S5Dewey

While I recognize that Bill James isn't everyone's cup of tea I still like much of what he said. At the very onset of Free Agency he said that free agency is going to help teams that need one or two players to get over the top - teams that are built through their farm system but are lacking in one position or two - but teams that depend on free agency for their players are going to find that it doesn't work.* I'm paraphrasing that, of course. I don't have the direct quote nor the time nor the inclination to find it. *Cue up some poster who researches the past 50 years of baseball to find an isolated incident to "prove" James is wrong while ignoring the times he was right.

I think it's a crime that we didn't somehow get rid of our entire 26 man roster rather than put them through the humiliation of playing for a last place team. There are guys playing for the WooSox and the Pawsox who would have liked living like Major Leaguers even though they were finishing last. And that doesn't even begin to think about the money saved!

Nice to have... but often difficult to work into a lineup.

His entire career has been 5 years in the Minors. That's even worse than Willy. The best thing that can be said about him is that he has enough Frequent Flier miles to go anyplace he wants for the rest of his life https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=abreu-002wil

Ok... McGuire is a .225 hitting backup catcher. Acquiring Pham was made necessary by signing JBJ and not signing Schwarber - and those are both on Bloom. Hosmer is probably the pick of the litter in a litter of ugly pups. He filled a spot they were needing this year but there are plenty of better 1B around if the Sox want to upgrade there. Like maybe Casas..only cheaper? Willy Abar? A 40 year old infielder? This was supposed to be an upgrade?? Ferguson and Rosier are both prospects as is Groome. This is a sideways move and for a struggling team "sideways" doesn't get the job done. Did I leave anybody out? Of course we now are lacking a first string catcher who was pretty good while he was here but is maligned now that he's gone. He's not the second coming of Johnny Bench but the last I checked having a pretty good catcher is pretty darn important. Doubt it? Ask the pitchers. So... to answer your question of "C or worse?"... Maybe a C since I'm in a good mood but C is average and when I see my cellar dwelling team with a big market make a trade I expect more than a C.

There was a lot of talk here about how DD was great at taking a team over the top but not so good at building a team. That's why Bloom was hired so I'm not interested in excuses. One of my personal favorite lines came from Bill Parcells, "All I know is what I see". Bloom needs to prove he can do what he's hired to do in 2023 and that's get the team to respectability and on an upward trend. Otherwise he needs to go.

Probably true. My original thought was 90 but upped it to 95 when I got greedy. Improvement is the big thing, the number is almost inconsequentional.

*To expect greatness in less than 3 years was setting oneself up for major disappointment.* I'm not expecting team greatness. I'm expecting respectability and I didn't see much of that in 2022. As I see it the Red Sox problem isn't lack of income, it's lack of intelligent use of that income. I've never been one to (over?)react to a losing season by wanting the GM fired but if this team has another year of sub-85 wins I will be on the bandwagon to make a change. And in 2024 that number changes to sub-95 wins. IMO given the "resources" of the Red Sox those are not unreasonable goals.

Well... to try to keep this in perspective, yes, the TJ was predictable. Even the most semi-casual fan could see that Sale's motion almost screamed "TJ IS COMING!". But we can't lose sight of the fact that he did what he was hired to do - he helped the Sox win a WSC. I'm going to admit that things haven't panned out the way we wanted them to after 2018 but 1) THE FLAG probably wouldn't be flying without him and 2) I'm not the one paying him (beyond my subscription to NESN). So on balance I'm good with it.

That doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

This has already been a tough month for baseball fans. First it was Vin Scully and now this. We as fans are losing possibly two of the best announcers in baseball. Although "losing" means different things in this case for fans it means nearing the end of an era of outstanding broadcasters. I can't help but feel good for the guy though. Speaking as a grandfather (obviously with grandchildren) one can't spend too much time with those kids and being on opposite coasts has to be taxing. Godspeed, and stay healthy, Eck. And cherish every moment with your grandchildren. Above everything else, remember, "Don't blink".

It's just ironic that Bloom and I used the same word to describe Vaz' overall contribution and this dust-up started when "another poster" took exception to that word. Unfortunately this forum has become a "gotcha!" forum for a couple of posters. It's why I don't post much anymore (and probably shouldn't have posted this time).

That puts Bloom and I in the same boat. And you floundering in the water desperately searching for anything to save face.

Don't tell us - tell Bloom. After all, Bloom is the one in the know who said that moving Vaz is going to impact the club.

You need to tell that to Bloom. “Christian is playing at a really high level right now, and moving him is going to impact this club. We’re aware of that."

Then we have a difference of opinion. Notice I didn't say All-star.

Ah, the inevitable squirrel! Those three points are true but that wasn't the topic at hand. The topic at hand was that when an impact player gets traded someone pops up and says, "Don't worry. We can always re-sign him later". I would never say that couldn't happen but IMO the chances of that happening are about the same as the Sox trading Bogaerts and knocking on my door to take his place.

Ahh... the old "we can resign him when he becomes a FA" statement. Let's see, where have I heard that before?.... Hmmm...Lester?... Betts? Ya, right. Pfft. If we're going to try to predict the perfect time to trade someone let's let the entire left side of the IF go too. Neither of those guys are going to be worth more than they are now, JH can save millions, and we can land a few minor leaguers who probably will never pan out. But if they do pan out we can trade them for MORE minor leaguers, and so ad infinitum. We can regress from being a 2nd tier team to being the equivalent of the Twins. Or the Rays. /s/ Am I the only one who sees a pattern there?

At THIS moment? There's nothing that can be done. Vaz has been traded. Period. End of story. A few days ago I'd have been looking at who the team could have possibly kept with the intention of remaining competitive and Vaz would have been near the top of the list. I also would have been considering the RIGHT way to let someone know if they'd been traded. Bloom failed on both counts. Bloom has been the poster child for the GM who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride - but his teams make money. That may be the benchmark for the owners but it fails miserably from the point of view of those fans who want a WSC.

If this is Bloom's way of being GM I'm longing for someone else to fill his chair. Welcome to the world of second tier baseball.

It's one thing to say you're going to stand on your principles and sacrifice a few day's pay when you're making $716,000 dollars a year, but it's another thing to do it when you're working for $30,000/year. Money can be a great motivator. When one doesn't need money they can afford do things they wouldn't do if they were working for minimum wage. (Not that I'm suggesting that baseball players should get minimum wage - there's a certain amount of hyperbole in what I posted, but the point is the same.)

Thanks

That's my question. Since the 28 man roster is "special' in that it's only for one month, do we know whether those players sent down will have an option year counted against them because of it? Is that covered in the "fine print" of the CBA? I can see owners manipulating this to prevent some of their marginal players from coming up for that one month to keep control over them for one more year.

I was wondering that same thing. Or can they just send them back to AAA? And if they do that does that make 2022 an option year for the player(s)?

Nit-picking: The last bastion of someone who realizes that he's on the losing end of a discussion. I think my position on things is pretty clear as is my conscience. You have a nice day now, bless your heart.