Red Sox ownership

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

There's no doubt Henry wanted to mirror the Tampa Bay Way when he hired Bloom. And we know the mighty Rays have made the playoffs the past five years in a row, while the Sox mostly flopped.

 

But it is worth noting that Chaim Bloom's last season in Tampa was 2019, and before that, the Rays missed the postseason in seven of the previous eight years he was in their front office.

 

So maybe part of the problem was that the Sox just hired the wrong exec to transform them into TBNorth... (which Henry might admit if he ever talks to the media or public again).

[dgalehouse]

The Tampa Bay Rays have existed for 26 years. They have won two A.L. pennants and zero World Series in those years. They have made the playoffs for five straight years . ( It should be noted that it is easier to make the playoffs than it used to be. ) While their front office has received a lot of praise, they have a manager ( Kevin Cash) who is arguably the best in the game. They are widely known as a cheap outfit. They are not an attraction anywhere. They could not even draw flies at a Florida strawberry festival. In short, they are not an organization that the Boston Red Sox should be trying to emulate.

[moonslav59]

But it is worth noting that Chaim Bloom's last season in Tampa was 2019, and before that, the Rays missed the postseason in seven of the previous eight years he was in their front office.

 

It was actually 6 out of 7, and 3 of those 7 years were 90+ win teams.

 

He did start with TBR in 2005- a team stuck at 55-70 wins.

67 wins in '05

61 in '06

66 in '07

then 97, 84, 96, 91, 90, 92 before the sample size you chose.

 

From 2008-2018 (11 yrs), the Rays won:

 

68 once

77 once

80 twice (That's 3 losing seasons out of 11)

 

84 once

6 seasons over 90 wins. (8 out of 11 winning seasons)

 

The team was also set up to win 96 games in 2019, the year after he left.

 

It is interesting that the other guys who left TBR went to teams that allowed them to spend and or had decent farm systems to begin with.

 

Click in HOU

 

Friedman in LAD

 

I think I'm missing someone.

 

I do agree with your point. It does look like they chose the wrong guy. The guy who "wrote the book" was not the guy who knew how to get things done.

[moonslav59]

The Tampa Bay Rays have existed for 26 years. They have won two A.L. pennants and zero World Series in those years. They have made the playoffs for five straight years . ( It should be noted that it is easier to make the playoffs than it used to be. ) While their front office has received a lot of praise, they have a manager ( Kevin Cash) who is arguably the best in the game. They are widely known as a cheap outfit. They are not an attraction anywhere. They could not even draw flies at a Florida strawberry festival. In short, they are not an organization that the Boston Red Sox should be trying to emulate.

 

It would be a step in the right direction, anyway.

[notin]

The Tampa Bay Rays have existed for 26 years. They have won two A.L. pennants and zero World Series in those years. They have made the playoffs for five straight years . ( It should be noted that it is easier to make the playoffs than it used to be. ) While their front office has received a lot of praise, they have a manager ( Kevin Cash) who is arguably the best in the game. They are widely known as a cheap outfit. They are not an attraction anywhere. They could not even draw flies at a Florida strawberry festival. In short, they are not an organization that the Boston Red Sox should be trying to emulate.

 

 

The Sox have been in the same league all those years. Don’t cheapen what Tampa did by saying they had a better chance than Boston. That’s blatantly misleading.

 

When Henry bought this team, do you remember his first attempt at a big move? Hint: he tried to hire then-Oakland GM Billy Beane, a man whose fame came from putting together winning teams on a crazy small budget. Beane got so famous for this, he was played by Brad Pitt in a major motion picture. Please name one other MLB GM who was portrayed by an A-List actor.

 

Why are we pretending this is new?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The Sox have been in the same league all those years. Don’t cheapen what Tampa did by saying they had a better chance than Boston. That’s blatantly misleading.

 

When Henry bought this team, do you remember his first attempt at a big move? Hint: he tried to hire then-Oakland GM Billy Beane, a man whose fame came from putting together winning teams on a crazy small budget. Beane got so famous for this, he was played by Brad Pitt in a major motion picture. Please name one other MLB GM who was portrayed by an A-List actor.

 

Why are we pretending this is new?

 

Branch Rickey was played by Indiana Jones...

 

... and I think Dombrowski plays Jimmy Stewart in the MLB

[Old Red]

It would be a step in the right direction, anyway.

 

Was Bloom a step in the right direction? He had more money to play with in Boston than he did in Tampa. The big difference was Bloom was just one of the many nerds in Tampa, and tried to be the main nerd in Boston. When Boston has been successful they haven’t done it the Tampa way.

[notin]

Was Bloom a step in the right direction? He had more money to play with in Boston than he did in Tampa. The big difference was Bloom was just one of the many nerds in Tampa, and tried to be the main nerd in Boston. When Boston has been successful they haven’t done it the Tampa way.

 

No, Boston did it the easy way - spend, spend, spend. Henry doesn’t want to go that way any more. This is not rocket science…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Was Bloom a step in the right direction? He had more money to play with in Boston than he did in Tampa. The big difference was Bloom was just one of the many nerds in Tampa, and tried to be the main nerd in Boston. When Boston has been successful they haven’t done it the Tampa way.

 

Great point, and even if Henry is determined to win cheap, there comes a point when lost public trust has to damage the brand. Though maybe he doesn't care too much if he's planning on selling soon...

[notin]

Great point, and even if Henry is determined to win cheap, there comes a point when lost public trust has to damage the brand. Though maybe he doesn't care too much if he's planning on selling soon...

 

Is there any indication Henry plans on selling? The way this team appears headed now, even a bad season didn’t lose as much money…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Is there any indication Henry plans on selling? The way this team appears headed now, even a bad season didn’t lose as much money…

 

It's all conjecture, but reducing payroll or "clearing the books" isn't a novel strategy before a company sale.

 

Some may question the Devers extension, but there has to be some star power to make the laundry more attractive than just jerseys on hangers.

[Bellhorn04]

No, Boston did it the easy way - spend, spend, spend. Henry doesn’t want to go that way any more. This is not rocket science…

 

If you can have that much success the 'easy way' by spending, why wouldn't you keep doing it? Why would you choose the 'hard way'?

 

That's what seems like 'not rocket science' to me.

[Duran Is The Man]

No, Boston did it the easy way - spend, spend, spend. Henry doesn’t want to go that way any more. This is not rocket science…

 

and how is that working out for him? LOLOL

[Duran Is The Man]

If you can have that much success the 'easy way' by spending, why wouldn't you keep doing it? Why would you choose the 'hard way'?

 

That's what seems like 'not rocket science' to me.

 

Henry is a gazillionaire with a very wealthy franchise, so spending should not then or ever be a problem. i think the answer is his ego. he wants to show how smart he is by winning on the cheap. and all it's doing is making him look like an idiotic, greedy cheapskate.

[Bellhorn04]

and how is that working out for him? LOLOL

 

It's working out like a massive suckfest. Not rocket science.

[Duran Is The Man]

It's working out like a massive suckfest. Not rocket science.

 

exActly.

[notin]

and how is that working out for him? LOLOL

 

 

Is he making money or not?

[Old Red]

If you can have that much success the 'easy way' by spending, why wouldn't you keep doing it? Why would you choose the 'hard way'?

 

That's what seems like 'not rocket science' to me.

 

Exactly, and you have to be awfully good at what you’re doing to make it work the cheaper way, and the Red Sox obviously haven’t been that good at trying to do it that way.

[notin]

If you can have that much success the 'easy way' by spending, why wouldn't you keep doing it? Why would you choose the 'hard way'?

 

That's what seems like 'not rocket science' to me.

 

Safer.

 

I think 2019 - when the Sox had one of the highest payrolls in the game and missed the postseason entirely and by a lot - made him re-evaluate spending.

 

As I said before, Henry tried to hire Beane. He did hire Bill James. There has always been a fascination with winning without spending…

[notin]

Exactly, and you have to be awfully good at what you’re doing to make it work the cheaper way, and the Red Sox obviously haven’t been that good at trying to do it that way.

 

Every business in the world tries to be more successful for less money. Not sure why this notion is so foreign to some folks…

[Bellhorn04]

Is he making money or not?

 

Well, that's the whole point. It looks like his desire to cut payroll is not about improving the team but about improving profits and dividend payments to shareholders.

[notin]

Well, that's the whole point. It looks like his desire to cut payroll is not about improving the team but about improving profits and dividend payments to shareholders.

 

And while we as fans do not like this, is it or is it not a sound and time-honored business practice?

[Old Red]

Every business in the world tries to be more successful for less money. Not sure why this notion is so foreign to some folks…

 

It’s not foreign to anyone. It’s also not foreign to anyone that it’s not working, and that all most fans care about.

[Bellhorn04]

Every business in the world tries to be more successful for less money. Not sure why this notion is so foreign to some folks…

 

And how do you explain the massive spending by the Mets/Dodgers/Yankees/Padres/Phillies/Rangers?

[Bellhorn04]

And while we as fans do not like this, is it or is it not a sound and time-honored business practice?

 

But you can't leave out the end consumer of your product, because they are where all the money comes from.

 

If you alienate the consumer, the whole thing might fail. That's not sound practice.

[notin]

It’s not foreign to anyone. It’s also not foreign to anyone that it’s not working, and that all most fans care about.

 

Then don’t buy tickets and cancel NESN. I’m just telling you what a Henry is clearly doing…

[Duran Is The Man]

Is he making money or not?

 

if that's your goal, it appears to be working fine. if your goal is to make money and win, well... it's not working out worth a f***.

[Old Red]

Then don’t buy tickets and cancel NESN. I’m just telling you what a Henry is clearly doing…

 

Everyone is well aware what Henry is doing.

[notin]

if that's your goal, it appears to be working fine. if your goal is to make money and win, well... it's not working out worth a f***.

 

I think his goal is clearly financial. Winning is secondary.

 

On the bright side, I don’t think it is completely off his SMART goals list…

[notin]

Everyone is well aware what Henry is doing.

 

Then why are people asking me about it? And why other trans are spending? It’s like they think I’m actually involved in these decisions…