Who is the Biggest Problem Right Now?

[cp176]

Wait til next year means a lot less after 3 WS titles.

 

Not to me. It means a lot more when the spending has reached a point where it is no holds barred and you can go out and get what you want and this is the best that we could do. If you have every available means at your disposal, you ought not to continue to languish in that bottom of the basement.

[Northern Star]

And one playoff appearance in six years.

 

Good point.

 

qft.

[Behindenemylines]

If 2013 didn't happen Ben would have been gone already.

[mvp 78]

If 2013 didn't happen Ben would have been gone already.

 

Well duh. It DID happen though.

[Behindenemylines]

Ben! Got nothing. He is putting a lot of value on the minor leaguers moving forward.

[mvp 78]

Going forward, he should start working on his resume.

[Kimmi]

If 2013 didn't happen Ben would have been gone already.

 

People are looking at Ben's tenure all wrong. Instead of emphasizing the 3 last place finishes out of 4, why not emphasize that we have won a World Series in the 4 years that he has been the GM. As I've said before, fans of most other teams would take that in a heartbeat.

[Kimmi]

Going forward, he should start working on his resume.

 

He should be sure to include World Series Championship on that resume.

[iortiz]

People are looking at Ben's tenure all wrong. Instead of emphasizing the 3 last place finishes out of 4, why not emphasize that we have won a World Series in the 4 years that he has been the GM. As I've said before, fans of most other teams would take that in a heartbeat.

 

Because the later make 2013 a fluke year than anything else.

[cp176]

People are looking at Ben's tenure all wrong. Instead of emphasizing the 3 last place finishes out of 4, why not emphasize that we have won a World Series in the 4 years that he has been the GM. As I've said before, fans of most other teams would take that in a heartbeat.

 

I think that i might be a bad fan. A dedicated one, but still bad. Championships are a great thing but in most programs they are rare. I would much prefer a team that is built to just have a chance and be competitive each year. Baseball to me is similar to running marathons. i just want them to be in position at the end. The summer months lose something for me when this team doesn't compete. Lost time can't be made up by winning a championship every 4 or 5 or whatever years. for me it is much more about the hunt.

[Kimmi]

I get what you're saying about wanting to at least be in position at the end. It is certainly not fun being out of the race so early. That said, in terms of sports, I would not trade our championships for anything.

[cp176]

I get what you're saying about wanting to at least be in position at the end. It is certainly not fun being out of the race so early. That said, in terms of sports, I would not trade our championships for anything.

 

It is conceivable that as opposed to finishing last on a consistent basis, I might. But - we won them and they can't take them away from us.

[iortiz]

I wouldn't trade our WS but... thanks for 2013, we have to move on.

[Behindenemylines]

People are looking at Ben's tenure all wrong. Instead of emphasizing the 3 last place finishes out of 4, why not emphasize that we have won a World Series in the 4 years that he has been the GM. As I've said before, fans of most other teams would take that in a heartbeat.

 

I think if the Sox where more competitive in the three non-championship seasons then BC would get a little more credit for 2013. This team this year has been hard to watch.

[SoxnCycles]

I think if the Sox where more competitive in the three non-championship seasons then BC would get a little more credit for 2013. This team this year has been hard to watch.

 

Agreed.

I know it's fashionable to harp on the last place thing, but if a team doesn't make the playoffs, does it really matter where they finish?

They'd be just as lousy of they managed to finish ahead of the Jays or Rays.

 

Folks want to trade half the rotation like last year. Well, that'll pretty much guarantee another "last place finish".

 

And try telling Cubs fans that you can win a WS by being a "fluke".

Just dumb...

[jd98]

People are looking at Ben's tenure all wrong. Instead of emphasizing the 3 last place finishes out of 4, why not emphasize that we have won a World Series in the 4 years that he has been the GM. As I've said before, fans of most other teams would take that in a heartbeat.

 

Before Cherington, the last time the Sox lost 90 games was in 1966. They're probably about to do it for the 3rd time in 4 years. That's completely unacceptable. 2013 was great, that team did great for whatever reason. Winning the world series once you make the playoffs is pretty much a complete crapshoot however. 162 game regular season is a way better indicator of a team's success than whether they win a few 5 and 7 game series against other good teams. So Ben has presided over 1 great team and 3 horrible teams, with one of the highest payrolls in baseball. That's really bad no matter how you try to spin it.

[jd98]

Agreed.

I know it's fashionable to harp on the last place thing, but if a team doesn't make the playoffs, does it really matter where they finish?

They'd be just as lousy of they managed to finish ahead of the Jays or Rays.

 

Folks want to trade half the rotation like last year. Well, that'll pretty much guarantee another "last place finish".

 

And try telling Cubs fans that you can win a WS by being a "fluke".

Just dumb...

 

If you're only talking about winning the world series, then no it doesn't really matter. If you're talking about how good the team is (i.e. how good of a job the GM is doing), then yes it absolutely matters. A 90 win team that misses playoffs by 1 game is a helluva lot better than a 69 win team. It also matters to fans who want to watch meaningful Sox games as far into the season as possible.

 

Edit: maybe I misunderstood you a bit. I agree finishing last doesn't really matter. The team sucking is what matters. 70 wins and finishing last is the same as 70 wins and finishing 4th in my mind.

Edited August 5, 2015 by jd98

[BigPapi]

If you're only talking about winning the world series, then no it doesn't really matter. If you're talking about how good the team is (i.e. how good of a job the GM is doing), then yes it absolutely matters. A 90 win team that misses playoffs by 1 game is a helluva lot better than a 69 win team. It also matters to fans who want to watch meaningful Sox games as far into the season as possible.

 

I agree completely. If you remain competitive until late september, you have basically six months of good, competitive baseball to watch. If you are a last place team, your season is over by july and the last two months are tough to watch.

[SoxnCycles]

If you're only talking about winning the world series, then no it doesn't really matter. If you're talking about how good the team is (i.e. how good of a job the GM is doing), then yes it absolutely matters. A 90 win team that misses playoffs by 1 game is a helluva lot better than a 69 win team. It also matters to fans who want to watch meaningful Sox games as far into the season as possible.

 

Edit: maybe I misunderstood you a bit. I agree finishing last doesn't really matter. The team sucking is what matters. 70 wins and finishing last is the same as 70 wins and finishing 4th in my mind.

 

That's what I meant.

[a700hitter]

We haven't played a meaningful game since April and to make matters worse, they almost never play good baseball. They play sloppy, stupid, embarrassing baseball. That is what last place is all about-- the fans have nothing entertaining, fun or interesting for an entire year. Stringing three years together in a 4 year span is pathetic.

[Kimmi]

I think if the Sox where more competitive in the three non-championship seasons then BC would get a little more credit for 2013. This team this year has been hard to watch.

 

I don't disagree. It has been brutal watching the Sox this year, and I don't like it more than anyone else does.

[Kimmi]

Before Cherington, the last time the Sox lost 90 games was in 1966. They're probably about to do it for the 3rd time in 4 years. That's completely unacceptable. 2013 was great, that team did great for whatever reason. Winning the world series once you make the playoffs is pretty much a complete crapshoot however. 162 game regular season is a way better indicator of a team's success than whether they win a few 5 and 7 game series against other good teams. So Ben has presided over 1 great team and 3 horrible teams, with one of the highest payrolls in baseball. That's really bad no matter how you try to spin it.

 

Fair enough. I'm just saying that if you told me that the Sox would win the WS once every 4 years, but the other 3 years they would finish in last place, I'd take it every time.

 

Sure, I'd much prefer to at least have the excitement of being in the chase every year over being out of it by midseason, but there is nothing like the feeling of taking home that championship.

[a700hitter]

Fair enough. I'm just saying that if you told me that the Sox would win the WS once every 4 years, but the other 3 years they would finish in last place, I'd take it every time.

 

Sure, I'd much prefer to at least have the excitement of being in the chase every year over being out of it by midseason, but there is nothing like the feeling of taking home that championship.

If it only worked that way.

[iortiz]

You will have more chances to win if you are at least competitive every year. This team has not even been competitive in the last 3/4, reason why 2013 seems like a fluke year than anything else.

[cp176]

Fair enough. I'm just saying that if you told me that the Sox would win the WS once every 4 years, but the other 3 years they would finish in last place, I'd take it every time.

 

Sure, I'd much prefer to at least have the excitement of being in the chase every year over being out of it by midseason, but there is nothing like the feeling of taking home that championship.

 

You already know how I feel about this one. As a franchise, they should be competitive every year. Personally, I think that the pitching issue that this team has will not be that difficult an issue to fix. Obviously they need some help, but I still like their young guys. The problems with the rest of the bunch - offense,defense,playing people out of position - are going to be tougher puzzles to piece together for them.

[a700hitter]

You already know how I feel about this one. As a franchise, they should be competitive every year. Personally, I think that the pitching issue that this team has will not be that difficult an issue to fix. Obviously they need some help, but I still like their young guys. The problems with the rest of the bunch - offense,defense,playing people out of position - are going to be tougher puzzles to piece together for them.

 

I just have no confidence in their evaluation and development of pitching.

[Kimmi]

You already know how I feel about this one. As a franchise, they should be competitive every year. Personally, I think that the pitching issue that this team has will not be that difficult an issue to fix. Obviously they need some help, but I still like their young guys. The problems with the rest of the bunch - offense,defense,playing people out of position - are going to be tougher puzzles to piece together for them.

 

It sounds like the Sox are committed to keeping Pablo and Hanley at 3B and LF, respectively, unless something happens in the offseason. I am hoping that those two will be committed during the offseason to improve their defense like Bogaerts did last offseason. It can be done with hard work.

 

I agree that the pitching shouldn't be too hard to fix. One major acquisition and one smaller one for the rotation, along with a few inexpensive middle relievers, should do it.

 

As far as the team being competitive every year, since this ownership took over, and that includes the 4 years that Ben has been the GM, I feel that the FO has put together a team that should have been competitive every year. I never once thought that, going into the season, the team had little or no chance of making the playoffs. Things have gone really badly 3 of the last 4 years, but I think the FO did its job during the offseason. Since they can't control what happens on the field, that's really all I can ask for.

 

If the FO didn't spend any money or if the team (on paper) looked terrible, then that would be a different story.

[Bellhorn04]

As far as the team being competitive every year, since this ownership took over, and that includes the 4 years that Ben has been the GM, I feel that the FO has put together a team that should have been competitive every year. I never once thought that, going into the season, the team had little or no chance of making the playoffs. Things have gone really badly 3 of the last 4 years, but I think the FO did its job during the offseason. Since they can't control what happens on the field, that's really all I can ask for.

 

I certainly agree that the FO has remained fully invested in the team especially with the payroll.

 

Now, as far as controlling what happens on the field, they can't do that directly, but they can certainly impact it with additional personnel moves during the season.

[Kimmi]

I certainly agree that the FO has remained fully invested in the team especially with the payroll.

 

Now, as far as controlling what happens on the field, they can't do that directly, but they can certainly impact it with additional personnel moves during the season.

 

That is certainly true. I think it's easier said than done though, not so much in terms of acquiring additional personnel, but in knowing when to "give up" on the ones that you have. You can't give up on a player just because he has 2-3 bad months, or in some cases, even an entire bad season.

[cp176]

I just have no confidence in their evaluation and development of pitching.

 

That really is the issue here.