Red Sox ownership

[Randy Red Sox]

Maybe he meant he would fully throttle the necks of all the fans?

 

Post of the day

[jad]

well maybe if Henry and co actually told the fans what the actual plan was it could clarify things. Remember though Henry pulled this same s*** with the Marlins before dumping them.

 

We can hope!

[Duran Is The Man]

We can hope!

 

yep. maybe the next owner will be more concerned with building a championship team rather than some sports "empire".

[moonslav59]

Maybe someone should have asked TW what he meant by h going full throttle.

 

I am puzzled why we can’t spend more. At least spend to within 1-2 M of the tax line until it’s time to splurge.

 

That being said, we have often been $5-7M under , so that is not really “small market.” It’s been too 8-12 or so since Rick bottom 2020.

[FredLynn]

well maybe if Henry and co actually told the fans what the actual plan was it could clarify things. Remember though Henry pulled this same s*** with the Marlins before dumping them.

 

I think he IS telling the fans what the plan is: tighten spending. You can build a good team on a tight budget but its a lot harder. Its easy to spend Henry's money, isn't it. Time for him to sell the team.

[moonslav59]

I think he IS telling the fans what the plan is: tighten spending. You can build a good team on a tight budget but its a lot harder. Its easy to spend Henry's money, isn't it. Time for him to sell the team.

 

IMO, JH will spend big again, but it might not be until 2025 or 2026.

 

Pure speculation on my part.

[Bellhorn04]

Well, now we know what the deal is, folks.

 

It's good in a way that they've been fully exposed on their real intentions.

[Old Red]

Well, now we know what the deal is, folks.

 

It's good in a way that they've been fully exposed on their real intentions.

 

Like I always say that just when you think you know the answers they change the question. TW should have been pinned down on what he exactly meant of going full throttle.

[Dipre]

Isn't it January 1st?

[Bellhorn04]

Isn't it January 1st?

 

Yes. We can all pop some champagne - as long as it stays under budget.

[Dipre]

My point is, I'm seeing equal parts whining and copium without a clear idea of what the end result of this roster will be.

[Bellhorn04]

My point is, I'm seeing equal parts whining and copium without a clear idea of what the end result of this roster will be.

 

A lot of Sox fans are upset about the Cotillo column about the payroll budget, which looks to be totally credible. It doesn't mean Breslow can't do a good job making the most of it.

 

But I am really really pissed at Henry and Werner.

[Old Red]

A lot of Sox fans are upset about the Cotillo column about the payroll budget, which looks to be totally credible. It doesn't mean Breslow can't do a good job making the most of it.

 

But I am really really pissed at Henry and Werner.

 

I think once again misreading the room to start with like think the Yam Man would be closer to $200M than going over $300M, but if they’ve told agents they have to cut some payroll to make better offers that was bound to get out, so at this point who knows how this will all turn out.

[Bellhorn04]

It's totally consistent with the story about how Eovaldi came back to the Sox last year to see if their offer still stood and Bloom telling him that unfortunately the budget didn't have room for it any more.

 

It makes my blood boil. But that's just me.

[Bellhorn04]

The Boston Bean Counters:

 

"Under .500 is OK if we're under budget" is the new motto.

[Randy Red Sox]

My point is, I'm seeing equal parts whining and copium without a clear idea of what the end result of this roster will be.

 

That may be true but people said exactly what you are saying in past offseasons and we all saw the results. One can hardly blame fans for being skeptcal

Edited January 1, 2024 by Randy Red Sox

[Randy Red Sox]

By the way the Gilolito deal is still not official

[Old Red]

It's totally consistent with the story about how Eovaldi came back to the Sox last year to see if their offer still stood and Bloom telling him that unfortunately the budget didn't have room for it any more.

 

It makes my blood boil. But that's just me.

 

The whole situation stinks to high heaven. I was glad when Bloom got the boot, because I always thought he was way in over his head. If the rumor was true he had a chance to get rid of Sale, and his contract, and didn’t do it he should have been fired then. Now we get Breslow. Who knows who the zRed Sox would have picked had all the candidates out there been willing, but we all know that many wasn’t willing despite what Sam said that Boston is the place where everyone would want to be. Sad, but as we found out that wasn’t the case at all, and now Bres in the man ready, or Not.unfortunately it sounds like JH has set a budget, and Bres will really have to get created to make it work, so buckle up, and enjoy what could be a long, and bumpy ride.

[Bellhorn04]

Cotillo's column makes perfect sense when you look at what the Sox have been doing so far this offseason, plus all the other scuttlebutt about people in the industry talking about the Sox acting like a small-market team.

[Bellhorn04]

By the way the Gilolito deal is still not official

 

That's standard though.

[Old Red]

Cotillo's column makes perfect sense when you look at what the Sox have been doing so far this offseason, plus all the other scuttlebutt about people in the industry talking about the Sox acting like a small-market team.

 

What do you think the Yam Man’s contingent thought when the Red Sox went to them with that incentive laden contract?

[Randy Red Sox]

That's standard though.

 

probably but I just brought it up cause with this FO one never knows

[Bellhorn04]

What do you think the Yam Man’s contingent thought when the Red Sox went to them with that incentive laden contract?

 

Probably looked at our guys like they weren't even there, would be my guess.

[Old Red]

Probably looked at our guys like they weren't even there, would be my guess.

 

When you come right down to it they really wasn’t. It was all for show.

[Dipre]

When you come right down to it they really wasn’t. It was all for show.

 

How exactly do you know this with certainty?

[Bellhorn04]

How exactly do you know this with certainty?

 

We don't know with certainty that it was all for show.

 

But it seems abundantly obvious the Red Sox were not serious players for Yamamoto in any way, shape or form.

[Bellhorn04]

Might as well put this here.

 

Tom Werner vows Red Sox will go “full throttle” in effort to improve team

Published: Nov. 02, 2023, 3:31 p.m.

By Sean McAdam | sean.mcadam@masslive.com

 

BOSTON — For much of the 20-plus year duration of the current ownership, the Red Sox spent as freely as any Major League Baseball franchise, almost always ranking in the top five in payroll, often in the top three, and occasionally, leading all teams.

 

That, however, was not the case in 2023. As the Red Sox finished last in the AL East for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years, the Red Sox scaled back considerably with their payroll — depending on who was doing the measuring and how — slotted somewhere between ninth and 13th. Most calculations had them outside of the Top 10, and thus, out of the top third in the industry.

 

Now, however with new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow officially introduced at a Fenway Park press conference Thursday, Red Sox ownership is giving the new executive its backing and a promise to spend as it did in the past.

 

“We know that we have to be competitive next year,” said Werner. “So we’re going to be competitive next year. We’re going to have be full-throttle in every possible way.”

 

Asked specifically if the Red Sox will pursue high-end starting pitchers on the free agent market, Werner responded: “Let me just say that we don’t have any built-in restrictions.”

 

But Werner also signaled that the Red Sox have to take the long view on spending, and not throw money at free agents without regard to long-term consequences.

 

“What I will say is that some years we’ve been below the CBT (competitive balance tax), some years we’ve been above the CBT,” said Werner. “It is important for us to make decisions that will not be just effective in 2024, but past 2024. So those are the decisions that will drive us. I think the inconsistency that we’ve had can be helped a lot by, as Craig said, making decisions that include going after expensive free agents but it’s just as important to develop a minor league system that produces the kind of talent that makes you consistently win.”

 

In recent years, with the retirement of David Ortiz, the trade of Mookie Betts and the loss of free agent Xander Bogaerts, the Red Sox have lost a significant amount of star power on their roster. With a more anonymous and interchangeable roster, some fans have decried the lack of Red Sox stars. As someone who has been successful in the entertainment field, Werner understands that appeal.

 

“You need great players,” said Werner. “It’s not about selling (the appeal of the team); it’s about having great players. And generally, you need players who have high WAR to be a winner. Raffy Devers is a star who will be with us a long time. But we need to complement him with other talent. One of the great players of this past postseason was (Texas outfielder Adolis) Garcia, right? What was he, designated for assignment by two different clubs?

 

“So I sometimes say that baseball is somewhat confounding. But obviously, when you look back, you need to have stars.

[Hitch]

I get why people are pissed at ownership and will be even more so if we're well below the first tax, but let's see where we end up. There's very little other clubs have done I would have wished we had instead. Send a boatload of prospects for 1 year of Soto? Nope. Sign Ohtani to that deal? Nope. Even the Yamamoto one is a huge risk for a guy that has bever pitched in the MLB. It's been well established his contract got out of control at the end. I could have swallowed the risk, but I'm hardly annoyed at them for not going 350m or something. That looked likely to be an only Dodgers thing after Ohtani signed, anyways.

 

The quotes about needing to free up more payroll are concerning, but it's coming from agents, so let's not take it as automatic gospel. Let's see where we are in a month.

[Old Red]

Might as well put this here.

 

Tom Werner vows Red Sox will go “full throttle” in effort to improve team

Published: Nov. 02, 2023, 3:31 p.m.

By Sean McAdam | sean.mcadam@masslive.com

 

BOSTON — For much of the 20-plus year duration of the current ownership, the Red Sox spent as freely as any Major League Baseball franchise, almost always ranking in the top five in payroll, often in the top three, and occasionally, leading all teams.

 

That, however, was not the case in 2023. As the Red Sox finished last in the AL East for the second year in a row and third time in the last four years, the Red Sox scaled back considerably with their payroll — depending on who was doing the measuring and how — slotted somewhere between ninth and 13th. Most calculations had them outside of the Top 10, and thus, out of the top third in the industry.

 

Now, however with new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow officially introduced at a Fenway Park press conference Thursday, Red Sox ownership is giving the new executive its backing and a promise to spend as it did in the past.

 

“We know that we have to be competitive next year,” said Werner. “So we’re going to be competitive next year. We’re going to have be full-throttle in every possible way.”

 

Asked specifically if the Red Sox will pursue high-end starting pitchers on the free agent market, Werner responded: “Let me just say that we don’t have any built-in restrictions.”

 

But Werner also signaled that the Red Sox have to take the long view on spending, and not throw money at free agents without regard to long-term consequences.

 

“What I will say is that some years we’ve been below the CBT (competitive balance tax), some years we’ve been above the CBT,” said Werner. “It is important for us to make decisions that will not be just effective in 2024, but past 2024. So those are the decisions that will drive us. I think the inconsistency that we’ve had can be helped a lot by, as Craig said, making decisions that include going after expensive free agents but it’s just as important to develop a minor league system that produces the kind of talent that makes you consistently win.”

 

In recent years, with the retirement of David Ortiz, the trade of Mookie Betts and the loss of free agent Xander Bogaerts, the Red Sox have lost a significant amount of star power on their roster. With a more anonymous and interchangeable roster, some fans have decried the lack of Red Sox stars. As someone who has been successful in the entertainment field, Werner understands that appeal.

 

“You need great players,” said Werner. “It’s not about selling (the appeal of the team); it’s about having great players. And generally, you need players who have high WAR to be a winner. Raffy Devers is a star who will be with us a long time. But we need to complement him with other talent. One of the great players of this past postseason was (Texas outfielder Adolis) Garcia, right? What was he, designated for assignment by two different clubs?

 

“So I sometimes say that baseball is somewhat confounding. But obviously, when you look back, you need to have stars.

 

The Red Sox Winter weekend is a couple of weekends away. I wonder if Tom, and JH will show up?

[Bellhorn04]

I get why people are pissed at ownership and will be even more so if we're well below the first tax, but let's see where we end up. There's very little other clubs have done I would have wished we had instead.

 

Sonny Gray gets no respect. I think his $75 million deal looks pretty good, and E-Rod's $80 million deal isn't bad either. These are guys who have put up multiple 3-4 WAR seasons at prices that should be well within the Sox financial means.

 

I suspect that when Snell and Montgomery sign we'll probably say they got overpaid, and not by us.

 

It's not just this one offseason that's concerning. The Giolito contract is the biggest one they've given to a starting pitcher since Eovaldi in 2019.