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All right. All right. You talked me into it. Tell Breslow to leave the keys in the desk…

He was the leadoff hitter. Does that sound like they wanted RBIs from him?

I saw Devers reaction. Frankly I thought Devers should have been moved off third years ago. And if no one had even broached the subject with him at any point in the previous 5 years, then either the Sox have had tons of clueless observers running this team or Devers was a notoriously obstinate fellow…

Right because you have certainly shown yourself to have an open mind. And if it is open, close it off soon before more of it escapes 😉

Jim Willoughby was another one..

Do our players ever come off the IL?

No idea. Schwarber certainly didn’t allow for much time to entertain offers…

I doubt they’re moving Walcott just yet. I don’t think two pitchers in their late 30s changes that. I hope Breslow asks. I just don’t think it will work…

We all knew Devers grabbing a 3b mitt didn’t help the Red Sox. And Devers did some 1b OJT in San Francisco. So not sure why you are trying to argue that point. Cora clearly knew Devers was going to be difficult to get to change positions. He advocated for Bregman at 2b despite Bregman being the reigning AL Gold Glover at third. So is your argument that Cora felt his infield would be best with the worst 3b in MLB still at 3b while the best one changed positions? Cora didn’t talk to Devers about 1b because he knew Devers was difficult and selfish. It had nothing to do with whether or not Devers could play 1b (which Devers clearly proved he could). And the worst part to me was that it was to cover for an injured teammate. It’s not like they were just randomly bouncing him around…

No. The Rangers aren’t giving up the guy who would be the number one prospect in baseball just because of one injury. Of course, if he gets injured again next year, all bets are off. They might think “we’ve seen this story before - best prospect SS gets repeatedly injured. This is Jurickson Profar The Sequel! Sell! Sell!” But probably not…

Liking Siegler. Hes not a guy I want starting 140 games, but he certainly could be a serviceable short term fix…

Gee that sounds like a solution. But at least it’s nonsensical and solves nothing. Sounds like all your gripes are based solely on the budget.

If your argument is money talks, thats not on Breslow, is it?

Schwarber wasn’t leaving Philly. Hes a legend for a team with an owner willing to overspend and a CBO that hates leaving a budget unused. No one expected anything else. He signed very early as the least surprising signing of the off-season. Apparently the Sox were not happy giving Alonso 5 years. While you were probably only concerned with 2026, Breslow has to be concerned with the whole contract. He might be wrong, but Alonso is a one-dimensional player many teams felt the same way about, which is why he settled for a mere one year deal last year. Plus doubtful the Sox move on Contreras if they got Alonso. Arguments that there was room for both noted, although it definitely meant benching Anthony or Duran. And I to this season, leadoff hitter looks like the biggest need anyway. Anthony is injured and was probably a better option to bat second. Duran has flopped in the biggest possible way. They’ve been using Gasper/Seigler types in the role, which isn’t working so well. Yoshida has been tried, but he’s struggling at close to Duran levels. And of course there is Story. Most of the weak links are the guys Breslow didn’t bring in…

If Breslow had brought back Bregman - who is underperforming and barely outdoing Durbin after the latter had a historically bad start, would you say Breslow did his job? He replaced Bregman and Toro/Lowe on a playoff team wuth Durbin and Contreras. Is that or is that not an improvement over last season’s offense?

Breslow is definitely portrayed as unlikable, but if he had given Devers his wishes, suddenly it’s “the inmates running the asylum.” When you’re in charge and have all the responsibility and are fair game for all the blame, isn’t it necessary to flex your authority when your players refuse your changes?

So if the Sox brought back Ellsbury as a coach, could the Sox have a wind talker approach to signaling?

Henry might have been cheap but the team is scoring more than they are allowing, which is normally a winning formula. Breslow might be a thoroughly intolerable human being, but his additions over the last couple seasons have actually all been very good players that have done very good jobs. Just because he didn’t get the players you wanted doesn’t change that. I mean, you were the most vocal critic about the acquisition of Sonny Gray, and the guy is looking like a legitimate Cy Young candidate. By the way, if Henry was too cheap, how on Earth was he Breslow “too dumb”? Youre openly admitting he didn’t have money to spend and then being critical of him for not spending. The reality as Hugh has pointed out, is that Breslow added multiple legitimate All Star level contributors to a playoff team from last year that had only one real key departure (not counting Devers, whose absence was barely noticeable) but the team is struggling due to the returning players. If Breslow had spent more money to retain Alex Bregman, would he have done a good job? If only the Sox had Bregman’s OPS+ of 95 instead of suffering through Caleb Durbin and his paltry OPS+ of 91…

50% of the teams that play in the first round get eliminated. Sort of how postseasons work…

The word “exceptional” in education is used in the same context as “special”…

In today’s game, it’s all about dollars. I can promise in the ongoing CBA negotiations, no one will utter the phrase “All Star” and it will be completely omitted from the agreement.

After this series? No. I want it to, but no. Not yet. Now if this series kicks off an 18-1 Morgan Magic 2.0 run before the deadline, I would certainly switch my position. But if the Sox “selling” gets some young MLB talent already in the majors. Like let’s say the Sox swapped out Marcelo Mayer for Dalton Rushing in a deal that arguably makes sense for both teams. Is that buying or selling?

No idea, but I do know someone could have a crazy hot month that doesn’t line up either the rest of their season. For example, that stretch you highlighted, Duran wasn’t the 15th best player in MLB; he was tied for the 11th best with a handful of players. Some elite talents (Freddie Freeman, Junior Caminero), some rising stars (Andy Pages, Otto Lopez, Dillon Dingler) and some less impressive names (JJ Bleday, Brayan Rocchio). A wide spread. So you ask can someone lose it in 26 days, and the response is “did he even really have it this year?”

Possibly the $30mill salary on that pitcher? St. Louis is paying a chunk of it, but they pay Boston that money, not Gray. If Boston trades him, they can do so and keep all the Cardinals’ money….

Apparently that’s the deal. 40 IP doesn’t seem like much, but contract terms are different when you’re 38 and the next season isn’t so guaranteed…