Breaking Down the Boston Bullpen: Part 1

16 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The problem is that Bloom overly believed in the volatile/fungible nature of relievers so much so that we got a whole bunch of garbage thrown at the wall for 4 years and most of it just didn't work. The prevailing opinion was that arms could pop out of nowhere so what's the point in spending on them. I believe that can be true, but you can't rely on that as a strategy. There are good relievers. However, their stats are impacted wildly by small sample sizes. They could pitch virtually the same year to year to year, but one blowout would make it look like they were awful one season. 

Bloom did a good job with Martin, and Jansen even though he was a year late signing Jansen.

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

The problem is that Bloom overly believed in the volatile/fungible nature of relievers so much so that we got a whole bunch of garbage thrown at the wall for 4 years and most of it just didn't work. The prevailing opinion was that arms could pop out of nowhere so what's the point in spending on them. I believe that can be true, but you can't rely on that as a strategy. There are good relievers. However, their stats are impacted wildly by small sample sizes. They could pitch virtually the same year to year to year, but one blowout would make it look like they were awful one season. 

By now, we shouldn't be so sure Bloom overly believed anything -- except what he was told to do when he was hired to do it.

I'm one of his biggest critics, and trading Mookie will be in his obit, but "a whole bunch of garbage thrown at the wall" has carried over into the Breslow Era, too.

So now we know that a Boston CBO is really only a figurehead at the task end of a major front office mandate (by a front office full of lifers) -- and let's just call it what fans now know as a conspiracy -- to cut corners in an attempt to at least appear to compete.

These guys who run the Red Sox are just way too intelligent with advanced college degrees to all be so incompetent for this many years... and ask yourself this: would a multi-billionaire owner ever stand for it -- for one year -- if he wasn't in on the plan?

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

It's not that they are figureheads, it's that they have no control over increasing the budget meaningfully. The days of feeding the Monster are gone and aren't coming back anytime soon. 

Hey, weren't they spending up to the second CBT line this year?

I kept thinking the days of feeding the monster would cycle back around, one day, but it really has not happened. The Story signing, and to a lesser extent, Yoshida deal didn't even match the amount of salary we have lost over those years. The Devers extension was massive, but it too did not put us near the spending and spending rankings we used to be at, years ago. It was also likely only done to quell a fan revolution.

I will say, that despite these guys being mainly "figureheads," there is still some major disconnect going on within the FO. Are they really this stupid? Are they really just blatant liars? Are the both?

If the Kennedy statement about the tax line not being a priority, this winter was true or close to the truth, then what is the hold up? Is someone saying, "It's okay to spend up to $260M," but then nix every big offer suggested, only because they'd rather spend the money on other players? What "other players?"

Again, it looks like it is not happening. The so-called bidding on Soto was a mirage and fed the idea that our FO is willing to spend, but just on certain players that we never make the top offer on.

I'm tired of the circle jerk. This was the winter for action- meaningful action.

Okay, Crochet was meaningful, but where is the spending to go along with that trade and open up the window wide, even if just for Crochet's 2 years of control?

Cricketts, as always. (Please, nobody say the name "Buehler" as an effort to spend us to glory.)

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

It seems obvious to me that Sam is out there playing a used car salesman role and is trying to get the Red Sox over to the public regardless of what they'll actually do. Is he stupid? No, there's just a disconnect between when he sees himself as in being a caretaker of the Red Sox and what the normal Sox fans want out of the Sox. His wants and needs are different than those of us on here. If the Sox miss the playoffs again, I don't think it impacts Sam the way it impacts us. 

Selling the team to the public is not necessarily the CBO's job and I don't think we've had a guy in that role try to really do that. The CBO is clearly working under fiscal constraints that they really don't comment on and are trying to build an org the way they see fit. Bloom leaned on farm development and kind of ignored the MLB team. Breslow focused a little bit more on the MLB team, but still hasn't been able to push them over the top. 

The real rot of the organization is at the tippy top and largely the reason they weren't a hot destination for potential CBO's to interview at. 

So, basically a used car salesman= big fat liar.

(BTW, I don't disagree.)

22 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Signing one more impact arm could go a long way. 

Kyle Finnegan’s agent can be reached at (443) 615-7710…

On 12/31/2024 at 12:51 PM, dgalehouse said:

A strong and deep bullpen is pretty much essential in baseball today. I think the Sox really need to improve in this area. They make the playoffs last season if they had not blown so many leads. Chapman and Hendriks should help offset the expected loss of Jansen and Martin. Slaten looks good. And Guerrero is promising. Whitlock ?  I would still like to add a couple of more quality relievers.  Do that and this should be a playoff team. 

I think our pen is deep, and the middle and deeper parts would turn into a big plus, if every RP'er we have was moved down one notch by adding a real closer and two slots by adding a solid set-up man, too. Just adding one might be enough.

Imagine this pen:

Scott- closer

Hoffman, Chapman & Hendriks- set-up

Slaten & Whitlock as 7th inning guys

Crawford & Wink as inning eater/long men

That's a damn good pen that could be had without us going over the tax line.

AAA pen depth: Wilson (out of options) Guerrero, Kelly, Weissert, Penrod, Bernardino, I Campbell, Mata, Shugart/Adams