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If you go by StatCast, Duran should move to the bench and Yoshida should start and bat very high in the lineup…

But how many felt is moot. The Sox brought in an experienced albeit possibly worn out MLB relief pitcher. And it paid off. This year? Ryan Watson was a Rule 5 pick. Hardly the same level of attention…

You did say it would be a “disaster” to send him down, as he was replacing Bregman. Disaster was your exact word. Now, I did make some assumptions. For example, I assumed “disaster” was meant to be negative. I also assumed you didn’t mean it would be a disaster to lose his .314 OPS from an underproducing lineup, and instead that you meant it would be a PR disaster. Why? He HAS A .314 OPS! The real PR disaster is leaving him in the lineup as the Sox struggle offensively and do have other internal options that actually are producing. I think many fans might not mind if he get demoted for a while. Oh, another PR disaster would be doing nothing and hoping things change. It’s actually a pretty likely course at this stage of the season. But it’s not a popular one…

He brought in Chapman last season. That’s not neglect. This year it was Ryan Watson and a couple guys as the clock was striking midnight…

Duran is 4 for his last 32 and hasn’t had a multi-hit game since opening day. He’s clearing up the OF logjam in the worst possible way…

Hardly. First, they’re not DFAing/releasing/trading Durbin. He will still be with the organization. Second, name any underperforming player the Sox replaced and it was viewed negatively. Cheng was brought in to be depth. Well, taking over as makeshift replacements for struggling players is one of the purposes of depth…

If that was Breslow’s plan, he forgot about the bullpen…

Absolutely true. But changes that can be undone are not really panic moves. Durbin has options. Cheng is on the 40 man. No DFA required. It’s really not very different than a benching…

We need a Polar-to-Fenway conversion formula….

Tsing-Che Cheng has a 1.346 OPS in Worcester after posting a 1.238 OPS in the WBC. Not sure what that translates to in MLB, but if it’s a number greater than .314, he’s an option over Durbin. Cheng might also be the best defensive infielder in both Boston and Worcester, which one might think should help his case. Demote Durbin and promote Cheng?

The one exception has to be 2018, where the Sox started out 16-3…

We don’t know what either team considered. It seems like Boston was paying him to be a player and not a leader, otherwise they could have played him at 2b, kept Devers at 3b, and avoided a lot of discord. But Breslow clearly valued certain baseball skills, and normally Bregman shows them. I do think it’s difficult for Bregman to establish himself as a leader when he is still being booed as a cheater in many stadiums. There is a reason I NEVER bring up leadership aspects of a player - I have no idea what they are, or even if they exist outside of Alex Speier articles. To say it can’t be quantified is an understatement. And if it can’t even be quantified, how can it possibly be prioritized? As for Refsnyder, he’s a role player making role player money. He got $6mill, roughly the same as Boston paid IKF. That’s actually becoming fairly common Experienced Bench Player money these days. Is leadership just another made up reason to create a clueless false persona on Sox management? Seattle paid career minor leaguer/bench bat Rob Refsnyder, who has 15 more at bats than me and the same number of hits, $6mill, which is being justified by his leadership. Boston paid the same money to a light-hitting Gold Glover capable of playing 7 positions and been a starter in 3 different teams, but as no one has praised his leadership, he is left to be judged and disparaged for an offensive skillset he was never signed for…

Luster has worn off early? 13 games into the season? Wow. Somewhere Kristian Campbell is thinking “damn they gave up on him fast.” Not every player hits the ground running. Jordan Walker, who started the winning rally last night, is finally hitting in his FOURTH MLB SEASON. He also doesn’t turn 24 until next month. But St. Louis stood by him through the growing pains, and it looks like it might start paying off…

Can you quantify clubhouse leadership? How important is it and how did Bregman exemplify it? And isn’t it Alex Cora’s job to lead the clubhouse? ”But he was a clubhouse leader…”. What’s that mean? Next will we discuss how he altered “team chemistry”?

Bregman is hitting .192. Durbin is unexciting, but right now Bregman isn’t much more exciting. But Alex is much older and a longer commitment…

Alonso has a .556 OPS. He’s basically another Duran right now…

If they wanted to lower payroll, it would explain why they were adamant about Abreu over Duran…

Near miss: Rafael Marchan was born Feb 25. If he had been born about two weeks later on March 12, would he count? Also we limit these to months in English, but Juan Agosto and Jorge Julio were still not born in the proper months…

No doubt Dustin May will be seeking revenge against the team that showed enough faith in him to deal a top prospect, only to watch him pitch ineffectively until he ultimately succumbed to injury…

That explains why the Sox offered Bigfoot a MiLB contract…

Honestly though, a deal centered around Duran and Paredes should have made sense for both teams. Paredes was part of a surplus of infielders on a team looking for a LHH corner outfielder. Duran is part of a surplus of LHH corner outfielders on a team that needed an infielder. A lot of stars did align and I’m not sure why Houston was adamant that it was either Abreu for them or they were going to bench Paredes and start Joey Loperfido in LF. Unless Duran’s $7mill salary was not to their liking…

I mean, getting Romy back only helps..

Schedules are not even at this point, which is a huge factor. The Red Sox have played Cincy, San Diego, Houston and Milwaukee, all playoff teams from last year (except Houston, who narrowly missed). The point here isnt that the Six have an excuse for being 4-8, but rather that it’s hard to compare them as a 4-8 team even against other 4-8 teams. I mean, Toronto is 5-7 against the A’s, White Sox, Rockies and Dodgers. Does that make them a better team than Boston, or a worse team?

There’s an article on the front page and numerous posts disparaging to Sox bench. But after watching the bulk of the Sox bench start postseason games, I’m glad to have MLB starting caliber players on it, and these 1 for 8 starts don’t discourage me. IKF in particular seems unpopular, but he’s spent nearly his entire career as a starter, and done so on some pretty good teams, notably the 99-win 2022 Yankees team. I’d much rather have IKF and Yoshida ready to start games over Sogard and Eaton…

Right now only 3 teams in the AL are over .500, and only two teams in the NL are under .500. Obviously it’s not going to finish that way…