5GoldGlovesOF,75

Full last name: El(bow)(Re)Attrache

For now, with Ref's cracked toe, they'll prob stay with Duran-Ceddanne-Abreu/O'Neill, with Yoshi DH -- and keep assessing who they like, who they keep, and who's a creep (oh, wait, Dugie's gone!). It's just easier to Ceddanne than his four-syllable, Devers-sounding last name.

This post made me laugh.

If we bewaring, then the misfortune and doom will come tomorrow, the 15th (hope Crawford isn't throwing)... luckily, the prospect team won't play until Saturday -- so the future will stay healthy... ... until future internal brace ops.

Ok, I won't complain about the opportunity to keep a guy in his 30s at a bargain rate in 2026, five years after his last good season. But tell me how to praise a contract that all but ensures your most expensive offseason acquisition starting pitcher -- presuming he was healthy -- leaves in '25 if he's good in '24, but stays if he's bad... given by a team in real need of any good starting pitchers. Unless, of course, a club that hasn't paid market rate for any available top starting mound talent in half a decade will suddenly change its business plan...

Someone argue why the italics don't further confirm this is a dumb contract for a team that really needs to solidify (not liquify) the starting rotation now and for the future. Innings pitched may make sense as an incentive for someone hired to be a workhorse, but only 140 for a guy with an average IP of 192 (per every 162 games over an 8-year career)? The Red Sox were obviously protecting their investment against injury -- but why? Was there a risk that they knew about? Or for a healthy Giolito, would less than 140 instead mean he was too much of a risk for giving up home runs that Cora and Co. had to get him off the mound?

He's talking to Sammy, who's telling a Whammy, and probably will be for life.

Cooperstown Criswell? Justincase Slaten... Mitt Romy Gonzalez!

The crucible of our machinations presupposes the acquiescence of a pendulous fanbase, as reflected by remunerations at the turnstiles.

-- transcripts from the latest front office conference

Today's game in the 4th inning might show a good reason to keep both Rafaela and Duran on the lefthanded-hitting-heavy Red Sox roster. The Gameday report vs. Cardinals' southpaw Liberatore: RHH O'Neill, single. LHH Casas grounds into a force out. RHH Rafaela pulls a two-run home run. LHH Valdez grounds out. RHH Wong pulls a double. LHH Duran sees 3 pitches -- swinging strike, swinging strike, swinging strike -- inning over.

Just booted the first ball hit to him... then oppo doubled off the wall in his first AB...

If Mayer bounces back and really rakes this year, it will be interesting to see what position he plays by the end of the summer. A ballclub's top prospect usually doesn't ride the bench when he make the bigs... and it's hard to imagine a healthy Story moving off shortstop again or the budget Sox eating half of another big salary to trade a veteran.

Struck out in half his ST at bats so far, but everyone says it doesn't matter... though I'm not sure how a guy can win a starting job or make a roster by performing poorly (hustling like Heineman to make Dalbec's granny possible can help). I liked Abreu more before Tom Werner the TV expert praised him. It was like me thinking other actors on the original 22-Jump Street were going to be stars.

Teddy means the 5-year rebuild actually starts now. The past 5 were demolition derby.

He swings at everything, but it has worked out the past two seasons: '22 high A -- .330, 30 XBH in 45 games; AA -- 33 XBH in 71 games; '23 AA -- .294, 24 XBH in 60 games; AAA '23 -- .312, 30 XBH in 48 games. Duran and Abreu also had good pop in the minors, but not quite like Ceddanne. They all have something positive to offer on offense, but Rafaela is a better player than either in the one area guaranteed to help the Red Sox improve this year: DEFENSE.

Crawford could at least be a picture card coming out of this shuffle. Youk said on the weekend broadcast, "How Crawford goes this year, so goes the Red Sox." He was particularly impressed with Crawford's four-seamer at the top of the zone.

As a fan of the big-market Red Sox, I always thought it overrated to keep a player in the minors for a month or two just to keep one more year of control. If he proves he's good enough for Boston, then pay him market value to stay as he approaches free agency. Better yet, if he's worth a longterm investment, lock him up asap. That seems to be the big plan these days, anyway. If he can help the club and is one of the best 26, sending him down is unfair to both the player, and the fans, who always want to watch and root for the best possible team.

Like I said -- in my opinion -- the risks of almost annual breakdowns or interminable IL stints of free agents signed by the Red Sox are what made the cost of such players so attractive to the business plan of this front office the past half decade. But we may be mispronouncing today' starting pitcher -- or Boston has concealed him as a compound word... Cooper is a nod to nostalgia for former Sox "All-Stars" Cecil and Scott. But it's not Criswell; it's Cry Swell... (get well soon, CHB).

And we've also seen players that have succeeded at every level in the minors -- like Bello and Casas -- establish themselves at the final level... especially as they face the same peers on the way up who have been promoted by other MLB clubs.

It's true, and their status as a last place contender the past five years (they are the favorites, again), wouldn't necessarily reflect the glaring fact from the chart on Hugh's link that Boston also ranks dead last in investing in pitching prospects since 2018. But what continues to be frustrating is that everyone -- fans, media, and any team builders in the industry -- knows that pitching is the key element in the sport, and for improvement.

The Rays? Bah -- swept by their richer but poorer northern versions! Yes, the Red Sox are Kings of the Caribbean. Doesn't the board employ a full-time poster in the DR? Where are the weekend's eye-witness eye-test reports...

OB: "I would be calling the next game, unless it should rain." Fan: "If there's a next game, I won't be listening to you, because I will press mute."

Thanks for the link. Red Sox fans aren't surprised Boston ranks dead last in investing in pitching prospects since 2018. We get what they don't pay for. In that span, the two teams who spent the highest percentage of draft bonus bucks on pitching are also recent World Series champs: Texas and Atlanta. At the same time, neither of those clubs have been shy about spending large to lock up star position players at the big league level. Data shows the Sox have preferred drafting hitters, but the author (obviously a devoted reader of of talksox) adds this: "The Red Sox’s hitter-centric strategy could still be successful in developing a balanced roster, especially if the pitching staff was buoyed by external investment in the free agent market and/or via trades of hitting prospects for pitching." Giolito looks like a bad buoy so far, but there's still hope for guys like Fitts and Sandlin (acquired for another pitcher, but at least through trade). Breslow still has a lot of hitting prospect depth that he could part with -- like the example given of Arizona swapping Jazz Chisholm for Zac Gallen.

Ok, though there is a chance that new pitching experts already contributed to the team losing its most expensive offseason addition to the staff... that is, if Giolito was following their instructions when he blew out his elbow and wasn't already undisclosed damaged goods (or wasn't following directions when he tried to throw his slider too hard). But you're right -- the pitching is bound to be better under new tutelage and fresh eyes. We should look forward soon to the arrival of last year's top college catcher in the nation. The last time Boston acquired a guy like that was probably Varitek, who took a few years to emerge, but had such an impact that we can recall the season he cracked an elbow diving for a pop-up. He was all done, and so were the Sox that year; Tek's absence was worse than losing Pedro and Nomar to injuries. Can never underestimate the importance of a top catcher who curates the pitching staff. Remember the greatest Sox team in '18, when certain pitchers preferred throwing to Leon instead of Vazquez? (moon may have had some stats to back that choice). Maybe Rutschman was that valuable to Baltimore's 101-win no-name rotation. Hopefully, Teel is the real deal.