Maxbialystock

I sure hope Cora and his staff are not suggesting tonight will be a piece of cake.

Target. The sportswriters need additional fodder to blather about. It's also fair to say that sometimes those July acquisitions pay off that season. However, they automatically condemn any CBO whose team is in the hunt and who doesn't aggressively pursue reinforcements. One sportswriter claims he has canvassed a bunch of CBO's who all agree it's impossible to make a deal with Breslow. The sportswriter does not of course comment on the Sox current success post-July. Or, for that matter, leading up to 31 July. Nor does he mention that December is when the best acquisitions are made.

Comprehensive and compelling. Maybe Breslow knows what he is doing, as does the pitching coach he hired.;

Just a reminder to everyone that John Henry is still a hands on owner, even with his 76th birthday in September. Six years ago he decided that he no longer wanted to spend freely even though DD had just produced the best Sox season ever with the highest payroll in MLB So he hired Chaim Bloom in the hope that he could produce something like the Rays system, which flat did not happen and resulted in CB making some pretty bad hires before being let go after the 2023 season. Right now the Sox payroll, $194M, is ranked 1`2th in MLB--actually, 9th if you count just the active payroll. Spotrac also provides the latest W-L records next to all those payrolls. And here are the 8 teams above the Sox active payroll of $159M: Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, Jays, Padres, and Yankees. 12th highest active payroll belongs to the Astros, 15th to the Detroit Tigers, and 20th to the Brewers. And the kicker is that 11 of those 12 teams have won at least 60 games and no more than 67. That's a pretty tight shot group. Also, the woebegone Rockies with just 30 wins has the 27th highest active payroll, $44M, and Miami, 55-55, has the 29th, $35M. Back to John Henry. He probably knows those numbers and therefore believes that his payroll is about right. So is his CBO, who allowed to sign pricey Bregman, Crochet, and Chapman--also $20M for Buehler. Breslow also had JH's backing to "trade" Devers and his huge pay package to the Giants after Devers publicly said he would not play 1b. Sox attendance is still off, 33,481 per game so far, but in the 3 games vs Houston the average was 36,369. All 3 of those games were played AFTER BRESLOW refused to spend big to get a really good starter or whoever. Talksox is still livid that Breslow screwed up, but the people in spend the bucks are not. In 2018 the best Sox team ever's average attendance was 35,747, but in 2019 it was 36,106. no doubt because of the afterglow. So I think JH thinks the new approach is also good attendance. And let's not forget that this winter Breslow will again be allowed to spend significantly in part because Devers belongs to the Giants.

Another great laydown. However, allow me to remind you that this year's throw-together staff now has the 7th best ERA in MLB, 3.70.. I don't know the last Sox pitching staff that was that good. The 4th best team ERA right now is 3.68, the Brewers. Is it remotely possible that our CBO, who is thought to be the smartest man in MLB and was a major league pitcher for 10 years--some with the Sox--just might have had something to do with that? And he did it despite sending Sale to the Braves where he won the CY Young last year.

Do the Sox have another great shortstop I don't know about? I say another because I've very afraid Mayer will continue to be injury prone. Right now he's odds on to miss the rest of the season after playing in just 44 games. His track record in the minor is basically never playing a full season. Plus he does not seem to hit MLB pitching well.

Exactly the way I would put it if I only could.

Heck, I like Bello too. We have three excellent starters right now, of whom Crochet is a true ace. Plus, as moonslav has pointed out, the bullpen has actually been pretty good. I don't think Buehler has bad stuff, but do think his control stinks. Criswell looked really good.

You beat me to it.

Gio is a work in progress. HIs first start was April 30. His May ERA was 4.85, June 3.04, and July-August 2.92. Of those last 6 starts 4 were on the road @ Twins, Phillies, Cubs, and Nationals. Today's 8 IP and 1 ER were against a Division leader, as were the Cubs and Phillies. Same for Bello, whose first start was April 22 and whose May ERA was 4.03. But it was 2.87 in June and 2.79 in July against the Dodgers, Cubs, Rays, Rockies,, Reds, and Twins--and 39 innings pitched.

In July it's a seller's market, so the price in players and prospects would be big for a #2 starter.

Need, yes. Necessity, doubtful. Expensive because it's a seller's market, almost certainly.

I was afraid you would say that. In the past, the Sox have always been inclined to add a starter in July when they think they are in the hunt. I think it was Jake Peavy in 2013 and Eovaldi in 2018.

Story not back next year? How? The Sox need him. Mayer makes me nervous because he is very injury prone. Agree on Casas. He's missed one full season because he swung a bat and then, this season, ran to 1b. My guess is Campbell gets that spot.

Played 10, so I think it's 9.

Right now the top 9 teams in MLB have won between 62 games and 66 games. That's a very tight shot group and means the Sox are very much in the hunt. After reading moonslav's listing of the weaknesses of some of those 9 teams, I think the Sox don't have any real weaknesses. Pitching is the best since 2018. Hitting 4th in MLB in runs. Defense with lots of plus defenders. And good baserunning. The claim is that team morale is pretty good, especially after the Sox didn't trade away anyone on the 26 man roster last week. A couple were sent back to Worcester, however.

Royals at the Fens for 3, then six road games @ San Diego and @ Houston.

Seriously? Because of Wong? If so, I'm delighted.

Really?

You are in the very unenviable position of whining about the "weaknesses" of a Sox team that doesn't really have any. Gonzalez is the "good RH to play 1b." Wong showed again today he is an effective backup catcher. The Sox pitching right now is better than the 2018 staff, the hitting is ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored, the defense is solid despite those errors, and the baserunning is pretty good. How good? The Sox have just played, post ASG, 12 games against 4 Division leaders and won 7 of them. They mashed the Dodgers and Astros at Fenway and went 2-4 @ Cubs and @ Phillies. The one concern now is injuries. I think Bregman, Story, Rafaela, Narvaez, Anthony, and Crochet are irreplaceable. Maybe Chapman is.

Berra had the same problem. And Devers has been known to golf those low pitches now and then. Anthony is the opposite, and his way works a lot better.

😄

Amen. Some great examples. And do I need to add that the Sox weak areas are greatly exaggerated here on talksox? I mean that thread on the presumed failure of Breslow to make a big move on July 31 is now at 15 freaking pages because a huge number of talk soxers are buying the media hype that Breslow failed miserably. They give him a D or and F. The talksox complaints are based on these false assumptions: 1) the Sox rotation stinks; 2) 1b is a disaster which will bring the Sox down quicker than that iceberg did the Titanic; 3) Wong is completely incompetent as the Sox backup catcher.; 4) the Sox have way too many good outfielders, whom Cora is unable to give enough starts/at bats to.

Bello had his his only complete game ever with Wong behind the plate. Now Giolito looks to go 8 while giving up 1 run. Is it even remotely possible Breslow and Cora had good reasons for not signing another backup catcher?

This was/is kind of a one inning game--the disastrous 4th for the Astros with one of their best starters on the mound. The Sox actually have a pretty deep lineup. Those six runs occurred with the Sox having just 1 double and no triples or dingers.