oldtimer

A lot of Sox fans have been patiently waiting for the team to build back into a contender. We have been waiting for ownership, management and coaching to make moves that result in a competitive team. That has not happened for several years and if anything this year it appears we are becoming less competitive. This past season, it was obvious that we needed to find some right hand power hitters, We made some improvements but were unable to move forward. If Breslow is a savant at assessing talent, he surely isn't one at making deals. They are kidding themselves if there is any talk that doesn't involve selling at the deadline or before. I would also recommend looking at the most promising prospects. What is there to lose?

I just got back to Florida from a nearly 2 month road trip and the sale of my second home. I had trouble catching Red Sox games but its just as well. What a shame that the Sox were unable to field a competitive team this year and acually have regressed relative to the competition. The fans here knew we needed a power bat or two and sensed we might not have the stellar pitching we had a times last season. Clearly we are now sellers of players and we should aim for better results next year. If we have prospects that are possible future high end players, now is the time to get them experience. The approach the team has used for the past few years has not worked. Is it ownership? is it management and coaching? I've been a fan since the 1940's and have seen the ups and downs along the way. I can say we are in a protracted down swing now.

So, should we be sellers and get experiennce for guys like Arias, while taking the beating? We are taking that beating anyway and so little hope of having a competitive season with the existing team anyway. Meanwhile, the low budget Rays are leading our division.

And now we hear the Sox need to address the obvious problem of scoring runs. I'll posit that obvious problem was recognized by the fan base long before the season started. What does that say about the front office and ownership?

The Sox get runners in scoring position with less tthan 2 outs but then don't make contact. Poor hitting fundamentals.

Look at the start the Rays have had vs the Sox. We have had and continue to have a larger payroll but they get results. It's got to be roster construction, management and coaching. I had hoped for a series win against the Rays but we are off to a bad start. Even a split at this point would be okay but we can't afford a series loss.

We have slow to terrible starts in 7 of the last 8 years. Whether that was due to insufficient good players caused by owner indifference, poor general manager transition skills or poor coaching is hard to say. It is probably due in part to each of those, but I supported a change of coaching as at least one approach to improve the reslts.. Finding the teaming 8 games below 500 is not a good place to be and we have started the difficult process of digging out. If I look at the players this year I would say we are either better or worse at the following positions: RF Better CF Better LF Worse but Duran is showing signs of life now he is leading off. Anthony should come along but 4 OF? !st Better 2nd Marginally better with Mayer consistently playing and help on the way. SS Worse. Slow start both offensively and defensively. Recent signs of improvement. Arias in the hole. 3rd Worse. Good defense but poor offense to date. We shall see. C Worse. Navarez with numbers way below his best form DH About the same. ok hitting but no real power SP Better A plethora to choose from if we get past the injury bug. Other teams would like our situation. RP Worse. We are good on top but lack depth to date. My take is that we have a decent team but the very poor start has put us into a deep hole. Crawing out of that hole will take a major effort. While we are good, it certainly would help to address weak spots and soon.

How many times have we stranded runners?

Now we are seeing a willingness to bench Story for a couple of games based on his continued poor performance. Cora wouldn't have done that, perhaps the new manager is more likely to take action to correct problems such as players who are not contributing. Will Arias get a look this season? What about Duran as well. He has only performed well in a few games this year. There was an opportunity to trade him that was missed. With our record, I would think management would be taking corrective action, especially after we have a new manager who might not feel as inclined to support players who aren't getting it done.

Arms are not the answer if we are pathetic at sdcoring runs. Look for weak offensive players with more than 100 abs, especially if coupled with so so defense. Management needs to make the hard decisions and get rid of ones that can't get it done, particularly if they are well into their careers. Look to the minors for hope. We had chances to make trades earlier and whiffed on those. Another year in last place is not acceptable.

Just the act of shaking up the team may be leading to a reset of player perspective and performance. Now lets hope that when moves need to be made that the manager and front office have the will to see it through. If a player or players have a continuing period of underperformance, they should be replaced in the lineup, assumingwe have upcoming replacements available.

Billy Martin isn't.

I recommend hiring a hard ass manager who expect performance, or else. My guess is Cora said if you just wait, things will get better. I am over 85 and am sick of seeing the same poor start, year to year. I had thought 2026 would be a year of growth, instead the Sox are already in a big hole.

The team started poorly to very poorly in 7 of the last 8 seasons and despite spending and making changes, this season is starting off poorly again. Cora has been around long enough to has an extended record. In the words of Parcell " You are what the record says you are". I recommend moving on and getting a more hard line manager. If players aren't getting it done, face the facts and go find someone or ones that can. MVP78 had some good thoughts for changes, One was for Arias. Bring him up, what is there to lose?

This team would have a losing record playing in AAA.