5GoldGlovesOF,75

Both Duran and Abreu are good players, who would look even better on a powerhouse led by superstars. When opposing pitchers wear down trying not to let a Judge or Soto or Ohtani beat them, the second tier of regulars get to feast on mistake pitches. But in isolation, the weaknesses of Duran and Abreu get exposed. When they're hot, they can carry a team for days... but not weeks like perennial MVP candidates. On the Red Sox, we posters -- like fans of the majority of baseball teams -- blame most of our anguish on offensive failures. But for bad clubs, there's nothing worse than incompetent defense. Ceddanne's value covering gap-to-gap in the middle of the pasture is more indispensable on a team like Boston, slowly turning the corner into contention. Consider bWAR for the Sox position players: Duran leads with 4.2, entirely because of his O. Next is Rafaela at 3.9 AHEAD of MVP of the regulars, Story at 3.8. Raise your hand if you knew Ceddanne is worth more Wins than the team leader in HRs, RBIs, SBs, who also plays a sometimes spectacular shortstop. Put it this way: it's not because he hit some walk-offs before the All-Star break.

Security would get to print new IDs with new titles for the same employee/s. Insecurity would get to monitor new threads about new names to blame by online insultants.

Duran should be in there so he can hit another Stanton shoulder-high triple off the Monster.

... but even if he did, don't doubt Sale gets hurts right before the postseason. The only thing more predictable was that Paxton would get hurt again if Bloom didn't trade him at the deadline. And then right after Breslow traded for him the next deadline.

Anthony would've strained his oblique a lot earlier, like in June -- like Shea Langeliers did -- then recovered by summer to hit 30 home runs, like Langeliers has since then.

I was wrong about the never-mending Story, and I'm glad because all the other full-timers got hurt -- except Duran, who I was wrong about two years ago, and Rafaela (who not only will keep his job, but be honored for it in the offseason). I was also wrong about Chapman, and Giolito, and Sale, and Buehler. I wasn't wrong about Mayer and Anthony deserving to make the team before Campbell, but I kinda wish I was, since he's the only one left healthy enough to finish the season...

Definitely not peaking. More like peeking; squint hard enough and see the postseason, off in the distance... ... just have to get there.

I think he moved to 3B but isn't Rico.

The All-Star break totally chilled Ceddanne's hot bat. He accidentally left in it a top-loading seafood cooler while he blurred his hand-eye coordination surfing youtube for web gems by Lynn and JBJ to practice at the neighborhood playground.

Mostly? Semantics: Romy bats all the time vs. lefties. But lately, he's hitting all the arms. Just looking for something positive for an offense that cannot match up with the instant-at-any-instance runs that the Bronx goon squad can score. We all knew last night's 6-run 1st wasn't safe, just hoping our pitching could outlast their homers. Even the one HR we hit was by a Yankee from last year...

It sure took him long enough to reach the majors! Still can't believe he missed that first flight to Texas from Florida back in March, and it took him over two months of searching Map Quest before he could finally find the Red Sox and rejoin them in Boston. Man, did his buddies Marcelo and Kristian -- who were already there waiting for him -- give him the business for wasting so much time in Worcester. The business... ... imagine how many more Ws the BoSox would have if Anthony, the best of them all, was in the line-up adjusting, a month or two sooner.

Romy was not built in a year. But these numbers are comparable: Roman A: PA 303, H 75, XBH 27, RBI 32, K 84, BA .292, OPS .859 Romy G: PA 299, H 87, XBH 33, RBI 49, K 72, BA .312, OPS .850 Granted, Gonzalez has batted mostly vs. lefties, but the holey Sox have no choice but to play anyone even tepid full time as they limp down the stretch...

7-6 minimum, which gives us 88 wins. I predicted 89 preseason, but even 88 right now seems a longshot. Even IF we win three of four vs. NY's Warren and the A's sluggers in Fenway, the last nine are in doubt. Hopefully, Tampa at George field won't care as much, and give us a couple. Otherwise... Toronto in Canada will be rocking towards a division crown and will be big trouble. It may come down to the last three at home vs. the Tigers, who will have already clinched a bye, which might be huge for Boston. I can see AJ Hinch setting up his playoff pitching, starting his aces, but only for a few innings each to get their work in. The Sox will need to feast off Detroit's bullpen to win that series. Old men fans like me will be relying less on pilsner and more on famotidine.

We could also really use Raffy's bat... but let Papi swing it.

We need Rico to come out of retirement: the perfect flyball pull Fenway swing. And tear down the sky boxes behind home plate! And don't build any on my lawn!

In my opinion the Sox offense is overrated, even by stats. They may have averaged scoring almost 5 runs per game, but the data shows in contests that weren't blowout wins that it's less than 4 runs per game. That's less than 4 runs in 87% of their season -- not an insignificant number. Compared to most MLB clubs, Boston may have one of the top rated offenses in some categories, but don't forget this may be the worst year for quality batting averages in big league history -- with currently only five players over .300 (1968 had six). Elite pitching can carve up any batting order, but the Sox didn't face aces in 130 games, either. Their 3.9 runs per game in those tilts is still higher than the Royals, the AL's worst offense at 3.8. When KC's 10 blowout wins by 6 runs or more are subtracted, they only average 3.4... but that's still only half a run worse than Boston's O in non-blow-out Ws. All this angst can really just be simplified with one fact: the Red Sox have exactly one guy who can pull Paul Skenes deep, and he's on the IL.

Posters may not like these breakdowns, but they explain some of the agita in watching the 2025 Red Sox: Boston has won 19 games by 6 or more runs this year, with a cumulative score of 220 runs vs. 45 runs against. In the other 130 games, the Sox have scored 510, and allowed 583. Run differentials: in the 19 blow-out wins, the Red Sox are +175; in all other 130 games -- that's 87% of the season -- the Sox are -73. Over a full weekly average -- for every 7 games -- we have watched the Sox win big once and then get outscored the rest of the week (87% of 7 = 6). All season.

500-30

On the bench, we still have... YoSHIDA!

40-30

down 4-2 late -- with this offense, does anyone else feel like it's 40-2?

Good stats, the platoon guys have been coming through (and that includes Narvaez, with two clutch pinch-hits late). The problem with your list is that Story is the only full-timer, though Romy has been getting more reps -- and better get more, now that defensive specialist Hammy made two more Es last night.

Yup, if the Sox do make the playoffs and have to go to Yankee Stadium for the entire Wild Card series, it's doubtful they'll get to suit up Papi, Manny or Damon. They won't even have the equivalent of Tek, Trot and Bell -- who combined for 5 HRs in the '04 ALCS... ... not to mention the knocks from Mueller, Millar and Orlando Cabrera -- who combined for 25 hits (it went 7 games, after all; the most the WC series can go is 3).

Bregman's from the Spring, Duran's from July, Lowe's from 2023, and Yoshida's from the WBC... ... and Abreu's, connected to Abreu.

It's really unbelievable that Cora can't just order all his talent to touch the freaking ball with a baserunner on third and less than two outs.