5GoldGlovesOF,75

The point is the years; Franchy has played in the majors for the past half decade. He still can't play offense or defense good enough to stick. The guy can't be washed up if he never got dirty. Cordero is the opposite of career minor leaguers who finally make the big leagues after lifetimes in the bushes. Franchy is the anti-Crash Davis, Yermin Mercedes... Jack Lopez! When Cordero runs out of potential, someone will ultimately say, "He finally got his chance to not be in The Show."

...or Noah Song -- what could go wrong? (at this point, I'll be encouraged if he changes his name to Maybe Song...)

Duran has been in the big leagues about a month. It is quite possible he'll make adjustments and maybe improve -- like holding his bat higher so he could catch up to the Rays' habitual heaters that resulted in last night's game-winning hit. Cordero has had longer parts of many MLB seasons where he has proven over and over he is not a major leaguer.

And nobody was until the PR leak that the Boston owners wanted Scherzer...

Not now, but it depends on player projections and where the acquiring club stands in their rebuild window or longterm quest to sustain contention. Plus, I was only dropping the names of the Red Sox' two best prospects for a comparative scenario...

But it's all about pitching: better relievers preserving more wins, or a better starter preserving existing relievers' arms for preserving more wins... Scherzer has gone 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA for the Dodgers, who are now finally back in first place. He may not have made them any better, as he replaced another (banned) Cy Young, but he assures LA of being an October favorite. In Boston, Scherzer would have assured the Red Sox of a Wild Card. But he couldn't also be the closer, or shore up the infield D, or drive in runners from third with less than two outs... so I don't think many of us would have agree to trade Casas and Mayer for Scherzer and Trea Turner.

Whitlock, as young as he is -- or should I say, because his youth (and post-op recovery) dictates his use -- is more like one of those old blackpowder muzzleloaders with a ramrod that takes such a long time to reload.

I agree with many posts today: Two actually good relievers would have made the difference in three or four more wins, and not just with their own stats, but by preserving pitches and elbow/shoulder stress for the rest of the totally spent bullpeners. Yep, the names are all hindsight now (who would've predicted that Brad Hand -- who some of me wanted for $10 mil last winter and for a prospect at the deadline -- would be as bad as Hansel?) But what we'll never know is how the Red Sox players really felt about certain guys getting traded to other clubs and not to Boston. We do have the perspective of the media -- many of whom say the front office demoralized the clubhouse by not acquiring good reinforcements. Did it have an ill effect on the product on the field and the collective effort going forward? If you think that notion is overblown, you also have to admit the professionals who cover sports for a living are a lot closer to the pulse of teams than internet posters.

Most posters are pretty positive... that the Sox are toast. My wife started a fight last night incredulous that I kept watching that debacle of a game. I can't help it; I need to see which players still appear to care even an iota of what we do.

If the Red Sox don't win Sale Day, mere masks won't protect them; they'll all need to wear face shields with windshield wipers...

No, just that he shouldn't be allowed to play first -- and this is even more critical than JD playing outfield (where he may stand around without any action for half a game). There are just a lot more outs that should be recorded at first base by a big leaguer who can actually scoop one-hoppers. But I would play Dalbec at third this month once they're buried in 4th and out of it, just to see if he is better there and to build his trade value.

I think we'd both deal Jimenez before Duran. I suspect the former's potential has been a bit more overrated by the franchise trying to build him up as trade bait (and not a Cordero clone).

Maybe your experience playing every position on the diamond has informed your opinion. But you also know that first basemen do have twice as much responsibility than third basemen... with a baserunner in scoring position: on a hit to leftfield, the cutoff man is the third sacker; on a hit to centerfield and on a hit to rightfield, the cutoff is the first sacker. Potentially, guys playing first are called upon to make twice as many throws to try to prevent runs or cut down other runners from advancing.

I hope this season has convinced some observers that not just anyone -- even pros -- can play first base efficiently. And that a good first baseman can make the difference in saving an infield, and thus a pitching staff... and account for a lot more outs than a good third baseman.

But guys like us won't let history reconstruct the '21 Sox' self-destruction based on some virus. At least they don't boo the fans like the Mets' players. Baez is a bust and Lindor has struggled all summer -- and his 10-year contract doesn't begin until next year. Great line by Bob Nightengale: "Only the Mets would miss the days of 2020 when no fans were permitted into the ballpark during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing anyone from booing them."

You're right, I saw the nickname but it just didn't faze me. Maybe it's because we're a board of nicknames, and I'm more disturbed by watching a Sox team featuring 5 Mold Gloves.

The last two posters mentioned vaccines and masks, which are being used worldwide -- but not always in the Red Sox clubhouse or dugout. Trying to prevent the spread of a deadly pandemic has nothing to do with politics.

Goose Gossage just said you can pitch a tent on his lawn.

After last night -- if the Red Sox don't address their defense -- they will definitely lose fans right now. As more players test positive for the virus and the Sox sink into oblivion, casual fans will stop watching. Diehards, however, can face reality and would like to keep watching -- to get a glimpse of hope for the future. I'm not advocating calling up teenage prospects, but Boston should at least put its best possible defensive team on the field so September is not a total joke. Dropped pop-ups, grounders and throws that increasingly clang off gloves, missed cutoffs and a catcher who won't move to block balls is unacceptable. Move Devers to shortstop until he gets quarantined. Go ahead and blast the idea, but he already plays short every night on lefty shifts, has the arm, and just might relish the challenge to take charge and at least stay interested. Rafie is a big league infielder; Arauz and Munoz are not. Dalbec can try third; first base is just not working out. Jack Lopez played solid defense at multi-positions in the Olympics -- he can platoon at third or second until Kike or Arroyo return. Play Schwarber at first and Duran in centerfield every game the rest of the season; the Sox need to see if they are viable, regular options there for '22. JD is the DH except in NL parks, period. Catcher is a problem -- do the Sox even have a better defensive backstop than Vazquez in their system? Wong, Hernandez, whoever -- someone who is quick and can throw needs to split the rest of the games back there, because Vaz needs a serious rest.

The GM said last week if they don't make the postseason, it's on the front office. They'll fire themselves...

The clock has stopped on guys like Peecock who are bad and deady.

80 to 2.

The game speeds up fast on minor leaguers playing in the majors.

Listening on the radio, the announcer said nine Boston players are Covid positive, and he counted seven more in the dugout not wearing masks. How much longer can a company in any industry continue to operate under such conditions during a pandemic?

Hey Red Sox: Remember two months ago on twitter when you ragged on fans who were skeptical? WE DO...