08/11 Tigers @ Red Sox

[Maxbialystock]

Having to use two openers against Toronto was just wrong to me. You’ve been a Red Sox fan longer than me, so I’ll concede you know more than I do.

 

I doubt that I know more than you.

[Old Red]

I doubt that I know more than you.

 

Well you’ve seen more anyway.

[moonslav59]

I was one of screamers--well, whisperers--myself. I too wanted the 5th starter.

 

But here's how I rationalized not getting one. First and foremost, we know for fact John Henry was not going to stand for or pay for a really good starter. Second, even a middling starter was going to cost prospects at the very time the Sox are trying to build, not trade away their prospect pool. Third, the Sox already had/have three freaking starters--Sale, Houck, and Whitlock--due back soon. Sale returned last night, Whitlock should be back tomorrow, and Houck 2 days later, August 15. All three have started multiple games this year. And this year for the first time since freaking 2019 we saw Good Sale, the same guy we saw last freaking night. As for Houck and Whitlock, both can be solid long relievers and therefore invaluable.

 

So, given the above, I have to ask, why all the freaking screaming for what now looks to have been a very bad bargain?

Back to you.

 

Flaherty and Lowenzen did not cost much, at all.

 

Any effort to improve and deepen the pitching staff would have helped the roster and the morale.

[moonslav59]

Having to use two openers against Toronto was just wrong to me. .

 

Agreed, and it risked overtaxing our pen to the point where it might have turned one of our biggest pluses, this year, into a meh or minus.

 

Our opener and scrub starter games have not ended well:

 

L CLE Dermody

W NYY Ort

L MIN Garza

L MIA Ort

L TEX Bernardino

W OAK Bernardino

W OAK TScott

W OAK Bernardino

L OAK Jacques (back-to back pen games)

W NYM Bernardino

W ATL Schreiber

L SFG Bernardino

L TOR Schreiber

L TOR Bernardino (back-to-back)

 

6-8 is not horrible, but what effect did these games have on using up the pen for following games?

 

 

[Maxbialystock]

Flaherty and Lowenzen did not cost much, at all.

 

Any effort to improve and deepen the pitching staff would have helped the roster and the morale.

 

Morale??!!!???? Every single player is being paid an insane salary to play freaking baseball in front of a pretty good fan base and in a famous ballpark.

 

Compare that to their grandparents who lived through the Great Depression and World War II, and--if any of them played MLB or was married to a player-- the low pre-Curt Flood MLB salaries. Carl Furillo, as very good rightfielder for the Dodgers, worked construction in the offseason to make ends meet. So did other MLB players. And a whole bunch of them also served in the Army/Navy/AirCorp/USMC during WW II.

 

As for deepening the pitching staff, that's happening right now--last night, tomorrow, and 2 days later with the arrivals of Good Sale, Whitlock, and Houck. Two weeks late, granted, but at least with these guys we know what we are getting. Good Sale is really, really good. And Whitlock and Houck have demonstrated they can start--after a fashion--and very definitely be the long relievers you have cited several times as useful.

[Maxbialystock]

Flaherty and Lowenzen did not cost much, at all.

 

Any effort to improve and deepen the pitching staff would have helped the roster and the morale.

 

Ahem. How do you know Bloom didn't try to make a deal for either or both of them and was told, "not good enough?"

[moonslav59]

Morale??!!!???? Every single player is being paid an insane salary to play freaking baseball in front of a pretty good fan base and in a famous ballpark.

 

Compare that to their grandparents who lived through the Great Depression and World War II, and--if any of them played MLB or was married to a player-- the low pre-Curt Flood MLB salaries. Carl Furillo, as very good rightfielder for the Dodgers, worked construction in the offseason to make ends meet. So did other MLB players. And a whole bunch of them also served in the Army/Navy/AirCorp/USMC during WW II.

 

As for deepening the pitching staff, that's happening right now--last night, tomorrow, and 2 days later with the arrivals of Good Sale, Whitlock, and Houck. Two weeks late, granted, but at least with these guys we know what we are getting. Good Sale is really, really good. And Whitlock and Houck have demonstrated they can start--after a fashion--and very definitely be the long relievers you have cited several times as useful.

 

Yes, the morale of the team and fans. Rich people have emotions, too.

 

If this season has proven anything, it's that you can never have enough good pitchers.

 

We have always had someone like Brasier, Ort, Jacquez, Llovera and Barraclough pitching when the game still counts.

 

If you really think we will go the next 7 weeks without any pitcher going on the IL or go through a period of struggling, I'll have to say, I disagree.

 

We've already had 2-3 pen games, too many. Three more wins, right now, could be all we needed.

 

 

 

[moonslav59]

Ahem. How do you know Bloom didn't try to make a deal for either or both of them and was told, "not good enough?"

 

I never said he didn't try.

 

I never said I'd agree to whatever the max deal needed to get either. I just said, we would not have had to part with any top prospects to get a SP'er that could have helped.

 

Look, I'm on board with this whole long term plan idea, but we can afford to make a deal here and there for the current ML team. We did for Schwarber, and losing Aldo Ramirez did not kill our farm.