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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…

Why worry about offense? With the shift being banned next year, defense is the premium. Hits, especially for LHH, will come much more readily just based on rule changes. So maybe putting Kike at SS and grabbing, for example, Kiermaier and Gallo/Duvall for RF to maximize defense and then also get increase in offense every team will experience anyway…

Syndergaard (2.2 fWAR) and Bassitt (2.7 fWAR) are not a marginal upgrade over Hill (1.8) and Wacha (1.5); they’rea 2 win upgrade based on last year. And if they can improve on their 300 IP ( likely as Thor only has 134), they could become a huge improvement. Kodai Senga should also be on the Sox radar… And that increase in IP only helps the bullpen as well…

Also don’t try to argue now that out was a compliment when you refuted that yourself three posts previous…

You might be the first person I’ve ever encountered whose first language is Strawman…

Whiffing on Schwarber was understandable. His best position is DH, and the Sox had a $19.4 mill solution already in place there. The only real possibility might have been if the Sox put Schwarber in LF, Verdugo in RF, Bradley in CF, and moved Kike to 2b and not signed Story. I’m not sure how much better that solution is. Any other alignment - especially one that involves keeping Renfroe - simply doesn’t work defensively…

Right. It’s one of those neutral references that people make when they want to make no point at all. The truly sad part is your denial. It’s actually OK for you to have not liked Schwarber and then like him now, even if it’s for only transparent reasons. It’s not even hypocritical…

Exactly. So why overcommit for one now? Bloom can always dig up someone like Nelson Cruz to grab a bat…

Running with this: SP: Syndergaard, Bassitt, Sale, Paxton, Pivetta, Bello (with Crawford and Winckowski for AAA depth) RP: Fulmer, Montero, Houck, Whitlock, Schreiber, Barnes, Kelly, LHRP (Taylor? Strahm? Darwinzon? Walter? Murphy?) C: McGuire, Wong 1b: Casas 2b: Story 3b: Devers SS: E Hernandez or ? LF: Verdugo CF: E Hernandez or ? RF: ? So with $50mill committed to pitching, that leaves $30mill with your limit for a RF and either a SS or a CF. It’s doable although maybe Bogaerts and Swanson are not the answers…

Also as it stands now, a Hosmer / Dalbec platoon might be the solution for DH. Not my preference, but it does check a couple boxes. That really just leaves SS and RF…

Is the limit $80mill? I thought $80mill was what the Sox had committed once Bogaerts opts out…

The entire comedy was based on him acting buffoonish but redeeming himself at the end by virtue of his heart of gold. In this respect, the obvious influence of Ralph Cramden (of “The Honeymooners”) is rather blatant…

So you think Bloom should have brought a Schwarber back to play where?

No one believes you were complimenting him by referring to him as a buffoonish animated character…

For SP, sign Syndergaard and Bassitt For RP, sign Montero and Fulmer. That’s probably about $50mill in AAV right there. SS, RF and DH (and maybe C) still up in the air…

Hosmer is very likely in play for the LHH DH role, by virtue of being in Boston with a full NTC and no salary against. Either he is part of some 1b/DH rotation, or he gets DFAd. But I’m just keeping Vogelbach alive because some people have written him off for weird reasons.

That’s the beauty of intangibles; you don’t have to know what you’re talking about. Just drop a buzzword!!

Thinking Willson Contreras as C/DH for 2023…