They've brought us 4 rings, but lately they seem to have turned into penny-pinchers who are more interested in their FSG empire and in keeping the Red Sox books balanced regardless of losing seasons. Would you like to see them sell? I'm about at the point where I wouldn't be displeased to hear some rumors about a sale. Obviously it all depends who the prospective buyers are. But it really seems like Henry and Werner don't care that much about the Sox any more.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
Yes, and I've felt that way and said so, since the Mookie trade.Originally Posted by Bellhorn04
It's still a shock that ownership decided not to pay market value to keep the Red Sox' best homegrown Hall of Famer in his prime the past 50 years in Boston.
It was and will always be an affront to the loyal fans of New England, a message that clearly shows owners no longer committed to fielding the best entertainment product possible.
Fiscal limits be damned -- fan favorites connect customers to the show, and make it more fun to follow good guys their kids can grow up rooting for. And those kids are the core of sustained interest in a sports team...
SELL.
you and Bell both nailed it. IMHO, Henry has quickly gone from the most beloved owner in RS history to one of the most hated. i honestly hope he sells the team. Moon says to be careful what you wish for but at this point, does it really matter?
This thread is way overdue. Yes John Henry-PLEASE SELL ASAP
How much worse can it get than not paying Mookie Betts, having a revolving door of CBO's, and racking up sub-.500 seasons?
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
Exactly. I’m thankful for the four WS championships but I think the FO has lost the passion for winning that we fans have.
I'm very hesitant to call for replacing this ownership group. I know it was mentioned that the next group would have to look fully committed, but there is no guarantee on that, or on their ability to hire the right people to make the right baseball hires.
Of course the unknown always seems scarier than the known, even if the known looks shaky as hell.
While there are several teams in MLB who really seem to know what they are doing, and have multiple young studs and some even have more waiting in the wings, I think the long slow rebuild of our entire system began a few years back. The low point came after the inexcusable Betts trade, and this ownership group never wanted the fanbase to know the rebuild was always going to be the top priority. No major long term FA signings- I guess Story comes closest. No trades of top prospects for over 6 years (Beeks in '18 and ARamirez in '21 were the highest ranked prospects traded and hardly any others in the top 10 or 15.) Of course, not going into total, tear-down rebuild mode hurt and slowed the process. Just one summer fire sale would have greatly improved our outlook, but it is what it is.
We've seen a half-ass approach or walking the thin line of reaching the boiling point with Sox Nation. Lame attempts at giving the perception we can or soon will be competitive again, only to b e disappointed over and over, again. Kudos to those who saw right through the sham earlier than the rest of us, but I still warn, "Be careful what you wish for."
This ownership group has cycled to ring seasons, IMO. They have never tried to win it all every season. Certainly they had higher floors than recently, and even had a stretch of 3 last place finishes in 4 years, once before. The runs under Theo and more briefly under DD were amazing, but surprisingly, we had 2 rings in the first 10 years (2003-2012) and 2 rings in the next 10 years (2013-2022.) Winning a rin, soon, look like a pipedream, but we do finally have a farm system that looks as promising as anything we've had since the Theo days- maybe about years ago. We did just extend Devers to the largest contract in Sox history, by over 40%, and perhaps with a gun to their heads. Since March 2022, we have not only extended Devers, but also paid one FA $140M and another over $100M to acquire. That could be viewed as a move in the right direction. The last big financial expenditure like that was the Bogey and Sale extensions right before the 2019 season, the same winter we let Kimbrell & Kelly go, without even trying to replace their value. That 3 year lull in spending, which coincided with no meaningful farm infusion and the loss of Betts and others really knocked this team back a ton.
We are still trying to recover, or should I say pretending to try. We have not seen anything from the Story and Yoshida signings (Yet?) That might have helped morale a bit. We have, however, seen a strikingly quick growth of a farm many felt was left totally barren by DD. While recent grads don't jump off the page like some teams seem to have, the lits is as long and meaningful as we have seen since Theo:
2021: Whitlock, Houck
2022: Duran, Crawford, Wink
2023: Bello, Casas, Wong and some lesser players like EValdez, Bernardino & Kelly
2024 and 2025 promises arrivals and or graduations by some very promising players:
Anthony
Mayer
Teel
Rafaela & Abreu (MLB experience already)
Yorke
Wikelman
Fitts, Slaten, Mata, Murphy & Walter
Longer shots like... (lower ceilings)
Monegro, Meidroth, Jordan & DHam
Dobbins, E R-C, Guerrero, Bastardo, Song & Hoppe
Gambrell, Troye, I Coffey, Benitez & Olivares
Many will fail, of course, but this is one promising area this management team has built up, despite the lack of any "wow" pitcher in the group.
The winter is not over. We'll have to pick off an amazing percentage of the remaining cream of the crop to keep any hopes alive. This looks so much like yet another punt, that I no longer support trading top for one key piece, unless it's for a top pitcher with 3 or more years of team control.
We aren't getting a new owner before the start of 2024, so I guess we can wait and see what these guys can cobble together out of the remaining rubble, but for the first time, I'm beginning to think a change is needed. I'm not fully sold on the idea, and I'm extremely leary of who the next group will be, but this really sucks.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
I have never really been a big fan of John Henry. To me, he just does not come off as a likable guy. He surely has to get credit for breaking the curse and the four championships. But in the random, crapshoot world of post season baseball , you have to get the big breaks at the big moment. Other owners came close to winning it all, but the big plays always seemed to go against them. There is nothing an owner can do about it at that point. He gets credit for creating a nice atmosphere outside of Fenway, but he did that with some pretty shabby treatment of vendors who worked there for years. He has every right to limit his spending on the team, but then he will raise ticket and concession prices at the same time. A very bad look for the average fan. All in all, it certainly was great to finally beat the Yankees and the National League champs and break the long curse. But I just don't much care for John Henry. It wouldn't bother me a bit if he sold.
Old school is good school.
Do you remember Cal Pohlad?
I know the name and know he was brutal.
I'd say the law of averages is against the next Boston owner being as bad as Pohlad, but who knows.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
100% agree. If you're in a business, and you find that you don't give a cr*p about your employees, customers, or clients, then no matter how money you make, it's time to go into another line of work.
Last edited by jad; 12-23-2023 at 05:21 PM.
"Fans have become more entitled than anything. So they're starting to question our motives for the game, or how we approach the game. The ones that do question -- like who are you? Just shut up and watch the game tonight." --Kevin Durant on players' lack of effort in regular season games.
From Tyler Milliken: if Jordan Montgomery is out of your budget you don’t deserve to own a sports team. Especially the damm Boston Red Sox.
He’s out of your preferred budget, too. right?
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Yes, it seems more and more like the guys responsible for the team's success over the past two decades were:
Larry Lucchino
Theo Epstein
Dave Dombrowski
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I’d say Dan Duquette had more influence than Ben & Bloom.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
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