5GoldGlovesOF,75

Extend him to the end of a plank over a moat full of crocodiles.

... though every slump Durbin has is related to Durbin usage... (... and how the Brewers used Breslow in the trade). Even after dumping Durbin, Milwaukee is still last in the NL in home runs, just like Boston is last in the AL. But somehow, the Brewers have scored 4.94 runs per game vs. the Sox AL-worst 3.77 runs per game. Possible factor: the Red Sox have grounded into the most double plays in the AL, while the Brewers have the least GDP in the NL. Milwaukee also leads the NL in sacrifice hits, something we've heard for years that Boston considers a waste of outs. It just must be coincidental Milwaukee is a first-place team and Boston is dead as a doormat.

Dammit -- Breslow throws left, bats left, and left the roster incomplete! (why didn't the smartest southpaw in the room realize the majority of TV viewers use their northpaws to change the channel?).

The Red Sox have never traded a star player in his prime for a prospect haul. Never. They traded Betts because they knew they weren't going to pay him market value and had to accept what the Dodgers were willing to give up in exchange for taking back Price: a decent prospect with character questions, a minor leaguer with a major league name, and their 3rd or 4th-best catching prospect. No limo service to escort those newcomers; just a pick-up truck with room in the bed, and use your duffel to sit on. Once they traded Fred Lynn in his prime, but again knew they weren't going to match his worth in free agent bidding, and were forced to receive broken-down veteran players who were past their primes. Nomar was still young when he was traded, but damaged goods and never the same. Manny overstayed his welcome and pushed his way out the door. None of the other many stars in Boston got traded in their primes because the Red Sox were always competitive and paid up for them to stay. But the Breslow Sox are at a crossroads after canning their entire non-Brez coaching staff, only to find out all his players still suck. Would Craig consider the unthinkable and field offers for the only Red Sox star in his prime: Garrett Crochet? Quality pitching depth is maybe at an all-time high throughout the Boston system, and the best path to acquire position player talent. What might a package for a 26-year old Cy Young runner-up yield? More than Teel and Meidroth?

Brez said many lines were crossed, but they just couldn't align that last line with the alignment they were aligning.

He listens, but words go in one ear and right out the same lobe, forced back by a rugby scrum of Merriam-Webster Thesaurus options.

June 11th is an offday... and that might be the day -- if I were CBO -- to phone 29 other clubs and make everyone in the system available. The next 15 games are vs. three first-place teams, plus the Yankees and Orioles. If the Red Sox maintain their torrid pace of eight games below .500, and go something like 4-11 or 3-12, then it's time to blow it all up. Breslow can even wear the explosive vest and sprint into the front office full of Assistant VPs... and lock the door. Why not? If we're going to have a firesale of valuable veterans in July anyway, that means we're going to totally rely on prospects in another rebuild. So might as well see what kind of quality we can get for our own highly-touted prospects. Maybe, Sam Almighty, there are young guys who might actually turn out better. We're not getting a Juan Soto deal for Anthony and acquiring CJ Abrams and James Wood, but how about Crochet -- who is already hurt after one great year? What kind of package would teams give up for a healthy Beast (and don't freak... a year from now, Eyanson might be the next Jacob Miz). How could we not listen to offers on everyone?

Why would Mookie lie that he and his wife were house-shopping in the Boston area when the trade went down? Why would Rice lie and said Mookie immediately told him via phone call that Boston was where he wanted to be when the trade went down?

Yes, because the Red Sox didn't surround him with enough good hitters and he never got enough good pitches (mistakes from over-stressed arms) to swing at and instead struck out on a lot of pitchers' pitches -- mainly because he was told by everyone he was supposed to be THE GUY instead of one of the guys. And you know it wasn't hindsight all last offseason when guys like us typed regularly about adding bats.

I'm a believer in anti-clutch, but for good hitters. Some guys just can't handle the pressure when it counts... until they finally do. And I'm not just talking about ARod, but top batters at various levels I've played or coached with or against the past half century. Yogi Berra got laughed at for not thinking too much, until he said that's the only thing he thought about.

... when they should've acquired more bats -- with good hitters attached to them. The Sox team batting average with runners in scoring position straddles the DuranStoryline and reveals a lot. I don't care about team OPS with RISP since On Base includes walks, which are sometimes intentional with 1st base open and don't drive in runs unless the sacks are loaded... ... (OBP also includes hit by a pitch and catcher's interference, but those are usually only issued by Boston pitchers in tight spots to opponents). Through all this ineptitude -- bad enough the last few seasons but now at an all-time Red Sox low -- I admit I'm starting to come around to this forum's consensus about "clutch." Correct me if I'm wrong: clutch hitters are really just the best hitters doing well... Oritz wasn't really clutch, just really good. If so, then the 2026 Sox bats aren't unlucky hitting atomballs or facing Cy Youngs every night -- not for two straight months, come on... they just suck.

Or non moves. Saying you need to add a righty power bat and trying to land one just isn't good enough. How many companies in how many industries tolerate an employee who tries to do his job but fails? Teams are competing to create the most colorful posters. New York and LA always buy the most expensive varieties of Magic Markers (but the Mets spilled water on theirs). John Henry is in, but only gives Brez enough to buy a pencil. "But if he presses hard enough," lies Sam at the press conference, "it will look darker -- especially when the sun shines brighter in the summer."

I'm not opposed to trading off expiring contracts, but skeptical that Breslow can get commensurate value in return from actual contenders. Why would a team that is going for it give up a legitimate big league power bat or an All-Star hitter not whiffer... because those are what this franchise needs in multiple spots in the batting order today, tomorrow and next season. We don't need more low-level prospects to overhype for another half decade and then ruin their swings by ordering them to pull their heads and step in the bucket.

Come on. It was obvious to the smartest men in the front office in front of all the other offices on the same floor of the same building that once he was past his prime, Mookie would pull an oblique after he won three more World Series.

He wants the Sox to come in last so they can have a top draft pick... ... don't all fans want to base their hopes on signing top prospects who someday -- in seasons years from now -- might be good enough to make the majors... and help their favorite club (if they don't get injured over and over)... ... you know, instead of winning as many games as we can now -- and upgrading the roster with quality big league talent to give us the best chance at contending THIS YEAR WHEN I'M STILL ALIVE.

That's why I never bet on football. Every week the odds are based on what happened the week before.

Agree. Just read somewhere the Sox' one untouchable in trade talks -- even for Alvarez -- should be Tolle. Love him, but can't see why Tolle won't blow out his elbow in the next year or two. Early? Maybe not; he seems to have a more mechanically sound delivery.

And yet people on here and other forums and even a few in the media were predicting the Red Sox to win 90+ games and contend this year. And even as bad as the Sox have been, even Yankee fans -- whose team goes for it every single year in the name of every straw that stirs the drink -- know that NY is ever only a Judge injury away from sucking like everyone else. Just Sox fans knew for 20 years the biggest difference between New York and Boston wasn't Jeter, but Rivera.

To unofficially see if Tay can be a monster at the MLB level for the next month -- in case Brez gets an offer he can't refuse for Chapman in July.

The decade might be cooked if the Red Sox have to count on middle of the order hitters who keep hurting themselves doing the one thing they're being counted on: to swing hard.

Zero than ever

Historical friction

The Red Sox may not make the postseason this year even if they trade for legit bats, but here's the thing: There are none in the pipeline that are going to balance the lineup and make them contenders next year or maybe not even the year after. Boston needs star power now and for next year and the next season of actual ring contention. Someone posted a list of next winter's free agents -- it's not good, with not much help for the batting order there. So if a legit bopper in his prime is available now, why wouldn't anyone trade from the system's number one depth -- minor league pitching? Is it because we're all looking forward to more years of pitcher's duels trying to scratch out meager runs or praying for an average stick to reach the seats once a game with someone on base?

They were afraid he'd become a complete superstar and they'd have to trade him to the Dodgers after refusing to pay him fair market value when he entered his prime. They weren't afraid to risk $60 million over eight years, knowing they'd probably lose that to him in a few rounds of arbitration if he lived up to his Barry Bonds nickname. A multi-billion dollar company can afford to pay the IKFs of the world $6 million per to sit on the bench.

Hey, teams can win without home runs (they just don't wear red socks). In the two games in KC won on HRs by Contreras and Duran, Boston was 1-for-5 and 2-for-11 with RISP. They don't just need one more bat, they need about five more corked ones.