A Realistic View at 2022: Part III

[mvp 78]

JBJ was well liked, and there wasn’t a big uproar when he left except for why he was traded for in the first place.

 

Maybe he wasn't really well liked then?

[moonslav59]

Maybe he wasn't really well liked then?

 

Maybe he was liked but not a "leader."

[moonslav59]

He needs to make sure that he doesn't trade for guys that are well liked in the future. That way they are easier to deal off whenever.

 

When you trade them in the offseason, nobody is around to quote about their displeasure.

[notin]

He needs to make sure that he doesn't trade for guys that are well liked in the future. That way they are easier to deal off whenever.

 

No!!

 

We like those guys!!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Interesting to see how Bloom gets bashed for having crappy players on the team, and when he cuts them, he gets bashed for that, too.

 

Bloom definitely gets bashed by fans for acquiring crappy players, but the only ones bashing him for cutting them are teammates (and maybe their pals in the media). The latter is certainly interesting to fans, when we get to hear or read players' opinions about the state of the organization.

 

If players think team chemistry is disrupted by front office moves, it literally shouldn't affect their own performances in a sport based on the sum deeds of isolated individuals. But thoughts can be powerfully hard to ignore...or forget.

 

I always thought Vazquez was overrated as a catcher, and stated it in a few posts the past few years (along with Moon). But it was still disconcerting that players and coaches were so disconcerted when Bloom traded him in the middle of a wild card race.

[vegasbob]

A. J. Pierzynski is only 46 and reportedly kept his catcher's mitt well oiled since 2016. He was always a favorite among fans and teammates

[notin]

A. J. Pierzynski is only 46 and reportedly kept his catcher's mitt well oiled since 2016. He was always a favorite among fans and teammates

 

Huh?

 

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/nlcs-game-3-cardinals-giants-aj-pierzynski-booed-att-park-clubhouse-cancer/1vaegne816v131ayh5pk1t4nal

 

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2012/06/13/mens-journal-survey-a-j-pierzynski-is-baseballs-most-hated-player-philly-has-the-most-obnoxious-fans/

 

And there are others.

 

Now, a lot of this is hype, and Pierzynski was certainly very approachable and affable with the Chicago media. But he was very, very far from being well-liked. Particularly by Giants’ teammates…

[notin]

Bloom definitely gets bashed by fans for acquiring crappy players, but the only ones bashing him for cutting them are teammates (and maybe their pals in the media). The latter is certainly interesting to fans, when we get to hear or read players' opinions about the state of the organization.

 

If players think team chemistry is disrupted by front office moves, it literally shouldn't affect their own performances in a sport based on the sum deeds of isolated individuals. But thoughts can be powerfully hard to ignore...or forget.

 

I always thought Vazquez was overrated as a catcher, and stated it in a few posts the past few years (along with Moon). But it was still disconcerting that players and coaches were so disconcerted when Bloom traded him in the middle of a wild card race.

 

I think the reaction to the deal of Vazquez was more about the message than the actual deal or Vazquez himself. Suddenly “Wai! We’re … sellers?”

[vegasbob]

The reality of 2022 is that either 5 or 6 teams , based on final roster accounting and other adjustments , will get to pay some Competitive Balance Tax . 5 of the potential 6 will be in contention for a championship going into the post season. Guess who is the lone missing one? It's not the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, or even the #6 Braves, who will be below the Tax threshhold. The Red Sox won't be there competing . Is that Bloom or Cora's direct fault or the consequence of having some $63 million in dead contract money and/or players who cannot physically play?

 

The 7th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 21st and 23rd payroll teams will likely all be there . ( SD, HOU, TOR, STL, SEA, TBR).

 

The off season program for Bloom and Henry needs to be a lot more about players who can play the game and can stand up to a 162 game schedule, backed by bench or AAA depth when the inevitable injuries do arise. Bloom has spent time and resources running numerous "depth" auditions on the current 40 man roster with mixed to lesser results. Don't focus on the money side, focus on players who can help this uniform win next year

[vegasbob]

Huh?

 

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/nlcs-game-3-cardinals-giants-aj-pierzynski-booed-att-park-clubhouse-cancer/1vaegne816v131ayh5pk1t4nal

 

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2012/06/13/mens-journal-survey-a-j-pierzynski-is-baseballs-most-hated-player-philly-has-the-most-obnoxious-fans/

 

And there are others.

 

Now, a lot of this is hype, and Pierzynski was certainly very approachable and affable with the Chicago media. But he was very, very far from being well-liked. Particularly by Giants’ teammates…

 

I don't think you get sarcasm, maybe just don't like it as a means of pointing out the obvious. The fact I pointed out his age should have been a clue.

[dgalehouse]

Something wrong with Whitlock. Looks like surgery is needed.

[moonslav59]

Something wrong with Whitlock. Looks like surgery is needed.

 

Yup.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/garrett-whitlock-to-undergo-season-ending-surgery.html

[moonslav59]

Snakebite Season!

[mvp 78]

Yup.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/garrett-whitlock-to-undergo-season-ending-surgery.html

 

He should have been shutdown weeks ago.

[Old Red]

Yup.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/garrett-whitlock-to-undergo-season-ending-surgery.html

 

Why did this take so long? Seems like most of the injuries this year starting with Sale is worse off than first thought, and recovery time has taken much longer than first thought.

[moonslav59]

Why did this take so long? Seems like most of the injuries this year starting with Sale is worse off than first thought, and recovery time has taken much longer than first thought.

 

I know, right?

 

They say "ready by spring training."

 

I doubt it!

[moonslav59]

Why did this take so long? Seems like most of the injuries this year starting with Sale is worse off than first thought, and recovery time has taken much longer than first thought.

 

Yup.

 

They also said Paxton by July. I know he had a new injury, but he wouldn't have been ready until late August, at the earliest, anyway.

 

Kike's injury turned into a nightmare.

 

Our players are dropping like flies.

[Bellhorn04]

Why did this take so long? Seems like most of the injuries this year starting with Sale is worse off than first thought, and recovery time has taken much longer than first thought.

 

Yes, complaints about the medical staff are another long-standing beef of Red Sox fans...

[moonslav59]

Yes, complaints about the medical staff are another long-standing beef of Red Sox fans...

 

It might be nice if just one player returns before expected/suggested.

[Bellhorn04]

It might be nice if just one player returns before expected/suggested.

 

I think it's another case of "you can't win", because if guys come back earlier than expected and don't look 100% or re-aggravate the injury, you know how well that goes over.

 

Baseball players just seem to be more injury-prone than we think they should be. All kinds of weird injuries that do seem to take forever to get better.

[Old Red]

Yes, complaints about the medical staff are another long-standing beef of Red Sox fans...

 

Can’t blame Dr. Pappas now.

[notin]

Yes, complaints about the medical staff are another long-standing beef of Red Sox fans...

 

And probably undeserved in many cases.

 

Chris Sale had elbow surgery and broken ribs followed by a broken finger and then a broken wrist. Exactly what was the Sox medical staff supposed to do for any of that? The treatment for broken bones is time. There’s no pill or surgery. Time…

[moonslav59]

And probably undeserved in many cases.

 

Chris Sale had elbow surgery and broken ribs followed by a broken finger and then a broken wrist. Exactly what was the Sox medical staff supposed to do for any of that? The treatment for broken bones is time. There’s no pill or surgery. Time…

 

I suggested bubble wrap, but nobody agreed!

 

[harmony]

From Tuesday's MLB Trade Rumors report on the six teams that will pay the competitive balance tax this year:

For a team like the Red Sox, who exceeded the tax by just $4.5MM, that means they’ll see their potential compensation for Xander Bogaerts — a lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer — shrink considerably. It also lessens the incentive to extend a qualifying offer to a more borderline candidate like Nathan Eovaldi, who’s been shelved for more than a month due to shoulder inflammation.

 

It also further welcomes scrutiny of Boston’s decision to hang onto veterans such as Eovaldi, Rich Hill and J.D. Martinez at the trade deadline. It’s certainly commendable that the club sought to remain in the Wild Card mix, but the Sox sent some mixed signals by trading Christian Vazquez (and to a much lesser extent, Jake Diekman) while simultaneously acquiring Tommy Pham and a paid-down-to-league-minimum Eric Hosmer. The Red Sox didn’t really commit to shattering the threshold in the name of an all-out postseason push in 2022 but also didn’t take the necessary steps to maximize their return in the event that Bogaerts departs in free agency. The result could be that their compensation for losing Bogaerts, a four-time All-Star who’s received MVP votes in four different seasons, will be a single draft pick somewhere in the 135 to 140 vicinity next summer. That’s not necessarily a franchise-altering outcome, but it’s also far from ideal.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/mets-dodgers-luxury-tax-yankees-red-sox-phillies-padres.html

[notin]

I think it's another case of "you can't win", because if guys come back earlier than expected and don't look 100% or re-aggravate the injury, you know how well that goes over.

 

Baseball players just seem to be more injury-prone than we think they should be. All kinds of weird injuries that do seem to take forever to get better.

 

 

If only we had some sort of drug players could take to heal faster…

[moonslav59]

From Tuesday's MLB Trade Rumors report on the six teams that will pay the competitive balance tax this year:

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/09/mets-dodgers-luxury-tax-yankees-red-sox-phillies-padres.html

 

I thought we were over by more than $4.5M. We could have traded JD and paid about $2.5M of his $7M remaining and stayed below the line.

[mvp 78]

If only we had some sort of drug players could take to heal faster…

 

I guess it was the wrong day for Sale to start sniffing glue.

[mvp 78]

I thought we were over by more than $4.5M. We could have traded JD and paid about $2.5M of his $7M remaining and stayed below the line.

 

The takeaway could be that Bloom didn't care as much about getting under as he did about appearing to stay competitive?

[moonslav59]

The takeaway could be that Bloom didn't care as much about getting under as he did about appearing to stay competitive?

 

That appears to be the only reasonable excuse.

 

I know I caught grief for saying Bloom/Henry buckled to crybaby fans, and that was a poor choice of words, but I stand by my position that we gave up a golden opportunity to significantly improve our future outlook (Yes, Red, nothing is guaranteed next year and beyond) to give the fans a false sense of trying to stay competitive, this year. As it turned out, the players media and much of Sox Nation were still pissed off we traded Vaz and didn't trade for more key pieces. We played it halfway and lost the season, anyway.

 

We did slightly improve our longer term outlook, and in hindsight, McGuire & Pham have outplayed Vaz and Diekman since the deadline, but apparently, to Sox Nation, we packed it in on deadline day. Would trading JD with $2.4M really made things any worse?

[Bellhorn04]

That appears to be the only reasonable excuse.

 

I know I caught grief for saying Bloom/Henry buckled to crybaby fans, and that was a poor choice of words, but I stand by my position that we gave up a golden opportunity to significantly improve our future outlook (Yes, Red, nothing is guaranteed next year and beyond) to give the fans a false sense of trying to stay competitive, this year. As it turned out, the players media and much of Sox Nation were still pissed off we traded Vaz and didn't trade for more key pieces. We played it halfway and lost the season, anyway.

 

We did slightly improve our longer term outlook, and in hindsight, McGuire & Pham have outplayed Vaz and Diekman since the deadline, but apparently, to Sox Nation, we packed it in on deadline day. Would trading JD with $2.4M really made things any worse?

 

If we didn't have Sale and other guys expected back after the deadline I'd agree with the fire sale thing. Sale could have been a nice difference-maker. We'll never know.