Red Sox 2025 Season

[Phantom255x]

I just want to point out, since 2019 John Henry and ownership basically disappeared for the next 4-5 seasons and were fine just letting the Sox rot and be a mediocre baseball team. They weren't spending to the levels needed and didn't care about making any postseason push outside of 2021 which looks like a fluke now (and they let go of a bunch of good players that offseason anyways). Empty trade deadlines and one year of being sellers. 

But now all of a sudden they care again? Henry is meeting with Devers 1 on 1?

The issue isn't just Devers, but this organization has basically let the team become unhinged. Even Cora you can tell is just doing as he pleases sometimes and isn't really in the mood to have too many tough conversations. He did with Devers this offseason when they signed Bregman and said he was only to DH, but now Cora is also like "really, I now have to beg Devers to play 1B, why can't you [Breslow] do it"

All parties look terrible in this. Devers, Cora, Breslow, ownership. They do. No one gets a "pass". And Henry, Werner + Kennedy allowed this to unfold because of how they operated this franchise from 2020-2024. If you also want to say the Devers signing was bad, it's also because they let Betts + Bogaerts and others walk and were basically forced to do it. Again, that's on them.

Dunno man. Sure, ownership tanked for a few years to build up our farm system. Mission accomplished. But what does that have to do with Devers's childish insubordination? You'd think he'd be happy being on a relevant team again.

This situation reminds me of Nomar Garciaparra in 2003-2004. A popular player finally gets a good team around him but is a team cancer and is traded for guys who actually care.

IMO we should send Devers to whatever team will take him. He is the opposite of a leader and is setting a terrible example for the young players.

I agree. Personally I would just trade Devers away, even if the return isn't a ton.

My point was more so that all sides deserve blame and that some of this stuff with Devers is because ownership has allowed this "losing culture" to fester. Remember Casas this past Spring Training actually talking like he's the GM and making decisions ("oh the young guys should stay down", "Bregman should play this position", etc.). Meanwhile Casas absolutely sucked before he got hurt. Again, some of this is the culture ownership has created. A losing culture and also some entitlement with the players. Henry and brass met with Devers this week. Why weren't they available or doing this stuff all the last 5 years?

I don't mean to excuse Devers either. He also looks terrible on this and I think he should quit pouting and go play 1B. I agree.

[Vermont Green]

Everyone loves Devers.  A home grown talent, seemed to have that joy for the game, just happy to be a ball player, and he is good.  Injured a lot, but still good.  I thought getting him off 3B was a good idea.  He just didn't hold up playing 3B.  He always seemed to get sore shoulders or something and then missed games or played but with less power.  I don't think putting him at 1B is a good idea.  If anything, I would put Devers back at 3B and have Bregman play 1B.  But not every day, you still need to platoon Devers where ever he plays in the field or he won't hold up.

All that said, I don't understand these public statements.  I think it is fine to privately say "Coach, I have never played 1B and I am just not comfortable going out there and trying to learn this at the major league level".  It would be better to simply say "I will do whatever the team needs me to do", but I can understand him not wanting to play 1B.  I can see him having a hard time at 1B and it being a disaster.  He is just not that type of natural fielder.  Imagine them asking Ortiz to play 3B?  Ortiz could get by at 1B but not any other position.  Devers gets by at 3B but would probably not be nearly as good at 1B.

But don't get into all this about the team lying to you and all the other stuff.  If Devers said, you know, Coach Cora and I discussed it but I have never played that position.  I told them I am not real comfortable trying to play 1B.  That to me is fine, on the edge of fine, but still fine.  Most players would just say OK Coach, give me the 1B glove and let me try it.  Like when Kyle Schwarber tried to play first.  That was kind of a disaster and I don't think Devers would even be that good.

[Goldstar88]

Everyone loves Devers.  A home grown talent, seemed to have that joy for the game, just happy to be a ball player, and he is good.  Injured a lot, but still good.  I thought getting him off 3B was a good idea.  He just didn't hold up playing 3B.  He always seemed to get sore shoulders or something and then missed games or played but with less power.  I don't think putting him at 1B is a good idea.  If anything, I would put Devers back at 3B and have Bregman play 1B.  But not every day, you still need to platoon Devers where ever he plays in the field or he won't hold up.

All that said, I don't understand these public statements.  I think it is fine to privately say "Coach, I have never played 1B and I am just not comfortable going out there and trying to learn this at the major league level".  It would be better to simply say "I will do whatever the team needs me to do", but I can understand him not wanting to play 1B.  I can see him having a hard time at 1B and it being a disaster.  He is just not that type of natural fielder.  Imagine them asking Ortiz to play 3B?  Ortiz could get by at 1B but not any other position.  Devers gets by at 3B but would probably not be nearly as good at 1B.

But don't get into all this about the team lying to you and all the other stuff.  If Devers said, you know, Coach Cora and I discussed it but I have never played that position.  I told them I am not real comfortable trying to play 1B.  That to me is fine, on the edge of fine, but still fine.  Most players would just say OK Coach, give me the 1B glove and let me try it.  Like when Kyle Schwarber tried to play first.  That was kind of a disaster and I don't think Devers would even be that good.

I think it stems from the below. Devers wasn?t happy about losing his position at 3B and was told he wouldn?t play the field again. Now that he?s getting comfortable just being the DH, they are asking him to move again. Red Sox went into the season with one first basemen in Casas who is out for the year now. I?m not sure either side handled it well.

 In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn?t going to play any other position but DH. So right now, I just feel like it?s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.

According to Devers, the onus should fall on the Red Sox front office to address the new opening at first following Casas injury.

They told me that they didn?t want to allow me to play any other position, Devers said. And now I think they should do their job essentially and hit the market and look for another player (to play first base). I?m not sure why they want me to be in between the way they have me now.

[Goldstar88]

WT

[Roy H.]

Everybody has a right to be miffed at their employer from time to time. But, we're still expected to perform and not make our concerns public unless our boss is doing something illegal or unethical.

[Phantom255x]

Well with the NBA season over I decided to tune back in to the Red Sox. Big mistake.

110 days until football I guess.

The Sox are a very mediocre product again but I also question if they are even trying to win, or put out the best product they can. No excuse why Anthony and Mayer can't be up while we continue to trot out garbage like Newcomb, Giolito, Story, etc. And why is it that our GM didn't have a solid backup 1B option to go into the season behind Casas? Morons 

But hey, I'm sure Patrick Sandoval will come back from his major surgery and be our savior!

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Well with the NBA season over I decided to tune back in to the Red Sox. Big mistake.

110 days until football I guess.

The Sox are a very mediocre product again but I also question if they are even trying to win, or put out the best product they can. No excuse why Anthony and Mayer can't be up while we continue to trot out garbage like Newcomb, Giolito, Story, etc. And why is it that our GM didn't have a solid backup 1B option to go into the season behind Casas? Morons 

But hey, I'm sure Patrick Sandoval will come back from his major surgery and be our savior!

Yeah, don't waste your time on the Sox. They've been mediocre AT BEST, but for the last week they've been just plain bad.

[ozgod]

Kristian Campbell has a different viewpoint when asked if he would be willing to play first base.

Does Kristian Campbell have a preferred position?

Already, 39 games into his big league career, Campbell has played second base (34 games), center field (4), and left field (2). In the minors, he also had time at shortstop, third, and even two games in right.

So, what?s his favorite?

?Whatever makes the team better, that?s the position I play,? Campbell said Friday before the Red Sox 4-2 loss to the Braves at Fenway Park. ?I?m used to second base, because that?s what I played in college. But whatever makes the team better at the time.?

It was with that attitude in mind that, just before 3 p.m., Campbell started the first lesson in a tutorial that could help reconfigure the Triston Casas-less Red Sox in the coming weeks.

The workout represented the beginning of an experiment rather than a process that has a definite outcome. Maybe Campbell will end up at first base for the Sox; maybe not. But he and the team are willing to see where his education at the position goes.

The workout represented the beginning of an experiment rather than a process that has a definite outcome. Maybe Campbell will end up at first base for the Sox; maybe not. But he and the team are willing to see where his education at the position goes.

[Vermont Green]

Still hovering around 0.500.  I keep thinking that they are going to go on a run and win 8 of 10 or 12 of 15 or something; and I keep being wrong.

I will say that a bad run of losing 1-run games can be misleading.  Every year, there is a team that wins a bunch of 1-run games and that fools you into thinking they are better than they really are.  Same going the other way, losing a bunch of 1-run games can be a false indicator.  Over a long MLB season, these tend to average out.  If you are a 0.500 team, in the long run, you will revert to winning about 50% of your 1-run games.

Sox win a 1-run game last night, but that is just one game.  Overall, they are now 5-12 in 1-run games.  For context, the NYY are 5-10 in 1-run games.  I predict that will average out.  I still feel like they are 12-16 games over 0.500 by the end of the season.  That would be  87-89 wins.

[Silas]

Still hovering around 0.500.  I keep thinking that they are going to go on a run and win 8 of 10 or 12 of 15 or something; and I keep being wrong.

I will say that a bad run of losing 1-run games can be misleading.  Every year, there is a team that wins a bunch of 1-run games and that fools you into thinking they are better than they really are.  Same going the other way, losing a bunch of 1-run games can be a false indicator.  Over a long MLB season, these tend to average out.  If you are a 0.500 team, in the long run, you will revert to winning about 50% of your 1-run games.

Sox win a 1-run game last night, but that is just one game.  Overall, they are now 5-12 in 1-run games.  For context, the NYY are 5-10 in 1-run games.  I predict that will average out.  I still feel like they are 12-16 games over 0.500 by the end of the season.  That would be  87-89 wins.

162/2=81 at .500.  I would be very pleased if they were 16 games over....97 wins....Go Sox!

[Silas]

What the hell is wrong with Boston pitching? 

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

What the hell is wrong with Boston pitching?

Almost everything. Boston pitchers are just bad, and management continues to do almost nothing about it. Houck is terrible, Bello is terrible, we waited 2 years to see Giolito look as bad as we thought he would, and the rest are mostly minor leaguers or castoffs from other teams. Crochet is the only legit starter and Chapman is the only effective reliever.

[Phantom255x]

51 runs given up in the last 6 games. Just dominant pitching by our staff!

Also, isn't it ironic that most of our outside acquisitions like Chapman, Crochet, Buehler, Bregman, etc. are the ones performing so well. But then a lot of the garbage we have now or even internally (Story, Toro, Houck, Bello, Giolito, etc.) are doing nothing or suck. Then some of those great guys like Bregman will walk in the offseason and we'll just replace them with cheap has-beens or injury-prone guys. I mean hey, Patrick Sandoval coming off TJS will save the day!

No clue why Anthony and Mayer aren't up. Really makes you question if they are even putting out the best possible roster/product. Or they'll keep Mayer/Anthony down until later in the season to manipulate service time but by then they'll already be around 10 games below .500

[Vermont Green]

Still hovering around 0.500.  I keep thinking that they are going to go on a run and win 8 of 10 or 12 of 15 or something; and I keep being wrong.

I will say that a bad run of losing 1-run games can be misleading.  Every year, there is a team that wins a bunch of 1-run games and that fools you into thinking they are better than they really are.  Same going the other way, losing a bunch of 1-run games can be a false indicator.  Over a long MLB season, these tend to average out.  If you are a 0.500 team, in the long run, you will revert to winning about 50% of your 1-run games.

Sox win a 1-run game last night, but that is just one game.  Overall, they are now 5-12 in 1-run games.  For context, the NYY are 5-10 in 1-run games.  I predict that will average out.  I still feel like they are 12-16 games over 0.500 by the end of the season.  That would be  87-89 wins.

162/2=81 at .500.  I would be very pleased if they were 16 games over....97 wins....Go Sox!

89-73. Isn?t that 16 games over 0.500?  97-65 would be 32 games over. 

[Phantom255x]

Still hovering around 0.500.  I keep thinking that they are going to go on a run and win 8 of 10 or 12 of 15 or something; and I keep being wrong.

I will say that a bad run of losing 1-run games can be misleading.  Every year, there is a team that wins a bunch of 1-run games and that fools you into thinking they are better than they really are.  Same going the other way, losing a bunch of 1-run games can be a false indicator.  Over a long MLB season, these tend to average out.  If you are a 0.500 team, in the long run, you will revert to winning about 50% of your 1-run games.

Sox win a 1-run game last night, but that is just one game.  Overall, they are now 5-12 in 1-run games.  For context, the NYY are 5-10 in 1-run games.  I predict that will average out.  I still feel like they are 12-16 games over 0.500 by the end of the season.  That would be  87-89 wins.

162/2=81 at .500.  I would be very pleased if they were 16 games over....97 wins....Go Sox!

89-73. Isn?t that 16 games over 0.500?  97-65 would be 32 games over.

Yep, 89-73. I would do cartwheels if we reached that. Unfortunately 73-89 is more likely