5GoldGlovesOF,75

Millar was the most coveted that offseason, with international relations at stake to turn his plane around on the way to Japan. Theo and his staff really set the bar high for front office sleuthing, nabbing guys about to break out, like Mueller hitting 9th in the order to win the batting title, or their '03 postseason HR leader with 5... Todd Walker. They also picked up a good closer who the manager wouldn't let close out the pennant the last day.

1. extra innings, no outs, tied or trailing by a run, with your fastest Ghost runner on 2nd and Anthony on deck. 2. same scenario, bottom of the 9th 3. scoreless playoff game, in the 5th or 6th frame, vs. a foe with a killer bullpen warming up.

The Red Sox need a consistent home run threat in the heart of the order. They average the AL's second-most runs per game -- but with double figures once a week, and 3 or less the rest of the games. And Boston is by far the majors' doubles champion... but how many times have we seen that guy stranded on 2nd or 3rd? In this age of swing-and-miss, the Sox may not be that much worse at striking out than many other contenders. But the difference is most of those clubs have more game-changing HR hitters, guys who regularly blast 30, 40, even 50 taters per year. Yes, there are plenty of examples of teams that win without the longball. But for an organization that prides itself on smarts, tailoring a line-up to fit Fenway Park for half its games should be a priority. It's why I never wanted to trade Casas or Anthony or Garcia, because any prospect with above-average power potential should be coveted. Are the Yankees better than Boston without Judge? The M's without Raleigh? Look how the Astros have struggled to score without a healthy Yordann. Consider the Phils without Schwarber, LA without Ohtani, Mets without Soto and Alonso -- Alonso, soon looking for a new contract... Power to the people, right on.

That edit is not half-bad.

It's best if you consider Cora's strengths. He may not always be a great in-game manager, but he always has the backs of everyone in uniform. Have you ever heard him call out a coach or a player in a postgame press conference? Cora may not be shy about indirect criticisms of the CBO after trade deadlines -- "the roster is the roster" -- but he always covers for his guys. We all see how aggressive AC wants to be sending runners on steals, so does it make any sense he wouldn't want his fastest player trying to score on a fly ball, after intentionally bunting him over to 3rd? Eaton or Hudson or both blew it, but Cora immediately blamed it on series planning -- which is either his own fault, or an opportunity to take a shot at 17 of the 87 Assistant VPs in the Analytics Department.

Just found the reason for last night's problem on Red Sox.com. Batting Average with Bases Loaded 2025: 1.000 Casas, .667 Campbell, .500 Devers, .500 Refsnyder -- all gone (damaged, demoted, deported, debilitated) .

Named after Sixties artwork by Andy Warhol.

I bet it will feel that way in the Red Sox clubhouse this weekend, too. The pitchers, hitters and coaching staff all know they failed big time this past week. But sometimes, all it takes to suddenly change the attitude is for a new guy like Lowe to act like he doesn't know any better, and pop up three home runs to the ridiculously short porch in the Bronx. Or maybe Anthony hits the warehouse in Baltimore. Not the little things, but something measurable...

Your W-L stats all show the inconsistencies of a mediocre club, but even though we have a handful of better players, there has to be an explanation beyond talent for the annual plunge. If good hitting is contagious, then self-doubt can be fatal. Does anyone think Crochet is confident that he can give up a few mistake runs, knowing the bullpen will shut down the opposition and save his Ws? Teammates know guys like Wong and Toro won't come through, but when Bregman barrels oppo liners that don't drop in, the pressure builds on all of them. Even though Anthony is 21, he must know he's already better than most batters on the roster -- but does that mean he feels less nervous to come through when nobody else can? Yoshida is a contact man, but after watching Ks by Duran and Story (the team's two position player MVPs who've played the whole season), how can Masa not worry about striking out, too? These notions accumulate as the season wears down, especially approaching the stretch run -- which, no matter what Cora likes to pretend to the media, is not business as usual.

3-7 in our last 10. In that stretch the AL's second-best offense to the Bronx BOMBERS only scored their second-best average runs-per-game three times. If only the Red Sox could've actually scored their average 5 runs per game, they would've won 6 more games in the past week. At least we can look forward to the Boston LOBsters getting into someone's bullpen this weekend for a blow-out win in the midst of another half dozen one-run losses...

Sox are 9-8 in the best August they've had this decade. But the way they are playing now -- not hitting at all, and pitching just badly enough -- the final week of the month will be crucial. Up next: four-game series in the Bronx, another four in Baltimore. To hang in there and avoid an annual spiral, Boston needs to go 4-4. Seems reasonable, but we all know that it will be a total grind to split in enemy territory,

Cora said they decided pregame not to challenge that "elite" arm in center. This is why his team loves him, because he always covers for them with the media... ... because we all know there's no possible way such a pregame meeting ever went like this: "Now, remember -- if we ever totally choke and leave the bases loaded in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings, and trail by one in the 11th, whatever you do, don't send our fastest runner home on a fly ball to center!"

Sounds like charter schools. You know, the ones that can fire any educator any time, where tenure and unions are eliminated. Hire new college grads with their certifications, pay them bottom step (they'll be thrilled to have a first-time job with benefits), then when they start making decent wages in five years, fire them... and replace them with the next wave of college grads. Forget about veteran experience -- get rid of those ancients before you have to pay for hip surgeries. The only problem with ballplayers is that Tommy John often comes knocking when they're still young.

Teams win and teams lose. If the Sox don't make it, some batters may also feel guilty, for not making contact 3,500 times with a baserunner in scoring position. But Saturday's game when ICampbell couldn't hold a 7-1 lead is hard to forget. Like the various voices coming out of my larynx yelling, "Does this guy have any pitch that drops below meatball level?!?!"

He had promise as a student, too. One time he promised to pick up all the Lego pieces, but only scooped 37.5 big parts before pulling a lego muscle. And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly and finished for him.

Just don't trade any for Wily Mo Pena. Career WAR: Pena -1.2; Bronson Arroyo 23.4 -- the guy who, when he wasn't a Red Sox pitcher, had over two thousand innings pitched. In the majors...

Instantly better than even the most vocal replacement posters could muster. And I don't mean we'd all strike out... but taking a walk is less painful than getting hit by a pitch or running out of the batter's box, down the cement dugout steps and into the clubhouse while trying not to blow out an achilles or snap an ankle while wearing metal spikes.

The reasons the Red Sox sucked for most of the 1950s and 1960s are black and white. And giving away Betts most definitely was a turning point in franchise history. That new direction of smaller payrolls and rehab Tommy Johns was shoved down our throats for half a decade, while the Tank Sox drafted a future core they could lock up to team-friendly contracts so they wouldn't have to pay market prices to the next Mookie. The biggest key this offseason to let fandom know that ownership is once again devoted to winning won't be trading the farm for Joe Ryan. It will be if they extend Bregman...

Isiah Campbell needs to go because Cora keeps confusing him with Kristian. And it's time to bring Bernie back from where they were stashing him until Duran and Toro could pass him in errors. Current E tallies: Duran 7, Toro 6, Bernardino 5 (only 1 behind Dollander for the MLB lead for pitchers).

Only hitters with normal length bats, 32-34 inches or so. The guys who clean deep swimming pools with those long-handled nets might have a better chance of making contact with Wild Bill Hicks Ox.

Was it only a year ago when Red Sox relievers blew more games than any other bullpen? Before the 9th I looked at my son and said you know who I'm blaming when they blow this game. He asked "Weissert?", and I said it's a guy who won't even play today. He shook his head and muttered, "Campbell." Wilson has been better than I expected, but he was another guy Cora wouldn't use three days in a row yesterday. I knew it Saturday, and was hoping then that AC would just let him pitch the 8th because of it -- he had only faced two batters in the 7th. Then Matz could've thrown a scoreless 9th and saved Chappy for Sunday.

When NESN voices like Lou Merloni, Will Middlebrooks and Lenny DiNardo praise the defense of Marcelo Mayer, they're not using statistics. There are no numbers that quantify "cool, calm and in control" -- words that these former BIG LEAGUERS used to describe Mayer all year. They don't need to make him look better, because they know what they are looking at. They also didn't denigrate Kristian Campbell with adjectives like "clunky" or "nervous" because they didn't have to -- not when we all could see it on our televisions. The polite way to assess a young player who may not be ready for the majors is to say "the game speeds up on him fast." Everything I just wrote is of course common knowledge for anyone who ever played the game beyond Little League.

Mayer didn't "mouth off" -- a reporter asked him if he thought he should make the team and he answered the question. He could've just nodded, but then someone would say he nodded off.

Mayer being injury-prone is the reason I didn't want Arias traded this year. But I think Arias will still be part of a big deal this winter, now that Boston Story is finally Colorado Trevor (AL Comeback Player of the Year?). There's no question, though, the Sox were a better team with Mayer somewhere on the diamond -- and that included since Spring Training, where he proved he was a big league defender... ... unlike Campbell, who didn't prove a thing except that minor league stats do matter. At least to the front office -- until they change their minds...

It's not just Roman 1st, but the combo with Breggy 2nd that wear out pitchers and make them more susceptible to mistake pitches to free swingers like Duran and Story -- who have not coincidentally been the Sox two big RBI men lately. Following them with a better contact guy like Yoshida has also been keeping the line moving...