5GoldGlovesOF,75

Imagine if Red Sox pitchers were hired to throw Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game. If the job was soley to serve BP down the middle, doesn't it seem like they could easily mess that up? Someone would miss the zone entirely, another would drill a batter in the foot, and a third would slump off the mound holding his shoulder until a trainer could help him off the field, through the dugout, and directly into the MRI machine. All Crawford has to do is try to throw home run balls -- then his pitches will break just enough off the plate for big swingers to hit one-stitch easy grounders and pop-ups.

Gil Hodges won a pennant and World Series using four regulars; he platooned eight position players through the rest of the line-up. It was 55 years ago, but Hodges wasn't the first manager in history to platoon. Three of the everyday guys were his best gloves -- at catcher, shortstop and centerfield; the other was his best hitter... ... that may be the reason they were known as the Miracle Mets. Either that, or the true miracle was having a mound core of Koosman, 26, Seaver, 24, Ryan, 22 and Gentry, 22.

They get to play the White Sox more than clubs in other divisions do... ... though the Pale Holes are 2-2 vs. the Blushing Stirrups -- with three more at Fenway in September (let's hope those games still mean something by then)!

... and as a staff, the Red Sox are exactly league-average in yielding HRs... for the season.

He's definitely our #3, allowing 17 home runs so far, two less than Pivetta, and a million behind Crawford -- MLB's leader inducing the longball (well, maybe he hasn't given up a million, but that's how many times it seems we've seen that look on his face on TV in the past month).

For PITCHING! The problem in a serious trade for serious talent is that you have to be willing to give quality to receive quality. Duran is an elite runner and offensive force. Rafaela is an elite outfielder with pop (and versatility). Anthony projects to have elite power. If Breslow's farm directors can convince him that someone like Campbell or Montgomery or Bleis has a skillset to replace one of the above -- and soon -- then maybe he can finally make that painful but necessary deal from depth to vastly improve the MLB club.

Five guys rated as high as NUMBER 45? ... wait, your slash signifies a fraction... so 4/5 = 80%. Yup, at this point I'd even take five guys that are 80% of Pedro... from the 2004 Curse-Breakers (and I don't mean Astacio).

What a coincidence: this is also the biggest concern for 2025... but only for discerning fans (or is that disconcerting). Sam in the mirror: "We're confident Criswell will be better than any other waiver wire acquisition we could add down the stretch -- not only as a long man out of the pen, but as a starter when Paxton breaks down by the end of the month."

Was at Saturday's Woo game, sat behind home plate, watched these guys carefully. Both took deliberate approaches in their at bats. DH Casas and second baseman Grissom, batting second and third (behind Meidroth), each struck out swinging in their first looks vs. ex-big leaguer Aaron Sanchez. Then they adjusted. Griz drilled two opposite-field line drives that were caught, one just in front of the 370-foot mark at the wall. Later in a key AB, he challenged a 1-0 strike call and won; with the count now 2-0 in his favor, Griz bounced a two-run single up the middle. He also stole second, and when the throw got away, sprinted safely to third with a head-first slide. He also made routine plays in the field, including starting a 4-6-3 DP. Casas had an RBI-single up the middle to the right of the bag, flew out to left field, and then blasted a bases-loaded double off the fence in left-center. Grissom looks ready for Boston. With Casas, it remains to be seen; he didn't pull a pitch all day, and it's unclear if his oppo swings were in preparation for aiming at the Green Monster or easing the pain of a tender core. Even if it's both, that's not a bad thing... as long as he and the org are honest with each other.

Couple reactions... Two old adages: Pitchers are always ahead of hitters in the Spring, and good hitters always heat up in the Summer. But maybe coaching plays more into this season than recent past (or maybe coaching is just more publicized, these days): Has Bailey's emphasis on breaking balls over velo taken a toll on elbows, previously unaccustomed to such strain? Has Fatse's research helped boost the overall batting, such as digging up high school videos of Smith that helped Dom get back to basics? Either way, Red Sox fans should all give thanks to Duran's triples coach this season.

He already has, compared to last season. Looking at spray charts from fangraphs, Raffy already has 14 home runs to the opposite field and only 4 pulled to rightfield; last year, he only had 9 oppo HRs the whole year, but a dozen pulled over the rightfielder or down the line (and another 8 to right-center). It's not just homers, either. Only 6 of Devers' 27 doubles this year have been pulled. In his career-year in 2019 -- when Raffy had 90 extra-base hits -- almost half of his MLB-leading 54 two-baggers went to left. That was also the only season he hit over .300, finishing at .311. He's currently hitting .308...

So-gard, so-gard, so-gard!

Wishful thinking; got Win in his name. The Red Sox once had a pitcher whose first name was actually Win, but they only kept him around for two years. They also had a hurler named Sellers for three years... who wouldn't fit in during the Bloom Era, even in the years Boston finished in the cellars.

In upcoming trades this winter, they can be the battery not included.

I have no doubt the majority of Seattle Mariners fans totally agree with you that pitching to Rafael Devers -- the best slugger in the American League not named Judge (.606 %) -- with the game on the line and first base open, was absolute nonsense. Raffy is in the AL's Top 10 in 24 other offensive categories on bbref's batting leaders page, including 4th in both Offensive Win % and Situational Wins Added (WPA/IL). Refsnyder didn't make any: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2024-batting-leaders.shtml

Not disagreeing, but if the org is sold on Teel for '25, Breslow may sign Jansen (his acquisition) to be back-up and maximize a return for Wong at peak trade value.

They're not trading Teel, but don't be surprised if Wong or Jansen is flipped in a package for a legitimate pitcher this winter. Jansen, of course, would have to hit for the next two months to raise his stock... but when the Sox got him, I actually envisioned the deal for Teel's backup, because 1). whenever Teel is promoted, he's not going to sit; and 2) Wong is too good to sit, and must have decent trade value... now.

They must feel so lucky: new opportunities to use new codes for punctuation symbols and emojis on their phones to incorporate into text messages!

Sam will still say they underachieved, because he underachieved, and we all have to do better. And we all have to own it. Except John, because he already does.

August traditionally brings a sense of impending doom to school children across America -- and though it usually feels the same for the Red Sox -- it wasn't always that way. Twenty years ago, a Boston team that had a losing record in June and barely broke .500 in July went 21-7 in August; that season turned out pretty good for the 2004 Sox. The Red Sox also had winning records in August from '07 through '11; those clubs averaged 93 wins for a half decade. After the Bobby Valentine's Year Massacre and a few up-and-down seasons, the Red Sox went on another half decade run of August success, with winning records from '15 through '19; those clubs averaged 91 wins. Then came Covid, Bloom's trade deadlines and Dead Team Playing -- which equated to losing Augusts the past four years, for an overall record of 46-65... and three last place finishes. Hopefully, a new CBO has breathed a Brez of fresh air into the clubhouse.

That was all in the MLB report -- the one that entirely omitted the true "masterminds" that worked in the front office that invented the whole thing before Cora was hired. None of those specific employees were ever publicly excoriated for exploiting the latest tech to aid in a strategy that has always been a part of the game. But some of them got promoted.

Even more responsible than the entire department that devised the system and suggested its implementation before a bench coach scapegoat was hired?

And none were named Schwarber!

A big boss businessman just likes finding ways to beat the system. One told me personally he loved how one simple bench coach took an intricate system devised by an organization's entire analytics department and decoded all the signs of 29 other teams... and then when they all changed their signs -- because that's what intelligent ballclubs do, constantly -- this one simple coach stayed up every night studying video, so he could keep cracking those codes, all by himself! This owner was so enthralled, he got drunk once on the return flight from a road trip and shouted: "I wanna make a toast -- to dis ingenius!"

We need to be more long-handed. Pedro wasn't a big guy, but his hands were huge -- which lends to more manipulation of grips, pitch shapes, and last second movements. Surely, some Assistant VP execs in our Analytics Dept subscribe to Google Earthlings and consult it daily for digital rankings.