moonslav59

I guess I just see it like JH decided to cut spending. I doubt he'd have decided to spend more, because DD was begging him for more money. I'm also not sure DD would want to be part of a situation where he had to beg, but who knows. They might have lied to him, too. They might have said, hang in there: we will spend way more, soon. Then, not done it. I have no idea what GM woulda/coulda done better or worse than Bloom did, under the exact same circumstances. Adding a variable about possible different budgets and mandates makes it too complex for me to ponder, and besides, what would be the point. It would be apples to oranges. Maybe DD would have built better 26 man rosters, but the farm and foundation would be worse off. Maybe, he'd have spent the same AAV, but we'd have more longer term deals (good or bad.) Who knows? I know Bloom blew his chance. He botched the big moves and the non moves were even worse. IMO, he did a good job on building up the farm and the 40 man roster depth. I think after the rule 5 players are added, this fall, the 40 man will be as strong as it has been since 2019 or before. I think that was the major task given to him. That grade is still pending, and it is total speculation on what the results will be, but I'm not sure other GMs woulda/coulda done much better, on that front. (For what it's worth.)

WRONG! One out of 5 teams does not make a division superior.

If true, one could posit Bloom would do better spending more, too.

Further proof of the inferiority of the AL West.

When you factor just the US inflation rate into our yearly player salary budgets, it's obvious we have not come very close to the 2018-2019 levels of spending. Many teams have passed us in the rankings. According to cots, the CB Tax budget has been: $239 in 2018 (1st) $244 in 2019 (1) $185 in 2020 (8) $208 in 2021 (6) $236 in 2022 (5) $222 in 2023 (12)

How would DD have handled the Betts trade mandate, which he apparently came close to doing during 2019 AND also a massive cut to the budget for 2020 with small incremental upticks in winter spending for the following 2-3 winters? I think he saw the writing on the wall, and that's why the friction happened. The part about no trading top prospects for 5+ years might have been the final straw. There is a good chance DD or any other GM might have done better than Bloom- both with farm and 40 man roster building and MLB team success from 2021-2023, but it's hard to know. Here are the top ranked prospects (soxprospects.com's ranking when traded): 16. Jay Groome summer '22 (Rosier) 9. Aldo Ramirez summer '22 (Schwarber) Unranked T Lakins Jan 2020 (J Springs) 9. CJ Chatham fall 2019 (PTBNL) 6. Beeks summer '18 (Nate) 19. Ty Buttrey summer '18 (Kinsler) Unranked S Espinal summer '18 (Pearce) 16. S Anderson + GSantos summer '17 (Nunez) Only Beeks was top 8 going back along time. You have to go back to the winter of 2016-2017 to find a top 5 prospect traded by the Sox: 1. Moncada, 5. Kopech + 7. Basabe (Sale) 10. Dubon (Thornburg) July 2016: #3 Espinoza (Pomeranz) Nov 2015: 4. Margot, 6. JGuerra, 13. L Allen (Kimbrel)

You wanna bench our best hitter vs LHPs just to change the managers motto?

He had a .428 OBP vs LHPs in 2023. (.371 BAbip v L and .224 v R) Sox OPS Leaders vs LHPs in 2023: .900 Turner (.317 BAbip) .828 Refsnyder (.371) .824 Devers (.302) .817 Casas (.296) .772 Reyes (.347) .756 Duvall (.353)- the guy many of us want back due to our weak area v L .746 Yoshida (.311) .609 Dugo (.263 and 3rd most PAs v L) 501 Wong (.263) 108 PAs was 6th most on the team He still has value, but only when batting vs LHPs. 2022-2023 OPS of Sox Players vs LHPs and under team control for 2024: 50+ PAs .889 Refsnyder .784 Devers .783 Story .777 Casas .772 Reyes .772 Dalbec .746 Yoshida .652 Dugo .611 Duran .477 Wong (.934 McGuire in 44 PAs- reverse split)

I disagree, fully. You got guys on the bench- use them. Keep them fresh. Minimize weak spots in players you have. Yes, in theory, just put 9 guys in the line-up with no weaknesses on D or on splits. BTW, the 100 win Dodgers started Jason heywood in 98 games vs RHPs and 0 vs LHPs. Looks like a solid platoon, to me. Are they "small market?"

Baseball America had him #10 in 2005: https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/prospects_mlb/2005~BA/

But, when you say "They did not interview anyone else," you are the one making it sound like he was the one "sought after." You should add the part about "nobody else wanted to interview" for your point to mean what it seems you want it to mean.

I could see a Refsnyder-Duran LF platoon or a Rafaela-Abreu CF platoon, but not both at the same time. If we trade Dugo and bring back Duvall. L- Duran in LF only (CF emergency) L- Abreu in CF & RF (if not on the farm) R- Ref in LF only R- Rafaela in CF (if not on the farm) R- Duvall in RF

I said "possible" expectation... that we spend up to the tax line- maybe the up to but not passing the second one.

I thought HRam was top 5 at the time of the trade. Oh well.

I can't remember the last time it has happened. Many feel the Sox and AGon had a "wink-wink" deal in place, when we got him. No, I don't think Soto would agree to an extension, unless he felt it would be a top offer, anyway.

He was asking about top prospects for 1 year players.

My second point was about the extension being agreed upon as a condition of the trade.

So, why keep saying "They never interviewed anyone else?"

I still feel better thinking our team is top 4 in caliber. Plus, you build for that, knowing injuries or unexpected downturns can still make you a top 8 and a playoff team, where "anything can happen." Kinda what the Seattle GM let slip.

I think he did a similar thing with Ben, but the miracle 2013 team swept it under the rug. Had 2021 not occurred, we'd probably be where we are today, after 2022.

I'm tired of Kennedy, but without knowing who had a strong hand in some of the most egregious mistakes over the years, I'm not sure who and who should not go. Like others here, I think Romero should stay, but I don't really know what his influence has been for good and bad. Does anyone know? Many of the guys we are blaming for the current state of the team were also here for the 2016-2018 era.

I'm still not sure why you keep harping on the "no other interviews" aspect of the Bloom signing. Are you envisioning some other candidate wowing JH so much he'd change his mind from someone he obviously wanted, badly. The top brass wanted Bloom. They wanted him, so much, they did not think anyone could be better.

If an extension is agreed upon, it's not 1 year. Just a framework would not be good enough, agreed.

He may not be top 5 in the upcoming winter rankings. Wasn't HanRam a top 5 prospect, when we traded him (and A Sanchez) for 1 year of Beckett (and salary dump Lowell?) We later extended Beckett.

I don't think Yamamoto and Gray makes us a top 4-6 ring contender. It likely just makes us a strong playoff contender- maybe a favorite to win a WC slot. For those who believe in crapshoots, maybe that makes us a ring contender. Not me. If we add 3 SP'ers and bring Duvall back, we may be close to a top 5-8 contender. Maybe top 4, if almost everything goes right.