A Realistic View of 2023: Part II

[sk7326]

This is what I was saying the other day. Bloom didn't have an above-average number of bad moves, he actually had quite a lot of good moves, just never good big moves.

 

If Bloom was a ballplayer he'd be the all singles guy. The average would look ok but then you'd see that sub .700 ops.

 

I think this is right. As Kiley McDaniel put it on ESPN ... Bloom was given a pretty rough hand and asked to make miracles. He ended up doing a solid but not amazeballs result - and ownership bailed on him. I'd rate Bloom's performance as about a B/B- overall ... it's not inspiring, but there was progress being made. But ownership - as has been its wont throughout their time here - was not going to have his back through a rough PR patch. Now I am not all worked up about Bloom's ouster being a wild injustice or anything, but there is a "the one thing all your failed relationships have in common is you" aspect to how Henry has run things since Theo left.

[moonslav59]

I agree with this entire post. That's why I think the quickest -- and safer budget way -- for a new boss to turn the Sox back into a contender is to trade prospects for good starting pitchers who may still be a year or two away from free agency, and then immediately extend the new #1 or #2 to longterm deals... (I realize that's living in the Pedro past, but if it happened once...)

 

Never know -- maybe the idea of blowing out an elbow and losing a fleetload of mullah like Ohtani just did would appeal to an arm from the Brewers or Marlins.

 

It's happened more than once, but of course not as well as Pedro.

 

Schilling

Beckett

Sale

 

to some extent, Porcello

 

All were extended.

[moonslav59]

I think this is right. As Kiley McDaniel put it on ESPN ... Bloom was given a pretty rough hand and asked to make miracles. He ended up doing a solid but not amazeballs result - and ownership bailed on him. I'd rate Bloom's performance as about a B/B- overall ... it's not inspiring, but there was progress being made. But ownership - as has been its wont throughout their time here - was not going to have his back through a rough PR patch. Now I am not all worked up about Bloom's ouster being a wild injustice or anything, but there is a "the one thing all your failed relationships have in common is you" aspect to how Henry has run things since Theo left.

 

I do think Bloom deserves a B to B-, as of now, on the foundation/farm he built for te next guy. It's still mostly speculative and that grade could go up or down.

 

I do think he was dealt a rough hand to start with, in terms of trying to win at the big level, every year after 2020. I think he deserves some slack for 2021 and 2022, and he actually did fine in '21, despite my thinking he made better winter deals before '22 than '21.

 

It's the 2023 season that kills his grade for assembling the big club rosters to a winning combination. I have to give him a D in that area. C- would be okay.

 

Overall, I'd give him a C or maybe C+, but I am one to consider context more than others seem to do.

[sk7326]

I do think Bloom deserves a B to B-, as of now, on the foundation/farm he built for te next guy. It's still mostly speculative and that grade could go up or down.

 

I do think he was dealt a rough hand to start with, in terms of trying to win at the big level, every year after 2020. I think he deserves some slack for 2021 and 2022, and he actually did fine in '21, despite my thinking he made better winter deals before '22 than '21.

 

It's the 2023 season that kills his grade for assembling the big club rosters to a winning combination. I have to give him a D in that area. C- would be okay.

 

Overall, I'd give him a C or maybe C+, but I am one to consider context more than others seem to do.

 

I think ultimately both he and Dombrowski did the jobs ownership asked of them and got fired when things got even minimally difficult PR-wise. This was not as egregious as the Dombrowski firing but fits in the same general vibe.

[Bellhorn04]

I think ultimately both he and Dombrowski did the jobs ownership asked of them and got fired when things got even minimally difficult PR-wise. This was not as egregious as the Dombrowski firing but fits in the same general vibe.

 

It's like Dombrowski got fired for expensive success, and Bloom got fired for cut-rate failure.

[sk7326]

I do think Bloom deserves a B to B-, as of now, on the foundation/farm he built for te next guy. It's still mostly speculative and that grade could go up or down.

 

I do think he was dealt a rough hand to start with, in terms of trying to win at the big level, every year after 2020. I think he deserves some slack for 2021 and 2022, and he actually did fine in '21, despite my thinking he made better winter deals before '22 than '21.

 

It's the 2023 season that kills his grade for assembling the big club rosters to a winning combination. I have to give him a D in that area. C- would be okay.

 

Overall, I'd give him a C or maybe C+, but I am one to consider context more than others seem to do.

 

One player does not a GM's resume make ... but it is fun to note that he got fired just as Roman Anthony might end up starting next year as the top prospect in all of baseball.

[moonslav59]

It's like Dombrowski got fired for expensive success, and Bloom got fired for cut-rate failure.

 

The pendulum needs to not swing so far each way. In fact, how about just resting somewhere in the middle?

[notin]

The pendulum needs to not swing so far each way. In fact, how about just resting somewhere in the middle?

 

Moderately-priced mediocrity?

[moonslav59]

One player does not a GM's resume make ... but it is fun to note that he got fired just as Roman Anthony might end up starting next year as the top prospect in all of baseball.

 

I'm pretty high on Teel, too.

 

Another guy kind of lost is the talk due to an injury is Bleis.

 

We have a really solid top 5. The second tier, maybe headlined by Rafaela and Cespedes seems hard to grade out, but that's probably true for most team's 6-10 or 12 prospects.

 

I know some here seem to get upset when we get optimistic about our prospects and the future, but I find it odd that not everyone can see the skills so many of our prospects have and not think a few are going to be highly impactful.

 

Perhaps the prevailing view of Bloom will be changed in 4-6 years, as we see some of these kids hitting their strides.

 

[oldtimer]

I do think Bloom deserves a B to B-, as of now, on the foundation/farm he built for te next guy. It's still mostly speculative and that grade could go up or down.

 

I do think he was dealt a rough hand to start with, in terms of trying to win at the big level, every year after 2020. I think he deserves some slack for 2021 and 2022, and he actually did fine in '21, despite my thinking he made better winter deals before '22 than '21.

 

It's the 2023 season that kills his grade for assembling the big club rosters to a winning combination. I have to give him a D in that area. C- would be okay.

 

Overall, I'd give him a C or maybe C+, but I am one to consider context more than others seem to do.

 

The next GM may not ne a guy.

[moonslav59]

Moderately-priced mediocrity?

 

Not al all.

 

Just a balanced approach. Some big contracts, some moderate, some small.

 

A willingness to trade top prospects without trading almost all of them.

 

A willingness to go out and get what is needed at the deadline, or to pull the plug, when needed and stop being afraid of the backlash, if you choose to fire sale a summer.

 

Whichever way we go, we need to start hitting better on our larger deals.

 

If all these guys earned their money, we'd have still been in the race, this year:

 

Sale

Story

Yoshi

 

Even 1 out of 3 would be a vast improvement.

 

[moonslav59]

The next GM may not ne a guy.

 

Yes, he might be identified as a they.

[Larry Cook]

I do think Bloom deserves a B to B-, as of now, on the foundation/farm he built for te next guy. It's still mostly speculative and that grade could go up or down.

 

I do think he was dealt a rough hand to start with, in terms of trying to win at the big level, every year after 2020. I think he deserves some slack for 2021 and 2022, and he actually did fine in '21, despite my thinking he made better winter deals before '22 than '21.

 

It's the 2023 season that kills his grade for assembling the big club rosters to a winning combination. I have to give him a D in that area. C- would be okay.

 

Overall, I'd give him a C or maybe C+, but I am one to consider context more than others seem to do.

 

Something else to consider! Desperate Dave had run off almost the entire analytics department and Hang’em Chaim literally had to rebuild that entire department from scratch. I think when he took over, everybody acknowledged that we were light years behind most other teams thanks to desperate Dave.

 

Under Hang’em Chaim’s reign of terror, our baseball analytics department is world class now.

 

At the end of the day, Hang’em Chaim had all the information necessary to sign guys and make trades.

 

I think the biggest problem for Hang’em Chaim was first, that he is very rigid and overpriced his assets. And secondly, he undervalued pitching for some strange reason.

 

Hang’em Chaim is best when being a number 2 guy in an organization, someone with more personality and some flexibility should be in charge.

[Hugh2]

I'd give him a B- at best, maybe even a C.

 

May sound greedy, but I expect nothing less than an A in Boston.

[illinoisredsox]

The pendulum needs to not swing so far each way. In fact, how about just resting somewhere in the middle?

 

 

The first sentence of your comment is the ideal.

 

The answer to the second one is because that’s not what pendulums are built for.

[moonslav59]

The first sentence of your comment is the ideal.

 

The answer to the second one is because that’s not what pendulums are built for.

 

It could be a slow swinging pendulum that is almost at rest- swing just slightly left and right.

[moonslav59]

Something else to consider! Desperate Dave had run off almost the entire analytics department and Hang’em Chaim literally had to rebuild that entire department from scratch. I think when he took over, everybody acknowledged that we were light years behind most other teams thanks to desperate Dave.

 

Under Hang’em Chaim’s reign of terror, our baseball analytics department is world class now.

 

At the end of the day, Hang’em Chaim had all the information necessary to sign guys and make trades.

 

I think the biggest problem for Hang’em Chaim was first, that he is very rigid and overpriced his assets. And secondly, he undervalued pitching for some strange reason.

 

Hang’em Chaim is best when being a number 2 guy in an organization, someone with more personality and some flexibility should be in charge.

 

I can understand overvaluing your own guys, but there comes a point, at times, when the best idea is to trade a guy for the best return you can get, regardless of it not being "good enough."

 

Getting something is better than getting nothing or just a comp pick.

[dgalehouse]

You should not get a passing grade when you finish in last place.

[notin]

The first sentence of your comment is the ideal.

 

The answer to the second one is because that’s not what pendulums are built for.

Well, they all do it eventually thanks to the laws of thermodynamics...

[Duran Is The Man]

You should not get a passing grade when you finish in last place.

 

Three times in four years gets a solid F from me.

[moonslav59]

Three times in four years gets a solid F from me.

 

So, 4 out of 4 is an F-?

 

I don't count 2020.

[sk7326]

I'm pretty high on Teel, too.

 

Another guy kind of lost is the talk due to an injury is Bleis.

 

We have a really solid top 5. The second tier, maybe headlined by Rafaela and Cespedes seems hard to grade out, but that's probably true for most team's 6-10 or 12 prospects.

 

I know some here seem to get upset when we get optimistic about our prospects and the future, but I find it odd that not everyone can see the skills so many of our prospects have and not think a few are going to be highly impactful.

 

Perhaps the prevailing view of Bloom will be changed in 4-6 years, as we see some of these kids hitting their strides.

 

 

Teel has a super high floor. He might be slower to arrive just because of the non-physical stuff catchers have to learn.

 

I think there are 3 clear guys to push chips behind - Anthony, Mayer and Teel ... yes Mayer's numbers at Portland are bad, but he is one of the youngest regulars at the level (Anthony crushing it even younger is a hilariously great sign).

 

Bleis obviously is a lot of dreaming still.

 

Rafaela is a big league SOMETHING. His hit tool will determine whatever that is.

[moonslav59]

Teel has a super high floor. He might be slower to arrive just because of the non-physical stuff catchers have to learn.

 

I think there are 3 clear guys to push chips behind - Anthony, Mayer and Teel ... yes Mayer's numbers at Portland are bad, but he is one of the youngest regulars at the level (Anthony crushing it even younger is a hilariously great sign).

 

Bleis obviously is a lot of dreaming still.

 

Rafaela is a big league SOMETHING. His hit tool will determine whatever that is.

 

Bleis is only 19 and had a very good FCL year before his injury, this year. SP's has this as his summary:

 

Potential everyday player who adds significant value in all facets of the game. High-risk prospect with a wide variance of outcomes. Checks all the boxes you look for in a prospect his age. If he reaches his potential, all five tools could grade at least as average. Raw power is his best current tool, but has the potential to hit for average as well. Has the highest upside of any Latin American prospect in the system. Scouts praised him as the best position player they saw in the FCL during the 2022 season.

[Duran Is The Man]

So, 4 out of 4 is an F-?

 

I don't count 2020.

 

count it or dont. MLB counts it. had they not finished EXACTLY where i thought they'd finish this year, i might be inclined to give him a better grade. and i don't think he should get a higher grade due to better draft picks because they were so freakin' awful.

[moonslav59]

count it or dont. MLB counts it. had they not finished EXACTLY where i thought they'd finish this year, i might be inclined to give him a better grade. and i don't think he should get a higher grade due to better draft picks because they were so freakin' awful.

 

Comedian.

[Duran Is The Man]

Comedian.

 

they have been laughably bad, in large part due to CB.

[moonslav59]

they have been laughably bad, in large part due to CB.

 

You should do stand-up.

[Duran Is The Man]

You should do stand-up.

 

what is truly funny is thinking CB gets a B or B-. AYFKM? i think you are usually very fair-minded but ...c'mon man.

[moonslav59]

what is truly funny is thinking CB gets a B or B-. AYFKM? i think you are usually very fair-minded but ...c'mon man.

 

Strawman.

 

I did not give him a B or B-. I gave him a C to C-, maybe a C+ after we see what happens with his guys.

 

Based on the foundation and farm he left the next guy weighing against the D he gets for 2022 and 2023's MLB teams, it's about a C.

 

How is saying his draft picks are freakin awful anything but stand up comedy?

 

AYFKM?????

[notin]

what is truly funny is thinking CB gets a B or B-. AYFKM? i think you are usually very fair-minded but ...c'mon man.

 

It’s not like we’re know what his marching orders were.

 

Was he hired to win or to rebuild the farm and cut payroll?