5GoldGlovesOF,75

Cora lovers like John, Tom and Sam chose him over Chaim, and approved a roster of stellar minor league back-ups so they could fill out enough uniforms to stage games vs. actual big league teams. But that's just the take from a guy who coached high school for a decade, and some college players who made The Show... but is lately too busy doing 16-ounce curls of potables brewed with hops from the Czech Republic.

This list makes too much sense for a perennial last place team. Do we really want to risk rushing these young professional athletes?!? Bring actual good prospects up from the minor leagues to replace actual bad minor leaguers posing as big leaguers? When I was in Baltimore in 2018, I spoke to two sisters -- longtime O's fans -- and they were enthusiastic about the recent promotion of Cedric Mullins (they felt that was the way to grow). Was he ready? In parts of three seasons, Mullins batted .225 with a .632 OPS... then suddenly he turned 26 and was a 30-30 player. The O's lost 115 games in '18, then 108 the next year, and 110 in '21, just three years ago. Fans didn't pack the ballpark, but they went to watch the future and have hope. Would it be any better instead if they just signed a bunch of rehabbing retreads trying to make comebacks in their 30s, and only lost 90 games a year?

It's probably not for this excerpt from SABR's Mark Amour bio: "During Cronin’s 11-year tenure running the franchise (as general manager, president, and eventually treasurer), the team evolved from a contender to a middle-of-the-road club. The biggest problem, though by no means the only one, was the club’s failure to field any black players. The Red Sox famously had first crack at Jackie Robinson in 1945, and at Willie Mays in 1949. By 1958, Cronin’s last season as general manager, more than 100 blacks (either African-Americans or dark-skinned Latins) had played in the majors, 11 of whom went on to the Hall of Fame. None of the 100 played for the Red Sox."

Maybe with a ghost on second, Cora fears Jansen's wildness -- wilderness? -- wilditity? He throws at least three balls to every batter, and if he happens to walk the bases loaded, we can't risk losing the game on an ump's bad borderline call (we saw one again, last night). It's not that they're afraid of Jansen getting ripped -- in five games so far, he has a no-hitter.

It is baffling how they took so many pitches to record five outs an inning, and how much work they had to do, relieving all those established work horse starters that Breslow's 32 Assistant VPs scouted, recruited and signed in the offseason to lead and supply legitimate depth to the big league pitching staff.

I'm sure most posters agree with you, and are certain that a new manager will instantly transform Pablo Reyes, David Hamilton, Enmanuel Valdez and Connor Wong into Major League infielders.

Ya, right -- it must be the manager, and have nothing to do with giving opposing teams five outs an inning. And those aren't even official errors, like when the Sox can't even turn simple double plays in two late innings in a row -- when Hamilton misses the bag, and Wong (the one position player on the bench, forced to play second base) bobbles a routine grounder... Brez told us any changes would be infernal.

Maybe Duran didn't have the nimble footwork or lateral athleticism it takes to make second base throws on the pivot... for the 6-4-3 or 5-4-3 or sometimes tough 4-6-3 DPs. Even his speed -- he doesn't fly around bases like he's returning a punt, but stampedes through bags more like a scary linebacker in pursuit.

Scheduled night off. From swinging from the heels at high and inside.

Cora says it's not the clock, but that pitchers don't rest their arms after the season any more. He says they all need a month or two to heal, but most guys dive right back into workouts, trying to get a jump on the offseason. Athletic overkill exists -- they're not crammin for examinin

Jarren Duran is a guy to root for. I made a lot of fun of him when he made himself unavailable in Toronto back when Canada had its vaccine requirements. But it was mostly because he was a crummy outfielder. He also whiffed a lot, like most big leaguers. But he changed. The fact he's admitted having mental issues (like most of us), means he's getting a grip. Going to the opposite field to become a .300 hitter makes him a standard for teammates to follow. I also think it's cool he changed his hair color after going 4-for-4 -- I like a guy who steps on the foul lines once in awhile. Here's the real reason you should cheer him to succeed: no more ********. When reporters asked about his game-changing error the other night, he could've used the excuse that lefty batter liners to left field curl towards the line, and it takes all-out sprinting and focus to catch them (just like when righty batters slice liners to right). Instead, he said this: "I f***ing suck, man. It's my f***ing fault, dude. If I make that play, we get out of the inning, and none of those other f***ing things happen. I just f***ing suck, honestly." Duran's alright. And anyone who scores from first base on a pop-up that falls in, like he did last night, is a role model for athletes at any age. Everyone, hustle!

Good post. Back in the astroturf Seventies and Eighties, NL teams (with a majority of turf parks) and the Royals (closest thing to an NL team) recruited fast outfielders and quick infielders to stop or chase down speedy bouncers -- and nobody cared if those guys hit with power, because their wheels also generated plenty of extra bases if they hit gappers or choppers. Forget launch angle; in those days it was crunch angle.

Missing a guy who doesn't miss as many pitches as most... This Red Sox offense strikes out 10 times a game and is a threat to break the all-time whiff record set by last year's Twins: 1,654. That team also scored 778 runs.

Batting observations from an observer: 1. when Yoshida first batted in ST '23, his approach was to try to yank early in the count, and then go oppo with two strikes. There's no reason not to return to that plan, because it's not as if pitchers are afraid to challenge him... 2. ... same with Devers this ST -- when it looked like he was ready to be a .300 hitter with 90 extra base hits again. But as long as he keeps hacking at highballs out of the zone, any pitcher would be crazy to throw him a strike. 3. Abreu has been pulling his head on every single swing since Florida -- it is so obvious on TV, viewers don't even need to rewind to see it. The coaches must be telling him every day: You can't hit what you don't see. Right?

Does this make sense: Team's #1 prospect shows he's finally healthy, rakes in Double A, succeeds in Triple A for the month of August, and ultimately gets a taste of The Show in September, filling the position that is the biggest hole on the big league diamond?

The future's so bright, you gotta...

I think they're going to call them all up, and not just for a shot of expresso in September. There are going to be a lot of job openings in Boston by the trade deadline. We know they're not going to spend -- Brez already said they're going "internal" -- and if the season gets as ugly as if could, remotes will focus on dog shows before they'll watch the Dead Sox this summer. I also don't think Cora will make it to August.

Old ownership in Boston still wants to sell tickets. And if the Red Sox are as bad as most predicted -- and we all saw the past two days -- it has to be 50-50 whether the front office is compelled to bring up its version of the Orioles' future superstars. It's not just Breslow, publicly counting on the Big Three (now in Portland), but Bloom's "You know what's coming..." and virtually anyone involved in roster construction. Bad teams going nowhere often call up top prospects to generate hope for the fanbase and to give young players early big league experience in relatively stress-free competition. Not only can the youngsters acclimate to environments that get intense if/when the team returns to contention -- but their talents can help boost a club into contention. What does the front office have to lose -- except service time, which they've now shown they're intent to buy out with extensions for the future core. You don't have to go to Yale to know that most fans aren't going to stay tuned to watch platoons of Hamilton/Romy and Pablo/Valdez... not, once the weather gets nice.

Just wondering if posters on Orioles forums ever stress about whether a prospect is ready, when the Birds promote new star players at a young age... and not just #1 overall draft picks who make the majors when they're 20 like Jackson Holliday. Gunnar Henderson was a second-rounder who made it at age 21. Colton Cowser, the guy who beat the Red Sox the past two days, was the next pick drafted after Marcelo Mayer. Cowser played college ball and is older, but only hit .115 and struck out 33% of the time when he was promoted last year -- somehow, he survived that trauma, and it doesn't appear Baltimore ruined his career by calling him up.

Boston's starting pitchers have been tops, but if they don't go five innings every night, it won't be because of inexperience. It takes 15 outs to get through 5 frames -- with the support of an average defense... but if you're in the Red Sox rotation, you may need 18 "outs" or more (and that number may only include official errors). For every new miscue, a pitcher may have to throw an extra 6 pitches or more to an another batter; suddenly, a 55-pitch outing becomes 70 pitches -- and the extra throws are always high stress with at least one more runner on base. With errors torrential, pitch counts go exponential, with more injury potential -- new shortstop is essential

Grissom is different than waiting on old, rehabbing vets like Paxton or Mondesi or Hendricks, etc. to maybe make a comeback. Grissom is unproven youth, vitality and promise, hope for the future. Until he comes off the IL and actually plays for the Red Sox... Vaughn Grissom is the next Boston superstar, a combination of Nomar and Bogey, slicing pitches all over Fenway, smiling for cameras, the idol of boys, breaking girls hearts! Grissom is that unopened 1968 wax pack, series 3... inside are five mint condition baseball cards -- and as long as it's unopened, the pack certainly includes Yaz, Mantle, the Johnny Bench rookie card, Kaline, Killebrew, Rose, Cepeda or Marichal. But once opened, what you see is what you get: Larry Brown. Carroll Sembera. Fred Klages, Mel Queen, and Paul Popovich. Make that doubles of Popovich...

Talking heads hammering Bloom again today for poor spending -- injury-prone Story (elbow as damaged goods) and one-tool Yoshida. I'll never defend Bloom because of what he represents in Sox history, and also for $10 million-dollar rotation duds like Kluber and Richards. But when the past six years are assessed in totality, and the wastes of money include Sale (TJ waiting to happen) and Giolito (bad pitcher for two years, now with an excuse) -- isn't it time to look past the three CBOs, and hold other longtime front office employees a little more accountable? Many were there the whole time. Due diligence on acquisitions must be shared by several of the many assistant VPs. Word was the Sox had coveted Yoshida for years. As for Story, Red Sox scouts must have been monitoring his throwing arm, while more than one doctor had to be inspecting his medicals... And was lowballing Bogaerts in Spring Training '22 really all Bloom, who said after the season that signing Xander was his priority and was described by reporters of being in shock when he lost Bogie (and maybe not just because SD gave him $100 million more)? With all that incompetency, it is understandable that ownership has finally just cut off the current CBO from filling obvious holes. But they're not off the hook, either, and it's probably their own damn fault from the start, for refusing to pay Mookie what he is worth, and then inevitably paying one-dimensional Raffy instead...

Don't forget the rotation matched Seattle's, pitch for pitch, and broke even there. That, to me, was the most important springboard to a respectable start. Sox fans probably didn't expect the M's to be even bigger whiffers than our boys, but maybe Bailey's Mudslide put their batters in a funk they can't pull out of...

I think Milwaukee was demanding at least one pitching prospect in return for Burnes; most teams want pitching back when they have to deal impending free agent arms. But alas, even Boston's top two pitchers in the system - Gonzalez and Perales - aren't rated with ceilings higher than mid-rotation or back-end bullpen. Though most of us would take Burnes for that pair, and probably Cespedes, as well.

"not that the Sox were ever getting Corbin Burnes for Nick Yorke and Walkemin Gonzalez... just remember, the Orioles tanked for a few more years to secure all those top 10 draft picks"