Sox Therapy: Party Like It’s 1975

For the first time since 1975 the Boston Red Sox completed their home season without ever having me in attendance.  I suspect that my absence was not noteworthy (though how cool would it be if Sam Kennedy* called me up and said “hey, here are free Opening Day Monster seats next year, we missed you”) but with just three games left I figure we can do some talkin’ about the state of the Sox.

Thanks for the Memories - If last night was Jackie Bradley Jr.‘s final home game at Fenway Park it was a ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1931 Ballot

For 1931 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 7 October 2020. Please let me know if you want your preliminary ballot counted as your final ballot.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 6 October 2020.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Sox Therapy: The Imperfect Schedule - Games 152-162

The final regular season installment of our program (I’ll keep it going for the post-season) features lots of champagne, partying and some wonderful memories for me and I hope for you.

Game 152 - Indians 8 at Sox 9 - 2000 - I remember this one fondly.  It was the day half of a day-night doubleheader and my father and I were set to be in attendance.  He got stuck in traffic and arrived after the top of the first.  No biggie except Roland Arrojo had put the Sox in a 7-0 hole and the old man ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1930 Results

Congratulations to Babe Ruth, our 1930 Most Meritorious Player!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Babe Ruth	80	6	1
Lou Gehrig	74	6	0
Lefty Grove	69	6	2
Willie Wells	69	6	2
Joe Cronin	59	5	1
Hack Wilson	46	4	0
Al Simmons	39	4	0
Bill Terry	39	4	0
Wes Ferrell	35	4	0
Jimmie Foxx	21	3	0
Gabby Hartnett	17	2	0
Mule Suttles	14	2	0
Babe Herman	11	1	0
Chuck Klein	10	1	0
Lefty Stewart	9	1	0
Ted Lyons	8	1	0
Willie Foster	8	1	0
Charlie Gehringer	8	1	0
Mickey Cochrane	7	1	0
Cool Papa Bell	7	1	0

Sox Therapy: Lining Up The Minors - The “Huh” Edition

Without a true minor league season this year it is tough to get a feel for what is happening in Pawtucket.  Still some reports are coming out and it’s worth taking a look at what is in the pipeline;

1B - Triston Casas - The reports about Casas have been glowing.  He’s been getting playing time at Sim City and hitting bombs pretty regularly. He is one guy who has probably benefitted from all of this.  He’s not on the radar for 2021 yet but he’s looking at a AA start and a fast track if ...

Sox Therapy: The Imperfect Schedule - Games 141-151

The Sox keep the winning ways going after the brief blip in the last stretch.  At 150-1 they’ve probably clinched the AL East at this point but they are continuing to work hard.  Eleven games in this segment and the next one to get to 162.  This one features a bunch of Yankee games for some reason.  It should have included Roger’s second 20K game also (game 151) but the game I chose just had some names I wanted to include and a unique event in Red Sox history so I went with it.  I also ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1931 Discussion

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series.

Vote for 10.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Babe Ruth		38.2		10.3
Lou Gehrig		36.3		8.8
Joe Cronin		35.1		6.8
Al Simmons		33.7		7.5
Mickey Cochrane		28.4		5.4
Wally Berger		30.8		5.7
Lyn Lary		23.8		4.9
Mel Ott			25.9		5.6
Bill Terry		28.0		6.1
Paul Waner		25.7		5.0
Max Bishop		25.0		5.9
Earl Averill		30.2		6.1
Chuck Klein		24.6		4.8
Travis Jackson		22.0		5.4
Goose Goslin		24.8		5.6
Bill Dickey		20.4		4.2
Woody ...

Sox Therapy: Job Done!

And as the trade deadline passes the Boston Red Sox have had their most successful and important day of the season.

No, I’m not talking about the trades they did or did not make (more on that coming).  I am referring to the fact that based on the agreement between MLB and the MLBPA with the passing of the trade deadline all luxury tax calculations are reset* and the Sox have accomplished what they wanted back when they traded their best homegrown player since Yaz (and arguably before that). ...Read More...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1930 Ballot

For 1930 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 2 September 2020. Please let me know if you want your preliminary ballot counted as your final ballot.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 1 September 2020.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Sox Therapy: The Imperfect Schedule - Games 131-140

Well the dream is over.  After 134 consecutive victories our virtual Sox fall to defeat.  The loss is on the list as it remains one of the great memories of my time as a season ticket holder.  It’s an absolute classic and was a really wonderful and memorable night at Fenway with a good friend for me.

Game 131 - Mariners 1 at Sox 8 - 2003 - There really aren’t many interesting game 131s.  Anyways, as was his wont Pedro dominated the Seattle nine for six innings then Grady Little handed the ...