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Rosters full of near HOFers? 1903 had two Hall of Famers (Cy Young, Jimmy Collins) and no one I’d consider a “near HOFer”. I suppose some might argue Buck Freeman, but calling him a near HOFer is like calling Milwaukee “near Boston”. 1912 was a little better. Speaker and Hooper for HOF. Near HOFer certainly with Smoky Joe Wood. I could argue against the largely mediocre Eddie Cicotte as being close, but he went and got himself banned anyway, rendering his (lack of) qualifications moot. Ruth came along in 1914. But really, nearly every Sox team ever has had at least one HOF or near HOF talent. Heck they had a Hall of Famer playing LF every year from 1939 to 1989. Even the lowly 2020 team had Devers as their best bet. And he certainly could go, but if he misses I think at minimum he qualifies as a “near HOF”. And this 2026 team has a lot of players with TBD in their future, but also a surefire lock in Aroldis Chapman. I am not sure what the record is for Hall of Famers on one Sox team, but I think it’s 4 in 1978 with Rice, Fisk, Yaz and Eckersley. It should be five with the egregious omission of Dwight Evans…

There were no All Stars on the 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918 World Series champion teams. Not one

Agree it is entertainment. That’s why they sell tickets and put it on TV. And yeah, “figure it out” is rarely solid medical advice. I wouldn’t want the doctor to tell me to “figure it out” if I came to see him about diarrhea. I don’t expect mental health professionals to do so either…

He lied.

Damn!! He’s crushing the ball! We need him back in our lineup!!

You have to lose games to clinch…

If someone told you on April 25th that game would be the last time Garrett Crochet started for the Sox in 2026, would anyone believe that this “pitching and defense” team would clinch a postseason spot, or if someone said on June 25, when Boston was 32-46, that this team would be clinching in the final week, would anyone have believed either statement?

He does need to be ready. If he’s not pitching well, then whoever is up next gets to go. They’ll probably have a 9 or 10 man bullpen for that first 3 game series in NY. So a lot depends on who is still healthy, too…

Absolutely. Absolute joke that the AL West winner could have a losing record and not only still make the playoffs but also host games over better teams…

I was told repeatedly that 35 year old Chris Sale was ready for action as his former self after close to 4 years without pitching, so why can’t Houck get by as a much younger RP that only missed one?

Tolle is only 23 years old, but physically, he looks like a 45 year old shop teacher…

If Houck looks good, why not? He’s an experienced MLB veteran and the Sox probably cannot put together a roster of 9 better relief pitchers, even if they include Crochet…

While it’s possible to drop down to the third wild card, even that’s pretty unlikely. Both Cleveland (4 GB) and Chicago (5 GB) would need to pass Boston in the final 7 games. Cleveland does have 3 H2H games with the Sox and Chicago faces Detroit (1), KC (3), and Colorado (3) for a pretty soft landing, but they also have almost no margin for error…

I can’t speak to his physical health, but I think at a minimum it’s safe to assume he’s done for the regular season…

Trading Wong wasn’t going to make Narvaez hit, and they weren’t going to be able to trade him for much of anything.

Most of the players fans think of as clutch are usually great hitters - Ortiz, Jeter, Reggie Jackson. These are all Hall of Famers and none of them got in for a handful of October at bats…

Yes. Ortiz was just always great, clutch sutuations or not. Tabler was a league average hitter (career OPS .724, OPS+of 99) that became one of the best hitters in MLB if you brought him up with the bases loaded, where he had a career OPS of 1.198. Thats just ridiculous

“Clutch” can be used to describe a hit or any event in a crucial moment in a game. It only gets controversial when used to describe a player. Except Pat Tabler. He really was actually quite clutch…

The business of what? Taking it easy and giving the starters a rest by letting Bello start? #StatusQuo

If Rafaela is out, Duran probably has to start. He is a bench player, but sometimes bench players need to start…

To what? Catch Tampa? None. 9.5 back with 8 to play. That race been run. Defeat Tampa this week? Solid, especially after taking game one. Arrive in Tampa? A bit late but it was always fairly high. Leave Tampa on a flight that departs on time? I go with a solid 10-15%. Defeat Tampa in the postseason? Let’s get through round one first. And make that depart one 5-10%

I still wouldn’t start Duran. He hasn’t earned it this year. He should be on the bench along with Jones (DH platoon with Gasper), Sogard, and Wong. If you insist Sogard should start over IKF, I would concede that small point. The big point is - Duran to the bench…

Duran to the bench to fill the Dave Robert’s Role. What’s he done to earn postseason starts? Had two career hits off Schlittler? Big deal…

Labor negotiations haven’t caused a single regular season MLB game to be cancelled since 1995. Yet every 6 years we do this “season is in jeopardy” song and dance. Not worrying about it until March at the earliest…

Almost counters the Sox massive stroke of bad luck in building a pitching/defense team that watched its ace pitch 6 games and go down for the year…