5GoldGlovesOF,75

With so many clubs looking for pitching, the Red Sox should be able to land some promising position prospects. Like I said, this deadline is worth waiting out for the highest bidders. No prospects are guaranteed big leaguers, but the more you collect, the better the chances. The dilemma Brez faces is that of all those teams the Sox have to pass for a wild card, suddenly five of them have as many or more losses than Boston right now.

Marte still fills the most voids in the Red Sox line-up and batting order. But he also plays for a second-place team very much in the playoff picture with a staff ace who won the World this year and made the NL All-Star team.

I welcomed Bregman back, and assuming no Schwarber, wanted Alonso. If no Breggie, I wanted Bichette or Okamoto. I did not want Tucker (outfield was overloaded) or Murakami (oops). I also wanted nothing to do with Geno Suarez. He's -0.9 WAR so far; Bichette is at least positive: 0.5 WAR. Bregman -- as Durbin as he's been -- is 2.2 WAR, with only two Cubs ahead of him. They're 50-40, so who really knows how much of the different ways he's helped (or hurt) them...

Nothing personal, but when I read the post it just seemed like something Breslow or Kennedy would say to defend their preseason "pivot." And the whole world knows how that turned out. Especially with the two players mentioned: the Phillies kept Schwarber and lost Suarez, and as of today would be in the postseason; the Red Sox didn't make an offer to Schwarber but signed Suarez -- and are last place.

I may not be a stats guy, but would the Red Sox be better off with Schwarber's 30 home runs and 55 RBIs? Come on. If we assume that would account for 55 more runs -- and I don't think any Sox fan who has suffered through this brutally inept RISP offense would consider that an exaggeration -- then Boston's average runs per game shoots from near last to close to the top of the American League (from 4.06 to 4.68). Even if all 30 homers were solo shots, the Sox would still be above-average in runs per game! (4.39 > 4.37). The answer to your question is yes.

Not sure what you're basing that on, but there were many Red Sox with higher batting averages and OPSsssss. Duran was definitely Boston's best tripler (led AL) and doubler, though.

MLB.com listed deadline needs for all 30 teams, and about 20 of them need pitching, mostly in the bullpen. Only a handful of clubs are seeking bats. If the Sox really want to make a run at a Wild Card, they probably can't afford to trade Gray at this point. Not with Early and now Suarez hurt. Hanging onto a top closer like Chapman might also be more vital, too. The dilemma is that we all know the offense just doesn't have enough to sustain any winning streaks for very long. The key bats from last year aren't returning to the line-up at full force any time soon. All hopes are pinned on Romy our homey...

If only his club had someone worthy of taking his place on the AL staff, like a guy with a 10-1 record for a last place team.

I don't like what I'm seeing so far as suggested returns in any Red Sox trades from articles like those MLB.com pumps out: minor league pitching. Of course, all stories on deadline needs focus on contenders, so none of them are giving up MLB-ready BATS or star minor league BATS. Ya know: the one organizational-wide paucity that mars respectable batting orders in Boston and its satellites. So I'm willing to wait it out until the end of the month. Want a good pitcher for the stretch run? Show me the maples.

And Beckett's, and even attached a guy Theo coveted (another big contract) to get the deal done. And Price's, and even attached another guy they never intended to pay market value to get the deal done. This is why the Red Sox will never give a free agent a no-trade clause -- so they can dump them when they're sick of paying them.

Loved that Duran finally bunted. I don't care if Tracy called it or Jarren did it on his own, it's a positive way to help a player out of a slump and to contribute to a win. And for a guy as fast as Duran, bunting is a disruptive weapon that should be part of his game anyway.

I've always thought it was a set-up. If we're to buy into the superior intellect that encompasses the front office, then how can we believe otherwise that not even one big ivy league brain thought it might be a good idea to discuss with their sensitive $300 million superstar that he was being replaced at his position by the signing of another high profile player? No one talked to Raffy? Approached him about being DH or possibly trying on a first baseman's mitt? Let's just ignore the rich young man playing a boy's game? Is that behavior becoming of the smartest men in the industry? Yes, Devers was signed longterm, but it's not like this was the first time John Henry ever changed his mind or had buyer's remorse. Plus, he was signed on Bloom's watch, not Breslow's, and for all we know Brez -- who Raffy called out at the previous deadline for not adding pitching -- may have been on a budget pinch and wanted him out so he could use the savings to improve the roster. We don't really know, but what we do know is that the Red Sox aren't desperate to sign a Devers replacement to another $300 million contract. Not when they can extend Anthony, Campbell and Mayer for less than that combined. And hope for the best...

Ted Williams just couldn't understand how any of his batters didn't have 20-5 vision or fly fighter jets in two Wars or ride Atlantic salmon from the ocean to their rivers of origin on annual spawning runs. Baseball-ref even named their new stat after him, but four times Ted finished with the highest WAR and wasn't voted MVP... including one year he finished 13th.

I'm amazed that posters still argue against this. Or that they still give Breslow a passing grade because of who he did acquire. So what if you ace your term paper; you can't skip the final exam. Last place for a team supposed to contend for at least the postseason can only be a big fat F. And while I wanted multiple bats added to the offense last winter -- and still do exponentially, gaaad -- I think some posters underestimate the positive effect one more good bat in the middle of the order could have on a few of the underperformers this season...

We're about to find out. It's July. Wait-- some posters just replied, "Last?"

Both Hugh and notin are right or can be right. But most champs have a few stars leading the way. The '25 Blue Jays had Bad Vlad kicking Yankee ass, but they also had breakout supporting players like Clement and Barger peaking in the playoffs. The '06 White Sox had the lowest team batting average in the AL but pulled off a major upset in the World Series, knocking off the heavily-favored Cubs. But longtime Chicago baseball fans know those champs for their nickname as the Hitless Wonders, not the Usual Winners. As a fan, I prefer the former model for better balance, consistency, and entertainment value. I'd rather see established veterans like Victorino and Napoli, plus a high-rated prospect like Bogaerts contributing with less pressure because of the presence of Papi and Pedey.

As usual, you answer questions by asking more. AGAIN: How do you define "star power"?

He stopped before he filled all his needs. There's no disputing it.

Once again you pivot to claims by another poster that were never posted. Jacob Misiorowski is a star and no serious baseball fan would argue that. He leads the majors in ERA, Ks, and WHIP. Bryce Turang is also a star, though big market fans might not know he's in the Top 10 in NL WAR, just like he was last year and in 2024 (when he was right behind teammate William Contreras). What is your point again? It can't their documented accomplishments. Is it that the Brewers lack name recognition and massive contracts? How do you define "star power"? When I use that phrase, it doesn't just mean Juan Soto, but above-average big leaguers -- guys good enough to be All-Star candidates or considered for awards; not every season of their careers, but enough to be reliable regulars. The Red Sox haven't had enough of those players lately. Picking up someone cut by a team with the worst record like Romy is great as a roster supplement... but not to be counted on as your clean-up batter in the playoffs. Guys like that can thrive in the right environment, like Bill Mueller winning the batting crown hitting 9th in the order while pitchers worried about Papi and Manny... ... which brings me full circle to early Theo, when Boston targeted and stockpiled position player talent like Millar, Walker, Bellhorn, Reese, etc. Not all worked out, like Giambi, and we all lucked out getting Ortiz, but those Red Sox made their own luck by their approach to loading up instead of skimping.

Milwaukee has averaged 93 wins the past half decade and is on pace to do it again with maybe their 5th division title of the 2020s. Baseball can't keep blaming the NL Central or the no-name Brewers who might be unappreciated by fans and media. I'll bet one thing: they're not unappreciated by their peers in Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Brew Crew may not have star names or contracts, but they have plenty of winning ballplayers. Boston does not.

That's a reply to those who want to sign all the best free agents every winter. What about non-NY-LA fans whose clubs may have resources like prospect depth that could help fill needs in smart trades? Dombrowski never flinched about swapping from organizational depth when he needed a big leaguer for his big league roster... and he didn't even go to Yale!

Posters love to cite individual opponents who have crappy stats -- especially guys who moved to other teams recently -- but in Aesop's Fable it's just a fox failing to reach the grapes and saying they're probably sour anyway. There's nothing shameful about being a fan hoping your baseball team acquires good players to make it better.

Like Boston, Milwaukee doesn't hit home runs. But what the Brewers do have are many more "sluggers." In team slug, the Brew crew is middle of the pack, while the Sox are near the bottom. But consider this: MLB stats lists 82 batters with Slugging Percentages of at least .423. Boston has three regulars: Contreras, Rafaela and Abreu at that mark. Milwaukee has seven (and Yelich is not one of them); that's almost an entire batting order. The Brewers have also drawn over 100 more walks than the Red Sox. So more baserunners being driven around by more gappers equals more runs. They're better batters.

Pitching for a last place team instead of a first place team.

Lou Gorman, but the bangs missed when the rising sun blinded the aim of the hit men hired to take him out for trading Bagwell. Then he had lunch.