5GoldGlovesOF,75

Gotta get in and see what happens this year. There's no guarantee anyone will even have a next year. Crochet could have an accident skiing or playing basketball or speed-boating at night -- all scenarios that actually took down (sometimes tragically) star MLB players in past offseasons.

Yes. I've posted about this so much, people may think I'm homer happy -- which is far from the truth. But if the Red Sox are going to continue to be defined by infrequent contact and constant whiff, the runs have to come from somewhere. I'm actually all about making contact, and a little concerned that the Big Three rookie sluggers all had high K-rates (the latest debate at home is my son admires Nick Kurtz and is shocked I would take Jacob Wilson instead in a heartbeat). But for a team putting its money on the mound, a few longball bats can go a long way in winning more low-scoring games. If you subtract the HRs from Raleigh or Schwarber, their batting averages on hits in the ballpark are .164 and .165 -- and does anyone care?

Sox need to win at least 4 of the final 9 to make it... as long as Cleveland doesn't play .700 in the last 10 (Guards go 7-3 and we're out). So Boston needs 3 wins on Crochet Days, and hopefully one from Early or Gio. I have no confidence right now in Bello-up.

It's not their fault -- their bellies were so bloated from fried chicken battered in flour, MSG, and 11 herbs and spices, not to mention Charles River Light, that they couldn't get out of their own way.

Might as well ask: can Crochet make three more starts? Tonight vs. Tampa, then Wednesday in Toronto on 4 days rest, then the final game of the season vs. Detroit on... 3 days rest. If it's a must-win to make the playoffs, will the front office refuse to let Cora not use their ace?

Gedman's still a coach in Woo... but let's even stop the talk that this team is similar to the 2021 winners. I know the '21s were hit hard by Covid, and still made the postseason with benchwarmers and role players, but that club also had Devers 38 HRs, Renfroe 31, JD 28, Dalbec 25 (as many as '25 leader Story), Bogey 23, and Kike 20 (5 more in the playoffs), not to mention Schwarber, who swatted 10 in 51 total games. What current slug (ger) is going to crank 3 homers on the last weekend vs. Detroit like Raffy did to win the last two games in Washington in '21?

That game was already TIED before the ball went through his legs. The Sox had already blown a two-run lead in extra innings on the road. All the momentum had shifted, Boston wasn't rallying again, and the Mets were going to walk it off -- it was just a matter of how and when. Anyone watching in the dugouts, in the stands, in living rooms or bars could feel it... (just like when Posada's pop-up fell in, in '03).

Uh... 5-2 in the 8th inning of ALCS Game Seven in the Bronx... four outs away from winning the pennant? But I hear you on the Seventies! Lived through them all: '72, 1/2 game out; '74 -- totally blew a 7-game division lead at the end of August and finished third... ... hell, my wife wasn't even born yet... for that matter, neither was Alex Cora or Craig Breslow.

How's this: if the Red Sox can just win 4 and lose 5 the rest of the way, they can still limp into the playoffs with 87 wins -- unless Cleveland goes 7-3. If the Guardians go 6-4 and wind up tied with the Sox, they'd be out of luck since Boston has won the tiebreaker. But if the Tigers keep choking and only win two more games, the Guards could win the Central. And then the results of the final Sox-Tigers series would determine the tiebreaker between Boston and Detroit for the last Wild Card. It is doubtful the Sox and their flaccid bats will take two out of three in Tampa, and then another two of three in Toronto. But hopefully their pitching will be able to salvage a W in each city. At least the last three with Detroit are at Fenway, including weekend day games on both Saturday and Sunday on the final two days of the regular season. We can win that series, right? Right?!?!

I think an ineffective offense, especially a lack of home run power, ultimately dooms this club in the postseason (or before it). Just look at the young A's, whose #1-5 batters have nearly twice as many homers as Boston's #1-5. Fans, media and management will be clamoring for more longball. The Red Sox will anticipate additional power from the young guys -- those who are fully recovered. But that shouldn't prevent the front office from spending on a sure thing for the heart of the order. A starting pitcher will be acquired in a trade for someone deemed most expendable at optimum value. But the free agent bucks this winter will be spent on the most glaring need -- Raffy's replacement, a threat who can consistently reach the seats as much as he did.

What's weird is why anyone would want to jump off a bandwagon. It's tunes. Unless the music was really bad -- but then what possible improvements could cause fans to jump back on? Ringo instead of Pete Best? Drummers are usually behind singers and guitars. A new singer? Both leads for AC/DC had screechy voices; or was that Rush... Van Halen lost a high-pitched scream. Daisy Jones made the Six.

4 dogs, 2 cats, and in son's room: 2 guinea pigs and that same brackish water tank where fish used to live years ago. Cats and dogs are all rescues, with mutts mid to large. At the town park I see old people like me always walking little pooches, and I know why. The last time I broke up a fight, I got caught in the middle of two canines with all three of us rolling down the hill.

Gotta credit Cora for saving and using his bench to win in the end: Eaton replaced Ref to be the ghost runner, and Sogard replaced Ceddanne to pinch-touch-the-ball and plate the gamer. And let's not forget it was all set up by Narvaez' bunt, which moved the winning run to 3rd with one out. The Red Sox are now 8-12 in extra inning games. Not sure how many of those 12 losses came at home, but gotta wonder how many more Ws the Sox would have if all year they just used the simple strategy of sac bunt, and put the ball in play. Half? A third? A quarter? Imagine how we'd all feel right now if Boston had just three more victories in the standings. Sac bunt, make contact, celebrate.

Story is so good right now, he made sure to hit it soft enough so even Lowe could score from 2nd.

What? Our mighty clean-up batter hit a ball so hard it nudged an ant hill and slowed down just enough so he could leg out an RBI single.

Romy move on top of the plate and elevate

Uh - oh: bases drunk, no outs...

He can!

Now why can't the A's reliever walk in a run, then give up a slow roller that the middle infield can play pinball with until the Sox re-take the lead...

It wasn't a balk -- Narvaez stuck out his hand to try to stop them, but was called for catcher's interference.

If it was a ball, Ceddanne would've swung at it! (come on- that was a good one... keeping it dark in this month of impending doom...)

Not sure that's been done before, but Devers has a lock as the 2025 Red Sox OPS champion, even after being traded to the land of the guy ants.

We all know that will only happen if Yoshida is traded to an NL team for an overpriced middling reliever.

I was a little harsh on Weissert. He has stranded an inherited runner since August 1 -- 1 out of 5 -- at least that's not a complete total failure. The bigger problem is the Sox are 6 for 47 with runners in scoring position in the last 5 games, and have hit only 8 home runs in the past two weeks. A lot of fans are blaming damaged goods Bregman, because he once hit 40 HRs and makes the same AAV as Judge. But combined with injuries to other key producers, no one can expect the O to suddenly become more powerful. We're at a crossroads -- one sign points to the postseason, the other to choke season. Will management just stand by in the dugout and hope some pitches find the sweet spot of the Boston bats? Or will coaches finally force batters to choke up, shorten up, and make contact -- even bunt for a hit once in awhile -- to put the damn ball in play? We can't have bases loaded with no outs and not score anymore. Not if they want to keep playing in October. p.s. If Henry signs both Schwarber and Alonso this winter, I'll buy him a whole box of cigars he can smoke in front of his fireplace

Weissert now leads the American League in blown saves with 9. It's too late with too much at stake to hope someone struggling will be good again. (I know, we can say that about six or seven batters right now, too)