5GoldGlovesOF,75

Right. Fans shouldn't expect Red Sox hitting coaches to help their batters make as much contact as the Blue Jays do, in Boston, on a night when they're all frozen popsicles. Fans should expect the Sox to strike out 14 times vs. 4 for last year's division doormat, score 4 runs in three games, and never lead once in the series at Fenway.

It's no fanboy reaction if anybody's read what a lot of us have been concerned about for half a decade. Strikeouts not only suck the life out of rallies -- or even ones that are contrived with a ghost on second -- but they suck the life out of spectators. Watching a bunch of whiffers, year after year, is not entertaining, but a major league drag.

Check! Check the check! The batter raised his eyebrows at that pitch -- did he go around? Ask someone else for help, like another ump around 100 feet away from the guy standing right behind the batter. And if it's 20 degrees with the wind chill, the answer every time will be the same, because frozen old umpires want to punch the air to keep the blood circulating: Checkmate!

I agree with relying on the eye test instead of the most over-used cliche in modern sports reporting: the small sample size. Red Sox fans may not have seen Trevor Story play a full season in Boston yet, but this is the fourth year we've watched him flail away in the batter's box. Four years is a large flail size. Story was a strikeout machine in Colorado, so this is who he is (at least the thin air in Denver helped his fly balls find greener pastures). The problem is he's only part of the problem. Boston already has four whiffers in the AL's Top 10 in Ks: Devers, Story, Duran, and Bregman -- a guy partially recruited for the batting order because he didn't strike out. Mayer and Anthony will undoubtedly inject some energy into the line-up when promoted, but both are also prone to Ks. At least they can both slam pitches all over the park -- like their buddy KC -- more consistently than most Red Sox (any bad Triple A stats aren't necessarily indicative of whether they can handle MLB pitching). So unless Breslow trades for Luis Arraez -- the career .322 hitter who has fanned once this year -- then we'd better brace ourselves. But that doesn't mean Story, who has NESN gushing is so athletic, can't advance a ghost runner in extra innings once in a while with a freaking bunt!

Professional baseball announcer Dave O'Brien: "The Red Sox are so much better when they put the ball in play." Air is so much better when it's not poison gas. Water is so much wetter when there's no drought. Days are so much brighter when the sun shines.

For those not watching on NESN, OB just said, "the Red Sox are so much better when they put the ball in play." That is verbatim. I replied, "And Gausman is so much better when the ump's strike zone is the armpits to the ankles, and the plate is two feet wide."

Cora's answer is yes, because the Red Sox lead the majors in double plays turned this year.

They're playing Campbell in both the infield and outfield so he has enough experience at each to keep his bat in the line-up when Mayer or Anthony force their way onto the roster -- or are called up because of injuries.

Mazz said yesterday that if Anthony doesn't profile as a centerfielder, why do we have to trade Duran or Abreu -- and if the Sox don't think they can extend Casas... or if they were trying to deal him this winter for other reasons... then why not, just: Make Anthony a first baseman?

It's like telling Romy he's a first baseman, when real first basemen at least stretch and make an attempt to catch a bad throw.

Even in the walk-off win vs St. Louis, the all-or-nothing approach didn't offer confidence. Ghost-runner on second, with Story -- a poor contact man -- leading off... Even the announcer speculated on just moving the runner to third. Instead, he swings away and pops up to the infield. Luckily, Abreu then popped one off the wall. The NESN crew loves to tout the Red Sox "athleticism" -- so is a bunt out of the question... or even a top-hand swing and a grounder to the right side?

Boston leads the AL in whiffs. However, the correlation between strikeouts and standings is unclear. The Yankees and Tigers aren't far behind, but have winning teams. Tampa and Chicago have the least amount of Ks, and both are in last place. In the NL, the Mets and Padres have the lowest strikeout totals and both are first place teams. The Dodgers and Pirates are tied for the most Ks in the majors; Pitt's in last, LA's still pretty good. It's really up to MLB front offices on how they want to build offenses, and what they deem most effective. As a fan, all I know is it's a drag rooting for batters who can't touch the ball in certain situations, and don't even try to change their swings with two strikes. Especially, when the opposing team does...

The players are young, strong athletes, and it's their job to run around in the cold. What I just can't understand are the camera shots of elderly fans... Is there any other hobby in life where a senior citizen would choose to sit outside on a hard plastic chair for hours at night in wild-chill temps of 23 degrees? I guess some felt they had to go, after they paid for the tickets. I can honestly say I wouldn't go if they paid me.

It took a letter from Roberto Clemente's family for the Pittsburgh Pirates to realize how moronic it was to replace #21 on the right field wall with an add for alcohol. Clemente is revered in Spanish-speaking lands as the Latino Jackie Robinson, because not only did Roberto have to battle racism to make it in the U.S., he also had to overcome a language barrier upon arriving from Puerto Rico. This is a perfect opportunity for MLB to stand up for what's right -- and recognize one of the greatest international heroes in the great American game -- by retiring #21 on all big league clubs... like it has already done with #42, in honor of another pioneer, Jackie Robinson. How is that there's a black-and-gold #21 next to the blue-and-white #42 on the outfield wall in a Double A ballpark like Hartford, Connecticut, but not in all the major league stadiums?

He's perfect!

Agreed. I think Fitts is too valuable in the long game to be sent to the bullpen. If he gets bumped from the rotation, they'll send him to Woo to get regular starts and be ready for when the next guy gets injured.

I think they still play like the next 10 straight days. All I know right now is New England weather suuuuuuuuuxxxxxx.

I was actually referring to the offseason and what Cora and others here mentioned as a possible """6-man rotation""" (six quotes) -- which may be logical with all these fragile arms and night games played in cold rain and 40 degree conditions.

I see it more as joining, rather than replacing. They're going to treat these returning starters gently, with plenty of healing time between starts, while they stretch them out until it gets warmer. Meanwhile, Fitts hasn't done anything to get demoted to the bullpen, as his ERA is better than that of Houck, Buehler and Newcombe.

Watching Ceddanne's face-whomp into the bullpen fence gave me a concussion.

Hoping. According to his contract, if Giolito is good enough, he gets to leave Boston... but if he's bad, he'll stay. Breslow has learned a lot since his first offseason as CBO. Now he signs good players to stay.

Sabol is not Wong, but may not be right, either. Seby Zavala is a better defensive catcher, and closer in age and career HRs to Crash Davis...

You would've loved this brewery I lucked into a week ago in northern mass. I heard music and followed the sound to the large tent at the end... where a band played for an entire hour, exclusively Allmans and Little Feat. The place was filled with happy old folks. What's the baseball connection? My 14-year old's travel team had their tournament freezing-rained out (they ate dinners and drank lemonade). I didn't feel guilty leaving the moms catching up with each other. Then we all had to leave when the boys got us kicked out.

Beyond Crochet, the rest of the starting rotation must have caught sore shoulders from Raffy to start this season.

Cardboard and marker companies report gains for sign makers in all the protest rallies. I'm not saying Abreu will be a Hall of Famer -- or even a Red Sox at the end of this season -- but that throw last night was Cooperstown quality.