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Story may not be a prototypical number 3 hitter even with the new philosophy on batting order, but "that's how it's always been done" is almost always a poor counterargument. The argument for a hitter like him in the spot is he does represent RHH power, and the #3 hitter is the hitter who comes up the most often with no one on base and two outs. The argument against is, that hitter will be third on the team in plate appearances. Story has not done much since coming to Boston, mostly due to being severely limited with playing time, but he was a career .272 hitter with Colorado. For this Sox team, I'm not sure who is a better option, especially after LHH Devers. Yoshida is one guy who might be able to take that role despite hitting left-handed, but he would have to return to being the hitter he was last year between April 23 and July 25 when his OPS was around .940. That's a good prolonged stretch of offensive success. Of course can he do it again and for longer? TBD. He's not off to a great start. Of course, on last April 18, his OPS cratered to .560. So hopefully he is due for another good stretch. Beyond him, not sure who else...

I think their best lineup and defensive arrangement is probably Rafaela at SS and O’Neill-Duran-Abreu in the outfield. They probably need Refsnyder back so they have a 4th outfielder…

I think it’s a Cora thing. I think he values offense more than defense…

How about … Pelvis Mandrus? I don’t want to have to keep saying his name…

I said that yesterday and was told I don’t believe in practice…

They should could that. But will they? I have several doubts…

Ok. Certainly possible

Reportedly they were trying to unload Story, so I don't think that was any part of the plan...

When Grissom arrives, it would not surprise me if he played SS. But the that means more of Enmanuel Valdez, who is to defense what ptomaine is to dinner time...

Did McDonough really say Henry won't let him do anything?

Adrian Beltre sees your knocking out of Ellsbury, and raises you one knockout of Jeremy Hermida…

I have my doubts there. But certainly Hamilton isn’t an improvement…

What’s Duran supposed to do? His only job there is if the ball gets dropped, pick it up and throw it in. He’s an outfielder, not a medic…

Ok to question. Why not are Reyes?

There is a decent chance we see whether or not Grissom can be a stopgap shortstop...

Last year it took them longer to move Kike off shortstop. They put him in CF, and let him play there for a week and he played very well.. But then Chang got hurt and Kike went right back to SS, continued to botch plays and was just left there with no end in sight. And he stayed there until Chang came back and then finally got traded...

So the Sox would have been correct in making that move. Yet you lump it in with the failed Bradley trade. Interesting...

I am not opposed to Rafaela at SS. The Sox have an in-house replacement in Abreu (and some re-arrangement in the OF). But until Breslow and/or Cora agree he s should play there, other options should probably be pursued. Particularly ones that can easily be undone,like starting Andrus at SS. If he flops, DFA him and cut bait and Rafaela will still be there…

I’ll say it again - Elvis Andrus is still available. Not sure why Breslow is so hellbent on repeating the biggest mistake Bloom made last off-season…

You’re still missing the point. How do you know how much they practice anything? What are you basing this complaint on?

Ok here’s my question - would this be a better team with Chapman at 3b and Devers as 1b/DH? Would Gallo have been a better right field option than Bradley/Arroyo?

I can see that. I mean, if I’m Juan Soto, I’m not getting paid for my glove. Serviceable in the field, elite at the plate…

Ok here is the point. The Sox very likely do more infield practice than we realize. And while practice might help every player achieve their best, it doesn’t mean that personal best is any good. Some guys will just never be good defensive players. Just like some of us could practice golf 18 hours a day for the next 5 years. If I did that I’d get substantially better. But I still most likely will still suck at golf. Just a better degree of suck. Of course I also think the Sox have had more defensive success stories than many of us realize. Especially when you consider how many players get drafted at one position and then have to learn a whole new position…

And everyone who practices golf becomes a professional, right? I agree the weight room should be limited, although I don’t know how much it gets used. And just because it gets used didn’t mean team don’t stress defense. But you’re starting to move the goalposts. Your original point was the Sox were not teaching defense properly, and supported with their lack of outstanding infielders since Betts. Now you’re moving on to weight rooms and overall training regimens.

I don’t know if that’s true or not. Some people just lack the hand-eye coordination. Or can’t get a good read. And just lack the skills to improve upon. It’s like hitting. You can spend hours upon hours in the cage and get markedly better. But will you be good enough for MLB? How many more hours will it take until you are? Practice makes progress, but contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t make perfection…