5GoldGlovesOF,75

The post you replied to was a hypothetical if/when all three of the Big Three make the team. Regarding Campbell so far... yup, ST stats don't mean a lot to some people, but the games are what we watch, and the most recent qualitative data. As for where Duran plays when Anthony arrives, this isn't quite a Jackie Bradley/Mookie Betts comparison. Obviously, Mookie was good enough to be the centerfielder one year, then moved to right for JBJ. In their first season together, both were All-Stars and the Sox went from worst to first. It wasn't a bad shift; Betts won five more Gold Gloves than Bradley. Duran played a little right when he came up in 2022. According to bb-ref, his Defensive Runs Saved Above Average that year was +52 in RF, -26 in CF. Last season in CF Duran was +25, Rafaela +23. Abreu was +22 in RF.

Story, Bregman, Campbell and Mayer rotate through 2B, SS and 3B, but Campbell becomes the rover at all three. Grampas Trevor and Alex get the most days off. Rafaela starts in CF, Anthony on one corner, and Duran or Abreu -- whoever isn't traded -- on the other. We know who the back-ups are, and Duran and/or Abreu are too good to ride the bench and not be optimized as trade bait.

There's a reason Duran, a much-improved outfielder, and Abreu, the Gold Glove rookie, patrol the corners; it's the same reason why Anthony, a centerfielder while becoming baseball's top prospect, has mostly played LF so far.

I keep telling people Rafaela isn't going to ride the bench or get traded. His defense is just too valuable, especially for all the new pitching recruits who will hopefully be successful enough (because of gloves like Ceddanne's backing them) that they'll want to stick around Boston for some sustained contending.

Some people like to totally dismiss Spring Training stats, but then why do teams and leagues keep track? They especially matter to guys fighting to win starting positions or roster spots. To me, the ST stats to maybe ignore are bad pitching stats, because so many guys are easing arms back into shape or experimenting. That might make it easier for certain hitters, but they still have to adjust and barrel. Here's one nobody can ignore: Fitts experimenting with a 98 mph fastball. He reportedly even reached 99...

The thinking in the front office may be that trading one big-time prospect for a pitcher is enough for this year. Plus, Anthony or Campbell were so highly-rated across the industry this winter, it was too risky to deal either, in case they really do become the next Yaz or Barry Bonds. Of the Fab Four, Teel may have even been the most indispensable -- a hitter who can stay at catcher... though the front office may also be ahead of their comp in expecting automated strike calls to diminish some aspects of catching that were once so valued.

Which is Worcester, playing every day, unless Boston's roster has holes to fill because of injuries. The Red Sox three highest-paid position players are infielders, so there's no way Campbell or Mayer bump Devers, Story or Bregman. The outfield is jammed with newer heroes on first-chance power drives, and Anthony's still only 20. He won't bench a healthy Yoshida making $19 million or even veteran leader Refsnyder. And Rafaela in CF is too important to the new and improved pitching staff (even if he keeps getting so many hits like this Spring that prevent him from drawing walks). For all of us hoping Anthony will be this century's Carl Yastrzemski, it's worth noting Yaz played his last season in the minors, a full year of Triple A, when he was 20. He won his first AL batting crown when he was 23, but didn't become a power hitter until he was 27. Roman might already be ahead of him there...

It's Diasuke Matsuzaka, who must have borrowed Marco Scutaro's glove (signed in white script over the thumb hole). I would've said Marco, but the body shape and gyro-ball grip look more like Dice K. The question mark gives it away, since everyone's still wondering if that pitch ever really existed...

Nobody is? What about Wilson, Stock and Anderson -- haven't they shown they have what it takes to be part of another bullpen that's going to blow championships?

Yes: Salem, Mass. to a pond.... and hand him a couple cinder blocks. If he sinks, he's not a witch.

If only Marcelo could walk more -- he has half as many bases on balls as Rafaela!

It's those lousy Red Sox pitchers allowing 2/100th more batters to hit grounders to third!

From where does this "tendency" originate? Here are a few profiles: Risk aversionaries. Many forget how highly-touted Grissom was a year ago; the Braves GM called him a future All-Star. As long as injury or illness kept Gris from playing, he was an unopened wax pack. What was inside: star cards or commons? Collectors know most vintage packs, once opened, lose all value... Business minds who favor keeping a prospect down long enough for the team to secure an an extra year of control over the player... who, chances are, won't even be with the same organization six years from now. These types of fans must be relatively young and healthy -- unlike me, who doesn't even know if I'll be around an extra six months from now (thus, my urgency to see the best possible Sox team all season). Worry warriors, who don't want to rush a kid into the Big Leagues -- "don't ruin him for life!" But... pro baseball executives (not fans) deem players ready for The Show. Prospects earn promotions, and then have to make constant adjustments to prevent demotions. Dalbec bounced up and down between Boston and Triple A for six years -- who ruined him? Answer: Major League pitchers.

Watch Story throw to first in the next month. Right now, it doesn't look like that internal elbow brace is made out of Wolverine's adamantium. I could never understand Bloom or anyone else saying Story's range would make up for his weak throwing arm. So he's a fast runner -- is he going to run the ball over to first and beat the batter there? Help me out here... this is freaking shortstop -- the most important non-battery position on the diamond, especially to pitchers.

Trying to look at this rationally. Last year Red Sox second basemen had a negative WAR -- so they were worth Losses Below Replacement players (12th out of 15, tied for their worst position, along with the bullpen). And the three cited here had more plate appearances combined than any other SSS (sox second sacker). And to improve the club this year -- and "contend for the AL East" with a "burning desire for championships" -- Boston is going to rely on those three again? I'm not saying it's impossible, but if there's indeed a three-way spitoon with HAM-Romy-GRIZ, they're punting all the way across another bridge year... If they're really going for it this season, 2B is either Campbell, Bregman or STORY (with you-know-who at SS).

Story. It's not hard to imagine he's not physically able to handle the rigors of shortstop -- for whatever reasons (old or new) -- while at the same time, Mayer crushes the next month in FLA.

"Pair of Sox Dig in Heels, Side-Step Selfishness"

Can't start Campbell yet, when Griz and Hammy haven't done enough to prove they deserve a seat in a big league dugout. If a guy doesn't have the red ass, how's he supposed to warm the bench? This has to be what Sam Kennedy means when describing the org's "burning desire to win championships."

Minor Leaguers. I'd rather watch Hendriks pump his fist... but not burn his guitar; what a waste of a Fender Stratocaster.

Of course almost all prospects grow up playing shortstop, where the best players always play, and we've had plenty of drafts where the Sox load up on best players available -- to be moved to another position at a later date. It's almost another cliche now to wonder if anyone "can stick at SS." But of all the shortstops on Soxprospects, it still looks like Mayer is their choice as the most likely... even if they also see him as a potential third baseman.

This is all about not re-ripping his core muscles by letting it fly on every swing. Big guys could hurt themselves more that way (right, Raffy?). If Casas stays consistent with this approach, he'll keep his head on the ball longer, and make better contact -- with the sweet spot and the Green Monster -- and could raise his batting average 20 points. It's like when Bregman says he envisions flashlights on each hip when he's in the box, and making sure he's shining them into the opposite dugout as he swings. He's not pull happy like some reporters describe him, and is still the only big leaguer I've seen take an entire bucket to the oppo field during pregame BP...

Surprised Arias, who was signed as a "glove-first shortstop", is now rated by Soxprospects as only as a potential "average defender at shortstop." But they like him better as a second baseman! Just like Romero... and Cespedes... Dorion Soto anyone?

double trouble

You know I've always been on their side, because of the hypocrisy of the MLB rules vs. the very concept of the sport. It's just like when museums tell art thieves, "You're allowed to steal, but you can't use night-vision goggles to detect lasers that can set off alarms."

... or shortstop. No one should be surprised if he plays at least a few innings there, as well. Cora trusts him complicitly.