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Fred is right the offense is bad. He is wrong for thinking IKF is the problem and that Henry chose the utility infielder over other power bats. Fred is right that the Sox ranked 23rd in percentage of revenue spent on payroll per one source. But that’s misleading. Many contenders were similarly ranged. The Cubs, for example, were 22nd. Also that team made the post-season and that data is officially outdated. We do not know what percentage of revenue went to payroll simply because they have not made all their revenue just yet. Fred is wrong for repeatedly insisting the Sox did nothing this off-season. They clearly made lots of moves. His issue appears to be he had a few very specific players in mind, and the Sox grabbed none of them. The fact that he is now comparing the past off-season to trade deadlines where the Sox did make no or close to no moves further proves this point…

I’ve played baseball too, stopping just before college. I cannot draw a parallel between the mindset of high school players and MLB players. It just isn’t there. In one scenario, it’s a school activity; in the other it’s a career, and a potentially lucrative one. Ive posted before that everyone in MLB is better at baseball than any of us are at anything. To me, this seems obvious. You make an MLB roster, you’re likely to be one of the best 780 baseball players in the world, or at a minimum not far outside that range. Personally, the concept of being one of the top 780 people in the world at ANYTHING seems foreign to me. So in the same way that I don’t think that just because I have played chess means I understand what it’s like to be Magnus Carlsson, I don’t believe my baseball experiences are relatable to MLB players who are not only among the best in the world, but also well aware of it. I was also extremely surprised how many folks were deeply offended when told they’re not as good at anything as say, IKF is at baseball. I’m hoping they assumed I meant MLB and it was a misunderstanding. But I suppose it’s possible although extraordinarily unlikely they were all among the top 780 people in the world at some arcane activity…

And at that deadline, the Sox acquired nothing. This off-season, they brought in Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin and Ranger Suarez, plus others. That’s not the same as an 11th hour trade for INF Luis Urias with hopes it bolsters the rotation…

He hit one HR off an MLB pitcher - Gregory Soto. And he hit one other home run off some guy named Jesus Cruz. He only hit 2. These “facts” probably need verification; I’m working off memory here. Anthony did have a great WBC, with an OPS of .920 for the tournament and the bulk of pitching he faced (Jesus Cruz notwithstanding) was actual MLB pitching. But to say this was only because he was in an All Star lineup is premature, especially since last year Anthony started out slowly for about 100-125 PAs, and then went on a tear with a .945 OPS the rest of the way until his injury. So it’s not like we haven’t seen it before…

Superstars can’t hurt? Really? They can’t get hurt or underperform or sign contracts that keep them eating up 15-20% of the payroll until their mid-40s? Exactly how did Sale help this team from 2020-2023? If you’re going to throw around the “owners love fans like you” condescensions, I won’t apologize for not genuflecting at the Altar of Boras. Ive said a million times free agency is PR. Because it is, and reactions I see like this do nothing but convince me how right I am. You have created a lot of romantic narratives about impacts from players that “can’t be measured” and all of them operate on the principle that players view each other how you view them. And you’re hardly alone; Fred is trying to make the same points. I am NEVER going to acknowledge the validity of anyone trying to tell me the mindset of an MLB player, except an MLB player. Because that’s not factual information; it hovers in between supposition and fantasy. Neither of us knows how some opposing player will react when facing a superstar. My theory is - an entire range of reactions because very few sweeping generalizations are true. In fact, I only believe one sweeping generalization regarding MLB players to be true - that all MLB players are superstitious. But even that probably isn’t true. Although it’s closer than I realized. I know Youre going to view tjis as some snobby, ******* answer. Sorry, but I’m not going to speak for anyone else (except apparently you in this statement. Irony.) and I’m not going to take any response seriously that involve anyone doing it. In fact, I’ll probably continue to call people out for it. I do have a reputation to maintain. So simple question - is Jarren Duran a superstar?

Clearly not as stupid as you think they are. They saw the Sox add Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Ranger Suarez. I’m sure they view those players as “significant talent” even if you don’t. Heck some of them probably liked the additions of Durbin and IKF. Some were probably glad the Sox didn’t add Schwarber/Alonso since it would cut into if not flat out remove their playing time. To say the team just gave up because they didn’t sign the free agents you wanted is well beyond the most massive leap I’ve heard in a while. Don’t double down here. Don’t try to support it. Move on to the next theory…

No one is denying the Sox aren’t hitting. The offense has been so bad, it’s distracted many folks from how bad they’re pitching. Im saying the issue isn’t some missing superstar in the lineup. Believe it or not , they have a better lineup than most teams on paper, but somehow these inferior teams are scoring more often. The Twins traded away half their team last July, and only added journeyman (not All Star) bats. Yet somehow they’re a top ten team in scoring. How? How do the Marlins - a team most people can’t name 3 starting players on - keep acting more than Boston? Or the Pirates. Or the White Sox. (This is where people often chime in with “I don’t care about other teams!! I only care about the Red Sox!” And then I have to say something snotty like “You clearly also don’t care about points, because you’re missing lots of them!”, which is often much nicer than what I’m thinking.) None of these teams added an All Star bat or spent huge on free agency or hired Alex Bregman to talk over the pitching machine. Theyre just doing something the Sox hitters aren’t - which is actually hitting. Sure the Sox have a couple younger players not living up to the hype. But Anthony is actually hitting the ball pretty well, and Narvaez? I had low expectations here, but at some point we can at least call it a sophomore slump, a term normally only reserved for non-Sox players. Durbin probably wasn’t the answer. But he also isn’t the reason Duran, Story, Narvaez, etc. aren’t hitting…

<sigh> And your recap has NEVER been accurate. The Sox did pitch better as a team, with the team ERA at 3.91 before the trade to 3.51 after. But more important regarding offense is the Sox scored 4.86 RPG with Devers and 4.84 RPG without him. Crichet (2.79 before/2.97 after) pitched identically before and after the trade. Bello (3.42 before/3.05 after) was also consistent all year. Giolito was a huge factor, but he missed most of ST and April and only started a handful of games before Devers was traded. But the entire point was hitting isn’t the only way to win games. And when it gets pointed out to you “the Sox won more games after reading away their best hitter”, your self-satisfying response is always “That’s different. They pitched well.” No, thats not different; that’s the f***ing point…

Unless that bat struggles. Then it’s two more bats. The reality is they had that All Star bat for 73 games last year, traded it away because he was a selfish player, and barely saw a dip in scoring. Players like Story and Duran have been massive disappointments, and it isn’t because Alex Bregman isn’t around to tell them how to hit any more…

So you’re speaking for the players now? Doubtful they look at each other the way fans look at them. Very doubtful they treated Durbin as their cheap settlement when he walked through the door. If the Sox were a team that “gave up” because of roster moves, please explain why the Sox were 37-36 with Devers last year and 52-37 after he was dealt..

You knock the 1986 Sox bullpen, but if not for Shag Crawford pitching out of (and in to, but focus on the “out of”) a bases loaded/nobody out jam in the ninth inning of game 5 against the Angels, no one would remember Dave Henderson’s heroics…

I heard some unsubstantiated chatter thr Sox made him an offer…

I think there was a significant amount who started calling Henry cheap and were upset about, since it happened so soon after Bregman signed with Chicago. And IKF has been a starter for the bulk of his career. But he did sign a one year deal for utility infielder money. He got $6mill. Dubon got $6.1 mill. Refsnyder (not an IF, but a bench bat)l got $6.25mill. Luis Garcia got $6.8mill. Willi Castro got $6.4mill. Not sure why some people keep insist we signed IKF instead of Schwarber, like it was a choice between those two finalists…

Did you, like many others, think IKF was going to start?

Not that it matters, but very few wanted Murakami, especially after reports about his BA dropping on fastballs above 94mph. Which everyone’s do to some extent. But he’s really a 1b/DH and doesn’t solve the 2b/3b issue. Also he basically just hits HRs and singles. Lowe is really a 1b/DH type that can masquerade as a 2b, but really shouldn’t…

If only Breslow had avoided IKF, the Red Sox could have almost signed Mauricio Dubon to fill that void…

Tayron Guerrero has only pitched 106 major league innings in his 17 year professional career, and none since 2019. I firmly believe no team ever kept him in the minors because “it’s not fair how hard he throws.” Which is a shame, because it’s about the only logic that would explain why Guerrero is suddenly now a viable MLB bullpen option for the first time in his career at age 35.

Arrighetti is a strikeout machine again. Having him face Story could lead to a strikeout in just two pitches..

The same lineup was 7th in the league in scoring last year, and was 8th in the league in runs scored after trading Devers. They didn’t drop 18 places in runs scored because they replaced Bregman with a Durbin. A lot of players are flat out underperforming. Including some pitchers, which magnifies the situation…

… which points to “not necessarily a pile of dung roster” as the primary issue.

Exactly what graphs and data from my last post are you claiming I’m clinging to? If you’re going to start pointing “it’s all just stats to you” finger, at least use it when I use stats. And that’s an interesting point about his 3 All Stars. Crochet is pretty young, so no shock. But Bregman made his first All Star game since 2019 and Chapman made his first since 2021. You do realize this is turning into pro-Breslow logic, right? I mean, you’re essentially saying he brought in these players on the downsides of their careers exactly when they were due to bounce back, and did it multiple times. Either that’s just insanely lucky, or insanely good. And really, if it’s either one, why are you questioning his decisions and supporting it with third-hand stories?

Anthony isn’t chasing curveballs in the dirt because Story was batting behind him instead of Bregman. And if Bregman needs a chance to make all those adjustments, why isn’t the same courtesy extended to Durbin? Im not even a Durbin fan. He’s a borderline starting middle infielder in my book, and possibly not even the best one acquired in that trade. But why is Bregman suddenly the panacea? He was good (not great) in limited action last year, and he is more likely than not to decline at a Story-esque pace before that contract is through. And if you do not like the budget limitations Henry has put on this team, will you like them more while Bregman, who has not been an elite player for 8 years now, eats up a bigger chunk of that budget as he spirals past mediocrity? His unquantifiable coaching help was probably a bigger statement about the Sox thankfully departed coaching staff. Dialing back, Durbin is definitively better than Monasterio. Probably not the highest praise he has ever received…

Yes, it’s terrible to be hit with the only actual facts when there are literally thousands of suppositions we can cling to that lead to better made up scenarios. I mean, those real life “toiling elsewhere” scenarios are valid for players who have moved on (or been moved) and are succeeding. Where is the “but we don’t know if he stayed” logic then?

If the only choices are Bregman, Suarez and Durbin in some combination, only one of those 3 is doing anything right now. If the Sox had Bregman and his 0.7 bWAR, would they really be that much better than they are with Durbin and his 0.4 bWAR? The Sox might be 13.3-18.7 right now, instead of 13-19…

Maybe because he finished 9th in the American League in ERA last year…