5GoldGlovesOF,75

The Red Sox are so unlucky. Every time they play another team, it's better than them.

Nobody's giving up an ace starting pitcher for an injury-prone prospect who hasn't even played in the majors yet. The best the Sox may get for Mayer is a Larry Andersen-type pitcher -- except there are no other Andersens available with a second e in their last names. They can probably get Shaun Anderson -- with an o -- a 29-year old pitcher from the Marlins with a career -1.7 WAR; at least he's a big leaguer (sometimes). Facetiously, if Boston is going to trade a top prospect this winter, we all know it will be Kristian Campbell. He bats righty, has no set position, his swing is unnatural, and most importantly -- no one in the Red Sox org ever hyped him as part of the future core that will save! this! franchise!

"We all just have to be better at our jobs," said Fenway's head groundskeeper. "We had some interest in hiring a top geologist to take care of the pebble problem... but such a move had to make sense. "Instead we've pivoted to one of those used landscaper suck-trucks we found on eBay -- with the big vacuum hose for clearing leaf piles off lawns in the Fall... "... it's in the shop right now, but we're told it should be ready by next trade deadline... after a sufficient rehab assignment at a pickleball court."

But John Henry wants Red Sox Nation to be the Oakland A's -- didn't you watch the movie?!?!

Everybody but us. It's not "our" decline as fans -- except for those jumping off the bandwagon because the Red Sox suck again. Nobody is perfect in the Red Sox organization or any other, but the failure for Boston's front office to change its consistently annual march to mediocrity the past half decade is to blame for "their" decline.

The American way is if you buy a gallon of milk and it's sour, they give you a refund.

All the old guys with punctured eardrums on this site misheard Sam Kennedy this summer. We thought Sam said, "The Red Sox have underachieved." But recent Forensic Audio and Visual Analysis gives the soundbite clarity: "The Red Sox have underdeceived."

Bill Lee is still pitching, at age 77. Rich Hill is a hero for staying MLB-ready throwing BP to Little Leaguers, but Lee has never stopped facing kids masquerading as adults. If Hill can step in and lob a 72 mph curveball off a bat that goes 370 feet, then Spaceman can, too.

Better players. Crawford pitched a six-inning one-homer, but there's still nope. The Mariners have the best mound men in baseball -- MLB-best ERA and Runs Against/Game -- but Seattle's batters also lead in strikeouts (the only AL team with more Ks than the Red Sox). With 70 losses, the M's are now tied with Tampa, and both are just one game behind Boston, currently tied with Detroit, four losses out of a wild card with 23 games left. Remember, teams with less than 90 wins have made it to the World Series the last three years (and that's not even counting the season a club won it all with 56 Ws). But can these Red Sox even win 80?

Except anyone who has swung a bat anywhere in the world at any level this year... (or any year). I bet every batter in the history of baseball would rather get a hit than strike out.

They just had Mo Vaughn on. When he led the AL in strikeouts the year he was MVP, he had a 23.6% K-rate. That's lower than '24 Devers, Rafaela... O'Neill, Casas, Abreu... Refsnyder, Hamilton...DOM-IN-IC Smith... ... Romy Gonzalez, three Garrett Coopers, two Reese McGuires... and a Dalbec in a Woo-Staaaah.

Peterson's not still on pace for 27 Ks. After 3 IP, he's got 7 punch-outs... on pace for only 21 Ks.

... unless you're running right at him, and he's swinging at your mouth.

Peterson's on pace for a 27-strikeout game. Red Sox now have 1335 Ks, with a month to go. The '07 Sox had 1042 for the season (nine by pitchers).

Now Duran's in a slump. Hits a grounder to short and only gets a single.

Last summer, Paxton was the one commodity that everybody's always looking for at the deadline: a good pitcher. Just lookit what the Jays got last month for Kikuchi, who wasn't even good this season: Bloss, a younger arm who already made the majors after getting drafted just last year, plus two young starting outfielders, Loperfido and Wagner (I saw the latter in WOO and he just rakes).

The problem of not caring about now -- more than then -- is there might not be a then. All we have is now, and the best potential for most prospects is that someday they'll grow old.

It was risky picking up both, in case they were bitter escapees from an old-timer's league. But Brez assessed the situation, and determined that even if they ganged up on him, they were too brittle to do any damage to his longterm health.

Sale has been the poster boy for boys posting the past half decade. But to me, Paxton will always epitomize the ineptitude of the Bloomslow Era. Paxton -- the AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH in June '23 -- was the best trade chip this doofus front office had in the past half decade -- but they just had to keep him until he inevitably broke down. Then the very next year -- to prove their insanity (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results) -- they bring Paxton back, just so they can have him again until he inevitably broke down. Or maybe, they aren't that dumb... but expect fans to continue to be -- sorry, I realize that sounded like politics.

Mets now 1/2 game out of a wild card spot. Their top three starting pitchers are all guys in their 30s - Severino, Manaea, Quintana. All were available in the past two years. They each get paid about $13 million dollars this year -- market value for three legitimate veteran starting pitchers -- or approximately what the Red Sox will pay just Giolito to maybe pitch part of next year. Quantity. Moral of the story: don't waste all your bread on just one basket-case.

If Henry was more obsessed with saving money and trying to cut corners than investing in true talent, what he should do is go rob the Rays' front office of one of their young execs to run his club... someone who's been close to the decisions that make Tampa a contender almost every year, while dumping any player worth paying, and scouring the recycle bins for something cheap worth re-using.

Pro sports as a form of entertainment is kinda unique. If people don't like a movie or play, they might walk out; if they don't like a tv show or song, they just change the station. But most likely they won't pay or buy to watch or listen to the exact same movie, play, show or song -- because re-runs or replays always have the same endings. But sports games always offer alternate endings, so we keep going back, hoping for something different. And in the long season of baseball, most teams are actually battling to extend seasons... that's why it's so important for franchises to invest in rosters that give fans something to look forward to.

I never called myself en-titled -- even before the titles -- but for three decades plus, I was always en-tertained. And yes, I expect a rich club that I help get richer every year to provide me with the entertainment of -- if not making the postseason -- doing everything it can to field a team that has a legitimate chance at making it.

I know "control" is important when we're talking about superstars, because of the big paydays they can demand when they approach/hit free agency. But for average big leaguers, does it really matter that much? Do that many guys even last that long with the same franchise or get paid more than market rate? Nowadays, the smart strategy or goal for clubs that like young star players is to lock them up with extensions, anyway... for even more control. I guess what I'm wondering is if a team fighting for the postseason can upgrade by promoting a good but not necessarily MLB TOP 10 prospect, why not shoot for this year -- when who knows where half your roster will be a half decade from now?

I know CBO is all about improving the entire system, but most fans -- and we're mostly fans of the Major League team -- ultimately judge each season based on the majors. We know we're watching an improved club from 2023, but few fans or team employees will be satisfied if Boston doesn't make the postseason. What player acquisitions did Breslow actually make that significantly made the Red Sox better this year? O'Neill either replaced Duvall or Turner, but didn't upgrade; it moved Yoshida to DH... but T.O. is now only an average outfielder, at best. Romy bumped Pablo as the all-purpose back-up; Reyes hit .287 last year, Gonzo is at .280, but neither was a 1.0 WAR. Speaking of replacement players, Dom Smith was the ultimate in Beantown: 0.0 WAR. Do you like Cooper Criswell? Apparently, the Sox don't enough, even working on a perfect game (amazing the Rays would dump him; they love guys like Coop they can yank early in the World Series). The only real new acquisition that has made a difference is Justin Slaten. When your best addition to a last-place big league roster is a decent bullpen piece, then your grade is barely passing: D. Of course we all think Brez was limited to how much he could spend on upgrading; still, if Henry hired him with that explicit intent to do more with less, then failing to make the playoffs has to be considered a failure.