A Realistic View at 2021: Part III

[Key2Delock]

Ten of the Red Sox’ next 13 games include four at Toronto, three at home with Tampa Bay and three on the road against the Yankees. The other three are at Fenway against Baltimore. Even if they go 4-9 in those games, they’ll be 68-55 and still in contention for one of the wild card spots.

 

Not-Much-Fun Facts: In the past 10 games, while the Red Sox have been playing .300 ball, the Yankees and Blue Jays each have won 7 of 10 and picked up four games on the Red Sox. The Yankees are now 4-1/2 games behind the Red Sox (only three in the loss column). Toronto also is three back of the Red Sox in the loss column, but has played five fewer games.

 

When will the reinforcements from Liverpool FC arrive?

[iortiz]

Time to call up Muñoz and Arauz. Get rid of Dalbec, Marwin, Perez, Richards, and the 2 guys they just drafted —the later are f***ing horrible.

[Nick]

Boston Red Sox blown out by Tigers, 8-1, for 6th loss in 7 games; Martín Pérez lasts just 1 ⅓ innings as ERA rises to 4.77

 

If Cora is not worried, neither am I.

 

Hey lets waste another 80 pitches from Chris in a meaningless minor league game.

 

What does he accomplish? We don't need a super star Chris Sale. Are we afraid he'll get hurt if we rush him? Is his chance of getting hurt in a major league game greater than his chance of getting hurt in a minor league game?

 

If you limit his pitch count to say 60, what does it hurt?

 

Martin Perez is not setting a high bar here lately.

 

At some point, Cora and Bloom will be a joke and they're getting there.

Edited August 6, 2021 by Nick

[Nick]

On Thursday, starter Martín Pérez lasted just 1 ⅓ innings before Cora turned to the bullpen and recently acquired relievers Hansel Robles and Austin Davis combined to give up five runs on eight hits. The Sox committed just one error but were sloppy defensively while going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 men on base.

 

Nice pick ups by the way.......

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Is everybody ok?

 

Well... the f***ing hippies aren't. That's for goddam sure.

[oldtimer]

Our All Star hitters haven't been able to put it together since the AS game. Bogie has a lingering wrist issue and all three look tired out there. Kike was out for one game there and Verdugo has been up and down during this spell. No amount of pitching would win games in which we can't plate at least a few runs.

 

I don't see an early solution to the problems as any help from Schwaber and Arroyo are about at least a week away and we will be facing our main and improved competitors during this period. It's sad to watch our big lead be blown in a couple of weeks. We did know we needed help immediately with starting pitching and at first base but apparently felt the constraints made it impossible to fill those. Now we are living with the consequences.

 

Let's hope the plan Bloom has embarked on will put us in a competitive position in 2022 as it looks like 2021 is fading fast.

[Bellhorn04]

On Thursday, starter Martín Pérez lasted just 1 ⅓ innings before Cora turned to the bullpen and recently acquired relievers Hansel Robles and Austin Davis combined to give up five runs on eight hits. The Sox committed just one error but were sloppy defensively while going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 men on base.

 

Nice pick ups by the way.......

 

Getting Robles and Davis was more of an insult than anything.

 

I'm afraid Trade Deadline Day 2021 is going to go down as one of those memorably bad days in franchise history.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Getting Robles and Davis was more of an insult than anything.

.

 

... to fans of the team, and the team of the fans.

 

I also agree the Schwarber acquisition was made with another season in mind. We all knew that the Sox offense needed immediate help at the end of July, not maybe mid-August.

 

And for those who anticipate Bloom will finally spend big and retool the starting rotation this winter, who are these free agent pitchers, exactly? Old guys not worth tying up longterm payroll or younger guys coming off injuries? Do either of those options sound appealing to Bloom, Cora or any of us???

[Bellhorn04]

... to fans of the team, and the team of the fans.

 

I also agree the Schwarber acquisition was made with another season in mind. We all knew that the Sox offense needed immediate help at the end of July, not maybe mid-August.

 

And for those who anticipate Bloom will finally spend big and retool the starting rotation this winter, who are these free agent pitchers, exactly? Old guys not worth tying up longterm payroll or younger guys coming off injuries? Do either of those options sound appealing to Bloom, Cora or any of us???

 

Well, we probably won't have to worry about Scherzer. The Dodgers will nab him, using the money they recover from Dirtbag Bauer's contract.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Well, we probably won't have to worry about Scherzer. The Dodgers will nab him, using the money they recover from Dirtbag Bauer's contract.

 

Bauer -- won't see him no more. Not in the MLB, anyway.

 

But he'll resurface, much to our chafrowns, either recruited by Al Davis' Oakland Raiders or nominated to run for office by some fringe element.

[Bellhorn04]

Bauer -- won't see him no more. Not in the MLB, anyway.

 

But he'll resurface, much to our chafrowns, either recruited by Al Davis' Oakland Raiders or nominated to run for office by some fringe element.

 

"Chafrowns" - that's wordplay at maestro level.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

"Chafrowns" - that's wordplay at maestro level.

 

We be chafrowning a lot the past week or so, mainly cuz longtime Sox fans have seen similar spirals by previous clubs with better hitters and pitchers.

 

One thing none of us can be accused of was counting on post-surgery Sale to be the savior. Most of us would've been content if he became a stabilizer... but that may not be enough, by the time he returns.

[mvp 78]

Getting Robles and Davis was more of an insult than anything.

 

I'm afraid Trade Deadline Day 2021 is going to go down as one of those memorably bad days in franchise history.

 

I expected the return for Chavis would be low, but this was disappointing.

[notin]

Getting Robles and Davis was more of an insult than anything.

 

I'm afraid Trade Deadline Day 2021 is going to go down as one of those memorably bad days in franchise history.

 

Yeah right up there with dealing Bagwell for a massive middle reliever.

 

It wasn’t a good day, but I expect more level-headedness from you…

[Nick]

1 prospect each team should call up per mlb.com

 

Red Sox: Triston Casas, 1B (No. 1/MLB No. 29)

Casas is starring at the Olympics right now, homering three times in five games as Team USA has advanced to the gold-medal game. The Red Sox traded for Kyle Schwarber to try to address their deficiencies at first base, but he never has played the position while Casas is an accomplished defender there. The 2018 first-rounder from a Florida high school is a slugger with a polished approach, and he has batted .271/.354/.424 with six homers in 46 Double-A games at age 21.

 

Why the hell not.....we're rebuilding...Santana, Marwin, Dalbec....they've set low standards

[Hugh2]

1 prospect each team should call up per mlb.com

 

Red Sox: Triston Casas, 1B (No. 1/MLB No. 29)

Casas is starring at the Olympics right now, homering three times in five games as Team USA has advanced to the gold-medal game. The Red Sox traded for Kyle Schwarber to try to address their deficiencies at first base, but he never has played the position while Casas is an accomplished defender there. The 2018 first-rounder from a Florida high school is a slugger with a polished approach, and he has batted .271/.354/.424 with six homers in 46 Double-A games at age 21.

 

Why the hell not.....we're rebuilding...Santana, Marwin, Dalbec....they've set low standards

 

Because there’s a danger is screwing a guy up if you rush him. E.G. Blake Swihart

[notin]

1 prospect each team should call up per mlb.com

 

Red Sox: Triston Casas, 1B (No. 1/MLB No. 29)

Casas is starring at the Olympics right now, homering three times in five games as Team USA has advanced to the gold-medal game. The Red Sox traded for Kyle Schwarber to try to address their deficiencies at first base, but he never has played the position while Casas is an accomplished defender there. The 2018 first-rounder from a Florida high school is a slugger with a polished approach, and he has batted .271/.354/.424 with six homers in 46 Double-A games at age 21.

 

Why the hell not.....we're rebuilding...Santana, Marwin, Dalbec....they've set low standards

 

Casas has a .271 BA, .777 OPS, .323 BABIP, 6 HRs, and 40 strikeouts (vs 22 walks, so not too bad there) in 192 PA. If Dalbec was in AA this year, he’d very likely top those numbers (except maybe the BA). I’m not convinced Casas is going to step in and be any better than Dalbec this year.

 

Schwarber is reportedly only a few days away. That’s a more likely source of improvement…

[Hugh2]

Dalbec played his 2018 season in AA and put up a .836 OPS, I think Casas will be a better player in the future, but he's not ready and the Sox traded for Schwarber to play 1B.

[notin]

Because there’s a danger is screwing a guy up if you rush him. E.G. Blake Swihart

 

Do teams really quiet about screwing a guy up by playing him early? Or do they worry about using his early years of control to watch him improve and then see him reach free agency at age 27 or 28 and command mega dollars?

[Hugh2]

Do teams really quiet about screwing a guy up by playing him early? Or do they worry about using his early years of control to watch him improve and then see him reach free agency at age 27 or 28 and command mega dollars?

 

I think they do. I think teams care deeply about developing guys on a proper timeline, and they have a set plan for what they need to see before they're ready for the next level. Do they slightly hold back and accelerate these timelines to fit the team needs in terms of improving performance and controlling payroll? absolutely. But we're talking about going from 9-10 when people in here expect 5-10. (number scale completely invented for obvious reasons)

[Bellhorn04]

Yeah right up there with dealing Bagwell for a massive middle reliever.

 

It wasn’t a good day, but I expect more level-headedness from you…

 

I try to get my bitterness out in the morning...

 

When I say it may be a memorably bad day I'm not talking about Robles and Davis, but about how we stood still and other teams made moves and what's happened in the standings.

[notin]

I try to get my bitterness out in the morning...

 

When I say it may be a memorably bad day I'm not talking about Robles and Davis, but about how we stood still and other teams made moves and what's happened in the standings.

 

They needed and still need help. What really hurt this team was the willingness of other teams to part with elite prospects the Sox just didn’t have. Especially with Downs flummoxing in AAA and the closest thing the Sox have to actual pitching prospects all went down with TJ..

[Nick]

They needed and still need help. What really hurt this team was the willingness of other teams to part with elite prospects the Sox just didn’t have. Especially with Downs flummoxing in AAA and the closest thing the Sox have to actual pitching prospects all went down with TJ..

 

With that you prove my point......sometimes it's better to trade a black chip for two red chips.....not too many "can't miss prospects".

 

Let's examine Devers. Is he a once in a lifetime type player? Would you pay him $30M for 12 years before his free agency?

Or is it better to trade him for two established young major leaguer? A starting pitcher and a position player not yet in arbitration?

[Bellhorn04]

Let's examine Devers. Is he a once in a lifetime type player? Would you pay him $30M for 12 years before his free agency?

 

I like Devers a lot, of course, but no way in hell does he merit anything near that.

[Nick]

Having two dead contracts really hamstrung Bloom at trade deadline. $16M for Price and $13M for Pedroia. We could have absorbed the entire contracts for better return.

 

He simply had no money to work.

[Bellhorn04]

Having two dead contracts really hamstrung Bloom at trade deadline. $16M for Price and $13M for Pedroia. We could have absorbed the entire contracts for better return.

 

He simply had no money to work.

 

Any artificial money constraints are on Henry & Werner.

[notin]

I like Devers a lot, of course, but no way in hell does he merit anything near that.

 

What about the Anthony Rendon contract (12 years/ $245 million)? Think Devers is with that much?

[notin]

With that you prove my point......sometimes it's better to trade a black chip for two red chips.....not too many "can't miss prospects".

 

Let's examine Devers. Is he a once in a lifetime type player? Would you pay him $30M for 12 years before his free agency?

Or is it better to trade him for two established young major leaguer? A starting pitcher and a position player not yet in arbitration?

 

So let me get this straight.

 

The criticism that Bloom “gave up the season” is based on him not getting starting pitching for the Sox prospects. Wouldn’t dealing the team MVP really emphasize that point?

[Bellhorn04]

What about the Anthony Rendon contract (12 years/ $245 million)? Think Devers is with that much?

 

Unfortunately it's 7 years/$245 million.

 

That's more like it for Devers, but man, that's still a $35 mill tax hit.

[dgalehouse]

The owners cannot complain about the Luxury Tax. They put it there. And they can get rid of it. I'm sure the Union wouldn't object if they did.