5GoldGlovesOF,75

Not to genderflect, but consider the pals of ancient philosphers. The sayings "diamonds are a girl's best friend" and "a dog is a man's best friend" can only be attributed back to baseball. At least, I know several women who love the fact that their men are obsessed with watching baseball while they pursue interests of their own. Meanwhile, nobody but a loyal dog can keep a guy company when the staff ace is getting shelled off the mound by the 2nd inning.

Yes, training Twins to sprint 360 feet. 4 bases X 90 feet = 360... ... dang yo, I just figured out why running around a diamond is called "Circling the bases." Query for math brains: when a good baserunner properly cuts the inside corner of the bags with his left foot and leans towards the mound, how many degrees is the shortest route, home to home? Don't forget to account for the wider first "leg" from home to 1st, when a smart runner veers into foul territory before the coach's box to reduce the angle turning to 2nd... Would a protractor help here? Amateur tractor?

Weak, too weak. CJ Abrams, 25, leads NL shortstops with 5 homers. Brandon Lowe leads all second basemen with 6 HRs. Marte has 4, Donovan 3. Old Max Muncy leads third basemen with 4 bombs. Paredes is tied with Durbin with zero...

The Red Sox losing record in extra innings in the 2020s is always due to SSS. Scarce Sacrifice Skills. In 2021, when Boston's offense was good enough to go deep into the ALCS, the Sox were 11-5 in extra innings. The rest of this decade: 29 wins, 44 losses. That's a .397 winning percentage... or to misquote Meatloaf: two outta five ain't good.

Trying to remember any Red Sox pitchers who were strictly relievers when drafted and made it. Two that were supposedly MLB ready right out of college were Craig Hansen and Cla Meredith... seems like there was another more recently? But most pitching prospects bounce back and forth initially, especially since anyone should be willing to do whatever it takes to get to The Show and stay there. Some even embrace change, like Papelbon, the best closer in Boston history. Last year Tolle was the best starting pitching prospect the Sox have had in a long time. Now, who knows -- Eyanson is already lights out at low A, and he was rated below Early, Witherspoon, Valera and Phillips.

Ober never pitched for Boston before where he could sit in dugouts or bullpens every day and discuss with staff mates how -- if given the chance -- they'd exploit the hole in the swing of each Red Sox batter (this is really who writes the forward in "the book" that pitchers eventually compose on every MLB hitter).

That 9th was the best inning of the season and must have felt even better for Red Sox batters than fans watching it. Are the Sox capable of stringing together six straight singles on a regular basis? Yes -- when facing mediocre relievers like in St. Louis. However, a few singles and an extra-base hit is more reasonable for most clubs that feature some semblance of power. Hopefully, Abreu will be consistent all year, and streaky veterans will contribute again: Story, Rafaela and Duran. We know Contreras is always a threat (in many ways). Other than that... ... and don't count on Anthony to blast 30 to 40 HRs, because trying to do that will just mess him up more. Roman is best when he's driving liners over the shortstop; that's the approach for his return to a .290-.300 batting average. Right now only the White Sox have less extra-base hits than Boston in the AL. The thing is, about half the teams in the league have around the same totals as the Soxes. Hitting is just down in baseball so far, and being a few games out of 1st or a wild card maybe isn't such an illusion.

I was wrong. Juiced baseballs won't help this team. MLB needs to move in the fences -- to the infield grass. The Red Sox still won't hit home runs, because all their contact is weak grounders. But at least they'll hit some off the wall.

Smallsamplesize and all that, but on one of the worst offenses in baseball, Wilyer Abreu leads the American League in WAR, Batting Average, Hits and Total Bases. I see he's batting 5th again in Boston's line-up. If the Sox are readjusting the batting order because some guys are slumping, then I have one suggestion: please make sure the best hitter -- in the league -- gets up in the 1st inning. In these days of Mason Miller Time, scoring first is more important than ever...

Be prepared for posters to scramble to hit Caps Lock before tying replies to such blasphemy after 12 whole games of It's Still Too Early To Panic (I bet if this was posted by a new forum member, guys like moonslav, MVP and notin would be hammering their keyboards right now). Personally, I have no problem with any suggestions by fans who pay for tickets to Fenway or cable/internet fees for NESN and streaming services. Slow starts suck and when new acquisitions are part of the problem, it's even worse. We're not that dumb that we can't see immediately that changes have to be made. Because even though the Red Sox -- with the worst record in baseball -- are only 2 games out of a wild card spot, there are 14 other AL teams ahead of them vying for those 6 postseason berths. Cora agrees or he wouldn't have scrambled his batting order already. Craig Breslow, who still hasn't completed his roster with all his offseason goals, can actually still make impact moves for Big League BATS if he can find another trade partner in panic mode. Who else has as many top pitching prospects to dangle?????

I've posted that no one can -- many times -- but that doesn't mean the smartest CBOs and GMs in the room don't try. The Red Sox agreed to pay Bregman $120 million a year ago and the Cubs agreed to pay Bregman $175 million this year. Only they know how much of that is worth it to their teams to secure the intangible impact of a well-respected player/coach. Same with Refsnyder -- besides the fact that he can hit lefties, why did Seattle deem him at age 35 worth triple his Red Sox salary?

Just remember, it's always still early -- until the trade deadline comes, and the CBO didn't do enough to actually help a team that is all about winning championships go all in full throttle for the stretch run before going deep into October.

I was waiting for someone to cite stats, as if anyone could quantify dugout/clubhouse leadership. Same with Refsnyder, who isn't hitting yet in Seattle but who everyone lauded in Boston as a leader. Now management voices are trying to contrive lists of veteran names to the media, but it's funny no actual young players marvel at the guidance they're getting that is helping them adjust to a game of failure.

Durbin would be a welcomed role player on an actual good team: solid third baseman with contact skills and decent speed. The problem is the Red Sox are not a good team, and one of the reasons is that the CBO acquired Durbin to replace an All-Star and veteran leader who for over a decade has a 162-game average of 28 HRs, 95 RBI and an .840 OPS. This season could get worse, but it will be hard to top last night as a low-point, losing to a pitcher Boston couldn't wait to get rid of, who was also the worst starter in baseball so far this year.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/mlb-to-test-check-swing-rule-changes-in-triple-a.html "A check-swing challenge system requires an objective cutoff point. The threshold is whether the bat head breaks a 45° angle relative to the handle (essentially aligning with the opposite base line). Major League Baseball’s rulebook doesn’t have an official check-swing cutoff, instead leaving it at the umpire’s discretion as to whether the hitter offered. As Longenhagen demonstrates with video, the 45° threshold is further along than what umpires have generally treated as the cutoff. That led hitters to successfully challenge a lot of calls last year. It appears that’s a deliberate consideration by the league. MLB’s memo notes a slight drop in the Florida State League strikeout rate after the check-swing challenge was implemented, 'having a positive impact on balls in play and encouraging more extensive testing at higher levels.' It’s not a huge effect but one that would turn more swinging strikes into balls than vice versa." ... in my opinion, there will be a much bigger effect in the majors, where pitchers presumably have better stuff and batters have less time to react (and egotistical umps have a bigger stage to punch fists in the air of inferiority). Don't forget, catchers don't just call for Check-the-Check on what could be Strike Three, but any time a batter exhales. When a hitter gets down in the count he has to worry more about swinging at a pitcher's pitch, and when he doesn't swing and miss there can still be poor contact. But being ahead in the count ideally gives batters more hittable pitches or even mistake pitches they can crush. So even if there are slightly less strikeouts, the new rule can result in considerably more contact, which can produce more baserunners, more run-scoring, and a more balanced game to watch.

Not arguing with your last line, but the point that can never be quantified is what Breslow pivoted away from... ... except maybe in the final standings or Boston's future postseason record.

He was basically a player-coach, and not just the on-field stuff. Cora talked about Bregman like he was his bench coach. AB also showed the young guys how to be professionals, and they really appreciated his gestures like buying rookies new suits.

But as we've seen so far in this historically bad beginning, what price does a franchise put on chemistry? Leaders may emerge but it says a lot about Breslow's roster construction when a 21-year old has to be the spokesman every night about why the team sucks. Maybe the Sox will warm to Contreras' fire and rally around him. We know Story is well-liked, but he's more of a lead-by-example guy. And there is no other position player who's been around long enough or fluent enough to handle the press.

Boston may need to focus on All-Star batters who will be free agents in 2028 and trade for them next offseason before their contracts expire. Mid-market clubs that expect to lose such good ballplayers to free agency should be willing to make a deal for pitching prospects. Wait -- which one are we again?

Speaking of dinosaurs, when I was a kid, a check swing only became a swinging strike if a batter "broke his wrists" -- which means turned the top hand down (like we all were taught to hit line drives) and the bottom hand up. Hard to believe a guy could stop his swing and turn his torso so the bat crossed the entire plate and it was still called a ball. For evidence, watch any classic World Series games on MLB channel from the 1960s that they show in the winter. I'm not advocating to go back to that, but I swear to the Church of Baseball that a check swing is absolutely not a strike if the batter flares a nostril (so sick of catchers saying "Check-check-check" like they're trying to leave every diner before they finish their cup of coffee). With pitchers on every team throwing 100 mph, MLB knows it needs to do something to help offense. So watch how many batters get new life, longer counts and hittable pitches when Check-the-Check is gone. The pros will never have to juice their balls again.

Another good detailed post. I can just add from my own failings, a sharp 2-seamer was the hardest pitch to hit, and the best bet to break my bat (this is a righty batter talking about a righty pitcher). I honestly don't know what the big league broadcasts are calling a sinker these days, because a lot of those pitches wind up at the top of the zone -- where 4-seamers typically travel. Unless the sinker is dropped from a dirigible.

Of all the batters Miz was making mizerable, Duran looked like he just decided to swing at everything and hope a pitch would hit his bat. None of his swings and misses were at pitches even in the zone. Today AC had mercy on OB, so we wouldn' have to hear: DrOhan fans DUran.

He looked surprised on second after his game-winning double -- not because he hit it, but probably because he got an 0-2 meatball instead of a sweeper in the dirt. Good for Story; he didn't miss it or foul it back or pop it up trying to kill it. He did what a pro is supposed to do. Set an example for younger players to play to their strengths... ... like Milwaukee convincing Hamilton to use his speed to contribute on offense -- and not try to pull balls in the air and whiff: Fatse, Driveline and analyticals not good enough to make the majors.

I'm in for 100% robots calling balls and strikes, with no challenges -- and most importantly, that includes eradicating the most obnoxious calls in baseball: Check The Check swings. If the MLB and fans want complete computer accuracy on balls and strikes, they also deserve a calibrated angle that constitutes whether or not a batter actually checks his swing -- a definition, by the way, that has never been officially stated in any rule book. It's a complete joke that the most inconsistent call this century is repeatedly left to the indiscretion of umps 90 feet away who use whatever parameters they each decide to determine when a hitter moves his hands, flinches an eyebrow or wiggles his knob. The Miz throws 100 mph every pitch and umps get to penalize someone for trying to prepare to be on time?

The Red Sox made the playoffs last season because of pitching -- an overall good starting rotation and a lights-out backend of the bullpen. Here's another reason: they signed -- some would still say overpaid -- a veteran leader who was so well-respected that younger players viewed him as a player/coach. Now? They might still have good pitching this season, because there's too much talent on the staff for them all to suck all year. But they lost their everyday leader and mentor on the diamond, in the dugout, batting cage and clubhouse. There's no more Alex Bregman. As for fans who are so happy the front office didn't overpay for AB again, don't bother citing stats... but what exactly do you think they would say a sinking ship without a rudder is worth these days?