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THe funny thing about the 2012-13 offseason was, the Sox went from unloading everything that was not nailed down to World Series Champions in just 14 months. And who was the biggest name they brought in? Napoli? Victorino? The only SP they brought in to shore up a staff that was 27th in MLB in ERA the year prior was Ryan Dempster. Hardly a savior...

Kimmi probably did...

True. Although some will stop watching even a good team for other reasons, like new episodes of Stranger Things.

Exactly!! Go get them both!! If the team truly does tank by July, there are pieces that could be dealt away in an attempt to get back under. And if you don't get under, no biggie. The tax payment will be minimized and the pending new CBA probably re-examines this entire issue anyway. And heck, bring back Bradley, too. Show him some love that no one else will....

Oh they need to pay attention to fans every season. Unless of course there are seasons where fans are actually not allowed to attend games, like if there is something really weird like a global pandemic or a lot of really good shows on Netflix. Because when that happens, it also affects the bottom line regardless of how good the team is.

Exactly. That's why I always hate when the media or fans say "this team is 2-3 years away from contending." How many p[eople thought that way after back-toback cellar finishes in 2014 and 2015? How many felt the team would go through a long rebuild after the Reset Button trade of 2012? Especially since the Sox unloaded some fairly good players and did not get back a single player who was a full time starters in MLB except the extremely mediocre James Loney. (It's not easy to be "extremely mediocre," but Loney did manage to pull it off.)

Most likely because they have spent their allowance. It's a lot easier for you and me to spend the Sox money, since we don't actually have to pay any of it, and we don't have to deal with the future implications of doing so. All we get is the right to complain about it, even if they take the very suggestions we made and watched them not pan out...

Absolutely. And I have been campaigning for Odorizzi and/or Porcello to no avail. Probably because Bloom and his staff, like most teams, don't take suggestions from anonymous posters on internet forums...

This team has made two "worst to first" turn-arounds in the past 10 years. Forecasting multiple years out is pretty much impossible in MLB, despite how often the fans and media try...

Agreed. But I would not mind if they showed a little less patience...

Really their entire season rests on how healthy Richards and Eovaldi are. Richards is easier to have faith in, since he really just had the one serious injury and chose a poor treatment plan. But Eovaldi? I have less faith...

No. If that was the case, arbitration would have been involved. But he accepted an offer prior...

Here's the thing If you asked this same question in 2015, the list might include the following names: Swihart, Moncada, Margot, Owens, Cecchini, Kopech, Espinoza and Brian Johnson....

Yeah, I'm in the 80-84 win camp, although I could see this team winning more only because the rest of the non-New York AL East teams have just as many questions with their pitching staffs. The Yankees have a lot too, after Cole, especialyl when you consider that 4 of their SPs combined for 45 IP last season, but their depth might be a little better. (Tampa has the most depth, but their upfront rotation has as many questions as Boston's.) Second place in the AL East might come down to what teams simply have the most break right for them...

Although next winter lacks some potential impact players the Sox might find useful outside of the shortstop position. Even with Bogaerts opt out, the Sox are better off extending him over pursuing the bigger names at that postion for a cuple reasons. Like signing Correa/Story and trying to trade Bogaerts seems counterproductive, since Bogaerts trade value for only one potential year of control while Correa, Story, Seager and possibly Lindor (unless the Mets extend him) are all available seems like poor timing. If you look at what the Guardians got for Lindor (and Correa), it's not exactly a game changing package. And Bogaerts is not likely to be worth more. The pitching available next seasons isn't as impressive, either. There is no equivalent to Trevor Bauer equivalent unless Bauer himself opts out (which is certainly possible). The bigger names are all getting up thee in years, with Kershaw (34) and Scherzer (37) looking well into their post-prime years. Lance McCullers might be the most intriguing name, but he is not exactly the most reliable arm. And pitching will be their biggest need, like it will be for most teams. Are there any outfielders comparable to even Springer? Most of the better ones will be in their mid to late 30's and any deal will have questions from the onset. The best outfielders under 32 might be Schwarber, Pederson, Rosario and Castellanos. And three of them were available this off-season via free agency (and all got one year deals) and the 4th was an easy trade acquisition from a salary dumping team, and still had no takers...

Exactly. They offloaded Betts to reset. They reset so they could add some stars at a lesser or no penalty. And now, despite the lack of penalty, they really didn’t add anyone. I do suspect if Sale was healthy, the strategy would have been different...

I’m not surprised. I’m a little disappointed that the Sox chose to stay under the tax limit after resetting. I do think that if Sale was healthy, they would have gone over to build a potential champ. But with Sale out for the majority of the season anyway, maybe their chances were just not good enough to justify going for it?

To NOT make you look easily deceived and gullible?

Maybe THAT is where the irony is...

For the record, this comeback might not have had the desired effect....

Well, George Will has taught us all the beauty of pessimism...

No, the point was that having three mediocre outfielders did not bring the team down even in games Pedro did not pitch...

They've played two games...

Given your opinion voiced in your posts, all surprises should be pleasant surprises...

Hey your state is now the home of our nation's newest superhero - Florida Man!!!