A Realistic View at 2021: Part I

[cp176]

Theo- Love

Ben- Hate

DD- Love

Bloom- Hate

 

it really has nothing to do with who the GM is for me. It is all about the assembled team. i'll admit it - If a collection of no names can pull it off, I will be very happy for all here on talksox, but I'm not sure that a group like this would intrigue me enough to care. Does that make me old school? Not sure about that but I do know that it makes me someone who won't be going to Fenway any time soon pandemic or not.

[oldtimer]

The old schoolers are not liking him one bit LOL

 

I'm about as old school as they come and I am on board with Bloom. He is patient, disciplined and has a plan that I believe will work. He is the right choice after DD.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I'm about as old school as they come and I am on board with Bloom. He is patient, disciplined and has a plan that I believe will work. He is the right choice after DD.

 

You're probably right. But I'm none of those... especially trying to get older during a pandemic.

[Bellhorn04]

it really has nothing to do with who the GM is for me. It is all about the assembled team. i'll admit it - If a collection of no names can pull it off, I will be very happy for all here on talksox, but I'm not sure that a group like this would intrigue me enough to care. Does that make me old school? Not sure about that but I do know that it makes me someone who won't be going to Fenway any time soon pandemic or not.

 

I think the following guys have real or potential star appeal:

 

Sale (when he gets back)

Eovaldi (stay healthy bro)

E-Rod

Houck (if he's the real deal)

Bogey

Devers

JDM

Verdugo

Dalbec (if he's the real deal)

 

If you've been reading my posts you'll have noticed I keep arguing against trading Eovaldi or Dalbec, and it's because of their star potential in my view.

 

It is nice to watch guys who have that pizzazz thing.

[Kimmi]

I'm about as old school as they come and I am on board with Bloom. He is patient, disciplined and has a plan that I believe will work. He is the right choice after DD.

 

When it comes to team building philosophy, you are not old school at all.

[cp176]

I think the following guys have real or potential star appeal:

 

Sale (when he gets back)

Eovaldi (stay healthy bro)

E-Rod

Houck (if he's the real deal)

Bogey

Devers

JDM

Verdugo

Dalbec (if he's the real deal)

 

If you've been reading my posts you'll have noticed I keep arguing against trading Eovaldi or Dalbec, and it's because of their star potential in my view.

 

It is nice to watch guys who have that pizzazz thing.

 

I think that that pizzazz thing is very important to a vast majority of fans. Winning of course will help to bring in the old faithful but if John Henry ever wants to fill those seats again, he better hope that some of these guys in addition to Chris Sale who is legit right now do become stars. I don't think that winning is enough to fill that ballpark. My guess is that the average fan and family goes to the game to see those stars play just as much as anything else. the gm, the advanced metrics, etc. probably matter very little to most people. those things likely rank right up there beside the costs of hotdogs, peanuts, ice cream, beer, and on and on .

[Kimmi]

For me, the appeal of watching a group of home grown and 2nd tier players come together and have a winning season is so much greater than watching a group of high priced superstars do the same thing. Don't get me wrong, if we have superstars on our team, I will appreciate them and root for them just as much as I do for the other players. I just don't like their contracts. I prefer watching the unsung hero or underdog types having great team success.

[notin]

I think the following guys have real or potential star appeal:

 

Sale (when he gets back)

Eovaldi (stay healthy bro)

E-Rod

Houck (if he's the real deal)

Bogey

Devers

JDM

Verdugo

Dalbec (if he's the real deal)

 

If you've been reading my posts you'll have noticed I keep arguing against trading Eovaldi or Dalbec, and it's because of their star potential in my view.

 

It is nice to watch guys who have that pizzazz thing.

 

So you’re more sold on Dalbec than Benintendi? Despite his struggles last year, AB is still only one year older...

[cp176]

For me, the appeal of watching a group of home grown and 2nd tier players come together and have a winning season is so much greater than watching a group of high priced superstars do the same thing. Don't get me wrong, if we have superstars on our team, I will appreciate them and root for them just as much as I do for the other players. I just don't like their contracts. I prefer watching the unsung hero or underdog types having great team success.

 

I enjoy the same - the success stories never grow old. On occasion some of those players who the analysists have already pigeon holed as being mediocre surprise us all. Like so much in life, I think that it takes a blend of a variety of philosophies to be successful. Signing too many supposed superstars can obviously limit a franchises future but not taking a shot now and then on a proven player can hurt a team ultimately in many ways as well. Obviously, I am speaking entirely for myself but there are many more reasons than winning for which i follow this team. But oh well, I loved them just as much when Malzone was at third, Bressued at short, Mantilla at second, and good old Dick Stuart was at first.

[moonslav59]

The rebuild has begun. We are beginning to build a core by adding a few players to the few left over from DD's regime.

 

We added a few prospects to a pretty bleak but not barren farm. Downs, Seabold, Rosario, Potts, Wong and Wallace along with recent draftees and the rule 5 addition of Whitlock.

 

While some seemed to think rebuilding the farm would be easier and quicker, the rules and new structures have made that harder to do, especially for a team that was drafting late for many years in a row.

 

While replacing Betts with Verdugo may seem like a punch in the gut, the money saved by not extending Betts can be used to get us near the top, again. I guess it's about trusting Bloom's talent evaluation.

 

He had a good record finding gems in the rough with TB, but does not have much of a track record with higher profile additions. That does not mean he's doomed to fail with his first major acquisition, but the concern seems deep among many fans, here.

 

The winter signings have been few and far between. As notin pointed out, the only "big splash" signing has been Morton.

 

Can we give Bloom a break? Last winter, his hands were clearly tied. His feet, too. Now, he seems to be given a reasonable amount of budget space to work with, and has barely started spending it. Let's let the winter play out and see what happens.

 

Even if we end up not liking what he does, we should maybe be prepared to be surprised by how well some of his under-the-radar players end up doing.

 

I have faith. My optimism on our longer term future is growing. That hasn'y been the case in several years.

[Bellhorn04]

So you’re more sold on Dalbec than Benintendi? Despite his struggles last year, AB is still only one year older...

 

I shouldn't have left out Beni. And I'm not sold on Dalbec-as I said, if he's the real deal. He has potential to be a serious power hitter.

[moonslav59]

I shouldn't have left out Beni. And I'm not sold on Dalbec-as I said, if he's the real deal. He has potential to be a serious power hitter.

 

I'm not "sold on" Dalbec or Houck, for that matter, but it's nice to see some promising new faces actually do good in the bigs, tiny sample sizes not withstanding.

 

Dalbec gets on base, too, so to me, it's not just about his promising power.

 

Our farm should start helping us out- maybe as soon as mid-summer (Duran, Mata, Seabold) and 2022 (Downs, Ward, Rosario, Potts among others).

 

We still have lots of holes to fill and precious few resources to acquire them all. At the very least we need a solid & durable SP'er, 2 solid RP'ers and a CF'er. Some could argue we need another SP'er and RP'er as well as a 2Bman added to the short list. The number seems to be somewhere between 4 and 7 new players. Will and can that all happen, this winter, as maybe some bargain basement deals become available?

 

I'm hopeful. I'm thinking our timeline is more likely geared towards 2022 and 2023, but maybe 2021 can be an enjoyable season full of hope and optimism and maybe a playoff thrill or two.

[moonslav59]

I shouldn't have left out Beni. And I'm not sold on Dalbec-as I said, if he's the real deal. He has potential to be a serious power hitter.

 

I agree. While I do have my concerns about Beni, I think he's been given a bad rap over some not so bad seasons- one of which was shortened and messed up.

 

The kid is still pretty young. It's not uncommon for players to have ups and downs, early in their careers, and Beni's have not been all that extreme. In fact, his first 4 seasons all fell between .061 range (.774 to .835). His power fell at a pretty steady rate (20>16>13 HRs), but he's 26, now. He's entering his peak 2-3 years of prime. There is reason to be hopeful.

 

[notin]

I shouldn't have left out Beni. And I'm not sold on Dalbec-as I said, if he's the real deal. He has potential to be a serious power hitter.

 

I think he’s Russ Branyan 2.0.

 

I also wonder why people think that’s a bad thing...

[moonslav59]

M e r r y

 

C h r i s t m a s

[Bellhorn04]

I think he’s Russ Branyan 2.0.

 

I also wonder why people think that’s a bad thing...

 

I'm just not a big fan of the instant profile thing.

[notin]

I'm just not a big fan of the instant profile thing.

 

What if I said he was Mike Schmidt 2.0?

[harmony]

I'm just not a big fan of the instant profile thing.

The ZiPS projections give Christian Vazquez the comp of catcher Dan Wilson, the Seattle mainstay who made the floundering Jason Varitek expendable:

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zips-2021-projections-boston-red-sox/

 

[Bellhorn04]

What if I said he was Mike Schmidt 2.0?

 

Then you would be funny.

[Bellhorn04]

The ZiPS projections give Christian Vazquez the comp of catcher Dan Wilson, the Seattle mainstay who made the floundering Jason Varitek expendable:

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zips-2021-projections-boston-red-sox/

 

 

I was going to mention the early comparisons of Mookie Betts to Andrew McCutchen. I read an article in a respected baseball publication which concluded that Mookie was not going to be quite as good as McCutchen - close, but not as much power.

 

But I refrained, because I figured someone would think I was somehow comparing Dalbec to Mookie. I'm not!

[moonslav59]

I was going to mention the early comparisons of Mookie Betts to Andrew McCutchen. I read an article in a respected baseball publication which concluded that Mookie was not going to be quite as good as McCutchen - close, but not as much power.

 

But I refrained, because I figured someone would think I was somehow comparing Dalbec to Mookie. I'm not!

 

I don't make comparisons between players that often, but it doesn't really bother me when others do.

 

I do remember some comps between Betts and Aaron & Mays.

[jad]

I don't make comparisons between players that often, but it doesn't really bother me when others do.

 

I do remember some comps between Betts and Aaron & Mays.

 

Yeah, and who would want those clowns on your team, when you could have a reset and a couple of draft picks instead?

[notin]

Yeah, and who would want those clowns on your team, when you could have a reset and a couple of draft picks instead?

 

I think the Sox chose Price and Eovaldi...

[jad]

I think the Sox chose Price and Eovaldi...

 

OK. Now I'm completely lost! I was saying ... oh never mind!

[Bellhorn04]

I think the Sox chose Price and Eovaldi...

 

The Sox reportedly offered Mookie $300 million 3 full years after signing Price, so that doesn't make sense. If Mookie had come back with $350 million or something like that he'd probably still be with the team.

[a700hitter]

Mookie was smart. He took the big multi-year offer on the table from the Dodgers, instead of waiting for free agency. I don’t think there will be a lot of big multi year contracts given out in a Covid off-season. I don’t anticipate one of the any of the big names coming off the board for January. It would be a smart move for a big free agent to take a larger one-year contract this off-season, assuming that it might be prorated, and look for the multi year deal next off-season.

[jacksonianmarch]

Kohei arihara is being posted and the Sox are a finalist. He’s a command, control guy who protects as a back end starter

[moonslav59]

Kohei arihara is being posted and the Sox are a finalist. He’s a command, control guy who protects as a back end starter

 

MLBTR

 

As per a scouting report from Will Hoefer of the Sports Info Solutions blog after that big 2019 season, Arihara has a plus changeup, and a fastball that can touch 95mph (though Arihara prefers to mix speeds to keep batters guessing). Arihara has good command over these two pitches “and a slider that flashes plus,” and Hoefer projects the righty as “a middle of the rotation starter for an MLB team.”

[jacksonianmarch]

https://www.rotoworld.com/baseball/mlb/player/62523/kohei-arihara

[moonslav59]

https://www.rotoworld.com/baseball/mlb/player/62523/kohei-arihara

 

Okay, I get it.

 

Back end cause the Sox might get him. Middle if it was the Yanks.