moonslav59

I'd rather play TOR than SEA, so that is also part of the equation.

Randomly getting screwed is not something I like about the game. I don't enjoy the Sox winning on a bad call, either. "Hey we got screwed, tonight!" "It's okay: it all evens out over a season."

Although schedule are more balanced, now, teams still play more games vs their own division. Although MIL (NLC) and PHI (NLE) have the best records in MLB, the ALE has the best 2nd place record, the best 3rd place record, the second best 4th place record and the best last place record. That's not easy to do, when you have a .500 record vs each other. The Sox went 32-19 vs the ALE, 29-30 v the rest of the AL and 26-22 vs the NL. TOR mopped up on the NL (30-18) and ALW (19-12) but went just 41-38 vs the ALE+ALC. NYY has a losing record in the ALE and is 40-22 vs the rest of the AL

Looks like a clear win for the catcher.

Yes, I had my doubts, too. It was a risky trade.

Yup. The Sox have gone... 28-32 APR-MAY 31-19 JUN-JUL 28-20 AUG-SEP On May 24th we had clawed back to get a game above .500. The same day, in the second game of a day-nighter, we began a losing stretch of 6 in 7 games and 8 in 10, falling to 29-34. Many felt we were off to another 78-84 season, at best. We then took 2 of 3 from the Yanks at NY and followed that with a 6 game winning streak and 8 of 9 to get to 40-37. Great, right? Ooops! We then lost 6 in a row on a west coast trip and dipped back to 40-43. That was pretty much it for ever being that low, again, although we did lose 7 of 10 in mid AUG and 4 of 5 in mid SEP. What clinched the winning records were this... 10 straight in early July 7 straight from July 29 to Aug 5 7 of 8 on the road trip to NYY and BAL in late August. Winning 4 of the last 5 has helped ease the anxiety.

Remember the big concern over his limited IP beforehand?

How about Raleigh hitting #59 and 60, last night? Maybe Judge does not win the MVP.

I'd kinda like the sellers (AZ) to win. Fred would like that.

I'm not going to say I expected us to win the first two at TOR, but this season has shown us things like this, over and over. We're hearing about the amazing run by the Guardians and the collapse by the Tigers, and rightfully so. CLE has won 18 of 20 and 22 of 28! DET has lost 15 of 20 and 21 of 27. How about SEA? They've won 16 of 17 (10 straight and 6 straight sandwiched around a 7-5 loss at KC on Sept 17th. The Yanks 7 of 8 pales against that. The Yanks have also won 21 of 29. The Bastahds! HOU had a great June (19-7) and if you count from May 24 to July 6, they went 27-12, then KABOOM! 29-39 since, not counting today.

Astros up 5-0, now.

Where did I say that? I just said I'm not sure how it can be enjoyable. There is a difference. I did end with "to each his own," which implies different people enjoy different things.

Among MLB Pitchers with 140+ IP the Sox have 3 pitchers in the top 23 in ERA- : 5. Crochet 61 (1st in xFIP at 2.64) 21. Bello 78 23. Giolito 79 (PHI has 3 in the top 13.) We have 3 in the top 50 in fWAR: 4. Crochet 5.8 49. Giolito 1.9 50. Bello 1.9 PHI has 3 in the top 11! No other team has 2 RP'ers with an fWAR higher than 2. 2.6 Chapman & Cade Smith 2.2 Morejon & Abreu 2.1 Whitlock 2.0 Duran, Diaz, Bednar I'm thinking the playoffs might give us a shot to give the vast majority of IP to our top 5 to 6 pitchers: Crochet, Giolito, Bello, Chapman & Whitlock (with Slaten or Early as #6.)

The everyday prospect list for the Sox took a big hit with graduations by Anthony, Mayer, Narvaez and Campbell. Last year we saw Abreu, Rafaela & DHam matriculate. I do still see a lot of promise, but much is speculative, and we do not appear to have any Anthony's hanging around on the farm. I suppose Campbell could still provide a big kick to the offense, butas I pointed out, he is no longer a prospect- just farm depth, at the moment. Arias is ranked 2nd, right now. sps.com says this: Potential everyday regular at shortstop. Ceiling of a quality regular who provides value with his glove and contact ability. Hit tool is a standout tool, but lack of power and speed limits upside. Defensive profile provides him a solid floor. High baseball IQ; actively seeks to learn more and improve. Needs to get stronger and continue to physically mature to reach his potential. Jh Garcia is ranked 5th and could be our 4th OF'er, next year, if we finally pull the OF'er trade many have expected. Potential platoon outfielder. Ceiling of an everyday center fielder. Has consistently improved as he has moved through the system and has multiple pathways now to being a quality major league player. Power-over-hit profile at the plate, with substantial impact ability, especially against lefties. Hit tool development will determine upside, as there are major questions about how he will handle quality pitching. Power is very legit and if given consistent playing time, has 20-plus home run potential. Also brings a solid defensive profile and plus arm, so there is less pressure on his bat due to carry him to the majors. Hard worker who takes instruction very well and has developed substantially in all areas since he signed. Romero ranks 10th and could be MLB depth at 3B or 2B, next year. Potential bat-first utility player. Ceiling of a second division regular at second base. Showed more power than expected while sacrificing contact in 2024, but came to camp in 2025 showing much more contact ability without sacrificing any power. Needs to continue to show that tightened-up approach and that he can make consistent contact to reach his potential as his chase rate remains high. Has moved down the defensive spectrum in the high-minors already and is not a guarantee to stick in the infield. Pressure on bat increases as he moves down the defensive spectrum. Hard worker who has struggled to stay on the field consistently throughout his career. Justin Gonzales is 13th and is just 18, but to me he has enormous promise. High-variance prospect with standout size and physicality for his age. Baseball skills are surprisingly advanced and has huge power potential. Hit tool has a wide range of outcomes, but has made a solid amount of contact so far in his career. If the bat clicks, has the offensive profile to be able to hold down a spot even if he ends up at first base or in left field. High-ceiling, low-floor profile, but one of the most intriguing bats in the Red Sox low minors. Henry Godbout (23rd) got off to a nice start on the farm and is 21 years old. Right-handed hitter with a contact-over-hit profile. Elite contact skills. Fits the mold of college bats the Red Sox have targeted and elevated in recent drafts. Strong candidate for their bat speed program and has a frame of someone who should hit for more power than he showed at Virginia. If he can add bat speed and hit the ball harder more consistently without sacrificing much contact, could develop into an intriguing middle infield prospect. Enddy Azocar (21st and 18 years old) is all promise, right now. Pop up prospect during Spring Training 2025 who has a nice blend of athleticism and projection. Looks shoehorned into a corner outfield spot, which puts more pressure on his bat. Swing works and has solid contact skills, but needs to make more consistent hard contact. Intriguing prospect with some upside as he physically matures. One to watch for the 2025 FCL season. Nelly Taylor (19th) was a 22 year old in A+ ball. I'm not sure I can say I have a ton of faith he does anything real special.Potential up-and-down outfielder. Ceiling of an everyday centerfielder. High-variance profile given the questions with his hit tool. Strong defensive profile already, which combined with plus athleticism makes him a very intriguing prospect. Raw at the plate with a long way to go with his contact ability. Will go as far as his hit tool allows, but shows potential plus raw power and speed. Solid makeup and willing to put in the work to maximize his tools. Bleis (12th) and Cespedes (16th) lost a lot of luster, this summer. Castro (24th) has lost the last shred of faith I had in him. Cason, Ramos & Rivas are very young and have a lot to prove. Mason White could shine, but my sleeper pick from #30 and below is Johanfran Garcia.

I see it as you taking it too seriously. I'm not sure how stewing in gloom and doom is fun, but to each his own.

Last year a 78 win team did great! Texas finished 3rd in their division! In '23 Detroit finished 2nd with 78 wins and CLE was 3rd with 76. I guess the 61 win CWS team was better than those 78 win Sox teams, because they did NOT finish last. In 2022, three teams finished 3rd with 74-78 wins. In 2021, two teams did it.

Indeed. I actually respect a GM that tries harder to build a deep team over the winter than one who relies on deadline overpays to fill needs that should have been filled earlier. Of course, times arise where key needs cannot or should not be ignored and strong efforts should be made to fill those needs, especially when it feel like the team may have a legitimate shot at making a strong playoff run. That last part is not always easy to determine, and opinions often vary on whether the team should buy, sell or do neither/both. I'm gonna guess Brez tried hard to fill the needs. There was talk that he kept working for more after the M & M deals, so we know he wanted to do more, if rumors were true. I was screaming for Ryan or a fall back to Keller, and I'm kinda glad we did not make that happen. I fell I'd be a hypocrite if I bashed Brez for not getting Ryan. I know some wanted a big bat, and this was before Anthony and Abreu got hurt. Nice foresight. I had hoped we could get a cheap bat at 1B, as I was ranting against Toro for months. Lowe was not a deadline deal, but he's done okay- kinda like Dom Smith, last year, after the Garrett Cooper failure. Matz has done well. May has not. We got lucky that Early has done well and Tolle gave us one good start. The team is in the best position since the HOU playoff series in 2021. We have a better record than the 2019 team, even if we go 0-4 the rest of the way. As Sox fans, we should be happy and supportive. That's not telling others how to act or be a fan, but I just don't get why the immense negativity occurs. It sucks the fun out of the room.

Over Bello's career, his opponents have a .733 OPS Against. In certain categories, he seems to do better under pressure: .709 Men on Base .677 RISP .631 RISP w 2 outs .608 Late & Close and .685 High Leverage

Quite a leap on grouping Dominicans into this stereotype. Papi and Pedro sure help prove your point.... NOT!

I can't stop being pumped up at all the starting pitching depth we have in the system, including deep into the far. Every level. Every age group. MLB: Crochet, Bello, Sandoval, Crawford, Dobbins, Houck ('27) Fitts, Harrison & (Criswell & WinK to pen?) AAA/MLB: Early, Tolle, Perales, Uberstine, Drohan, (Mullins & Sandlin to pen) AA/AAA: Paez, Clarke, Aita, Wehunt, Holobetz (Dean & Rogers to pen) A+/AA: Valera, Fajardo, Witherspoon, Phillips, Eyanson (Tygart & Neely to pen) A-/A+: Travieso, J Bello, B Morgan, Patton, Ruiz (Brown & Gartrell to pen)

Agreed. I'll always remember him as being pretty damn good when it counted, and the HR vs the Yanks is a classic.

Okay, I'm cherry-picking the 200+ PAs cut off, but here we go... MLB OPS Leaders with 200+ PAs 1.136 Judge (203 pts better than the next AL guy!) 1.009 Ohtani .993 Kurtz (Brandon Lowe is 203 pts below him at .790!) .959 Raleigh .946 Schwarber (Sox target this winter?) Sox players, ex Sox players or possible targets.... 14. K Marte .884 17. Alosno .867 21. Anthony .859 23. Refsnyder .854 (Why retire?) 24. Tucker .854 27. Y Dias .851 34. Devers .844 36. Romy .840 42. Suarez .832 50. Bregman .826 62. Naylor .809 66. Teel .805 74. Abreu .800 76. O'Hearn .798 81. Moncada .795 86. Wil. Contreras .791 100. Duran .775 121. Torres .757 127. Story .752 134. Hoskins .748 142. Betts .742 149. Beni .738 158. Caratini .729 159. Narvaez .728 _____ mid point on list of 343 players_____ 181. Arraez .712 186. Bogey .710 188. Seam Murphy .709 203. Rafaela .700 221. N Lowe .685 256. Campbell 263. Toro .659 320. Kike .587 340. C Vazquez (Last place at #343 is O Peraza at .476

2022: .901 in Sept 2023: .869 in Sept. It was just 2024 (and now 2025.)

I said nobody would be on the striking MLB umps side. When the NFL umps were locked out, it's a different situation. I do not think the challenge system will force a striuke, since nobody is losing their jobs over it. If they do strike over it, I doubt anybody takes their side. That's different than saying they'd be fine with bozo replacements. (I'm also not sure the replacements could be much worse.)

I'm probably too high on Jh Garcia, but I think he forces the OF trade issue. I did not see an OF logjam before last winter. In fact we kept adding one year guys from Renfroe to Duval to O'Neill and also dumped Dugo just in time. I think we'll trade for Keller (not Ryan.) I agree that Bregman is a goner, despite the plus he brings to the clubhouse. I'm not sure about the money needed to get Schwarber or Alonso here. They may go with a shorter contract for someone like Suarez. I hope it's for 1B or DH and not 3B, but if Mayer gets hurt again, he can play 3B.