'The Sox need the formulas for Chemistry'
Reader No. 1 touches on the Sox 'chemistry' issue that I've been mulling for a few days now. First, Reader No. 1:

The boil bursts, and everything comes out on the table. Jackie McMullan parks it, asking all the right questions.

As Jackie points out, a lot of people looked at decisions in 2003-2004 and said the answer was Moneyball/Sabermetric principles. Not wrong, but not complete: the Sox need the formulas for Chemistry. Hopefully Theo and company are not so smart that they can figure out this challenging new set of skills for competitive advantage.

Tito, thanks for 2 World Series, best for the future.

Here's my thoughts: I believe the Sox are boring. They're soulless. OK, maybe they don't need a Manny. But they also can't have too many Drews either. Every team, no matter what sport, needs spark-plug personalities -- leaders. They need leaders in the military, corporations, nonprofits, classrooms. The leaders can't all be coaches, generals, chairmen and teachers. They also need to come from the rank-and-file. The Sox didn't have 'em. Papi almost fits the bill, but he's a little over the hill and has always struck me as more of a sergeant. The need for leadership is something "Moneyball" management has never addressed and can never address.

P.S. -- Rereading Jackie's article, I should note that Justin Pedroia was a team leader by example, day in, day out. But they needed more. Not just "leaders" per se. But people who respected leadership.  ¶ 5:33 PM