It takes a special kind of player to get through playing for a team I don't like for eight years and then immediately go to another team I don't like. Thorzul, back when he blogged regularly, coined the term 'pissant' for a player that only does well against your team; I use 'Yankee-killer' when talking about the ones who specifically kill the Yankees, your Ellis Burkses and Carlos Penas and now Devers and Vlad Jr. But this is more specific--someone who seems to only exist to antagonize your teams, and whose moves seem to directly back up this vendetta. I think about Cody Ross, who frequented the teams that always seemed to go against mine, or Joe Kelly, who really went from the Cardinals to the Red Sox to the Dodgers.
Alex Bregman is the next level of this. Bregman was a founding member of a team that cheated their way to a World Series over the Yankees, and were penalized so badly that they kept doing it for another 6 years, culminating in another ring that the league tried to convince us was won fairly. I tried to convince myself that it'd be okay to tolerate the Astros again once the members of that 2017 team all left [Verlander notwithstanding, it's clear he was never part of it], and while it's pretty much just Altuve and McCullers left right now, I'm still not exactly rooting for them. And a lot of these 2017 guys, when they left they picked teams I was alright with, Correa with the Twins, Tucker with the Cubs, Springer with the Jays [I mean, I tolerate it I guess]. Bregman decided to further spite me, and Yankee fans, in particular and sign with the Red Sox, meaning we'd play him even more times a year and the losses would hurt even more.
The trouble with Bregman, much like the trouble with Altuve, is that you keep waiting for his stats to finally sour so people can give up on him and it just doesn't happen. Bregman, with all his smack talk, is still an excellent hitter, and still an excellent third baseman. Not a lot of people want to talk about this, especially me, but through age 31, Bregman's stats are relatively close to Hall of Fame quality. That's a 41.1 career WAR right now, and he's got plenty more time, especially considering he's still in his prime. Granted, it's closer to either a Scott Rolen 'wait for a while' thing or a Dale Murphy/Buddy Bell 'borderline Hall of Very Good' thing, but considering that Altuve's pretty much a lock, JV's getting in and Beltran will likely be in eventually, saying Bregman should be in as well isn't exactly out of line. He was a crucial member of those teams, nearly won an MVP, has averaged 4.3 WAR in each of the last 3 years, and has only really been injured for one season. And judging by these Sox numbers, he's still got plenty to add.
Right now, with the Red Sox, Bregman is validating the signing. People were skeptical at the time, 'what'll this do to Devers', but this seems to be the right move right now. Through 26 games, Bregman is batting .320, with a 1.5 WAR, 21 RBIs, 5 homers and a league-leading 10 doubles. Bregman and Trevor Story have formed a really nice veteran duo at the heart of the lineup, with both healthy, hitting and fulfilling the power end while Devers heals his ego. Honestly, I prefer this to Bregman's Astros stuff, because there he'd creep up on you, sort of pull things together at the end of the year despite some torrid stretches. Here, he's just simply as good as he looks. Y'know, there he is, hitting .300, helping the team out. It's a much less entitled team, too; the Astros, up until last year, were acting like the AL West was theirs and theirs alone, and that attitude led to the collapse. The Sox know they need to fight for it, and they know that with the O's struggling and the Yanks beginning to slide, they could easily take the division and run with it.
There are still some fundamental issues with this team [Devers, the 'pen, some starters] but Bregman may have jumped ship at the right time. Maybe not a great move for me specifically, but this might be the Sox's year to make a difference.
Coming Tomorrow- In the long tradition of great Atlanta third basemen, a power hitter who's helping bring the team back from oblivion.
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