Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers) have 63, 61, and 64 wins, the Rays are 3.5 games out of the AL wild card, and the Twins have a winning record, 30-24, at home. I cannot at all predict how this season will turn out, but I like how the Sox are playing right now.

I emphatically disagree with "these bums." The pitching has come around and is the best since 2018. The hitting is ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored and 5th in team OPS. The fielding is actually better than all previous Sox teams back through at least 2018. That terrific team overall had these DWAR's: Moreland -0.5, Benintendi -0.6, Bogaerts -1.0, and Nunez -1.5. JBJ's was 0.4, not even within shouting difference of Rafaela's 2.0 this year. Leon .9 and Vazquez .2 not even close to Narvaez 1.9 and Wong .3. Betts 1.8 in RF definitely better than Abreu .8, but not overwhelmingly so.

No doubt. I'm pretty worn myself. But right now I trust Breslow's judgment, no doubt supported by Cora's--a lot more than yours.

Not a miser, but also not the big spender he was, 2002-2018/19. In case you've forgotten, Breslow was allowed to spend big bucks on Crochet, Bregman, and Chapman. How did that work out? The Sale thing was awful, but Giolito has actually been decent this year even though the Sox are paying $40M for one semi-good season. Plus don't forget that John Henry is still overpaying for Yoshida and Story--although I do think Story has been invaluable this year. And right now letting Devers go to the Giants looks like genius. They've gotten worse with him. And the Sox hitting has improved without Devers. Meanwhile the Sox are using a lot of less seasoned, inexpensive players: Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Anthony, Narvaez, Gonzalez, Mayer. The first five have all been excellent. Campbell still might be. Ditto Mayer. Plus I really like that Bregman, Crochet, and Chapman are all earning their big salaries. I think, like you, I would prefer that the Sox spend freely, but right now I kind of like the product they are putting on the field. Did you know they are 5 games back of the Jays, who have the best W-L record in MLB?

Sorry, everyone, but I've been fine with Toro/Gonzalez all along. I'd prefer Mayer at 2d base, but am not unhappy with Gonzalez/Hamilton.

Not passe. You cannot find a manager anywhere who doesn't load his lineup with lefty bats against a righty starter and righty bats against a lefty starter. When you look at the splits for the Sox, you find the righty bats do better against lefties and the lefty bats against righties. You might think it's insane for Cora to start Rafaela at 2b against a righty starter so he can then have 3 lefty bats in the outfield, but I don't.

I'm with you, Thunder. The Sox have just been through a gauntlet--4 vs Rays, 3 @ Cubs, 3 @ Phillies, 3 vs Dodgers, and 3 @ Twins--and were 10-6. And they did that with what everyone seems to think are "too many outfielders," which is horsehockey.

No doubt. I'm less inclined to criticize Breslow for 3 reasons-- 1. To get Cease from San Diego, he was going to have to cough up Duran. That's how insane the market is in July. 2. The second is that the Sox right now do not have any big weaknesses. Sox pitching, in terms of team ERA, now ranked 10th in MLB, is its best since 2018. Defense is solid, despite all the whining about errors. Sox hitting is 4th in MLB in terms of runs scored and 5th in terms of team OPS. Baserunning is good. 3. And guess what? We've seen what Breslow can do in the offseason because last winter he brought in Crochet, Chapman, Bregman, and Narvaez--all 4 of whom have been have been freaking invaluable. Does anyone on this board think Breslow would have done remotely as well this month? If so, you are nuts.

Your judgment, but certainly not mine. Right now the Sox defense is an asset, especially in the outfield, at catcher, at 3b, at SS, and even at 2b when Hamilton or Rafaela is there. 1b is the only problem, and even there I'm not sure it is. Seriously. When I watch the games, I regularly see our first basemen make good plays, and all are better than Casas. Yesterday Gonzalez started a nifty double play when the fielded a grounder, ran to first, and then made a perfect throw to Story, who tagged the runner out. I think you under-rate Story at SS. To me he has been reliable on throws to 1b when going to his right,on charging in on slow rollers, going back on popups, and turning double plays. Cora has started Story in 106 games, 2d most on the team. And he did that despite Story's struggles at the plate which hopefully are over. Thus does Story leads MLB shortstops in total chances, assists, and double plays. He is 2d in putouts.