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I went with “could” because If Dombrowski wasn’t allowed to go higher - and he reportedly went pretty high - do people think Bloom was allowed to?

So the $140mill the paid Story plus the $16mill they paid Barnes is equal to the $360mill it took to sign Mookie? Hmmm. Math issue for me. Dombrowski himself was not able to sign him. Reportedly he offered $300mil over 10 years. He could have tacked on $60mill more? Maybe just not extended Sale? Why did DD stop at $300mill? He was right there with the same AAV! If Dombrowski couldn’t go high enough, why do you think Bloom could?

The point is that 2020, 2021 and 2022 were paying the piper for 2016 through 2019. If you enjoyed those years, this is the inevitable fallout. And it giant even Mayer if the prospects panned out elsewhere or not. Folks on this site were railing about the “cliff” for years, and the Cliff Deniers kept denying even as the team went over the precipice and for the entire way down. And only in 2022 did we see the potential end. Players like Casas and Bello, buried in the low minors, finally emerged and gave some hope that the Sox would have at least some minimum wage talent to offset the high-priced talent. If you enjoyed 2026-2019, great. But know this is the fallout. And repeatedly saying “ Bloom’s had 3 years” is burying your head in the said. Epstein took longer to clean up the Cubs mess. The Sox had numerous years of Sale and Price absorbing roughly one quarter of the payroll - each had 3 years at least. Sale’s 5 year contract isn’t going to go away in 3 years. And no way was out getting moved, because $145million dollar Tommy John patients just aren’t in demand. And if you really think Bloom should have moved him, look what it took to unload half of Price…

He gets credit for 2018 and people are complimenting him on this thread, but whether or not it was a blunder remains nothing but speculation. Another (probably important) factor is he was fired after the team got 24 games worse with basically the same extreme lofty payroll. Would the Sox be better off today with him? That is pure speculation. If he continues to do things he did with the Sox, it’s very easy to doubt they’d be better off…

Todays version of Anderson Espinoza is better than Drew Pomeranz was in 2018…

I railed against Eovaldi’s deal, but he was outstanding in 2021 and actually healthier than I thought he’d be, which doesn’t mean he was healthy. The problem was when DD left, the Sox had about $300 mill tied up in Sale, Price and Eovaldi. And Eovaldi - with a history that already included two TJs - was the healthiest of the three…

If the criteria is “better today than what we got at the time,” auspicious as that criterion is, then non-prospect Wade Miley “The Unpleasant One” fits. Since Carson Smith made no contribution beyond sitting on the Injured List in between tantrums.

Even his detractors don’t think he’s an idiot. There’sa reason he’s been the GM of 4 teams and his most unsuccessful tenure was his stretch in Detroit as the Annual American League Runner Up. I just was never a fan of his short term run for glory followed by the inevitable mess he leaves behind. Even Detroit is still dealing with this as the biggest contract on their payroll was one he negotiated, and this will be the case in 2023 as well. But when he had years like he had in Philly, for whatever reason, he’s doing the type of job I want to see. Of course, it’s also possible Philly we see the Old DD very soon..,

If you like to call that one a whiff for DD, I’m fine with it. He still didn’t run the Phillies like he ran the Red Sox…

Even Nimmo, as on board as I am, is not without health issues. Judge’s next contract has Nightmare Potential…

Hernandez is only on a one year deal. If the Sox bring in Kiermaier, a similar deal might also be reached. Ditto for Grigorius or Segura. That would clear the path for both Mayer and Rafaela in 2024, assuming either or both are ready…

The season did end in disappointing fashion, but it always does for 29 teams. It should have been a very fun 6 month stretch for their fans…

It could be, but not nearly as bad as Price or Sale. And Castellanos’ biggest issues are mostly related to his (lack of) defense. The man couldn’t catch a cold if he was naked in Norway. But that might not be too big a deal as Philadelphia can bury him at DH…

If Mayer us the starter in 2024, I’d just assume putting Hernandez at SS and looking for a CF placeholder for Rafaela. Kiermaier would be acceptable if he could stay in the field. Or, if a stopgap shortstop is the plan, Didi Gregorious? Jean Segura? Of course a DH better than Hosmer would be necessary…

Of the two, I’d prefer Devers…

Says the guy who wants Judge, Diaz, etc. It would be expensive and it only works out of the Sox get sufficient minimum wage help from below. Casas and Bello are a nice immediate start. Maybe not enough, though. The only reason to think it’s possible is the Sox did go big of Story for some reason…

Maybe Correa is the plan? He is younger than Bogaerts, and much better defensively. Certainly he looks like Fenway is the park for him. And reportedly Cora is a fan. Now will Correa be willing to move to third base at some point in the 8-10 year deal he will require? I can’t answer that. Maybe he can’t either. But if he does, his glove and bat will play well there. The Sox have been giving mixed signals to Bogaets. A lackluster offer. A promise not to trade him (that they followed up on). And an announcement that he was priority. MLBTR thinks Bogaets is gone. If so, the Sox simply can’t go and get, say, Miguel Rojas to be the stopgap between now and Mayer without making up the offense somewhere. Benintendi and Nimmo are fine targets, but are they enough? Will the Sox find a way to get a highly productive DH? I think if Bogaerts goes, Correa is a likely replacement…

I like the change in approach for DD in Philadelphia. He didn’t sign any free agents to ridiculous long term contracts that will hold the Phillies back in the future. His biggest deals to date was a 4 year contract for Schwarber that, while certainly not small, has not only given immediate short term help but also is very unlikely to handicap the payroll, and a 5 yea LF deal for Castellanos that should produce similarly, especially since the NL now has a DH. He didn’t empty the upper levels of the farm system and instead used his younger players like Stott, Vierling and Dominguez to fill gaps. And even when he did make trades, he got younger minimum wage guys like Brandon Marsh to upgrade, making the heavy contracts he inherited (Harper, Wheeler) easier to carry. His one “flop” was he reverted to his Detroit strategy of just hoping the bullpen worked out. The closer he brought in (Corey Knebel) had a significant injury history that predictably recurred. This postseason, the team has been relying on Seranthony Dominguez, whose historically struggled in that role but is thriving right now. The Aaron Nola contract situation might be his first heavy contract. But this year DD was just a flat out smart GM who built an immediate winner without setting the team up for long term failure. I wish he was able to do that in Boston…

Bait taken. Beni gets on base. The Sox need players who do that…

The point you clearly missed was I was never pro-shift. I was just against outlawing defensive alignments and strategies. The shift is annoying, but I’d rather it went away by teams beating it…

And there isn’t a pencil sharpener in the world large enough to make a point that you can grasp…

I said I don’t like making rules to limit defensive alignments, and made a slippery slope point that guarding the lines shouldn’t be banned. Are you telling me your brain cell decided that was saying guarding the lines is the same as the shift? I was right; you’re first language really is Strawman…

Not hooked on Gallo, but I can acknowledge his Gold Glove skillet absolutely has its usefulness. The Sox outfield defense got far, far worse when they let JBJ go. Didn’t Jarren Duran teach you anything about outfield defense? He literally cost them games with his poor play. Next year, with no shift, defense will be at a premium. The best way now to stop the opposition is to supplement pitching with defense…

Yes but the shift versus right-handed hitters is less common and far, far less effective. It’s the lefties who will benefit the most…

The problem was Dombrowski left the Sox in a very bad position payroll wise. Had they kept him, they wouldn’t be better off now. You would just have to acknowledge DD was the GM who traded Betts. Or worse, didn’t trade Betts and let him walk for nothing…