moonslav59

If Sale knows he's only going 2 IP, might he not try to throw harder? I guess it's next to impossible to increase his injury chances, so I guess that doesn't matter.

It was for Kike. Many feel like it is for Story. Wong might stick.

That's the plan, but one he gets hurt, Plan B is never available. Then, he gets better, and we say the same thing. Rinse and repeat.

It might not be a bad idea, but many pitchers come back from TJS and do very well. I don't think this last injury counts as "breaking down at he end of the season," but certainly there is a lot of data that shows he declines towards the end of most seasons. He'd be one hell of an expensive closer, but right now, he's a very expensive IL guy, so why not? That solves the Whitlock question and makes Houck an awesome set-up guy who can go 2 IP, if needed.

If we end up signing Wong to play 2B, it will mark the third straight year Bloom has used his biggest signings at 2B, assuming Wong will be his biggest contract, this winter. Kike $14M/2 (ended up in CF) Story $140M/6 (may end up at SS) K Wong ???/ ?

Is this Enmauel Valdez the real deal? He's one of the two promising prospects we got for CERA-challenged Vazquez. 2021 .854 in A+ (21 HRs in 283 ABs) .879 in AA (5 Hrs in 82 ABs) (26 Hrs in 365 ABs) 2022 1.112 in AA (11 Hrs in 168 ABs) .907 in AAA PLC (10 Hrs in 159 ABs) .789 in AAA INT (4 Hrs in 57 ABs) (25 Hrs in 384 ABs) 51 Hrs in his last 749 ABs

Maybe the extra "rest" to his shoulder and arm will extend his career or make him stronger for the remining years of team control.

Yes, Pivetta & Seabold were traded for and Wacha, Hill, Strahm and Diekman were signed, last winter. (Richards, Martin Perez, Sawamura and Andriese, the previous winter.) Yes, he has added more pitchers than just Whitlock and Wink. My bad. (I thought you were talking about the farm of for the future.)

Other than adding Whitlock, he hasn't really drafted or signed many IFA pitchers. He traded for Wink. He signed Schreiber as an IFA or maybe waivers?

I didn't take it that way, and I value your opinions, but I think we both viewed "stuff" differently. I don't disagree with your point, when viewing "stuff" the way you explained it, afterwards.

As often is the case, some debates end up being about semantics and not the actual opinion, but when you try to bring it up, sometimes you get shot down for being nit-picky or just someone who misunderstands everything.

I think theoretical and deep thinker fans, whoever they are, are disappointed by this season, too. All Sox fans are. Some are angry to varying degrees. Deciding what the reasons for sucking and assigning blame may be done differently from fan to fan, and I guess one views others as making excuses, when their reasoning differs from their own. I could say to Bloombashers, "You are just making excuses for the poor play by the players and clubhouse leadership of the team." I'm NOT interested in excuses like these! The team sucks because the players did not meet expectations! STOP blaming the manager and GM! In all seriousness, just about everyone shares in the blame, especially the crybaby fans. LOL.

Duran was a tough call. Apparently his bat was ready long before they brought him up, but one could argue, ready for what? It was his defense that many of us worried about. Many Bloom-bashers argued Duran should have been called up earlier. You don't hear much from them, anymore, but I guess Bloom is bashed if he does or if he doesn't. On building up the farm, of course we won't know the results for years, but on paper, it appears Bloom has added quality and quantity- much via trades, which by extension implies a hit on the big club or budget to get them. I think it's a safe bet to say building the farm was a high priority handed to Bloom, along with keeping the budget low, at least until March 2022 with the Story signing.

Whitlock is probably a better bet than rolling the dice with a FA signing, this winter. I didn't say a winning bet- just best bets.

Probably signing a FA is a better bet than finding another Whitlock on Rule 5 or waivers.

He's done what the boss asked him to do. He rebuilt the farm to better than expected. He helped fix the budget, in terms of lessening deadwood. The priority of keeping us looking competitive in the meantime: he's 1 for 2. 2021 a bit better than hoped for/ 2022 quite a bit worse than hoped for. If the owner fires him, he should acknowledge he messed up the priorities.

I have no desire 6to give Chris Archer a chance. I think our best bet to find a solid #1 or #2 is via trade or miracle like Whitlock.

Since 2018, our starters have not matched the 5.4 IP/GS that rotation gave us on the phenominal 2018 championship team, but it has hovered at 5.0 IP/GS every year, except 2020. IP/GS 5.0 2019 4.1 2020 5.0 2021 5.0 2022 The comparative strength of the rotation vs the pen has not been so consistent, and I guess it depends on what stats or eye test you are using. Starters vs Relievers by Rankings in fWAR, ERA-, WHIP, and FIP 2018 SP: 8, 4, 6, 8 RP: 13, 3, 12, 6 2019 SP: 13, 16, 20, 12 RP: 5, 10, 19, 8 2020: N/A 2021 SP: 6, 12, 25, 6 RP: 9, 6, 23, 10 2022 (looks like both SP & RP dropped, but SP'er by more from '21) SP: 16, 20, 20, 19 RP: 16, 26, 20, 15 Big change here from 2018 but not much from '19 & '20: Save%/IR scored % 70%/32% 2018 52%/30% 2019 64%/31% 2021 54%/36% 2022

Okay, but if someone still can throw 95 but can't throw strikes, you'd say his stuff hasn't diminished? (This is just an example. Of course, Sale can still throw strikes.) Does "stuff" include movement on fastballs? Just wondering.

Now, you've really gone, too far.

Depends what you ask the guy to look for. If the priority given to the head of baseball operations was to greatly improve the farm while getting a better handle on the ongoing budget, what would the determination be? If you asked who is most responsible for the mess of 2022, one might come up with the name DD, but surely Bloom, Cora and the team leaders and veteran players would be mentioned significantly, too.

On paper, the team improved for 2023 at the deadline. Considering the idea of being sellers was probably (or in my opinion certainly) the right thing to do, I'd say he walked the line well. Does anyone really think trading Vaz is the reason we will miss the playoffs? I'd say the play from the players we didn't trade (JD, Bogey, Nate, Strahm) is more of the reason we have sucked since the deadline.

I'm still a big Sale fan, and I think he can pitch like an ace again, if he can just stay on the mound. However, I do not think he is reliable enough to pencil in as our 30+ start #1 or ace starter for 2023. I also would not pencil in Paxton as our 25+ starter #2 or 3 for next year. Combined, I might plan on them being our #2 starter for the full season, and hope like hell they both stay healthy, or at worse, they are hurt at different times, so we have one at all times. I've liked Pivetta since we got him, but I'd love to pencil him in as our durable, capable and dependable 5th starter, but I know he will more likely be our #3 or 4. I get the argument about using Whitlock as a SP'er, next year. I'd love to keep him in the role that has worked very well, but I understand the value of a 150+ IP starter outweighs that of an 80-100 IP longman/set-up man. So, maybe my template for 2023's rotation looks like this: 1. ___ addition ____ 2. Sale + Paxton 3. Whitlock 4. Pivetta 5. Crawford/Winckowski/Bell/Mata/Seabold/Murphy/Ward (the best holds the spot) I'd like to see us add a number 3/4 type or some veteran depth, but with so many decent looking prospects, I think Bloom holds the bottom 1-2 rotation slots open for them to fill- like it or not.

Almost as badly as the Sox over the past few weeks.

I never said "gone," and I happen to think he will pitch very well, next year, if healthy. I just questioned your term "not diminished," and yes, the sample size is small for both of us to be saying yes it is or no it isn't. Yes, 2019 was before the surgery, so I'm fine not counting that year, and what is left is slim pickings. I don't know about spin rate, so if it has not diminished in his 5 IP sample size, I'll take your word for it but still wonder how much meaning that has.