moonslav59

His trade value has taken a hit, too, though, so trading when his stock is low might be a mistake. Trading Duran might net a better return. There is still time for Verdugo to bring his value back up.

Agreed, but I guess the hope would be to use the savings to upgrade the OF and pen.

Is it a back-to-back thing with Houck? I don't get it. The guy is young. He used to go 2-4 innings often. Is Cora trying to ease him into a 1 IP every 2-3, then 3-4 days over time, and he wanted to start out not going back-to-back? Either way, eventually we will have to use a scrub, when we only have 3 reliable RP'ers to go 2 innings every day. No matter what day Cora chooses to go with the scrub, he gets blamed.

To answer your first question: I think they view Brasier as a one inning guy, and using him over two seperate innings might have been thinking they already pushed their luck. The second reason might be the match-up with the next batter- I forget who it was. On the surplus of 7-7 inning guys, I think you got to the crux of the problem: 1) The surplus of 5-7 inning guys, some of which are not trustworthy in that role either, is not really a good thing. 2) We have 3 reliable 8-9 inning guys, and it's hard to call any of them a lock-down closer. Houck, Strahm and Schreiber can not handle 2 innings, every day. We need our starter to go 8 or 9, or we need a shaky pitcher, not named Houck, Strahm or Schreiber, to pitch the 8th maybe half the time or more. It's just asking for trouble. I do think Bloom is to blame. He extended Barnes and gave the rare 2 year deal to Diekman. In his defense, I will say we had the same concerns about the pen, last year, and it worked out okay, despite the starting pitchers doing much worse, last year and putting more stress on the pen. We can blame the limited winter spending budget or how Bloom allocated and divided the spending budget he was given, and that is all fair game. We can complain about how Story has not earned his paycheck, so far, or how Diekman has been a failure, but I'm not sure any RP'er signed for $4M should be expected to be a savior. We went into last year with no sure closer and a ton of question marks, and somehow Cora cobbled together a noteworthy season, using about 5-7 different closers and top set-up men. I think last year's success clouded Bloom's judgment concerning the pen. That being said, focusing on the mistakes and weak areas seems to take front and center stage more often than not. IMO, when you look at the overall picture of what Bloom has done since day one, it's been a clear plus in almost every area. If you look at just last winter: Story: not earning his paycheck, but not a complete failure. Take away everyone's best week, and he still leads the team in rbi per PA. That's a stretch, I know, especially coming from someone who usually criticizes those using rbi as a major measuring stick, but thos are the same poster most vocal about Story's failure after 53 games. Diekman: I disliked the signing from day one. I know it's only $4M, but why did he deserve the rare second year? Hill: At $5M, I think most would agree, Bloom got what he paid for. I had hoped for a little better, but I think he's a good 4/5 starter. Wacha: A clear major score for Bloom. This signing alone, more than balances the failure of Diekman and slow start by Story. Strahm: Another clear plus, and within the context of a pen in shambles, he's been a steady force in racking up wins when the pen was needed most. Brining back Robles was a mistake, but at $2M, and looking at what he did, last season, I think it was an understandable signing. Other guys picked up, last year, have done okay to well: Schreiber, Davis, Refsnyder & Danish. The JBJ deal has been beaten to death, but it looks a little better than it did when made, which to me, is not saying much. As we stand right now, we are in the playoffs- same as last year, despite some major offensive struggles early on and a pen that looks like a coin toss, everyday. Considering where this team stood after 2019 and through the 2020 season, where we lost Betts, Sale and ERod while spending just $20M and had the weakest bottom 20 on the 40 man roster than I have ever seen as a Sox fan, I think Bloom's tenure, so far, has been a net plus. This next winter will be his defining moment.

We could have gained a game on TOR, TBR and CLE.

We need to only use Houck, Strahm and Schreiber in these situations, even if it means using the clowns in high leverage 7th and 8th inning roles.

What a sick feeling to go to bed having! Thanks Hansel!

How many times do these weak hitters keep burning us?

OMG! Say it ain't so!

Mine is Gretel.

A real nail-biter!

Can Bobby Dee get a lil lovin'?

yes!!!

Bobby Dee or bust...

It's franchise time!

Vaz has been Mr. Clutch, recently. I was hoping it was a repeatable skill.

You answered your own question. It's the 6th and he only has a couple of quality arms rested and ready. We need another Q arm or more.

I'd have guessed "The Onion."

TOR, TBR & CLE have lost. Get the Win, tonight! One game at a time!

It amazes me how such a slow bat can get so many hits and occasional HR.

Not Wacha's night. I guess he was due for a bad night, but maybe we can find a way to salvage this game.

I played back the JD HR on my DVR. If you zoom in, you can read his lips. He says, "This one is for you, Max" right before going yard!

Good to see CLE & TOR lose.

75:7 Walter 53:6 Pannone 55:8 Van Belle 71:19 Drohan 84:24 Bello 43:8 Winckowski 54:13 Padron-Artilles 50:14 Uberstine 71:19 Drohan 84:24 Bello 75:25 Murphy 25:2 DiValerio (25.1 IP) 31:4 Bracho (25.1 IP) 35:7 Politi (24 IP) 27:7 German (17.1 IP)

I seriously doubt he ever pays more than $8-10M for a RP'er, and I think I agree with that strategy. I realize the pen is becoming more and more central to team building, and you need to spend to get value, but I think the philosophy is to spend larger and longer at other positions.