5GoldGlovesOF,75

Most disgusting is when a network splits my screen in half to show an ad while an inning is still being played. I'm going to start marketing TV screen half-curtains for cranky old fans, and become a hundredaire.

From the beginning, some of us said Giolito was a bad bet. What good are more innings if he sucks, like he did in 2022 and 2023? Sure, Breslow and Bailey were betting they were going to fix Gio -- but even if we don't assume the new stress on more sweepers stressed out his elbow -- this guy wasn't The Plan to fix the rotation... ... that was clear with the opt out that would let him leave if he did turn out to be the next Gausman. However, if Gio was mediocre to bad, but ate innings with his two-year borderline 5.00 ERA, then he could opt in. That meant they just wanted him to help get them through another year or two on the mound, so they could field a team and sell tickets. Meanwhile, with no additional rotation acquisitions, discerning Sox fans got what they won't pay for (by choosing not to visit Fenway): No Quality and No Quantity.

He's been too serious ever since pitching through three levels in the minors for Boston in 2011. That was also the last year in the majors for former All-Star outfielder Aaron Rowand, so the two probably never met. If Rowand and Martin ever did face each other, it might not have been slapstick. But you can bet your bippy it'd be very interesting...

The only way the Red Sox knew they could count on Chris Sale was if Big Panda sat on him, and El Guapo put an abacus on his back.

Boston is 10-14 since the All-Star Break. Six of those losses came in the opponents' last at bats. And in what may be a record in a single month: the Red Sox lost three games when they were: One. Out. Away. From. Victory.

They acquired the best hitter on the trade market since Mookie Betts, and the guy has been arguably a better fit in New York than Marcus in LA. The only downer for Yankee fans is that Juan Soto, like his teammate Aaron Judge, is having an MVP year -- which means if KC makes the playoffs, no one deserves the Most Valuable Player award in the league more than Bobby Witt, who's doing it all by himself.

Every year: Spend/Invest/Trade/UPGRADE and never cross a freaking bridge, whether it's rickety boards or steel and cement. Anything less is unacceptable to their fanbase.

I'm not saying the Padres aren't desperate or looking at a window, but any team living a couple hours from LA probably should be. At least fans in places like SD and Philly have reasons to be excited the past few years, because they're clubs are always going for it. (if you've been a baseball fan long enough, you know no success is actually sustainable for very long...)

We've been advocating free agency and trades for half a decade now through the Bloom/Breslow Era to improve the big league pitching staff. Posters have listed plenty of examples of each to show additions to the roster -- but very few have contributed to make the Red Sox a winning team that truly has a chance at a World Series. Some have been bargains, others total wastes of money, but compared to other clubs that are going for it, there's a stark contrast in picking up an arm or two to get through the summer in Boston, or always pushing to stockpile for October -- like in Philadelphia or even San Diego. The Padres' entire rotation -- Cease, King, Wauldron, Darvish, Musgrove -- was acquired through trades, some that were blockbusters. They never stop trying to upgrade the bullpen, either, like dealing for Tanner Scott at the deadline. They already have Robert Suarez and Yuki Matsui, both inked from Japan (Matsui, an underrated signing last winter, leads the pen in games and IP). This is also the org that traded four guys for Josh Hader a few years ago, and let him walk after last season. Yes, SD has blown a ton of money on star power, but the Pads are now posed to go deep into October because of their pitching.

MLB.com's latest farm system rankings have Red Sox at #7, explained by the usual super position prospects, and stupor in the pitching department. Houston's farm is rated dead last, #30... and yet somehow -- almost every year -- they pump out fresh regulars to replace departing mainstays (like Springer, Correa, Maldonado, etc) and find good MAJOR LEAGUE pitchers to fill in for injured arms. When a team advances to the final round of the playoffs with a chance at the World Series for seven straight years, it isn't luck. Smart billionaire owners of other clubs must look less at Yale and Tampa and more towards Texas for inspiration -- and future employees -- if they're actually trying to win...

I'm not a betting man, but I'd bet there's nothing worse for baseball bettors than bullpens blowing a game (unless, you're a reliever who bet against yourself...). For fans and players, losing a late lead and ultimately the game is the absolute worst. When your club gets blown out early instead, it's easier to accept that it's just not our night. But when your offense mounts a comeback, and pitchers and fielders hold the line, it gives us hope. And when one or two relievers then cough it up -- right at the end -- they take all that hope and spit it back in our faces. Happens to every team, a couple times a season. But three or four times in a month? Nothing in baseball is more revolting, disgusting, depressing and remote crushing. The frequency of disaster confirms it's no fluke, and we all know last night won't be the last time we have to regurgitate this agita. It's just not our year.

I don't care if the baserunner is "out of it" because his shoulder hurts -- doesn't the first base coach remind him how many outs there are, in a one-run game, with a teammate on third in a sacrifice fly situation?

Abreu goes deep and Sox retake the lead, 3-2. That's Wilyer Abreu, who is somehow behind the Rangers' Wyatt Langford as some people's AL Rookie of the Year favorite. Langford: 1.1 WAR, 0.2 dWAR, 6 HR, 44 RBI, .237 BA, .667 OPS Abreu: 2.4 WAR, 0.3 dWAR, 13 HR, 46 RBI, .269 BA, .832 OPS

you mean... Domb and Bloom. Their favorite theme: "We knew Sale would be good again, one of the these decades!"

Cutter Crawford vs. the World Champs tonight: 15 up, 15 down

Last time Mookie stayed there, he felt a distinct disturbance. "Who are you!" he demanded. A tentative voice whooshed down the hallway. "Eye-mmmm... BlOOOOOOOOOmmmm!" (the Ghost of Bizness Past)

Anthony, who led the Eastern League in Extra Base Hits at age 20, leads off his Triple A debut with a double...

Since he never played in the minors before, could we then classify him as a prospect, and trade him for a reliever somebody cut that somebody else picked up?

Chris Sale wasn't part of the problem; he was the main problem -- which no Red Sox fan who followed the team closely the past half decade can deny... if we're all being honest. Sale never once led the top of the starting rotation through an entire season and earn his ace paycheck during that time. He knows it and admitted it many times. Managers, coaches, teammates, front office assistant vice presidents, and owners knew it, too. And yet, Sale was always being counted on to overcome whatever injury was stifling the plan and make a comeback. Over and over and out. Finally, a new CBO came in and made the reasonable decision that it was time to start fresh -- no fun intended.

"Keller will be as good as any other Keller we could add if he passed through waivers," said Sam. "The Keller awoke before dawn. He put his boots on. He took a face from the ancient gallery and he walked on down the hall," said Jim.

The only firm plan was the still-mystifying -- yet forgotten (but not by me) -- opt out that would've let Giolito leave if he pitched this season in Boston and was good. You think posters are complaining now about how the Sox didn't replace Giolito this year? Imagine the angst next winter if he had a '24 Sale season and led the Sox to the playoffs?

Top 5 RED SOX compared to tonight's top 5 WOO SOX: Anthony CF Meidroth SS Casas 1B Grissom 2B Teel C ... of the two groups, I'd take WOO right now -- except for the clean-up man, of course (because Raffy's our Big Puppy).

Guy's not good enough to pitch for the summer's absolute worst big league pitching staff... but maybe he'll find a scene of changery where another team's rotten system won't have the same infect on him.

Way too healthy for Boston. Hendricks has 162-game career averages of 34 starts and close to 200 innings pitched per year. But to be fair to Father Time, his averages the past half decade once he hit 30 years of age are 20 GS, 115 IP... That would still make him Iron Man McGinnity in Beantown.

The difference is that true morons like me would never even know I'm being insulted. But I'm not shore.