5GoldGlovesOF,75

No, you're right -- those rumors always produce a great deal... of skepticism, bitterness and rueful laughter.

Gray and Mookie Betts are each listed at 5 feet, 10 inches tall. That should be an omen to Red Sox fans anticipating a title, because Mookie hasn't won a World Series in 4 of the past 8 seasons. That's half the time.

Though Sonny Gray was the Cards' ace, he may not be the #2 that thirsty Sox fans are craving. It's still worth noting he led the NL this year in strike outs to walks: 5.289, beating out Cy Skenes' 5.143. If rumors are true that Breslow's not done recruiting his true #2, then look at it this way: this swap is an excellent preemptive move to round out the rest of the rotation with whoever isn't included in the next trade package from among Bello, Tolle and Early.

It's true: last year Gray led the NL in shutout. He also fits Brez' desire to land another top arm who can make -- actually make -- a start in the postseason. Then again, Gio was once thought of as a innings eater... at least a workpony.

Gray was the first good starter I mentioned this offseason because Chaim was taking over in St. Lou to do what he does best: shed salaries. When I saw the player return, I thought the same thing Hitch did -- but not only does Brez want to keep Early and Tolle, I'm more convinced now those two would be the demand in deals for the likes of Ryan and Peralta. This trade may also be positive for who it did not include: Contreras -- another contract Bloom is likely trying to dump. His absence may mean Brez and the Sox are busy zeroing in on a more prominent righty power bat...

Though they once did, when they also had to pay the Yankees to play at home. It was in the years 1920-33, when the Sox paid annual mortgage on Fenway Park to Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert -- basically the vig on a loan to Harry Frazee because stealing Babe Ruth wasn't enough... ... Ole Harry was some business man.

Besides Beltre, the longterm signings that should-have-been go all the way back to free agent infancy: Fisk and Lynn. Extending two more Hall of Famers at market prices so they could play for the Sox through the entire decade of the 1980s... who knows what would've happened in those playoff years. And don't be tempted to cite Lynn's WAR through the 80s accomplished for all those other clubs that didn't play half their games at Fenway Park. The consensus has always been that had Lynn continued to feast off the Green Monster -- where his career slash line was .420-.601-1.021 -- he wouldn't have to pay his way to Cooperstown.

There's no question some numbers are inconclusive. When an outfielder misjudges an airball and it goes over his head or drops in front of him untouched, it's usually called a hit. When Duran let Judge's soft liner pop out of his glove, no error was assessed. The only number concluded by the Yankee Stadium official scorer is that the mighty Judge was awarded a two-out RBI-single. And Boston lost that playoff game by one run.

You build a good case for not blowing big bucks on guys who as a majority are busts. Even the good signings brought issues, like JD, who we were hoping would opt out so we could either keep Mookie or Schwarber. I personally was all in on the Eovaldi signing, and during his time here I thought he was our best overall starter (even though ERod had one really good year). Breslow's big signings were ambivalent: $58 mil to Giolito and $40 mil to Bregman for one decent year apiece... and if the latter signs elsewhere, then we lost Raffy, our top power source this decade, for basically nada. Who was the last good free agent who signed in Boston when we could feel secure that he'd be one of ours for the long haul? Manny... a quarter century ago?!?!?!

Gold Gloves, like just about any awards that are voted on, are subjective. But it has some meaning to be cited by consensus for being good at something -- especially if ballots are filled out by industry pros basing choices on observation and analysis, and not just reputation. Gold Glove standards now include statistical requirements to qualify for nomination, so a guy can't get on the ballot because he once was nimble around the bag when 25 pounds lighter with 25-year-old hand-eye coordination... Awards are always open for debate, but winners don't suck. The Yankees were a World Series team when they had Soto, so is Judge more valuable this year than last? Or is it the other way around, since they didn't even make the ALCS?

Not a bit. I like Ryan better than Gio, and expect improvement from either some young guys or injured guys, but also expect some regression from overworked players -- especially our All-Star pitchers (Crochet and Chapman will still be good, but don't be surprised if one ends up on the IL for at least a breather). No, for the Red Sox to significantly improve their status, the front office has to bring in multiple reinforcements. Especially, if we want to go deeper into October...

That's where I've been for a month (didn't want to be late).

Because in baseball they don't drive Chevy trucks to the top of rock formations in Monument Valley? Also, in Boston these days, the only extra-base hit guaranteed not to add to the LOB column is the HR. So, for this holiday season, the choices are a last meal of another lobster role or something more long-lasting... candidates for the latter, please take any repeatable bat-to-ball skills directly to Human Resources.

Kyle Schwarber's three months in Boston: 10 home runs (including postseason)... and his four years since in Philly: 201 HRs... ... but with only 11.1 WAR. Cecil Cooper had 5.3 WAR in parts of six seasons with the Red Sox -- and then 30.7 WAR after his trade to Milwaukee (George "Boomer" Scott, the guy he was dealt for, played 3 more years in Boston and had 2 WAR). ...

That's Arizona. Having played tournaments in most of the Fall League ballparks myself, I can attest that hits just carry there (at least in the Fall). When I first saw some of the fences at about 350 feet down the lines, I expected more pitchers' duels... until the games began. Then I got a good workout chasing down gappers all week.

The thing is, we don't know how other teams value Duran's defense. Maybe it hasn't slipped; maybe '24 -- when he looked good in CF while Ceddanne played infield -- was the outlier, and '25 more the norm. We all know how much Duran struggled with negative dWAR out there in parts of three seasons before '24... ... couple this with other concerns about his make-up (not his tats), and he may not be the desirable trade target we think -- at least not for a significant return.

The problem with trading for Ryan is that Minnesota doesn't need to move him this winter. If Ryan had one year left before free agency, they might accept Campbell, Garcia and Clarke -- prospects with nothing but promise. Unfortunately, prying Joe Ryan away from the Twins has to be more painful than that. Like when the White Sox insisted on Teel to complete the Crochet deal -- after Montgomery already headlined the package. Surely, Minny is starting any discussions demanding both Tolle and Early, MLB-almost-ready starting pitchers...

Early turns 24 in April. Tolle just turned 23 this month. Why can't it be one of those guys... by the time we have legitimate big league regulars at the other 9 positions? (I should've put quotes around that line, since I bet someone in a conference room already asked that in a front office meeting discussing this very topic).

We all know there should be no turning back now, and Cora and Breslow at least publicly agree. What we don't know is what the front office really feels about their 2026 percentages and whether to truly go for it. We'll know by Spring Training, if there aren't enough major moves to improve, and we hear Sam and Craig blabbing that no one wanted our prospects (and those in the industry know that every club overrates their own prospects, at least to the media, who buy in and excite fandom to sell tickets). Teel is the White Sox starting catcher and a future All-Star, while Montgomery is now Chicago's #1 prospect. That didn't take long, but maybe Arias and Garcia don't look as promising... yet. I've said many times that any big trades will have to include either Early, Tolle or both -- but imagine all those Asst. VPs who've been in the front office for years and have never had starting pitching prospects this good. On top of that, they now work for a CBO who is all about pitching. So don't be surprised if they hang on to the youth...

Hey -- no politics!

Free agency will have the usual Domino's effect. They'll all wait until one guy sets the market by getting overpaid to sign -- then the rest will order pizza.

I was conceding that we'll have to accept a platoon somewhere or at least rely on improvement from within. If we don't trade an outfielder and just spend money, we'd have to live with maybe Romy/Casas at 1B/DH, along with a 4th and 5th (cough, Masa) outfielder rotated at DH -- or if we sign Alonso, then it's Romy/Mayer at 2B... ... this is all assuming they PAY TWO INFIELDERS, because we all know they need to ACQUIRE TWO INFIELDERS.

From a front office standpoint -- especially one that works for John Henry -- can any serious Red Sox fan envision a scenario where they trade away their biggest strength and spend near half a billion on one free agent to replace them? No, really... ... why not just keep the outfielders and blow all that dough filling the holes? Can we sign Bregman, Bichette and King for half a bil?

I was going to say Harold Baines, who had more than 25 HRs once in his 22-year career... you know, the guy with only 38.8 WAR, compared to Dwight Evans' 67.2 WAR. But got to hand to Harold -- bb-ref did... on his Similarity Scores list, the first five batters are all in Cooperstown: Perez, Kaline, Parker, B.Williams, Dawson (Evans is 8th). On Dewey's list, the first five are Luis Gonzalez, Tori Hunter, Chili Davis, B.Williams and Bobby Abreu... then Perez, Parker, Beltran, Darrell Evans and Kaline. So Baines has maybe a slight edge on Dwight in offense. Then again, Evans was also the best rightfielder in the American League during his era -- and still no plaque?

Good post, with specific points that are legitimate concerns. We didn't talk a lot about outfield arm strength and accuracy; Duran's is average at best. But the Sox won with plenty of fast centerfielders with average arms: Damon, Crisp, Ellsbury. They also had postseason teams with Lynn, Bradley and Rafaela, who had cannons. Obviously, Ceddanne's range and arm would be wasted in LF, but moving him to RF may not be optimizing his abilities in bigger ballparks. When the Sox moved Betts to RF it made sense, because JBJ had more experience in CF with Gold Glove jumps. Duran isn't that guy yet -- even as an elite athlete and converted second baseman like Mookie (though it's not fair to compare anyone to a first-ballot Hall of Famer, either). What's best for the team? If Breslow isn't allowed to spend to fill all the holes this winter, then maybe multiple trades can still make the Sox a contender. If Boston is ready to commit to Garcia in RF -- or platoon him in LF with Yoshida -- then perhaps we could see separate trades for both Duran and Abreu in packages that stabilize an infield position and the pitching staff...