moonslav59

Funny. I was just getting ready to post: From Chris Freakin' Sale to Freakin' Chris Sale!

Okay, I did recall that post, but was he really "horrible?"

Sale was the only promise to cling to, despite us all knowing the fragility of such a hope. There is still hope we get more from him than 2021, and it's not like ERod was lighting the world on fire for the first 8 weeks of 2021. That being said, a dark cloud is hanging over Red Sox Nation for 2022. The Suzuki and McHugh hopes are gone. No big trade seems to be looming. We have $16M to spend and nothing out there for that money that will turn us into top 4 contenders in the AL, IMO. To me, our roster looks like it's borderline fire sale mode. Just go for 2023 and trade Bogey, JD, Nate and Kike and just admit 2023 is a pipe dream. (Did I just say that out loud? LOL!)

What am I spinning? I never thought Schwarber was a good fit for 2022 and beyond. I like the guy as much and anyone, but we have bigger holes at other positions. No spin- just reality.

If you count playoff wins and losses... The DD through Bloom era: 119-57 2018 98-72 2021 Bloom 94-72 2017 93-72 2016 84-78 2019 24-36 2020 Bloom "Tank Year" Does our long term outlook seem better now or after the 2019 season?

If you are being sarcastic, which is hard to tell, he did not take over from the 2018 team. He took over after the 2019 season. Big difference, despite the fact that the rosters were similar in some ways. The spending was cut. Players aged and left for free agency. "Genius" or "brilliant?" I hesitate to say either, but he has done what he was asked to do and more. While rebuilding the farm and 40 man roster depth, we were 2 games away from the WS. That is a hell of a lot better than the 2019 season.

I'm fine with that idea, and if Casas and Dalbec can keep hitting, we may have a front runner for the majority of DH playing time in Dalbec, at least vs LHPs. Devers could use some "rest time" at DH. If Duran can't improve his defense and starts to hit, he could get some time there, too.

So, Diekman signed for $8M/2 and Strahm for $3M/1, Here's the new lux tax breakdown: $M 25 Sale 22 JD 20 Bogey 17 Nate 12 JBJ ~10 Devers 10 Paxton 9.4 Barnes 7.0 Kike 7.0 Vaz 7.0 Wacha 5.0 Hill 4.0 Diekman ~3.8 Pivetta ~3.5 Verdugo 3.0 Strahm 2.3 Plawecki 1.5 Sawamura 1.4 Brasier ~1.3 Arroyo ~1.0 Taylor +16 Price +16 Player Benefits +3.5 0-3 year players +2.3 40 man roster in minors +1.7 0-3 bonus pool $213.3M TOTAL $16.7M remaining to stay under the first tax line.

It appears Bloom is holding onto his prospects very tightly. It's hard to know if he made any serious offers for all the guys the A's have traded, already, but I've heard no rumors of offers. Montas, Manaea and Trivino are still there. The A's also have 3 young catchers better than anyone on the Sox. We could maybe grab Andrus for 2B or Piscotty for the OF as salary dumps to lessen the return needed to grab Montas, Manaea, Trivino or a catcher, but I'm not hopeful we make a big trade.

LOL. I have Seabold about tied with Winckowski & Crawford. I like Bello more than any of these three, but he may not be ML ready by opening day. If the pen needs were not so urgent, I'd have Whitlock and Houck ahead of those 4. I'm not hoping we see Seabold, since it would mean injuries or sucking by a SP'er. BTW, I'm still waiting for you to explain how he sucked at AAA, last year. He wasn't great, granted, but he was far from sucking.

You have to have runners on in front of you to drive them in, but yes, JD has been better at it that Schwarber. JD is a pretty high bar to set, and he's getting older and is more expensive than Schwarber just signed for. 2021 Men on Base .302/.369/.506/.875 (83 RBI in 302 PAs) JD .275/.385/.531.917 (51 RBI in 192 PAs) Schwarber It looks like Schwarber walked more with men on base, which is not a bad thing, and he hit for more power, but JD has a better BA. As for RBIs per PA with men on base in 2021: .275 JD .266 KS Pretty close, but yes, JD is better.

No, you don't need to go back, again. You've made this point dozens of times. We all know what was said, and what little has been done. We express our hopes, knowing full well, that is all they are. We continue to build our depth and farm. We make no long term commitments. It's a slow and methodical approach that frustrates anxious fans. I still think a "pounce" will happen at some point. I had hoped we'd pounce one one players, this winter, but I never expected it to happen. It did appear we tried to make competitive offers to a small few FAs, like Suzuki, Baez and maybe a couple more, so I'm not sure there is a firm "low long term commitment plan" in place, but the limits Bloom puts on valuing players seems to be just low enough to never win a significant bid. We've ended up with one-year scraps, in which very few have worked out as well as the Rays seemed to have done under Bloom's watch with them. He's built the farm and lower portion of the 40 man roster very well, but other than Whitlock and Kike, the striking gold at the top of the 40 man has been pretty abysmal. (Rounded lux tax numbers) $14M/2 Kike $12M JBJ ($8M buyout for 2023) $10M Richards $10M Paxton (Multi options) $9M Ottavino $8M/2 Diekman $7M Wacha $7M Vaz option $5M Hill $6M Perez I $5M Perez II $4M Pillar $3M Renfroe $3M Strahm $3M Marwin $3M Moreland $3M Peraza $3M/2 Sawamura (+ arbs) $2M Andriese $1.5M Lucroy (Whitlock on Rule 5) Not very impressive for upper level acquisitions. I realize with the money spent, and nobody getting anywhere near a big contract, that we got what we paid for. I get the Bloom had too many slots to fill with a limited budget, but his M.O was "finding diamonds in the rough," and he's largely struck out doing that with the Sox. That being said, I'm still happy we have Bloom as our GM. He is what we needed for a GM under these tight restrictions. He built the farm, with DD's help, up much more quickly than I could have ever imagined. He built up the bottom 10-14 slots on the 40 man roster faster and better than I expected, but those top 26 slots have been hard to improve upon. Hey, we did very well, last year, so I'm happy with the final results, but the outlook for 2023 looks a bit gloomy. My optimism, last year, hinged on the fact that no AL team looked dominant, and previously good AL team made major improvements. That is not true, this winter. The Yanks and Jays are better. Some bad an okay teams got better (Rangers and others) while only the A's got worse. Hitting 90 wins, this year will be a challenge. The expanded playoffs might help us make it into the dance, again, but as of now, I don't view us as a top 4 contender in the AL. To improve in the next week, we'd have to trade prospects, and I don't see that happening. There are no realistic free agents left that could boost us into the top 4, and no sign Bloom is poised to sign any of them. (Freeman is not coming here.) I'm trying to stay optimistic, but with Sale now starting the year on the IL, it's hard.

As much as I liked Schwarber, and we'd have to do positional cartwheels to get him FT play, that's too much to spend for a guy who would have been our DH for 3 of those 4 seasons.

Yanks just signed Rizzo, so Freeman to LAD?

Lots of shoes dropped, this morning, and none to the Sox. I'm disappointed but not surprised. I get the stinginess with the prospects, but we had enough cash to spend and still stay under the tax line to get at least one really nice player for more than a one year deal. I get the uncertainty about so many of our players with opt-outs and reaching free agency, after this year, but we knew a few things for sure: 1) We know we need another solid SP'er for 2022 and beyond. 2) We know we need an OF'er for 2022 and beyond, even if Duran does well. 3) We know we need a 2Bman, if Kike is slated for the OF for his last year of team control. 4) We know we need a catcher for 2023. We did nothing to solve any of these known problem areas- NOTHING! It's frustrating watching our off-seasons, and I wonder what will happen at the deadline and next winter, when so many of our blue-chippers hit the open market.

LeMahieu was +6.5 UZR/150 and -2 DRS at 2B in 663 innings, last year. Hell, even Odor had better numbers (-4.2/ -3 DRA in 540 innings) than Torres career at 2B.

While Torres is better at 2B than SS, is he really an upgrade at 2B over 2021? The Yanks were +1.2 UZR/150 at 2B (-12 DRS) in 1435 innings Torres is -12.0 UZR/150 and -8 DRS at 2B career (1632 innings) Maybe it's a push at 2B.

They must be banking on Sale to eat most of ERod's innings, but yes, my hope was, and still is, getting a better SP'er. Maybe the plan is Whitlock and then to cobbled together a decent pen.

I forgot Kike.

2019-2021 OPS .747 Arroyo .743 Iggy .741 Vaz .665 JBJ

The CWS, a team than never made the playoffs in back-to back years in 120 seasons, until the last two years, and a team with one of the worst farms in MLB is reportedly interested in Montas or Manaea.

I also feel it is not likely we add a solid starter before the season starts, but I can't help wishing we did. To me, Wacha is the perfect 6th starter/starter depth type pitcher. Winckowski, Seabold, Crawford and Bello should be #7 and beyond. (There's also Houck & Whitlock.)

The Rays are famous for a revolving door. However, your concerns are noteworthy, as many pitchers decline sharply after leaving them.

McHugh signs with the Braves for $10M/2. That seems reasonable enough for Bloom to bid $1M more...

I know very well both started much of the season. Maybe it wasn't the best example as both were signed with an apparent understanding they'd start. I'm not sure Wacha was promised anything about starting other than he will start as the front runner for the 5 slot. I would think Hill would have a better understanding he'll be starting, but the quote I provided by Cora sounds like he's is viewed as a flex pitcher. I'm not sure what, if any, promises were made, but Nick sure sounded like he thought it would be a "LIE" if they put either in the pen after adding another SP'er. Then, he yelled, "How the f*** do I know what was promised?" All i know is, teams often add starters to the mix and more than 5 think they should or will start, but one or more do not, at the start of the year. This all came about as a result of me just suggesting 3 ways we could add a starter and make it work. I never said we would or should choose one of the suggestions that said we might move Hill or Wacha to the pen. Hell, many here have been saying Houck and or Whitlock should start, which would mean someone goes to the pen, barring injury. I seriously doubt Wacha will be all that upset, if someone else beats him out of the 5 slot. He pitched 6 games from the pen, last year, including one near the end of the year. He had an ERA of 5.00, too, so why should he feel like he's earned anything? Hill is another story. He's been an exclusive starter for so long, and being so injury prone, I'm not sure I'd mess with him. I'd only put him in the pen, if he's sucking or worse than Wacha or Pivetta as the season progresses.