How is Bloom doing as a GM?

[notin]

The two veteran starters added last winter were definitely better than the two you listed that left. But some of the other match-ups are a stretch, since guys like Marwin, Andreise and Santana didn't even last the season last season. You've made other posts that Story effectively replaced Renfroe, right?

 

Plus, you left out Diekman, and that Robles replaced Robles, and the fact that Bloom didn't replace a league-leading home run hitter he didn't even try to resign.

 

Most of the additions you listed have been ok, except for 10-1 Wacha, this year's unexpected star. But with all the money coming off the books, the Sox are primed to add legitimate All-Star players and not just another handful of mediocre acquisitions (and that counts Story, a decent contributor, albeit with a 30% K-rate).

 

Huh?

[Old Red]

He pays attention to TV ratings and attendance numbers.

 

He doesn’t know this site exists and wouldn’t (also, shouldn’t) care about what we had to say even if he did…

 

He listens to the local talk shows, and even showed up at the Felger, and Mass show. He said he was there to help them with their ratings, so he does know what’s being said around town.

[moonslav59]

Oh you better believe he'd be bashed for trading JD and Eovaldi. That would have been a clear sign of giving up. Unfortunately, Bloom is in a "damned if you do damned if you don't seat" maybe it's deserving, maybe it's not. If the Sox bounces back with a 95 win season next year his seat is going to cool down a lot, but at this point here's going to be a very vocal crowd of Bostonians that will always dislike him no matter what he does now. That's just the nature of fans.

 

He deserves criticism, and a lot for some moves, but it seems like a lot of the good he has done is minimized and context ignored.

 

He was handed a very difficult situation, where he had to cut $60M from a team already showing serious signs of decline. The budget was severely limited for 2021 as well, and it looked like last winter, too, until late March and the Story signing. The inherited farm gave him Houck and Dalbec over 3 years.

 

I just think 90 win expectations were too high for 2021 and 2022, it's just that 2021's success ballooned expectations for 2022. (Now, we should be on pace for 82-86 wins, and we are not. There are a lot of reasons for that and one is some of Bloom's failures. To me, he's far from the main reason we are where we are, this year. (Cora, too.)

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Huh?

 

Schwarber. And before some semantic posters jump down my screen because he didn't hit 30 HRs or lead the league for us, we all know how much more potent the Sox' heart of the order was when Kyle joined it.

 

All reports from the clubhouse noted Schwarber was a difference-maker, providing more thump in the batter's box, lengthening the line-up, and influencing teammates in both his approach to wearing down pitchers, and the subsequent meatballs that they got to feast on.

 

He wasn't re-signed nor replaced, and the club isn't as good without him.

[Bellhorn04]

Schwarber. And before some semantic posters jump down my screen because he didn't hit 30 HRs or lead the league for us, we all know how much more potent the Sox' heart of the order was when Kyle joined it.

 

All reports from the clubhouse noted Schwarber was a difference-maker, providing more thump in the batter's box, lengthening the line-up, and influencing teammates in both his approach to wearing down pitchers, and the subsequent meatballs that they got to feast on.

 

He wasn't re-signed nor replaced, and the club isn't as good without him.

 

It would have been great to bring him back, but 4 years and $79 million was a pile of money for his limited skill set.

[moonslav59]

It would have been great to bring him back, but 4 years and $79 million was a pile of money for his limited skill set.

 

I think he is now 3rd or 4th in HRs since 2018 or 2019.

 

Had we been able to trade JD, even by including $5-7M or a prospects, signing Schwarber would have been a no-brainer.

 

For those complaining about our 2022 1B defense, I do recall a lot of that about Schwarber's 1B D. If he wasn't going to play 1B, LF was already jammed full with Dugo and Duran to start the year. I guess we could have gone with Schwarber in LF, Kike in CF and Dugo in RF, and when Kike got hurt, JBJ in CF, but we didn't get JBJ to be the 4th OF'er- like it or not.

[Bellhorn04]

I think he is now 3rd or 4th in HRs since 2018 or 2019.

 

Had we been able to trade JD, even by including $5-7M or a prospects, signing Schwarber would have been a no-brainer.

 

For those complaining about our 2022 1B defense, I do recall a lot of that about Schwarber's 1B D. If he wasn't going to play 1B, LF was already jammed full with Dugo and Duran to start the year. I guess we could have gone with Schwarber in LF, Kike in CF and Dugo in RF, and when Kike got hurt, JBJ in CF, but we didn't get JBJ to be the 4th OF'er- like it or not.

 

Schwarb has 36 HR's this year.

 

He's also hitting .214, and he leads the NL in K's with 167.

[moonslav59]

Schwarb has 36 HR's this year.

 

He's also hitting .214, and he leads the NL in K's with 167.

 

It's an all or nothing league, now.

[Bellhorn04]

It's an all or nothing league, now.

 

Schwarb has an fWAR of 1.9 and a bWAR of 1.6.

[moonslav59]

Schwarb has an fWAR of 1.9 and a bWAR of 1.6.

 

That is much better than JBJ, Dalbec, Cordro and even JD...

 

But, not worth the money, so far.

 

I'd still rather have Story.

[Bellhorn04]

That is much better than JBJ, Dalbec, Cordro and even JD...

 

But, not worth the money, so far.

 

I'd still rather have Story.

 

Yep.

 

Story fWAR 2.2 bWAR 2.5

[redsoxrules]

It's an all or nothing league, now.

 

It is and it's quite sad. With all the shifts teams are doing, players could easily get bunt singles but those are not cool so they need to swing for the fences instead.

[moonslav59]

It is and it's quite sad. With all the shifts teams are doing, players could easily get bunt singles but those are not cool so they need to swing for the fences instead.

 

It amazes me that no manager has taught all the "shift batters" to bunt and demand they do it.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It amazes me that no manager has taught all the "shift batters" to bunt and demand they do it.

 

... especially in this age of ghost runners. It's almost like the industry won't tolerate bunting -- because why? Analytics has data that says it's bad to give away outs? Or do all the agents and players outright refuse, because there's no money in not swinging for the fences?

 

It just has to kill certain old school managers, who absolutely know how to move runners from scoring position to the plate without launch angles -- and that keeping their jobs is based (ideally) on wins and losses.

[Bellhorn04]

... especially in this age of ghost runners. It's almost like the industry won't tolerate bunting -- because why? Analytics has data that says it's bad to give away outs? Or do all the agents and players outright refuse, because there's no money in not swinging for the fences?

 

Yes, analytics hates giving away outs.

 

Bunting for a base hit is a different story, mind you.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It's an all or nothing league, now.

 

And yet, a massive power outage was one of the many factors that killed the 2022 Red Sox, who most of us consider a big bunch of whiffers. With a month to go, the Sox have actually struck out less than the Braves, Rays and Orioles, and are just a bad Dalbec night ahead of the Yankees and Mariners.

 

The thing is, a 40-home run slugger is going to cost $20 million per -- minimum. And it's been that way in Boston since at least 2018, when Dombrowski recruited JD Martinez. He also hit .330 and finished runner-up to Mookie for the batting title that first year, but a lot was made of his influence on teammates as a professional batsman.

 

We heard and read similar praise for Schwarber and his contributions to the Sox, and how he fit right in and augmented the clubhouse. Guys like that are worth paying for because of their positive effects on team chemistry. Unfortunately for front office types, there may not be a stat for it that factors into WAR calculations...

[moonslav59]

And yet, a massive power outage was one of the many factors that killed the 2022 Red Sox, who most of us consider a big bunch of whiffers. With a month to go, the Sox have actually struck out less than the Braves, Rays and Orioles, and are just a bad Dalbec night ahead of the Yankees and Mariners.

 

The thing is, a 40-home run slugger is going to cost $20 million per -- minimum. And it's been that way in Boston since at least 2018, when Dombrowski recruited JD Martinez. He also hit .330 and finished runner-up to Mookie for the batting title that first year, but a lot was made of his influence on teammates as a professional batsman.

 

We heard and read similar praise for Schwarber and his contributions to the Sox, and how he fit right in and augmented the clubhouse. Guys like that are worth paying for because of their positive effects on team chemistry. Unfortunately for front office types, there may not be a stat for it that factors into WAR calculations...

 

Story was an OBP and HR guy, plus a GG caliber fielder.

[Oscars]

Other than JBJ, his additions to a winning team were pretty good.

 

Wacha>Perez

Hill> Richards

Schreiber> Ottavino

Story>Marwin

Strahm>Andriese

Refsnyder>Santana

 

Renfroe>>>> JBJ

 

It was the carry over roster that s*** the bed (Sale, Nate, JD, Dalbec, Dugo, Barnes, the kid pitchers and to some extent Bogey and lately, Devers.)

 

Blame Bloom for not trading all the returning vets, if you want, but I get a snaeky suspicion, he'd have been bashed more for trying that, last winter.

 

The LH bat at 1st base stunk (Cordero) , Deikman walked every 2nd batter, no reliable closer, and relying on Barnes after his 2nd half in 2021 was indefensible.

[moonslav59]

Other than JBJ, his additions to a winning team were pretty good.

 

Wacha>Perez

Hill> Richards

Schreiber> Ottavino

Story>Marwin

Strahm>Andriese

Refsnyder>Santana

 

Renfroe>>>> JBJ

 

It was the carry over roster that s*** the bed (Sale, Nate, JD, Dalbec, Dugo, Barnes, the kid pitchers and to some extent Bogey and lately, Devers.)

 

Blame Bloom for not trading all the returning vets, if you want, but I get a snaeky suspicion, he'd have been bashed more for trying that, last winter.

 

The LH bat at 1st base stunk (Cordero) , Deikman walked every 2nd batter, no reliable closer, and relying on Barnes after his 2nd half in 2021 was indefensible.

 

Yup.

 

Why not talk about all the pluses Bloom added?

[notin]

And yet, a massive power outage was one of the many factors that killed the 2022 Red Sox, who most of us consider a big bunch of whiffers. With a month to go, the Sox have actually struck out less than the Braves, Rays and Orioles, and are just a bad Dalbec night ahead of the Yankees and Mariners.

 

The thing is, a 40-home run slugger is going to cost $20 million per -- minimum. And it's been that way in Boston since at least 2018, when Dombrowski recruited JD Martinez. He also hit .330 and finished runner-up to Mookie for the batting title that first year, but a lot was made of his influence on teammates as a professional batsman.

 

We heard and read similar praise for Schwarber and his contributions to the Sox, and how he fit right in and augmented the clubhouse. Guys like that are worth paying for because of their positive effects on team chemistry. Unfortunately for front office types, there may not be a stat for it that factors into WAR calculations...

 

You might be reading too much into some warped interpretation of stat types. After all, Bloom did go acquire Schwarber in the first place and ignored that he was injured at the time.

 

Reportedly the Sox were in on Schwarber and had interest in bringing him back. It looks to me like the primary reason they didn’t is Philly outbid them. And with other holes still left to fill, it may not have been the wrong move…

[Oscars]

 

Yup.

 

Why not talk about all the pluses Bloom added?

 

You are what your record says you are .

With the Red Sox last in their division , behind the Orioles and their 60 million dollar payroll, the 210 million dollar 2022 Bloom Red Sox are an epic failure, regardless of any signings that played well.

[moonslav59]

 

You are what your record says you are .

With the Red Sox last in their division , behind the Orioles and their 60 million dollar payroll, the 210 million dollar 2022 Bloom Red Sox are an epic failure, regardless of any signings that played well.

 

They are what you say they are, not me.

 

Bloom's Sox did better than those he inherited, so he did an okay job trying to improve on 2021. Apparently, he was supposed to be Nostradamus and trade away everyone but Houck and Vaz. That was the ticket to success in 2022.

 

Blame Bloom for not seeing what was so clear, right?

[Oscars]

 

They are what you say they are, not me.

 

Bloom's Sox did better than those he inherited, so he did an okay job trying to improve on 2021. Apparently, he was supposed to be Nostradamus and trade away everyone but Houck and Vaz. That was the ticket to success in 2022.

 

Blame Bloom for not seeing what was so clear, right?

 

Going into the season you had 2 injury prone starters in your rotation in Sale and Eovaldi, then you sign 2 more starters with an injury history in Hill and Wacha ( he has been excellent) , Bloom set up the sox with a high chance of getting the injury bug in the rotation, which has transpired.

The back up starters from triple A have had some good moments in the rotation, but have been asked to handle way too many starts due to injuries which has caught up with them.

[moonslav59]

 

Going into the season you had 2 injury prone starters in your rotation in Sale and Eovaldi, then you sign 2 more starters with an injury history in Hill and Wacha ( he has been excellent) , Bloom set up the sox with a high chance of getting the injury bug in the rotation, which has transpired.

The back up starters from triple A have had some good moments in the rotation, but have been asked to handle way too many starts due to injuries which has caught up with them.

 

Yes, he should have signed great and durable pitchers for $7M and $5M, He sucks!

 

You are right.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

 

Going into the season you had 2 injury prone starters in your rotation in Sale and Eovaldi, then you sign 2 more starters with an injury history in Hill and Wacha ( he has been excellent) , Bloom set up the sox with a high chance of getting the injury bug in the rotation, which has transpired.

The back up starters from triple A have had some good moments in the rotation, but have been asked to handle way too many starts due to injuries which has caught up with them.

 

A lot of posters saw this preseason and either anticipated or wished for at least one more starting pitcher, preferably someone younger and ideally more durable.

 

Some of them seem to have forgotten this, and instead try to keep defending the Story signing -- which only fortified another position filled by an injury-prone player.

 

In foresight, hindsight and eyesight, which position would be better prioritized for committing $140 million: pitching or second base?

[notin]

A lot of posters saw this preseason and either anticipated or wished for at least one more starting pitcher, preferably someone younger and ideally more durable.

 

Some of them seem to have forgotten this, and instead try to keep defending the Story signing -- which only fortified another position filled by an injury-prone player.

 

In foresight, hindsight and eyesight, which position would be better prioritized for committing $140 million: pitching or second base?

 

It seems like you would have preferred 1b over both and brought back Schwarber.

 

The big problem with Story’s money is Bloom couldn’t keep spending it over and over, like he was the MLB equivalent of Max Bialystok (yes I’m making that reference despite MLB really not working that way!)

Edited September 2, 2022 by notin

[moonslav59]

 

A lot of posters saw this preseason and either anticipated or wished for at least one more starting pitcher, preferably someone younger and ideally more durable.

 

Some of them seem to have forgotten this, and instead try to keep defending the Story signing -- which only fortified another position filled by an injury-prone player.

 

In foresight, hindsight and eyesight, which position would be better prioritized for committing $140 million: pitching or second base?

 

You still have to guess right and outbid these contracts:

 

$130M/3 Scherzer

$115M/5 R Ray 11-8 3.58

$110M/5 Gausman 10-9 3.14

$77M/5 ERod Major Cluster

$71M/3 Stroman 3-6 3.98

$56M/4 J Gray 7-6 3.83

 

It looks like we should have just brought Martin Perez back, instead of Robbles & Diekman.

 

10-5 2.89

 

I'm sure all the Bloom bashers would have loved that signing, at the time.

 

[moonslav59]

It seems like you would have preferred 1b over both and brought back Schwarber.

 

The big problem with Story’s money is Bloom couldn’t keep spending it over and over, like he was the MLB equivalent of Max Bialystok (yes I’m making that reference despite MLB really not working that way!)

 

I still wonder if Story was the guy Bloom wanted, all along. I get a feeling JH panicked and suddenly told Bloom, in March, it was OK to sign someone to about $150, and what choices were left, at that time.

 

Pure conjecture on my part, as we were apparently interested in Baez and Suzuki. In that respect, I'm glad we got Story.

[Old Red]

 

You still have to guess right and outbid these contracts:

 

$130M/3 Scherzer

$115M/5 R Ray 11-8 3.58

$110M/5 Gausman 10-9 3.14

$77M/5 ERod Major Cluster

$71M/3 Stroman 3-6 3.98

$56M/4 J Gray 7-6 3.83

 

It looks like we should have just brought Martin Perez back, instead of Robbles & Diekman.

 

10-5 2.89

 

I'm sure all the Bloom bashers would have loved that signing, at the time.

 

I was all for bringing ERod back at the time, and that would have been a big miss also.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It seems like you would have preferred 1b over both and brought back Schwarber.

 

The big problem with Story’s money is Bloom couldn’t keep spending it over and over, like he was the MLB equivalent of Max Bialystok (yes I’m making that reference despite MLB really not working that way!)

 

I would've re-signed Schwarber over Story, mainly because Schwarbs was a known commodity proven successful in Boston, which isn't always a guarantee -- as Big Papi tells us. Story is a better all-around player and might still have a good career in Boston, but we know the Sox already won with Schwarber. In retrospect, the latter's HR bat would've made more of a diff in this year's power outage, while Arroyo was more than competent at second (with promising middle infielders in the pipeline).

 

I also wanted Rodon, especially at market value for one year... even Thor; if we're staying over the tax threshold, might as well put some quality out there, as least for the spectators...

 

As for the mystery behind the Story signing -- if it indeed was insurance in case Bogey leaves, the cost left too many roster holes unfilled this season... and that's not only inexcusable, but unfeasible. I'll still be surprised if Story moves back to short, even if X is history...