Some Things I Think I Think: Upcoming trade deadline has Craig Breslow on hot seat

Yahoo

6 days ago

*Craig Breslow, it can now be said with some certainty, had himself a terrific offseason.
The Red Sox' chief baseball officer hit on Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Narvaez and Justin Wilson. Only Walker Buehler sits in the demerit column.
Now, it's up to Breslow to replicate his success at the July 31 trade deadline.
A year ago, Breslow took a more cautious approach and it backfired. James Paxton looked to be a good acquisition at the time, but then hurt his knee in his third start and was lost for the season.
The rest of his deadline pickups – relievers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia and catcher Danny Jansen — were all non-factors and the team faded badly in August. That's what happens when the competition gets better and you don't.
Maybe the 2024 Red Sox were beyond repair — a mediocre team that no amount of deadline magic could transform into a playoff contender. But that's not the case this year.
The foundation is stronger. The young talent continues to blossom. The rotation is deeper. This should be a team that plays into October.
There are challenges that come with upgrades at the deadline, when the entire industry conducts its annual frenetic game of musical chairs. The competition is more intense and the urgency is greater, compared to the relatively languid pace of the winter.
For the next dozen days, Breslow will be on the clock. It's hyperbolic to suggest that his job security depends on what he's able to accomplish; he clearly has the organization — both the parent club and the minor league system — heading in the right direction.
But there are obvious needs — at first base, in the rotation, and in the bullpen — for these Red Sox to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2021. If Breslow makes the right moves to get them there, those actions, in concert with the moves he made last offseason — will serve as further confirmation that the organization made the right move when it entrusted him with the job some 20 months ago.
*Kudos to MLB for a well-run All-Star Game. The Hank Aaron tribute, in particular, was nicely executed and the return of individual team uniforms was most welcome. And though there was some handwringing over the 'Swing-Off'' to decide the game in extra innings, that was fine, too. It's an exhibition game.
But let's make sure that MLB doesn't get any ideas about using such a gimmicky idea to determine actual games of consequence.
*The pettiness displayed by Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick apparently knows no ends. Don't these two realize that each time they take their passive aggressive shots at one another, they damage their own legacies and reputations?
*Those early extension contracts given out to Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela look better by the day.
*This past week proved, once again, that the Philly Phanatic has no peer when it comes to team mascots.
*Conditioning (and depth) will play bigger roles than ever next season in the NHL. Thanks to a three-week break to allow the league to take part in the Olympics, the schedule is highly condensed in other months and full of the dreaded back-to-backs. The Bruins will have 13 of them — starting with the first two games of the season.
*Take some time to re-watch Jaws before Labor Day weekend It remains the quintessential summer blockbuster and this year is its 50th anniversary.
*Baseball is desperately trying to make its annual amateur draft an Event, and I'm not sure it will ever succeed. Despite the notion that moving the draft to the site of the All-Star Game would result in better exposure, it seems to have had the opposite effect, becoming lost among all the other hoopla.
Meanwhile, unlike in other sports, players aren't on hand for the event, in part because they don't want to give away negotiating leverage. In baseball, high school players have the option of attending college and college players do, on rare occasions, opt to eturn for their senior year.
*It's said that the triple is the most exciting play in baseball. But a throw from the deepest part of the ballpark to nail a baserunner, like the one uncorked by Ronald Acuna Jr. Friday night, comes pretty darn close.
*Just a hunch, but I think last week's All-Star Game may have been the last one we'll see for a while without Roman Anthony's participation.
*There remains no more inept organization in all of sports than the NFL Players Association. The strip club visits were relatively benign; helping the league conceal that it was found guilty of collusion when it came to player salaries is inexcusable.
*Don't forget to fill out your Tommy Pham bracket at work. Pham has been traded at the deadline in each of the last three seasons — and four of the past seven — and is sure to be on the move again before the month is complete.
*It's hilarious to watch Power 5 schools scramble to limit NIL payments. Because as we all know, the only people who should be enriched by successful programs are university presidents and their highly-paid coaches.
*Credit Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey for his work in helping relievers improve their strike-throwing. Aroldis Chapman is the most obvious example of this, but Bailey has also overseen a big turnaround with Jorge Alcala, who has cut his walk rate from 13.2 percent with the Twins to 8.2 percent since joining the Red Sox.
*Is it absolutely necessary for LeBron James to be involved in some sort of will-he-won't-he drama seemingly every blasted time his contract is up?
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Read the original article on MassLive.