moonslav59

It's not microscopic. Umps miss calls by inches. Umps have different strike zones that teams and players have to study and prepare for. It's a joke. Asking a human to call balls and strikes, especially when his vision is blocked by the catcher for parts of the K-zone is a total joke. I just don't get the resistance to getting 100% consistently right calls. Pitchers, batters, coaches and the fans all benefit. You don't even have to notice, if done right.

Trying to get the best product on the field might entail taking one step back to take two steps forward, next season on beyond. Trying to win every game of every season takes either a strong and deep farm with a commitment to keep it that way or continued mega spending- maybe a tight balance between the two.

Maybe, but as a Sox fan, I'm willing to sacrifice a season or two to get to the promiseland more often. Also, I actually think it would have been more entertaining to watch a bunch of call-up prospects without the expectation that we have to win every game, because we have a .001 chance of making the playoffs. This has not been all that much fun, since the deadline, despite not having a firesale of tank plan. So, it doesn't always work when not doing that. To me, the best part about the post trade deadline Sox has been watching Bello, McGuire, Pham and the return of Story & Kike.

Cora had nobody better to play. Bloom was not given a wide open budget, and IMO, the Story signing was a reactive, last minute panic and temporary opening of the budget. The injuries and near total vet declines were something no manager or GM could overcome with a restricted budget. 25 players decline or get hurt and that has to be Bloom and Cora's fault?

When just about ever single player from the 2021 team declined, some by a ton, I'm thinking the players are mostly to blame. I realize you can't fire the whole team, so the age old tradition is to blame the manager for not motivating or preparing the team and the GM for not being a fortuneteller. Sure, on the game threads, we hear this guy sucks and that guy sucks, and "no way should this guy still be on the team," but just about evert single carry-over player has let the team down, including Bogey, JD, Devers, Nate and all the "team leaders." Of course, Cora and Bloom share in the blame, but Bloom has other priorities besides "win now." To some extent, managers need to look at the whole 162 games not just go all out to win every game, but not to the extreme Cora seems to take it. On the specifics you mentioned: Duran was not this bad on D in AAA. I think most GMs give call-ups time to adjust to the pressure and new level. Did he give Duran too long a look? In hindsight, the answer is easy. On Dalbec, many felt he should have been demoted, last season, but look what happened. Then, this year's flip flop. Many wanted him demoted again, and Cora tried Cordero at a new position to fill the Dalbec benching with what he felt was the best chance to improve our 1B production. Cordero was showing signing of hitting better than almost anyone but our big 3. I'm sure he expected a learning curve on defense, and he got one much worse than any of us wished. Did he stick with him, too long? It looks like it. I'm not one to say he should have made a late May trade, unless I know for sure, what 1Bman any team was offering, but Bloom did not make a trade, so it's his fault not Dalbec's, not Cordero's, not Arroyo's? I just can't bring myself to see it that way, and it doesn't concern me that I may be in the vast minority among fellow Sox fans. Show me a trade that was offered in late May through June, and I'll throw blame or laugh at it. On Bloom, I would have moved JD down to 6th and then maybe 7th in the line-up, but some would view that as a slap in the face of a vet. Plus, with so many injuries, it's not like we had much better options. With Bogey's power sapped, and his BA and OBP still high, I might have tried leading him off, but oh, don't go there! Many posters swear players are creatures of habit and hate being jerked around in the line-up, and we don't want to upset an established vet and team leader. In many way, a manager is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Brining in Ort looked, to me, like a horrible call, and hindsight proves it was. I'm sure he had his reasons, but the end result matters more than anything to most. I never let a call a disagree with here and there bring me to the point of calling for a manager's firing. I try to look at the whole picture (not that you and others are not,) but to me, the whole picture is not just looking at the team record, ranking and total budget. We all see the same things differently, and I'm not saying my view is superior, but I do think JH looks beyond just the fact that we are spending a ton and sucking on the field, currently and choosing to blame Bloom & Cora for most of that.

Having a fire sale of FAs-to-be would have pissed off a lot of fans, but sometimes the time is right to just bite the bullet. Are the fans happy, now? Would they have been much happier, even if we had 6- more wins? Playing it halfway gets you nowhere. Fans may not realize that, but management should. Bloom & Co. appeared to try and improve the long term outlook more than the 2022 outlook at the deadline, but they had the choice to do much more, and I do think the projected fan reaction was part of the reason they chose not to do that. (I said it at the time, in much harsher words, but it's what I feel is the reality of being a Sox GM. It's walking on egg shells trying to deal with fans, Henry's fickle wallet and what you were left with on the roster and farm. To me, the task handed to Bloom was immense. I was one who firmly believed a "cliff" was upon us. I know that word seems to be a trigger for some, but it was the word used at the time, so I'm re-using it. In terms of what I thought the Sox faced after 2019, I happen to think we've done better than I expected and built the farm and system up much more quickly than I thought could happen within the new structure of MLB's draft, IFA system and the lux tax. That's probably the main reason I am not so critical of Bloom. I expected a long road. I expected a difficult time rebuilding the farm without high draft picks and the inability to overpay lower draft picks and IFAs. I realize the farm looks much better on paper, but we don't really know, for sure, how good it is. We thought the farm DD inherited was better than it turned out to be. That could be true, now. We have yet to see a Bloom acquired prospect even get called up and do well, unless you count the Rule 5 Whitlock as coming from Bloom's farm. Is Wink the only one even called up, yet? I think Ben's situation was somewhat similar to Bloom's. He was asked to rebuild the farm, and made way less blackbuster prospects deals than Theo and DD. JH gave him a pretty long leash (3 last place finishes,) and I think he gives Bloom, at least one more season- probably two, as long as we show progress. BTW, our farm did progress further, this season. Sure, one reason was getting such a high draft pick, because we sucked in 2020, but the fact is, Bloom seems to be doing well in one of his given high priorities. Next year's budget will show where JH's mindset is after 2022. If he opens the wallet, the pressure will rise on Bloom. If he forces a reset, I'll be thinking he's still in rebuild mode and Bloom will likely be given more than one season to continue what he's been doing with the farm and end of the 40 man roster.

They held onto Ben through 3 last place finishes. Had HRam and Porcello had their 2016 seasons in 2015, he might have last several more seasons.

I liked the Rosario outlook, when we got him.

His power was talked up a lot, but he hasn't really shown immense power, yet. He's only 22, so there is time for that. Minors: 46 HRs in 1210 PAs 119 XBHs shows more power than the HR number. It's way too early to know enough. We;ve been fooled by 1B-hyped prospects too many times to get all gah-gah. Casas does seem different from the others. Every player is unique, but here are some minor league numbers: .269 46 181 (1210 PA) 119 XBH .374/.485/.858 Casas 261Ks .263 80 259 (1625 PA) 170 XBH .363/.506/.869 Dalbec 482 Ks .265 106 573 (4591PA) 381 XBH .365/.420/.785 Lars Abnd 955 Ks

It's never the players fault, anymore.

Let's see if you can sweep us... NOT!

Not even Mrs. Harmony?

Tennis uses cameras. MLB, NFL and NBA us cameras. Just get the calls right. Let pitchers and catchers know the strike zone will be the same, no matter who the ump is.

Wait. Umpires are graded?

Rays 2 down in loss column!

Same owners, same pattern, same future results

Rafaela went 1 for 5, but it was a 3B w 3 rbi Encarnacion went 5 IP 3H 0ER 3BB 7K Mayer got 2 hits (2B) Rosier, acquired in the Hosmer & Ferguson deal for Groome had the winning 2 run HR in the bottom of the 9th. Rodrigues-Cruz went 3 IP 1H 0ER 1BB 4K Romero 2-4 (.945 OPS) Meidroth 1-3 w HR (.983 OPS)

Keeping it going: 2 for 4, tonight w two DBLs.

This kid is really starting off on fire!

Dugo for 2023 DH and LF/back-up LF'er.

Good one, "cult leader." I will say one thing, I criticize Cora more than you say good things about him, and just leave it at that.

Bello looked good. Maybe left him in too long.

I was mocking the poster that wanted Plawecki yanked mid inning to stop a base stealer and blamed Cora for not doing what no other manager has ever done. (Should mocking be put in blue?)

How about Rafaela, Yorke, Murphy & Seabold for Luzardo & E Cabrera?

NO! Nice that Cora knew to start Wong against Mullins- not noodle arm Plawecki!