2026 Red Sox/MLB Season Thread

[Goldstar88]

Good outing for Tolle. Sox need to get Schlittler out of this game.

I knew Schlittler was a local kid, but didn?t realize that Ben Rice was from Cohasset MA.

Roman Anthony pulled. Sounds like an injury. Ugh

[Roy H.]

That could have gone better.

[Redz]

One of the joys of playoff baseball is the pitch by pitch suspense and tension.  For the second straight playoff game Schlittler have completely removed the suspense and replaced with a prolonged sense of prolonged hopelessness.  The Sox kept the game close enough that ?anything could happen?, but your heart definitely never felt like it would.  Being able to completely suck the life out of a team in a such a short series is really impressive stuff.  He may be hard to like, but the kid is doing some masterful stuff. 

The Sox bullpen looked like the Not Ready for Primetime Players.   

[Phantom255x]

Breslow built a lineup that's built to struggle in the Bronx and Fenway Park. That's mind-boggling but the reality. Yes Schlittler also owns us I hate to admit, but even for most of this season and almost all September the offense was struggling/ice cold and this is now the second straight postseason in the Bronx where the offense is mostly hopeless.

The Sox rebounded with a record 1-game above .500 at home for the season, but they were awful early in the year at home and even finishing 41-40 at home tells you a lot. The pitching has almost always been good, but our lineup had trouble scoring at home often. Same in the Bronx it seems. You would think they'd actually build a team to win in hitter parks like Fenway and NY but nope

[Goldstar88]

Roman Anthony out, Curtis Mead in.

[BitterJim]

Roman Anthony out, Curtis Mead in.

Anthony having two at bats then leaving the game with a hand injury means Mead is the perfect guy to replace him

Mead has to just be a PH option for now, right? Get him a couple ABs before you try to start him at DH (and don't even consider playing him in the IF right now)

[Goldstar88]

Roman Anthony out, Curtis Mead in.

Anthony having two at bats then leaving the game with a hand injury means Mead is the perfect guy to replace him

Mead has to just be a PH option for now, right? Get him a couple ABs before you try to start him at DH (and don't even consider playing him in the IF right now)

Yep

With Anthony out of the lineup, the Red Sox will start Jahmai Jones at designated hitter and Nate Eaton in left field against southpaw Max Fried in Game 2.

I feel pretty content that I?m going to be ready in a pinch-hit opportunity, so I?ll probably just draw on those experiences (with the Nationals), Mead said.

Asked to describe how he felt physically, Mead responded: That?s a tough question to answer, but I think I feel 100%. I feel like that I?m ready however the team needs me. I?m excited to hopefully get the opportunity tonight or tomorrow.

[byennie]

Roman Anthony out, Curtis Mead in.

Anthony having two at bats then leaving the game with a hand injury means Mead is the perfect guy to replace him

Mead has to just be a PH option for now, right? Get him a couple ABs before you try to start him at DH (and don't even consider playing him in the IF right now)

Yep

With Anthony out of the lineup, the Red Sox will start Jahmai Jones at designated hitter and Nate Eaton in left field against southpaw Max Fried in Game 2.

I feel pretty content that I?m going to be ready in a pinch-hit opportunity, so I?ll probably just draw on those experiences (with the Nationals), Mead said.

Asked to describe how he felt physically, Mead responded: That?s a tough question to answer, but I think I feel 100%. I feel like that I?m ready however the team needs me. I?m excited to hopefully get the opportunity tonight or tomorrow.

I don't mind platoon guys, but man... starting Jones and Eaton in an elimination game really shows how stripped this roster is offensively. Without Contreras having a career year we'd be absolutely putrid.

Sure hope we get to see a healthy Anthony, Mead and Arias next year at least.

[Goldstar88]

Jones sucks. The guy is barely batting over .200, basically an automatic out. Put Mead in. They need guys that can at least give them a chance to score a run.

And now he pulls Gray after 70 pitches.. 

Yep, just keep sending Jones out there. Brilliant

So you put Miller in after he gave up a run last night and then you go to Crochet?

Pathetic. Click.

[SparzWizard]

Another postseason defeat by the hands of a New York team 

[Phantom255x]

I wish I could say I was optimistic, but seeing some of the veterans' quotes after the game and especially from Contreras and Gray, I don't expect much changes and I also worry Breslow is now gonna ship Contreras out for calling out the analytics. Meanwhile Duran, Story and others will find  a way to stay. Roman Anthony I'm starting to really sour on too, if he's getting hurt from simply swinging a bat that's not a good sign and he may very well be made of glass.

15+ years ago losing to the Yankees two years in a row would have prompted action. Sadly I don't think ownership cares anymore, they are fine with this Rays/Brewers-type model. Although irony is, those teams still usually win the early rounds and lose later on. The Sox still haven't even won a playoff series since 2021.

The White Sox traded Crochet, and 2-years later they've won a playoff series while the Sox still haven't. Pretty jarring.

[Vermont Green]

Hopefully Crochet will be back and the starting pitching should be a strength.  Mead and Rutschman are big additions that never really got traction.  There are still soft spots in the line up but I don?t think this team is that far away. It just seems it right now. 

[BitterJim]

Finding a new home for Story should be the main priority this winter. Eat most of the remaining salary to just get him off the books and open up his spot for Arias. Then find an everyday DH that's a legit threat, rather than just a platoon guy. The team should look like:

C: Rutschman
1B: Contrares
2B: Mead
3B: Durbin
SS: Arias
LF: Roman
CF: Rafaella
RF: Abreu
Everyday DH

With a legit power threat at DH, that team can score some runs (assuming Roman figures his swing out and Arias adjusts well to the MLB). Unfortunately, there's no reasonable way to build a good lineup without expecting some young guys to step up. Ideally get a new backup C, too, to replace Wong.

For the rotation, Crochet, Tolle, Gray, Suarez, and Bennett/Bello/Houck should form a great and deep rotation, but we saw this year that even 8 or 9 legit starters may not be enough to get through the year, so we could use another emergency depth guy (I don't think that's Paez or Sandoval, so idk who). For the bullpen, I don't see us adding more than maybe 1 guy. It was a great bullpen all year and fell apart near the end, but that seems more like overuse and injuries than them being bad. They were terrible this series, but guys like Gamboa and Olds never should have been getting high leverage playoff innings, a healthy Guerrero helps but we need ideally 6 IP from starters (or 5 if Miller didn't fall apart)

The hitting sucked in the playoffs, but a team that focuses on pitching and defense can't allow 18 runs in 16 innings and then blame the hitting. The hitting has to improve a lot, but frankly the pitching was even more embarrassing.