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The bottom line is he is allowed to spend, but there is a budget (number unknown to me). So inheriting a big payroll does leave him less wiggle room towards said budget. Hence the dumpster diving/bargain basement shopping/discount discovering/whatever, And when it comes to Bogaerts, it’s quite possible that they knew/suspected he wouldn’t sign for anything close to 6/$140mill, so Story came in as a pre-emptive replacement…

They knew what they were doing. They were loudly and boldly telling their fans “money will not be an obstacle. They are well aware both players will decline rapidly, as nearly all long term free agents do. Heck I know it. Absolutely no way I know anything about Seager and Semien they don’t know. And when those (or any players) decline, will the fans think “hey, they tried all those years ago”? Or will they forget about the ridiculous deals on the declining players and expect the team to still spend? We all know the answer. You yourself think Story was not Bloom’s idea but was foisted on him by Henry. And many have called up Bloom for “dumpster diving” because we want to blame this team’s ineptitude on his frugality. But the reality is, even with the dumpster diving, the Sox have the 6th highest payrolll in MLB. And there is a definite possibility that Bloom’s frugality takes into account that he is paying some $84 mill this year - well over one third of his payroll - to four players, one of whom is sitting at home and another is on a whole different team. Did you get excited about Price in 2016? Probably. A lot of people did. But Price came with, well, a price. And the Sox are still paying that Price price, which certainly impacts the team today. This does impact Bogaerts. What do you suppose he wants in what is obviously his last chance to really cash in? And will he be worth it at the end of his deal? I suspect he would get 6 yrs $150 mill in free agency, but I could be wrong. I do know it makes more sense to shoot for the moon with Boston because he still has free agency if things don’t work out the way he wants. It’s a tough call. Fans want the player when he’s still good. But not when things ho wrong. You haven’t been calling him “Chris Frail” as a term of endearment, have you?

All big market free agency is done “just to appease the fans.” Do you think Texas paid nearly $500 million for Seager and Semien because they thought both were going to be good players for 10 and 7 years respectively?

True, but also why it has an opt out…

No. Not the point. But if a player chooses to be represented by Boras, what does that tell you?

Well we keep hearing it’s his third year here, but it’s also only been 250 or so games, too..,

The main flaw in this theory - and there are multiple - is the very people you say are disheartened by the team performance are the ones most responsible…

Really I should say “if they prioritized” instead of “needed” for that tax threshold stuff. Since they did go under, I assume that was the goal. But I don’t have insider info. I do have an Edit function that works part time, however…

I can’t speak for management, but when Mookie hit free agency, the Sox were over the limit 3 straight years and needed to get under the tax threshold, which was impossible to do at that time while retaining Mookie. As for Judge vs Bogaerts, it’s possible the Sox prefer an OF/DH type now that Story is on board…

I’m willing to bet fans are making a bigger deal of it than Bogaerts is…

Or the Sox let Bogaerts walk and use the money to sign Judge…

That’s an insane reach. Judge is having his own contract squabbles. Is he taking down the rest of the Yankee lineup?

For me, the highlight of signing Story was it quashed Tampa North fears. But I would have preferred alternatives. One thing about him was he might not look like a good replay for Bogaerts, who was second in SS fWAR from 2018-2021 behind only Semien. But at least Story was third…

But unlike Gausman, he’s pitching to AA hitters, many of whom will never play in MLB and some because they can’t judge the strike zone and/or they can’t prolong at bats by fouling off close pitches. I’m all for getting MiLB help, but Houck could and should be moved to closer/high leverage today and his spot in the rotation could and should go to Seabold or Winckowski…

While you’re probably being sarcastic, isn’t there some legitimacy to having a step like that in a player’s development? Anyone can beat up on inferior competitors, but not every player can handle equal or better competition. For all the talk people like to make about mental aspects of baseball - pressure, clutch, chemistry, contract issues - shouldn’t this be one? Or do we want the minors to provide short term stopgap solutions that fizzle out after a couple weeks?

They all want to play for one team for life when they can’t negotiate with anyone else. But Bogaerts didn’t hire Scott Boras so he could take a hometown discount.

One of the WOO guys - meaning Winckowski or Seabold…

Still shouldn’t be starting…

Yesterday it was Houck…

Seabold and/or Winckowski could help out in the rotation. Then maybe the Sox could stop draining the bullpen every time someone goes down. I really don’t get why they don’t call up one. Both are on the 40 man already. Neither is so young service time is a concern. It’s a bit baffling…

He just reminds me of a Simpson’s scene. Homer (as alter ego Max Power): There’s three ways to do anything. The right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way! Lisa: Isn’t that the wrong way? Homer: Yes! But faster!

His problem isn’t that he can’t play in Toronto. It’s that he should be playing in Worcester. For now. I haven’t given up on him totally…

It’s a bit early for external solution. Try the internal ones first, since those can almost always be undone if they don’t pan out…

Give them two runs through the batting order…

Houck tried that yesterday. And now Seabold should replace Houck…