mvp 78

I'd say the are WC contenders at best. I don't think they are a below .500 team.

Olney: "The search involves one phone call." "Cora is beloved in Boston. I don't see the downside when the suspension is over of hiring him again, they are not that far away from contending. It's a one phone call thing." "If the Sox aren't on the phone with Cora they're crazy."

One thing Bloom does need to figure out is if he wants to keep Devers at 3B or have him transition this offseason. Maybe he believes Devers will just move to DH when JD's contract ends?

Maybe the Padres don't pick up Moreland's option and Sox re-sign? $3MM club option with $500K buyout: The 35-year-old raked with the Red Sox but saw his bat collapse upon a trade to the Padres, for whom he’s posted a dismal .203/.247/.362 slash in 73 plate appearances. It’s still a cheap price, and the Padres gave up some minor league talent to get Moreland, so perhaps he’s still in the 2021 plans.

Is it Brad Miller time? He is a LHH UTIL guy you can platoon when needed.

What I was thinking was that CORA can't be named manager until after the WS because he has a 1 year ban. Woof. Mondays. You know?

@ChrisCotillo Did Chaim Bloom accomplish his goal of being confusingly vague when it comes to Alex Cora? Absolutely. Reading between the lines, half the beat thinks Bloom's comments point toward Cora coming back. The other half thinks he basically ruled it out. A deflection well done.

I think out of all of those guys, Mazza has the best shot of sticking around.

They ended on a 12-9 stretch. It's not amazing, but it's better than .400.

You're probably right I'm getting mixed up with another story where someone couldn't be hired before the WS ends. I just looked at it this morning. Maybe it's someone currently employed by another org? IDK. Time for a nap.

Extend Devers? Extend Verdugo?

Nontender Godley too? Maybe even Covey? Brice wasn't great, but he's a AAAA guy that you can use in a pinch.

Most likely, it will be a 4th pick. Manfred originally stated that he'd change the order if they didn't play a whole season or if there was outrageous tanking going on.

The team was dreadful for the first month and a half. They really turned it around once we got to September.

Can't name one until after the WS.

My point is that if the season were a full season, this team probably gets back to .500. It was a bad team, but not all time bad.

I'm not going to worry about what some low level staffer posted. It's not like that came from Henry's phone.

If I wagered a guess, Bloom most likely believes Cora is a great fit for the Red Sox, BUT the history with the scandal may make it too hard to bring him back. If not for the Astros nonsense, Cora would still be the manager going forward.

Speaking with the media via a Zoom call following the announcement that Ron Roenicke wouldn’t be returning as manager for the 2021 season, the Red Sox’ Chief Baseball Officer consistently refused to offer any specifics when asked about whether or not Bloom viewed Cora as a managerial candidate. "With respect to Alex and I know this is a question I got a couple times during the season and I think you guys know where I stand on Alex, but I know I didn’t get into very much detail about it during the season," Bloom said. "That was really because out of respect to Ron. I thought that Ron deserved to be evaluated without anybody looking over his shoulder. So i know that’s not the case anymore but I still don’t really want to get into any detail on my thoughts on Alex. I don’t want to say anything about Alex that I haven’t already said to Alex and obviously I haven’t spoken to Alex. So there will be a time where I can get into more detail on Alex and his situation and my thoughts on it, but that time isn’t now so I’m hoping everybody will respect that." If Cora is a candidate to replace Roenicke, the Red Sox are not allowed to talk with the former Sox manager until after the completion of the World Series due to his current one-year suspension for his role in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal. When asked if his stance regarding Cora had remained the same since discussing the topic on WEEI in May -- when Bloom detailed that the parting of the ways with the former manager had solely to do with how the Houston transgression might impact the 2020 Red Sox -- the Sox chief decision-maker reiterated nothing had changed.

Which one?

I think the announcers did great from the studio. Maybe there's no reason to send them out on the road anymore.

I don't think they are going to sign any big name guys. I think they'll go for under the radar guys and will still probably stay under the tax cap. I don't think they go over the cap again until they are ready to compete for another title.

The cheating started long before he was even there. Cora was a scapegoat.

We have no idea what Bloom's thoughts are on Cora. None.

Roenicke gone. JBJ? How will Bloom spend now that the tax cap has been reset?