oldtimer

Now we are learning that Bloom could have traded Sale to a team who would have accepted the cost of his final 2 contract seasons and provide some players (probably not top quality) in return. Bloom turned that down, which in retrospect didn't help the Sox. Not having that essentially dead money contract hanging over the Sox might have allowed for the acquisition of one quality starter. The bottom line is that sometimes a trade not taken can be as negative as an acquisition not achieved.

Will the new GM want his opportunity to pick a new manager?

What is wrong with a starting outfield of Rafaela in RF, Duran in CF, Abreu in LF with Yoshida as DH/OF(Util) in 2024? Keep Refsnyder and trade Verdugo and don't compete to sign Duvall to a multi-year contract starting at age 35. Saves money for pitching, which is our greatest need.

Whoever comes in will have an improved farm system but will have to make wise decisions on who to keep, who to trade and who to acquire through FA contract. Let's hope we someone decisive and with a winning mentality.

I would have supported Bloom until recent events which show us as near or at the bottom of the AL East with perhaps even a losing record. Serious decisions will need to be made and soon. I would hope we could find a better over all decision maker than Bloom. He has rebuilt the prospect list but now we have to decide who to keep and who to trade to achieve a balanced team that can at least be competitive in the league.

Silly or not there is a lot of smoke indicating an early November departure. If they part ways with Bloom, early November would allow for whoever the new guy was to have his own impact on the off season.

Did you notice Larry Vanover made a season high 29 miss calls at the plate last night, Long past the time for technology assisted ball and strike calls.

That has been clear for some time. Expecting the Sox to somehow win the majority of their remaining games was more hopeful then realistic. That is why it is smart to get a look at our prospects to assist in the evaluation for 2024.

So should Bloom or Cora be worried going into 2024? I am personally not advocating Bloom should go unless he lays an egg for the 2024 season. I have mixed feeling about Cora and whether he is getting all the available wins out of his team.

Looking at our outfield for 2024 I am wondering who the Sox will view as a trade chip and who they will want to secure for the next 2 or more years. In alphabetical order we have a long list of quality players and prospects who can fill the position and also who would have value as a trade chip Abreau is well thought of but at this point his talent is questionable in comparison with several others Anthony has advanced at a very rapid pace and may be proving himself for 2024 (the Yankees brought up a 20 YO) Bleis is a good looking prospect but has been injured and has yet to show ML offensive capability. He is at least a year away from consideration Duran proved himself to be a good hitter but without great power. His speed is a real asset and his fielding has improved Duvall has power And is that brings a much needed right hand bat along with good fielding. He brings experience to the lineup. Can we sign him as a FA (He say he loves' Boston) Rafaela is a versatile player with excellent defensive skills who could play center or infield positions. He is fast but has not played in enough ML games to demonstrate his hitting Refsnyder is another right hand bat that is a proven hitter against left handed pitching. A low cost utility option Verdugo has experience, fields wells and is a good ML hitter. Signing him may cost significantly more and his attitude is questioned (we lived with o0ther mavericks like Manny, Jimmy Piersall, Spaceman and others) Yoshida has shown he can hit ML pitching although is a step slow and is marginal defensively. He has value to the Sox and his contract will make any trade considerations unlikely Of the list, i would think that Abreu, Bleis and either Duran or Verdugo are tradeable if we decide to and can sign Duvall to a 2 to 3 year deal. If not Verdugo or Duran are likely to be kept aboard. Rafaela and Anthony are likely the next young stars.

What's the old joke about the best ways to lose money? Fast women, slow horses and running a ML baseball team? The best idea is to run things in a businesslike way but make wise decisions. Spooning out money unwisely leads to Mets like performance.

Our farm system was weakened under Dombrowski as he tried to trade for or buy major league ready players. We also spent more freely during his tenure. His approach can look good for a year or two but with good results we also got poor slots in the draft selection process so our farm was weak when Bloom came in. The Sox also have a poor record in the pitcher development area, so we have paid a price for that as well. Bloom has made some unwise moves as well. Renfroe, Kluber, not getting below the salary tax cap the year before are examples. I haven't seen a consistent plan from him but admit to not knowing all the issues which confront him. I do agree that maintaining a strong farm is critical to maintaining consistent excellence. I'd like to see an emphasis on bringing at least 1/2 our input from the minors to be pitchers. Wise decisions from the front office are also critical. There has been some wise and some unwise during Bloom's tenure. I also agree that he is now in the situation of produce or be gone. We need to be patient, but there is a limit and we should give him only one more try.

I would like to see us find a way to unload Sale and save at least a part of his remaining salary. We might need to include a prospect to do that. I don't know if there would be any takers, but Sale's ship has sailed for the Sox.

Casas has been our best OBP guy and is only in his first full year. The promise is there for 30 HR in future years and probably his fielding will improve, particularly if he can take off 10 pounds. Who is to say that Devers can really be any better at first defensively. For those reasons I would keep Casas and I know you are not advocating trading him but instead looking for any solution to the improving the 2024 Sox. I too with be fine with keeping Duvall as either a RF or CF in future. We should seriously look at our leadership going forward. Have we really improved much in the last 3 years?

Extend Verdugo and dump Cora

Who would have thought Casas would be hitting ,263 after the anemic start to the season. I believe he leads the team in OBP. Management ought to work with him to get his weight down a little to make him more agile but he can hit and should improve defensively with a year under his belt.

It will be over mathematically soon and we can start to focus on the steps we should be taking for the 2024 season.

And Marv Throneberry. Was he before your time?

He's consistent!

I agree, there are lots of examples of high paid starting pitchers not being worth the money they are paid. We had Price (which at least partially cost us Betts} and now we have Sale. We also have Kluber, but at least he is only getting paid 4th or 5th starter money. Other teams have their own nightmares. It comes down to wise decision making by the GM and front office in general. I agree with Moon, we need a couple of front line pitchers for 2024 if we are to be seriously competitive. Bloom has to stop dumpster diving and find legitimate healthy talent. On the offensive side Bloom did well with Turner, Duval and Abreu, now get with the pitching and also lets get a look at some of our top prospects as our chances of reaching the playoffs this year are minimal.

Only two guys are pitching well as starters for us (Bello and Crawford) and that is not enough to get us into the play offs. We do have a strong offense but not strong enough to overcome the deficit in starting pitching. Might as well bring up our best pitching prospects for a look.

Dombrowski extended Chris Sale for 5 years beginning in 2020 for a contract value of $145 Mil. He was 31 yo at the time and had been a great ML pitcher and been in the league for 10 years at that time. Chris is a very competitive guy and of course is long and very thin. Dave signed Chris to be an ace based on the money laid out, which runs through 2024. One can ask if that contract was sensible at the time. It is hard to anticipate the future, but what has happened clearly shows the investment has not paid off in value. 2020 was a Covid shortened year and Chris didn't appear. 2021 saw Chris appear in only 9 games for 42.2 innings with a 3.10 ERA 2022 saw Chris appear in 2 games for 5.2 innings with a 3.18 ERA , 2023 ytd has seen Chris appear in 15 games for 77.2 innings and a 4.75 ERA The results have certainly not lived up to the expectations brought about by the ace level effect on payroll. The remainder of the contract does not appear to be rosy as Chris is in decline. While it is easy to criticize Dombrowski's decision in retrospect, it may not be all that fair. One thing for sure though is that the contract has been an albatross hung around the Sox neck which has limited what Bloom has been able to do.

John said he was a good hitter but we are paying him to be a great player. Clearly he is not even a good defensive fielder and his hitting numbers are good but are they great? I don't see John's question as stupid but instead, thought provoking.

The Yahoo sports article by John Tomase on August 24th brings us back to the question of Raffy and where he fits in the future of the Red Sox. John's summary of Raffy as a 7 year player who has led the league in errors at 3rd base for going on 6 years and with a good but inconsistent bat seems close to reality. We are paying Raffy to be a star, but where does he fit? Too highly paid as a DH and 1st base already occupied. Is there an alternative position?

Devers seems to lose focus on some of his throws and while he can make tough plays, he also gets eaten up at times. We love his bat in the lineup and I know the guy is trying hard, but we use to say a guy who loses focus is sort of out in left field. Maybe that is where he should play.