5GoldGlovesOF,75

Good point -- bring them up at the end of August. A young guy could start off hot vs. pitchers challenging him, which could keep fans watching, hopeful for the future... before analytic depts distribute a book on the kid.

What really bites is the Red Sox have 27 games left, and in order to exceed last year's win total, will have to somehow win 10 more. Let's see: maybe Bello and Crawford win 2 each before being shut down for the season. Houck should be able to manage a couple (right?), Pivetta's got two Ws left in him... or one for him, one for Wink (they're both hanging, huh)... anyway, that's eight... Whitlock... just doesn't look right. But Bernie can throw a scoreless inning in the middle somewhere while the troops take a lead. Let's call that nine. Who does that leave (notice, I'm not mentioning Sale nor Paxton, because neither may win another in their careers). Martin and Jansen are both good enough to hold the fort and triumph late... but that would then mean the Dead Sox would have to rally-- damn.

For four years, Bloom and Co. have been crossing their fingers at the rosters they assemble, while upraising fingers at Red Sox Nation.

Promises. This is why also-ran teams traditionally play minor league call-ups as much as possible every September -- because rookie prospects have absolutely something to prove, with an eye on something to earn. Veterans have their eyes on golf, fishing, beaches... Fans know this, so want to see more of Rafaela and Abreu

Wacha's always hurt! He must be a pitcher... the guy who had 11 wins for a last place club last year, and who has another 11 Ws this season for a team that's 10 games under .500. Kluber has three wins. Where would the Sox be with another eight victories? (said the fan who doesn't give a crap about Wacha's four-year contract for a whopping whatever million dollars... not when we're all alive this summer)

Imagine a guy full of crap like Chaim or Sam in the dugout? He'd have to be on quaaludes to answer the same media questions every single night about why ballplayers on his roster suck so bad at pitching, fielding, throwing, running the bases or even moving the runners...

I said this was guaranteed when they traded Mookie. I didn't think the guy would be Raffy, but I knew they'd eventually give Mookie's money to someone else not as good... because very few have been as good -- in the history of baseball.

For most of the Bloom Error, fans have read, heard or typed that if the Red Sox organization doesn't care about them, why should fans care about the Red Sox? Now imagine pro ballplayers, abandoned by their front office at every trade deadline. Does anyone here really think the Sox' losing records in every single August the past four years are a coincidence? Professionals are people first, and if you mistreat them or disrespect them, it will affect their work days and production -- no matter how much you pay them. Morale is everything in a company. A school superintendent recently shared this story. The day before school begins each year for students, districts hold convocations -- a required assembly of every certified teacher, tutor and principal in town, where they all report to one location. Parking is always a nightmare, but this year a teacher suggested using a school bus to transport everyone from each of their respective schools. The super liked the idea, made appropriate phone calls... but was shocked to be greeted at the auditorium with a standing ovation. Sometimes it doesn't take much...

He was trying to play Genie and blink Bloom into outer space.

You mean 30/30. We knew once Mookie turned 30 years of age, his vertical leap would be less than 30 inches. Before you know it, he'll need a ladder to pick apples. (that was my notin impersonation)

96 total bases ties Sosa, but Babe did it on brew and stogies

Sammy didn't believe in getting on base; he just wanted to jog around them.

There was one era... Sammy Sosa June 1998 27 G 298/331/842 1173 OPS 20 HR 40 RBI 25 R 96 TB

I'd hire him to read my wife's mind for me so I won't get yelled at as much.

Michael Chavis was AL Rookie of the Month in May 2019. Dalbec actually came up in 2020, played in 23 of the 60 games, and had a .959 OPS.

I don't think so. The two best hitters from this year's mediocrity -- Turner and Duvall -- are missing. I don't expect Verdugo to be back, and Duvall would be a logical replacement -- and maybe even more valuable as a righty pull hitter (something too lacking in this lefty-laden batting order for Fenway) and middle of the order anchor. Story should improve, but at this stage in his career I don't expect him to make enough consistent contact to be a productive #3 hitter. The #8-9 platoon guys are also just placeholders for regulars that may truly turn this group into a "top contender." I'm talking Mayer at SS (Story moves to 2B) and Teel at C. Best-case scenario: they're this century's Lynn-Rice Rookie-of-the-Year twins by 2025. But since neither is an outfielder, we'll settle for the debuts of Nomar-Fisk... Unfortunately, under the devious and not-so-deceptive Henry-Bloom 100-month plan, we may need to wait until then before they finally invest in any top-of-the-rotation pitching.

A GM might be done with JT when his beard turns white. But by then, he might be the GM...

I don't call a team with a winning record taking a "nose-dive", just because the previous year they set a franchise mark for wins. To me, a club that consistently scrapes its nose on the pavement is in worse shape. Even if the 2023 Red Sox somehow rally and go 16-12 in September to finish with 85 wins, I'd still bet my house on the 84-win 2019 Sox in a head-to-head showdown. The '19 Sox with Betts, Benintendi and Bradley on the bases would run wild with glee on all the misplays, overthrows, and fake hits that '23 scorers would give them. But if you want to ignore the '23 D because winning is all about bashing, then how about three guys who hit 30 HRs, 100 RBIs with a .300 BA: Bogaerts, Devers, JD. They also had three others with 20 or more dingers: Betts, Vaz, JBJ. They also had three with 100 runs scored, including Mookie, who led the MLB with 135, Raffy 129, X 110. Devers also led the majors with 90 XBHs, while Xander was second in the AL with 85. My starting pitcher for the big game would be ERod, who won 19, lost 6, had a 3.81 ERA and threw over 200 innings. I'd like my chances knocking Bello out by the 5th or 6th and facing a tired bulk guy or DOAed waiver wire reliever before seeing Martin in the 8th. The only problem for the Hey-19s is if younger Cora brought in Barnes...

Steely Dan song... maybe starring Wander?

Max, Moon, and my cousin Dipre are all right. The Red Sox' overall game is disrespectful to fans -- and my take is that the easiest way back to respectability is to tighten up the D. Good glovemen who can't hit are easy to find -- and cheap -- so carry a few on the roster; instead of the "white flags" playing musical chairs for the last spots in the bullpen. If starting pitchers aren't required to get 4 or 5 outs per inning every game, then good relievers wouldn't suffer from burn-out, and the pen wouldn't need a dumpster-diving, scrapheaping helping of bargain bins every August. The offense is deceiving. If Turner comes back, maybe he can influence others with two strikes to make contact and not pull their heads. Hitting can improve with proper practice. But I have no answers for the stream of baserunning blunders. Maybe base coaches can use big color-coded flash cards: green for go, red for stop, yellow -- Go Back, Fool!

They weren't defending their rings in October '19 since they didn't even make the playoffs, but Bloom inherited the greatest team in Red Sox history (except the scariest bullpen in Red Sox history, because Kimbrel and Kelly were elsewhere). And Cashner. And Gorkys. And Owings... f***it - flea-bomb the house!

This is the most likely scenario posted so far today. I love Duran turning singles into doubles, but not those of opposing batters. Because of the latter, he's also not going to fetch a good young pitcher, unless he's part of a multi-player trade.

They don't even get to the LCS with Betts, because he would never boot a ball into the bullpen. Betts can bowl, but Hunter kicks field goals.

I'm another apologist. I feel sorry for any Red Sox fan who has suffered through the disassembling and reconstruction of the major league team the past four years. When the current CBO got his mitts on the club, they were defending champions of the world. Apparently, he thought that was an alien world, judging by befuddling attempts at reverse-engineering the roster, as if it were a crashed UFO retrieved by the military from a southwestern desert. He befuddling...

Just as long as fans complaining about Yoshida's lack of power -- for 5 years and $90 million -- aren't the same posters who didn't want Schwarber for 4 years at $79M? With another month to go, plus probably the playoffs, Schwarbs has already hit 89 HRs the past two years, including the postseason. And for those who care about budgets and payrolls, he's only under contract for two more years. Schwarber helped lead the Phils to the World Series last year, when he led all Philly regulars in OPS, with Harper on the IL for a third of the season. If you're going to feature a strikeout king at DH, he may as well be the home run champ.