oldtimer

We certainly are getting a look at how far the Sox are behind the AL East during the series against the Jays this weekend. Lack of pitching, poor hitting and generally poor field play. Obviously we can't put the same guys on the field and expect better in 2023. Just as obviously, we are limited by budget and prospects available to only be able to improve and close part of the gap in 2023. Bloom and the front office will be judged by how much forward progress we can make.

I believe the pessimism stems from our last place finish, where we were not competitive with the AL East teams. Others got better while we were worse. Yes we had injuries but so did other teams. Rather than debate what happened last year, we need to be looking at the possibilities of making a major turnaround inn 2023. We still are carrying Sale and people rightly are questioning the probability of him returning to anything near Ace level. We will have Bello and Casas as hopeful additions, but we will lose JD and possibly Bogey along with potential loss of Eovaldi and Wacha. It leaves Bloom with a lot to do in the starting pitching area. There is a depth need in thee RP area and some position player areas. Possibly SS, RF, DH. There is a lot to do and we can't just go with average players and expect to gain competitiveness, we need impact players and that means spending. Since we had a real chance of resetting in 2022 and didn't, now the question is whether JH will ask Bloom to reset in 2023, limiting the money available to make major acquisitions. Bloom will need to be a miracle man to return us to real contention in 2023. I would be satisfied if we could at least see a significant improvement with a plan to get us back to top tier in 2024 or 2025.

How soon do we think Ceddanne will make the 26 man? He may well be an exciting player and a low cost one at that. I get the impression from the reports, he is knocking on the door of making the team sometime during 2023. It looks like he could be a CF or RF candidate. If so, we should be careful about giving long term contracts to other outfielders. I think Kike's is a one year for $10 mil. Based on his offensive performance this year I wonder if that was a wise move.

Casas is > Dalbec and it is helping the Sox be more competitive.

Casas had a hit and two walks. One for two. Continues to be encouraging.

Turner would be great should Bogey prove to be impossible but that would mean commiting at least $25 mil for a significant period.

When we consider Duran and Downs didn't live up to ML standards, we may have the real thing with Casas.

I would like to consider the length of contracts as a part of any deal. Also, we need to remember that Devers will need to be signed to a large and fairly long term contract shortly as well. I would go with Bogey for 5 years at $25. I also would consider Story for SS should the Bogey deal prove impossible. I would move Kike into 2nd for next year and look to add a right fielder who could handle center or right. Nimmo fits that description well and we can use Pham for another year in left and Verdugo in right. Alternatively, we have a low cost candidate for CF knocking on the door in Ceddanne but then could still use Nimmo in right and Verdugo in Left with Pham a Util OF/DH player. Is there enough money to cover Devers, Bogey, Story and Nimmo? we still have Sales contract and will need another front line starter and some quality FP's?

I still believe a lot will hinge on what the Sox do about signing Bogey. If we can't resign him, they we have the option of Story at short then Kike could be either CF or 2nd base. The latter approach would require both a CF be signed and the use of Pham (if resigned) and Verdugo for the other spots. We could use Arroyo and Pham as quality utility players and pickup a RF instead while playing Verdugo in left. Moon has been talking about our #3 prospect, who might be the next big thing. He has CF potential and may make Duran expendable. Of course we need pitching and it remains to be seen if either Sale or Paxton will be factors in 2023.

Casas appears more advanced then I surmised. He could well be are starting first baseman out of 2023 spring training. He has a better glove than Dalbec and a much better glove than Cordero. and has better plate discipline than any of our current options. Maybe we will make adjustments to our 40 man accordingly. No doubt he will have his struggles, as they all do but it does provide some hope for 2023 and beyond.

One ought to consider the moves not made as well. Sitting on ones hands while positions grossly underperform is also something to score a GM's effectiveness.

It's been a tough year. They find a lot of ways to lose. Sloppy baseball with too many errors, bad base running, we know about pitching issues and too many guys declining at the plate. Obviously we need better pitching, but also a more focused team that plays consistently with less errors and better base running. We need to jettison the guys that can't put up major league offensive numbers. We stayed way too long with those that couldn't. Let's get guys who are excellent at their positions and limit the number of flexible position guys who are only average at their positions. Moon is somewhat optimistic for 2023 but I am from Missouri on this team and have to be shown that Bloom, Cora and the front office has what it takes to make the hard decisions going forward. Bloom was lauded for resigning Kike for $10M, but I wonder if he might have done better with the money. If this is evidence of the type of moves Bloom will make, it is not the kind that sells me n his approach. Saying that, I still know that there is money to spend and if it is used wisely we may yet field a competitive team in 2023.

I am not that optimistic for 2023 and think that until the situation is settled with Bogey and Devers other decisions are secondary. I don't know what constraints were on him this year but I look at some of the decisions and the results, I don't think he can be afforded high marks. The inability to resolve the first base problems and the poor approach to the RF problem. I also wonder at his continual dumpster diving for the BP. I also wonder why so many red sox players declined in 2022. Some of that has to fall on Cora. He of course presided over the team in 2021 where the performances were much better. Will Bloom and Cora make the hard decisions needed to move this team forward? Will JH encourage them to do so? Like I say,, I am not that optimistic.

Let's hope Dalbec will not be on our 40 man next year. He is a AAA wonder only.

Ultimately it comes down to record. We are what the record says we are and we are that way as a result of decisions made by the front office. We don't know the exact circumstances that Bloom faced when going through offseason meetings and at the trade deadline but we can guess from the lack of positive movement. There should be money for 2023 and beyond for Bloom to allocate. There will be no excuses next season. either we see a major improvement of I would guess the Bloom will be off the Red Rose (Sox).

I am all for letting Casas getting exposure to ML pitching for the rest of 2022 but I think he may well start in AAA next season as he works on his hitting. If that is true, the Sox will need to start a player at first for some period of 2023, not named Casas, Hosmer can field but has become a weak hitter. Do they experiment with Arroyo or go out and get a solid right hand first baseman who can platoon with Casas and also DH? As Moon is frequently postulating, do they trade Casas low and just get a full time ist baseman? I am for the first alternative as Casas is still projected to become a long term answer at first base.

So because our tacticians in the front office managed to go over the CBT, we will have to lose two picks in the draft if we sign a FA who has been made a QO. Bloom couldn't decide whether to add or subtract so got us the penalty for our last place team. Nice Going.

Just a thought about what we might have done this season. Hunter Renfroe 250 BA with 25 HR and Kyle Schwaber 213 BA with 39 HR.

So what do you attribute this to? I find it hard to believe the bulk of our players declined in productivity without some underlying reason(s). Was it? 1. Injuries 2. Decline due to age 3. Lack of protection in the lineup 4. Just plain lack of ability 5. Malaise of attitude 6. Poor management leadership 7. Lack of leadership among the players 8. Lack of a sound development process 9. Management flaws in roster decisions If some or all of those apply, what do you think the same management will do that will correct an approach that has put us solidly into last place? It appears that we need a major overhaul and not a small change of direction.

We are bound to look bad offensively with rookies getting a shot in the lineup. One would hope for some signs of life from them, but not much on that front to date. Rookie pitching is leaving a lot to be desired as well. Is the Sox development not up to par? Other than Bello, we are not seeing much.

I agree and that person should be a viable option at DH, since I doubt JDM will be resigned.

I agree that the first step has to begin with Bogaerts. That impacts our decision on free agency. If we can't sign him at near fair market value, we still have Story who can move over and Arroyo who could play 2nd backed up by Kike, who we already signed. Devers is a fixture at 3rd. I don't believe we should resign JDM as he is on the decline and it will likely get more pronounced. With Verdugo an acceptable left or right fielder and Refsnyder at least a 4th outfielder, it looks like we should go for a center/right fielder and a DH who can back up at 1st base as Casas is by no means a proven commodity. McGuire at catcher needs either a back up or a first string. Aaron Judge would be a great acquisition but probably the contract requirements would be so unreasonable that it would tie the Sox hands for years to come. The Rays aren't paying any one player huge money and yet remain competitive. Something to keep in mind. Huge long term contracts come with huge risks and need to be avoided. I haven't looked into the best option for the outfield but would go for a young and up and coming player. For DH/1st base, I still see CJ Cron as someone we should sign. Catcher is very tricky as there are few top of the line catchers on the market.

If you check them closely, you will find they are human umps, just like they always have been. The difference is that they will use up to date technology assistance in order to get more accurate strike zone calls. Denigrating the concept by referring to them as somehow robotic is just a form of the old name calling game to resist a new and better idea.

It was a horrible display by the team. Three charged errors, and I counted more. JDM doesn't touch first, when's the last time you saw that. Time for some new blood and guys who can and will play their positions well. Familia one night Almonte the next, Bloom is picking up guys no one else wants.

That was an exhibition of sloppy play with lots of bush league plays by the Sox. Hard to watch. We need some new blood who want to and can play the position they are assigned. Bello deserved better support than he got tonight. Let's stop picking up washed up players who are flexible in they don't play anything well.