A Realistic View at 2020: Part I

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Gm 7, 'O3: I remember standing there in my living room (couldn't sit still) when the bottom of the 8th began, saying, "He shouldn't even be out there"; after the last out in the 7th, Pedro had walked off the mound tapping his heart and pointing to the stars, like he always did when his day was done. Martinez was gallant, but it was he who made those pitches and lost that lead. Pedro also threw the 6-inning no-hitter in relief while injured to win the '99 ALDS and then outpitched Clemens in the ALCS. If we really want to talk about luck - or close calls -- how did the Yankees not score the pennant-winning run in the 13th of Gm 5 in '04 when Wakefield was bouncing knucklers past Varitek?

[Bellhorn04]

I've never faulted Grady for that choice.

 

Pedro was the best pitcher the Sox ever had. I'll take him at 75% than anyone else.

 

Not to mention, the Sox bullpen was their main problem that entire season, and the brief turnaround of Timlin in the postseason should not have erased that fact.

 

Leaving Pedro in was probably the smartest choice at the time...

 

It was Pedro's pitch count that was the issue.

 

Grady was basically instructed by Theo to not let Pedro throw more than 105 pitches.

 

Grady defied the order. It was ballsy of him, I'll say that much.

[notin]

It was Pedro's pitch count that was the issue.

 

Grady was basically instructed by Theo to not let Pedro throw more than 105 pitches.

 

Grady defied the order. It was ballsy of him, I'll say that much.

 

I get why he did. The Sox had bullpen issues most of that year...

[mvp 78]

I get why he did. The Sox had bullpen issues most of that year...

 

They tirned the corner in the postseason tho.

 

Still the dumbest decision I’ve seen a Sox manager make.

[Bellhorn04]

I get why he did. The Sox had bullpen issues most of that year...

 

Aren't you the same fellow who, whenever it's pointed out that 2003 'closer by committee' was a bust, points out that by the playoffs the bullpen was actually pretty good? Maybe it was someone else.

[notin]

Aren't you the same fellow who, whenever it's pointed out that 2003 'closer by committee' was a bust, points out that by the playoffs the bullpen was actually pretty good? Maybe it was someone else.

 

No. Not me there.

 

I am the fellow who pointed out 1) it was never a "closer by committee," unless you think Chad Fox is a committee, and 2) the real problem with the Sox bullpen that year was coming in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings and not the ninth, as they only blew 3 9th inning leads before acquiring Kim, and only lost 2 of those games.

 

My stance was always, closer by committee is not doomed to fail, but having bad bullpen pitchers in that committee will make it fail. And the Sox problem was not that they had what they called a committee; it was that they had a bullpen full of mediocre to bad pitchers. (Although Timlin did manage to right himself.)

[notin]

They tirned the corner in the postseason tho.

 

Still the dumbest decision I’ve seen a Sox manager make.

 

And here I thought the dumbest one was letting Kevin Romine hit for Mike Greenwell. And then lo and behold, Romine hit a walk off home run to win that game...

[kenmeister]

Price’s contract is pretty awful.

 

Although if you use the trade values on baseballtradevalues.com, he could theoretically be dealt straight up for Chris Davis or Wil Myers. Both have lower AAV’s than Price, but Davis is the unquestioned worst player in MLB.

 

Myers, on the other hand, actually makes sense. His AAV is $18mill less than Price’s, and he’s owed $30mill less overall. And, depending on the fates of Bradley and Betts, the Sox are likely to need outfielders, and have none in the minors that can step in. And San Diego has a glut of outfielders, but apparently is hoping to add a veteran SP to go with their inexperienced rotation.

 

Price for Myers. Book it...

 

You might be right, but having taken a look at Myers, I can't get very excited about that one. At least with Price he has the second half of 2018 performance to hope for a resurgence of.

[kenmeister]

Getting rid of JBJ would put us just under the line, so the $22M saved on JD would be the spending budget, unless we dump more salary somewhere else.

 

Ok, so looking at the starting pitchers ... the last time I brought up Pineda somebody almost spilled their beverage, so looking past him ... one of Wheeler/Odorizzi/Bumgarner?

[notin]

You might be right, but having taken a look at Myers, I can't get very excited about that one. At least with Price he has the second half of 2018 performance to hope for a resurgence of.

 

Oh it's a baseball trade for the Padres and a financial trade for the Red Sox.

[moonslav59]

Ok, so looking at the starting pitchers ... the last time I brought up Pineda somebody almost spilled their beverage, so looking past him ... one of Wheeler/Odorizzi/Bumgarner?

 

Maybe Odorizzi and hope for an increase in IP.

[moonslav59]

Red Sox Interviewed Chaim Bloom for GM Opening

 

"ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that “multiple sources” believe Bloom will ultimately get the job."

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/chaim-bloom-interviewed-for-red-sox-gm-position.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Edited October 25, 2019 by moonslav59

[Swiharts Ghost]

Red Sox Interviewed Chaim Bloom for GM Opening

 

"ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that “multiple sources” believe Bloom will ultimately get the job."

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/chaim-bloom-interviewed-for-red-sox-gm-position.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 

35 ....well he may take this team in an exciting direction orrrr he’s babysat .I think he’s babysat and bullied .Hope this guy is Tony Soprano .

[moonslav59]

Theo was pretty young when he first stepped in as GM.

 

This guy is supposed to be real smart.

 

I'm going the optimistic route on this one.

[Swiharts Ghost]

Theo was pretty young when he first stepped in as GM.

 

This guy is supposed to be real smart.

 

I'm going the optimistic route on this one.

If they let this guy do his job I’m on board 100 .I think it’s a ballzy hire I kinda love it .

[moonslav59]

If they let this guy do his job I’m on board 100 .

 

I don't know enough about anyone that might be meddling with the choices of our next GM to know if it would be a negative or positive influence.

[Swiharts Ghost]

I don't know enough about anyone that might be meddling with the choices of our next GM to know if it would be a negative or positive influence.

 

Moon you surely follow this team please don’t act like you haven’t heard Theo and others imply this .Back me up every now and then man .I only want the best for this team like you .

[jacksonianmarch]

This would be a great hire if there’s no Lucchino type hanging over him. Hiring him, IMO, would be a signal of a tear down. But the build up would be pretty significant

[Jack Flap]

Bloom has been next on my wish list after Friedman was ruled out...very intriguing hire if it comes to pass.

[notin]

This would make Bloom the first ever blogger-turned-GM...

[notin]

Bloom has been next on my wish list after Friedman was ruled out...very intriguing hire if it comes to pass.

 

 

Apparently it’s closer than I realized...

 

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/chaim-bloom-interviewed-for-red-sox-gm-position.html

[moonslav59]

Moon you surely follow this team please don’t act like you haven’t heard Theo and others imply this .Back me up every now and then man .I only want the best for this team like you .

 

I'm not saying we don't have a history of meddling, but I will say not all of it bad.

 

All I'm saying is Lucchino is not around anymore. He was the punching bag for a lot of posters. Maybe the people who might "meddle" in the future will have a more positive influence. Maybe they won't meddle, and we'll wish they had.

 

I'm just saying, "Who knows?" I don't know much about this new guys, so I'm not about to say make him king and anoint him the only guy who makes decisions. Many successful teams and businesses make team/group decisions.

[notin]

This would be a great hire if there’s no Lucchino type hanging over him. Hiring him, IMO, would be a signal of a tear down. But the build up would be pretty significant

 

I don't know how we can draw that conclusion as Bloom has no history of doing anything either way. This isn't like hiring Dombrowski, who had a well-documented history of spending money, trading prospects, and going all in every year...

[jacksonianmarch]

It’s a guy who is coming from quite possibly the best low budget, farm based, value driven team there is. Value guys are going to see that the Sox are upside down and kinda stuck with their salaries the way they are. Maybe I’m generalizing because he’s leaving a low rent place, but his training would suggest he’s going to be far more conservative in his approach to spending. I would anticipate a complete overhaul on the farm side with Bloom taking guys in the TB org and elevating them to farm directors and minor league coordinators to grow their talent. He won’t entirely disregard the minor league scouting side like DD seemed to. I think you were staring at a rebuild regardless. This move almost clinches it for me

[Carpin]

Best case scenario for the Sox, it also means that they might not compete for 2 or 3 years, but will have a good foundation going forward, it all depends if he's allowed to do his job.

[jacksonianmarch]

Best case scenario for the Sox, it also means that they might not compete for 2 or 3 years, but will have a good foundation going forward, it all depends if he's allowed to do his job.

 

This is actually bad news for us Yankee fans. This means they're gonna build it right

[notin]

It’s a guy who is coming from quite possibly the best low budget, farm based, value driven team there is. Value guys are going to see that the Sox are upside down and kinda stuck with their salaries the way they are. Maybe I’m generalizing because he’s leaving a low rent place, but his training would suggest he’s going to be far more conservative in his approach to spending. I would anticipate a complete overhaul on the farm side with Bloom taking guys in the TB org and elevating them to farm directors and minor league coordinators to grow their talent. He won’t entirely disregard the minor league scouting side like DD seemed to. I think you were staring at a rebuild regardless. This move almost clinches it for me

 

But that’s practically verbatim what was said about Dan Duquette when the Sox hired him. Sometimes these low budget guys act a little different when they have access to actual money...

[Bellhorn04]

But that’s practically verbatim what was said about Dan Duquette when the Sox hired him. Sometimes these low budget guys act a little different when they have access to actual money...

 

Friedman?

[moonslav59]

But that’s practically verbatim what was said about Dan Duquette when the Sox hired him. Sometimes these low budget guys act a little different when they have access to actual money...

 

Yes, but Dan D did provide a nice foundation for Theo to work with.

 

Plus, I think Theo was given a fatter checkbook.

 

We went from an $81M budget in 2000 to $127 in '04 and $143 in '07.

[Carpin]

This is actually bad news for us Yankee fans. This means they're gonna build it right

 

If they let him work, the problem is that in a big market team like Boston or NY it will be a lot of pressure to give results very soon.