These feel eerily similar to last year, when the Red Sox approached the All-Star break and trade deadline. They entered the All-Star Game riding a three-series win streak; currently, they’re on a two-series streak. However, last season, they faltered against the Dodgers, Rockies, and Yankees as the deadline drew closer, ultimately opting not to make a playoff run. This season, they’ll face the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, and Twins right after the All-Star break. However, the 2025 team actually has an ace and a closer in Crochet and Chapman. Here’s hoping they stay above .500 and make a run for the playoffs.

The Nationals were a cakewalk, and after watching all three games, I can’t believe they are only the third-worst team in baseball. The offense is churning, and the bullpen is getting some relief as the starters are able to make it to at least the fifth inning during this 10-game stretch.

Game 1: Red Sox 11-2

Game 2: Red Sox 10-3

Game 3: Red Sox 6-4

What I Loved

• Lucas Giolito

  • His last five starts are insane. 32.2 IP, 0.83 ERA, 31 K. I posted on Thursday that if the Red Sox were thinking about being sellers, they should be shopping Giolito around ASAP. To be clear, I do not want them shopping him, I think they can make a playoff run.

• Ceddanne Rafaela

  • Ceddanne is playing like an All-Star. He is the best outfielder defensively in baseball (no one talks about how weird it was that they wasted him at SS last year) and has over a 1.000 OPS in the last 15 games. Reserves are announced tonight for the All-Star game, let’s see if he sneaks in.

• Roman Anthony

  • Going into Sunday, he was batting .382 with five doubles, 3 RBIs, five runs, and a .962 OPS over his last eight games. Went on to add another RBI single on Sunday. It's way too early to be calling him Rookie of the Year (some people are.), but he is starting to play like one.

• Trevor Story

  • All I need to put is this tweet by Ethan.

What I Was “Mid” About

• Walker Buehler

  • I can’t go and move Buehler to the “loved” section just yet. His game on Saturday was okay at best.

• Garrett Crochet

  • It seems that Garrett has a tough time pitching with a lead. Two games in a row now, he has struggled when the offense showed up for him. However, I am putting him here simply because Tarik Skubal has begun to pull away in Cy Young voting, so I can no longer post comparisons of the two anymore. It

What I Didn’t Love

• Nothing

  • Can never complain about a sweep.

If forgot how much I needed this blog. Even though I am watching baseball everyday and scrolling X watching highlights, it is impossible to keep up with every team. This allows me to scroll down the stat splits and see people across the league.

I hope for those of you out there who don’t have time to keep up with baseball enjoy a quick little blog like this that keeps you updated.

HOT HITTERS

Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds

Home Runs (HR): 3

Runs Batted In (RBI): 7

Batting Average (AVG): .522

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.477

Kyle Stowers, Baltimore Orioles

Home Runs (HR): 3

Runs Batted In (RBI): 8

Batting Average (AVG): .381

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.357

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

Home Runs (HR): 3

Runs Batted In (RBI): 7

Batting Average (AVG): .33

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.333

CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals

Home Runs (HR): 1

Runs Batted In (RBI): 5

Batting Average (AVG): .367

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .987

Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins

Home Runs (HR): 2

Runs Batted In (RBI): 13

Batting Average (AVG): .423

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.231

Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers

Home Runs (HR): 3

Runs Batted In (RBI): 5

Batting Average (AVG): .462

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.770

Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs

Home Runs (HR): 1

Runs Batted In (RBI): 4

Batting Average (AVG): .476

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.262

COLD HITTERS

Jac Caglianone, TBD

Runs Batted In (RBI): 0

Batting Average (AVG): .048

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .139

Strikeouts (SO): 7

Lawrence Butler, Oakland Athletics

Runs Batted In (RBI): 0

Batting Average (AVG): .053

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS):.303

Strikeouts (SO): 4

Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals

Runs Batted In (RBI): 0

Batting Average (AVG): .053

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .235

Strikeouts (SO): 3

Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees

Runs Batted In (RBI): 3

Batting Average (AVG): .111

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .542

Strikeouts (SO): 7

Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres

Runs Batted In (RBI): 3

Batting Average (AVG): .130

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .492

Strikeouts (SO): 2

Adolis García, Texas Rangers

Runs Batted In (RBI): 5

Batting Average (AVG): .120

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .231

Strikeouts (SO): 10

Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

Runs Batted In (RBI): 1

Batting Average (AVG): .138

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .333

Strikeouts (SO): 5

Overall Takeaway

What a wild swing. The Sox were clobbered Friday, but then exploded on Saturday to snap a six-game skid. Walker Buehler followed it up on Sunday with another poor performance as Boston loses their third series in a row.

On to Cincinatti…..

Game 1: Blue Jays 9–0

Game 2: Red Sox 15–1

Game 3: Blue Jays 5-3

What I Loved

• Lucas Giolito Again

  • Delivered 7 IP, 1 unearned run, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K in Game 2. He finishes June 3-0 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.

• Ceddanne Rafaela

  • 2‑run homer in the 6th provided insurance. He is now tied for the best outfield OAA in baseball with Pete Crow-Armstrong.

• Roman Anthony

  • Notched his first career three‑hit game on Saturday and followed it up with two more hits on Sunday.

• Carlos Narvaez

  • Besides providing pop both Saturday and Sunday, Narvaez bailed out both Alex Cora and Walker Buehler on Sunday. With the bases loaded, Narvaez picked off the runner at first, after attempting to other pick offs that inning. Everyone was questioning why Buehler was still in the game. More on that below.

What I Was “Mid” About

• Craig Breslow Interview

  • Breslow came on during the bottom of the 2nd to talk to Dave O’Brien and Will Middlebrooks. Kudos to O’Brien and Will for pushing Breslow and asking him tough questions. Negative kudos for Craig’s answers which were of course “non’ answers”

• Defense

  • Only one error over the series, which for the team with the most errors in baseball, is a big win.

What I Didn’t Love

• Walker Buehler

  • While Giolito’s June was great, Walker had what might be one of the worst in the majors. He sported a 11.57 ERA, 2.33 WHIP, 14 BB, 14 K.

  • Might be time to DFA.

• TINKERING

  • Cora is still leaning too much on matchups and not letting players develop. Leaving Buehler in was the perfect example. Sure, Bernadino was a lefty and you want to avoid the lefty/righty matchup. But if Buehler can’t hit the strike zone it doesn’t matter what the matchup is.

Starter Lines (Games 1–2)

• Game 1 – Brayan Bello: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, K count TBD

• Game 2 – Lucas Giolito: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 5 K

• Game 3- Walker Buehler 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4ER, 3 BB, 3 K

• Big Market Domination: Teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and Cubs have gigantic fanbases who overwhelm online ballots.

• Small-Market Snubs: Breakout stars on small-market teams can be completely overlooked because their fanbase is smaller, even if they’re statistically dominant.

A perfect 2025 example: James Wood, the Nationals phenom. Instead, we have Teoscar Hernandez as a finalist for the game. Seriously, this is comical.

How the Electoral College Works (Quick Primer)

In U.S. presidential elections, the Electoral College assigns each state a number of “votes” based on population (# of representatives in the House plus two senators.) It’s designed to ensure that smaller states still matter, so New Hampshire isn’t steamrolled by California every four years.

It’s not perfect (cue the 1824, 1876, 2000, and 2016 electoral drama), but it’s rooted in one core idea: Big populations shouldn’t decide everything. Smaller regions deserve a voice.

Baseball is facing a dilemma where teams are being railroaded by the Dodgers, Cubs, and Mets. Of the 16 finalists for the National League this year, 13 of them come from those three teams….. It is a broken system and it is evident to everyone.

Translating This Idea to Baseball

So, what if we borrowed the Electoral College concept for the All-Star Game?

Instead of pure popular vote:

• Each MLB team franchise becomes a “state.”

• Each team gets, 3 “electoral votes” to cast for each position.

• Fans in each market vote only for their team’s electoral votes.

How Local Voting Would Work

Imagine the Nationals are their own “state.”

• MLB assigns 3 electoral votes to each market. (MLB tracks where you are when you vote, sorry!)

• Nationals fans cast votes only within the Nationals market. (You would have to select what team you root for when you enroll to vote.)

• They’d choose who they want for each position—including, but not limited to, Nationals players.

So if Nationals fans overwhelmingly vote for James Wood to start in the NL outfield:

• The Nationals’ 3 electoral votes go to James Wood for that spot.

Of course, he would need more than those 3 electoral votes, but he can get them from other markets, which he probably would. Baseball fans are loyal, but they also respect game. As a Red Sox fan, I would not be voting for say Romy Gonzalez for the 1B All-Star.

Advantages of “Electoral Baseball”

Balances Big vs. Small Markets

Kansas City’s votes count equally alongside New York’s.

Prevents Ballot Stuffing

No single fanbase can overwhelm the entire league. The 1957 Cincinnati Reds fiasco (when fans voted 7 Reds into the starting lineup) wouldn’t be possible today.

Rewards Local Loyalty

Fans have real influence on sending their stars to the game.

More Diverse Rosters

All-Star teams might feature players from every corner of the league, not just big-market superstars.

Possible Drawbacks

There are of course some drawbacks to this.

• Stars in big markets could be left off the roster even if they deserve it. (happens already.)

• The system might get complicated (international votes would be difficult, but again if you choose what team you are a fan of at the start of enrollment it should work.)

• Imagine the conspiracy theories if the All-Star Game gets decided by a few “swing teams” like the Brewers or Mariners.

Look, America has its issues with the Electoral College, but at least Wyoming still matters. Maybe it’s time the same was true for the Royals, Pirates, and Nats.