5GoldGlovesOF,75

Sogard is a better fielder than Hamilton at every infield position and a switch-hitter who can put the bat on the ball to drive in the winning run while pinch-hitting for Rafalea. Eaton is the fastest baserunner to never score from third on a ball thrown away past the first baseman on what should've been the winning run that eliminated the defending AL champs.

Ya, but longer lumber is easier to swing than underground bats.

Good back and forth from the posters. I love Diaz as a contact bat with pop and Naylor as a talent with attitude, especially if Bregman doesn't return or sign anywhere until it's officially Spring next March 20, 2026 (cough -- Bore Us). Also, good point about the splitter and old vs new. I remember how frantic the '86 Mets were to beat Houston in the playoffs before they had to face Mike Scott's splitter again, which they knew they couldn't hit. Eventually, Clemens found a lethal one (he called it Mr. Splitty), and I think Papelbon, when he was basically unhittable as a closer... ... memories fade, but I still recall some of my best moments as an old player at Cranston Stadium...

I'd rather tell them about the one time Boston beat him in the World Series, on a night he struck out 20, when a Red Sox popped up a bunt (because they can't do that, either) that fell in when Ohtani bulldozed Kike diving for the ball. Then Skubal in relief of Skenes whiffed Othani to end it.

I hope you don't mean it's a fad to hit the baseball instead of missing it. The pro game has trended to more all-or-nothing at the plate because of launch angle vs. more pitches that are harder than ever to connect with, like 100 mph velo and horizontal sweepers that break four feet. The view that Toronto is an anomaly is sad, and I think instead the Jays' way will inspire or wake up other clubs to go back to the basics of baseball that lived for over a hundred years.

Only works for opposing pitchers: 1. K machine, 2. K machine, 3. K machine, 4. K machine, 5. K machine, 6 K machine 7. CONTACT HITTER, 8. K machine, 9 K machine. Yoshida at 11.7% was the only guy who didn't punch out in about 1 of every 4 ABs. He really needs to bulk up and hit some solo HRs, so we can win a few pitchers' duels. While I have faith Anthony will have a better K-rate than last year's 27.7%, that still leaves seven whiffers. The best 2025 rates of those Sultans of Swing and Miss belonged to Duran and Abreu at 24.4% and 24.6% (including the breezy playoffs). In contrast, here are some '25 K-rates of a pennant winner that just missed a World Series ring: Clement 10.4%, Kirk 11.7%, Lukes 13.7%, Vlad 13.8%, Bo 14.5%, Gimenez 17.9%, Springer 18.9%. Barger, one of their worst, lowered his K-rate to 23.3% with a postseason that included a .367 batting average in 17 games with an OPS of 1.025. I don't mean to disparage anyone's proposals here, but just know how far away the Sox are from actually challenging the best teams. The young guys can certainly improve, though the vets are who they are at this point... but hey, the Jays finished last a year ago and changed batting coaches -- just to show it could happen.

One of the old trade taboos was never give up a regular position player for a pitcher. I don't adhere to the argument that a starting pitcher facing 700 batters equates to a hitter with 700 at bats... ... mainly because the bottom third of most teams' orders are weak from the first pitch of the game; meanwhile, hitters always face the best rotation each club can assemble, plus bullpens where nowadays the majority of relievers throw 100 mph with a change of pace all year (when an arm burns out, they just call up another from the farm). Skubal is as good as it gets once a week retiring the decent top six batters in every order, but a guy like Duran who posts every game can help him and his rotation mates win all week with the bat, on the bases and in the field. I'm not arguing with WAR, which is only one measure of value, but it's can't be any closer than in last year's AL MVP voting: Skubal 7th, Duran 8th.

As I typed "tiny purple fishes" my screen was abruptly interrupted by an AI bot: ""Tiny purple fish" can refer to several things, most commonly a type of aquarium fish like the purple emperor tetra, the galactic purple longfin tetra, or a purple dottyback. It could also be a misunderstanding of the term, such as a literal interpretation of "fish needs a bicycle" or the song "Tales of Brave Ulysess" by Cream... Listen, AI bot, that was no misunderstanding (acid in the Sixties was the truth). When I asked about a remake for this century, AI bot and his robot band came up with this: "Tiny microplastics run laughing through your reverse osmosis system"

Casas is talking about his rehab and offseason training program. Nutrition is a big part of it and he eats a lot of salmon. It's good that he aspires to transparency, but when it comes to farmed fish, it's hard to determine if they're raised on organic cereals or processed plankton. The guy at Whole Foods did tell me they don't get their color from Orange Dye #9, but injections of carrot juice...

A #2 starter will enhance the Sox' chances of making the playoffs again, but with their current batting order it's hard for even the most optimistic fan to say "if we can just make it, anything can happen." If you watched most of the postseason after Boston was eliminated, here's what usually happens: the longer a pitchers' duel goes, the better the chances it will only end in one way: HOME RUN!

But if the Red Sox are not going to spend on the big power bats vital for deep October runs, then I'd rather they hang on to the young talent that the Minnesotas of the world will require for a Ryan or Pablo Lopez. Teams that are in total rebuilds like the Twins really have no need for Duran in his prime, pushing 30. They'll want the Sox' young pitchers plus top two position prospects -- Arias and Garcia... but both of those guys are exactly what we need -- while we wait for Boston to assemble a legitimate contender. Arias is by all accounts a good shortstop, where the habitually injured pair of Story and Mayer are the current hopefuls. Garcia bats righty and hits home runs; the closet thing to that combo on the roster is Rafaela, better known for his D. Trading for a #2 starting pitcher won't make them a legit contender... because this Red Sox offense -- without Devers and now Bregman -- isn't good enough, even with a healthy Anthony.

Story surprised us all this season because Cora surprised us by never resting him. And he was so burnt out that in the playoffs, he led the Sox in hits and RBIs, with an OPS of 1.000. More importantly in the postseason, Story led Boston in homer.

SIGN ME UP! I'll even throw Hamilton in either trade package. And count me out on including Early in any deal for a so-called Number Two. His left-handed stuff and poise kinda reminds me of another young southpaw when he first came up... although it took this guy from the Boston area about 100 starts before he became a Cy Young Hall of Famer.

What I've noted over the years about Bichette: 1. too inconsistent at shortstop for a contender, because he heaves away too many throws; 2. takes home run cuts on his first two swings of every AB (mostly vs. the Red Sox), but with two strikes shortens up and makes solid contact. Bo also fits well into a batting order with a big bopper like Vlad Junior. Bichette would be a natural hitting after Anthony.

If he's blowing cigar smoke into the fireplace, it will give us a clear picture since it won't cloud the camera lens.

Soxtalk speculators always include The Password Garcia in proposed trade packages. I say keep him -- bats righty, hits homers. Boston Organizational Home Run leaders 2024-25: Garcia 44, Devers 43, Abreu 39, Duran 37, Anthony 36, Campbell 34, Rafaela 31, O'Neill 31. Some say another promising young outfielder on the roster is redundant, but the real reason most want him gone is it's too hard to learn how to spell Jhostynxon. Break it into two parts: Jhost (for typing sake, the letters almost rhyme with Ghost) then -ynxon (wordscramble for a president forced to resign by Congress, back when there were still checks and balances). Jhost-ynxon Garcia. Soxprospects report: "Power is legit... substantial impact ability, especially against lefties... solid defensive profile, plus arm... potential platoon outfielder" Sounds like an ideal partner for Abreu in RF, with Roman and Cedanne in LF and CF.

Boras will pilfer as much time as possible before letting Bregman sign anywhere -- which basically pilfers all the payroll plans for other upgrades. Overwhelm Bichette with a swift offer and then focus all winter on trading for a starting pitcher and a first baseman with pop.

Noooo -- you can't trade Yhoiker before I even learn how to say his name. Plus, he's still a teenager, and bound to lose a consonant as he matures. Guaraneed,

No MORE big whiffers. Toronto finished in last place last year, and changed their offensive approach. I'd rather have two .300 hitters who can go yard 25 times each instead of one 50-HR man who strikes out 200 times.

They shouldn't. The Red Sox shouldn't spend any more of my time telling Sam Kennedy to tell me they're all about championships. And the last thing I want as a fan is for my team to sign another free agent who will suck the life out of the line-up or rotation because he's getting paid so much that they have to play him, even if he's a dud. Boston only has a fanbase of parts of six states, so doesn't have the luxury of a big market franchise that can just cut a guy who doesn't work out. That last phrase has a double meaning that I didn't mean...

I bet no Series ever had two spectacular defensive gems prevent Game Seven walk-offs. Rojas saved the Series twice in the 9th, with his HR and that stop up the middle, and underrated off-balance perfect gun for the force at the plate. The Pages catch was even more unbelievable, jumping over Kike -- lying down facing away from the plate... Roberts had just put him in the game, and no one else in either dugout could make that play covering a hundred yards with his strides. Poor Clement.

Someday when baseball expands and puts a franchise on the moon, all the good alien ballplayers will sign with the Green Cheese because they want to stay closer to their home planets. It's just not fair.

For a front office driven entirely by projections, there are always the prospects of paralysis by overanalysis. Where are the statistics that measure a man's heart and guts? Can anyone even imagine a Breslow-Henry regime allowing a George Springer to risk the rest of his career by playing in the World Series when he's so beat up he probably needs a clubhouse guy to tie his spikes for him? Springer's side injury that nullified his power swing looked similar to Roman Anthony's, and we know there's no way they'd let Anthony play in that much pain. Too much invested in him at age 21; Springer's 36 with only one year left under contract for $24 mil. (I know they let Schilling limp around on the mound in '04, but those were hungrier times, and he was acquired specifically to win a ring that year)

And please, no more "we're so lucky we're not burdened by the second half of his contract" crap -- Mookie Betts could have his knee blown out by Machado and sit in a folding chair at practices for the rest of his career like Pedroia, and his LA contract will still be worth it. But there's probably one Sox fan or Sox employee somewhere celebrating staying below the tax line today, thinking he's glad it was the Dodgers who won three more World Series in the past six years instead of Boston...

A ghost typed this on my keyboard the day he was traded: "Boston losing Betts can't be as bad as losing Babe Ruth... but I fear it will be the biggest Red Sox mistake since" And only shallow fans will point out Mookie's batting stats when misjudging his overall value. The guy played Gold Glove shortstop for the world champs, and turned a double-play by himself with the tying run on third to win the World Series.