Has the current ownership transitioned to where they have maxed out their usefulness and move on

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

that's it. when Henry thinks the 41st highest contract is too much, then f*** him, he needs to go.

Thanks for showing it's not 100%.

Nothing really is.

[UtahSox]

On 12/15/2025 at 3:41 PM, JoeBrady said:

I see that a lot in fan reaction.  They accuse the owner of being cheap.  And while that could be true, as often as not, the team's record has more to do with mis-management.  Teams like LAA, the WS, the Rox, the Nats, etc., haven't traditionally been cheap.  They just been poorly run.  And as a result of being poorly run, have no one on the roster worthy of a big salary.  There's kind of a circularity about the process.

Teams that win ALMOST always have payrolls in top 5. Not a science but a direct correlation or causation. 

[UtahSox]

I disagree I think RS would sell for 7.5-9b new owner wouldn’t be able to make 120m a year in free cash flow pencil, thus would be incentivized to grow the thing via legacy/ wins/ World Series and franchise valuation increases. I’d welcome the unknown in that 7.5 to 9b sphere. 

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

Teams that win ALMOST always have payrolls in top 5. Not a science but a direct correlation or causation. 

Not really.

2023 Texas 9th

2022 Houston 11th

2021 Atlanta 13th

2019 Washington 7th

2017 Houston 18th

2016 Chicago 14th

2015 Kansas City 16th

2014 San Francisco 7th

2012 San Francisco 8th

2011 St Louis 11th

10 of the last 15 seasons were teams outside the top 6.

8 of 15 were 8th or lower.

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Not really.

2023 Texas 9th

2022 Houston 11th

2021 Atlanta 13th

2019 Washington 7th

2017 Houston 18th

2016 Chicago 14th

2015 Kansas City 16th

2014 San Francisco 7th

2012 San Francisco 8th

2011 St Louis 11th

10 of the last 15 seasons were teams outside the top 6.

8 of 15 were 8th or lower.

Only 6 teams since 2011 have been outside the top 10 in payroll. Not ideal considering where the Sox currently stand. If the Sox have the financial might, they should use it AND leverage their strong farm system. 

[notin]

On 12/16/2025 at 5:58 PM, Duran Is The Man said:

that's it. when Henry thinks the 41st highest contract is too much, then f*** him, he needs to go.

Did Henry kill that deal or was Breslow simply not as into Alonso as many fans were?

Alonso did check some boxes, but he wasn’t the best free agent out there…

[UtahSox]

Hear me out….. we’ve all established it’s all about the $$ for JH. What if we sign Imai, Okamoto, and Murakami? Trade Duran + prospects for Seiya Suzuki? 
 

we know how much the dodgers/ Mariners have benefited from the Japan economy. That might super appeal to JH increase the revenue. Become the east coast Japanese team. 

I 100% say this tongue in cheek, but at least it would be adding some talent to the roster. 

[Hitch]

I see a lot of excitement around FSG selling the Penguins, that they'll have a lot of money to plow into the Sox now. I'd hold back on that excitement. It's well known in soccer circles that they're trying to buy a second European team to build into multi club ownership that all the big beasts in European football are doing. 

[Hitch]

2 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

Hear me out….. we’ve all established it’s all about the $$ for JH. What if we sign Imai, Okamoto, and Murakami? Trade Duran + prospects for Seiya Suzuki? 
 

we know how much the dodgers/ Mariners have benefited from the Japan economy. That might super appeal to JH increase the revenue. Become the east coast Japanese team. 

I 100% say this tongue in cheek, but at least it would be adding some talent to the roster. 

I'm concerned we're going to go for Murakami, I know that much.

[UtahSox]

1 minute ago, Hitch said:

I see a lot of excitement around FSG selling the Penguins, that they'll have a lot of money to plow into the Sox now. I'd hold back on that excitement. It's well known in soccer circles that they're trying to buy a second European team to build into multi club ownership that all the big beasts in European football are doing. 

God I miss the old JH. 

[UtahSox]

2 minutes ago, Hitch said:

I'm concerned we're going to go for Murakami, I know that much.

Yes agree the media connected to FO, have been quietly on this soft PR case for him. Refuting the fastball data, saying he compares the Ohtani….  He’s had a tougher time establishing market, which is the only guy Breslow can ever get. It has the quiet feel of a “he was always our #1 guy” press conference doesn’t it? 
 

Enough that I thought watched his highlights, I will say exit Velo is not a problem. 

[mvp 78]

33 minutes ago, notin said:

Did Henry kill that deal or was Breslow simply not as into Alonso as many fans were?

Alonso did check some boxes, but he wasn’t the best free agent out there…

There were rumblings that Alonso was wanted by people in the FO. If Breslow really wanted him, he'd be here. 

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, Hitch said:

I'm concerned we're going to go for Murakami, I know that much.

The opposite of everything they've said they wanted. 

[moonslav59]

On 12/17/2025 at 7:21 AM, mvp 78 said:

Only 6 teams since 2011 have been outside the top 10 in payroll. Not ideal considering where the Sox currently stand. If the Sox have the financial might, they should use it AND leverage their strong farm system. 

Never been against that idea.

[Hitch]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The opposite of everything they've said they wanted. 

Well that's that then. Ordering my Murakami jersey right now.

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Well that's that then. Ordering my Murakami jersey right now.

If they say it out loud, don't listen. All the moves they have done have been under the radar. The only one that was telegraphed was the Alex Bregman one and that seemed to be Cora/Sam dragging Breslow over the finish line. 

[Hitch]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

If they say it out loud, don't listen. All the moves they have done have been under the radar. The only one that was telegraphed was the Alex Bregman one and that seemed to be Cora/Sam dragging Breslow over the finish line. 

100%. One of only two obvious patterns along with Breslow's pitcher 'type'. 

[Bellhorn04]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If they say it out loud, don't listen. All the moves they have done have been under the radar. The only one that was telegraphed was the Alex Bregman one and that seemed to be Cora/Sam dragging Breslow over the finish line. 

And now Cora and Sam need to muscle up again!😉

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

And now Cora and Sam need to muscle up again!😉

Sam is too busy doing JH's holiday shopping. Cora is too busy wedding planning. 

Theo? Sox can make us their own Where's Waldo book of him. 

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, Hitch said:

100%. One of only two obvious patterns along with Breslow's pitcher 'type'. 

He took the CBO job before he knew you were limited in the amount of pitchers you could put on an active roster. 

[moonslav59]

29 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He took the CBO job before he knew you were limited in the amount of pitchers you could put on an active roster. 

Good thing there is no weight limit on combined  pitchers' weight.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Did Henry kill that deal or was Breslow simply not as into Alonso as many fans were?

My pure guess is that he is penciling in Casas at 1B.  It's unfortunate, but a lot of fans don't think in terms of fit, or long-term, or more appealing options.

[moonslav59]

37 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

My pure guess is that he is penciling in Casas at 1B.  It's unfortunate, but a lot of fans don't think in terms of fit, or long-term, or more appealing options.

They have done 1B like this for years.

They probably view Romy as a better plan B than they had last year, and the year before and the year....

The need at 2B or 3B is not easily filled, so I think that is where they add. Not 1B.

[notin]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

I'm concerned we're going to go for Murakami, I know that much.

I did see where one scout graded his power at 90, which is impressive on the 20 to 80 scale…

[Hitch]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

I did see where one scout graded his power at 90, which is impressive on the 20 to 80 scale…

His power is enticing alright. His contact skills on anything above 93mph...not so much. 

[notin]

Just now, Hitch said:

His power is enticing alright. His contact skills on anything above 93mph...not so much. 

For context, that was only referring to one season.  No idea if he just had a bad year there.  And Okamoto had the same issue last year…

[Hitch]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

For context, that was only referring to one season.  No idea if he just had a bad year there.  And Okamoto had the same issue last year…

Last year was a shocker but his career level wasn't much higher. 

But then, Ohtani also had a similar numbers on fastballs.

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, notin said:

I did see where one scout graded his power at 90, which is impressive on the 20 to 80 scale…

90 is close to his k rate too. 

[Behindenemylines]

On 12/16/2025 at 7:05 PM, UtahSox said:

Teams that win ALMOST always have payrolls in top 5. Not a science but a direct correlation or causation. 

The Dodgers had a ton of money that wasn't even on the WS roster. Spending money covers teams mistakes. Saw

 

[JoeBrady]

7 hours ago, Hitch said:

Last year was a shocker but his career level wasn't much higher. 

But then, Ohtani also had a similar numbers on fastballs.

My thinking on things like this is that, if he couldn't hit a FB, all he would see would be FBs, and he'd be out of the league.  I'm not sure if y'all remember, but back when the RS fans were criticizing the Beltre signing, they said he couldn't hit a curve.  I was like, "10 years in the league, and no one knew he couldn't hit a curve?  Until you figured it out?"