Boston Red Sox should just call up the prospects and let them play

• The Red Sox are struggling with a .500 record despite Garrett Crochet’s strong pitching performance.
• The team’s underperformance is attributed to a combination of injuries, lack of production from veterans, and questionable managerial decisions by Alex Cora.
• The article also touches upon other sports news, including NIL deals, college basketball scheduling, and the NBA playoffs.

Thinking out loud…while wondering if baseball managers and diapers should both be changed regularly for the same reason…

X post of the Week, from @Jared_Carrabis: “The fact that the Red Sox are .500 (6-6) in Garrett Crochet starts when he’s rocking a 2.04 ERA takes the whole .500 Sox thing to a new level.”

Oh, and here’s another gem… Crochet has allowed six hits in the 12 lead-off at bats he’s faced in his Red Sox starts. Two of those were first-pitch-of-the-game home runs. So, it’s not just a lack of support. It’s a lack of baseball common sense.

What are we doing here? Short of letting Alex Cora go… which is unlikely thanks to his offseason contract extension…it’s time to perform a full makeover on the Boston Red Sox and figure out how to fix this mess of a season.

Cue the annual cry of “they’re ruinin’ my summah!’ And summah hasn’t even started yet.

Marcelo Mayer is predictably struggling early in the wake of Alex Bregman’s unfortunate boo-boo. Kristian Campbell’s talents are fading faster than your new pair of jeans. But the younger guys get the benefit of any doubt…because they’re young and not jaded by selfishness or mysterious injuries. At least not yet. Let’s call up the kids and let them play.

We’re past the stage of waiting on veterans to produce. By this time, they either can’t or won’t. Tristan Casas, Trevor Story, Connor Wong, David Hamilton, Rafael Devers’ aversion to picking up a glove, the entire pitching staff… sure, injuries are a factor in the lack of production, but even when healthy none of these guys carried his own load, much less that of others missing in the lineup.

And none other than Hall of Famer Jim Rice, who sits in NESN’s TV studio watching over Red Sox nation like a man who knows – he likely does – and has suggested the team stop being something they aren’t. They’ve lost their power. Play small(er) ball. Maybe a guy with his credentials should have a bit more attention paid to his observations.

Back to Devers for a moment. Please. He’s driven in some runs. But he’s coasting, because the manager ‘has his back.’ He won’t play where he’s needed, for the good of the team. And you will support that thought every time you go to Fenway.

Not for nuthin,’ but Cora is coasting, too. He’s got a head-scratcher of a decision going for him nearly every game. Pulling pitchers early. Leaving them in too long. Refusing to consider positional moves that could benefit the team. There are a hundred games left to play, but there might as well be a million.

He’s checked out. He’s trying to squeeze a square peg into the round hole in front of him.

Why is this team waiting on calling up Roman Anthony? There’s nowhere to put a guy with a near-four-digit OPS into your lineup? The best possible lineup has yet to be put in play this season by Cora and/or Craig Breslow, for one reason or another.

Here’s the SOS. Save Our Season. Call up all the kids. Let ‘em learn on the job. Let’s get a glimpse of what might still be someday, to see if they can play the game… and figure out if there is any shred of recognizable baseball intelligence still within the front office that doesn’t rely on a slide rule.

If you’re not firing the manager, and you can’t fire all the players (even if they’re deserving), that’s what’s left of our summah.

Remember this as you’re singing “Sweet Caroline” after the All-Star break at Fenway, having just paid $100 to park, $200+ for tickets and these darned Sox are already out of postseason contention.

∎And keep laughing, Yankee fan. You haven’t won anything yet. But you do have a lead over Boston. Looks like you’ll keep it, too.

∎My buddy “Big E” sez the amount of self-control it takes to NOT say what’s on his mind is so immense…he needs a nap afterward.

∎ICYMI: Big 12 schools received a record $500 million in revenue for the 2023-24 school year. But ACC schools also received all-time shares from their media contracts, placing third behind the Big Ten and SEC. As US District Judge Claudia Wilken continues to consider the NCAA House settlement, attorneys representing the NCAA have revised plans for walking back the number of roster spots per sport that could be lost in the deal. Any new plan would be optional for schools to follow. As an athlete’s eligibility expires, in some sports, those roster spots would be rolled back.

So far, the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC have all agreed to support this “grandfathered” approach to roster limits.How big is NIL these days? The latest example is 6-9 Yaxel Lendeborg – a potential first-round NBA Draft pick – deciding to return to college to play at Michigan. He played at Alabama-Birmingham a year ago. And even the last pick of the first round is projected to sign for $14.1 million.

∎Likely not in the same financial category, but you never know… Fall River’s Joson Sanon announced he’s withdrawing from the NBA Draft and will head to St. John’s for next season.

∎Scheduling tidbits: A great idea – UConn’s men and women will face Boston College’s men and women in an Oct. 13 exhibition double-header at Mohegan Sun; the Friars will open Nov. 3 against Holy Cross, and play a second game at Mohegan Sun, against Virginia Tech… with a Hall of Fame Game already scheduled for the casino against Penn State. Kentucky will host Georgetown in an exhibition game on Oct. 30.

∎Villanova and new coach Kevin Willard will open the college season Nov. 3 against super-freshman A.J. Dybantsa and BYU… while UConn will reportedly face BYU in November at TD Garden in Boston. Creighton and St. John’s are likely headed for Vegas and the Players’ Era NIL tourney.

∎Providence head coach Kim English held a Zoom Q&A chat with PC season ticket holders and media this week – of note, Corey Floyd was considering a transfer. English told him, “no you’re not.” Sez a lot, doesn’t it? And the Friars won’t be home to open the next three years with ComiCon being held at the AMP and Convention Center.

∎Speaking of Friar hoop, Shaun Brown is the new strength and conditioning/High Performance coach for the men’s basketball team, replacing Chase Campbell who resigned last month. Brown was head strength coach at PC from 1989-92 while Rick Barnes was head coach and was also later the strength coach for the Celtics, and most recently at West Virginia.

∎First-year Bryant coach Jamion Christian has three new portal additions that will likely be leaned on, heavily, as the Bulldogs attempt to defend their America East title. Fifth year forward James Cooper, who stands 6-8, transfers from Oregon, 6-8 small forward Quincy Allen comes from Chicago State and 6-2 point guard Jayhlon Young moves to Smithfield from College Park, MD.

∎Not sure why Al Horford wants to keep playing at this stage of his life. We’ve heard what he’s said but now is as good a time to retire as any, unless he simply needs the money. Is that even possible? I will say this – for a team that will face certain challenges next season, Horford can often be a steadying presence. But is that good enough?

∎Show of hands here – who is surprised at the Knicks getting Knocked around by the Pacers in the NBA Eastern Conference finals?

∎Speaking of knocks… the Buffalo Bills get the feature slot on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” once NFL training camp rolls around. And the in-season version of the show will focus on the NFC East division, as 2025 will be the first season of a new, multi-year deal between NFL Films and HBO.

∎What’s the big deal over Patriots’ WR Stefon Diggs’ party video on a boat with some pink powder? He missed a voluntary Organized Team Activity? You knew what you were signing up for when you brought him in, didn’t you? Didn’t you?

∎Has Jordon Hudson had her 15 minutes of fame, yet? Apparently not – a quick search for North Carolina football brings up the latest in rumor and innuendo surrounding coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend. I’ll say this – I have interest in Tar Heel football this fall for the first time. Like ever.

∎We should be so proud. Bookies.com just released a survey of the NFL’s most foul-mouthed fans… based on the profanity they’ve used on social media. It’s the only thing the J-E-T-S have been good at in more than 50 years, but Patriot fans rank fourth out of 32 teams, behind the NYJ, Eagles and Bills.

∎URI baseball is downright offensive. But that’s a good thing. The Rams’ offense was primarily responsible for Rhody winning the Atlantic-10 regular season and tournament championships, placing them in Baton Rouge, Louisiana this weekend for the NCAA regionals.

The Rams’ 3-seed in the four-team regional is their highest seed achieved in their third NCAA appearance. The offense averages better than nine runs per game and ranks in the national Top 15 in multiple categories – walks, hits, on-base percentage, runs scored, runs per game and triples.

It has been a solid spring for baseball in Rhode Island. Bryant won the America East regular-season title but lost in extra innings to Binghamton in the conference tournament championship game and missed out on the NCAAs. At the Division III level, Salve Regina and Johnson & Wales both reached the NCAA Tournament, with the Seahawks coming one win away from qualifying for a second straight World Series.

Sorry, Boston. I know Northeastern also made the NCAAs, but at least we can play baseball at a consistently high level around here. Just sayin’.

Interested in having your questions on Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Think out loud and send your questions, comments, and local stories to jrbroadcaster@gmail.com. We’ll share mailbag comments right here! Join me on Twitter/X, @JRbroadcaster…and on Instagram and Threads @JRbroadcaster.