TedYazPapiMookie

No, just like Mookie and Duran I believe Rafaela has finally started to make the adjustments to be a break-out player. I'm really happy for him. I believed in him the whole time. Too bad his manager didn't.

Or maybe take 1B off his plate and CF and RF and let him be the 2B of the future or swap him with Story since he's a better defender than Mayer at SS. There are lots of options for Campbell that would stabilize his situation but why did he have to go through it in the first place when he was coasting along looking like the ROY this year? CORA. Now you have identified the problem and the solution is to eliminate the problem and let Campbell be the 2B without Hamilton subbing for him all the time. Put Hamilton where he belongs, in the minors. I don't care how close he and Cora are from his days in Houston and Hamilton's days at UT. The nepotism is obvious and needs to stop. Hamilton is hitting .203 which is typical of his skills. His ONLY value add is SBs so let him run for slower players and don't be displacing the Minor League Player of the Year to give Hamilton extra reps at 2B.

The only wrong guy is Cora. Campbell could have been just fine, and he EARNED everything he's received unlike Mayer. The right guy came up to play 2B. Instead, while red hot the idiot manager started playing him in the outfield and then told him he needed to practice at 1B. Think about the kid. Should he have to shoulder all the BS from Cora? NO. Cora is a moron. The kid might still be hitting over .300 if he hadn't been sent to 2 outfield positions and to practice 1B. We'll never know now. It was completely unfair of Cora to do it. Now we have people saying stupid things like they picked the wrong guy. He was absolutely the right guy. He simply got placed with an idiot manager and he's not one of the chosen players like Mayer and Anthony. When Anthony gets suggested for 1B people are up in arms but when Campbell gets suggested for 2B, CF, RF and then 1B .... no problem. The bias that exists in the organization and the fan base is pathetic. Start treating the players as equal human beings. Let the opportunities be based on performance and let the playing field be level between the players so ONE GUY doesn't have to burden all the idiot moves by the manager.

Let's review what Campbell has gone through. He was the only one of the big three to make the MLB roster out of Spring Training. He was to be the 2B or SS of the future depending on whether Mayer could get his act together. He started off like he was going to win the ROY then Cora decided to start playing him in the outfield so he could put Hamilton in games, one of the players Cora uses rather than leaving him AAA where he belongs. Cora can't figure out that he's supposed to HELP the young guys adjust to the MLB not screw with them. Then, Casas goes down and Cora decides to add more stress to Campbell as he's trying to adjust to teams having a book on him so he starts working him out at 1B when it's obvious he should be last guy to be at 1B since he already has a future at 2B. This is simply Cora being Cora. He's always been clueless and a crap manager. Then Bregman goes down making it totally obvious that Anthony should be the one practicing 1B at AAA if ownership refuses to get a REAL 1B. Anthony has already proven he can handle AAA pitching so bringing up Anthony to play 1B can be prepped and then he can start getting used to MLB pitching since the team is going nowhere. Now go check the stats. Campbell started far better than Mayer with respect to hitting and fielding. Now to be fair, shouldn't Cora tell Mayer to go play two outfield positions and ask him to start taking grounders at 1B? Or is there a double standard for privileged players like Mayer? See 3B and SS aren't that much different but CF, RF and 1B are very different than 2B. If Campbell has had a massive fall off there is only ONE GUY to blame and that is his clueless manager. You can send him down just to get him away from Cora but Cora has already pigeon-holed him just like he did Duran and Rafaela. For a guy who came in with the best credentials by far, it's a shame his first exposure to MLB baseball is with a worthless manager like Cora. They need to fire him now and watch how much better the team will perform.

So you can't comprehend how Cora's influence over Roenicke put the team on an autopilot of Cora's way of doing things? Wow. I guess you didn't notice that Cora spent his first year quoting Hinch constantly. He tried to mimic him. Why wouldn't Roenicke do the same thing? Heck, Cora was with Hinch one year and Roenicke was with Cora in both 2019 AND 2018. Hasn't anyone told you to declare something utter nonsense is insulting? How very open minded of you.

Let me suggest you move on from responding to me. This response was childish. You are embarrassing yourself. Grow up and stop responding since you can't talk baseball concepts, you can only insult.

Why does the team continue to suck? It's very simple. Bloom destroyed the talent level of the organization as fans rationalized how it was going to help the team long term. That theory couldn't have been farther from the truth. The FOUNDATION of the baseball team was destroyed as soon as Dombrowski was fired, and Bloom was given the reins to destroy EVERYTHING. Talent wins games and one by one the talent was forced out and not replaced. Mookie had 6 years of experience and a 42.5 WAR. There is no way to replace that, but Bloom never even attempted to. Benny came up in 2016 for 34 games and by the end of 2018 had a WAR of 8.6. JD joined the team in 2018 and had a 22.6 WAR from 2014 to 2018. Xander Bogaerts had a WAR of 15.2 from 2015 to 2018. Then there was Devers who put up a 5.4 WAR in 2019 but pretty much sucked in 2018 after a great call-up in 2017 with respect to hitting. O.7 WAR for 58 games suggested he could hit but not field. It's 5 years after the Bloominator started the complete tear down and how much talent has been replaced? Duran has a 10.9 WAR the last two years, Devers has a 15.3 WAR the last FOUR years. Bregman has a 13.5 WAR the last 3 years. This is the stockpile of talent that is to be compared to Mookie, Benny, JD, Bogaerts and Devers that led the team to a championship. For fans to expect this team to have ANY chance at a championship is unrealistic and until the talent level is returned to what it was in 2018, that will never happen!! All the fans that thought it was smart for a group of owners with nearly as much money as god to not want to exceed the CAP thanks to mistakes made under Cherington half a decade earlier, you couldn't have been more wrong. This Titanic team of 2018 hit an massive iceberg in 2020 when they let Mookie go. That literally sunk the ship and the funny thing is that the owners have made much less money since Mookie was tossed in the garbage. What great irony!!! So folks, if you want to blame the RISP batting average, the lack of defense, the failing of the pitching staff or the manager's ineptitude - that's fine. This is a complete systematic breakdown that got triggered with the firing of Dombrowski and sealed with the giveaway of Mookie and Price. Those were unrecoverable mistakes that still manifest themselves in the team today. Since the Bloominator was hired to wreck havoc on the fans dreams of continued success, it's been unbelievable how many fans were oblivious to what was happening. Today, there are still fans that think the team has a shot at making the playoffs. It can't happen without more talent!!! TALENT is the essence of success in baseball, and we are lacking significant talent. Should we care that Cora is playing guys who don't figure in the talent of the future? Should we care that Anthony is wasting time in AAA? Breslow upgraded the talent level significantly with the additions of Crochet and Bregman. It's a start to replacing all the talent that I listed above. But so much more is needed. A new manager might make the players more effective but there has to be more talent. For Breslow to be a success he needs to eliminate Cora and add two more big SPs. That will buy time for the outstanding future hitters to develop and be producing 4 to 8 WAR a year like the 2018 Red Sox. Guys like Michael King are free agents this off season so first we find a reputable manager known for his pitching expertise and connections to great coaches then go get two big time starters and let Buehler walk unless he starts looking stronger soon. Trust me, this next four months isn't going to look much different but it could look much worse until Bregman gets back. Again, count the talent and figure out what % of it is tied up in Bregman and you will understand why we've been so bad since he got hurt.

I agree with you. I just haven't seen Cora using his coaches that way. I think Breslow would love that to happen as a former pitcher. Cora seems to like being in charge and he seems to think he's got a great intuition when it comes to in game decisions. The results of the unusual choices he makes seldom produces good results.

Rafaela, Duran, Anthony and Abreu. Refsnyder not as good as Abreu. 1B suggestion makes sense to me. Good suggestion.

I have always found great players can play most places on the field at an adequate level without much practice. It's not like Devers, he's coordinated and has balance. Since Abreu is the weakest defensive outfielder of the top four outfielders, maybe he should be the 1B for 2025.

I get that you are having a hard time comprehending the point about Cora being a lazy player who didn't start most of his career but why TIto out of nowhere? I never said anything about Tito and your big point is Cora was better than Tito. That doesn't relate to the point of my comment. I'm not side stepping anything. You apparently have an issue with Tito that you somehow worked into a comment about Cora. It makes no sense since Tito was never mentioned in my comment.

That's a tough comment to agree with. Managers make LOTS of decisions that can hurt a team dramatically in a game but very few can significantly help a team. I've mentioned a classic Cora negative impact in games. He uses his bench when he gets a feeling and subs a lesser hitter for a better hitter based on his intuition. That's bad managing. He often doesn't run when the team should. He often sets his line-up with poor logic that causes the team to lose more 1 run games than they should. An example is batting Devers 2nd behind Duran when Duran is cold. (hitting around .200). If Duran is cold and Devers is still producing RBIs at a league high rate a good manager understands it's because Rafaela is getting on base in synch with Devers hitting. Moving Rafaela (a right handed batter) to the 2 spot and moving Devers to 3rd potentially adds a run in the first inning that currently isn't happening. With all the one run games, a smart manager can make an impact on winning and losing. 1 more run in the first might be the difference in those one run games!!

Wait so you get to dictate what can be said by others? Seriously. I never brought up Tito, you did. Cora disgraced the game with his actions and got a slap on the wrist. That's a huge insult to former players. I don't owe him an ounce of respect as a manager or a human being. Cheating doesn't align with my morales but if it does yours, then be open minded enough to understand why so many of us are offended by what he did.

I believe that's been said about you multiple times. Since you can't make an intelligent argument I guess the insults need to replace interesting writings. Must be difficult to have relationships when you can't handle when someone disagrees with you.

Make stuff up? That's vague. Got any specifics. Don't read what I write and don't respond if you can't articulate your point.

Huge deal? I am building a parallel between his performance as a player and as a manager since his traits were in common. 1 - No Talent, 2 - Uninspired attitude 3 - Willing to gain an advantage over his opponent any way possible. Just a parallel not a big deal.

Two simple questions. Did Cora mentor Roenicke his bench coach? Do you know the specific terms of the slap on the wrist that Cora got? I watched the 2020 games and for me the same mistakes were being made, and Cora is a convicted cheater so was it a coincidence that things ran nearly identical to when he was there while Roenicke managed? Nothing sinister in my comment. Just an observation that nothing changed. Who knows maybe they used something other than a trash can? Isn't the old saying "Once a cheater, always a cheater?" There is no trust level for a guy who got caught twice, even if he avoided conviction the second time.

Loved Tito. Who didn't? Did he cheat that I'm not aware of?

The only lead-off man on the team is Duran and after Mookie was given away, we struggled a lot at the lead off position. Good lead off men are hard to find. Rafaela is the best defender on the team, so he needs to stay too. Abreu is completely expendable with Anthony. Buehler being traded rather than re-signed is a step backward. He's better than Giolito or any of the home-grown pitchers. He's a true #2 not #1 but since we have Crochet, it's fine that he's a #2. Ideally, we need to dump salary with Story and Yoshida and try for another #1 or #2 SP so our top 3 are excellent and reliable and then Giolito can be the #4 and maybe one of the farm guys can step up and be the #5.

You said Mayer showed he belonged as a fourth pick in the draft because he had 5 hits and a walk in his first 20 at bats. Then does that make Campbell a 1st pick in the draft player? He went 8 for 20 with four walks!!! He's been cold lately, but his start was far more prolific than Mayer's. Also, Mayer made his first error in his second game and Campbell made his first error in his 8th game. Campbell still is out-performing him like he did in the minors, but the media and fan base continue to disrespect all of his accomplishments because Mayer has been hyped by the front office. Campbell is going through what Mookie and Duran went through. Eventually, Mookie proved he was far better than Swihart the front office darling. I'm sure Campbell will do the same. I wish people would be objective in their praise of the young players. Rafaela outperforms Abreu but gets treated worse by the public and now Campbell is going through the same bias that Rafaela had to deal with from Cora and the front office. Support all the players as they work to build MLB careers.

If a manager was a pitcher and a pitching coach before being manager, I am a lot more confident in their choice of pulling a pitcher than a bad middle infielder who never pitched. He gets blamed for being a political hire rather than a manager who earned his job.

Losing Mookie was the 2020 season because Sale was gone too. Cora's clone managed that year. Cora provided him with the same mistakes in line-ups, playing time etc. Cora directed from a far.

I believe Bregman is the most valuable player on the team, then Duran and Devers (hitters only). After that Anthony and Campbell, then Rafaela, Casas and Abreu, then Narvaez. I would give up Anthony before Duran because Duran is a proven commodity and Anthony is potential only at this point. Prospects are over-estimated most of the time. Mookie and Bogey weren't but think of all the others that looked great but ended up league average. JBJ, Benny, many starting pitchers, Whitlock and then so many turned out bad like Rusney, Jeter Downs, Grissom the $17Million dollar waste that cost us Sale. It's highly unlikely that Mayer will ever be as good as Bogaerts, it's highly unlikely Anthony will be as good as Mookie and its highly unlikely Campbell will be as good as Pedroia. Let's just hope they are all close.

The Red Sox are a team in transition. In 2018 the team was filled with stars and the youngster Devers sucked just like many of the youngsters right now. The key to that team was the veterans. Bregman and Devers aren't enough veterans to make the team competitive on offense. Now that Bregman is out this team falls far short on offense. The chance of a playoff spot is non-existent. In fact, after 2 of 6 months to the season the performance is the worst since 2020. What should the front office do? The following. 1 - Fire Cora and let Breslow pick the new manager and his coaches. 2 - Put Anthony at 1B for 2025 only and bring back Casas in 2026. 3 - Move Story to 3B until Bregman returns and put Mayer at SS to see if he can play defense at the position. Personally, I think fans will be surprised that he's not anything more than a league average defender at best. I hope I'm wrong, but his minor league performance indicates he's nothing special and he's injury prone. 4 - Build a plan for the roster by position that provides a Division Championship level roster. C - Narvaez, Wong 1B - Casas, acquire a back-up Corner Infielder 2B - Campbell, Story SS - Mayer, Story 3B - Bregman, acquire a back-up Corner Infielder LF, CF, RF - Duran, Rafaela, Anthony back-up Abreu DH - Devers These are the 13 roster spots for the offense. 9 hitters with a Corner Infield back-up, a Middle Infield back-up an outfield back-up and a back-up catcher. We are set for 2026 on offense EXCEPT for a back-up catcher and back-up Corner Infielder. These are two bit-players that should be acquired easily. That leaves Breslow with the task of upgrading the starting staff during the off season. We know Crochet and Buehler are quality pitchers now we need to find 3 more from our ranks or free agency plus upgrade the bullpen. I personally prefer to keep Duran but if Breslow can acquire a high ceiling prospect and excellent reliever for Duran and a salary dump of Yoshida then all he has to do is figure out how to replace their ONLY lead-off hitter. That's why I think Duran needs to stay as much as I like the idea of a Salas and Estrada deal for Yoshida and Duran (salary dump on Yoshida to fund missing personnel for 2026). I think it's a waste of time to continually blast the young players for not being good enough to produce the runs they need to win. That all comes with experience and these guys don't have that yet so put the team together with a new manager and see if they can improve their defense, work on their ability to adjust to changes in the way their opponents pitch them and work with the pitching staff to more effectively reduce inherited runners that score.

Only if they don't take the money saved and get more quality pitching like Crochet and Buehler.