5GoldGlovesOF,75

He hits the ball so hard, his grounders kill turtles and armadillos.

We have at least three guys that are better shortstops on the 40, so Bichette would have to agree to play 3B or 2B. But as far as pop, he's good for over 40 doubles and 20 homers in his 162-game average (Fenway's his second-favorite HR park on the road besides Camden Yards -- where the distance to the leftfield fence used to be a lot shorter). Again, signing Bichette wouldn't give the Sox a 40 homer bat... and not another big whiffer. What it would do is give the Sultans of Swing and Miss a batter who led the AL in hits twice and was leading again this season before injury. Plus, having a 40 double, 20 HR man would be nice in a batting order that right now has exactly zero of those guys...

Always suspected some teams may give minor league awards to prospects they're considering as trade bait. As for entire minor leagues naming award winners, clubs with players receiving hardware may reward ballot-punchers with 300 bonus points for first-time voting.

Nah, I see Naylor as more of a Jonny Gomes type. Yankee fans already hate him, so he's got that going for him.

Jarren, Wily, Tris, Masa, Romy, Ref, Ceddanne, Narvey, KC, Hammy, Sogie, Eatonotscoring, Mayer, Password, the Wonger and the Roman Candle have all hit 25 homers nonce.

Of course, the lone character fluent in Sasquatch becomes the richest, post-movie franchise... ... at least, from the weekly tribute our household pays him to keep our zoo of rescue pets well fed.

They're out there. I've been advocating trading for Diaz and signing Bichette. They're not 40 HR guys, but 25 with a ton more contact and less than 20% K-rate. That type of hitter gives the Sox better balance -- starting with replacing Bregman with two bats with his profile. You mentioned Ketel Marte, Josh Bell and Cody Bellinger -- they've all improved their K-rates as they've aged. I'll take any of them over a swing-and-miss goon. Josh Naylor is a winner, bringing consistent energy and contact to a line-up. Jorge Polanco looks better than ever. Kyle Tucker might be too expensive, but how much prospect capital would it take to shake Vinnie P. loose from the Royals? If the Sox could persuade KC, I'd immediately learn how to spell his last name...

Move Bo Derrick to 3B, Mayer SS, Story 2B, Diaz 1B. The corner bats can carry the middle D.

Fact: Hunter Green is in stock right now on Etsy. The dark green cotton fabric is available at $9.99 per yard. Fact: I'm right-handed, though admit my opinions could be considered radical -- like not playing a second baseman with the lowest fielding metrics in the sport at the even-more difficult shortstop position. Fact: There have been a lot of famous ballplayers nicknamed Lefty, but none called Righty. However, it's my opinion we shouldn't rename any greats who were.

Thanks! I dunno... seems like we just got rid of a guy that was a downer for the team. Marte in his 30s leaving the warm climes of Az to come to Boston with its non-existent Springs? Maybe a change of fandom sparks enthusiasm? Solid career numbers through 11 years, and even better stats in the postseason...

Ketel Marte would be the position player prize of the offseason for Boston! He's in his prime right now, a positive dWAR second baseman with more home runs this year than anyone of the Red Sox roster. And a 14.9% K-rate! Question: but why do we keep talking about him, as if he's available this winter? Is Arizona in complete tear-down mode or looking to get back in contention soon? Corbin Burnes is expected to be back in the second half, but can't be as good as new so soon. Marte, 31, was recently extended and is under contract through 2031. He just had an All-Star year and was still third on the team in WAR to two guys age 25 and 24 -- Perdomo and Carroll.

It's also worth noting that Franklin Arias was runner-up to Dru Jones for Minor League Defensive Player of the Year. Jones is an outfielder, which means Arias at shortstop is at least as good with the glove as any other infielder in the minors... according to evaluators. With the Red Sox' current infield instability possibly forcing Marcelo Mayer to play 2B or 3B, it would be wise to hang onto Arias -- especially for a franchise building its future around pitching.

I want nothing to do with E. Suarez. Has anybody seen him in the postseason? Guy's on a loaded offense, and he has 12 Ks in 29 ABs for a 41% K-rate. He looks like Rafaela after a whole winter diet of Papi protein shakes, hacking at every single pitch. And it's not quite a slump. He had a regular season 36% K-rate for Seattle. The Red Sox need more power, but the last thing they need is more all-or-nothing strikeout artists -- especially at some of the prices typed around here. It'd be cheaper to just bring back Tony Armas, and have hit BP off Tony Armas Junior.

He's so short. Those guys never age well! Andre the Giant didn't even die until he was 46.

Sox sure have gone through some free agent third basemen. Just this century, they've recruited Mueller, Lowell, Beltre, and Nunez (played all over, but made the famous play that finished the Yanks in '18). And then was the third basement, Pablo Sandoval. At least Bregman didn't bust a good belt buckle bending over when he got hurt.

I can maybe see trading three big league position players or three top-10 prospects for Greene... but all six? Greene has annual injuries, but should still be more valuable than both Perales and Clarke combined next season... right? Those are Boston's top two pitching prospects now vying to make the majors, and considering how quickly the Sox moved Tolle and Early last year, there's a good chance at least one of them makes it by the end of the summer. There's no doubt Greene is a talent, though; he led the NL in shutout twice, and hit the most batters once...

"Other teams have larger needs on the infield, some really need right-handed power in their lineup, and a select few have $35 million just waiting to be assigned on the 2026 payroll." This describes the Red Sox exactly -- even with Bregman in the line-up. But which team has larger needs on the infield? In Boston -- where they're all about winning championships according to the president -- there are only gigantic holes at 1B, 2B and now 3B...

Jersey burned down his restaurant so Junior couldn't hit Little Pussy there.

I always thought postseason performance should be factored when considering a guy's overall year. That's when it matters most, facing the best pitchers, hitters and fielders, right? Do you think the Phillies and Brewers would intentionally walk Ohtani if the on-deck batter was Kike, the King of Klocktober?

I'm sending Eaton if he's tippy-toeing because 99 out of 100 second basemen with half a brain are throwing to 1B for the freaking force-out to end the inning. And it's not unreasonable to think that Ben Rice - a crappy catcher who can't throw out base stealers - grabs the bouncing ball, panics and throws it so far away that even Duran scores behind Eaton... ... then the Sox go to Cleveland and win there, before getting body-shamed by the mighty M's.

A D1 star like Godbout is just a better bet than younger international signings or high schoolers. College prospects are often more polished products than the raw athletes getting on-the-job training in summer academies and rookie ball. Remember how sure the Epstein regime was of that shortstop from Arizona State, Dustin Pedroia? Only special high school talents like Marcus Betts got the big bucks to sign back then (makes you wonder if Theo were still in charge with his keen eye for generational stars if the Sox would've paid Mookie in 2020). Godbout is from UVA, where Early also came out of with his arsenal of pitches. Breslow loading up on mound draft picks from southern colleges only promises that more big arms will be on fast paths to The Show.

This is what I've been complaining about from the beginning: the fastest baserunner -- IF he was running the fastest -- should've been halfway home. I wrote this yesterday: The bigger question yet to be answered: how did the Sox' fastest baserunner supposedly running on the pitch and scoring on contact with two outs only get as far as third base -- on a ground ball that made it to the edge of centerfield? To me, it never looked like Eaton was ever sprinting full stride...but that doesn't excuse Hudson from not doing his job, either, and windmilling him in that situation. This wasn't El Guapo running. The Red Sox blew it.

The range for Japanese imports is only between two inhumans: Ichiro and Ohtani. For maybe a better perspective: in Yoshida's last half decade in Japan, he was good for at least 20 homers, a .330 batting average and .900 OPS. He also walked more than he struck out. In the big leagues, however, baseball-ref's Most Similar Batter is Pancho Herrera. So Masa is not a big dog in the majors, but a sidekick to the Cisco Kid. Yoshida's Most Similar Batter through age 30 is Les Fleming. Just be glad it isn't More Flailing.

Indolence? Letting some other source do the work... Or trusting an unreliable source: idiocy - insanity - inanity - imbelicika (I typed that in to confuse AI, who didn't recognize the word and had to admit he was an imbelice)

Dodgers almost made the worst baserunning mistake of the playoffs last night, but still won because teams keep putting Ohtani on intentionally so they can walk Mookie with the bases loaded. Bases loaded and Muncy blasts one deep to center that deflects off Frelick's glove, then off the wall and back into his hands. Dodgers were running back and forth all over the diamond, tagging up and then getting forced out at home and third base. Muncy didn't even get a hit on a 400-footer off the fence; it went as a fielder's choice. Maybe some ballplayers don't know that baserunners tagging up on a sacrifice fly can take off as soon as the ball hits the outfielder's glove -- but all professional coaches better know this rule. Most of the time that includes a catch... but not this time. Teoscar, tagging up on third, could've walked home as soon as the ball ticked off Frelick's glove. Instead he ran a few yards, then went back to tag again when he saw Frelick grab the bounce off the wall. LA fans can only hope the third-base coach didn't tell him to go back...