5GoldGlovesOF,75

Dodgers were trading for 12 years of Mookie. Over and over and over again.

Cora's always going to be a stand-up guy because he did his time and kept his mouth shut so that people below him could skate in the eyes of the public. All those Astro rats who threw Cora under the bus owe him forever -- not just for the unfair amnesty Manfred granted them, but for any financial benefits gained for inflated numbers on the back of their baseball cards. AC didn't get one single at bat...

Assuming your question was rhetorical -- and not entirely logical... because we all know that no one coming off any kind of physical injury is guaranteed to bounce back as good as new. Plus, Murphy, Walter and even Jacques at times haven't been all bad. But if the front office is serious about going for it, Bloom really needs to add a healthy, decent pitcher. And Red Sox players are already talking about expecting outside help by the deadline.

... but everything uses sports metaphors -- even peanut butter and jelly. When it's crunch time, and we're in a jam, I need to bring my A game to the table. And not waste any bread.

Yankees outfield is so bad they'd make JD break his old glove out of mothballs. Then he'd have to tiptoe around the new pizza boxes; how long would it take him to join Judge on the IL?

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick... that's not the opening of 60 Minutes (but could be an omen for 60 days -- or less).

A big guy who never missed an inning for years and years... during the Steroids Era? Whatever the reasons, it will always be mind-boggling that a big league shortstop played every inning of every game for an entire season and only made 3 errors. ... and he didn't even have the official scorers from Fenway Park on his side!

Talk about the emergence of Duran all you want. But often, the arrival of a new player sparks the season. Mark down July 8 as the turning point for the 2023 Red Sox -- the first game in Boston of... Aquaman.

Games are quicker, too. Less chance to prepare a dissertation or sign a petition.

Didn't we have this 1990 conversation before? SS A aka Cal Ripken (a guy who made a career playing every inning of every game) made 3 errors... for the season. SS B aka Ozzie Guillen made 17 Es -- and won the Gold Glove. But, to your point: CR 435 assists, 242 put-outs; OG 474 assists, 252 put-outs. Obviously those stats show Oz accounted for more outs, and they might show more range... but Ripken was noted for his first step -- before contact -- knowing the hitters and pitchers and anticipating locations of batted balls. Is it possible Guillen had more chances because his pitching staff pitched to more contact, induced more ground balls, and kept the ball in the infield more than Baltimore's? Upon review of '90 team pitching stats, the O's were second-to-last in the AL in strikeouts, while Chicago was better than league average. However, the fact that the White Sox won 94 games and the O's only 76 may mean that Baltimore's pitching just gave up more hard hits out of the infield. The Orioles gave up the second-most home runs; the ChiSox gave up the second-least...

No need to even debate that the majority of any team's fan opinions are always based entirely on three things: location, location, lowcation. The Red Sox are dead last in the standings in their assigned division. We know the record is middle-of-the-pack overall in a 15-team league, but the average fan could care less. We also know the Sox have an outside shot at the playoffs, which is all the average fan could ask for. Now back to Paxton: Bloom would be foolish to turn down what just might be the best trade offer of prospects of his Boston career so far... and he can swing a deal and still keep the Sox in the wild card hunt. Is it really impossible he could get a near-MLB ready pitcher, promote the guy for the stretch run, and get more quality innings out of him than Paxton, who may be hurt again by September?

How dare you use actual data like team defensive rankings (based on a stat MLB has used for over a century) to show how much worse the Red Sox are compared to the teams with the two best records in the American League, the first-place Rays and second-place Orioles. If someone says a statistical category is useless on talksox, then it absolutely must be... to them. Count me as another poster on this forum to admit being totally wrong about Jarren Duran, whose speed and hustle have made him one of the most exciting players on a team defined by inconsistency. But when I watch a high fly bounce next to him, then over him, like last night, it was the second year in a row a chalkmark registered around his head on my "WTF -- this is a big league outfielder?" meter.

She was fluent in baseball. Never wasted air time asking players how it feels to be a hero (a canned quote to which we can only wish someday provokes this reply: "Loathsome. Cheers are so patronizing. I'd rather be a villain. Boos reflect genuine emotion. I'd like some right now... buy you a drink?"

Naw, it's all good. They chose to be on TV, and we chose (or had no other choice) to be viewers.

You old man, she was/is a hot brunette NESN reporter that quit to be his wife. The hot blonde left to work for MLB. The only thing I remember about this season is that if the Sox' opponent is good, they'll play good, but if their foe blows, so will the BOSox...

With his speed and hands, don't you think Story could play centerfield? He doesn't have to be Robin Yount, but with modern medicine bionically enhancing his elbow, can he at least hit the cutoff as good as say, Damon or Ellsbury -- who the Sox won rings with in CF?

Any minor leaguer should be expendable if part of the right deal for a rebuilding team. Nick Yorke's top asset has always been bat skill, whereas Story's rep is more athletic on defense and baserunning. Both started in pro ball as teens, but Story has always been prone to more strikeouts. Yorke's progress promises more contact as a possible impact bat. Neither is so good at second base that they can't move to other positions, though.

Figures, Bloom would waste all that money signing a one-pitch pitcher.

How far back is "this era" -- I'm spoiled by seeing many Red Sox rookies or young players burst onto the scene and just rock the league in their first full years: Fisk, Lynn, Rice, Clemens, Boggs, Greenwell (2nd in MVP), Nomar, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Mookie... Some notables that took a few years of adjustments: Dwight Evans, Varitek, Youk, Bogaerts... I'd say Raffy, but he's still making adjustments today to the league's adjustments to him.

And you didn't read my posts -- or just took lines out of context. I never said the Red Sox should win the World Series every year or even spend top dollar to try to win it all every year. Expectations in Red Sox Nation should always be to "contend for a playoff spot." Not pretend. I've been a fan for most of the same decades you have, and you know what spoiled me? Not John Henry's rings, but the fact that the Sox were just about always good -- with a chance to be great -- with homegrown stars they paid to keep that fans could identify with and root for, from '67 to the end of last century. In that timeline -- my life as a fan -- Boston didn't finish dead last six times like they have in the past dozen years, nor floundered for as long as they have in the Bloom Era, with his revolving roster of mediocrity.

Hamilton at shortstop -- super quickness, shaky throws -- is how I imagined Story there, as described by Bloom in this paraphrase: "His elite speed will compensate for any arm issues." Just make sure Turner (nice pick on a bounced throw last night) or Casas give each other enough rest in between stretches at first.

"The owners made him!" ... sign Jansen... and Story and Devers... but forbid him from signing Betts or Bogaerts or Schwarber (as for Eovaldi -- that was just personal, from Nate dissing Chaim for last summer's deadline two-step). The poor guy; all he's ever allowed to do on his own is scour waiver wires for castoffs from other organizations... and draft high school hitters.

I'm still going back to actual fan expectations, not analysis of a CBO's inherited system or ownership mandates/restrictions. The expectations for the six-state region of New England baseball fans should always be for their Red Sox to contend for a playoff spot. Not .500 or just over .500... ... and for the people who run the team to use resources -- every year -- to at least sustain that goal. Without the BS. You think New York fans ever disagree with the Yankees signing expensive free agents or trading prospects or going over the competitive balance tax?

... but more stability, getting what you pay for with two more legitimately decent players.

This is a fair assessment. The only thing I question is what defines "unrealistic expectations." While it's unreasonable to expect World Series teams every year -- especially with limited prospect capital for trades and budget limits -- is it really unrealistic for loyal hoards of fans of a big-market club that charges top-of-the-industry spectator fees to expect the franchise to invest enough each year to legitimately contend for a postseason berth?