The biggest reality check for John Henry, if this offseason is another failure, hinges on the fact that there are no more scapegoats. He fired Bloom, so who's he gonna blame now? They're under the lux tax, so why can't they spend? There aren't any large, long-term contracts on the books, so what's the long-term payroll holdup? The farm system is pretty stacked on the position player side, so why not cash in some prospect capital to get legitimate upgrades?
There are no more excuses. No Chaim, no bloated payroll, lots of expiring (or nearly expiring) contracts, and prospect capital. Time to act.