5GoldGlovesOF,75

There's still nobody with more than one home run to bat 5th. The Guardians will just keep walking or hit-by-pitching Contreras with 1st base open.

What's the sense in painting a yellow line on the top of the fence if it has no significance? Purple, green, polka dots -- it doesn't matter what color it's painted. If the ball clears a fence, whether it's chainlink gray or monster green, it's a home run. If it hits the top of the wall and goes over, it's gone. If it hits the top and bounces back, it's not. In driveway ball, if it goes in the air over a parked car across the street, it's a double. Over the lowest wire between the telephone poles is a triple. Over the highest wire is four bags -- every time.

I just wrote this a few days ago: Milwaukee grounded into the fewest Double Plays in baseball. Boston has grounded into the most DPs in the AL. The Brewers also lead the NL in sacrifice hits. There has to be some correlation why they're among the top-scoring teams in the majors, while the Red Sox are at the bottom.

drewski, I've been typing this here for awhile now regarding OPS: give me Slug over On Base, especially since Red Sox teams can't find any group of batters likely to amass three singles in the same inning (we're even starting to hear that from the NESN booth these days). And I don't want my best hitters taking borderline pitches they can drive, because walks still only advance a baserunner one base at a time. Of course, the offense the past few seasons has way too much swing and miss, and mediocre batters should also be forced to change their stance, grip and approach with two strikes... Don't let up on these incomplete roster builders!

Bullpens always suck and sink contenders. The main reason that happened in Boston forever wasn't a lack of talent, but having starting rotations that couldn't or weren't allowed to go deep -- thus, burning out the bullpen by mid-season. Look at the Sox teams that won it all this century: good starting rotations and thus, at least decent bullpens, with solid set-up men and star closers. Breslow and Bailey should've known better. Brez was a contributor down the stretch for a World Series winner, and Bailey a two-time All-Star. Do they hate hitters so much they think any pitching staff can get them out (or is that any pitching stiff)? Relief help is always highly-sought at every trade deadline, and there's a reason perennial contenders always load up and overpay for deep quality bullpens. But not Boston -- and it's no surprise what's the one asset always skimped on at the deadline in years the Sox fall short.

President Kennedy speaks with a strained tongue. He has a partially torn figment of the imagination, right at the base of the left fork from overuse waggling it at the media and fandom.

I would say special needs, but most major league teams have major league hitters in their major league batting orders.

NESN just showed the graphic with Boston leading the world in worst home record. I dare them to replay for the thousandth time the ad where Crochet says, "It feels like we got something special here."

Breslow's not off the hook. He keeps supplying a roster to his managers with Weissert on it. But let's not let that distract us from the Theo Epstein files (named after the GM who always made sure he had BIG bats in the line-up). Yes, the top four Sox batters have been decent lately. But the Number Five hitter has one home run for the season, whether it's Yoshida or Monasterio -- who struck out to end two rallies today when it still mattered.

If the definition of insanity is to keep repeating the same mistake and expecting different results, how many insane front office analysts have kept Weissert around the past two years so TWO insane Red Sox managers can keep bringing him with guys on base? It has to be hard to lead baseball in inherited runners allowed for two straight seasons... because if a reliever is that bad the first year, how can he keep his job in the second?

At the end of the movie, Clint Eastwood didn't give the Gran Torino to Weissert.

Goomba Greg made sure Yaz didn't get the salami

Bases loaded, no outs, here comes the closer for Italy...

Good point. When teams make the painful concession they're going nowhere fast, it's usually time to roll with the youth. Let the future core develop. It still would help to add another big bat or two -- even if they're not making the playoffs, the reinforcements can aid struggling neophytes by taking the pressure off them at the plate.

Tiers of a clown.

Extend him to the end of a plank over a moat full of crocodiles.

... though every slump Durbin has is related to Durbin usage... (... and how the Brewers used Breslow in the trade). Even after dumping Durbin, Milwaukee is still last in the NL in home runs, just like Boston is last in the AL. But somehow, the Brewers have scored 4.94 runs per game vs. the Sox AL-worst 3.77 runs per game. Possible factor: the Red Sox have grounded into the most double plays in the AL, while the Brewers have the least GDP in the NL. Milwaukee also leads the NL in sacrifice hits, something we've heard for years that Boston considers a waste of outs. It just must be coincidental Milwaukee is a first-place team and Boston is dead as a doormat.

Dammit -- Breslow throws left, bats left, and left the roster incomplete! (why didn't the smartest southpaw in the room realize the majority of TV viewers use their northpaws to change the channel?).

The Red Sox have never traded a star player in his prime for a prospect haul. Never. They traded Betts because they knew they weren't going to pay him market value and had to accept what the Dodgers were willing to give up in exchange for taking back Price: a decent prospect with character questions, a minor leaguer with a major league name, and their 3rd or 4th-best catching prospect. No limo service to escort those newcomers; just a pick-up truck with room in the bed, and use your duffel to sit on. Once they traded Fred Lynn in his prime, but again knew they weren't going to match his worth in free agent bidding, and were forced to receive broken-down veteran players who were past their primes. Nomar was still young when he was traded, but damaged goods and never the same. Manny overstayed his welcome and pushed his way out the door. None of the other many stars in Boston got traded in their primes because the Red Sox were always competitive and paid up for them to stay. But the Breslow Sox are at a crossroads after canning their entire non-Brez coaching staff, only to find out all his players still suck. Would Craig consider the unthinkable and field offers for the only Red Sox star in his prime: Garrett Crochet? Quality pitching depth is maybe at an all-time high throughout the Boston system, and the best path to acquire position player talent. What might a package for a 26-year old Cy Young runner-up yield? More than Teel and Meidroth?

Brez said many lines were crossed, but they just couldn't align that last line with the alignment they were aligning.

He listens, but words go in one ear and right out the same lobe, forced back by a rugby scrum of Merriam-Webster Thesaurus options.

June 11th is an offday... and that might be the day -- if I were CBO -- to phone 29 other clubs and make everyone in the system available. The next 15 games are vs. three first-place teams, plus the Yankees and Orioles. If the Red Sox maintain their torrid pace of eight games below .500, and go something like 4-11 or 3-12, then it's time to blow it all up. Breslow can even wear the explosive vest and sprint into the front office full of Assistant VPs... and lock the door. Why not? If we're going to have a firesale of valuable veterans in July anyway, that means we're going to totally rely on prospects in another rebuild. So might as well see what kind of quality we can get for our own highly-touted prospects. Maybe, Sam Almighty, there are young guys who might actually turn out better. We're not getting a Juan Soto deal for Anthony and acquiring CJ Abrams and James Wood, but how about Crochet -- who is already hurt after one great year? What kind of package would teams give up for a healthy Beast (and don't freak... a year from now, Eyanson might be the next Jacob Miz). How could we not listen to offers on everyone?

Why would Mookie lie that he and his wife were house-shopping in the Boston area when the trade went down? Why would Rice lie and said Mookie immediately told him via phone call that Boston was where he wanted to be when the trade went down?

Yes, because the Red Sox didn't surround him with enough good hitters and he never got enough good pitches (mistakes from over-stressed arms) to swing at and instead struck out on a lot of pitchers' pitches -- mainly because he was told by everyone he was supposed to be THE GUY instead of one of the guys. And you know it wasn't hindsight all last offseason when guys like us typed regularly about adding bats.

I'm a believer in anti-clutch, but for good hitters. Some guys just can't handle the pressure when it counts... until they finally do. And I'm not just talking about ARod, but top batters at various levels I've played or coached with or against the past half century. Yogi Berra got laughed at for not thinking too much, until he said that's the only thing he thought about.