notin

Unless, you know, you understand how aging works…

Of course they all do - and the part you omitted (postseason batting average) probably NEVER comes up. But for some reason, we as fans think postseason stats have lead to any bad contract that went to a player who did have a good postseason. I think in the case of Sandoval, for example, age was a much, much bigger factor. Also his defensive metrics, which were good at the time, played a bigger part than his 3 home run game against Verlander. And probably other factors. I find it hard to believe anyone would be willing to risk $90mill betting on the future of a player based on one or two weeks. People who make those kinds of risks don’t hold on to their money long enough to buy MLB teams in the first place…

I do think we as fans believe MLB GMs make decisions with postseason stats as a much larger factor than actually happens. This game has become so insanely analytical, such using numbers that indicate the quality of contact off the bat over whether or not it was lucky enough to find green in the outfield. Do we really think GMs and scouts and whoever discuss players using barrel rate, exit velocity, and launch angle along with postseason batting average?

With the caveat the Pearce received a short and much less risky deal…

Not to mention, Renfroe hit .294 with a .368 OBP in the ALDS against Tampa. Using the Houston series as proof of his struggles is just selective sampling, since Tampa was also “playoff caliber” pitching, one would assume…

Marte won’t be an option at $7.5mill. Even the cash-strapped Pirates and Marlins both paid him more than that. Not to mention his postseason track record is hardly any better than Renfroe’s and he’s 3 years older. If the Sox do move Renfroe, it might mean Duran is getting a chance as opposed to clearing money for Marte. Not sure OF is where the Sox look for position players…

I do like the terminology “Boom or Bust Cycles” to describe that exact strategy I hate. I also do find a significant enough amount of people who prefer the team go all in NOW and remind us they will take the bad times as long as they get a winner suddenly change their mindset when the bad times arrive. Naturally it’s their prerogative to do so, but it doesn’t make out less hypocritical…

Agreed on the subjectivity. And I think we can all agree that a big part of it is not sucking…

And if you set them up with a balloon payment at the end, you can put $10 in a savings account and just let the interest pay the bill for you a few centuries later…

And now we know why Zager and Evans were limited to one hit, as that is among the dumbest songs of all time. I totally blame Evans. I think Zager should have dumped him a lot earlier, and maybe hooked up with Garfunkel. Or maybe Messina…

I cut him some slack and assumed Liam Gallagher was the only Liam he could name. Although Liam Neeson might take umbrage. So don’t tell him. I also assume his Liam Gallagher reference was to the singer/songwriter from Oasis and not the character on “Shameless”…

And about now is when you tell us to stop debating about a subject you started, right?

We all enjoyed them, but there’s no need to become devoted followers of the GM and cry blasphemy every time mentions his successor in the off-season when he’s literally the only active member of the organization…

WEll, his pick of Groome was not towards the back of the draft. But with Groome, the only reason he was available was the signability issues, and DD did manage to get him signed...

Isn't that exactly what you're doing?

And when people take into consideration the last place finish for Bloom, and Cherington’s last place finish in 2012,do we also consider exactly what each was taking over? The 2011 Red Sox were a talented team that just completed quit playing baseball and necessitated a house cleaning (and were managed by Bobby Valentine), and the 2020 Red Sox were a payroll nightmare in the midst of cost reduction. I never hear those points in the criticisms. Or is Dombrowski the only GM entitled to having his mistakes defended?

You’re very prejudice against short people. May every pharmacy store the muscle relaxants you need for back pain on the bottom shelf…

Wow. 1,009 more years? Not sure he can stay healthy that long…

But to be fair, one rarely mentioned good point about Dombrowski is he clearly did some of the best drafting of his career in Boston. Houck and Dalbec are already paying off, and Groome’s slow development was not the fault of the GM…

Ben had spending restrictions two of his 4 years. He had to deal Marco Scutaro just to fit the contract of career third tier Cody Ross. He also dealt with a moratorium on long contracts for free agent pitchers over 30, something Dombrowski clearly didn’t when SS signing Price. What always seems to be ignored is where these GMs started and the rules they had to play by. Cherington took over a talented team that simply had no desire to play baseball. Bloom took over a team with a payroll approaching a quarter of a billion dollars that was closer to .500 than the postseason. Both dealt with payroll resets. But with Dombrowski, the whole “but he won 3 pennants and 108 games and a ring” does neglect that he took over a team with a solid core, an elite farm and he seemingly had no payroll limitations, unless you count the 2018 off-season when he was limited to spending some $320 mill on Sale, Bogaerts and Eovaldi. What also gets list is Dombrowski’s last team that cost $240+ mill was actually barely better than Cherington’s last team…

You misspelled Dombrowski. You spelled it “Bloom” for the Sale and Bogaerts extensions…

THIS. He defintely had a reluctance to deal any prospects...

And when Ben took over, there was a lot of money from Theo Epstein. But the difference is Ben was not allowed to spend, whereas Dombrowski was...

Well, some of those Sox pitchers made it easier for him...

And maybe some people think Dombrowski receives an inordinate amount of hype for a GM who was handed a very solid core, a top tier farm system and, unlike his predecessor and his successor, was still handed a blank checkbook. I guess winning while having a payroll of 25 players who tally just shy of a quarter of a billion dollars just doesn't really dazzle everyone to the same level.