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The Giants might not hate that contract because 1) the man can hit and 2) they seem to struggle convincing free agents to come there despite SF being a terrific city whose only drawback is it’s insanely expensive to live there for non-major leaguers…

So you think the Giants are going to give up on Devers? I guess they don’t value 37-93 all that much either…

This means so much for a guy STILL whining about Pete Alonso. Devers could have stayed in Boston if he just moved to 1b. He didn’t want that. He was a lousy 3b that got upset about being moved off a position he really never played that well. And from a WAR standpoint that factor in defense, Durbin and Devers were very similar this year…

Giving up 18 runs in two games also played a part…

And really, he just complained. Hes not in the same class as Devers, who publicly stated he was not going to do what the team wanted him to do…

They also bailed on Munetaka Murakami and it certainly wasn’t for financial reasons…

Maybe his complaints about the way the Sox managed the postseason will put him on the Devers Express out of town?

“Are you sure it was a crash? Normally the ‘26 Red Sox just sort of sputters out and stalls, usually when it gets colder. That ‘vroom vroom’ tells me you were riding the bullpen too hard, probably out of necessity. Maybe add some OBP next time and ease up on the pen.”

Both. Combined…

The only sportswriter I ever emailed was Mike Celizic from MSNBC. He answered every one as well…

I do think a 40HR bat (and an assumed 0 HR bat) makes sense over two 20 HR bats.. 20 HR seasons just spring out of nowhere and sometimes disappear just as fast. Lenyn Sosa, for example. 22HRs ladt year when everything went right. This year? 1. I don’t think the Sox will be able to add a 40 HR bat. Maybe if they deal Arias plus. I think getting a guy atop the order that can get on base 36-39% of the time would make for an easier significant improvement…

Do you prefer one 40 HR bat or two 20 HR bats?

Any offensive stat can be improved to help a team. But SLG isn’t a great indicator either. Houston pummeled solo HR after solo HR this past year, padded their team SLG up the third best, but finished a very average 13th in runs in runs scored. Adding power is one potential solution for Boston, but it’s not the only path. And some power bats like Christian Walker would probably have little impact. And while maybe he improves, given what his team wants for him, Sox should definitely avoid the incredibly overrated Hunter Goodman…

Neither do Tampa and Milwaukee. Maybe those teams will address that when their seasons finally end…

And where did many of those teams rank in runs scored?

Ok but they’ve always had point is HRs aren’t this end-all offensive stat. Chicago pribably had the best offense in MLB. They scored fewer runs in the postseason than Boston did, and did so against lesser starting pitchers…

Makes sense. I only got 37% on Rotten Tomates…

The teams ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd in home runs have all been bounced from the postseason. The teams ranked 22nd and 29th have advanced to the LCS (as did the team ranked 8th). Home runs are nice, but not the end all offensive stat…

Despite doing better than the Sox, Smiley Beni day is always worth celebrating with the traditional meal of salmon taretare and a bottle of Grey Goose while singing Smiley Beni carols during the traditional dance around a garden gnome filled with custard. Raise your badgers high!!

Where does Notin from Chicago rank?

Baseball is a weird sport in that it’s the only one where we don’t look at the guy who scored as the offensive talent. He gets viewed as the Beneficiary of Happenstance. After all, all he did was get on base in front of the real run producer. But that getting on base part is an important skill. Yes, more runners on men does mean more men left on base. But I’ll take that for an improved offense. When folks think of the late, great Rickey Henderson, they think of stolen bases. No one’s first notion of him is he is the all time leader in runs scored, or that he is second all time in walks (and might be first if teams didn’t stop pitching to a steroid-laden Barry Bonds), or that his career OBP stayed above .400 despite playing well past 40. Home runs are exciting, And dramatic. Carlton Fisk. Kirk Gibson. Joe Carter. Stuff of legends. But also not really a large part of the game. Teams get over 6,000 plate appearances in a season. Citing an instance that happened in 140 of them that needs to happen in 160 of them really isn’t necessarily a major improvement. I’d rather see a team go from getting on base 1900 times to getting on base over 2000 times. (Or both improvements, even better.) The Sox might add a home run bat. But they’ve always had those and it didn’t always work. They didn’t start winning titles until they took OBP seriously under Epstein. Why they stopped is a mystery to me…

HR and RBI might go on the scoreboard, but the only stat that counts is wins. Houston lead MLB in home runs. They also finished .500. That might work in the pathetic AL West, but the Sox don’t play in the worst division in MLB history.. RBI is a little more predictive of team performance, but because it’s more closely related to runs scored. Much like OBP. In fact, OBP probably ties more directly to runs scored, which ties more directly to wins. RBI are not really a skill; OBP puts the guy on bad to get knocked in. Home runs are nice, and I wouldn’t turn down a home run hitter. But offense comes from getting on base.

Rather have Durbin and Yoshida than Harper. Harper’s medically unsound obsession with raw milk feels like playing with fire to me. And by “fire”, I mean peritonitis…

Sure you do. You just wait until they sign with other teams first…😉

I’d rather have Story, Yoshida and especially Arias than watch Harper decline for 5 years only to wear a Phillies cap when he gets inducted into Cooperstown…