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Have to possess the versatility to win with homers AND small ball. Adaptability.

Sustained could also be competing for the playoffs most years for small market teams like SD CLE TB MIL. Atlanta has definitely had sustained success as an organization as well. Houston, obviously. Another example would be the Twins from 2001-2010.

I am not certain what sustainable means in today's game. Just looking at this century the Rangers lost back to back World Series and the Dodgers won back to back. The Royals appeared in back to back. But most of the teams made an appearance and didn't reach the series again for a while. Sustained, maybe the Astros and Dodgers have sustained, the Giants had a few good year, but that's five or six teams out of 30. So sustained is elusive for most franchises. How would signing a couple of big contracts, especially pitchers, create a more sustainable success?

Extending Vargas would be a start...

I know, but nothing sustained. Unless the money is somehow expertly invested in long term youth. Doesn’t grow on trees. I think the Sox need to grow out of the value game, and swim in a bigger pond , earn their new ballpark and start landing big fishes

Look at how they beat LA. Home runs.

I think, outside of Sammy in LF, we are defensively solid. Colson and Chase are as good as it gets defensively up the middle. Mune is underrated defensively at 1st base. But Sammy can also be course corrected late in a game.

Bonemer done with AFL. Acquitted himself quite well. He’s still Sox top prospect IMHO. Let’s put it this way: if Rich is even better, the Sox are in great shape.

Caleb Wilson is fun to watch. He has a lot to develop but he is also flashing plenty. But it is a pretty dismal collection of talent thanks to how they operated past few years with such a bad front office.

No offense taken. You are absolutely spot on in that assessment. Kenny Williams put together a World Series winning team by assembling a very strong starting rotation without a hall of fame guy out front. Freddy, Jose, El Duque, Mark, and Jon.

No offense, but that’s something Kenny Williams might say

My travelling coach taught all of us to score the game and would usually assign guys on the bench to keep score. Later I realized that it was effective at keeping kids heads in the game. He was also really good at sharing the why in his coaching. I remember him explaining why I was batting second. I had no idea why, I just knew I was guaranteed "my raps" in the first and that made me happy.

@77 Hitmen It is difficult as a Sox fan to judge Wrigley. I will say this. Growing up my baseball teams would charter buses and go there for games. I remember walking up the ramp into sunshine and seeing Ernie Banks warming up, the ivy on the walls, and it was very cool. Then I had to go to the bathroom. 😬What pedophile designed those bathrooms?

Ayy we got a real Rob Schneider here

This thread has me thinking how difficult pleasing every fan would be. After a lifetime of attending baseball games I realize I went from a teenager needing cheap seats and a compassionate fan that would "hey mister" a few beers for us. Parking didn't matter, we would walk a mile for cheap parking. My family had season tickets and I would get them for early season games in bad weather and poor teams midweek in the summer. The big selling point for me then was cheap parking, cheap food, and I could sit anywhere. Then I started using the ballpark for business entertaining. I needed to be close to good restaurants, needed quality seating and concessions and an experience the customer would enjoy. Then I started taking my kids. When they got bored there needed to be some activities beyond watching the game. I needed close in parking, a place to change a diaper, kid friendly concessions, and kid friendly climbs up and down to seats. Then back to being a regular fan. No social obligations, just going to the game to watch some baseball. I started using public trans more so parking wasn't an issue. Money wasn't as much an issue as value. Give me some good food and I will pay concession prices. Baseball was the draw and I didn't need all the extras. I would check the schedule for a good matchup, a marquee player, and go. Now, it's really simple. I will go to whatever game is in town when I am in town. I will take a walk around to see all the changes, but generally I am in my seat from the opening pitch to the last out. I am not drinking nearly as much so not nearly as many bathroom breaks. Now design a stadium that covers all those different needs.

An interesting way of thinking about ballparks is one-off visits/destinations vs a place that you’re seeing the majority of your games. Most of my stadium experiences have been one-off visits, so I don’t really care that much about the logistics of parking, concourses or even seating. I’m just enjoying my very temporary experience. It’s why places like Fenway and Wrigley are so high on my list. I don’t think I’d love going to 10 games a year there, but it’s a really cool experience being there once or twice.

Yes and they’ve out homered their opponents 11-4 in the postseason so far. Are you saying they’d be in the same spot if they were smallballing their way through games?

Without a few costly errors, this series could very well be tied heading to St. Pete. I don't think the Rays are typically bad at defense either. As it is, both games were 1-run wins and not blowouts by Milwaukee. While the Sox had a great comeback season, the Rays are far ahead of us despite falling 0-2 so far in the WS.

Playing the OF at Camelback and Peoria is brutal during the daytime. The sun is always in the wrong place. Many players make mistakes at those stadiums.

farm systems - it's like a canyon between the 2. Let's see how it pans out in 5 years

Don't quit your day job. We seem to undervalue the economics of pitching. The development year was put on hold. I think they will do the usual low risk signings, probably another Fedde type. I still don't trust Getz when it comes to trading.

Injuries injuries injuries. It's like saying Roch is worth now than he was on draft day. Nobody said panic. I just noted that his trade value hasn't increased as a result of all the missed game action.

How did Carlson lose value? He had a .380+ OBP at 19 in A ball with great SS D. No one with sense is panicking because the power isn’t there yet.

Game 2 star: Sal Frelick hit only four home runs during the regular season, and his last blast against a left-hander occurred on Opening Day. So when the Rays brought in lefty Ian Seymour to start the sixth inning, all the Brewers were hoping for was that Frelick would get on base. Instead, he hammered a 92 mph fastball over the center-field wall, tying the score at 4-4 and setting the stage for Cooper Pratt's go-ahead single an inning later. The stat that defined the game: 81 foul balls. Both teams are pesky, and they were stretching at-bats deep by constantly spoiling pitches. The 81 fouls are the most in a postseason game this year. -- Jeff Passan espn.com ***Past 13 teams to start WS up 2-0 have gone on to win it all***

"Relentlessness is the reciprocal of quitting, yielding, giving up. It is an aggressive, persistent, attack-mode attitude. It defines a warrior. The relentless performer gives himself intensely, entirely and constantly to competition." — the late Harvey Dorfman, legendary mental skills coach, friend and mentor of Brewers manager Pat Murphy If you clock them in the mouth, these Milwaukee Brewers will crack their neck, swallow a few teeth and, entirely unbothered, swing right back. They are bulletproof zombies, cockroaches in baseball pants. They are also now 9-1 in October. Remarkably, the Brewers have trailed in eight of those wins, twice by four runs. For Murphy's club, early postseason deficits are just minor inconveniences. The Rays are learning this now as the Padres and Dodgers nod in solidarity from their couches. Each consequential Milwaukee comeback only strengthens the Brewers' united confidence, like fire forging steel. The sun will rise, the sun will set, and the 2026 Brewers will retake the lead and hold onto it. Such is the act of relentlessness. yahoo.com/sports