5GoldGlovesOF,75

If Sam Kennedy were an egg-laying mammal, he'd spew duck-billed platitudes. If he were a dog, he'd eat mowed grass to help himself regurgitate redundancies. If he were a cat, we'd all be dodging hairballs.

No rotation can stay healthy with modern battle plans to sweep the elbow, so rich clubs that sincerely want to contend need to secure eight legitimate starting pitchers on the parent club and AAA taxi squad (who aren't White Sox castoffs).

Giolito should opt out, since he blew out his elbow under Bailey's tutelage. And that way, the Red Sox can add another $19 million to any extension offers for Houck.

Dustin Pedroia is arguably the greatest Red Sox infielder in post-integration history. He averaged 5 errors a year in 11 full-time seasons at second base. Statisticians can point to Wade Boggs, who led the majors in times on base for eight straight years (in an era when people called Rickey Henderson the best leadoff man of all-time). Boggs was a great hitter who became a good third baseman, but teammates, fans and media didn't consider him a leader on and off the field, like they did with Pedroia. BBRef Most Similar by Ages: Pedroia age 24 - Rod Carew; Boggs age 38 - Rod Carew. Career WAR for Boston: Boggs 71.9, Pedroia 51.9, Nomar Garciaparra 41.2, Rico Petrocelli 39.1, Xander Bogaerts 35.2, John Valentin 32.5, Kevin Youkilis 31.3, Mo Vaughn 24.7, Rafael Devers 20.1, Rick Burleson 18.3, Jody Reed 14.3, Marty Barrett 9.3, Brock Holt 8.6, Jerry Remy 6.5, Mark Bellhorn 4.1, Lou Merloni 2.4, Pablo Sandoval -1.6.

Maybe we grew up, but definitely got older. My forehead definitely grew higher, though nothing grew inside it. Still prefer classic rock. Wonder if those who hip-hopped through rap will someday sit in rocking chairs, whispering words that shook cars waiting for lights to change.

So altogether, Sale was 97%? No wonder Atlanta gave up a future All-Star for him!

"Recent years lie." You've been doing the job exposing this organization since the offseason! I'd say you've consistently repeated the cons of these pros, but I grew up watching Clutch Cargo, a go-to guy when the going got tough. Eventually, a new department told me he was only a dock worker who just grabbed a lot of crates.

Just got off the telly with Hassan Ben Sober. He said there's still a path to the wild card: Start at Jerkola, down the Insane River, over the Giva Dam, through Pushover, and across Shmowland, to the stronghold of Schmow. Personally, I might prefer sailing the Can't Sea, off the point of Oomphola, and go around Schmow to Slap Happia... as long as we avoid the Rans: Iran, He-Ran, She-Ran and They-Ran.

And Combs, Selkirk and Ruth had Gehrig constantly driving them all in. Lou averaged 89 extra-base hits over 162 games in 17 seasons. Ruth averaged 88 XBH in 22 seasons. Devers and Papi have had more than 88 XBH once each. Mookie, Manny, Yaz, Rice never. I know, level of competition has always been a factor pre- and post-integration. MLB is now recognizing Josh Gibson for the highest career batting average... that's great; but he didn't have to face Hubbell, Grove or Feller on a regular basis, either.

Lou Gehrig was able to sustain driving in 100 or more runs in 13 straight years before a deadly illness ended his repeated annual production. He must have some kind of consistent RBI ability, since the guy who batted right in front of him also had 100 or more ribbies 13 times, and wasn't always on base in front of Lou after knocking himself in with the most home runs in history for about half a century.

That 1.4 is a very high WAR for any reliever after one-third of the games. Entire seasons for bullpen guys rarely reach 3 WAR (good starting pitchers often double that or more, because of the proportion of batters faced and innings pitched). Clase, who leads the AL in saves, has a 1.8 bWAR. Suarez, who just struck out 13 straight in SD, is 1.7... Mason Miller, the A's rookie who rules the world, has a 1.2 bWAR.... Yankee closer Holmes is 0.8.

... or swinging a bat, Tris (maybe not bone, but at least tissue)!

A mythical concept posted on such a disreputable site makes it easy for discerning fans to dismiss this fake stat. But the writer who compiles the data sure came through for his sponsors and regular visitors. The editor didn't know if he could count on the guy, who never delivered such content in the past... though he had a hunch (plus, they were facing the pressure of another deadline).

Since there are only a dozen and a half right-handed hitters with .800 or better OPS in the MAJORS right now, it looks like the farm is where good righty bats will ultimately come from. Bleis, Cespedes, Lugo (Mr. Mojo rising), Jordan, Yorke, Garcia, Campbell, Brannon, Zanetello, Castro (switch), Anderson (switch) -- all are projected to make it to the big leagues per soxprospects.com... ... by 2027

The Red Sox need Yoshida in their batting order because he doesn't strike out. Boston batters fan more than 27 other teams (only one-letter clubs M's and A's are worse). The Sox are also third in the AL in Left On Base, and when the offense is struggling there's nothing worse than watching Sox hitters whiff when all someone has to do to bring home a run is put the ball in play. Masa may not have the pop the brass was hoping for, but some of those 4-3s drive in runners from third with less than two outs.

Sox' roster has too many peaceniks.

Sparky Lyle had 31 more combined wins and saves for the Yankees than Danny Cater had hits for the Red Sox.

Chaim Bloom obliterated my ability to regard any baseball trade for the rest of my life objectively, collectively, defectively and reflectively when he dumped Mookie.

I liked the Sale-Grissom trade because Breslow was making a statement, moving on immediately from what is still probably the worst contract extension pre-empting a free agent signing in club history. Let's not pretend waiting on Sale and counting on Sale to front the rotation was anything but agony for half a freaking decade. If Sale pitches an entire year injury-free at his age, it's not quite a miracle -- because who wouldn't want to play in Georgia weather compared to Mass... ah choo- etts. But also getting a prospect the Braves people raved about was an added bonus. Grissom was that unopened wax pack for months of promise -- though with the wrapper finally torn off, hasn't revealed any star cards... just commons.

To get through another two seasons, so they can hold games at Fenway, sell tickets and concessions, and show ads to NESN viewers. Remember, with the opt out in his contract, the best case Giolito scenario is that he'd somehow wind back the clock to 2021, lead the Boston to one postseason, and then the Red Sox would get a draft pick when he leaves. But is it really feasible the Sox were outsmarting every other team by paying $19 million and expecting that to happen? Maybe the most realistic outcome is that Gio the workhorse would help preserve some bullpen arms for when the Red Sox were good again (though most relievers are year-to-year, anyway).

The gripe is the opt-out, which obviously Giolito would only take if he bounced back and was good. It defies logic that a club so desperate for dependable starting pitchers that are also good would agree to let him go -- since no one in the industry or here on fan boards expected the Red Sox to pay him even more than $19 million per for multiple more years (which would be more than Texas pays Eovaldi, one of the greatest postseason pitchers of the century). That clause is what makes the whole deal so suspicious, and reeks of bridgework. If the Red Sox didn't really expect a guy with a 5 ERA the past two years to be that good, they knew he wouldn't opt out, which means that they were just settling for someone to wear the jersey, take a regular turn on the mound, and fill out a starting nine so they could sell tickets to diehards and out-of-town fans visiting the Fenway experience. Giolito had it made, and still does: $39 million, no matter how bad he was... with the outside chance to make tens of millions more -- in some other city -- if his elbow could just handle one season of Bailey magic. Maybe it's next year.

When OB called it "elite", I had to use the online dictionary. I know what the E stands for, but learned that Leet is obsolete for "a place where roads meet or cross"... ... so what OB meant is every time a ball crosses in front of an infielder, there's a good chance for an error; the Red Sox defense is E LEET.

He took over Grissom's spot on Fortnite vs Fullmer, Hendricks and Mondesi. They wanted to play on the big screen in the Worcester clubhouse, but the pic is still warped after Sale smashed into it when he fell off the stationary bike while on rehab. Paxton tried to fly in a new one via carrier-eagle, but the bird strained a wing and landed back on the EL (Endangered List).

That one irked me from the beginning -- he was the cheaper starting pitcher option that nobody else wanted (after two bad seasons) that the Red Sox thought could fill a uniform and help them get through another two bridge years... unless he was good; then he could opt out and get more money from another team than Boston would give him. Should have just saved the dough and added Brad Keller in the first place. At least he's throwing now.

The sense the past half decade isn't so much that the Red Sox don't spend, but they make bad decisions on who they blow money on. Then, in what always looks like an insult to players, coaches and fans, the front office spites itself by refusing to rectify roster mistakes with needed reinforcements at pivotal periods (ex: Bloom Springs, when the club was missing a legit first baseman or shortstop; or at the deadline, with obvious holes in the rotation or bullpen). Some suspect the owner, horrified by winter signing flops (many who were just injured), closes the books during the summer. The Red Sox are the third-richest MLB team in franchise value, so there's no doubt they could choose to move on from costly mistakes every year, but here's the difference with the top two richest clubs: The Yankees or Dodgers NEVER give up on a season mid-season, or refuse to make big-money moves to constantly try to improve their chances.