moonslav59

I wasn’t sure if SEA claimed him off waivers or he cleared them and then was signed for the min. I assume, now, it was the latter.

Nice summary old timer. I eagerly await your breakdown of our returning pitchers. Here’s what I would add: Devers on D has gotten “comfortable looking” several times in recent years, only to relapse into stinkdom, often in April’s. I’m still open to moving him to 1B, a position we happen to be very weak at. That begs the question, who plays third? I’ve never been high on Bogey’s D at SS, but he is clearly a big net plus, so no beef, here. JD’s opt out is big question mark, this winter. I have mixed feelings about what I’d like him to choose. If he goes, I hope we can keep Schwarber, but keeping both only hurts our D, even if just for one year. I was hoping Verdugo could be an .850 hitter: now, I wonder about .780. His D is fine. If Renfroe can stay near .800, he’ll be a great steal by Bloom. His RF D shocked me. Let’s keep him in RF, Kike in CF and Verdugo in LF. It’s the one solid defensive part of out team, but we’ve had to mess with it, too often. Vaz has not been on a steady decline on offense. His 2019-2020 numbers were the best back to back seasons of his career and was about .800. That’s awesome for a catcher. I’m not sure what happened, this year, but it’s not the first time he’s yo-yo’d. I won’t get into my feelings about our staff’s comfort pitching to him. I love Plawecki as a back-up- not a starter. I expected better D from Dalbec, or at least signs of marked improvement. Struggling on offense was a little more predictable, but he still has a lot to prove. I’m not sure how long a leash a contending team can give to a guy who p,as a position known for big offense. I’ve not given up on him, but my hopes are lower than they were over the winter. We need a better 1B plan, next year. Mayb e Schwarber can play there vs RHPs for one year, then move to DH. I don’t see Munoz, Arauz or Casas as anyone we should count on for anything in 2022, except maybe as 3rd stringers. Duran should get plenty of playing time as the 4th OFer, especially if Kike is needed at 2B a significant amount of time, as Arroyo’s health may be an issue, or he may be needed at SS, 3B, 1B as relief or in case of injury. I like what we have coming back on offense and don’t see any easy fixes on defense that don’t mess up our offense. Move Devers to 1B? Trade Bogey before his opt out? Find a better catcher somehow? Sign a 1B that can hit and field well? I think we’ll add a 1Bman or Schwarber plus a utility guy better than Marwin was. The new pitchers will be the keys.

We pay the difference, right? Unless you guys claimed him through waivers.

Is anyone hinting at re-signing Richards or taking the option? .

Just a reminder of what we had, last year, and just how many holes Bloom needed to fill with about $40M to spend- short term deals only. IP Rankings 1. Pérez (re-signed him) 3. Weber 4. Valdez 5. Mazza 6. Godley 7. Brewer 8. Brasier 10 Springs 11. Brice 13. Osich 14. Covey 15. Kickham (even at #15, he was on pace for 40 IP!) These guys for over 25 IP: Stock, Walden, Hart These over 15: Hembree, Triggs, Hall How about our PA leaders? 7. Chavis 8. Pillar 9. Peraza 10. Dalbec 11. Plawecki 12. Aráuz (on pace for 200 PAs) Lin, Pueblo, Munoz and others played some. We had a very weak roster from about 16 or 18 to 40. We’d have had to spend like the Dodgers to fill all those slots, p,us add an ace and top closer. Let’s get real, here.

So, it’s a repeatable non skill.

True. The only player that does seem to slump on D is Devers.

The funny thing is, their solution is to spend like drunken sailors, again, so we can find the next CC, Pablo, HRam and Price.

They actually spent a lot, last winter. The problem was our 26 and 40 man rosters had so many holes in it, we had to spread the money thinly, instead of all on 2 key players. 10 Richards 9 Ottavino 7 Kike 6 Pérez 3 Marwin Plus guys like Renfroe, Andries and Santana We spent about $40M on upgrades and still had Pedey and Price on the books. How many other teams spent $40M in new money after the COVID 2020 season.

Our super high BAbip against is no fluke. Our D sucks!

And because Bloom raised hopes too quickly, he is being roasted for not abandoning his plan and “doing more.”

I don’t disagree, but most teams do not have better names on their staff lower depth charts. Richards and Perez really hurt us over the last 2 months. Had they just been decent our staff would have had decent depth with the real weakness being the lack of top quality pitchers. Sale Eovaldi ERod Pivetta Richards Perez Whitlock Houck Barnes Ottavino DHern Taylor Sawamura Brasier Valdez Seabold We needed a second ace and a real closer. That would also have improved an already decent staff depth by attrition. Barnes becomes the 2, Ottavino the 3, etc... with another ace, Houck helps the pen.

Bloom’s MO is finding diamonds in the ruff and getting nice returns on vets he had to trade away to make budget. How that MO fits into a team with a vastly different spending strategy is largely unknown. Any team can and will benefit from a GM who finds diamonds, and Bloom has already found a few, but he has yet to have been given a fat wallet. Sure, you can look at Richards, Perez, the Ottavino trade, Marwin and other signings as failures, but he yet to go large and long. Actually he has yet to go large or long on anyone. Plus, the Kike signing looks good. Renfroe, too. One could call him a gem, along with Whitlock, Arroyo, Plawecki and others. This winter could end up being Bloom’s defining moment with this team, assuming he gets the budget I think Henry gives him.

They spent way more, and I mean new contracts, in 2021 than many many teams. This is their patter, like it or not. We were 6th before we went to #1, too. How did we go from 6 to 1. My guess is we go from 6 to 2 or 3 this winter. Nobody is catching the Dodgers.

These three will all be grossly overpaid and get 2-3 more years than they deserve. You don’t just go out and sign anyone to a long term deal just because you have a very high need at that position. I said the same about Bauer, last winter. I’m thinking we need to wait for that right guy or maybe trade for one like we did for Beckett and Sale. Even when guys like Price come along, they often don’t do as well as hoped, but I dont see anyone even close to what Price was when we signed him. If we can sign a couple of older pitchers to one or two year deals and punt the big choice down the road, I think we’ll be better off than going overboard on one of these three. The two we sign should do much better than Richards and Perez.

He’s never had an opportunity to spend big on young, middle aged or old.

I don’t see any younger pitcher that looks worthy of signing long term, so I think we should seek stop gap, shorter term deals to carry us to the next big ace that comes along. It’s not out any love for the 2 I named, there are others that fit the same profile- scherzer, Verlander.. Our team is far from old, now, and most of our current older players will be gone, this winter..

I didn’t expect us to go undefeated vs the rest or our weakest opponents, but losing that way, last night, at a time when a sense of urgency is clearly upon us is very disheartening. We are lucky the A’s are doing everything in their power to keep us relevant, or maybe the A’s and Sox are making the Jays relevant, again. It’s not just the errors, either. This team has made tons of defensive mistakes and non plays that were not called errors. When some of your very best hitters are not good fielders, it makes for some tough winter decisions.

One thing we are not is “old.” Ottavino 35- gone JD 33- maybe gone Richards 33- gone Sawamura 33- minor role Marwin 32- gone That’s basically it.

It’s sad to see a team like the Rangers make us their bitch.

[/b] Reason enough for Bloom to meet the demand.

Maybe just spend almost all the winter budget on pitching and a little on a cheap 1Bman while swapping out JD for Schwarber at DH. Sale Greinke Kershaw Eovaldi Pivetta RIglesias Whitlock Houck Barnes Taylor DHern Brasier Valdez 1. Kike CF 2. Devers 3B 3. Bogey SS 4. Schwarber DH 5. Renfroe RF 6. Verdugo LF 7. Belt-Dalbec 1B 8. Arroyo 2B 9. Vaz- Plawecki C Duran on the bench (kike to 2B)

I do agree we need to acquire a starter better than ERod. I also hope we can improve the D, this winter. Playing Kike in CF would be a nice start. We should have a big winter spending budget, so here’s where we find out if Bloom can do well what he was never allowed to do with Tampa- spend big on multiple players. I have to think next year’s team is going to look a lot better than this one, on paper.

Are you serious? The AB trade? Beni would be 10th on this team in OPS- just ahead I’d Dalbec, who might pass him, tonight. If that’s the worst you can up with on Bloom, we’re in for multiple rings.

If could play just decent D, it might be 2-1.