Tony

That stat shows the Sox have had the three worst hitters in MLB in their everyday lineup in September, two of which were guys that carried this team after different points of the season. No team is going to overcome that.

I know you never blame players and it’s always coaching/management to blame, but a good trade deadline wasn’t going to change the results of September with these stats. Their horses who got them here completely tanked in September.

I love a photo that you can just hear the second you see it

Yes, that is part of it too. Don’t agree with a lot of his baseball philosophies

Yes and no. The deadline acquisitions were meant to help, give that extra push, and as we know, they have provided absolutely nothing, have actually hurt the team. But, Murakami being absolutely terrible, Colson turning into mostly garbage, guys that were responsible for a very positive first half have just gone to s%*# in the 2nd half, and that’s hurt probably more than anything.

There just is no gas left in the tank. None.

Problem is I don't even know what "showing up" looks like with this unit. It's just bad. Sweat is a "good" player but nothing more. The rest of the D-Line is below average. The linebackers are OK but in 2026 that unit isn't really that important anyway. Jaylon looked like a LB playing CB yesterday. Stevenson got burned a bunch. Thought Thieneman looked really good, but that's not going to be enough. I think this is going to be a situation (at least I hope) where in 3 years, we're going to look at the defensive depth chart from Week 1 this year and see new names at every position outside of Thieneman, and say "Can you believe this is what they were rolling out there?" But, as bad as the defense looked, the offense looked just as good. They could do some special things this year, but I fear this could also just be a maddening season, and there are going to be games they put up 40 and lose.

This team isn’t built to have a 8-10 game winning streak with their starting rotation, just can’t happen. They did a great job all season not losing more than 4 in a row, kept their head above water. There has been a lot of positives that have come out of this season, I don’t want to ignore that, or be reactionary to this bad stretch. But again, expectations quickly change in sports. Given what they did from April-July, not making the playoffs would be a big failure at the end of this season. That’s not being unfair, it’s being real

They look lifeless, and that was not their identity the first 2/3 of the season, they were never out of any game, always had some life. They just look totally out of gas. But that’s not an excuse, it’s a 162 game season for everyone. Playing like this during the 2nd half has been crazy disappointing

Haven’t read this thread or much of the board the last week or so, but if these guys miss the playoffs, while I know they surprised everyone this season with a lot of fun, it will be still be a terrible choke job. Expectations rise quickly, and they have been in 1st for a while now. Just a terrible trade deadline. If they miss the playoffs, I will not look back at this season in a positive way, I will look at it as a giant tease and a team that couldn’t get to the finish line.

The org is in the best spot they've been in probably in the last 20 years. Obviously we all felt good about where things were at in 2020, but that turned out to be fools gold. There are real pieces here, both at the ML level and on the farm. But as others have already mentioned, there is still a lot of work to do and I still have no reason to believe the current owner will make the proper investments to get the team to where we ultimately want it to go. So that makes the job that Getz has even harder, and he's going to have some pivotal decisions coming up that he has to hit on. Hopefully they work out better than his most recent trade deadline acquisitions

The big winner in all of this? Manny’s Deli

Because of the lack of information surrounding the situation, and Kyler saying absolutely nothing...it's hard not to jump to the conclusion that Kyler got paid and he just doesn't want to play. Based on the cryptic, but clearly very frustrated comments by the Bears, I don't know how you draw any other conclusion.

Like, as a coach?

I haven’t watched every pitch this season, but…Sean Newcomb should seemingly have like an 8 WAR, because I don’t know where this team would be without him this year. Just a fantastic signing (I’m sure Getz didn’t even expect this performance)

Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I can't imagine the Braves simply rely on an AI report for all pro scouting, and there isn't a single human looking at tape/data. Again, there seems like a lot of nuance in a list like this, and not a lot of detail given behind these counts, so the list kind of seems pointless.

Yeah I don't think this list tells us anything, not sure what the purpose of this exercise was from Jake Mintz. The Braves has 0 pro scouts? The Brewers only have 2? I find that very hard to believe, and if the list isn't an accurate count, then what's the point?

I don’t disagree with any of that. The decisions I am referencing really having nothing to do with availability and roster. Not pitching to the NL MVP in a close game with a base open doesn’t seem overly complicated, or a big ask from a manager

Managers can certainly evolve too, hope he does. Like last night, Rodgers came up after the walk, think it was the 7th or 8th. Dude is batting like .190. That’s a spot where it makes sense to lay down a bunt, move the runner over. But I guess that wasn’t a good time to bunt according to Will, so Rodgers swung away and…grounded into a DP. It’s just stuff like that which irritates me, especially someone like myself who did a book report in high school on “Weaver Knows Strategy” Old Earl would be spinning in his grave 😂

Walking PCA last night was so incredibly obvious. He also should have been walked this last inning, ultimately that’s what happened, but he should have never been pitched to with a base open. And Will defended his decision last night after the game, and today. He’s simply wrong.

Don’t know. I think from an overall perspective, where the team is at, he’s done a fantastic job. I didn’t say he’s a terrible manager. And I’m not telling anyone else how to feel, simply saying I myself have lost a lot of respect for him. I simply don’t agree with his baseball decisions. He’s been incredibly “stubborn” on the PCA topic, when it’s so obvious you walk him, I’m not a fan of the regular bunting he does, and when he calls for it, and him not knowing how many mound visits had been made a few weeks ago certainly didn’t help my opinion of him.

Man, lost a ton of respect for Venable as a manager these last two games

This topic is arguably going to be the biggest test that Getz faces over the next 24 months. It's a good problem to have, but the decisions they make will have ultimately decide the direction this team goes. Future success isn't a guarantee, even from players with established ML Service time. This has been the breakout season for Vargas, but are his 450 AB's in 2026 who he is moving forward, or is he the guy from his previous 1000 AB's in MLB? That's not throwing shade at Vargas at all, but it's the reality of what you have to decide. Colson sported an .840 OPS in 2025 (255 AB's) and is currently sitting at a .722 OPS in 2026. Where is that OPS going to be in 2028, 2029? The numbers historically tell you one of Bonemer/Roch probably aren't going to turn into the players we are hoping for, that's just how the prospect game works. The point is, if you aren't playing with the payroll and infrastructure a team like the Dodgers have, the hit rate on your decisions has to be higher. You aren't going to be able to buy your way out of mistakes. The difference with this "rebuild" than the last is the core of Abreu-Anderson-Eloy-Moncada-Robert-Vaughn-Giolito was basically set in the stone, there was nothing in the minor leagues that warranted tough decisions having to be made. And when Eloy-Moncada-Robert-Vaughn all turned into pumpkins, it was over. So Getz finds himself in a much better situation, but one that presents different challenges. And it should be pretty exciting to see what transpires, hopefully there is a 2027 for us to watch it unfold.