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I bet if I scroll back to 2015 on this message board, the reception for signing Price was heavy, if not universal…

If we go to fWAR, Eovaldi is essentially Kutter Crawford (2.4 fWAR). Now our “equivalent” guy is considered at best a #5 starter.

Is this where we attach a label and reputation to a player based on salary? Once deGrom went down, Eovaldi was the #1 starter for the Rangers on their way to a title. No one called him a #3 starter, or even a #2 starter. Bello is called a #3 at best on this site, despite his 3.1 bWAR equaling that of Eovaldi. Why is our guy a mid-rotation starter but the guy who signed elsewhere an ace of a WS team? Certainly Bello lacks a track record. But then Eovaldi’s track record isn’t exactly clean either. Some quality seasons interspersed with injury-shortened ones with the occasional completely absent year. But hey, Eovaldi made more money so he must be better. Or maybe the grass is simply greener in Arlington…

That’s just the obvious part up front that we KNOW will happen. How did you look at the Price contract when it was signed?

And you’re looking at short term reality on long term contracts. Free agency certainly helped teams get new players, but signing a player for 10 years? How many good years do the Rangers anticipate there? Think all ten? When Seager turns 35, they will still owe him $93million on that deal. But if you think that 2023 justifies it all, great. Think Ranger fans still think that way in 2030?

There is that aspect as willl, although that’s a more recent addition to the process…

It really is. Far too often it turns into management showing a willingness to spend go their audience. The entire process involves overpaying a player in his 30s for what he did in his 20s, usually for another team. That’s more PR than sound team-building strategy…

Well, Epstein was all about Moneyball, but with money. He exploited the underexploited stats, abilities and rules. And did so at a premium…

Economics doesn’t work that way? No idea what you do for a living but I’m not comfortable telling a billionaire commodities trader how finance works. The Rays’ Way absolutely can work when done properly, but so far the Red Sox aren’t doing it that way. And it’s nota sure with a huge margin for error. The Sox so far missed put on the part where you identify your star players and extend them ridiculously early. Anyone remember how far into his career Evan Longoria was when the the Rays extended him? EIGHT GAMES!! And they didn’t even wait that long with Matt Moore (2 games!!), a contract that showed just how risk-free these deals can be. The Sox started doing this with Whitlock, but waiting 5 years on Betts and Bogaerts was just flat out ignorant. Personally I don’t care if they win with a cheap team. As long as they put together a good team. Free agency is largely just for PR anyway. But Henry has to start treating his younger star players like he treats his trophy wives - lock ‘em up in their early 20s, use them for all you got, and then cut ‘em loose at 30 to be someone else’s problem…

Or maybe he’s saying his prescription is outdated…

For Dave Roberts? He’s already stolen a base and our hearts. Let him steal our loyalty as well…

Depends on who they replaced him with…

You mean all those conversations between Brad Pitt and Phillip Seymour Hoffman aren’t happening in the Sox front office? I use the names of the actors because they actually had those conversations, unlike the people they are portraying…

Not even Denslinger?

I don’t think that’s possible…

If Bloom didn’t get fired for mishandling the last two deadlines, then the Sox should fire whoever didn’t fite him for that and instead appears to have fired Bloom for something else…

Or getting married…

However, if you’re tanking, THAT is the year to gamble on taking a pitcher in Rule 5, as opposed to a fringey utility infielder…

Team player or not, Henry clearly wanted to build a cheaper, more efficient team. (Halfway there!) I would be surprised if there was anything more to it. Again, when Henry first bought this team, he tried to bring Billy Beane on board. Beane’s qualifications don’t include building high-priced squads. Bloom was basically just another Beane. In between being rebuffed by Beane and hiring Bloom, the Sox has two internal hires and Dombrowski, who was given financial free rein for as long as it worked. Much like he did with Cherington, spending only seems to be allowed with winning. But Henry clearly doesn’t want to run teams with high payrolls, and he keeps trying to bring in execs who can or will work with lower ones. If Dombrowski was one of them, he might still be here…

Waiting for the team to be good again to invest in pitching is a Catch 22. “We won’t invest in pitching until the team is good.” “But this team won’t be good until we invest in pitching.” Did the front office replace Bill James with Joseph Heller? This team with mediocre pitching was just under .500 each of the last two years. A healthy Sale alone might have been enough to get either (or both?) teams into the postseason…

I’m only ok with punting if the season is shortened to 60 games by a pandemic. I’ve always felt that way, even as a wee lad…

Henry and DD were together with the Marlins. His tenure in Montreal (1987-1991) was early in his career. And I’m not sure - did Henry ever own the Expos? He sold the Marlins to Expos owner Jeff Loria. But other than that deal (in 2002, 11 years after DD left Montreal) I don’t think he’s ever had any other involvement with that franchise…

So you think trading the most expensive and therefore most difficult to move one should be the plan? First of all, his numbers first year in the US had some similarities to those of Hideki Matsui and Seiya Suzuki. He does deserve another chance. Second, unless you’re counting Devers and/or Casas, do the Sox really have a surplus of poor defensive DH types? They have Yoshida and Enmanuel Valdez, who isn’t exactly an essential cog. Who else? Third, if the Sox won’t spend on a pitcher, why do people think they will spend so readily on a player they’re dumping? Covering one year of Sale was one thing; but paying $50mill (plus?) to trade Yoshida doesn’t exactly clear the cash to pay for Snell. Plus who then is DH? Valdez?

I’ve been saying that all off season, especially to defend each post about Matt “Hey I’m Still Available” Chapman…

Why would the Sox trade Yoshida? His first year was rough, but this exactly uncommon for Japanese players coming to the US. Seiya Suzuki’s first year was pretty mediocre as well. Not to mention, why were the Sox trying to replace Yoshida’s OPS+ of 109 with Teoscar Hernandez’ OPS+ of 106? The Sox need a high ONP bat on their lineup. Actually they need several. Let’s not get rid of the one we have with that kind of potential…