moonslav59

Nobody felt like we did what it took before the 2021 season, but we ended up doing well. I felt we did more before the 2022 season than the one in 2021, but we did way worse. Things don't always align with effort and actual data on who you added, each year. The fact is, after the Betts trade, our roster was pitiful: very few stars, too few decent players and nearly 20 guys on the 40 man roster that were near replacement level players. To top it off, our farm sucked. "Wait till next year" was really about hoping JH would spend $120M AAV, all at once. It wasn't based on thinking we had a solid foundation and just needed a few key pieces: we needed like 8-12 key pieces, each off season, well, maybe that number decreases by 1-2, each season after 2020. I'm not trying to sugar coat the current "wait till next year" sentiment that is spreading like wildfire, here, but I for one am very optimistic about our future, and it is no longer dependent on hoping JH does something outlandish- like up the budget by $100M. To me, just bring Bregman & Chapman back and replace Buehler's $21M, Gio's $19M, Hendriks' $5M and $4M from Wilson and Ref with a solid SP'er, pen arm and a rightside infield guy and we should be a top 4 contender. That was totally unrealistic before 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. This does not change what happens, this year. It sucks to be even thinking about "wait till next year" in August, but the fact is, we did "do a lot" and "get a lot" this past winter. We got way more right than wrong. Despite 4 or 5 of our best 8 SP'ers missing most or all of 2025, the depth was there to keep us in this thing. As much as we poo-ppo'd the M & M additions, they have done okay, yet we keep hearing "tear it all down," Fire Brez & Cora," over and over. I'm so far away from that position, I can't even say by how much. We've hit a rough patch. Some want to believe that means we will continue like this for the rest of the season, and maybe we do. I think this team is better than this. We've bounced back all year, and I'm not being a homer to think we might do it again. There has been so much turnover in the past 2 years, that this team is barely recognizable compared to 2022 or 2023. The senior most 40 man roster players were added in 2020! (Houck, Whitlock & Wong.) We only have 7 players on the 40 from the 2021 forty man roster and 3 were on the IL, all year or most of it! 16 players were on the 2022 team with 6 on the 60 day IL! 23 players on the forty were not on the 40, when Brez arrived, but we should somehow expect this team to "FLOP" like they did. The idea is absurd, to me. (Sorry, Fred, but it just is.)

It has been more. (More than very little may still not be enough, but the decisiveness meter jumped, a lot, this past winter.)

The Yanks have been losing large salaries and some good players almost as much as they have been adding them, and their core of young players is not close to our level.

Who cares if it's late? Apparently we were in on many big names and got the last one. It still counts. The Crochet deal took ballz we havent seen since DD. The Chapman signing surprised us all, but lets just talk about 3 guys that failed at 2B and why Brez didnt add a 4th 2Bman. I agree, he blew 1B.

So, it was sarcasm. Fine. "Maybe" 6-8 players is not a solid foundation. I'm fine with you believing this, but I disagree. Crochet, Bello, Whitlock, Slaten are solid foundation pieces along with very promising and could be called solid pitchers like Dobbins, Crawford, Sandoval and maybe Giolito. (I wont say Tolle and other prospects, just yet.) Anthony, Bregman, Duran, Abreu and Narvaez are solid to me. Mayer, Campbell and maybe Jh Garica will be. Story & Casas look solid, when healthy and I know we disagree on Rafaela, but I see him as a plus player- not "mediocre." (Not "solid foundational", either.) I see a solid core of 10-12 players with good chances of another 6- 8 being there, next year. Tearing down would be "wait until next year" being 2031. Why would you advocate for that? Are you saying we need to sign 18 free agents or trade for them and then win in 2026? Now, that's funny!

Nobody is happy about "wait until next year." Some don't think we are at that point, just yet, but I can understand why some feel like that, after last night, and the last 10 games. We are still in the driver's seat, and other teams are struggling, too. Hell, the Astros have been shut out 4 of the last 5 games, and SEA could win the west, making the 'Stros out top WC contender. The Yanks have gotten hot, but they were cold for about a quarter of the season. CLE sold at the deadline, but we are the ones seen as being "complacent" and striving for mediocrity. Texas is Toast (pun intended.) KC could compete, but what did they do to improve? They didn't even get any M & Ms. TBR is behind TEX. SEA did a lot at the deadline and are 10-6 since, but as I pointed out, they could not be a WC contender, because they win the ALW.

$40M was a major choice made- lap-falling or not. It represented a major shift in spending and commitment to go beyond complacency. So did the first major prospect trade since the Sale deal.

Not sure if this is sarcasm, but if you mean the foundation looks good, then saying tear it all down from top to bottom seems misguided.

We filled a lot of holes, last winter. None of us liked the M & M hole-fixers at the deadline, but they both have done okay, so far. We finally tried to fix the 1B hole... maybe too late.

On paper, this team looks better than 201, andthe foundation going forward is light years better.

I could see this, next year: 1. Arreaz 2B (FA) 2. Anthony LF (Garcia on rest days) 3. Story SS 4. Bregman 3B 5. Abreu/Garcia RF 6. Duran/Garcia DH 7. Casas/Romy/Garcia 1B 8. Narvaez C 9. Rafaela/Garcia CF (Did I forget to mention Garcia?) If JH gets real bold: add Alonso and G Torres (or Arreaz) plus a SP'er, while brining back Chapman & Bregman.

Agreed. They had time and resources to fix 1B. IMO, first basemen are not hard to get, and not all that costly. Hell, we could have traded for Lowe weeks or months ago, and got some cash thrown in or given WSH Yoshida and cash to get him. Same thing last year, but at least we tried with Copper and then Dom Smith. I was on the dump Toro train a very long time ago. (I was also on the Devers at 1B train, years ago and Casas to DH, as well. I'm not tooting my own horn, but why not try it?)

Agreed on the 5 years, but it really began in 2019 (6 years) and to me, it ended after 2024. The complacency was with the big club, but not the farm, but they could never come out and say "We are rebuilding, while trying to trick fans into thinking we might compete, this year, if everything goes right." I like this team. I think we are 1-2 major additions away from being a top 4 team in MLB. That assumes Bregman and Chapman return, otherwise we need 3-4 major additions, this winter. That is not something we should feel is beyond reach. I know that sounds like one more year of "wait till next year," and in some ways it is. I'm not happy about that. I had wished we'd done more to strengthen the pen, add a better SP'er than Buehler and deepen the options at 1B & 2B, but I do think the complacency ended after 2024. 5 years: 2020-2024, yes. (2021 was a blip, and if you count 2019, and not 2021, it's still 5 recent years out of 6.)

It's been brutal, here. Some days the heat index is over 110. It is often still 90 at 7 or 8 pm.

I think Cora does have "influence," but it's Brez who makes the final decision on who is on the 26. I'm as frustrated as anyone, but I do not think this year was the same. We had SP'er depth 10-12 deep and needed everyone, plus adding May. (Trading Priester was a mistake, but not part of any sham, as I called it.) 1B depth was a major concern, and it bit us in the A$$. Was that JH being cheap? (Maybe.) I thought we built a competitive team, and JH opened his wallet. Bregman got the highest AAV in Sox history. We traded for Crochet and then extended him. We signed what turned out to be the best closer in MLB, but let roast Cora and Brez alive, because he missed on 1B and 2B, with mayer getting hurt, Campbell sucking and DHam turing from a decent fWAR guys, last year to DFA material. Overall, I think we made a major effort to get competitive, this year, and last time I looked, we are still ahead in the WC race. I'll be pissed, if we miss out, and I fully expect more improvements, this coming winter, or I will be as loud as anyone about any shortcomings in 2026. I am far from giving up on 2025. This team has shown resiliency, over and over, and I'm leaving the door open to see if they continue with that aspect of their make-up. If others choose to give up and pout or complain, fine. I'm not there, yet.

Agreed, and while I think it's okay to have a few mediocre players on the roster, a mediocre hitting, platoon, slow and DH-only player's days should be numbered, if we are to continue improving our 26 and 40 man roster. While I have applauded the vast improvement of our roster depth and quality, we still have some major concerns: 1. The lack of top quality players. (I see Crochet, Chapman, Bregman and Anthony, right now.) 2. Some real duds on the 26 (Toro, Eaton, Yoshida, Buehler, Hicks, ICampbell and maybe Wong) and 40 (Grissom, DHam and maybe Sogard.) That's 8-10 guys out of 40. We'll be adding some Rule 5 guys, this winter- some with great promise, and likely 3-4+ free agents or trade addtitions, but we simply have to reduce the amount of mediocrity FT'ers. I'm not sure how we rid ourselves of Yoshida. With one less year of high pay left, maybe it will be a little easier, but we may just have to cut ties or trade him for an equal paid salary dump pitcher or 1B/2Bman.

One aspect of this season is that every AL team shows the same inconsistencies that make all look mediocre. Yes, good hitting does seem contagious, and maybe Lowe sparked a hitting pandemic, last night.

Agreed. Much has changed since 2024, but Cora, Brez and a few key vets have not.

The Sox have had several bad stretches, this year, and always bounced back. I'm not sure this means we have 1 or 2 more bounce backs in us, but for those who swear that what has happened, so far is doomed to repeat itself, why close the door on more bounce backs? Because the 2022, 2023 and 2024 teams faded away, at the end? 1. We lost 4 in a row in April, then won 5 straight. 2. Mid April, we lost 6 of 8, then won 6 of 7. 3. We ended April losing 3 straight, then winning 3 straight. 4. May saw much of the same: lose 5 of 6 and win 4 of 5, We ended May losing 6 of 7, including a 5 game losing streak. 5. We started June losing 3 of 5, making it a long stretch of losing 9 of 12, then won 8 of 9 and 10 of 12. We followed that with a 1 and 7 stretch before heading into the start of our best stretch of 2025. 6. From June 30th to July 13th, we went 12-1. We certainly aren't that good, but we aren't this bad, either. We then lost 4 of 5 before going on another nice stretch into August, going 10 and 2. Since August 5th, we have gone 4 and 8, and the SKY IS FALLING! IMO, we will have some more nice stretches and some more not-so-nice ones. There should be some hope we have a little more nice than not nice, going forward, but with the way the AL is this year, we might sneak in playing just over .500 the rest of the way, but beating our rivals more than we lose to them.

It's hard to imagine, but the Astros might be playing even worse than we are. Shutout in 4 of last 5 games (winning that 5th game in 12) and have just 10 runs scored in the last 7 games I'm hoping this is just a 10 game blip, but our past few seasons have set a trend that looks all so repeatable. While this is a vastly different team than 2024, we need to stop the skid, soon!

Please, just find another team to root for.

Two: Cora and Brez. Brez could have taken Cora's option away.

On the Toro must go bandwagon thing, I ask, what took you guys so long? I'm still not sure Max wants him gone. He's been a mega drain since the Devers trade. That wasn't yesterday. 1B is a position for .800+ OPS guys or a .750 guy with 30 dingers.

I'd hate to hear what you think about teams you are not a fan of.

Yup, right upside 14 other AL teams in the same boat. Brez did get Chapman and Crochet. Wilson did okay, for a while and deadline additions M & M have done better than expected.