5GoldGlovesOF,75

Those Red Sox teams in the 1970s were always making moves to acquire quality pitching. They swung trades for All-Star starters like Sonny Siebert, Rick Wise, Ferguson Jenkins and Dennis Eckersly. They also picked up Luis Tiant at a flea market, and when free agency began, signed the top AL reliever in Bill Campbell and World Series champ Mike Torrez. Ultimately, they couldn't go deep into October again until they cultivated pitchers on their own farm: Clemens, Hurst, Boyd, etc. But of course, the Sox never won any post-Babe rings until they went all in for big game hunters like Martinez and Schilling (with some foresight through the years by adding Wake, Lowe, Arroyo and Foulke).

Here's what does make sense: runs scored by the four eliminated losers in the eight wild card games -- Tuesday 0, 1, 3, 1... Wednesday 1, 0, 2, 1 Some posters believe that the Sox are only two pitchers away from contending... to qualify for the postseason, maybe... and then "anything can happen". But those scores would argue that complete pitching staffs of solid starters and stingy relievers aren't quite as unpredictable (granted, they've yet to face the four best clubs -- record-wise).

The Red Sox had a team OPS+ of 100... right at the exact league average. That confirms what our eyes told us all season: their vaunted offense was mediocre. The only teams above-average were Tampa, Texas, Houston, Baltimore, Minnesota, Toronto and Seattle... all legit contenders. One stat that stands out is team bases on balls; only three clubs drew less walks than Boston: Cleveland, KC and Chicago (legit sellers). Casas was tied for 12th with 70 walks. Devers was second with 62 (tied for 22nd). Then there were guys like Wong and Duvall, 22 walks each, Duran, 24, and Yoshida, 34 BB in 537 Plate Appearances (Wade Boggs had that many in just chicken dinner plate appearances every spring in the 1980s). The Sox need better swingers and better takers.

Ef Eflin, he can go to the Devil (wearing a throwback jersey). I hope all the AL East teams get eliminated in their first rounds; I don't root for rivals. And the last thing the Red Sox batting order needs is more Ks. Chapman now has 40 strikeouts MORE than Devers this year -- who may have swung at every single pitch to him in the last six months. Bellhorn wants more bang for his buck than a left side of Story and Chapman? How about just more contact for the bucks... Times have changed, but it's still a fact that both Story and Chapman have each had seasons with more whiffs than any of the 753 big league batters who played during what is commonly known as the worst offensive season in Major League history: 1968 -- "The Year of the Pitcher."

NESN already announced plans for next season. They vow to give fans a rest every Friday -- the day before most get the weekend off -- by not broadcasting Red Sox games that night. Instead of last-place baseball on Fridays, NESN is scheduled to show classic black-and-white monster movies. It's all nostalgia, for a time when fans actually enjoyed watching horror on their TVs. My favorite was "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" -- Lon Chaney's Wolfman battles Bela Lugosi's Dracula! There was no dumpster diving in casting those roles; directors went right after the biggest names in mayhem.

It doesn't make sense that Cora told Bloom which dumpsters to dive in -- and then when the team sucked, blatantly stated, "The roster is the roster." Bloom infamously said the Sox were "underdogs" to justify not acquiring their requested reinforcements. But he made them underdogs -- he was in charge of assembling the roster, not the manager stuck with starting openers every other day... I welcome Cora having more input on front office decisions, especially regarding which players he'd like to keep, which ones he'd move, and ultimately, which free agents or guys on other teams he'd specifically target that can improve the Red Sox. No matter what you think about Cora, he knows a lot more about baseball than Chaim Bloom.

Good list. Not that we have a crystal ball, but how many of the 13 will A. make the majors; and B. ever hit .300? Best case: A. 5; B. 2? Anyway, would you swap four for four star years of Trout? Like 30+ HRs in Boston? Is it worth it to deal with a Sale/Price albatross after that? Consider this: before this injury season, Trout had 11 straight years of .900+ OPS. Where are we going to find a RHH outfielder who can even post .850? The Sox haven't even had any OF that high since Mookie left...

Agreed. It's more that clubs would rather bring in a conga line of fresh arms, rather than most hitters become Ted Williams the third or fourth time through the order. Recall it was Ted that admitted sharp-eyed batters like he and Joe D. feasted off tired pitchers who were expected to finish what they started back in old-timey days -- and that he'd never be able to bat .400 in a game with modern relief aces.

But haven't the concepts of "durability"/starting pitcher/quality starts and even pitcher victories changed before our very eyes? Or are these issues just Red Sox-centric... It reminds me of the year my school district collected all the novels from elementary classrooms and redesignated and then redistributed them to higher grades; the books had become too difficult at all the old levels because kids don't read enough any more.

Teoscar Hernandez has a negative dWAR in every season of his eight-year career. He is not playing outfield for the woeful Red Sox defense, because a new GM will not fix anything by acquiring him -- unless we want another guy whose best position is DH.

There's no one even like the underrated Kevin Youkilis in the organization right now: .861 career OPS in 10 MLB seasons. But realistically, no one is giving up star righty bats. A rebuild needs to target up-and-comers or never-beens (not washed up Jack Clarks). Looking at outfielders on other last-place clubs who may be open to dealing, Lane Thomas, 28, hit 28 HRs in Washington and is arb eligible. Dylan Carlson (switch), 24, was hurt this year, but was once a top prospect. Laureano is still out there, only 28, but maybe regressing. An energy guy and good bench player is Connor Joe, 30, who can also be the back-up RHH 1st baseman. Then there's Mike Trout... age 32... under contract for seven more years... who LA might want to move. Would a change of scenery and the adoration of millions spark his game? He had 2.9 WAR in half a season, which was only better than all Red Sox position players except Raffy (who could be an MVP with Trout batting behind him in the order). You have to admit: a blockbuster for Trout would generate some buzz in any new CBO's first winter -- it would be the opposite of dumping Mookie -- and help justify a cellar-dweller already raising ticket prices.

What a lazy slug; couldn't even spare a few extra seconds to just type ameliorated...

If shorty Yoshida could just hit a few more homers and yell "f*** Ya!" a lot, without a translator, fans would start to accept him more like they did with Pedroia.

Oh, look, the poster acknowledged the entire premise of good lefties using the Great Wall by noting FRED LYNN in his first sentence.

In a TV interview years later about Game 7 in '03, Pedro said he was told his day was done, but Little came up to him after the 7th and asked if he could just get one more out: Nick Johnson, who would lead off the 8th. He did... then Little froze. Of course, this could be yet another case of a Red Sox player misremembering moments of conflict: Clemens in Game 6 in '86, Betts in the offseason after 2019, Sale falling off a stationary bike into a big screen TV...

It's true that great lefty Fenway batters take advantage of the Monster. No one did it better than Boggs, and many said Lynn (himself, included) would be in Cooperstown if he played in Boston his entire career. But the Red Sox aren't winning without top righthanded hitters -- from Manny on '04/'07 to Mookie/JD in '18... Youk in '07, and don't forget Pedroia in '07/'13. Going back a ways, star righty swingers always led flag winners: Tony C/Rico/Boomer; Rice/Fisk; Evans/Burks... even Jody Reed and John Valentin, who each led the AL in doubles. Who is the Sox' top righty hitter going forward? Team K leader Connor Wong, with his .673 OPS? How soon can Nick Yorke can here...

This board has a Yoshida fetish. Moving him out of left field -- the easiest outfield position, at least in 50% of Red Sox games -- won't solve the defensive issues. Besides catcher, the two most important positions on the diamond are shortstop and centerfield. Boston is already improved at short -- as long as Story stays healthy until one of Bloom's 85 prospects actually makes the Show. But a legitimate centerfielder is a must -- and that means no Duran or Duvall in center next year. If Rafaela can hit .250 in MLB, that will have to suffice. Otherwise, welcome Mike Trout. Unfortunately, more action happens at third base and subsequently first base; will the new regime make an earth-shattering change at one of the infield corners? For those of you that blame Alex Cora for the D -- as if he constructed the piss-poor last-place rosters during the Bloom Error -- the one position I will agree with you on is THE MOUND. There is simply no excuse... decade after decade... for the big market Red Sox to allow pitchers to suck at fielding (especially throwing to any base, including fourth base). And you'd think they'd be the BEST gloves in the middle of the diamond, like when they were kids in Little League up through at least High School... Reese: "GET OVER!" Color Man to OB: "(Arm) got a late start there, and didn't beat the runner to the bag..."

I approve of this post. My only difference is that I believe part of changing the culture -- in what has been established by both Bloom and Dombrowski -- is to entirely discount Chris Sale: 1. The Red Sox need reliable starting pitchers who can consistently go six -- innings pitched and months. Obviously, they have to discount Sale for either. 2. In order to move on from hoping/wishing/praying for the walking wounded to give us contributions -- we gotta take cara him/limit his innings/skip a start/rehab assignment/wait til his comes off the IL/IL/IL/eeeyaaaaaaahhhhhh! -- the new GM needs to discount Sale by eating part of his contract and get him gone. This post is nothing personal. It's strictly hobby. It's time for a change of scenery... as in, we've scenery enough of this.

A few other AL rankings... Yoshida among leftfielders: 1st in BA and SLUGGING; 2nd in OPS, H, RBI; 3rd OBP... 5th in HRs, 10th in Ks, 14th in BBs... 8-for-8 in SB attempts... strange days, indeed. Verdugo among rightfielders: 2nd in BA and doubles; 4th in OPS, R; 5th in H... but here's the kicker -- among RFs with at least 500 ABs, dead last in HRs and RBIs. A corner outfielder for a contender has to do better than 13 HRs and 54 RBI.

Right now, the starting rotation has the exact same amount of sure things going into next year as it did last winter: Bello and #5 man Nick Pivetta. Now think about the entire season, and who -- if any other guy -- would be the closest to a fulltimer? Yes, that would be... Cutter Crawford: best WHIP among starters, more Ks than Bello, and tied with Pivetta for best starter ERA. Sign one reliable starter, trade for a young one with potential, and somehow find a respectable righty power bat to protect Devers. Raffy's season, with rankings among AL third basemen: 1st in HR, RBI, Slugging, OPS; 3rd in H, R, 2B, BA; 4th in OBP, tied 4th BB, 5th in Ks... Those stats seem to justify top salary among position players on the team -- either that or fans lack perspective with the realities of current batting struggles throughout the big leagues.

Gave himself up in Game Three of the LCS, to rest the rest for the Greatest Comeback in Baseball History, then won Game Five in extra innings -- when nobody could hit him... or catch him. Tito appropriately gave him the Game One start in the World Series; none of the five Sox pitchers were on that day, but the bats pulled it out. Wake was at his best (and worst) in the '03 LCS, with two good starts and Ws, and a loss -- only because he was supposed to be Scott Williamson an inning earlier.

No, I heard him say on radio. But that doesn't mean his source was right.

The baserunning rule changes have certainly helped. I'd say: but you still can't steal first -- though we know that hasn't been the issue with the Red Sox vaunted O, tied for second in AL hits. It's moving the pieces around the gameboard... they're either really unlucky or really sucky.

But not enough gentlemen drove anyone home. The new GM has to break down and pay for Uber batters.

How bad is modern hitting? The year 1968 was the worst batting season in modern history. It's forever remembered as The Year of the Pitcher, when ace starters were MVPs in both leagues. It was so bad that MLB made major changes to the strike zone and mound to try to generate more offense. Yaz won the AL batting crown with an all-time low of .301. Danny Cater, a singles hitting first baseman, was second at .290 (a few years later, the Smart Sox acquired Danny in a coup for a lefty reliever called Sparky). Tied for 9th in the AL Top 10 in '68 were Frank Howard and Rick Monday with BAs of .274. Tied for 9th in the AL Top 10 in 2023 are Justin Turner and Adley Rutschman with BAs of .277. Btw, I'm not on board with acquiring Matt Chapman. He has 165 strikeouts -- 33 more than Boston K-king Connor Wong. I hate watching dozens of strikeouts more than a few errors per game. For perspective, 165 Ks would've been second in the AL in '68 (Reggie Jackson led with 171). Chappy is tied for 10th this season; that's how bad modern hitting is...