moonslav59

To me, there are some major differences: 1) The foundation roster left to DD included many of the best players being Theo guys. 2) Many of the best prospects DD was handed by Ben were Theo prospects. 3) Many of the most highly regarded prospects Ben handed over to DD to trade have not amounted to squat. (It was DD that maximized their value by trading them that won us the ring and 3 first place finishes, not the fact that Ben gave DD a great farm.) Yes, a lot of the foundation Bloom is handing over to the next guy are DD guys (Devers & Sale), and graduated prospects like Bello, Casas, Houck, Crawford and Duran, but the roster turnover in Bloom's 4 years is much more far-reaching: Verdugo Whitlock Wong & McGuire Winckowski , Bernardino and Kelly Story & Yoshi Schreiber & Refsnyder Abreu, EValdez and Dham Urias & Reyes Jansen & martin Duvall, Paxton and JT (gone, soon) The 2024 rookies and top prospects is a healthy mix of both DD and Bloom kids: DD: Rafaela, Murphy, Walter, Wikelman, Perales, Mata, Dalbec, Bonaci, Castro, Paulino Bloom: Abreu, Anthony, Teel, Mayer, Bleis, Cespedes, Zanetello, Yorke, Joh Garcia, Drohan, Meidroth, Romero, Hickey, Gambrell, Jordan, Anderson, Monegro I think it's safe to say the Bloom group is stronger than the DD group, here. I'm not sure how the DD farm was stacked, as in Ben vs Theo top prospects, but I seem to recall the best ones were Theo's.

You wonder how JH can say something like that with a straight face. There is just no way the Betts trade was not an organizational decision. I'm leaning towards the idea that the choice was made without Bloom's opinion even mattering, except on who to trade him to and for what. I know this is an area of contention, and it quickly morphed into a Bloom Basher vs Bloom Apologist divide. To me, it's not even apologizing for Bloom, because there was nothing to apologize for. There has been so many actions and non actions to be critical and highly critical of Bloom over, but there is no need to invent areas that were out of his control (like the betts-Price trade), or largely out of his control (like slashing the budget). I have no problem with his being let go, but let's not join in on throwing him under the bus over things that were not his fault. If that makes me an "apologist," to some, so be it. I don't see it that way.

Or win 82-86 games. As bad as things have looked the last 3 years, the actual team on paper was not your normal "last place team," either. The division and strength of schedule played a factor in us winning 74-78 games vs 80-84, not that Bloom would surely still be here had we won 82 in '22 and '23. I think the idea was that rebuilding the farm and foundation of the team was the major priority. Not trading anyone higher than Aldo Ramirez is pretty solid evidence that was the plan agreed upon by all that make these decisions. Signing only 1 year players for the first two years was another solid sign. However, the last two season's winter spending budgets increased, and I think they expected Bloom to cobble together teams that gave the fans the perception we could win and make the playoffs. That part hasn't come close in the last two years. Fans are pissed. The blame game is a big part of our culture, and no way was JH going to fall on the sword. It had to be Bloom. He failed at a lower prioirty, but it was an important one enough to lose his job over it. I wonder how Bloom will be judged, if his foundation goes on to do very good or great things. At some point, tomorrow will be the new "here and now" that so many care so much about.

The top 6 are not dogs, and Morton on a 1 year deal would likely be a good signing. Yamamoto x 8-9 (might get 10 at his age) Nola x 7 (probably gets 8) Snell x 6 of 7 Kershaw x 2 S Gray x 4 or 5 Montgomery x 6 or 7 Morton x 1 Morton would be a nice counter to a long range signing, and losing his and Sale's contract after 2024 would be a windfall.

Strawman. I did not give him a B or B-. I gave him a C to C-, maybe a C+ after we see what happens with his guys. Based on the foundation and farm he left the next guy weighing against the D he gets for 2022 and 2023's MLB teams, it's about a C. How is saying his draft picks are freakin awful anything but stand up comedy? AYFKM?????

Players might take a little less out of fear of injury during the year before free agency, but yes, he will cost. One might ask, why trade a good prospect or two then pay FA prices? Good question.

If I knew Burnes would extend at a reasonable cost, I'd give more. He turned 29, soon.

You should do stand-up.

Burnes might fetch a Rafaela at the deadline, so he'll get it this winter- or more.

Comedian.

BTV accepted: Mitch Keller (2 yrs) to Red Sox Dugo and Bednar to Astros McCormick and Bleis to Pirates Also, Bleis and Drohan for Singer and Hearn

They might want Rafaela.

Ok, trade Dugo for SS.

A lot of speculation going on.

Bleis is only 19 and had a very good FCL year before his injury, this year. SP's has this as his summary: Potential everyday player who adds significant value in all facets of the game. High-risk prospect with a wide variance of outcomes. Checks all the boxes you look for in a prospect his age. If he reaches his potential, all five tools could grade at least as average. Raw power is his best current tool, but has the potential to hit for average as well. Has the highest upside of any Latin American prospect in the system. Scouts praised him as the best position player they saw in the FCL during the 2022 season.

Best xFIP on the Farm (80+ IP) 3.45 I Coffey 3.46 J Paez 3.69 Dobbins 3.85 Wikelman 3.85 Rogers 3.90 Liu 3.98 Gambrell 3.98 Bastardo 4.15 Perales 40IP-79IP 2.74 GBatista 3.02 CBolden 3.05 Monegro 3.13 AHoppe 3.33 CTroye 3.48 RFern

Top Sox OPS on the Farm (75+ PAs) .977 Teel A-, A+, AA .953 Cespedes DSL .938 Dalbec AAA .933 Asencio DSL .930 Abreu AAA .911 Campbell CPX, A+ .893 Arias DSL .886 Brannon COX, A- .878 GRod DSL .875 Asigen CPX, A- .870 Nunez DSL .869 Rafaela AA, AAA .869 Anthony A-, A+, AA .864 EValdez AAA .858 Hickey A+, AA .847 Musett DSL Notables under .840 .832 Jordan .818 Bonaci .817 SScott .815 Joh Garcia .801 Kavadas .801 DHan .799 Meidroth .794 Rosier .784 Yorke .781 Reyes .778 RHern .773 Castro .758 Paulino .739 Mayer .640 CCoffey .614 Ravelo .579 Romero ISO .319 Brannon .288 Dalbec .264 Abreu .232 Scott .231 Hickey .223 Fitzy .222 EValdez .218 Rafaela .215 Cespedes (.197 Mayer, .194 Anthony) SB 57 DHam (14 CS) 49 Rosier (7) 39 Sikes (7) 36 Rafaela (13) 30 Liendo (6) 28 Ferguson (4)

Sub Yamamoto for Snell, trade for Senga and we can get a big Japanese TV deal to pay for them all.

Abreu is "faster?"

MLB.com on some interesting facts about Snell's 2023 season... Snell is looking to become the first AL/NL pitcher since 1913 -- when earned runs became official in both leagues -- to lead the Majors in both ERA and walks. Snell leads in ERA by 30 points over Justin Steele (2.73) and has 12 more walks than Charlie Morton (81). Snell has a whopping 13.4% walk rate, making this one of 173 seasons in MLB history in which a pitcher had a walk rate above 13% in 150 or more innings. Snell’s 169 ERA+ would be the highest of all those seasons, besting Hal Newhouser's 162 ERA+ in the 1942 season. If Snell walks seven more batters the rest of the season, he'd become the second pitcher ever -- and first since Sam McDowell in 1966 -- with 200 or more strikeouts and 100-plus walks across fewer than 200 innings in a season. If he wins the Cy Young Award, Snell would become the first pitcher since Early Wynn in 1959 to lead the Majors in walks while winning the award.

So, 4 out of 4 is an F-? I don't count 2020.

Go for younger arms. Outbid everyone for Yamamoto Trade for a younger pitcher.

I was going to put him in tier 1, then forgot to put him in 2.

One tier one and one tier two would be a dream come true, but we might be lucky to get one tier two and a tier three. We'll never come to a consensus on wo belongs in tier 1, 2 or 3, but my top two tiers would include: One Yamamoto Nola Snell Kershaw Two S Gray Montgomery Morton ERod (opt out) Borderline 2-3 tier Giolito Wacha Stroman

The one page that should have been ripped out years ago.