5GoldGlovesOF,75

If Devers wasn't owed a kajillion dollars, he'd be exactly the kind of midseason bat that could actually help a team that is last in the league in slugging. I'm not talking specifically about Raffy, but the typical all-or-nothing whiffer who hits the ball out of the park more times than others when he does make contact. Those types always hang around past their primes because of one elite skillset, since the longball can be an instant game-changer and is a luxury true contenders can afford to carry. There are even non-quantifiable factors of the positive effects he can have on the entire batting order, with the added stressors to opponents on how he is pitched to and game-planned. Of course, the Giants would have to eat more spinach than Popeye to get someone to take the Big Puppy off their hands -- and you'll notice I never once typed the name of his ex-club as a true contender in this post.

Why would a team that hits like crap want a guy in the batting order with the highest batting average on the club since he joined in 2023? Oh, that's right -- he's a bad fit.

But the Red Sox have one guy in their bullpen where his own coaches tell the manager don't let this guy beat you. So I'm here today to apologize to all the posters who I disagreed with when they told me all winter the Boston offense is better than I think. Because last night I realized it would be -- if our hitters got to swing against Weissert, like all the other clubs in the bigs. Facing the worst pitcher with inherited baserunners in The Show -- the past two years -- would certainly help the Sox' batting average with men in scoring position. And yet I implore the Boston braintrust: please don't let him beat us again.

In his final will and testament, he gives every team a Grand Torino.

WHYssert

AJ was at fault for not sending Antonio Perkins to the showers earlier so none of the crap happened.

Good guess.

Red Sox fans who don't care about budgets have seen their favorite players leave over and over since 2018. But it's hard not to read or hear about how much money those guys make, so it's logical that's where their perceptions of Henry comes from. And he refused to pay market value to his best homegrown player from this century. That's not a misperception. They also remember when Bloom told fans that if we kept Mookie then we wouldn't have Garrett Richards. Even they/we can see the idiocy behind the cost-cutting plan of paying too many Klubers instead of just keeping one Eovaldi or paying a Paxton or Giolito for two years when they only pitch one... or Sandoval when he pitches none.

You're right, but you also have to appreciate casual fans or even diehards who know nothing about nor care to know the budget numbers. They/we only see their favorite stars jettisoned from Boston over and over since the last title. For all they/we know, Dombrowski was fired because he wanted to pay Mookie what he was worth, and Bloom was hired to trade Mookie. And then Story was signed so they didn't have to pay Xander, and Raffy was signed just to shut up fans... .... but Breslow was permitted to sign Bregman for big money and an opt out -- knowing one thing and hoping another: 1. it would piss off Devers enough he'd rebel and allow them to dump his contract; 2. Boras and Bregman would opt out, and it would only cost Henry $40 million to get out of paying Raffy $300 mil.

Hinch was in no hurry to relieve Framber, especially since the Tigers' bullpen was toast from choking the night before. Valdez knew there was only one way he could get off that mound. Hinch's afterwords also showed no support whatsoever for that cowardly act. Imagine if he drilled someone instead of a composed pro like Story... Contreras didn't get plunked but still almost tried to kill him. Detroit's gonna have to eat a lot of dough to get rid of this pestilence.

But Anthony... built like a Roman god, invincible 21-year old with 101 MLB games under his eight-pack belt -- hurt three times already by merely doing the one athletic motion that is supposed to elevate him to superduperstardom? What in the name of Tris Houses is going on with the Red Sox young studs? Is this just a bad trend or a reflection of a part of the organization that Breslow forgot to fire? Will the Italian Rapscallion ever be able to swing as hard as he can again for an entire season in the decade he's expected to dominate? Hopefully, no Red Sox historian will ever write a book someday called The Curse of the Gambino.

Isn't that a t-shirt? Like the definition of... And your second line should be -- edited: Change will Set you FREE

You may be one of the only posters to agree that players' stats for one team and home park against division rivals may be different than for/in/vs. other teams, ballparks and foes. "We dodged a bullet not signing that guy!" can only ever be just an assumption. Even if he gets hurt elsewhere.

Tolle's calling Joey Chestnut: https://www.oscarmayer.com/products/00044700000632-classic-wieners-hot-dogs

Let's face it, the real problem isn't that Durbin wasn't anything like the front office or media projected -- "he pulls in the air; he's gonna hit 20+ homers at Fenway!" As you point out, Durbin has a fatal case of sophomoreyetis (what we blamed as the reason we couldn't get any good girls freshman year... though we couldn't wait until we were sophomores). But it still could've worked out if Anthony didn't catch it, too. He didn't have to be a superstar, but just repeat his half of a rookie year over a full season. If you believe hitting is contagious and there are valid reasons it's a saying, then maybe a couple of the guys who delivered last night will stay hot, and Roman can relax, see some crushable pitches and heat up himself. If he can stay on the field like an indestructible 21-year old male...

You made me look up Breslow's career splits: Lifetime record 23-30, 3.45 in 576 games. Ok, serviceable MLB reliever... ... but ERA in his Wins and Losses: 0.63 and... 14.26 -- for his career. And zero HRs vs. 12 HRs. Might he be one of those ex-pros who fondly remembers success and totally forgets his failures? After all, relievers are programmed to immediately flush any bad experiences and be ready for the next opportunity.

They knew better. They analyze so many metrics for expected outcomes that it's hard not to accept that all those guys aren't really stars. Decent players, but ideally supplements on a good roster. Anthony's a different man this season -- as a kid anointed The Face of the Franchise -- and suddenly the oblique of the franchise, the shoulder of the franchise, and the wrist of the franchise. Breslow pivoted to a starting rotation to keep him in most games, but all those established pitchers are hurt -- except Bello (as far as we know). Luckily, the top mound prospects are already here with more on the way. If they don't mind "rushing" a few more that have the stuff to get any human out, then the season could still be interesting.

Biggest win of the year, and the unique type of game that could boomerang on the league. Coming back late with multiple RBI hits was a first, but the resilience was even more impressive after how the Tigers were able to score two gift runs off Tolle. The stadium warned everyone to take shelter except Red Sox defenders, none of whom could grip the waterlogged ball and make accurate throws through the monsoon and lightning bolts. Narvey made a dumb chuck and Andruw made another while slipping in the swamp trying to avoid a python headed for his noggin. Then a Boston offense that had every right to pack it in and dry off suddenly broke an 0-for-2026 streak in the clutch: Duran, Abreu, Rafaela, Mayer (good for him, enough of this "young guys fault" when they're all young guys playing a young guy's sport). The Sox prevailed, even when we knew Whitlock would make it scary because for some reason holdover Bailey hasn't told Tracy that Whit can't pitch on back-to-back nights, And Detroit is done -- Skubal's gone, protecting his kabillion-dollar future again like when he left his USA teammates to die in the WBC -- and the Tigers just choked what should've been an easy win vs. a doormat... ... slowly pulling their sox up, painfully pushing themselves off the floor.

Tolle deserves to get his first major league victory. Tonight he earned it.

As much as I blame the actual Red Sox players for the past month, tonight's absurd inning when the Tigers scored was because of the absolutely ridiculous call by Detroit to force Boston to try to pitch, catch and throw a waterlogged baseball in a deluge between lightning bolts so dangerous they made all fans take shelter. Tigers can suck it and Tolle is my new hero.

If Rivera were in the bullpen, this game would be over. And not Mariano.

Yes! Duran oppo middle finger to DE troit.

Hate the Tigers forever after forcing Tolle to pitch in this crap. The scoreboard tells all fans to take cover, but they make Tolle try to throw a soaking wet ball, and now that Detroit scored, it's guaranteed they'll call the game.

Dang yo -- I better stop posting about him; he sounds too familiar. Boddy should also watch it on forums like this, before someone calls him names.

Couch tater trying to swat a housefly with a rolled up newspaper. "We sting the bug hardly and off the linoleum!"