5GoldGlovesOF,75

To think they could've paid me $1 mil to do nothing, and saved $3 mil. Bad business. And while we're lamenting all the already injured, can we just be honest about the Giolito signing? Boston obviously targeted the cheapest "name" pitcher in free agency, who admitted no one else showed any interest in him. Guy has a 5 ERA the past two years -- does anyone here really think his "workhorse" innings were going to save the bullpen? If he's getting constantly shelled like in the second half of '23, you're not leaving him out there.

Correct me if I'm wrong -- because the #3 batter gets up in every first inning, he's guaranteed to bat the most with nobody on base (since if even the best OBP guys bat #1-2, they still make outs 60% of the time or more). Personally, in my line-up, I still want my best hitters up in the first inning. In addition to getting them the most ABs, the opportunity to take an early lead and pressure opponents to play catch-up is an edge... at least in all the levels I've played and coached my whole life.

Who said anything about jail? Can't the Red Sox afford one of those steel shark cages to put around Raffy? It would also keep him from cutting in front of shortstops and deflecting grounders. The least they could do is fit him for a PitchCom speaker (but call it DCom), so he can clearly hear outfielders call him off on pop-ups -- like they have with other infielders since forever. We wouldn't want our irrelevant defense to turn a still-winnable 2-0 game into a 6-0 route.

Machado plays in that division. It's not knee, it's him.

Just wondering if there's data that explains that #3 hitter statement? If clubs want their best hitters to bat most often, then why would the #3 hit with no one on base and two outs more than anyone else? If teams bat their best hitters as much as possible, compared to where they bat their worst ('03 batting champ Bill Mueller as the exception), it doesn't make sense. Is it because all the #2 Aaron Judges clean up the bases before #3 has a chance, or because they're putting Luis Aparicio and sub-.300 ON BASE % types at the top because they can run (like Boston did)? I've said this before, but if I'm CBO, I make it a priority of getting a RHH power bat to protect Devers, no matter where he bats. Sure there are many more immediate needs for the franchise, but the Red Sox also have to protect their most expensive longterm investment... ... if Raffy feels he has to hit 5-run homers for the next five years, his shoulder and back won't last much longer. But Boston will still have to pay him kajillions, either way.

Story was never a good choice for a #3 hitter in the batting order at this point in his career -- or for those of you who think baseball managers at all levels were wrong for over a hundred years making out their line-ups, then Story is an even worse choice as #2 or #5 batter. Low batting averages and high K rates don't keep the line moving. Portland's been going #1-2-3 LHHs Anthony-Mayer-Teel with another LHH Paulino in the mix (RHH Yorke and Jordan clean up... or just follow the top prospects to get them more ABs). In Worcester, the middle of the order bat with the most promise belongs to Hickey, another LHH. If Porland's Big Three do make it down to Boston in a year, no matter who is skipper, the Sox better sign a couple O'Neills or Turners, because there's no way they're batting five lefties in a row, including Duran and Devers, at the top of the order. Southpaw relievers are already carving us up in late innings this year, and sticking Pablo Reyes types in between lefty sticks doesn't seem to affect opposing pitching for some reason.

I watched the game, and there were three plays where Hamilton (twice) and Valdez couldn't catch throws. They maybe weren't going to nail runners, but if they at least stop the freaking ball, then runners don't move up another base... from where they all scored. One was a bounced throw from Abreu for the only official error, but the Red Sox looked like crap at the end with Hamilton at SS after Ceddanne had to move to OF because of the most egregious E -- when the third baseman head-butted the left fielder on a pop-up, instead of backing off. The outfielder coming in always has the right to call off the back-pedaling infielder.

The two things scouts measure in a potential prospect are arm strength and running speed; the two baseball tools that cannot be taught. If a ballplayer has neither -- unless he hits about .800 in high school with a couple HRs per game -- he's probably not getting drafted or signed. Youkilis was unique because he didn't have a cannon or wheels, but he did have an uncanny eye. In the minors, he only hit about 8 homers a year, but was a rare batter who walked more than he struck out. Now he's a brewer who also gets paid to talk Sox.

Bobby D might be the best example of why making and staying in the big leagues is so freaking difficult. Does any fan, reporter or scout think that batters who hit 30 homers with a .900 OPS in Triple A aren't ready for the majors? Nice guy, funny man, great teammate, Doors walk-up song -- how can you not root for Dalbec?

To at least this poster, Craig Kimbrel wasn't drama in the 2018 postseason -- he was trauma. And I'm not even thinking about the World Series, because Kimbrel's pitching in the AL playoffs was so erratic, the Red Sox were fortunate to win the LDS and LCS -- and even get to the finals. Both the Yankees and Astros came within inches of beating Kimbrel and tying their Series, with their next games at home. The outcomes of either round could've definitely swung, and the greatest Red Sox team of all-time would be known today as just another almost. Anyone can look up the play-by-plays of those Kimbrel late-innings and relive the walks, wild pitches and hit by pitches. I don't have to, because I can't forget the close calls when he had to groove it and NY and Houston nearly walked him off: long fly outs by Sanchez and McCann almost got out, and dramatic plays by Nunez, Pearce, Betts and Benintendi saved the day.

Kimbrel was not good for my health in the '18 postseason. And I couldn't not watch -- not the final moments of key games in a title run. Ask Philly fans how they felt last year when their team blew two games to Arizona and missed the World Series. Baltimore may have the market cornered on talented young players. But none of them will be on the mound trying to close out postseason wins this October...

Good point. If your hand-eye coordination is good enough to get your bat into the bigs, then you can use it to take daily reps at fielding grounders or fly balls to stick at D. Rice wasn't a good outfielder when he made the majors -- nothing like Lynn or Evans or old-man Yaz (in his mid-30s!), which is what separated them as all-around players. But he had Pesky hit him 100 fungos a day at Fenway to become proficient at playing the Monster. Boggs wasn't a good third-baseman in the minors with a six-year fielding % of .932 at the hot corner, but he had coaches slap 100 grounders at him a day in the majors, where he improved to a .968 % in 18 years, and even won a couple Gold Gloves. Rice and Boggs were Hall of Fame hitters, and had enough pride to hone their god-given skills to become acceptable fielders.

I could make more contact than all of yas, if I got 50 PAs in MLB: contact with my leg, contact with my back, contact with my arm, and contact with my noggin. I'd be an on-base machine, because I could never get out of the way of an inside pitch before it drilled me. Then again, I'd probably never make it to 50 PAs... but my OBP would rock!

No one will trade for an expensive slap-hitter who can't play defense, and the Sox won't pay someone else to give him a shot at beating them. Yoshida is in his 30s, so won't grow into more power. He'll just devolve into a bench bat, when contact is needed -- those 4-3s are good with a guy on third and less than two outs. He may be sitting next to Story, whose repaired shoulder may limit his batting skills at the end of his contract; particularly the longball. But at least he'd be that good glove for SS depth we've been missing... all this time we've been trying to replace the injured him.

Said it to Yankee fans this winter even before the trade: "The role is perfect for him; he'll be a big star!" (and they didn't have to decapitate a horse to get him).

All the cranky old egotistical umpires who aren't good enough to actually play big league baseball should keep showing the impartiality explicit in their profession by calling strikes blatantly out of the zone and banging Casas. They'll show that impudent young unproven big mouth. How dare he have the audacity to analyze his craft. They've frisked a lot of young punks. Enjoy your veal, McCluskey.

The Yankees are the greatest team in the history of this year. None of their pitchers will break down the rest of the season, all their over-30 batters will reclaim past glory, no opponents will develop a book on their younger hitters, and Cole will be the first starter ever to overcome a sore arm mid-season and resume throwing 100 mph while taking a regular healthy turn in the rotation through November. And Verdugo will never be late. There is legitimate confidence in New York because the Orioles don't get to play the Red Sox 147 more times.

Tanking won't guarantee a top draft pick, since this year's lottery includes all 18 non-playoff teams. Still: 1. Don't trade any top prospects. You can't get there from here. 2. Trade Jansen, Martin, O'Neill asap -- before they break down. They all have some value now, and will probably yield some return in June deals; waiting until the last minute on the last day in July is too Bloom, and too risky with their ages and histories. 3. If they refuse to use Ceddanne at shortstop, then don't look in the bargain bins for someone the A's cut like Pablo Reyes last summer. Pay for the best glove on the bench of some also-ran. Just buy him -- the investment is too important to the integrity and reputation of the franchise this summer... fans simply won't watch anymore if the defense is an embarrassment; not after last year, and not after this week looking like a rerun. We can say we'll always watch our team, but if there's one thing true baseball lovers -- and that's guys that post about it 365 days a year -- can't tolerate, it's crap D.

Your alignment seems the most palatable, but Breslow has already said he wants Ceddanne in CF -- and hinted that maybe Cora wants him at SS, "going back and forth with Alex on this"... smiling as he said it (we're not laughing, Brez). We'll see if AC wins out over another CBO. The line-up can't continue as is -- not if the org wants to maintain ticket sales and NESN viewing. Even with Story, the Bailey pitching plan of more offspeed stuff looked risky, since good junk induces more weak contact than swings and misses, which means more balls in play for our favorite stone hands and rag arms.

It's the bridge in First Blood -- where the sheriff drove Rambo out of town.

Pee Wee Reese, who Cronin wouldn't let replace him, became famous for befriending Jackie Robinson -- when the majors finally allowed the best players in the world to play in their leagues.

"Oh, Godfather, my line-up's weak -- I don't know what to do... wah-wah" You can mash like a man!

We didn't -- the Red Sox did. Somebody get up to Fenway pronto and roll some of the bodies back over and administer rescue breathing. Let's see if they have a different approach to Detmers tonight. He croaked them, last time out. Encouraged by Abreu last night -- keeping his head on the ball and going with the pitch for the first time this season. Result: 2-for-2, both to the opposite field.

CBOs continue to task Cora with making a glass of free-squeezed orange juice with just the peels. Tension is pulpable. Pulp fiction, I tell ya. If only Jonathan Pulpelbon could save us.

All true. But when unhealthy -- from what we've already seen -- there indeed is a need for a 2nd 8th-inning reliever. Look at it this way: even if you're a lights-out set-up guy ('23 Chris Martin), used to getting them out 1-2-3, but the defense is suddenly so bad that you now have to go 1-2-3-4-5 -- just to finish one inning -- then your workload increases 67%... every outing.