5GoldGlovesOF,75

And even that has been tempered lately -- despite "Paul" being recently knighted. Because with "John" still in rehab and "George" vying for more than one song on an album, now we hear that "Ringo" can't grip his drumsticks... and may miss the rest of their gigs this month.

Stengel was in charge, so it had to be all on him! Never in history was a team so fundamentally poor (I'm just borrowing lines now from the Cora haters). Casey really mismanaged the bullpen. Every time he made a change, he brought in another Met (I made that one up). When a manager reportedly falls asleep in the dugout, his players have no motivation to improve. Ok, maybe he wasn't snoozing on the bench -- just fainting from what he was seeing.

Another point I keep harping on -- maybe more appropriate for the bullpen thread -- is that reliable starting pitching that goes deep in games is vital to the preservation of the relief arms. Instead, we've seen bullpen overuse and subsequent burn-out every season since 2018. Adding an innings-eater like Giolito may have been a plan to save the pen this year, though I questioned that from the beginning because if he continued to suck like he had in '22 and '23, then Cora would have to replace Gio on the mound too often too early... ... that is, if the Sox were really in it to win it, and not just to fill jerseys to field a team so they could play games and sell tickets.

Teams don't need to wait for a window to "go for it" to invest in top level pitching. Nor should they... Good under-30 arms and proven veteran MLB starters are both prerequisites for any contender built to go deep in the postseason. And there's no such thing as "wasting" money or service years by acquiring top-of-the-rotation starters even before the next core of position players become stars -- which, btw, has no scheduled linear timetable (when was the last time every club's top minor leaguers became studs all at once). Spending on good pitching now expedites everyone else's development; it establishes a winning culture with younger hurlers, helps them improve by sharing books on hitters and umps, grips on new pitches, experiences dealing with injuries, ups and downs; and also invigorates position players looking forward to success... and maybe even entices free agents from other clubs to consider Beantown a destination of destiny.

The headline may be deceiving itself... "the Red Sox stars" - as in plural? Atlanta's entire infield is comprised of All-Stars, and they have an MVP rightfielder and a DH who's slugged 77 homers the past two years. A core like that should play as much as possible if you want to win. In contrast, Boston has one rampaging star outfielder, and some others who are pretty good at basically one thing: corner infielders who can go deep when their bodies let them, a decent shortstop glove that's rarely healthy, several all-or-nothing power hitters, a contact bat with little power, a catcher who can hit better than he catches, and some utility men who rake lefties. If the next Sox' core reaches true stardom, please surround them with able bench pieces to give them an occasional rest -- like Cora had in '18, and Francona had in the '00s, and Zimmer didn't (or refused to use) in the '70s.

The most underrated evidence for INVESTING IN PROVEN BIG LEAGUE STARTING PITCHING that fans see -- every single summer in Boston -- ad nauseam? The annual collapse of Red Sox bullpens has been on display since the Matt Barnes Era in the Chaim Bloom Era.

But some guys in the front office don't wear robes like judges who can be bribed for life... From today's Boston Globe: Red Sox will not renew the contracts of a handful of longtime instructors and scouts As part of an overhaul of the team’s pitching development efforts, three longtime pitching coordinators were informed they won’t be back.

Andrew Bailey Son of Sam Horn! How Lowe can they go...

Jose Siri is Rafaela on chiclets.

They're scrambling to keep their jobs, ever since Brez started stalking the halls with a hatchet in his belt.

He's not going to end up there, but since this whole week is do-or-die, Cora has to get all his outfielders in the batting order; they're his most productive players -- and that doesn't include the team's leading hitter Yoshida (OBP right behind Devers), who he must keep out of the outfield.

A good assessment, but let's not pretend Brez did all those moves on his own -- the front office lifers still outnumber him, so signing rehabbing comebackers like Hendriks and Fulmer merely continued the pattern of the Bloom Era. For all we know, picking up Criswell, a Bloom-like bargain bin move, was the culmination of some Asst. VP's Google search... And I don't know about the rest of the board, but I'm still waiting to hear about the changes brought about by the independent audit on the front office.

Gerrit Cole is flaccid -- and that's how Yankee fans have viewed him since he choked in the Wild Card Game at Fenway Park in 2021. That's the year a 10-year old neighbor burned his Cole t-shirt, the one his NY diehard dad bought him (and also stoked the fire in their backyard barbecue).

I get it, but you do realize a cutter is still a fastball... (which from a righty breaks in on a LHH, making it even easier to plunk him). The Red Sox' point is that in the very next at bat, Cole refused to even throw a pitch to Devers -- who could only swing with two bad shoulders and no one on base -- which makes it even less feasible that the first AB was a mistake.

Kenley, your teammates thought they were a contender at the All-Star Break, until you returned to LA and gave up that bomb to Kike... ... and then another one to Heyward the next night... after Bernardino gave one up to Freeman, after Weisert let in the losing run -- twice -- and Horn, and Kelley, and eegaads. Foegedaboudit.

Let's see: Cy Young Award winner (voted to the best pitcher in the league), and the best-paid starter in history when he signed with NY... pitching to a guy he just named this week his number-one nemesis of all-time? Check. But hey, nobody's perfect...

Alright, I'll tell you: whatever punishment happens to Cora and Bello for throwing at Judge should be doubled for Boone and Cole for actually hitting Devers... and starting the whole thing.

A billion dollars -- it's AARON JUDGE!!!!!!! Even though Judge didn't get hit. Cora is only to blame for telling the truth. See if you can guess what I'm thinking right now - will I get punished for my thoughts?

Casas isn't a better hitter this year, and Sox fans have to legitimately worry if he'll be able to overcome his unique injury from swinging a bat. Of course, if not, we'd be selling low -- though someone may want to take a gamble on Tris regaining his '23 status. I like your faith in the prospects, but doubt the Red Sox will give that many a shot in '25 -- if their potential is drowned out by the mighty service-time clock that ticks loudly for mid-market clubs (or Henry imitations). What about leaving Story's proven MLB D at SS and trying Mayer at 3B, where he may move sooner or later? If Marcelo can stay healthy and rake, Arias may be ready to take over at short when Trevor's contract runs out.

Second base is the worst regular position on the Red Sox. They need to find a freaking big league second baseman for next year and let him play -- no more platoons, or match-ups, or conversions... According to bb-ref Position Performances by Wins Above Replacement, Boston's second basemen have the lowest WAR on the club -- NEGATIVE 2.6 -- which surprisingly is still better in the AL than the keystone-hands in Chicago and LA. It's not like the Red Sox don't suck at other places: -2.7 in the bullpen (ahead of only the White Sox and Jays) and -0.9 at first base (ahead of only the A's and the Yanks). BoSox catchers are barely above level, at 0.3. Red Sox shortstops -- at 0.2 -- are somehow middle of the pack: 16th out of 30. DH is 0.1. Third base is 0.9. The starting rotation, at 3.4, trails only KC, Chi and NY. In 2024 Boston, it was all about the outfielders -- second in baseball to the Judge-Soto pinstripers, 9.4 to 9.3.

Other teams trying to win either acquire better reinforcements for their bullpen at the trade deadline and/or cycle through fresh relievers from farm systems better at developing pitchers. We have noted this, pondered this, coveted this, and complained about this for years.

As an alternative, I'm not opposed to just signing Bregman, moving Devers to first base, and moving Casas to another team for an arm. Problems with that scenario: 1. Chapman's extension with San Fran probably makes Bregman more expensive -- and there's no evidence Henry will change course and spend good money, even if it adds a right-handed bat AND shores up the Defense; 2. Raffy as an experiment is no guarantee that first base D will be sufficient; and 3. Casas may be viewed as damaged goods, and not fetch anything of value in return from cautious clubs. There's got to be a reason he's been taking three strikes without swinging lately -- maybe it hurts too much to swing (maybe it always will)... now that the Sox are just about cooked, we'll see if they shut down Tris for the year.

They're going to stay sharp by hitting infield-outfield practice to Rich Hill's kid's team. No metal fungoes, either.

As most of the Red Sox' top prospects bat left-handed -- even if they trade one -- it's almost impossible not to have an unbalanced batting order again. Cora can still platoon bench-warmers in match-ups vs. southpaws, and with success still push the club towards a .500 record. But what Boston really needs is a good right-handed hitter who doesn't strike out to protect Devers, Duran and the coming core of Anthony-Mayer-Teel. A quick glance at the leading home run hitters in the majors shows almost all bordering on 100 strikeout seasons. There are very few righty sluggers who aren't regular whiffers. Here are a few who may be available, along with Ks and K-rate: Vlad Jr. 89-13.8%; Bregman 80-13.6%; Yandy Diaz 90-15.3%... Bregman will cost bucks and necessitate a major infield revamp, but the other two will only cost prospects -- which, we'd all better be honest, aren't going to be enough to get the Sox to the postseason, because: 1. it's doubtful all will become instant MLB All-Stars; and 2. NONE ARE PITCHERS. Assuming Casas is packaged in a deal for pitching, either first basemen Vlad or Yandy are the RHH contact-hitters with pop that Boston seriously needs ASAP. (another probably not available: LA's Marcus Betts 51 Ks, 59 WALKS).

I like Penrod in relief. His name isn't Rotationrod.