Maxbialystock

DD seems to have the Midas touch, both ways. He spends a lot of money, but makes teams competitive and revived an absolutely moribund Phillies franchise. Signing Schwarber was just smart baseball, and the Sox letting him go wasn't so smart.

Interesting. In MLB in 2022, the Cleveland Guardians finished dead last out of 30 teams in striking out. Everybody struck out more than they did. Next to the "bottom" (assuming not striking out is actually a good thing) would be the Houston Astros. And next year those bold shifts are going to be tempered somewhat, requiring two infielders in each side of 2b. So I'm not sure sure I want guys at the plate who feel that striking out is actually a good thing provided they get an xbh every so often. The Yankees led MLB in dingers with 254 and the Guardians were 29th with 127. They meet tonight in game 5 to decide who gets to play the Astros in the ALCS. The Guardians beat the Rays twice, 2-1 and 1-0 (in 15 innings), to get to the ALDS, where Gerrit Cole has now beaten them twice. But the Guardians won the other two games.

Agree on your attendance comment. John Henry has never hesitated to fire a manager or GM. That said, DD did leave a mess, which we saw in 2020 and still saw this year--which was exacerbated by injuries to Sale, Eovaldi, Wacha, Hill, Whitlock, Houck, Story, Kike, etc. In between 2020 and 2022 was a pretty good season, 2021--which was helped by CB acquisitions Verdugo, Renfroe, Kike, Whitlock, and Pivetta. Whitlock and Pivetta had the 2d and 3d best WAR's on the 2021 Sox pitching staff. Kike had the 2d best WAR in the lineup, Renfroe's was 5th best, and Dugo's was 6th best. Oh, and Schwarber's (just 41 games) was 8th best. So, while I can appreciate the skepticism about Bloom, I also think it is dishonest to gloss over the 2021 season.

I like and defend Bloom, but understand the skepticism. This is his first time in charge, plus he "grew up" in a very different system. You seem impatient. My view is that Chaim Bloom had owned three seasons, but the first was dominated by covid--and the absence of Mookie Betts and the nonperformance of Sale and Price--the second turned out to be pretty darn good, and the third has been dominated by injuries while still shelling out $63M for DD acquisitions Price, Sale, and Eovaldi. I do however share your prejudice for keeping Bogey and Raffy--even though I think they and/or their agents expect more than they are worth. I also have a prejudice against big bucks for starters.

This is way off topic, but in fact it is not yet the offseason for--count 'em--twelve freaking MLB teams. And this year I like the format even though it lasts a month, including a likely full week in November. Today, tomorrow, and Sunday four games a day unless any of the 8 team playing win their series in the first two games. Beats the wild card. Plus it sort of penalizes the teams--Cleveland and Atlanta--who won weak divisions. They have to play 3 game wild card series. 5 game Division Series make sense, and I would do the same for the League Series--but I won't quibble too much about 7. It is, after all, all about the TV revenues. I see the Dodgers and Astros--the two best pitching staffs in MLB--getting to the WS and the Dodgers winning it all. If I had to pick a surprise team, it would obviously be the Jays.

Wacha. I forgot Wacha! Of course, sign him.

Great start to the thread. I would be tempted to keep Verdugo in RF, where he seems to play way better than he has in LF--but I do agree he starts in the OF. I also like Kike in CF. I think you are way too optimistic on Sale/Paxton leading the rotation. However, I like your apparent prejudice against shelling out big bucks--again--for a starter. Depending on his price, I would be tempted to return Eovaldi. Interesting that you put Whitlock in the rotation, which I have advocated in the past. He definitely has the repertoire for starting and maybe too much repertoire to be a good reliever.

I'd put that differently and say, "Wacha and Bello will definitely be in the rotation next year, and maybe Sale will too." Pivetta and Eovaldi might return as well, but hopefully only if the price is right.

Funny thing, but I actually do think that. John Henry is smart, and he's also a little lucky. Or have you forgotten already how the Sox were down 3 games to zip in the 2004 ALCS before taking 4 straight from the Yankees? Let me also hasten to add that the John Henry WS wins all occurred after the postseason became a juggernaut with wild cards, ALDS/NLDS, ALCS/NLCS, and WS. So that makes John Henry even luckier--and smarter than those other smucks, especially Tom Yawkey.

Meh. Almost every thread is about next year, firing Bloom, firing Cora, firing both, who to keep next year, who to go after, etc. I'm probably the most ignorant deal-proposer on talksox, but I do have thoughts about the guys on the current team and think there is decent talent, even among the pitchers. And the guy on the mound tonight is one of them.

I disagree with your second line, but also think it's brilliant. Reminds me of--"if you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me"--by Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

Don't forget Eovaldi and his $17M, for which he has contributed a WAR of 1.0, which includes 18 starts, an ERA of 4.15, etc. When you include Price, Sale, Eovaldi, and Paxton, that's over $70M invested in a combined WAR of Eovaldi's 1.0.

Well, he certainly has the temperament for closing, which Barnes has seemed to lack until very recently. I never liked Kimbrel, primarily because he stunk--ERA 5.92--in the 2018 postseason. So right now, assuming Houck and Whitlock come back healthy and are assigned to the bullpen, I like what I see for 2023. I think Schreiber, Houck, Whitlock, and Barnes can all close and/or pitch well in late and close games. Strahm and maybe 1 or 2 others can do good spot relieving. I would not spend big on a closer. The Rays have the 4th best ERA, 3.38, in MLB and 43 saves, but no one on that team has more than 8 saves.

Absolutely. Hill gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, and the bullpen 1 run in 3 innings. Two of the errors--by Pham and Chang--were just crappy play. Strahm had 2 outs and walked Cabrera, then made a horrible throw to 1b which put Bader on 3b. However, because Bader scored on a single to CF, the scorers decided it was an earned run under the assumption that Bader would have stolen 2b in any case.

Actually, I think Pham and Chang did show up to play their very best, and the problem is they just aren't that good in the field. Pham has little range, little judgment, and not much of an arm, even for a left fielder. Chang was a pick-up they were trying out at SS and looked lost on that popup, which Bogey would have caught easily. And Strahm let the pressure get to him with that terrible pickoff throw. It there's an area in which your theory--that guys are just going through the motions--might be true it's RISP disease, which seems to have hit the Sox especially hard this year, especially in the 2d half of the season.

Just about everyone on that list except Wacha had a lower ERA this year than last year.

3 Sox errors have to be Cora's fault too.

Good point. I'm sure if he had run out onto the field and shouted at the ump, he would have reversed his call and made it a ball. Sad to say, but those changeups Loaisiga was throwing to Almonte were working. If he wasn't called out on that pitch--which was in fact a ball--it would have been on the one after that. Devers once again hopeless at bat, which of course is Cora's fault for putting him in the lineup. What was he thinking?

I am too, but 60 is a really big number in this day and age. Plus the guy is a good outfielder.

3d error was the charm. Appropriately, by the pitcher who then gave up the run-scoring single with a man on 3d base. Pham cannot continue in LF. He has no range, no judgment, and no arm.

Bye. And good riddance. Great game going to the bottom of the 8th. Sox score first, Yankees tie it and go ahead 4-1, then the Sox tie it with Dugo's 3 run dinger. Bullpen doing just fine, thank you.

Agree.

Ahem. To be honest, I think the primary architect for 2018 was DD, who brought in four key arms--Sale, Price, Eovaldi, and Kimbrel--and a very good bat, JDM, who I think made all the other Sox bats better. DD did inherit a lot of pretty good hitters. Nevertheless, some credit must go to Cora for the best season in Sox history. Then the pitching collapsed in 2019 and the Sox missed the postseason, but still had a winning record. Still, John Henry fired DD because he realized he was paying a whole lot of salary for not nearly enough performance. Plus he was about to lose Mookie Betts whom the Dodgers were willing to pay $365M. 2020 was a losing season and also the season when Cora was banished from MLB for the Astros sign-stealing. 2021, Cora returns, but the Sox no longer have Mookie, Beni, Sale, Price, Kimbrel, JBJ, Moreland, Porcello, et al. Barnes turns out to be terrific closer, but only for half a season, after which the closer becomes "assorted." One could fairly argue that a good bullpen is a manager's best friend and that that usually includes a reliable closer. Nevertheless, the Sox whip the Yankees in the wild card and the 100 win Rays in the ALDS before losing to the Astros, 4 games to 2, in the ALCS--and they do it without a closer. In fact, they have 0 saves in 11 postseason games in 2021, but only 1 blown save (in the 6th inning of a game Sale started and lasted 2.2 innings). That to me suggests masterful managing by Cora. As for this year, 2022, please name another Sox team with such horrible pitching--due mostly to rampant injuries--that did better than this team's 72-77 so far? Only one other AL team has given up more runs than the Sox 715. Plus, and here I don't have the stats to back this up, but it does seem to me that RISP disease has hit this team especially hard.

Ahem. To be honest, I think the primary architect for 2018 was DD, who brought in four key arms--Sale, Price, Eovaldi, and Kimbrel--and a very good bat, JDM, who I think made all the other Sox bats better. DD did inherit a lot of pretty good hitters. Nevertheless, some credit must go to Cora for the best season in Sox history. Then the pitching collapsed in 2019 and the Sox missed the postseason, but still had a winning record. Still, John Henry fired DD because he realized he was paying a whole lot of salary for not nearly enough performance. Plus he was about to lose Mookie Betts whom the Dodgers were willing to pay $365M. 2020 was a losing season and also the season when Cora was banished from MLB for the Astros sign-stealing. 2021, Cora returns, but the Sox no longer have Mookie, Beni, Sale, Price, Kimbrel, JBJ, Moreland, Porcello, et al. Barnes turns out to be terrific closer, but only for half a season, after which the closer becomes "assorted." One could fairly argue that a good bullpen is a manager's best friend and that that usually includes a reliable closer. Nevertheless, the Sox whip the Yankees in the wild card and the 100 win Rays in the ALDS before losing to the Astros, 4 games to 2, in the ALCS--and they do it without a closer. In fact, they have 0 saves in 11 postseason games in 2021, but only 1 blown save (in the 6th inning of a game Sale started and lasted 2.2 innings). That to me suggests masterful managing by Cora. As for this year, 2022, please name another Sox team with such horrible pitching--due mostly to rampant injuries--that did better than this team's 72-77 so far? Only one other AL team has given up more runs than the Sox 715. Plus, and here I don't have the stats to back this up, but it does seem to me that RISP disease has hit this team especially hard.

I liked the name, "Guardians." I understand and accept why the name change was made, but think the choice of Guardians was a lousy one. The "Redskins" clearly had to go, but the "Commanders" is to me absurd.