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<\/p>\nAugust 2025 made you feel\u2026<\/p>\n
Pretty good! A winning record in a month is always a plus. We had win streaks going. We took three of four from the Yankees and four of four from the Orioles in their own houses. Roman Anthony really started to dominate. Payton Tolle debuted. I can\u2019t really complain. It seemed like every loss this month was extra annoying, though.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Juliet Hurwitz<\/p>\n
As someone who\u2019s trying to be a more optimistic person overall, I\u2019m trying not to let those \u201cextra annoying\u201d losses that Juliet mentioned take up too much headspace in an overall successful August. But as I wrote this on the last day of the month, while the Red Sox were on a four-game losing streak at home and had lost two in a row to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Meanwhile, the Yankees were on a seven-game winning streak and had retaken second place in the AL East on the back of a series against the White Sox. With all of this being said, August has simultaneously made me feel like the Red Sox could make a deep playoff run at times while also looking like a team capable of not even making the postseason at others. They\u2019ve really sunk to their competition at times (outside of that series in Baltimore), and that\u2019s an unsustainable pathway for a team fighting down the stretch.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Avery Hamel<\/p>\n
Relieved? The last few seasons, the trade deadline has come and gone with little fanfare, and everyone thinks the sky is going to come crashing down. And then the sky comes crashing down. This season, the sky is yet to come crashing down, and we\u2019re looking at a playoff run for the first time since 2021. At the very least, September will be meaningful, so I get to act like I\u2019m better than people for not caring about football right away.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Jacob Roy<\/p>\n
Gaslit from the fallout of the trade deadline, but overall very happy. The Red Sox, for once in Alex Cora\u2019s post-suspension tenure, did not fall apart in August and look every bit the playoff team they were predicted to be. They did not add enough at the trade deadline amongst a whole bunch of potential playoff teams that did, and Dustin May looks, well, not good through his first month. (Though, I will say, Steven Matz looks awesome.) The Red Sox are an awesome team, but they should have added more, and, should they exit the playoffs early, I will wonder if they could have gotten further with one more, or a higher quality, addition. The two don\u2019t need to be mutually inclusive.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dean Roussel<\/p>\n
Who was your favorite player in August?<\/p>\n
Roman Anthony. He is all class, all talent, all poise, all power, and all athlete. And he\u2019s only 21. It\u2019s pretty amazing. Honorable mention for Payton Tolle too.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Juliet Hurwitz<\/p>\n
Roman Anthony is a simple and undoubtedly valid answer, but as someone from Colorado who\u2019s been rooting for Trevor Story for nearly as long as I\u2019ve been cognizantly watching baseball, his fairytale August made him my favorite player in August, and possibly Boston\u2019s most valuable. Story hit five home runs last month, and the Red Sox went 5-0 when he did so. They went 13-5 when Story recorded a hit, and 4-5 when he didn\u2019t. Those are some pretty solid contributions.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Avery Hamel<\/p>\n
Payton Tolle. The energy in the stadium while he was on the mound was incredible. He seemed to harness the debut adrenaline to his advantage, so who knows how his next outing will go, but those five innings were nothing short of electric. I hope we get to experience that a few more times this season.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Jacob Roy<\/p>\n
In August? Pains me to say this, but, it was Aroldis Chapman. Any time you can cuss out the defense and bullpen but still know a guy automatic enough to not allow even ONE hit in a MONTH is waiting on the other side of a close game is a great feeling.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dean Roussel<\/p>\n
Roman Anthony, duh. I\u2019m on my way to church to light a candle for him and you should be, too.<\/p>\n
\u2014Dan Secatore<\/p>\n
Who was your least favorite player?![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/911497bf117b0b7daaa9252fca40cb03.jpeg\"\/)
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Jordan Hicks. Every time he got on the mound, I was convinced he was going to somehow make the game worse, and for the most part he would.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Juliet Hurwitz<\/p>\n
Jordan Hicks was bad. Walker Buehler was also bad. Abraham Toro was bad, bad. Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran were slightly bad. While there are a good amount of options to choose from, Jordan Hicks has to be the answer simply because of the fact that both Buehler and Toro are \u201cgone,\u201d while Hicks will likely be back on Boston\u2019s 2026 opening roster for optics reasons that we won\u2019t soon escape.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Avery Hamel<\/p>\n
Paul Skenes ruined Payton Tolle night. So him.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jacob Roy<\/p>\n
Jordan Hicks. 7.36 ERA, almost a 2 WHIP, and the sinking feeling in my chest when I saw him warming up even when behind that knew that we probably weren\u2019t winning that game. Plus, with Kyle Harrison likely starting in the next few days, because of how bad Hicks has been, any hiccups Harrison faces in his infancy on the Major League roster is only going to exacerbate the bad feelings about the thinly veiled salary dump that was the Devers trade.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dean Roussel<\/p>\n
I admire Jordan Hicks for trying to bring pirate facial back. I do not admire him for his pitching ability.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Dan Secatore<\/p>\n
What do you feel better about going forward?![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1098e766edfd2bb12f0b23147c98f803.jpeg\"\/)
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Jarren Duran. He hasn\u2019t been as hot consistently as he was last season, but I think he\u2019s due for a real hot streak. His inside-the-park-home-run was certainly a sign of positive offensive production.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Juliet Hurwitz<\/p>\n
I feel better about the production from the catchers going forward. Connor Wong has obviously been bafflingly bad this year, but he\u2019s found a groove over the past two weeks that\u2019s turned him into a genuinely above league average spot starter, which is relatively impressive no matter the person\/position, but even more for Wong at catcher. Carlos Narvaez had an abysmal month (and a half) in July and August, but has similarly found his groove in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Avery Hamel<\/p>\n
The bullpen, weirdly. If the starting pitching holds up, mainly the top three, then this bullpen is going to be loaded come playoff time. Dustin May can throw two innings out of the pen. Payton Tolle can probably do the same. I absolutely love all-hands-on-deck baseball, and this team has some pieces to excel in that style.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jacob Roy<\/p>\n
Brayan Bello. He really is looking like a real option not just down the stretch of this playoff run, but in future years. He\u2019s really found a groove this year, and pitching to a 2.27 ERA in August and walking just six guys is no exception to that groove. Even when he runs into trouble, he\u2019s got better than a puncher\u2019s chance of getting out of it.<\/p>\n
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\u2013 Dean Roussel<\/p>\n
The top end of the rotation which, if Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito can keep this going, will be as good as anyone else\u2019s in October. If you can throw three pitchers in the postseason who can give you six-to-seven strong innings every time out, you can win the World Series.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Dan Secatore<\/p>\n
What do you feel worse about going forward?![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/783f7f426515c344f2083b628583471e.jpeg\"\/)
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Dustin May. He just does not stack up to what Bello, Giolito, and Crochet have accomplished this season, and Tolle already seems like a stronger pitcher to me. I really hope he\u2019s not on the playoff roster (should there be one), but that may be inevitable depending on injuries\/availability\/etc.<\/p>\n
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\u2014 Juliet Hurwitz<\/p>\n
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