5GoldGlovesOF,75

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?

"Tessie" by Dropkick Murphys. Wait-- is that even on vinyl?

We can never say the defense is inconsistent again.

This being the REAListic thread -- it's all facets of the game. You know it's bad when Cora pinch-ran Rafaela for Yoshida in the 9th the other day, and the first thing I thought of wasn't "Wheels on the bases" but "Don't Get Picked Off!" Sure enough... Ceddanne was duped into being the last out. If the Sox can just go 24 games over .500 the rest of the season, they can still win 90. I just have to remind myself I'm never as bad as my bad posts.

Putting the Wally head on Contreras after his homer in the 9th made a bigger mockery of this team. I'm surprised Contreras didn't throw the head out of the dugout -- notice when he was barking at the entire Brewers team, not one Red Sox was backing him up... they looked like they didn't want to go near him. His new teammates either don't care to fight his battles or fear him as a lunatic who might turn on them (that wasn't meant as a political statement, i swear). The only way to save the season is to sacrifice the Wally head to the baseball gods. Bring it out to the mound pregame with an Old Hickory and beat it senseless. If that's too violent, fill it with m-80s and let Weissert light the fuse. In the very least, have Anthony shoot off a roman candle from inside the head. Any other Kill Wally Head ideas are welcome on this forum!

Cora will never bench his team leader. And flipping him with the callow second baseman is too disrespectful to the grizzled veteran. We're going to have to wait for an official injury, but you can bet the trainers are on high alert: "the first time you see Story rub an elbow or use ice or hot gel in the clubhouse, report it immediately to the IL office!"

SS is an entirely other issue, and it has nothing to do with Story's slow start with the bat. But come on -- we've all seen him: even when he makes clean plays, he has to take three running steps towards first before he throws to reach it in the air. If this big league team is sincerely all about what they're touting as their biggest strength -- RUN PREVENTION -- then we know the change on the diamond that ultimately has to be made.

Because he struck out Judge in the WBC. He was Italia's main man on the mound. I watched as many games as I could and remember thinking: Weissert is either better than ever or going to be burned out when the season starts. Now we know. And consider this: if Weissert doesn't come into 3 games and immediately give up game-changing bombs, the Sox may be 5-4 instead of 2-7, their worst start ever.

Ok, that actually did happen last June, but let's deeply consider the possibilities now: Do you or any other lucid Red Sox fan really believe that THIS ownership in THIS decade would actually welcome someone else's malcontent under contract for three hundred million dollars?!?! Would Henry light a cigar if Breslow even dealt four players for an overfed, long-haired leaping gnome? Spill the wine, take that pearl.

To me, when a CBO or GM or owner or Mouthpiece Liar Named Sam states specific intentions to improve a team and then not only doesn't deliver, but pivots to a lesser plan and leaves the roster incomplete, those people deserve any criticism when they fall flat on their faces. And I don't wish them ill will -- except when I'm fed their bull once again while they try to sneak behind me and pick my pockets. In that case, fans like us -- like me -- who foot their bill, deserve to serve any outrage we desire, whether it's rational or just from raw emotion. The front office can eat it. I'm just so sick and damn tired of being lied to, over and over again, this entire decade.