5GoldGlovesOF,75

Not from a GM but one of his players: "...going out and getting those big names — people who have done it; people have been there; people who are leaders; people who have shown time and time again that they can be successful in this league — is definitely going to help this clubhouse and help this team.” “… We have to do that to keep up. We’ve done a great job of growing some players here within the farm system, but sometimes you’ve got to go out and you have to buy. And that’s just the name of the game. “We’ll see what happens this offseason. Hopefully we can add some players and become a better team.” The above comments come via link from a player whose club traded its closer at the deadline and then just missed making the postseason (and not a cellar-dweller that refused to trade a veteran starter at peak value before he landed back on the IL).

Maybe, but wouldn't it make even more sense to give two days rest to a guy who was banged up? "Many days before it happens" can still protect someone with a nagging injury -- the kind that doesn't land players on the IL, but affects their performance for months (look at Mayer this season, who played hurt for two months before they had to shut him down).

Nobody ever seems to remember that ballclubs, players and managers keep nagging injuries to themselves so that opponents won't exploit them. Oh, bone bruise on the thumb? Pitch fastballs on his hands! Strained hammy? Good, when he's on base, we can keep throwing sweepers instead of heat- i mean, sinkers... The media might just be told "scheduled day off" as a way to conceal the truth.

This is where the Red Sox' front office always seems to miss the connection. Aaron Civale, native of Connecticut, grew up a Sox fan. Tampa traded a power-hitting minor league first baseman for him. Boston couldn't do that?

But as we've seen, the big bats -- as long as they're acquired in their primes -- are a better bet. Semien played all 162 games. deGrom and Scherzer pitched 14 games combined.

True, true, and maybe not... First, he'd have to pass medicals before a new regime would opt to trade any top prospects for him (one thing we have to assume is that a new culture in the front office has to give up shoveling waiting-for-damaged-goods to the fanbase). Next is the upside: if he's deemed healthy, and has three or four typical Trout years in Fenway, batting behind Devers and a table setter like Duran, it could revive the franchise. It will make it a lot more fun, and PR couldn't get anyone better than the best player of his generation to bring the brand back to relevance. (that is, unless Ohtani can ever pitch again like he did pre-surgery...) And Casas with his ever-improving OPS batting after Trout should give Mike more protection than the unwell-traveled Renfroe or (gag) Rendon -- 3.1 WAR total in four seasons for the Angels.

The winners' pitching stepped up and came through when it counted. Poor defense was a big factor for the AL losers. The Rays played like crap, and the Jays will never win with Bichette at short. I didn't realize the Rangers' D only committed 57 errors this season -- the broadcast said 18 in the second half (that's one less than Raffy made this year). Maybe we're maybe lucky the Sox didn't pick up Montgomery or Civale at the deadline and eeked in; it spared the Nation exposure for having its worst D in at least this century.

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.