Bellhorn04
-
Posts
55,149 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
76
Content Type
Profiles
Boston Red Sox Videos
2026 Boston Red Sox Top Prospect Rankings
Boston Red Sox Trade & Free Agent Rumors
Boston Red Sox Fan Guides & Resources
2025 Boston Red Sox Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
Boston Red Sox News, Rumors & Analysis
2026 Boston Red Sox Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses
Forums
Blogs
Events
Store
Downloads
Gallery
Everything posted by Bellhorn04
-
It's both. Winning games and winning the championship are the bottom line, but our experience as Sox fans wouldn't be the same without the stars, from Yaz/Rice/Luis to Manny/Ortiz/Pedro.
-
I don't think there's much evidence to support the idea that playing experience is a plus in a CBO. If you run through the list of the most successful CBOs in history, I don't think you'll find very many former players. I am suffering from confirmation bias these days, I will freely admit that. When it comes to Breslow's hiring, the thing that stands out is that the Red Sox ended up with a much smaller field of candidates than they expected, which was concerning and frankly embarrassing in itself. Then they choose a guy who is a total unknown quantity as a CBO, just as the previous guy was. Then they tell us full throttle and follow it up with a stunningly inactive offseason. It's hard to get a sense they have any clue what they're doing any more.
-
And it might be screwing the pooch and killing the golden goose, for some more animal-related metaphors. It's not really just hyperbole any more that the Sox are becoming an organization that's not well thought of around the game. The poor selection of candidates for CBO cemented that reality.
-
I think you're reading too much in there. I consider myself a cerebral type, so I don't think of it as an insult. And I thought Theo Epstein was cerebral and obviously very successful. All I'm saying is that it might be questionable to fire someone and then replace them with someone who checks so many of the same boxes.
-
2.4 fWAR in 102 games was solid. Definitely took some life out of the team when he got hurt.
-
Can someone remind me of Breslow's achievements with the Cubs?
-
Not really. Isn't it possible that Bloom's lack of experience was part of the problem? If so, why would lack of experience be a key quality of the man who replaces him? Sorry, I'm just not trusting Henry's thought processes and judgment lately. The revolving door of CBO's suggests a lot of dysfunction at the top.
-
But to add a little more context, the Phillies got better under Dombrowski, and the Red Sox got worse under Bloom.
-
It's like the owners and the rest of the front office are going out of their way to make it look like it wasn't Bloom's fault... Because the team seems even more paralyzed by indecision and budget worries this offseason than they were last offseason.
-
I've consistently said the two things are related. If you're focused on keeping payroll down, it does make perfect sense to have a young, inexperienced guy to serve as front man/scapegoat.
-
That would make Breslow the human and Bloom the dog. It's a funny analogy, but not especially useful.
-
Yes, that's all part of the snowballing effects of bad management and bad PR.
-
Bringing in a cerebral type with no previous experience as CBO to replace a cerebral type with no previous experience as CBO, and hoping the results are different. It seems like one of those cases where someone brings up "the definition of insanity".
-
Can't rule out the last minute panic move.
-
There's an obvious flip side to this, though - if your cheapness makes the product worse and people stop buying, all of a sudden your cheapness has cost you a pile of money rather than saving you money. I'm surprised anyone can overlook this side of it.
-
You're suggesting the Dodgers aren't doing well?
-
Net worth represents an estimate of what personal wealth would be if all those assets were liquidated into personal cash at their current market value.
-
The Dodgers and Yankees are also spending like drunken sailors.
-
It's estimated by Wikipedia at $4 billion US.
-
The 5 years in a row in the playoffs on their budget is impressive for sure. I don't think that in itself makes them a model for the Red Sox to emulate. Like it or not the Yankees and the Dodgers are the franchises the Red Sox are competing with.
-
Everything is different now because of the vast amounts of money in the game and free agency. The Red Sox brand was generally in superb shape for the years 2003-2018. By trading Betts and cutting payroll, Henry has seemed to be on a mission to devaluate the brand.
-
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.
-
And how do you explain the massive spending by the Mets/Dodgers/Yankees/Padres/Phillies/Rangers?
-
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.
-
It's working out like a massive suckfest. Not rocket science.
