Fire Bloom .

[Hugh2]

JD Martinez. 2018 deadline trades for Eovaldi and Pearce were golden. Kinsler was actually a good move too, but of course everyone remembers the error in Game 3 of the WS.

 

Pomeranz wasn't great but he wasn't awful. The trades for Thornburg and Smith went bust but were not bad ideas.

 

Dave was actually responsible for the great Ryan Brasier too.

 

Maybe the plan is to fire Bloom and hire Dave back

[vegasbob]

Interesting story by Browne on the upcoming draft. Devin Pearson is now the amateur scouting and draft director, after working in pro scouting since 2017 and recently as ass't director.

 

The item that got my attention was that Bloom and O'Halloran had their first formal draft review meeting last Wednesday. Bloom trusts this crew to identify and grade the high schoolers/college and int'l eligible players. So in reality, Bloom may set some priorities but does not spend a great deal of personal time on the kids who just graduated from school. Why should he ? But he does get the blame if they blow out the UCL in their first appearance on the mound or at SS. Better that Chaim know and understand the abilities of the MLB and high MiLB personnel.

[Hugh2]

Interesting story by Browne on the upcoming draft. Devin Pearson is now the amateur scouting and draft director, after working in pro scouting since 2017 and recently as ass't director.

 

The item that got my attention was that Bloom and O'Halloran had their first formal draft review meeting last Wednesday. Bloom trusts this crew to identify and grade the high schoolers/college and int'l eligible players. So in reality, Bloom may set some priorities but does not spend a great deal of personal time on the kids who just graduated from school. Why should he ? But he does get the blame if they blow out the UCL in their first appearance on the mound or at SS. Better that Chaim know and understand the abilities of the MLB and high MiLB personnel.

 

This is a great post. My only caveat is while I do think the scouting department primarily decides which amateur talent to bring in I believe someone in Blooms position is going to have their hands in the big moves. Like a first round pick or a Yoshida.

 

I think Owners can get involved in the even bigger stuff. Like Signing Bogaerts, going after Ohtani, or trading away Mookie Betts. Henry, if he had any balls could simply say “go after Ohtani and do whatever it takes, the wallet is open”. I’d be happy with Yamma

[Dipre]

Not a matter of balls, but a matter of risk

Ohtani is a ticking time bomb. Everyone talks about lack of balls and nonsense like that until a player gets a megadeal and then blows out his elbow. Then they should have done their homework.

[Dipre]

If you like, but the subject was the drafting under Bloom, which was why Rafaela didn’t belong…

 

Fair.

[Dipre]

Interesting story by Browne on the upcoming draft. Devin Pearson is now the amateur scouting and draft director, after working in pro scouting since 2017 and recently as ass't director.

 

The item that got my attention was that Bloom and O'Halloran had their first formal draft review meeting last Wednesday. Bloom trusts this crew to identify and grade the high schoolers/college and int'l eligible players. So in reality, Bloom may set some priorities but does not spend a great deal of personal time on the kids who just graduated from school. Why should he ? But he does get the blame if they blow out the UCL in their first appearance on the mound or at SS. Better that Chaim know and understand the abilities of the MLB and high MiLB personnel.

 

That's because leading an MLB front office is a massive endeavor, even with all of the personnel the upper echelon of the Front Office has below them. Every day only has 24 hours

[moonslav59]

Not a matter of balls, but a matter of risk

Ohtani is a ticking time bomb. Everyone talks about lack of balls and nonsense like that until a player gets a megadeal and then blows out his elbow. Then they should have done their homework.

 

100%

[vegasbob]

100%

 

It will be interesting to see the bidding when Ohtani is available. He has had one TJ to date and has seemed durable in his dual role , certainly more so than Trout, for contract comparison . Ohtani just turned 29 , July 5. So he will be getting paid $50MM+- until his age 40 year. He has a power ( strength ) based game in both roles, so how far can you go with him ? If I was a GM, even in a big market, I would have to evaluate if one guy over the next 3-5 years will get me a WS , and not care about the final 5 years of contract.

[Hugh2]

I kinda hope while everyone is bidding on Ohtani Henry swoops in and gets Yama for 1/4 the price.

[vegasbob]

I kinda hope while everyone is bidding on Ohtani Henry swoops in and gets Yama for 1/4 the price.

 

That may be 5 at $125M, if O hits $500M

[moonslav59]

It will be interesting to see the bidding when Ohtani is available. He has had one TJ to date and has seemed durable in his dual role , certainly more so than Trout, for contract comparison . Ohtani just turned 29 , July 5. So he will be getting paid $50MM+- until his age 40 year. He has a power ( strength ) based game in both roles, so how far can you go with him ? If I was a GM, even in a big market, I would have to evaluate if one guy over the next 3-5 years will get me a WS , and not care about the final 5 years of contract.

 

I'd prefer we sign 4 guys at $25M x 5 than 1 at $50M x 10. I might even prefer 6 guys at $16.5M x 5.

[vegasbob]

I'd prefer we sign 4 guys at $25M x 5 than 1 at $50M x 10. I might even prefer 6 guys at $16.5M x 5.

 

Much agreed , Moon. See Aaron Judge and Trout for how a really big contract can backfire. I would throw in Sale but he's out of sight and mind unless he comes back to pitch the WC 3 game and win

[vegasbob]

Max, just so you know, Garza is another kid who doesn't have a clue, and Cora is a fool for using him. Bochy would never have done that move, BTW , it's the Rangers not the Astros that the Sox are playing per one of your earlier posts

[moonslav59]

Max, just so you know, Garza is another kid who doesn't have a clue, and Cora is a fool for using him. Bochy would never have done that move, BTW , it's the Rangers not the Astros that the Sox are playing per one of your earlier posts

 

Every good manager brings in guys like Garza with a 5 run lead, several times a year.

[notin]

Every good manager brings in guys like Garza with a 5 run lead, several times a year.

 

I’d rather he pitched Garza with a 5 run lead than repeatedly use a struggling Matt Barnes in extra innings…

[notin]

Maybe the plan is to fire Bloom and hire Dave back

 

Dave isn’t unemployed…

[Maxbialystock]

Max, just so you know, Garza is another kid who doesn't have a clue, and Cora is a fool for using him. Bochy would never have done that move, BTW , it's the Rangers not the Astros that the Sox are playing per one of your earlier posts

 

I'm here and I saw. But you and I see things very differently. My assumption is that Cora has good reasons for every move he makes.

 

In the case of Garza, as has been the case with other marginal Sox players this season, Cora believes in what I call the "dud liberation movement." When he can do so, Cora believes in playing everyone--most of them so they can show what they can do and contribute. And the rest to show what they can't do and thereby be liberated from the Sox roster.

[moonslav59]

I’d rather he pitched Garza with a 5 run lead than repeatedly use a struggling Matt Barnes in extra innings…

 

The idea was to try and not have to use Martin.

 

It was worth a try.

[Jasonbay44]

The idea was to try and not have to use Martin.

 

It was worth a try.

 

At least Martin only threw 1 pitch

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

At least Martin only threw 1 pitch

 

Figures, Bloom would waste all that money signing a one-pitch pitcher.

[Hugh2]

You can't just throw the same 2-3 guys out there every night. A manager has to be conscious of who they're facing, who they will face tomorrow, the day after, and who they're playing next week. They have to see what matchups are going to happen or could happen. Guys like Garza, Jacques, Ort, Kluber (he's on the IL now) are going to have to pitch at some point, and unfortunately, the perfect opportunity (up 15-1 or down 15-1) is not going to present itself as much as it would to make the decision easy.

 

Assuming you have 5 guys in the rotation, a manager only has 8 guys in the pen, and he's going to need 3-4 innings every night. If you have guys on your roster sitting and not pitching, then the fewer innings they pitch are going to be made up by the other guys thus increasing the chance of injuring the good guys who are actually worth something.

 

I get in a vacuum, looking at one game it can become easy to scratch our heads at Cora "Why did he bring this guy in" but the reality is, he has to think about the rest of the week and all 162 games, and keeping guys healthy.

 

It's not as easy as it looks from the armchair.

[Dipre]

You can't just throw the same 2-3 guys out there every night. A manager has to be conscious of who they're facing, who they will face tomorrow, the day after, and who they're playing next week. They have to see what matchups are going to happen or could happen. Guys like Garza, Jacques, Ort, Kluber (he's on the IL now) are going to have to pitch at some point, and unfortunately, the perfect opportunity (up 15-1 or down 15-1) is not going to present itself as much as it would to make the decision easy.

 

Assuming you have 5 guys in the rotation, a manager only has 8 guys in the pen, and he's going to need 3-4 innings every night. If you have guys on your roster sitting and not pitching, then the fewer innings they pitch are going to be made up by the other guys thus increasing the chance of injuring the good guys who are actually worth something.

 

I get in a vacuum, looking at one game it can become easy to scratch our heads at Cora "Why did he bring this guy in" but the reality is, he has to think about the rest of the week and all 162 games, and keeping guys healthy.

 

It's not as easy as it looks from the armchair.

 

A+ post.

[Bellhorn04]

You can't just throw the same 2-3 guys out there every night. A manager has to be conscious of who they're facing, who they will face tomorrow, the day after, and who they're playing next week. They have to see what matchups are going to happen or could happen. Guys like Garza, Jacques, Ort, Kluber (he's on the IL now) are going to have to pitch at some point, and unfortunately, the perfect opportunity (up 15-1 or down 15-1) is not going to present itself as much as it would to make the decision easy.

 

Assuming you have 5 guys in the rotation, a manager only has 8 guys in the pen, and he's going to need 3-4 innings every night. If you have guys on your roster sitting and not pitching, then the fewer innings they pitch are going to be made up by the other guys thus increasing the chance of injuring the good guys who are actually worth something.

 

I get in a vacuum, looking at one game it can become easy to scratch our heads at Cora "Why did he bring this guy in" but the reality is, he has to think about the rest of the week and all 162 games, and keeping guys healthy.

 

It's not as easy as it looks from the armchair.

 

I'm a Cora fanboy. I'm fully confident that he has a reason for everything he does. Some of those reasons are open to question, sure. But I highly doubt any other manager could do much better than he does.

[moonslav59]

To me, had Cora brought in a top RP'er with a 5 run lead in the 9th, I'd have wondered why.

[Bellhorn04]

To me, had Cora brought in a top RP'er with a 5 run lead in the 9th, I'd have wondered why.

 

Oh yeah, I've heard people bitch when the closer is used with a 4 run lead in the 9th. (And anyone who points out that it's a "non-save" situation as a reason should be tied to the stake and flagellated.)

 

Par for the course for sure.

[Hugh2]

I'm a Cora fanboy. I'm fully confident that he has a reason for everything he does. Some of those reasons are open to question, sure. But I highly doubt any other manager could do much better than he does.

 

Agreed, a manager can only do so much. To some Cora is the worse manager, well......5 years ago he was the greatest manager. He also had the luxury of managing a team capable of winning well over 100 games. Give Cora a roster like that again and watch how much better his decisions look.

[notin]

Agreed, a manager can only do so much. To some Cora is the worse manager, well......5 years ago he was the greatest manager. He also had the luxury of managing a team capable of winning well over 100 games. Give Cora a roster like that again and watch how much better his decisions look.

 

I lost a lot of faith in Cora after the way he handled Hill and Barnes last year. Hill was actually the Sox best SP, but was basically assigned a pitching partner for his games and was pulled very quickly several times. Barnes was the Sox worst RP but was given sole province for all extra inning games in the early parts. And was a huge factor in the Sox poor record in extra innings…

[notin]

Oh yeah, I've heard people bitch when the closer is used with a 4 run lead in the 9th. (And anyone who points out that it's a "non-save" situation as a reason should be tied to the stake and flagellated.)

 

Par for the course for sure.

 

I do think more flagellating is a good thing…

[sk7326]

I lost a lot of faith in Cora after the way he handled Hill and Barnes last year. Hill was actually the Sox best SP, but was basically assigned a pitching partner for his games and was pulled very quickly several times. Barnes was the Sox worst RP but was given sole province for all extra inning games in the early parts. And was a huge factor in the Sox poor record in extra innings…

 

I guess - but the team squeezed every drop from its pitching in 2021 ... and honestly he has done a good job with the pitching staff this season, despite having to deal with Corey Kluber's rotting corpse. (now the BBRef and Fangraphs measurements have much different opinions on the pitching) ...

 

I really give much more credit to the truly wretched defense the team has put together.

[vegasbob]

Not even considering trades , the roster is about to get a shakeup over the next week , getting past the A-S game with some of the walking wounded returning creating a logjam even on the 40 man roster. Look for the WooSox to get a lot better and the Red Sox to get stronger . Also a couple guys will get their MLB status revised by the DFA route.

 

Names TBD but include Chang , Reyes, Hamilton, Rodriguez, McGuire, Bleier, Alfaro, Schreiber ( late July) but not Sale nor Kluber . Signing Alfaro to a contract for the rest of the year, although cheap, tells me McGuire could be a 60 day IL situation.