5GoldGlovesOF,75

Not my proposal -- it was the PUNDITS!

Signing Bregman or Bichette just may come down to this question: is Connelly Early worth $20 million dollars to Boston for the next half decade? ... if the Red Sox miss out on signing a coveted free agent because they wouldn't PAY Chicago's or someone's winning bid of an extra $20 mil, the pivot will inevitably be a trade for a legit infielder. And acquiring a Marte or Donovan is a painful trade that will cost Early at a minimum. So -- rich businessmen owners of a sports franchise -- think of the extra $20 mil as an investment that includes both an All-Star infielder and a young starting pitcher who solidifies the rotation.

When I was 48 I had the body of a 30 yr old. And she's still hot.

I don't like this. A lot of chatter from media, nothing from team or player.

For those who want more pitching over an actual good infielder, those pitchers better all be lights out striker outers... ... because ground balls and pop-ups tend to expose a defense that leads the league in ERRORS every year. And Es don't even include the bane of Alex Cora's existence -- an infield that doesn't consistently convert double plays when needed (and don't reply with stat totals, since there aren't any for blown DPs that extend innings, add to pitch counts, tax bullpens and result in more runs allowed).

Freaking awesome post. Made me think: we WON'T pay market value to superstars in their primes because that's been the Boston business model since the Sox all-time blew it with Mookie. No one needs to ask How's That Working For You since we're living it as Red Sox fans. Reminds of the speaker scam some may be familiar with: shady guy in a van rolls up to young suckers in a parking lot and says he lucked into getting some overstock on brand new speakers and will sell them for cash for half price! Buyer eagerly brings returns to his flat, plugs them in and curses... can still hear tunes, but the sound is clearly crappy... ... but hey, he got what he paid for.

Just as long as we don't start calling him Rusney.

Maybe he finally figured things out. That must be why Pittsburgh let him go... Age old question: is he good or just doing good (as in do-gooder)? Stats are facts but there are many that go into evaluations these days -- thus, the early promotions in the minors for Roman Anthony and now Enddy Azocar.

Where does Matt Fraizer fit in? We know Worcester inflates Triple A stats, but he hit .305 and .813 last year -- not at Woo. Even if, that's better than most batting prospects...

This thread is only mint in the box. Once opened, it gets stale. Except me; clause trophobic... I can only type open-ended questions in complete sentences. See?

January sucks -- the longest and coldest month. February rocks -- the shortest month and the start of SPRING TRAINING.

The Red Sox have to add another proven big league hitter to the batting order. All your names listed are reportedly on the radar. Over and over again. We've got a thing that's called Radar Love. "And it's a half past four and I'm shifting gears," lied every CBO/GM. Yay. An infielder with an All-Star bat added to a DH/1B with an All-Star bat basically puts us back where we opened last year (except the '25 DH only agreed to play 1B in SF). But this time around we're also counting on a healthy Roman Candle to spark the fireworks from the start.

Based on the last Bregman contract, the Red Sox agree with you. Why would anyone think they'd take the two additional years originally agreed on and tack on three more years for Bregman -- a year older and more brittle? I'm not too broken up about Alonso. If the Sox aren't willing to pay an all-around good player like Bregman five years, why would they for a one-dimensional guy like Polar Bear? Did anyone really read or hear the words "perfect fit in Boston" from a front office or management voice -- or was that just media hype and poster blab? Your trade expectation definitely belongs on a thread with the word "Realistic" in it -- and not "2025"... this is the big 2 6... no more review of '25 (here, I'll wrap it up: Eaton didn't score and Duran dropped Judge's fraud single). And now for a '26 preview from the South Bronx (Yankee fan lament): "Nobody could throw Anthony's home run ball back onto the field because it rolled too far away down the street for any arm to even reach the back wall of the stadium."

Have you seen Hamilton at the bag receiving throws from the catcher? The next one he catches will be the first. Seriously -- catcher's must ask -- how is our WAR affected by throwing to a fielder who cannot catch? Like, who is the baserunner really stealing on? Pitcher, catcher, or someone else....?

You're just a man seeking repurpose.

Most adult fans are aware their favorite sports teams are owned and run by business men trying to turn profits. But all fans know it costs them (or their parents) good money to watch and support those clubs. Reasonable fans don't demand a World Series every year -- just give us entertainment worthy of our hard-earned investments... and show thanks by continuing to invest in us.

I predict the Sox are really looking forward to June, when they travel for a pair of three-game series in Seattle and Colorado. They'll score 30 runs vs. the Rockies, and then the PR Dept and fans can brag that Boston's highly-rated offense averaged 5 runs per game on the road trip.

Hey -- it could happen: 85 regular season wins and a Wild Card + 13 more in a hot October/November... when the Great Pumpkin finally returns to the pumpkin patch with candy corn for all good little girls and boys. The key won't be a middle-inning reliever with good potential horizontal sweep traded for in the last minute of the deadline as the Red Sox' one major summer acquisition.

It must be a new fetish. When Breslow won the 2013 World Series, he was listed as a shrimpy 6-footer. The only key pitchers on that postseason staff at least 6-4 were Lester and Lackey. Andrew Miller was cheering in the dugout but didn't make the roster.

Dang -- I forgot KC on the outfield depth chart. His one elite skill was impersonating Barry Bonds at three levels in the minors... for one year (then the genie smashed the bottle).

re. Yoshida, maybe -- and this is just winter blab until the Sox GET AN INFIELDER -- maybe they're waiting to see if a surgically-healed Masa can hit 20 home runs in a season... now that he's cleared to pump those inflatable dumbbells again. Think about this: each of Boston's outfielders (listed anyway) possess at least one elite skill -- Anthony On Base, Abreu throwing, Rafaela catching, Duran running... but what's Yoshida's? Contact, not striking out? He's not quite batting crown contender, Jacob Wilson level. If Masa can power up in the WBC and carry that over into the MLB, his value would soar considerably. Twenty HRs doesn't seem like much -- unless you play for the Red Sox and only have two returnees who reached that last year.

I'm not worried about Bichette's offense. He's one of the few batters who can take massive cuts with his first two strikes and then shorten his swing and hit line drives. Someone with elite hand-eye can always adjust. Bregman has a similar approach at the plate, and is a much better fielder... but four years older.

Good exercise. For some of these guys, I looked at the past half decade, and total hits. With about the same amount of XBH, here are 162-game averages for singles, as well: Bichette 130, Bregman 100, Marte 99, Devers 94, Contreras 80, Suarez 73. Bichette missed half the season in '24 and is the only one still in his 20s. Clearly the best hitter...

We're using a lot of syllables... maybe just "earned" as in earned WAR.

I'm starting to rethink the nomenclature for OPS. Guys aren't literally "hitting" .825, but more like reaching and launching .825.