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Is that really a matter of austerity or wealth? After all, the Yankees spent 20% less of their revenue than league average but still outspent over two-thirds of the league. If the Yankees did spend 50% of their revenue on payroll, what would their payroll be?

OMG I agree with cp176 on all points. Bookmark this post!

Yes. He went for a big name. Was closer really the biggest need at the time? Was it the second biggest? The Sox weren’t coming off last place finishes due to issues with the closer. He did fill one much bigger need with Price, but it’s not like he knew he was going to get him when he traded for Kimbrel. And if his plan was to go as high as it took, it just proves my point further. Why do you suppose his first deal was for Kimbrel? Not just for a closer - but Kimbrel. There were plenty of free agent closers available at the time. Why go for the biggest available name?

Yes and no. There is usually an impact on season ticket sales before the season in anticipation of winning. But even if the team is successful, the weight of those star contracts can drag a team into mediocrity fast. And when that happens, all winning is forgotten. The losing is remembered forever. But the winning is forgotten immediately....

They do remember that. They don’t trade for Craig Kimbrel and sign Carl Crawford because it necessarily enhances the baseball team; they do it to appease fans who like star players...

I dunno. I heard he made his billions on scratch cards...

Ockimey does bring very little to the table right now. The Marlins could have had him for free, but instead have opted to try 28yo Pete O’Brien - who has already on at least his fourth organization and third position - as their first baseman...

Getting Kimbrel and not getting rid of Hembree, whom I am noticing many fans seem to undervalue, would be a bigger plus. Seriously, I do not get all this Hembree Hate and corresponding Workman Love. Or Johnson Love...

But whether or not they are justified by the long term payroll increase and corresponding worse years is another analysis. So can we expect a full report by, say, 2pm-ish?

As a winning team, certainly it works. As a business, I’m not so sure. I don’t know much about their profitability vs operating costs and I can’t tell you how much revenue is due to their ability to sign free agents as opposed to their means, like TV and radio deals...

For a business or as a winning team?

Hey if Carson Smith can actually get healthy and pitch like he did in Seattle, he’s a great add. Granted, this is like his third or fourth season in Boston and he has less than 25 IP, so he is at best a lottery ticket...

Also - and more important- who gives a f*** what some fans think? I know some people believe otherwise, but Dombrowski doesn’t check out message boards for ideas on how to run a team. If the Sox aren’t spending, that ests solely with him or his boss. Fans have all kinds of ideas on how to run a team. Some a right, some are wrong. All are irrelevant. Also, let’s face it. We’re also probably also all wrong...

What’s the league average?

In order to afford Kimbrel, it’s going to take more than just clearing Hembree’s salary ...

Also, you left out all my really good lines from that post!! Come on, man!!

But really, free agency was something the players fought for. Not the owners, not theGMs, not the fans. It’s not their for our benefit or the Sox benefit. And I’m really not sure any GM or owner in the league would call the Sox tightwads right now seeing as to how their payroll is close to a quarter billion dollars. At some point, like any economic bubble, that situation will burst...

Actually I bet if you asked any GM or owner about free agency, they’d tell you how dumb it is. Even I have noticed that nearly every contract given out to a star player ends badly for the team. Certainly they have noticed it as well. Hundreds of millions spent to get one or two seasons from a player and then watch as his deadweight slows everything down. Teams don’t avoid spending because they can’t afford it; they avoid because they don’t want that situation. These deadweight contracts are impossible to move, cannot be cut, and the only way to remain competitive is sometimes to just keep spending heavily in an endless cycle. Free agency in baseball is often involves paying a player in his 30s for what he did in his20s . Teams do it because there is a lot of positive PR in telling your fan base “money will not be an obstacle to winning.” Fans love to hear that. The problem is, those players all age past their salary. And then the fans scream “So what? Go spend more!!” I mean think about it. The Sox have a payroll north of$240million. And you’ve made about a dozen posts saying “I expect them to spend EVEN MORE!! Because they have to to win!!” The problem with the bullpen isn’t that the Sox aren’t spending; it’s that they may have already spent their limit...

I’m so sorry to hear you were not alive from 1992 through 1994 aka The Butch Hobson Era. (Actually it’s understandable if you just repressed the memory of those years like most of us did.) The Rays could have won 100 games and still come in third in the AL East last year. Third place in the AL East is not necessarily a shameful finish right now, despite how disappointing it might be.

Sale could be dealt, but I’m trying to also maximize my chances of repeating

Financially and for the sake of 2020 and beyond, trading Bogaerts makes the most sense. From the perspective of putting the best team on the field in 2019, however, keeping Bogaerts makes the most sense...

Not sure. Will Betts be worth his? One way or another, the Sox are going to learn the value and cost of a $300mill contract. Also, ignoring personalities, if you had $300 mill to spend in one 10 year contract, would you prefer Machado from ages 26-35 or Betts from ages 28-37?

I don’t think the Sox can or will afford Kimbrel, Britton, Robertson or Ottavino, barring some sort of money-clearing deal. But I also don’t think the “status quo” is going to happen. Also, don’t confuse “going cheap” with “ignoring,” which you keep doing. If DD can pull off a trade for someone like Jeffress or Will Smith or Mychael Givens, that would be immense for this team...

They’re also not played by general managers. And really, did anyone expect the 2012 and 2014 teams to do so poorly? The Sox were very good in 2014 and for most of 2011...

Nice save. No one is buying you think of dropping down to second place team as a “cliff”....