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So why do you suppose Cora keeps putting that OF out there incorrectly?

Seriously? “He made errors!!” The Sox OF defense was good when it was Verdugo-Kike-Bradley. And Renfroe is simply not the same level defensively as Bradley. The Sox acquired Bradley to improve OF defense. He did that. And the team was better when he was there. But too many got caught up in his lack of offense. And as for Renfroe, who cares any more? Yes he’s hitting home runs in that Milwaukee bandbox that’s so small it turned Jonathan Villar into a slugger. And I’m sure his defense looks better in a right field with so little area that Stephen Hawking could patrol it. He was simply not meant for Fenway RF. He showed several reasons why last year…

Baseball stats have always faced weird scrutinies. The Eye Test crowd likes ERA, for example. ERA was not exactly accepted right away, either…

The fWAR difference between the two is miniscule. But there are aspects of Bogaerts’ game the Sox do neeed…

Again this is baiting. I don’t “calculate” any of it. I don’t have to. It’s been done. I also have faith in the people who did the math and that they know what they’re doing. This kind of thing has been seriously beaten to death, and usually by people who prefer simpler metrics that, IMO, are often more misleading…

Yes. That’s been out of print for 10-15 years. Of purse box scores are nothing but metrics…

Didn’t they stop printing that like 10 years ago?

Has the Eye Test noticed how horrific the Sox outfield defense has been since Bradley was DFAd? The mistake wasn’t trading for Bradley; it was DFAing him…

So you never mention ERA?

The really stupid part of the anti-metric cord is they still cling to metrics but they pretend they don’t…

Let’s get back to when Real Men with Real Beards ran the Red Sox while they Chewed Tobacco and Raw Steel and randomly Capitalized Letters in the Middle of Sentences !! And the team also went 86 years without a title!!

If Eovaldi accepts his QO, that also replaces Paxton. I do like Whitlock as a starter next year. And Schreiber (whom I forgot about) will certainly be in the pen. Davis (whom I did not forget about) should be non-tendered…

Simple. Bring back Eovaldi (via QO) and Kike. Bring in Nimmo (or ? Laureano?), Wong, and let’s say Fulmer and Treinen. C:McGuire 1b: Hosmer 2b: Wong 3b: Devers (extended version) SS: Story LF: Verdugo CF: Hernandez RF: Nimmo (or ? Laureano?) DH: Valdez / Dalbec / eventually Casas BN: C Wong, Arroyo, maybe Pham SP: Sale, Paxton, Eovaldi, Pivetta, Crawford with Winckowski, Mata, Seabold, Bello for depth. Maybe Ward, too. BP: Treinen (CL), Houck, Whitlock, Fulmer, Taylor (hopefully), Barnes (ugh!), Brasier (slightly smaller ugh), and Walter or German. Barnes could probably be swapped for James McCann, but I’m ok with McGuire and Wong as my catchers…

The Sox do NOT need a rebuild. In fact that would be the worst direction If fans cannot handle one season of a team playing .500 ball amidst a cavalcade of injuries, why do they suddenly think they can handle 3-4 season of potentially .400 ball? And that’s if things work out, which they don’t in most rebuilds. The Sox have a lot of money coming off the books. They’re on the hook for $88mill next season before arb raises, assuming Bogaerts leaves (which I think he will). The bulk of that money is tied up in two contracts, the larger of which is completely immovable. I assume QOs go to Bogaerts and Eovaldi. Not JD and certainly not Kike. Sawamura shouldn’t have his option exercised. I’m ok with Pham’s, and Paxton was only signed for his option. So get a middle infielder (Kolten Wong?), sign some relievers (Michael Fulmer? Mychal Givens? Rafael Montero? Blake Treinen?) and bring back Kike (assuming Nimmo is unavailable). Trade for a RF. I’d love Ramon Laureano, but not sure how to get him. Then - play ball!

The good ol’ completely unquantifiable eye test?

I think everyone wanted better. Problem is, this was the best possible return. (Although I maintain to this day keeping Brusdar Graterol was better.) So do you agree or disagree this was the best possible return?

I got the impression Sale and Bogaerts were signed once negotiations with Betts broke down. I think it was a choice of Bogaerts and Sale, or just Betts…

Reportedly a lot more teams were in on Soto than Betts. Sox took what I thought was the better of the TWO offers…

I live with two Cubs’ fans. One her whole life and the other just joining the ranks this year. No fans used to embrace their Perennial Underdog status more than Cubs’ fans…

But now you’re all about system over results. Results tell you the ‘67 Red Sox didn’t win…

Hey it’s tough to trade for players when no one else wants to, and the extra wild card might have postponed decisions to sell. Certainly Matt Carpenter was the Holy Grail Bloom missed out on, but given that Carpenter had spent all of 2020 and 2021 in steep decline and two MLB franchises released him in that timeframe, he did look more likely to be problem than solution. It also didn’t help that Plan C, as in Casas, got hurt…

So you’re saying Bloom is at fault for believing in Kike and Dalbec? It’s not always possible to find upgrades between March and July…

But the comments were about not wanting to be a fan of a team that never won a title. Or bring a fan of results over the process. I mean, the 1987 Twins - a team with 85 wins and a favorable playoff schedule determined by the old “alternating years” method - got better results than any team Yastrzemski or Ted Williams played for. We’re the ‘87 Twins fandom-worthy?

But up to and through 2003, it’s not like 1918 was so recent I could enjoy it. And winning that first title in 2004 was far and away the most special. It was something I (understandably) thought I’d never see in my lifetime….

They’re also a .500 team. And the way the AL East is this year, the last place team could easily win 86 or 87 games….