Happy Sunday Morning my friends. The last day of May is upon us and it is a cool damp morning here in Southern Maine. The Red Sox are a bonafide mess, particularly when they play at Fenway. The bad seems to be overshadowing any good this team achieves and I find myself with a whole lot less patience than I used to have regarding this team.
Even though things are tough right now, the rules haven’t changed. Grab your Quintin Berry mug. Fill it with your caffeinated beverage of choice (with maybe a hint of an adult beverage for flavor….). Recline in your most convenient and comfortable seat while enjoying my latest missive. Your favorite pundit has some venting to do!
Red Sox
Just when you think that things are coming together, something goes awry. Watching the 2026 Boston Red Sox is a lot like owning an older car. You love it because it holds some great memories, you know every inch of the car, you don’t mind investing a few bucks to keep it running because it still gets great mileage and holding on to it is way cheaper than replacing it. You talk yourself into believing that this is the only way to go. Then out of nowhere it happens!
You are going to a wedding, it is pouring rain and you blow a tire and get soaked changing it on a muddy back road. Next, a week or so later, the engine begins to sputter and you are getting one quarter the usual MPG at $4.59 a gallon only to find out that your fuel injectors are severely clogged and need service immediately. Finally about two to three weeks later just when you are feeling good about your favorite ride, you are racing home to see your kids baseball game and your car stops suddenly on the Mass Pike two miles after Natick service area. An expensive tow to your favorite garage reveals that the transmission is shot and the cost to fix it just might not be worth it. Your head is spinning while sitting at the kitchen table pondering where to go from here. If it weren’t for bad luck you’d have NO luck at all!
That my friends is life as a Red Sox fan in the 2026 season. When the starting pitching is so-so, the bullpen bails them out, but the hitting isn’t great. The CBO and the manager are at odds, the manager and his cohorts are shown the door and they play a little better for a while. Then the starting pitching and the pen are in a groove and the hitting is still off. Your top pitcher is on the IL and your young budding superstar outfielder has a hand injury that is shrouded in more secrecy than anything the CIA could possibly be doing.
Then, the bats come to life a little bit, the starting pitchers are doing ok and the bullpen blows it one day and the reverse is true the next. All the while, everyone, from the popcorn vendor in the stands, the most casual fan watching NESN, and every other front office executive in MLB knows you need another power bat. It’s bad and everyone knows it! Nothing is in sync! You find yourself asking “Why do I invest all this emotional capital on a team, that I have always loved, that just can’t get it all together?” It seems that both you and the team can’t catch a break!
This is where I am, just past the one-third mark of the season…. Rant Over!
Here are some things that I feel need to be done….
Chad Tracy and his staff get a pass. They were dropped in via parachute to “fix” the team. They are victims of circumstances. They didn’t create the mess, their job is to make the proverbial lemonade out of lemons
Speaking of the Red Sox staff…. I know people are a bit upset with the aggressiveness of Chad Epperson as the third base coach. I can live with him trying to make something happen in a season such as this. Epp is a good coach and to compare him to Wendell “Send ‘em in” Kim might be a bit unfair in this regard.
Aroldis Chapman is a stud as a closer. Thank heavens for that.
Whitlock to the IL hurts, praying it is a short stay.
Justin Slaten has been mostly good since coming back. He needs to be the guy for the 7th inning or 8th with Whitlock down.
Greg Weissert looks cooked. He has lost his confidence and appears to have no real command of his pitches. Even in low leverage situations he is struggling. Unless he can be the opener for Bello, then he is a real DFA candidate right now.
Speaking of Bello, he seems to need an opener. Not the optimal situation for a guy you envisioned to be your 4-5 starter in 2026. He was brilliant in the long role Friday night. This club can’t afford to waste a reliever as an opener every five days. He needs to figure this out quick, because he could be the odd man out.
I am on the fence with respect to Tyron Guerrero. I love the fact he can pump it in there at 99-101 MPH. A little control would be nice. If he can’t find it, sadly he and his lightning bolt arm are of little use for the Red Sox.
Danny Coulombe is underperforming at the moment. I expect that he can figure it out. If not, another need to be filled.
I am also worried about Tyler Samaniego. After performing well out of the gate, he had gained the opportunity to pitch in higher leverage situations. He faltered a couple of times and now on Friday he gives up four runs as the opener. I hope that this doesn’t mess with his head. He has decent stuff and I can see him as a decent contributor as the season progresses.
Jovani Moran has done a pretty good job as a lefty reliever. Let’s not mess him up by making him an opener for Bello anymore.
And now for the offense……. Un-officially named “The Chad Tracy Lineup Meritocracy”!
Duran (lately), Rafaela and Abreu are your starting outfield and are providing semi-consistent offense.
Willson Contreras is a beast at the plate and looks great in the four hole.
Moving Mayer to shortstop was the right move when Story went down. We need to give Mayer 6-8 games to get really comfortable at short again and then I think his hitting will improve.
For now a second base platoon of Sogard and IKF will suffice. It’s ok but not optimal for the long term. Ride the hot hand time!
I know everyone wants Caleb Durbin in Worcester. He is a very good defender and he is starting to turn it around. A quick look at his May 2025 numbers show that this is the time of year that he tends to get better at the plate. He has a short leash, but he might be worth the wait.
Catcher - Mickey Gasper looked to be Tolle’s personal catcher at first following the big lefty’s recall from Worcester. Funny thing, he started to hit and hit some more, and he’s a switch hitter. He’s earned a spot in the catching rotation. This makes things a tad messy for Tracy with respect to Narvaez and Wong, but again riding the hot hand is the order of the day and Gasper can spell Contreras at first.
DH - On the surface one would think the Masataka Yoshida should lock this spot down. However, Tracy is of a mind to put Monasterio in the lineup when he wants a righty bat. Then again, Gasper is also available for DH duty.
As everyone who has a keyboard has noted and then noted again, the Red Sox need a bat, and an impact bat at that. With Roman Anthony’s status one of the great mysteries of this quarter century, this team needs to be creative, bold and operate with a nuclear sense of urgency with respect to the acquisition of a power hitter.
The problems with this team are as complex as any potential solutions to those very same problems.
So here we are, faced with some difficult choices to make. Blow it up and sell off some valuable parts to improve the whole? Make small fixes and pray for the best? Gut the farm system for a known and dominant power bat (Alvarez)? Do nothing and pray for the best?
We know this….. the car that is the Boston Red Sox is in very tough shape!
So what would you do?
THE “OG’S” IDLE THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
Joe Mazzulla deserved to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award. I touched on this a few times. To me, he was the only logical choice.
The chase for AJ Brown is starting to look like a middle school who likes so and so drama. Do the deal or don’t! Enough already!
Rich Hill really does a great job as part of the NESN crew.
Ceddanne Rafaela is blossoming into a complete, all around player before our eyes! Particularly in the batters box.