moonslav59

My God, your reading comprehension level is below pre-K.

I'll tell you, nobody in HOU viewed finishing .500 and making the playoffs a success. I'm huge on playoff success being the most valuable, but I'm never going to go mental over a two game sample size and make definitive judgements about a team or specific players.

We just see things in opposite ways. To me, a suggestion is wrong when I suggest we sign a guy and he sucks. It has zero to do with whether Brez did as I suggest or not. (For one thing, I didn't suggest it to him, and he never reads my posts.) I rarely predict any tardes or signings. I predict our win totals and each year i make projections on players' OPS. I am wrong on many, close on many and almost right on a few. So, you wanted Bregman at 3 years and he got 5. By your logic you were wrong. So, you agree we were both wrong on suggesting we get Alonso, since Brez didn't sign him? (I don't see it that way.) Reread your first two sentences and tell me you were wrong on Alonso or wrong on that point.

Every team has a few Durbins. I'm all for upgrading the weakest areas, and the more the better. I don't see a career 100 OPS+ player after his first two seasons in MLB who makes himself into a plus due to GG type defense and decent baserunning as the first or even second guy on the team to try and upgrade. His pre-arb cost and hopeful progression as he nears prime are two more reason I'd prefer to upgrade at SS and DH/LF than 3B. (He is third on my list for an upgrade on 0, but I think we can win with him, if we add DLC & Suzuki or Sato and Abrams. Duran needs to go. I'd do everything to dump Story and Yoshida without downright DFA'ing them. (They'd be okay on the bench.) I'm not confident enough in handing Arias the SS job, but I know some here are. I don't think they believe in him out of a sense of complacency, but they actually think he's better than you and I do. Just like you thought Duran was better than I did. (I would call you complacent or not wanting better, because you believed in Duran. You just got that one wrong.) Some of us value defense and positional comparative values more than others. They simply think Durbin, Abrea and Rafaela are better at helping us to win than you and Fred do. We all want the Sox to win, well all but you and Fred, and some think there are different ways to get there. We've gone 8 years without a ring. I went over 30 years before 2004 and sounded a lot like you and Fred for 30 years. I literally said many time, "I'll take 10 straight last place finishes for just one ring." It sounds like you are thinking like that now. Fred was thinking like that in May.

I don't disagree on "botching" Bregman, but no way he deserved that much, Suarez was a better dollar for dollar deal but it missed the target we needed to be aiming at. I'll still take Durbin & Suarez over Bregman & Harrison for the 5 years. Also, why does what ATL paid Sale in year one so very important, but you neglect Suarez made $7M in 2026 ($10M with $3M bonus,) and now PDV is your go too number that counts? Bregman made $35M in 2026 with $15M deferred. Do the math. That's $20M to Suarez $10M year one. "The Cubs got Fleeced!" LOL Bregman got $175M/5 with $70M deferred Suarez got $130M/5 and Durbin is pre-arb. Can you try to answer just one question for once? Who are the "some are happy?"

Who is the talk of "complacency" directed at? Posters? Who? Brez? He's that farthest thing from complacent. Go ahead an claim incompetent, but he's the anti-Mr. Complacent. Forgive me if I assumed you feel too many posters are content with standing pat or making just a couple minor tweaks as being the complacent ones. If you meant Brez, see my previous paragraph.

Everytime I suggest a move and the Sox don't make it, you say I was wrong. Are you seriously denying this? Yes, we've gone through this several times. I explain how suggestions are not predictions, but you say nothing I ever want happens and I'm wrong. Denying you do this nonstop is something that certainly happens. One last funny: You say I'm always wrong, but agreed with me on wanting Alonso, and say you didn't call that wrong. I see your math skills rival your reading comp skills. Okay, one more: I didn't want Bregman at that cost, and we didn't pay it. I guess I was wrong here, too, right?

It's not policing. Your Mr Complacency is a strawman. Sure, some want less bold moves than you and I, but there may only be 1-2 posters, if any that want us to run back the same team. Almost every poster is suggesting trades and signings. Brez improved the team significantly, and yes he should have added 2 bats not one last winter. I'm fine if you don't view Mead + AR as a similar improvement as Alonso, but they were moves that improved the "April team."

Who doesn't? The difference is, you think you are alone in this thought. Not a single Sox fan looks at our 5 year record and smiles. Let me let you in on a secret: we have a better chance at a ring by adding 1-2 elite players, than trying to add 26 new ones. We could sign the top 10 FAs and trade our 26 for 16 more and we'd not be any better than adding DLC/Abrams and Suzuki/Sato.

Wishing your team finishes last is worse than "dingus." Newsflash, Brez did overhaul the 2023 team as much as any GM in Red Sox history. You let the frustration with Bloom put unrealistic demands on a miracle turnaround in 3 years cloud you reasoning. We've come a long way since 2023, and you want to start from scratch. I'm the dingus? I wanna be #1, too. Nobody is happy with the last 6-7 seasons. I think we've made steps towards getting there. With a little luck we coulda been much better this year. I think we are one elite bat away plus just a normal level of injuries away from being as good or better than the aging Yanks and up and down Rays, Jays and always down O's.

You'd want to overhaul the whole Dodger team, too, if you were their fan.

I think you need to find another team to pretend root for. I've never seen a fan honestly wish for a last place finish. You said you thought getting DLC would bring us close to where we need to be, so you think one player can bring us from 4th place to being in competition for 1st?

So, you dont count Mead, AR and a near full returning rotation & Anthony as additions?

It's a better core than April 2026. What AL team improved by more than we did from April '26? How do we fall to 4th? CLE or CWS passed us?

I'm not sure any of us are shooting for 3rd place, again. Most of us thought we got better and then we added Mead & AR and saw what we have with Tolle & Bennett. I could be 100% wrong, but I doubt Brez & Co thought we'd end the season like we did. I'm not so sure they were all lying when they said they felt like they built a competitive team. I know that's a loaded word, as some think 3rd place out of 15 teams is competitive and still others feel the playoffs is a near total crap shoot. It's hard to project where we place on paper going into 2027. We subtract Gray and some bums and mehs, and we add full seasons by AR, Mead and a mess or IL players that ended the season off the IL. Take that for what it's worth and compare to what the Rays and Yanks will lose and can view as gains. We're probably still around 3rd. The winter could change that. I won't be happy, if we start 2027 listed 3rd on fangraphs or other projection sites.

You don't think having Mead and AR on next April's roster is a plus? Yes, we will will subtract Gray, Sandoval, IKF and others we don't even know about yet. Counting on more from Anthony seems like a broken record. Counting on pre-prime and prime players to improve failed this year, so why hope for better next year? The bench and SP'er depth helped us go 32-5 and then let us down in October, so they all suck and should be changed out, this winter. The pen has overperformed two straight seasons, so expect them to implode. Let's just start over with a whole new 26. (Hope you get the sarcasm. I'm under the weather the last couple days and kinda grumpy.)

Almost all of us know the difference between what we suggest and what we actually think will happen. True, we won't trade for DLC or Abrams. It's probably 99% we don't sign Sato or Suzuki. Maybe Arozarena or Chisholm are below 80%, but I have my doubts on even moves like those. To me, one main driver will be JH's budget and Brez's willingness to trade some big contracts to gain more budget space. We won't trade Arias, and trading others will be playing Whack-A-Mole.

It's wonderful how the Sox have followed everything you've wanted them to do and are now poised to win 3 straight rings. The difference is, you speak in vagaries and love to show all the mistakes the Sox make, but rarely give specific suggestions on how to improve the team. I think you wanted Schwarber and Alonso, then come back after a long break to boast how right you were. I wasn't aware we signed either of them. How am I wrong for wanting Alonso, and we failed to sign him, but you are right for wanting Alonso, because he had more HRs and RBIs than Willson? The shifting criteria is tiresome to observe.

You know what I "worry about?" You mentioned Alonso's D, and I showed you he was bad. I wanted Alonso, so my "worry" is just in your head. Yes, I value D more than you. I also value truth and reading comprehension highly

Oh, so it went from "this is a new era" to this happens to only the Sox pitchers.

I've mentioned Chisholm (and BLowe) as options for a 2B upgrade. Perhaps the best part of that play is to further squeeze Story out of a slot to play while moving Mead to DH and forcing a Duran trade. His .711 OPS in his walk year is kinda scary, but he's only 28. He did hit 30 HRs in 2025, so maybe 19 in '26 was a fluke. He bats lefty and has a career .662 split v L, but that's better than BLowe. I just don't view him as "enough." Maybe Abrams is more obtainable. He's 26 and hit 33 HRs this year and had 34 2B+3Bs. 67 XBH is part of a 3 year upward trend. 59 XBHs in '25 55 XBHs in '24 52 XBHs in '23 He also has had 30+ SBs for 4 straight seasons. The .313 career OBP should not concern some here. (.322 last 3 yrs and .336 this year.)

I guess the Brewers should hold a sell-off sale this winter, after allowing Misiorowski to go from 64 IP to 175. The Yanks might as well just perform preventative shoulder surgery on Schlitter after jumping his IP by 120 before the playoffs even started.

I doubt they are shopping him. They still have some well-known players on the downside. They may think they have a 1 year window, when Pena, Paredes and other lose team control. They may not.

CINCY is notorious for asking for mega-overpays. It might be best to look at Abrams or even Neto and other second tier options. I don't think we can afford to put all our eggs in the Arias basket. (I don't trust Story as the back-up either.)

How about Pedro? He was used most as a RP'er in '93 at age 21 (107 IP). They jumped him to SP and 145 IP at age 22, then 195 (+50), then 217 then 241. He had 29+ GS the following 3 seasons. Beckett: 107>142 (+35)>157>179>204 was way more gradual and probably ideal. Schilling went from RP and 76 IP to 226!!! +150. He followed that season up with 235. Hmmm.. Sale went from 71 to 192 (+121) and never looked back for 5 more seasons. Price went from 128 to 209>224>211>186>248 Were those more gradual increases than ... Crochet was returning from major surgery, then 13>146>205 (+59) Houck was jerked from pen to starter to pen to starter more times than I can count. He went from 69>60>106>179 (+73) Crawford 77 (102 counting AAA)>129>184 (+50) Tolle 108>149 (+41) Yes, the information is there for all of us to see what we want to see.