oldtimer

In the words of Bill Parcell, "We are what the record says we are". We are a last place team with a high payroll. Certainly, some of the leadership people and players are responsible. A seeming lack of coherence in our direction has to make one wonder what is going on.

Did you notice the article quoting Pedro Martinez as saying he is confused about the direction that Bloom and the front office is taking the team? Mixed signals. Trading Vazquez for a questionable return but not trading either JDM or Eovaldi. Picking up Pham and Davis a little earlier. Picking up Hosmer (a trade that I thought was smart). I join Pedro is feeling confused. We are not going anywhere this year and should have sold although I would have held onto Vaz, Bogey and Devers. The way the Vaz deal went down may well convince Bogey and Devers to look for another organization. As to your strawman about picking up Verlander on a short contract, I prefer we look for a #1 or #2 starter in his prime or younger. We have seen the Sale contract bomb, due to age and wear and tear. We also picked up Paxton and have yet to see any return on that investment. Another $10 Mil of essentially dead money this year. Again, I prefer younger, even if we have to pay the freight.

It will be interesting. We want to be stronger going into the 2023 season. Let's hope that Bloom makes moves during the Winter meetings. So far he treaded water in the opportunities he had. We need to have better defensive players up the middle. The guys you speak of could add an offensive presence to the defensive quality.

So you recommend we go with Plawecki as our top catcher? He can't hit or throw.

Add the salary of Paxton, another no show until at least Sept.

I agree, now we need a front line catcher since we rid ourselves of Vazquez. Such a player will be difficult to find. No way would I trade Casas. We haven't seen what he can do but he is a potential star. Dalbec at best is a journeyman and is expendable. I don't think Bogey is out of play. Possible 2nd base/DH going forward. There is a high risk of losing him though so you are correct to be looking for a SS/2nd baseman. I don't see anyone other than Verdugo as keepers in the OF (probably LF). Refsnyder could fill the utility OF role. I'd be looking outside for two FA OF's. I agree on Hosmer, Devers, Story and Arroyo For starting pitchers, Sale can't be looked on as more than a #2 starter, maybe less. Paxton is an unknown and may not fill a starter role in 2023 so we need at least one top line starter and possibly two. Bello appears to be the best internal option to make the jump. I agree, we need at least one quality relief pitcher. Never can have enough quality arms. I choose not to comment on the rest of the 40 man. If we keep Bogey, we will need a front line catcher, two outfielders, a quality SP, and a quality RP. I don't see enough resources available to accomplish all of that so in my view, 2023 will only see us make a partial step to competitiveness. Bloom's winter meetings and trade deadline inertia makes me wonder if he can get the job done.

I also wonder why Bloom seems to gravitate to flexibility with many of his position players. They may be flexible but often are not as good as dedicated players at any one position. It does help when the inevitable injuries occur, but how many of those players does a team need? Perhaps Bloom went in that direction since he had to reset the budget and could get those guys more inexpensively. What bothers me about Bloom's selections more than flexibility is what appears to be a lack of a coherent strategy of improving the team. He has stated that he wanted to make the team consistently competitive and part of the strategy was to strengthen the farm. If we look at what other teams have done, we appear to be less competitive now than last year and while the farm is said to be higher rated, we have only one position player that may contribute to the team in 2023. We are carrying JDM and Eovaldi, who don't seem to be in the plans going forward and we traded away Vazquez for prospects of questionable value. Our farm has yielded some pitching prospects under Bloom so it's a mixed bag. Looking at the Renfro trade for JBJ also didn't seem to fit the plan of making us consistently competitive in the league as we got less competitive as a result. So, If I read his signals correctly, Bloom will try to keep Bogey and Devers under contract on a more long term view while using money freed up for 2023 to sign some younger but high quality FA's. Hosmer and Story will stay and perhaps Verdugo and Arroyo. We have some decent pitching but will need at least one starter and as always BP help. Judging by us being the last place team in the AL East, it appears that there is too much for Bloom to do to bring the team up to parity with league powers in one year. Let's hope he has a coherent plan moving forward, that he makes wise choices and he sticks to the plan. The Vazquez and Renfro deals have shaken my confidence that he can and will do those things.

I think Bloom took advantage of a lucky break to get a ML first baseman in Hosmer for Groome. That along with the Padres willing to pay the bulk of Hosmer's salary. Groome was not in the Sox long term plans and we got a good player at a position of need and one that can be considered as a DH replacement for JDM in 2023 at a lower cost. He is also as insurance, should Casas not work out. This is one of Bloom's better moves.

The season is essentially over at this point and whether Dugo plays in right or not won't change the trajectory of the team. Time to get a look at prospects who may be good enough to fill a ML position in 2023. Other than Casas, I don't see any prospect who can fill a field position. That is not a good testament to the capability of our farm system.

I'm with you on this one for all the reasons you gave. JBJ's addition was an absolute head scratcher and looked like a moment of insanity for Bloom. Let's hope we see positive signs of a plan going forward.

Not much hitting going on but I wouldn't accuse Bogey of anything. He has been nothing but a pro for the Sox.

I'd rather have Vazquez in the lineup than McGuire. I notice Duran is starting tonight instead of Dugo. Is Dugo being rested?

Agreed. Should have gotten a first baseman who could morph into a DH, since JDM was not in the plans for 2023. We could have kept Renfroe or if letting him go we needed a solid outfielder. JBJ was a mistake. Mancini would have been a good move if he was available. He checked the first base, outfield and possible future DH boxes. Chock up the lack of moves to either incompetence or lack of resources. Lack of resources does not square with the JBJ deal though.

We can think of Hosmer as a DH if Casas becomes a viable young option at 1st. At least Hosmer is a pro. Possibly Dalbec will be dealt.

Judging from where the Sox were in the standings and the level of competition from teams like the, Yankees, Houston, Toronto and Atlanta, only the most optimistic fans would have believed we had a shot at a WS this year. After the trade deadline the disparity grew even more adding the Padres to the mix of those ahead of the Sox in talent. The smart move for Bloom and the front office would have been to keep a core intact and try to build toward being a contender in 2023 and beyond. He may have had significant financial constraints for 2022 and yet some of his moves this year have been head scratchers. I have difficulty seeing a plan in Bloom's approach to date. He will have more resources to play with for the winter meeting but the Sox could have further holes to fill with Eovaldi, Bogaerts and Martinez likely to leave. I've been a fan a long time and must say I come away from the trade deadline feeling confused and disappointed.

Bloom said the puzzle was not yet finished, but did nothing further. Sounds like he couldn't make a favorable deal with the Boston players available to trade. Were his expectations too high or were other clubs just not interested?

I am disappointed with the lack of moves by Bloom at the trade deadline. We neither added excellent prospects nor filled holes in the lineup. Eovaldi and Martinez are still with the club and become FAs next season. The most we did is to get some outfield help and first base help. Is it because Red Sox players were lightly regarded, too expensive of something else? This is a pattern for Bloom of not improving the team but sitting on the sidelines. We did lose out best catcher and did nothing to replace that loss as who we got is lightly regarded. I give Bloom a D for this trade deadline.

The devil is in the details of the trade. We get a serviceable first baseman bor $7+ mil per year. Since he is a lefty bad, it sounds like Cordero will be odd man out. Hosmer also can be looked at as insurance at the DH role which may soon be vacated JDM. Is there a master plan to vacate enough bucks to sign both Devers and bogie to contracts while also taking care of some deficiencies?

Not playing well behind Nate. Bogie looks disinterested and like you say Franchy is not a defensive outfielder or first baseman.

I wanted to keep him although he becomes a FA at years end. They apparently decided at his age and with the wear and tear, they didn't think they should compete to sign him. My view is that is difficult to get good offensive catches and we should have kept him while developing a young catcher behind him.

I thought Dalbec was stiff defensively and had taken a long while just to get to the majors due to his so so defense and high strikeout rate. He had a good second half last year, but still looked lost at the plate when the pitching he faced was upper caliber.

Houston just got Mancini from Baltimore. He is a real pro and would have been an ideal guy for us at 1st base this year. Keeping Renfroe and picking up Mancini early on would have given us a better shot at the playoffs this year. Here we are watching other teams get better and nothing from Bloom as yet. I believe Moon also wanted Mancini early on but no such luck.

If Arroyo could stay healthy, he would be a good choice for one of our utility players going forward. We may see Devers, Bogey, Story, Dugo and Arroyo as the only holdover field player in 2023. Casas needs to get a look at 1st starting in August. Bloom may have to look for help at two outfield positions, catcher and DH. Along with our pitching needs that may be too much for one year. If Bloom secures a ML ready outfield prospect, that would help.

What bothers me is how few of our prospects look like they can do the job in the majors in 2023. Casas, Bello and Crawford. Yorke looked possible but is in a swoon ( temporary I hope). Downs hasn't shown offense and Duran doesn't seem to have baseball acumen. Bloom needs to get some ML ready talent as it looks like we will need to replace as a minimum JDM and probably Vazquez while at least two outfield positions will need replacement, even if Casas can make the breakthrough in 2023. So far, Bloom's moves haven't borne fruit but perhaps it is unfair to expect his prospect additions to make a difference on the club in 2 years. Several of his low cost additions have not worked out and the trade for JBJ stands out as Bloom's folly. Not all good or bad and as a fan I choose to be patient.

No reason to bring him back early as this team is going nowhere.