sk7326

I imagine it was like a lot of businesses - the pandemic shifted to a remote environment, and then it just stayed that way.

We also know Rafaela has some real pop in the bat for a teeny tiny guy. Can he make enough contact (let's just dispense with the idea we are expecting him to walk a whole lot) to keep his glove out there? I think it's certainly possible.

It could - but frankly I am more interested now in ripping the band-aid off and seeing what you have instead of more half-measures. If the team brings in a stud though that is a different calculus.

One of the useful things from the statcast data is also seeing exactly how many outs above average there are in general - the spread. We know these positions are not all equal. Casas is bad at 1st - but the road to "good enough" is not all that diffcult. Kike is an interesting case - went from one of the best CFs in the game in 2021 to middle of the pack in 2022.

There is a Jimmies and Joes thing. But I also wonder whether the shift rules impeded some of the ways the team could wallpaper over the issue. That said, Bogaerts this year was roughly the same as he was last year by Statcast data. Same with Dansby Swanson at the top of the list.

Can you find Chaim Bloom highlights on youtube?

He was a top 15 prospect entering the season, held that midseason and is one of the youngest regulars in Double-A. His stock is just fine. It only looks bad when compared to Roman Anthony who might be THE youngest regular at the level.

Looking at the Success Rate Added via Statcast Data 1B: Triston Casas, 33rd out of 37 qualified 2B: Christina Arroyo, 26th out of 40 SS: Nobody Qualified on roster ... Kike Hernandez, 35th out of 35 3B: Rafael Devers, 31st out of 36 LF: Masataka Yoshida, 33rd out of 35 CF: Jarren Duran, 34th out of 38 (Adam Duvall 38th out of 38) RF: Alex Verdugo, 12th out of 36 So that is a grand total of 1 player who was above the median in Statcast metrics The middle infield in particular - to give some perspective 2022 - Bogaerts was 14th at SS, Story was 2nd at 2B. So the middle infield went from pretty good to pee-you.

Well, if Story is just any sort of healthy that means one of the middle infield positions will be above average to plus. Casas will likely be better at 1B - if nothing else because he probably can't be worse. I could see a world where Rafaela is at 2B and Story at SS, and that would probably be solid, even if I think Rafaela is best optimized at CF.

1. Given the shoulder injury, I am not sure the Sox would get the sort of return that Mayer would justify if the shoulder is healthy. I don't think they trade him until during the 2024 season at all just on that basis. 2. Can you get a top 20 starter for him with some control? If so, yeah you consider it. But Reynolds and Bednar or Keller seems like selling low. 3. Ultimately, "Full speed ahead" really has to be focused on throwing money at pitching. The franchise has to take its medicine there after all the neglect on the run prevention side. While they need a decent corner OF or two, I almost want to just give a runway for the kiddos as much as possible.

Casas is the best option we have. That said, it will be hard to move past Henderson and Bibee.

Further down the list, for a RHB someone like Teoscar Hernandez could make sense as a bounceback play.

The Athletic's Top 20 FAs ... a bad class for position players, for depth pitchers fairly interesting 1. Shoehei Otani, RHP/DH, 29 years old for 2024 season 2. Cody Bellinger, CF/1B, 28 3. Aaron Nola, RHP, 31 4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP (NPB), 25 5. Sonny Gray, RHP, 33 6. Jordan Montgomery, LHP, 31 7. Blake Snell, LHP, 31 8. Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP, 31 9. Matt Chapman, 3B, 31 10. Lee Jung-hoo, CF (KBO), 25 11. Shota Imanaga, LHP (NPB), 30 12. Kyle Hendricks, RHP, 34 13. Max Kepler, OF, 31 14. Jeimer Candelario, 3B, 30 15. Rhys Hopkins, 1B, 31 16. Jorge Soler, OF, 32 17. Seth Lugo, RHP, 34 18. Mike Clevinger, RHP, 33 19. Kevin Kiermayer, CF, 34 20. Michael Wacha, RHP, 32

Bloom has been in baseball forever - and he was tabbed in the industry as a rising star for a very long time. Playing experience is a non-issue here ... or more to the point, being an ex-player is not fairy dust in handling players or not. It just likely that Bloom's interpersonal skills were meh in general. What is definitely true is that his public-facing skills were bad - and while it sounds shallow, it IS an important part of the gig.

probably should have looked at trading him this past one

Napoli was excellent. Drew was solid defensively. They absolutely had good fortune there. But the biggest part of it was that Pedroia and Ellsbury were both healthy enough to be 5+ win players and Victorino of course was nuts. And Lester and Lackey were able to be a legitimately good 1-2 starting rotation, which they had been starved for.

Right. There were lots of reasons for 2011. But the biggest was the team flat ran out of pitchers. They were also decimated by injuries in 2012. 2013 in a lot of ways was as simple as their best players actually playing games and then an out of nowhere MVP-caliber season out of Victorino.

Sure - why I used "best team". I'll let Yankees fans stand up for other teams.

I don't think this qualifies as a bizarro rollercoaster at all. 2002-2011 ... every single season they entered the season as some flavor of contender. They were remarkably consistent - 2006 and 2010 were the only seasons they did not hit 90 wins and both times they made big offseason moves afterwards. Now, while there has been a bizarro ability for the Red Sox to just be normal since 2011, I will say that most years there was some ex ante hope entering the season. The thing now is 2021 and 2023 where the first two seasons since 1997 where I entered the season thinking "anything is possible, but I'm not sure I see a good team here". 2021 I was pleasantly surprised. 2023 I was not.

Oh of course. Baseball is the consummate "life comes at you fast" playoffs. Honestly, the Red Sox in 2018 being the best team wire to wire and having a fairly comprehensive playoff run is quite the exception. Even recently: 2014- Giants won a road Game 7 2015 - Royals came back from 2-1 down in the ALDS 2016 - Cubs had to come back from 3-1 down, won a road Game 7 2017 - Astros had to win a road Game 7 2019 - Nationals won a road Game 7 2020 - Pandemic season, whatever 2021 - 88-win Braves stun the Astros 2022 - Astros romped

Sam Kennedy has had a zombie like ability to survive the other FO turnover. The thing with Larry Lucchino is that part of his job was to be the ******* that fans hate. But he also had a TON of real baseball experience and accomplishment and a real eye for front office talent. Not liking him was part of his role - but he clearly was good at his job.

10000000000000%

If there is grumbling NOW - then they obviously should not have hired him. Now, Bloom came from another organizational tree - and while he certainly had his faults, it also seems like there were institutional impediments to implementing The Ray Way ... and if you hire a guy from a specific shop, you should be willing to let him shape the org that way. Like Tampa spends more on scouting than anybody in the league - did Bloom get to do that? Good questions. Now MAYBE working in the Cubs FO helps Breslow fit in here better - we know there is a lot of shared organizational DNA.

I am 45, so 1986 was my first. Now, Buckner did not crush me - I fell asleep. I was 8. My dad said he'd let me know what happened if I passed out. Famous last words. But I was crushed by Game 7, where the Sox had a 3 run lead! That is what is wild sometimes. Like in 1975, the Reds lose one of the all time stomach punch games and still won the next road game. I was in business school in 2003. We had a happy hour on the Thursday night, and me and a few buds went. They had Game 7 on the big screen. I was the only Red Sox fan in the group - but Yankees losing can unite lots of neutral fans. I was going to drive somebody home afterwards - but when Boone's homerun went over the fence, Todd (the guy I had to drive) looked at my face and said "I'll figure out how to get home." I nodded, "Thanks". I went home and stared. My mom called saying "I'm so sorry". I've never had my car stolen, but I felt what I imagine how someone feels walking up and down past the empty parking spot where the car was taken from. It was also the first time I felt like I was going to be another one of those "Sully from Revee-ah" guys who never saw his Sox win it all. Of course 2004 happens - and indeed the way it happened was such that I am almost grateful for 2003 as its place in the two year dramatic arc. The other titles are great - I am certainly not going to pooh pooh them ... but no team's fan base anywhere (short of something like Leicester City winning the Premier League) will have as sweet a championship as 2004. All of the circumstances together are nearly impossible to find. That said, if Texas wins it all - I will be happy for them. They were on the losing end of either the greatest (or IMO 2nd greatest) game of this century - one of the real stomach punch losses in baseball history - so it would be nice for their fans. And of course, I am happy for Nate. It is also worth remembering that Texas is doing this after losing their ace after just 6 starts this season.

The layoffs at ESPN seem to indicate that there might be an upper limit to TV money. But the streaming deals have barely been tapped into - particularly with how many you could do. I mean right now MLB has by my count 5 different national TV deals (ESPN, FOX, TBS, Apple TV, Peacock). But the gambling thing is huh-yooge.