Maxbialystock

Not really. The two walks to the 8th and 9th batters--their 2d time facing Houck--were the real problem. The rbi single by the Rangers leadoff batter was a GIDP that found a hole. Houck gave up 4 walks in 4 innings. He was lucky they didn't do more damage.

I thought Ortiz, given his bat, was adequate at 1b when the had to play there to play at all. Of course Casas is better. He's 6'5" with a good reach which he has worked hard to make better on those throws to 1B. When he has to throw to 2b, he's been fine. His weakness is grounders, but I expect he will improve there. Meanwhile, he's got the best Sox bat at 1b since Youk.

I believe the sticking point with JH is the 5, 6, or 7 years in your hypothetical contracts. That's exactly what DD did when he brought in Price and the Sale. Don't those contracts apply for both trades and purchases? So it isn't just an $80M commitment, but a $400M to $560M commitment.

Don't you have things backwards? Isn't the first priority for a SS his defense? Story's DWAR (.6) in 27 games is higher than Bogey's (.4) in 136 games.

All good points. Of course the Sox should do both--develop and trade for/buy. But you have also said you want to go for 5 x $25M, 6 x $25M, and 7 x $25M starters. And you have said the best time to do that is in the offseason and very definitely not o/a August 1. I'm defending Bloom's choices/decisions 7+ weeks ago. I am not disagreeing the Sox must obtain starters from outside their minor league system.

I think you and other have over-simplified things. You don't go out and get starters like you're buying groceries at the supermarket. If Kluber and a bunch of other guys have taught us nothing else, it's that the starter market is tricky and, in my opinion, vastly over-priced. I used to listen to a radio show called "Wait, wait, don't tell me" and one Sunday they talked about Whole Foods and how they were joining a coop so that could save up to buy a pear. To me that's the starting pitcher market in MLB. Plus everyone seems to have forgotten that on 1 August Sale was about to return (11 August?), as were Houck and Whitlock. All three were known quantities and paid for. Since roughly August 11, the Sox have pretty much stopped going with reliever starts/games. Even with Paxton out, the Sox rotation right now is Bello, Crawford, Sale, Pivetta, Houck, Pivetta, and Sale--and their WAR's are 4.0, 2.2, 1.6, 1.4, and 1.3. Also, as I have argued far too often, the Sox are about to complete 48 games with just 3 days off--a killer for any pitching staff. Those 48 games end tomorrow, and it's worth noting that in the most recent 8 games the Sox pitching staff has given up 3, 4, 0, 8, 3, 4 (13 innings), 3, and 2 runs.

I like a flexible DH, basically what the Sox have had this year. But I agree Yoshida should get most of the games--to make way for good bats/gloves coming up (Duran, Rafaela, etc). Unlike you, I'm not a big fan of Refsnyder because his overall OPS is below .700. I'm not sure I agree with moving Devers to 1b, part-time or full-time, because I think he is fine where he is, an excellent bat who is good enough at 3b. Same goes for Casas at 1b--good bat, good enough glove (especially on throws to 1b). The thing I don't like about losing Duvall and Turner, which I now think is likely, is that both are good righty bats, which I think every Sox team must have. This makes Story doubly important--and concerning.

On the other hand, neglecting your farm system is a recipe for disaster. You must do both: develop good players who will contribute in Boston; supplement them with acquisitions from other teams.

Hah! If you mean 5, 6, or 7 X $25M, you are probably right. Clever me for pouncing on those numbers, which came from moonslav, not me. But your real point, a valid one, is that the price of good starters has steadily risen. I remain skeptical, however, that money buys success because it hasn't this year. The top 3 payrolls--Mets, Yankees, and Padres--are not going to the postseason, let alone win their divisions. The 4th payroll, the Rangers, are fading and could lose out for a wild card. 5th, the Phillies, look like a good bet for a wild card, but are well behind the Braves for the NL East. Meanwhile, the 27th and 28th payrolls--the Rays and the Orioles--have the best records in the AL. Maybe the Orioles are lucky with all those good young players, but the Rays low payrolls have produced competitive teams going back to at least 2008.

Ortiz was decent at 1b, but only played there when the Sox couldn't have a DH. 3B is a much harder position than 1B, especially that long throw from outside the 3d base foul line. Plus running in on dribblers. And just where were you when Bogey inherited the SS position in 2014 and held onto it for 9 freaking seasons? Most people agree that SS is the most important defensive position, but the Sox have always preferred good bats in that position. Devers is a good fit at 3b and currently leads the Sox in games played, OPS, dingers, rbi's, runs scored, total bases, etc.

Pretty good insights. Plus the latest commentary says he has adjusted his swing to take advantage of going to the opposite field. Plus, as I've already said on another thread, this year Devers has been hands down the healthiest guy on the team with the most games played. He also leads the Sox in OPS, total bases, rbi's, dingers, runs scored, etc.

Agree, but too often the dice seem to be loaded against the Sox so-called brain trust with DD being just the latest example of over-spending for over-taxed arms.

Agree with you and mvp 78. Leave Devers at 3b and Casas at 1b--right now the two best Sox infield bats by a wide margin. Their defense ain't great, but it's good enough. It's their bats that count. Speaking of which, I'm surprised there has been so little discussion about Story's terrible bat. His defense, I hasten to add, has been pretty doggone good, but the Sox ain't paying him those big bucks to play freaking defense. Good defensive SS's are a dime a dozen.

To be honest, I consider your numbers to be authoritative. That said, however, you did use the verb "should," which to me means nothing is certain or guaranteed. And here's the problem with that uncertainty. The Sox management seems incapable of figuring out which pitchers are worth--will deliver on--7 x 25, 6 x 25, or 5 x 25. If you think I'm wrong, please name just one 5 x $25M, 6 x $25M, or 7 x $25M starter the Sox hired who actually delivered on that salary. Go ahead. I dare you. I double-dare you.

I keep reading about how overweight Devers is, but at the same time notice he leads the team in games played, WAR, OPS, dingers, total bases, rbi's, runs scored, etc.

Agree. I only watched bits and pieces but did see Refsnyder's single. Pitching was again excellent and the hitting was again in the doldrums.

RISP has been an issue all season long, but lately the Sox are making it into an art form.

Name the games, please. But my real point is that, even if you are right, you can't then claim that no other MLB teams have lost games because of errors/mistakes. Errors/mistakes are the cost of doing business especially if your first priorities are good arms and bats.

Actually, no, they can't. By that I mean they still love sabermetrics and sabermetrics says never bunt. So very few Sox players can actually bunt effectively.

How many times have I said on talksox that the Sox need to score 5 runs to have a good shot at winning? Too many times. In this game they've scored 2 freaking runs. And of course they have now failed to bring home the "ghost runner" on 2d base in the 10th and again in the 11th inning. This year that is signature Sox baseball: they stink with RISP.

Ain't lost yet. However, since you re-raised this topic, a thought. Your complaint was and is that the Red Sox defense stinks this year and is costing games. My nefarious claim is that, while I agree that can happen, it's the cost of doing business because first priority is players who can hit. Rafaela can hit. I hasten to go on and reiterate what I've already said too many times. Hitting and pitching are vastly more important than defense or baserunning. But I did look him up on Sox Prospects, and they say he is already a plus-plus defender, especially if he is in CF. If he is, then just maybe those errors/mistakes are in fact the cost of doing business and not a freaking disaster.

That's the future. Rafaela in center field running in to catch a ball over his head.

Right. JH was being cheap. We know that because in 2018 and 2019 the Sox had the highest payroll in MLB. JH should have been happy to spring for a $300M or, better still, a $400M payroll.

I completely agree CBO's are hired to be fired and that JH has never hesitated to do either. That said, there does seem to be a sea change in MLB which you and others are ignoring-- Mets, Yankees, and Padres have the three highest payrolls in MLB and absolutely no hope of making it to the postseason. Bottom feeders Rays and Orioles, 27th and 28th highest payrolls in MLB, have the two best records in MLB despite both being in easily the toughest division in MLB. Throughout the John Henry era--at least until he hired Chaim Bloom--John Henry has been willing to pay top dollar (or close to it) for talent. This year's payroll is 15th, probably the lowest payroll ranked for the Sox in 40 years.

The 2018 Sox payroll was the highest in MLB. So was the 2019 payroll. The 2018 team was the best Sox team ever with 108 regular season wins and an 11-3 record in the ALDS, ALCS, and WS postseason. The 2019 team finished 84-78 despite retaining almost all of the talent from the splendid 2018 team. The current horrible, terrible, disgusting Sox team with the 15th biggest payroll in MLB would be just 6 games back of the 2019 team. The Mets have the highest MLB payroll in 2023 and have a losing record. The Yankees have the second highest payroll and are one game ahead of the horrible, terrible, disgusting Sox. The Padres have the 3d highest payroll and a losing record. The Angels have the 7th highest payroll and a losing record. On the other hand, far and away the two best teams in the AL, the Orioles and the Rays, have 28th and 27th highest payrolls in MLB. And 2 weeks ago the Rays lost their best freaking player, shortstop Wander Franco. He was everything we hoped Story would be and more. But without him the Rays are 8-2 in their last 10 games. We do not know what Betts would have cost if JH had told his guys, "I don't care what the Dodgers offer him, we will go higher." We can, however, be absolutely sure Mookie was going wherever the most money was. As for Bogey, he too went for the bigger bucks, and his new team, despite the massive payroll, has a worse record than the Sox.