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Red Sox thoughts on trade deadline day

Tuesday 7/30/24

Much-needed win for the Red Sox last night by a score of 14-7 over the Seattle Mariners. They got out to a 10-1 lead. A win for the Red Sox feels like a surprise of late. It's like they have to get out to a big lead in order to prevail. They're not winning close games and they're not coming from behind. The Mariners are right there with them and the Rays are coming up from behind, too. This is a make or break it part of the season. The Red Sox could make the playoffs or they could finish third in the division as a .500 club who was essentially out of it with six weeks to go.


I watch Kenley Jansen and I think something is wrong with him. They kept him out of that series in Colorado because of the altitude and him having an irregular heartbeat. That sounds alarming to me. Is it not? I'm sure they're not putting him in there if he's at risk for some cardiac event, but he doesn't look good on the mound. He's out of breath. Or is trying to catch his breath. Granted, he's not in very good shape.


Jansen blew that save against the Yankees the other night, but Tyler O'Neill didn't help him out in left field when he failed to catch that ball that was at head-level. This guy won two Gold Gloves? The Gold Glove can seem daft at times. I don't believe much thinking goes into the award. There was a time when it went to the same player every year as if it was automatic. Then it was another guy's turn for it to be automatic for him. Carlton Fisk won one Gold Glove? Again, daft. Patterns prevail with the Gold Glove. Not a very high level of vetting in general, though, I'd say with the award.


O'Neill has never struck me as a particularly good outfielder. He doesn't make great plays. This was a play that had to be made which wouldn't have been a great play. He has a 148 OPS+ at the plate. You couldn't have expected to get that out of him before the season started. That's a pretty big number. He started out hot, got dinged up, struggled, sunk, but he's been hot again lately. He won't have a full season in the end on account of the time he missed, but some of his final numbers can still be interesting.


Yankees pulled off the hidden ball trick against the Sox the other night. That can't ever happen. You always have to be awake out there.


I was surprised by the news that Alex Cora re-upped with the Sox. Everything about it surprised me. That he wanted to, that they wanted to. The length of the contract at three years. I don't feel great about the move, I don't feel bad about it. In Alex Cora I think you have a guy who, for some reason, everyone vastly overrates. He has won once--and I didn't think he did some great job in 2018 and managed in this out-of-control, got-a-bus-to-catch way in the postseason that just so happened not to bite him in the ass--and finished last a bunch. This season could easily flame out. Then what? What's the body of work look like then? What's the optimism with that manager moving forward? The expectation? Last place isn't even out of the realm of possibilities for 2024. It's unlikely, but as I said, third place in the division is certainly on the table.


Some people just have a shine on them to other people, regardless of whether they should or not. People aren't hard to fool and it's also not difficult to get a lot of them thinking a certain way based on some very simple surface things or what certain surface things suggest to them. Look at politics. It's all epidermal to people. Surface, surface, surface.


Cora said he wanted to be in Boston because of his family. I don't believe that. I guess I don't not believe it either. I never really believe this guy. I think he's shady and snake-like. He may not have wanted a longer deal because his aim is to be in someone's front office in four years' time. Perhaps the Red Sox' front office and he knows that they'll be screwing Craig Breslow and he'll be a part of that screwing. Not that I think anything positive of Breslow, or at least not yet. I saw the Red Sox acquired a pitcher from the Pirates yesterday who has a career ERA of like 6 or 7 and a negative WAR. So what? He's a prospect, then? But at the MLB level? What's that do for you now?


I guess we'll see what moves they make today, if any. I liked the Paxton move the other day. He wins. I'm not saying he's good, or all that good. But he does win more often than not. Might be useful, though I wouldn't expect much from him. It'd be nice to see Nathan Eovaldi return, but I don't see that happening and the AL is so bad that Texas might not even think they're out of it.


I'm a little surprised to see Jarren Duran--who has been hitting again--"only" has 23 stolen bases. Shohei Ohtani is at 27 (also a little surprising). He'll likely be a 40-40 man this year. I ought to check out Duran's strikeout total. Seems to me like he strikes out nearly every game.





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