5GoldGlovesOF,75

The goal is the 1939 Yankees. When you get a chance, check out their run differentials, especially on the road.

Yanks had Ruth and Gehrig... but those guys were on nicotine, rotgut and lactose.

NESN pregame last night, trying to contrive optimism as usual, Youk said that Raffy drawing more walks lately was "impressive." I call it "DEpressing." Opposing pitchers have absolutely no reason whatsoever to throw Devers a strike down the middle -- especially with men on base or in a big spot. I even predicted that in the offseason, when Story was supposed to be the #3 batter behind Raffy. If Devers is supposed to be the next Oritz, who is going to be the next Manny to protect him... Machado?

The worst part is: it's not a slump. This is the offense. Can't blame Wong, who is doing all he can. Can't blame Duran and Abreu, the Sox' two best players this year in WAR -- young guys who still strikeout twice as much as they walk. Can't blame Ceddanne, who is slowly coming around... but don't expect huge plate discipline from a guy who made the majors as a free-swinger. Can't blame O'Neill -- a lifetime 30% K-rate whiffer who has only driven in more than 58 runs once in his career, when he had 80 RBI in the season he hit 34 homers (look familiar?). Finally, can't blame Raffy. No matter what he gets paid, Devers is always better with guys around him: Bogaerts his buddy on the left side of the infield, and X, JD, Schwarbs, Mookie etc providing protection in the batting order -- now he has neither; Raf understands every interview question in English, but still prefers a translator to deliver his replies. Devers thrives on being one of the guys; not THE guy. Story is still a what-if, Casas has to someday hit again without swinging too hard, and the Big Three hopefuls are learning their profession, two levels away. And that's it.

We were also saying the two-out approach is "scoring on contact" but the Sox are sending him even with Clemente in right -- because, as we all know, there are no hitters after Wong batting 5th.

Another Washington run on a hit with an exit velo of a Ford Pinto. Before someone says the Sox are snakebit tonight, I would imagine a snakebite hurts. This Nats attack is more like a wormbite -- in the middle of the night when you're asleep -- that eats at you brain until the worm dies... ... because we all know Red Sox gray matter is ultimately toxic.

Do boats offer free trucking? Or Prime vanning? Fan mail from some flounder.

But we do know how much better, in terms of syllabication. Yell this aloud: "Yeah, Mookie!" Now try this: "Yeah, Zach Short Time In Boston - Oh For Seven With Four Kaaaaaaays!"

Booser may be the only player ever to hit his professional ceiling before he got back into pro baseball.

Someone mentioned Kimbrel is already struggling for the Baltimore Young Superstar Darlings. He's the same closer who began to lose his command and control in crunch time for the greatest Red Sox team of last decade. Kimbrel was 30 years old way back in 2018. It's amazing he hasn't regained his glory since then; his arm has had another half decade of overthrowing to get stronger -- you'd think the scar tissue from micro tears of finishing all those high leverage games must have calcified into internal armor by now! And I can't believe my hair hasn't grown back. Or that I lose more muscle mass every year. Or chicks who used to do a double-take when they saw me, now look away quickly -- as if I'm some creepy old guy...

They're about to thin the herd... and I bet Theo suggested to Brez the outside consulting firm -- so no one new looks like a Molly Hatchet album cover.

... except in late innings of every close game the Red Sox play with their totally unbalanced lefty batting order.

Realists would say he's half bad vs. lefties. Fakests would say he's twice as good vs. righties.

My buddies and I did it in reverse, back in the '80s on Date Night. Lots of singles, few home runs. Nobody remembered us.

Fox's stats were so whelming that when announcers looked at his baseball.ref page, they invented the phrase, "Whoa, Nellie!"

It will be hard for the pitching to excel at this rate for five more months, because there's really little depth anywhere in the org to help the rotation when others inevitably wear down or need a stint on the IL. But the staff can remain a positive. It will be hard for the defense to suck as badly as last year, even without Story -- the outfield is improved, and the rookie DP combo is at least young and athletic (Ceddanne and Griz will have growing pains, but can't be as bad as Kike-Valdez). But the offense isn't going to get appreciably better. Devers will heat up with the weather, but still not have protection in the line-up, and still feel the burden of being paid to be the man. The only man... the lonely man...

A lot of fans like to dismiss 2020 and not give the Sox the discredit they deserve. If they played an entire season with that cast of miscasts, I'm confident they would've been that bad.

Plays for the Red Sox.

The future looked great for Dodger fans when they got Mookie. They don't even have a forum where posters fret about budgets and the back end of longterm contracts. That kinda talk is banned on their most popular fan board: LiveforLA, LiveforTODAY.com

Casas is a presence, even with umps on a mission to call strikes on him because he keeps yapping. Sale carved up probably the Sox' two best players so far this season -- Duran and Abreu -- three Ks each, like they were lefty-hitting minor leaguers. Maybe the line-up misses Yoshida more than fans would admit; at least he makes contact... The Sox' batting order of whiffers is in dire need of a guy like Arraez, someone with a 7.5% K rate. I'm not saying Arraez specifically -- not advocating trading a Pablo Lopez or four prospects for him -- but how much better would Boston be if there was just one guy who could consistently TOUCH the ball with a baserunner on third and less than two outs? How did Nellie Fox make the Hall of Fame? Here's one stat: 2.1% career K rate. He averaged 15 strikeouts per year in 19 seasons. The 2024 Red Sox average 10 Ks per GAME.

As I said earlier this AM, gotta give credit to opposing pitchers, too. Duran doubles, Raffy swings at Lopez' high first pitch and pops out. Duran triples, Raffy takes Lopez' first pitch right down the middle... then whiffs on a slider in the dirt. Lopez is a righty. It will be interesting to watch Sale's plan for Devers tonight. Chris has probably been planning how to pitch Raffy for about seven years now... load knows he's spent plenty of time watching him from the sidelines. Wonder if Raffy has ever given much thought on how to hit Sale's stuff -- when it's good. Hint: best approach may not be to swing harder.

There are factors we'll never know about or can never see. What separates Raffy now from that last weekend in Washington, 2021, when he crushed three HRs on the final two days in must-win games? Are nagging hip and/or shoulder injuries keeping him down now? Remember, at the end of '21 he had to wear a sleeve on a sore arm that altered his swing -- did that adjustment actually focus a bat path to more barrels? Are Devers' eyes not as sharp as they were three years ago? Are anyone's? Did Raffy have more protection batting in the middle of Schwarber, Bogaerts and JD? There's no doubt that was a trio of respected All-Star hitters who taxed pitchers' arms in every at bat. He also didn't have the expectations of a $300+ million dollar man back then...

Without getting into another debate about the controversial "c-word" that's not a steep rock face (especially at the edge of the sea)... ... this is really what separates stars from average players, and clubs that win more than other clubs. And it doesn't always reflect trends or randomness of talent. When posters complain that the team's best player only pads stats in meaningless blow-outs and repeatedly fails to deliver with a close game on the line, they're not always imagining things. Sometimes it has nothing to do with physical skills, but often the mental stress of pressure that causes swing decisions different than in more relaxing at bats. Also gotta give opposing batteries and coaching staffs credit for getting the job done in high leverage moments (and saving elbows and shoulders when way ahead or far behind).

Slaten's still a prospect? Hope he makes it.

Wasn't it you, Irish, who always blamed Bloom for taking the middle fork in the road every deadline? And wasn't it MVP, your nemesis (nemebro?), just now agreeing with you -- in an abstract albeit simplified way? And it is me, right here and now, who says no GM/CBO should ever be allowed to eat or serve lunch with or to his conference room full of Assistant Presidents of Vice, with anything called a spork. As a matter of fact, everyone should be banned from ever eating or cooking (nuking or even stirring at high temps with plastic utensils) with plastic, or storing anything edible in toxic containers or bags or wrap. The world should've listened to post-Beatles John Lennon, warning us all when he named his new group Plastic Oh No! Band. Luckily, Jimmy Page was listening, and invented Heavy Metal.