Fire Bloom .

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I was all onboard the Pham idea once (I believe) you suggested it.

 

But that doesn’t mean a platoon was ever necessarily the plan. The Sox could have simply trotted JBJ out to RF every day solely for the very reason he was acquired in the first place - defense. Which is an aspect of the game that is independent of the arm used by the opposing starting pitcher.

 

But somehow, Arroyo got into the mix. A lot of people have said this was Bloom’s idea or that Cora had no other RHH options. (In his previous job, Tampa never just thrust a player into a position he never played before for the sake of a platoon.)

 

So did Bloom decide Arroyo was the RHH corner OF? Or did Cora use him because he wanted a platoon in RF?

 

You can argue that maybe Cora wanted a RHH OF for a platoon and Bloom didn’t come through. I’m sure that kind of roster oversight is rampant in MLB. But Cora still would have had the option of simply not platooning JBJ. So again, whose idea was it to put Arroyo in RF? On this board, that decision appears to fall unilaterally on Bloom.

 

I know at one point, Bloom talked about getting a RHH OF. But was that to platoon with Bradley? Or was it to start in RF? As Story was not yet onboard, it is possible the plan was Kike at 2b, Bradley in CF, and the RHH OF (Suzuki?) in RF. That the Sox were interested in Suzuki at all indicates this is possible. Certainly their interest in him wasn’t to platoon him with JBJ. That would make zero sense for the expected money involved.

 

So maybe the “RHH OF” some were expecting turned out to be Story, and the roster was built without a RF platoon? So how did Arroyo get into the mix at all? Too many seem to think “Bloom did it because he’s clueless.” But maybe Cora - who has absolutely shown he is a fan of Arroyo - decided it was one way to get his bat into the lineup on occasion and thought he was athletic enough to handle the change…

 

All speculative albeit viable points. So let's say Arroyo RF was all Cora -- and the CBO watched the debacle (that also necessitated using Duran and Cordero in the outfield) just like the rest of us. Isn't this also on Bloom for not realizing it was not working at all, and not providing competent reinforcements?

 

Or if Bloom's manager was so misusing the roster he provided, why hasn't he fired the guy yet? (granted, it's not like telling the Yankees manager in 1920, "I bought you the league's best left-handed pitcher of the past decade, and you're playing him in rightfield?")

[Kimmi]

Aside from Kimmi, who else refuses to see flaws in Bloom?

 

In my defense, I have acknowledged mistakes made by Bloom.

 

His overall philosophy, however, is spot on.

[Kimmi]

It would be good if we stuck to baseball. Honestly , this site is getting a little too annoying. I am pretty easygoing , but this stuff takes up too much space . And it never ends .

 

Post of the day.

[notin]

I don't think Bloom literally forced him, but I expect he was involved in conversations about the outfield configuration and how to use Arroyo, and he is the guy who actually put the personnel in place.

 

Possible.

 

Ultimately filling out the lineup card falls on Cora, and if he decided “Bradley everyday” it would have made me think he just took the defensive upgrade and eschewed any notion of a platoon. If he penciled in Arroyo, he was clearly focusing on offense and probably has faith that Arroyo would at least be passable on D.

 

Arguments can be made for and against both lineups, but I just think ultimately those are Cora decisions…

[Kimmi]

Bogey is right, and the players in the clubhouse are pissed, and know Bloom has given up on them

 

Coming from the supposed team leader, this is not a good thing for Bogaerts to say. He was being honest, and yes, you can acknowledge that losing Vazquez hurts, but don't sell your remaining teammates short. Show some confidence in yourself and your remaining teammates to be good enough to get the job done.

[Kimmi]

No one wanted JD, he is an aging declining player who can't run and can't field. Thankfully he will be off the team next year.

 

Supposedly, Bloom set the asking prices for JD, Eovaldi, and others high. And rightly so, IMO.

[notin]

Most outlets that I have read have given hang 'em chaim a failing grade for his deadline moves.

 

I think his biggest mistake was not getting at least one bullpen arm.

 

I’m pretty anti-Hosmer, but his contract is a non-factor and he’s Keith Hernandez compared to Cordero…

[Maxbialystock]

Well said. It worked out last night, but do you want, and trust Davis, and the SOURMAN coming into a 1 run ballgame in the 7-8 inning and shut things down?

 

Meh. First and foremost, you need a freaking lead or at least a 1 run game to want to "shut things down" in the 7-9 innings. Given the struggles of both the rotation and the line up over the last few weeks, that hasn't happened very often.

 

Second, for the first time in a long time, Cora right now has three really good late inning guys--Schreiber, Whitlock, and Houck--two of whom (Houck and Whitlock) can go 2 innings if needed.

 

Third, I'm pretty sure the market for good relievers was red hot--by which I mean expensive--on August 1/2 because everybody but everybody with any hope of the playoffs wanted to buttress their bullpen.

 

Fourth, the Sox just won three straight while having to depend on the bullpen to go 4 scoreless innings vs. the Brewers, 2 vs. the Astros, and 3 vs. the Astros.

[Kimmi]

Does anyone think this was a good trade deadline for the Red Sox? I don’t know what to make of it.

 

It's about what I expected. I wouldn't say it was necessarily good, but I definitely wouldn't say it was bad either. I hate losing Vazquez. But outside of that, I think that both the present and the future have been upgraded a little bit.

[mvp 78]

Stop.

 

Kimmi, you should use your posse to make these posters behave.

[Bellhorn04]

Possible.

 

Ultimately filling out the lineup card falls on Cora, and if he decided “Bradley everyday” it would have made me think he just took the defensive upgrade and eschewed any notion of a platoon. If he penciled in Arroyo, he was clearly focusing on offense and probably has faith that Arroyo would at least be passable on D.

 

Arguments can be made for and against both lineups, but I just think ultimately those are Cora decisions…

 

I think Cora said very early on that it would be a platoon in right.

 

Cora definitely likes his platoons, for better or worse.

[Bellhorn04]

Post of the day.

 

But somewhat contradicted by the one you said "Stop" to.

[mvp 78]

In my defense, I have acknowledged mistakes made by Bloom.

 

His overall philosophy, however, is spot on.

 

Wasn't trying to speak negatively of you. You are just the most pro-Bloom poster on here and I have zero problem with it. Most other posters have done their fair share of criticizing.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I think his biggest mistake was not getting at least one bullpen arm.

 

I’m pretty anti-Hosmer, but his contract is a non-factor and he’s Keith Hernandez compared to Cordero…

 

If Hosmer revives with a change of scenery for the next two months, Bloom will have another offseason trade chip. Imagine the value of a decent first baseman being paid $44 million by his old team not to play for them?

[Kimmi]

Kimmi, you should use your posse to make these posters behave.

 

I will put you in charge of that. You are, after all, the Ascended Master.

[Elktonnick]

It's about what I expected. I wouldn't say it was necessarily good, but I definitely wouldn't say it was bad either. I hate losing Vazquez. But outside of that, I think that both the present and the future have been upgraded a little bit.

I generally agree with your assessment.

 

Although I do not necessarily say I believe, it but word going around Beantown is that Vazquez was traded because he was Bloom's most vociferous critic in the clubhouse. Has anyone else heard that one?

[Bellhorn04]

It's about what I expected. I wouldn't say it was necessarily good, but I definitely wouldn't say it was bad either. I hate losing Vazquez. But outside of that, I think that both the present and the future have been upgraded a little bit.

 

Personally I'm happy they haven't given up on 2022.

 

I get what others are saying about not adding a reliever, though I imagine the prices were high.

[Bellhorn04]

I generally agree with your assessment.

 

Although I do not necessarily say I believe, it but word going around Beantown is that Vazquez was traded because he was Bloom's most vociferous critic in the clubhouse. Has anyone else heard that one?

 

Sounds a bit wacky.

[Old Red]

Coming from the supposed team leader, this is not a good thing for Bogaerts to say. He was being honest, and yes, you can acknowledge that losing Vazquez hurts, but don't sell your remaining teammates short. Show some confidence in yourself and your remaining teammates to be good enough to get the job done.

 

Coming from Bogey was a good thing, and I’m sure he was speaking for the whole clubhouse. I’m also sure that Bogey, and his teammates will give everything they got to win DESPITE BLOOM as they should.

[dgalehouse]

The Sox didn't do much , but Pham and Hosmer are an improvement from what we have seen. Just a couple.of more wins and the quitters and doubting Thomases will be climbing back on board the wild card train.

[Old Red]

I generally agree with your assessment.

 

Although I do not necessarily say I believe, it but word going around Beantown is that Vazquez was traded because he was Bloom's most vociferous critic in the clubhouse. Has anyone else heard that one?

 

I’m sure there was many.

[Bellhorn04]

The Sox didn't do much , but Pham and Hosmer are an improvement from what we have seen. Just a couple.of more wins and the quitters and doubting Thomases will be climbing back on board the wild card train.

 

You say let's stick to baseball but you keep taking shots at other posters - Bloom supporters, quitters etc.

[Old Red]

The Sox didn't do much , but Pham and Hosmer are an improvement from what we have seen. Just a couple.of more wins and the quitters and doubting Thomases will be climbing back on board the wild card train.

 

Right on, and we all know who will be leading the way, and say I told you so.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I generally agree with your assessment.

 

Although I do not necessarily say I believe, it but word going around Beantown is that Vazquez was traded because he was Bloom's most vociferous critic in the clubhouse. Has anyone else heard that one?

 

I didn't hear it, but thought it when the Bloom henchman grabbed Vaz and wouldn't let him talk to the media after he was traded. It was live on NESN, and the thug escorted Vaz right off the field in Houston. Maybe they wanted their Red Sox BP shirt returned.

[Maxbialystock]

Haven't you read elsewhere that team interns posing as fans join forums like this to put positive spins on their organizations no matter what? It's their jobs; just accept it.

 

And instead of complaining about them, call out their boss for specific moves or non-moves... like: 1) why add a legitimate 1B and right-swinging OF now -- did it really take 100 games to realize Arroyo in RF and Franchy anywhere on the big league diamond wasn't the answer; 2) why not add a legitimate bullpen arm or two or three -- or is the plan to burn out Schreiber, Whitlock and Houck in every game sniffing a lead the rest of the season and postseason (except in Toronto); 3) next time replacing an important regular position player -- like catcher -- get the new guy first, because really, it's ok if the tradebait return is then a little less than someone's #28 and 29 prospects.

 

About your three specifics--

 

1. The legitimate first baseman was what was available, not the result of deliberate manhunt conducted by Bloom. Coming into this season, he thought he had a good tandem in lefty bat Shaw (who was awful this year but good last year) and righty bat Dalbec (whose OPS last year was .792 in 417 at bats, but has been .647 this year).

 

2. Three good relievers for the 7-9 innings is better than last year's team had. Plus, as I said elsewhere, every GM whose team has a shot at a wild card was looking for "a legitimate bullpen arm or two or three" at the trade deadline. So those guys weren't going to go cheaply.

 

3. So far the Sox are 2-0 without Vazquez. The pitching has been superb without him. Vazquez finally started hitting again the last month or so, but overall this season he has been a disaster on the basepaths, not much better throwing out stealers, and not that good at working with the pitchers on the mound.

[Old Red]

You say let's stick to baseball but you keep taking shots at other posters - Bloom supporters, quitters etc.

 

Giving up on 2022 aren’t quitting?

[mvp 78]

I didn't hear it, but thought it when the Bloom henchman grabbed Vaz and wouldn't let him talk to the media after he was traded. It was live on NESN, and the thug escorted Vaz right off the field in Houston. Maybe they wanted their Red Sox BP shirt returned.

 

Can we get back to the real world please?

[notin]

All speculative albeit viable points. So let's say Arroyo RF was all Cora -- and the CBO watched the debacle (that also necessitated using Duran and Cordero in the outfield) just like the rest of us. Isn't this also on Bloom for not realizing it was not working at all, and not providing competent reinforcements?

 

Or if Bloom's manager was so misusing the roster he provided, why hasn't he fired the guy yet? (granted, it's not like telling the Yankees manager in 1920, "I bought you the league's best left-handed pitcher of the past decade, and you're playing him in rightfield?")

 

 

If Cora devised his own platoon, that’s not a friable offense IMHO.

 

At that point, presumably Bloom should help work with Cora to get to a viable platoon - something more necessitated by Bradley’s offensive ineptitude.

 

And the Sox did find a guy who could hit RHP and play RF. He just came in a very unlikely source - Rob Refsnyder. He was certainly a guy we all looked when acquired and thought “Worcester roster filler” but he’s been here all along…

[Kimmi]

But somewhat contradicted by the one you said "Stop" to.

 

Fair. I think we all, myself included, should try to stop taking shots at those who don't agree with us. While Denny's post didn't really bother me other than my strong disagreement to it, we don't want this turning into an 'us versus them' situation like you mentioned in a previous post. Sawxheads 2.0.

[dgalehouse]

You say let's stick to baseball but you keep taking shots at other posters - Bloom supporters, quitters etc.

 

Max.B. starts a reply to Old Red with , " Hey Dummy " and you say nothing. All the condescending and smart ass stuff from a few on here and you say nothing. But I'm taking shots at folks who have given up on the season already ? Give me a.break Bellhorn.