5GoldGlovesOF,75

And the number of bases someone left in the dirt, the next time he tries to jog to the outfield.

It's not a blueprint for success, because nothing is in the crapshootingist postseason tourney in team sports. If the Red Sox had the Braves' bullpen, they may have won four games in the ALCS before Houston did. But then they'd still have to face Atlanta's hot starters, who just shut down the best offense in baseball. Another aspect that hasn't really been discussed this week is the Braves' mediocre defense, which really didn't look any better than Boston's. But Atlanta feasted off multiple bad starts from both Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia, each of whom threw games of their lives to win the pennant. The questions that need to be answered are 1) Did their clutch starts in the ALCS tax their arms to the point of ineffectiveness in the WS?... or 2) Were Red Sox' hitters really worse than the Braves'? I'm leaning towards Yes on #1 and No on #2.

Atlanta lost its ace starter and top player for the season, but hit the jackpot mid-season by adding four outfielders who hit enough home runs to win rings. The Braves scored 72% of their runs vs. the Astros on dingers; the Red Sox scored 82% of their runs in the ALCS on HRs. The difference between who beat Houston and who lost to Houston was pitching. Atlanta has two very good young starters who threw shutouts and a very good bullpen; Boston's relievers blew two games.

The way the Astros won the other night -- scoring 9 runs on 0 homers -- is good for baseball. The Braves might still win it all on just two strengths: home run hitters and a killer bullpen. The all-or-nothing Red Sox were two wins away from the World Series with just one of those assets... in the ALCS, Boston scored 82% of its total runs on 11 HRs (23 of 28 runs). Situational hitting with runners in scoring position -- putting the ball in play beyond weak pop-ups on pitches sluggers just miss -- is a Red Sox' weakness. Adding a few inexpensive guys to the roster who consistently make contact is a start at improving. Moon's non-tender list includes some cheap bench options who are among the best contact hitters in the sport. Willians Astudillo had the best AB/SO in the bigs at 17.3, while Pirate shortstop Kevin Newman's 12.6 led the MLB for qualified full-timers. Hanser Alberto 9.2 was also tough to strike out. Newman (career K-rate 10.9%) is an NL Gold Glove finalist this year, while Alberto (11.7%) has a positive DWAR in parts of six seasons. Astudillo plays infield corners and can be a third catcher; in 533 career Plate Appearances he has 25 Ks (4.7%)! Both Astudillo and Newman were paid around major league minimum, while Alberto earned $1.65 million. I like Jose Iglesias, but he makes more than all three of these guys combined. And as we know, every million saved is more we can spend on pitching...

I'm still impressed with how far his pitch went that hit the bat of Ronald Acuna.

This just in from RemDawg Heaven… … Jerry reports they show a continuous replay of the ’78 Playoff Game: Piniella is still blinded by the sun on Remy’s liner off Gossage, but instead of a lucky bounce into the glove, the ball skips all the way to the fence. It’s a game-tying triple, and the RemDawg does a pop-up slide, fist-pumping with the frenzied crowd. The Yanks intentionally walk Rice and Yaz to load the bases, but Fisk pops out. Then an exhausted Goose leaves one low that Lynn lofts into the Boston bullpen for a walk-off grand slam. Of course, the ’78 Sox go on to win it all, with Remy’s DP partner, Burleson, MVP of the playoffs, and fellow New Englander Fisk as MVP of the World Series. Beantown rewards all these curse-breaking heroes with long-term contracts, and the Red Sox win a couple more titles in the next half decade. But every time they play the Yankees for the next 40 years, the networks always show clips of Clueless Lou waving his arms and Jerry Freaking Remy’s slide (a certain NY shortstop becomes nothing but a historical footnote, like poor Dave Henderson from 1986). To be fair, Jerry also notes that in the 2021 ALDS, Kiermaier’s double doesn’t bounce off Renfroe, and the Rays win Game 3. But the Red Sox still win that series in five…

When I read the news on the net, I turned on NESN for some kind of confirmation. The station was black. I nodded, Red Sox Nation at half-mast.

Signing a big money shortstop or extending Bogaerts would be equally surprising for me. Both are realistic, in the sense that the Red Sox are capable of making either decision. But the first would necessitate a move to another position by Bogie or a trade of Bogie, while the second would signify a longterm financial commitment to Xander -- which would be the first in the Bloom era. It would also be intriguing to see whether terms include an open door to a future position move by X...

Remdog bought me a beer once in the Monster seats. I didn't even have a seat (but bribed an usher to get up there). He lived with cancer for 13 years... and showed at least this viewer how to carry on with dignity.

I can appreciate that. How do you feel about DWAR? According to bb-ref, Verdugo -0.2 and Renfroe -0.5 were below average, but Kike 2.1 was the second-highest rated outfielder in the bigs to Michael Taylor 2.3. Kike also played 55 games in the infield, so I'm not sure how that affected his total. In comparison, these former Sox were at least slightly above average: JBJ 1.3, Beni 0.3 and Mookie 0.2 (including seven games at 2nd base).

Well... in terms of inheriting chromosomes, then it's not the ump's fault if he has bad eyesight. Of course, unless he's old... and then diminished vision is a normal part of aging. But we can't even suggest eye tests once they hit a certain age, because if society did that for drivers, most of us would be taking the bus! How does this correlate to robots? When one breaks down, it just gets replaced. End of Halloween post.

He had a brutal season offensively, but my post replied to Moon's chart that showed "how bad our defense has gotten". Most observers would say the strongest part of the '21 Red Sox defense was the outfield -- but even that wasn't as good as the strongest part of the '18 Sox D. All three Win-Dance-Repeat outfielders were once again nominated for Gold Gloves this year. None of the current Sox outfielders were nominated, though they all had solid to spectacular moments in the field. But most diehards, if they're honest, would probably admit they saw plays this year when they couldn't help but think, "Bah, _________ would've had that." Bloom could upgrade the outfield D by making one trade or signing. But his biggest problem is the infield, where consistent improvements by holdovers or moves across the diamond, or personnel changes seem required for Boston to be better in '22. Or he can just go Braves and build a killer bullpen (which is never guaranteed) and hope the O stays hot for an entire October.

He deserves set-up men and a closer like Atlanta has. What he doesn't deserve is to be questioned for trying to close with his best starter in the ALCS after Boston's bullpen allowed five home runs in three games.

Prefacing with how much I appreciated the fire of Verdugo, the spark of Kike, and the gun of Renfroe... but the best defense behind that 2018 staff of predominantly fly-ball pitchers was the fly-chasing, Win-Dance-Repeat trio; all three Thriller Bs were nominated once again for Gold Gloves this season.

In defense of notin's reply to Nick, it's obvious auto-correct omitted a few curly punctuation marks. When MLB GMs determined that there was no way they'd sign Nick, notin meant to say, "you're left, nut."

You're right. I shouldn't have said it, and shouldn't have to say it -- not about a worldwide health issue that we all know has had a direct impact the past two years on the specific team we follow and talk about on this board.

Were those invented by Doug Rader? One change I approve of is growing grass from the home plate area to the mound. I always thought those bare dirt paths up the middle in old timey ballparks were a danger to pitchers because sharp one-hoppers could skip through quicker. Not that it matters in leagues that use metal bats (basically, every level of baseball except the big leagues, summer showcases, and balding/beer-gutted amateurs carrying tradition through the second half-century of our lives). Maybe the best tech for modern pitchers has been the invention of the helicopter, as life-star can fly over traffic and get them to hospitals faster.

I sincerely hope all players do get their shots... not to be political, but from a fan standpoint; I really hope in the CBA negotiations that owners insist on player vaccines for the coming season -- like in other pro sports. There may be no data yet on any longterm adverse effects from Covid vaccines, but has any professional athlete had a bad outcome from actually getting the shot? We certainly know the ill effects on a team's season when multiple players miss time, either recovering from the virus or from quarantines after being exposed to teammates who test positive. It's just not fair to uniformed or non-uniform employees, the fanbase, even the sponsors, for a club not to take every measure possible to guard against what could be a debilitating outbreak on many levels.

Hey, cp -- everyone should be welcome to dissenting opinions on discussion boards -- but always be prepared to be mocked by a poster or two who knows for sure that only their opinion is the right one. And as a few have admitted, it is very rare that any poster can change the opinion of another (which I thought a worthy goal when I first joined; so there's one instance where others have changed my mind).

Unfortunately, in baseball, technology has caused the need for more technology. The networks' contrived two-dimensional "box" that supposedly outlines the strike zone for viewers has only caused false rage about close calls by human umpires. The indignation even carries over to the stands, where fans with phones can watch replays or see other animated angles on MLB Gameday. There really may be no more blown calls than ever before, just new ways to show them and tabulate them. Someone made a good point about robos -- will they make calls where the pitch just reaches the front edges of home plate (like we see on TV boxes), or go three-dimensional and call pitches through the depth of the plate? This may require side-view cameras. If the latter, there may actually be more strikes called by robos... imagine a high curveball that human umps always give up on out of the pitcher's hand, but that actually breaks late across the batter's letters just before it reaches the catcher's mitt.

The most famous who was drafted in something akin to Rule 5 was named Clemente. Brooklyn didn't want to carry the 19-year-old on its roster in 1954, so the Dodgers tried to hide Roberto in Triple A. The tale goes that his club, Montreal, was ordered not to play him so no other franchises would notice his potential. But last-place Pittsburgh couldn't wait to draft Clemente, since their GM once worked for Brooklyn and was somewhat familiar with the prospect. His name was Branch Rickey... Btw: Roberto Clemente wasn't an instant star in the NL, and took about five years in the majors to develop his talents. He didn't break out until age 25, but was an All-Star and named on MVP ballots in 12 of his last 13 seasons. Can the Red Sox wait two more years for Arauz to put it all together?

That's 1,524 millimeters!

If the Sox stay away from longterm free agent contracts -- for a variety of reasons, including CBA uncertainty -- then committing to Duran as at least a platoon regular would free up Renfroe as the most likely trade bait for a young arm. This post has nothing to do with Renfroe's postseason; a 30-homer outfielder who threw out the most baserunners in the bigs for only $3.5 million is affordable in just about any market. Bloom hit big on Renfroe for '21, and might want to sell high.

But he's 6'1"!

Marte is a free agent, but maybe one of many A's who could change teams this winter. San Diego just signed Bob Melvin to manage for three years; the A's had recently picked up his option for '22. Some posters have pointed to Oakland as a potential trade partner for the Sox, and smart front offices may want to strike fast with the club in current disarray.