The Big Story – Sox and Yanks Face Off Again: It’s playoff Round 7 of baseball’s greatest rivalry. And since I’m writing on Monday morning, it could be over by the time you see this or it could be the decisive Game 3 happening.
The Sox’ biggest problem going in is their lack of hitting, where they averaged just 2.3 runs a game in their final 13 games, exacerbated by the iffy status of Willson Contreras. Of course, Aaron Judge was the same for NY and most would take that one-for-one trade.
Prediction: Sox in three.
Sports 101: With 45 homers and 40 steals Pete Crow–Armstrong became the seventh member of baseball’s 40-40 club. Name the other six.
News Item – Pats Embarrassed 35-6 by Jax: Maye-day, Maye-day is what the pilot of Patriot Nation Airlines is screaming into the mic after seven turnovers in the first three games as the confidence drains from their young star Drake Maye. Question: Why in the name of Babe Parilli did Mike Vrabel take a T.O. with just 49 seconds left in the first half when Jax had the ball on its own 20, no timeouts left and having the kicker with the league’s strongest leg?
Time to panic? No. I said in my pre-season predictions they’d be doing well to get out of their first four games at 2-2. But it does make next week in Buffalo huge!
News Item – Red Sox Prediction: I had them going 92-72. Missed by five games. My biggest miss since taking Baltimore big in SB 3.
News Item – Baseball 2026 Notables:
• Anyone else notice old friend Eduardo Rodriguez had the second most wins in baseball in going 16-7 with a 2.89 ERA?
• Jacob Misiorowski: The young Milwaukee hurler had 252 k’s in 174.2 innings. At that rate of 13 k’s per 9 innings, if he pitched the same 335 innings Sandy Koufax did when he struck out 382 in 1965, Miso would whiff 492.
• Houston somehow won the pathetically weak AL West with the worst ever division-winning record of 81-81.
• Got to love the All Name Team Trade executedby now St. Louis GM Chaim Bloom of sending Brendan Donovan to Seattle in a three-team deal that brought back pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje along with outfielders Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter.
• Love seeing the second-highest-payrolled $350 million Mets finish last in the NL East at 74-88, while $128 million Milwaukee produced baseball’s best record at 103-59.
The Numbers:
7 – Brewers struck out by the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler to start the game in a win last week.
224 – MLB record most batter strikeouts in one season recorded by White Sox infielder Colson Montgomery.
… Of the Week Awards
Thumbs Up OTW – Detroit Tigers: For their classy celebration of certain Hall of Famer Justin Verlander’s final game by having daughter Genevieve come to the mound for an emotional embrace and be with him as he left it for the final time.
Broadcasting Faux Pas OTW: Tom Brady saying, “oh, [blank]” live on Fox as Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow in an ugly sight. Realizing the whoops, the quick thinking we’re accustomed to followed as he immediately said “excuse me.”
Weird NFL Stat OTW: After being the second guy on a hook and ladder play, SF wideout Deebo Samuel was credited with 80 receiving yards and a receiving TD despite having no official catches in SF’s 36-30 win over Arizona.
Random Thought: What’s with those yellow batting gloves from Caleb Durbin? He looks like he’s in a 1960s TV commercial doing the dishes with Palmolive.
Sports 101 Answer: Jose Canseco (42 & 40), Barry Bonds (42 & 40), A-Rod (42 & 46), Ronald Acuña (41 & 73), Shohei Ohtani (54 & 59) and Alfonso Soriano (46 & 41) are the members of 40-40 club.
Final Thought – Prospect Expectations vs. Reality:
Red Sox Nation spent the 2025 off-season talking/lusting over/bragging about the four supposedly can’t miss guys they had from MLB’s Top 35 prospects. Here’s what all have done two years later.
Kyle Teel – The catcher who delivered Garrett Crochet in a big trade struggled through an injury-riddled season where he hit .210 with five homers and 26 RBI in 28 games.
Kristian Campbell – still in the minors searching for a position since his 2025 demotion last June where he hit .256 with eight homers and 51 RBI. Good thing they hired those Driveline swing coaches, ’cause all they did was wreck the swing of a guy who hit .362 on the way up in 2024.
Marcelo Mayer – the biggest bust. The once fourth overall pick hit .223 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 114 games over two years, which both ended with him on the DL.
Roman Anthony – After a solid Year 1, he was .243-5-15 in 54 games in 2026. True, it was affected by injury, which has already wrecked or ended his two seasons. The 2026 numbers project to 15 homers and 45 RBI in a full season. Hardly superstar numbers.
Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.