5GoldGlovesOF,75

See -- this is why you won the unopened box of Topps. I point out an oddity, you counter with esoterica. I still say if only the Allman Brothers took "One Way Out" and "Trouble No More" -- both cuts from Fillmore East concerts -- off the Eat A Peach LP, and included them instead on At Fillmore East, it would be the greatest live album of all-time. Still might be...

How can you say that, after Criswell saved the game last night! He was officially credited for a "save" for 3 IP, after taking the mound with the Sox only up 16-2... (I didn't see the last inning, but just wondering if a 14-run lead is the all-time record for a reliever who actually qualified for a save).

They wouldn't show clips when Raffy tried to wear it inside out -- because he is now solely focused on redirecting pitches at the Monster.

Fooled by the headline, but not your fault the editor forgot an apostrophe ("Back" isn't supposed to be an adverb, but a noun). Ironically, Devers's Back isn't something we'll see much of anymore, now that he's going oppo with authority. Instead, the title could be Devers: Back and Forth... but since he's never going there again, how bout Devers Finally Facing Front. First five games: 0-for-19 Last five games: 10-for-19 Stare hard at those stats the next time any anxious Red Sox fan posts something convoluted (or prose voluted).

Wilyer Abreu makes $749,500 this season. I had the pleasure to watch two future Hall of Famers, Dwight Evans and Mookie Betts, play a lot of rightfield for the Red Sox. And I never saw a better throw from RF to 3B than Abreu's last night that nailed Nootbar. The baserunner was only 20 feet from the bag when Wilyer let it fly... directly on a line into Bregman's glove meeting the sliding Lars... Vlad, now making half a billion dollars, is a DH.

There is no miracle whatsoever in Devers' hot streak. He is doing what he always did when he was good: stop trying to pull the ball to the moon (while he's looking for it over the John Hancock Building beyond right field), and instead keep his head down in an opposite field assault on the Green Monster. The Wall giveath and taketh away, but it will never stop Raffy's best efforts to knocketh it down.

No matter which corner outfielder fans prefer, it just makes the most sense that one of Duran or Abreu gets traded soon. Both are starting position players and too good to ride the pine -- which also means each has maximum trade value... compared to Rafaela and Refsynder, a pair with useful talents, but who are more the classic back-up types.

Abreu can average below .500 the rest of the season and still bat .500 for the year! (... 238-for-477 -- hey, Ichiro, another great rightfielder, once had 262 hits in one year).

2025 is the WilYEAR

Who is more likely to sign a team-friendly extension and be worth it for the next half decade: Abreu, 25, or Duran, 28?

Duke Newcomb, back home in Boston!

I do, too, and the reasons are twofold: 1. The Sox need to make the postseason asap, no more waiting for next year -- especially because any window that opens nowadays can be quickly smashed by core players opting out or refusing to sign extensions, which leads to... 2. A player planning to bet on himself year-to-year like maybe Casas, Anthony or Mayer could also bring the most value back in a deal that can put the current club over the top. CBOs can't just bring up all the best prospects who need to play everyday, sending big league regulars to the bench, and expect everyone to be happy... while at the same time ignoring other areas of the roster in need of reinforcement.

Maybe the Sox should wait a while to see if Abreu catches any bad habits from Story, after wearing and breathing in the same furry Wally head from hitting back-to-back homers.

It's easy to name the guy in charge when reflecting on moves, but Red Sox Nation also knows that many Assistant Vice Presidents in the front office have outlasted several CBOs. That doesn't mean the Chief doesn't have the final say, but maybe there's less "he" than "they." As you point out, when it comes to contracts for certain individuals, the Bloom regime did invest more on quality MLB relievers than starting pitchers. And one of the main reasons the Red Sox floundered the past three seasons in 2022-24 is a repetitive pattern of a weak rotation resulting in an overworked bullpen. Last year, Breslow and Bailey experienced the same thing. But even though they were both good relievers in the recent past, "they" pivoted from overpaying for a Tanner Scott, and instead spent a ton of John Henry's resources to finally land an ace starter in Crochet. However, even if Crochet wins the Cy Young, Boston could still miss the playoffs if the rest of the starters don't get healthy and the pen burns out again. As much as fans cringe at losing any more top prospects, if the Sox look like legit contenders this summer, will they actually do what it takes at the trade deadline to make the playoffs?

Rain delay research: 1975 Red Sox vs. 1978 Red Sox... WAR -- 31.9 '75, 24.5 '78... seems odd because bb-ref's top 12 Sox for '78 rocks WAR, but remember, that team had zero bench contributions because Zimmer was afraid to take his foot off the gas... '78 had seven guys at 3.4 WAR or higher -- Rice, Eck, Fisk, Looie, Lynn, Stanley, Torrez... compared to only two in '75 -- Lynn and Evans. The '78 squad had eight guys qualify for the batting title (502 plate appearances), twice as many as the '75 guys. The '75s had nine with between 100 to 339 PA; '78 had three. The pennant winners were a more complete team. I'd take '75 Cecil Cooper over '78 Boomer Scott, and '75 Denny Doyle over '78 Jerry Remy. On the mound, '78 had more studs. Eck was better than Rick Wise, Torrez had a better year than Spaceman, Steamer outpitched Moret, and even '78 Tiant doubled the WAR of '75 Tiant... but that was regular season Tiant (his postseason will always give the younger Looie the edge). On defense, it was most of the same guys -- except at 3B, where Rico Petrocelli in his final year in '75 was still dependable, compared to Butch Hobson, whose bone chips in his elbow led to 43 Es (not a misprint). Bottom line: Wins -- 102 '75, 99 '78... yes, I'm counting the postseason -- the most important season -- because '75 got there. '78 didn't, after choking off a big regular season lead, then losing a showdown by one run to the defending champs. '75 didn't choke, but swept the three-time defending champs, and then fell in the final inning of the final game of the World Series by one run to one of the greatest teams of all-time.

Before he became a brewer? The beer gut in the pic shows a guy already experimenting with a home brew kit.

Boston is on pace to win 77 games the rest of the way, but the Sox could go on a roll only and finish 78-76 for a winning season. Crochet and Whitlock should be able to account for half of those victories... then we the upside of Fitts, and a rebounding Bello... and then.... damn- Brez may have to trade Anthony or Mayer for Alcantara.

Just don't let him near Papelbon.

You just knew that the team that leads the league in strikeouts and was second last year would only fan three times yesterday. But no one should underestimate the condition of the rotation, with three starters already rehabbing down in Worcester or at physical therapy. The bullpen looks decent so far, but we all know that won't last if the starters don't do their jobs; we've seen that movie over and over again every August for the past three seasons.

I mock "it's early" because someone says it every month in baseball, or if something wakes them up at 3 or 4 AM, or even 2 AM if you fell asleep at 7 or 8... but if you get home at 2 AM, it's late.

There are plenty of players who move to easier positions as they age. Mookie moved from right field to shortstop.

Raffy's wearing his letter jacket from Manny Being Manny High School!

And ever since Mookie signed that contract, he's outperformed Trout -- and everyone else on the WARometer (that hasn't dropped a fly ball in a World Series-losing inning).

team-provided video? Like from Houston's analytics department, when they created the sign-stealing system that got them all promoted -- and their manager and coaches suspended for using it.

They're all interrupted by ties, on guys who wear them on my TV screen to look really important at sweaty sporting events with lots of hollering. None of the women ever have to wear them, though. How sexist.