5GoldGlovesOF,75

There's no H-o-u-c-k in TEAM...

I can't remember all the details from 1995. I'm lucky I can still recall that weak chopper by Gleybar that Nunez picked at third, fired to first, and Steve Pearce did a split on to save and seal the ALDS in 2018. Was that in Yankee Stadium?

What if he hits a fly ball to RF and some Little Leaguer sticks his glove over the wall and pulls the ball into the bleachers for a classic rookie Jeter HR?

3) Sox are showcasing him as trade bait. 4) Hope they can borrow the old Jeter Cam from Fox to follow him around the dugout for reactions of every single play, call, throw, swing, foul, fowl, chicks in the stands, etc. etc. for the entire game he's up...

Been awhile since anyone treasured my junk... but I haven't held a garage sale in ages.

It's apparent from this data we don't need a closer for the 9th as much as a shutdown reliever to smoke those pesky bottoms of the order in the 3rds!

Confused -- LA would want Arroyo because of Betts' injury? Why wouldn't the Dodgers just acquire or promote an actual outfielder? Or is the mentor who taught Bloom more likely to crave an out-of-position player?

Dunno. But for some reason Bloom and his boys just won't keep them in Boston: promotions, spot starts, demotions, rinse, repeat...

Because eight of their top 15 prospects are starting pitchers (who they don't think any are quite ready yet to be full-time big leaguers... nor do they think the parent club -- soon to be in flux -- is worth fortifying this year by trading one or two for a current big league starter)?

The Yankees could go 122-40, and their fans will still say the year is a disappointment unless they win the final game of the postseason. But if they go 122-40 and eliminate the Red Sox in the playoffs -- but don't win the World Series -- those who still insist the season sucked will be lying.

While Cordero didn't intercept that "pass" by Bader, he broke up the play... too bad in baseball the batter gets to run around the bases if you don't catch the hit.

That is the loudest cheer for an opposing player's homer I've ever heard on TV; Fenway is filled this weekend with a lot of Cardinals fans, who planned this trip from points South long ago. During the commercial, Fox showed Bucky Dent's pop-up again, and a fist pump from Jeter's living room on the Jeter Cam.

My TV menu says Sox on Fox at 7, but they're showing the end of some JUNE football game in Tampa... like anyone cares. There are about 10 fans in the stands -- if only they'd go to a baseball game, the Rays attendance could jump to almost 12. Oh, the Rays are on the road? Nobody knew...\ Wait -- this is on Fox -- it might not even be a real game, just come computer simulated fantasy fib

And now for the rest of the story: I live in a state where non-English speaking students are required to take the all-important state tests in English. Somewhere, there's someone who classifies as an adult who doesn't deem that cruel and unusual to those children.

Come on, I was a teacher, too. We don't give grades based on expectations... let's see: '21 they won 92 -- 92's an A... '20 they won 24 -- uh, out of 60 -- still only .400; 40%'s an F. But last year the winning percentage was only .568 or 57% rounded up... ok, grade on a curve; only three other students out of 15 in the class had a higher score. Sorry, I come from a time when All-Stars were chosen based on who actually earned it -- not potential or popularity -- but who had an All-Star season. This ended in the majors when MLB gave the ballots back to the fans, but amateur leagues like Little League on up were mostly based on merit. Nowadays, our town LL holds All-Star try-outs after the season. Tools are evaluated -- which means the fastest kids with the best arms are always stars -- no matter what kind of Spring they had. Everyone that signs up doesn't get a trophy like in soccer... but there was one infamous case of a player selected for districts after he struck out 20 times in 20 at bats. Had a decent arm, though.

This assumption is a popular one here for those who appreciate Bloom's style. I've never disputed your point, and instead have always felt that working within certain limits was actually the specific reason Bloom was hired in Boston. In other words, I doubt he keeps drawing up projected lineups or rotations with expensive proposals, enthusiastically brings them to Henry's office, only to trudge back to the conference room after continual thumbs-down.

My post was never about baseball players playing multiple positions or even converting to new spots, but entirely about people here blaming Cora for Bloom not completing the roster with viable position players.

It defies belief that any manager who wants to win and keep his job would implore his boss to recruit guys to play positions they're not only unfamiliar with, but where they're downright below-average. And I don't mean Story, who is a quality infielder. With Cordero, Arroyo and Schwarber, we're talking about making an outfielder an infielder, an infielder an outfielder, and playing DH anywhere on the field -- all in the span of less than one season... Cora may be trying to make spaghetti, but the guy supplying the ingredients sometimes shops at the local Feed and Seed.

My perception of the return of JBJ is that it was only controversial on forum boards, where people who take the time to type reflections usually have to vent some gripe or another (we're all guilty). But fans cheer for him at games, and amateur coaches and players talk about him with respect because of what makes him a memorable Red Sox: outfield defense. Yes, we know he can have hot streaks with the bat, and was once an All-Star and ALCS MVP, but Jackie Bradley will always be a legend for his glove.

Koji isn't walking through that gate. Yankees had Chapman-Britton-Green-Kahnle-Ottavino-Betances-Robertson and never made it out of the AL. It was the greatest bullpen in the history of baseball -- we know this had to be true, because we were reminded over and over by New York-based media platforms...

This last question really brings up one more, before grades can be issued: after Bloom publicly declared at the outset of the season that Boston still needed a right-handed hitting outfielder, did Cora disagree, because he had Arroyo as an option... and finally, does anyone think a manager actually has the power to override the CBO who hired him?

Sox will be deliberate in his rehab: first, he'll be picnicking on flat ground in a meadow, before snacking on a hill -- but no actual hurling for awhile... just little burps.

... yep, but what's not is these are basically the only guys with histories of closing that he was given.

I voted Cora C+, as in C for Cora, and plus for doing the best he can with what Bloom has given him -- and that includes organizational commands to make certain guys starters, instead of relievers.

It's a hard call -- in ancient times, when bullpens were usually composed of pitchers not good enough for the rotation, using starters to close postseason games wasn't that unusual. Eovaldi, the all-purpose guy in '18, also had an injury-marred 2019, but rebounded to have solid seasons in 20-21. He has also bounced back this year after Cora was forced to use him in relief in last October's ALCS.