5GoldGlovesOF,75

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I still think some front offices -- in their rush to pursue cutting edge technology and cutting staff in the field -- risk missing the personal interactions of astute scouts with top prospects that help determine intangibles that launch angles or arm extensions can't measure.

... especially after Mookie got there, felt the sunny warmth of Southern California -- compared to the raw New England nights that taunt athletic bodies -- and almost immediately received the contract offer he was hoping to sign in Boston. Sorry, everybody, this post is boring to some, but easier to type staring out the window at two feet of snow that I know I have to shovel.

I'm not looking who specifically to blame, because relying on analytics over eyewitness scouts may just be the company model adopted after watching Moneyball a dozen times. Same thing with not giving star players a no-trade clause. This front office is full of lifers with a pattern of dumping longterm salaries, which they may like at the time of the signing -- or, I dunno, maybe just offer as PR stunts so guys like us will like them... The trade option is definitely an opt-out for the front office.

That, and trade your Hall of Famer for a haul of prospects from LA. Half joking, but I admit I insisted Verdugo be part of that deal -- while some here said there was no way. I wasn't happy with Wong, though, since the Dodgers held back at least two better young catchers. But not landing a starting pitcher was the worst part of that trade... especially after Bloom -- who had zero good pitchers in the pipeline -- rejected the one arm LA included from another system, and took a shortstop named Jeter. There was no way he was fitting in. Of course, then there was the argument of What do you expect for one year of Betts? -- when it was really 13 years, which had to be Friedman's plan all along. For that, I expected Josiah Gray and Kiebert Ruiz, who were later traded for another Hall of Famer.

Hard to call anyone with Breslow's credentials and education a buffoon. I lean more towards cold and calculated (I won't say stiff, so I won't be fired).

I agree with this take, though the price for Bregman never bothered me because 1) few players can replace his combined impact on offense, defense, and dugout/clubhouse/batting cage influence,,, and mostly 2) saving money by not overpaying is no guarantee with this club that it will be repurposed when needed -- especially when it comes to the trade deadline and parting with prospect investments to fill serious needs for the stretch run.

Quoting my first sentence of my post that the semantics police are attacking today: "To take a step up in the standings -- let's say 90 plus wins in an AL East where the Jays and O's have already fortified themselves this winter -- the Red Sox simply cannot regress on offense." The rest of my post is about the offense, which is a frequent worry of mine -- and many other Red Sox fans, even those who in the mood to argue for the sake of it. But if you really read the post, maybe you'd see that all I did was offer ways that the returning bats could improve or revert to past stardom. I actually thought that was being optimistic when I wrote it... and MLB.com was the source that said the Jays, O's and Sox showed they were going for it this year because of their offseasons. Btw: nowhere in the post did I say the Sox didn't fortify, though replacing Bregman with Ranger Suarez doesn't really help the offense for me... but that's just my opinion.

To take a step up in the standings -- let's say 90 plus wins in an AL East where the Jays and O's have already fortified themselves this winter -- the Red Sox simply cannot regress on offense. Even if Contreras hits like Devers, and Anthony hits like '25 Bregman over an entire healthy season, what other batter do you think can emerge with an even better 2026? Possible keys: Duran or Story revert to pre-'25 glory... Abreu finally gets what Tom Werner wants to see: 400 at bats... Yoshida has WBC stats in MLB... or Casas makes a comeback with half a season like the second half of his rookie year. Those are all possibilities, but my biggest hope is Campbell or Mayer can do in the majors what they recently did in their best runs in the minors... KC may never repeat his 2024, but the odds of a Minor League Player of the Year becoming at least a viable big leaguer are on his side. Mayer's 43-game stint in Worcester last year pro-rates close to these 162-game stats: 35 HRs, 160 RBI, .271 BA, .818 OPS... (at least in WOO). I vote for Marcelo.

Stop trying to distract from the missing quality infielder who can hit.

Maddie, don't ever stop telling it like it is -- especially right in the face of those who tell us what our eyes and ears see and hear isn't.

I'm with you on most of this, but have always been ambivalent of a walk being "as good as a hit" -- it is as good as far as reaching base and not making an out, but not always as good at advancing preceding baserunners (a walk only moves teammates one base at a time, while hits can advance guys 1, 2 or 3 bases). The other basic thing a walk does is drive up pitch counts, and help expedite exits from the mound... though nowadays, fresh arms that throw a hundred are salivating to come in everywhere. Maybe it's better to swing at something you can do damage with from a tired arm, rather than wait for the perfect pitch that never comes... but now here comes Mason Miller instead.

... which I understand, but did not include in my original post comparing these players from 2025. You replied with "career" stats. Rafaela, Abreu and even technically Duran have only played as starting regulars the past two seasons -- not much as far as careers go -- but my focus was just on the past season when at least the first two guys continued to improve their all-around games. We could go back and forth cherry picking stats to justify opinions, but the fact is that Duran-Rafaela-Abreu are the Top 3 returning Red Sox in RBIs for '24-25, and all three have way too much swing-and-miss in their at bats. I only defend Ceddanne on this forum where he's often the target of suckitude, instead of many teammates who in reality just suck a little less.

Your opinion is noted, and once again you only focus on OPS. Rafaela never walks, so he won't "outhit" many teammates in OPS, but he is the only returning Red Sox -- besides Yoshida -- who had a K-rate under 20% last year. And here's the thing: even though Ceddanne made better contact than Abreu, and Duran, and Story, and Anthony, etc... I'm not even saying he's good. Just how bad Boston is at batting.

If parsing semantics, then I base my opinion looking at several statistics -- not just OPS+ (which combines OBP and Slug). Abreu had the most home run pop, with 22 HRs in 51 less games than Rafaela, who hit 16. And yet, Ceddanne only struckout 16 more times in 170 more at bats... He also had twice as many doubles, 4 triples to 0, and 20 stolen bases to 4 for Abreu. Runners-in-scoring position: Abreu .262 BA, .895 OPS; Rafaela .242, .670 High leverage: Abreu .226, .774; Rafaela .281, .808 Batting average: Rafaela hit .249, Abreu .247. Outta slight, man

If you're basing it solely on offense, then Duran and Abreu have slight edges over Rafaela. But the CBO has stated to the press that the Red Sox are being built on pitching and defense. Considering the current sinkhole in the infield, that makes the best centerfielder in baseball all the more valuable.

When I was a kid, there were posters (the kind that hang on walls) warning: "Don't Trust Anyone Over 30" John Henry may have made a billion dollars and never forgot his roots. My take is that the Red Sox' offense is so lacking in basic contact fundamentals, adding new faces can't hurt. However, subtracting more big leaguers who have had any success -- and not just Bregman, but guys like Rafaela driving in runs or Yoshida putting balls in play -- just isn't the way to improve an offense.

As usual folks are harsh on Rafaela at the plate. He's totally streaky, and hacks with the worst of them, but where would the Sox be without his clutch defense AND offense last year? Answer: out of the playoffs. When Trevor Story was interviewed last week about his top moments of the '25 season, he cited Ceddanne's walk-off HR right before the All-Star break, and his game-winning triple that clinched the Wild Card. Mine was his catch of the ball that popped out of Abreu's glove -- because Rafaela sprinted all that way just to back him up. Ceddanne is not a star hitter, but he's right there with Duran as an all-around contributor -- they tied last year with 4.7 bWAR to lead all Boston position players. And as the graphic I posted a few days ago shows, Duran-Rafaela are 1-2 in team RBIs the past two seasons.

Nah; by 30 most of them have already had their Tommy Johns

Ya, you're right. "Atom" just looks/sounds better -- I hit it so hard it split atoms. Of course, notin would argue unless you hit it right Adam Jones or Adam Everett... but not Ottavino (any Red Sox pitcher would throw you a double down the right field line).

None of us know the extent of his injury or how long it affected his swing before he had surgery. But you can be sure the scouts didn't love him because they craved a batter who could consistently roll over to the second baseman. Now he's healed and we'll see if Yoshida hits it harder this Spring. As to making contact vs. whiffing, you'll never hear anyone who has ever played baseball say they regret barreling a pitch and would rather swing and miss -- even if it results in a double play. Atom balls are an unfortunate part of the game, but serious batters know all they can do is trust the process.

Mock away, but you knew at least he'd make contact. How were you feeling when half a dozen other guys stood in the box waiting to flail away? That's how bad that batting order was in the playoffs, when Boston sent a Quadruple A line-up to challenge the defending AL champs.

I was actually surprised after the playoffs that the first thing on some posters' minds was to get Yoshida off the roster. "He just doesn't fit!" Why not, because he doesn't swing and miss all night? Did anyone actually see the putrid batting order in the Wild Card series, the one with Bregman?

I'll play devil dog advocate.: most posters and many fans (my son included) can't stand the thought of Masataka Yoshida on the 2026 Red Sox. Be careful what you wish for. First, this offense might be ok: Anthony might be a star, Contreras might hit 25 homers for the first time, Story might play another full year, Rafaela and Abreu might repeat clutch, and Duran might still be here. We can only hope. Returning Red Sox 2024-2025 RBIs: Duran 159, Rafaela 138, Abreu 127, Story 106 But even all that may not be enough. Even if it is, this line-up is laden with strikeout whiffers. This is at least where Yoshida can help. We all know Masa can't go yard or run fast or throw hard or stop liners from smashing lights on the Monster. But he can hit... for non-returning Romans, his career batting average is the highest on the team and his K-rate is the lowest. Maybe he's finally healthy from a shoulder injury and surgery which may very well have sapped his strength. People forget last year Yoshi hit .333 in September and October and .571 in the playoffs, where his single up the middle should've eliminated the Yankees (except a baserunner going on the pitch didn't score from 2nd). The Sox owe it to themselves to at least see how he does in the WBC before crossing him off as an option.

Come on, man. I know you played the game -- unless a guy is nursing a nagging injury, no young athlete wants to just DH instead of playing a position. Being on both offense and defense keeps the body loose for best use. Jogging on and off the field before an at bat, and doing occasional sprints in pursuit of a defensive play is way better than just sitting on the bench getting stiff for an hour between at bats (especially on frigid New England Spring nights). Designated Hitter is perfect for an old guy like Orlando Cepeda with balky knees, but young guys with energy like Anthony and especially Duran would drive the dugout crazy as a regular DH. If the Sox retain four outfielders capable of starting in the pasture, a DH rotation is the only way to possibly make this work... at least to find out which guy simply can't DH.

I would say I resemble that remark, but I know you don't like cliches... unfortunately, that's the entire language of sports media, especially pro athletes programmed to answer interview questions with their backs against the wall, because there's no tomorrow, when they play within themselves, because it's too hard to play without themselves. (I've always had a semi-proclivity at turning phrases... sour. That's why Bill Spaceman Lee was so refreshing, for those who also sprinkled mother nature on their buckwheat pancakes).