oldtimer

That is just dreaming. We wouldn't have enough top prospects to make it happen and then it would only be for 2 1/3 years. He will go to a team that has the prospects to give and who has a reasonable chance of playing in the WS. Still, if one is dreaming we could put together quite a lineup and perhaps lose JDM's money to make the next 2 1/3 years financially possible. Arrange a lineup of Devers, Soto, Bogey, Story, Dugo and Vazquez. Fill in with scrubs and it would be a scary team to face.

Bad time for him to slump and Duran 's not lighting it up these days either.

MVP raised a question about your math. Did you count Devers twice? If Casas can fill !st base with Dalbec as a backup and Franchy gone, there is no increase in expense. Keeping Vazquez along with our best prospect solidifies our catcher I advocate finishing the season by playing our best outfield prospects to see if one can stick. FA outfielders are available for one position unless Ref can hold one down. A top class starting pitcher could be a major expense. Will we go after a top of the line or someone below. I can't see us affording two. A lower cost DH for 2023 makes sense as I doubt we can become fully competitive in 2023. Just too many holes.

Good question.

Maybe Yankee stadium will be his cup of tea. I don't think he was vaccinated though.

Straightforward trades will be made earlier but where there is significant bidding it will go to the last day and moment.

If it isn't the pitching, it's the lack of offense. If the offense is decent its errors and base running. The Sox are going bad and finding ways to lose. The Sox need to get players back healthy and need to fix some of the weakest spots. Unfortunately, that will not happen before the trade deadline and decisions will need to be made based on where we are and how we are going. For whatever reason, Bloom id not make the moves that would have made the Sox competitive. I have been a fan since 1947 and I have seen bad spells like this one before. The front office has not done it's job but perhaps there is a plan that will be more evident after Aug 2nd.

I agree but would keep Verdugo of the two. I would look for a ML FA OF and get reps on our best two prospects before this season gets much further. Those that believe we can still be competitive this season are unrealistically optimistic in my opinion. We do need to keep a core and build around it. Clearly we need OF help, !st base replacement, replacement of core players if we let Bggey, Vazquez and JDM walk. I gave my thoughts on that elsewhere. Another quality starter and improvement to the BP is also needed. Maybe it's too much to hope for in 2023. but Bloom needs to show more than he has been allowed to do to date.

I may be in the minority, but I do think we should offer Bogey a reasonable contract, such as 110/5. He might accept the security it represents. He is a good athlete, has been consistently providing above average WAR and has flexibility to play second or third when needed. He also would be a good designated hitter candidate when he needs a rest. Besides that he is a fan favorite, should be team captain and may act as an incentive for Devers to stay with the Sox, instead of a disincentive should we let Bogey walk. The way contracts have escalated we won't find a better player for the money. I'm probably also in the minority as I would also offer a reasonable contract to Vazquez. He also can anchor our position but we should be out looking for a younger replacement. Right now I don't see that guy in the Sox system. The way the team is playing, we may be in a good draft position to get or either trade for prospect talent. I know Moon doesn't appreciate his defensive skills but he still is one of the better overall players on our roster. I am all for trading JDM. he has earned the money we paid him but I can't see resigning him for even another two years. He probably has some value to a NL team in the pennant race. One good prospect would be the best we could hope for although his remaining salary might be hard to trade off. Of our outfielders, Verdugo is my choice to keep. He may be quirky at times but at least he looks like a major league player at the plate. Duran's lack of defensive instinctiveness may not be fixable. He has shown improved plate discipline and possibly the light may yet go on. but perhaps we have a prospect who would offer us more.

This is not a team that could contend for a WS ring. Even when Devers and JDM get back, we still are not capable one through nine and our depth is not there.. The real problem is pitching depth. We won last night with pitching, garnering only 6 hits against average pitching. I see Bloom as having made the choice to build the team for 2023 and beyond.

Dalbec takes a called 3rd strike fastball with 2 on and two outs. Par for the course.

Let's hope that the decision made going forward will be smart and at least result in improvements in the team for 2023.

I believe front office decision making going forward has got to be better or we will continue in this malaise. The Renfroe/JBJ trade is one example of where we hurt ourselves for no real financial gain. Then there was the decision on Schwaber vs JDM. Could we have traded JDM and had a designated hitter moving forward? I also wondered why we decided to stay with Dalbec and Cordero. There were some notables available if we had been willing to improve the team. Freddie Freeman comes to mind. Was the cost too high? Just a few good moves might well have put us into contention now. Will Bloom's moves going forward wind up being more beneficial for 2023 and Beyond?

at less Not a bad idea to look at Houston, which has a payroll of a little over $190 mil. They have a few big contracts but let Springer walk when he got too expensive. They have Verlander for one more year at less than Sale gets. Putting a very competitive team on the field, with a few stars and good two way players throughout is possible, especially when you can bring up future stars from the minors.

I was not alone in saying that Mookie would probably be a great asset on the Dodgers team in the near term. My issue was the length of contract representing substantial risk. The risk includes injuries and waning of ability, which might leave the Dodgers with a big dead money liability to swallow. Very long contracts for prime age players all come with similar risks.

My take on the players that you mention: Duran - I was a supporter for a long while, thinking his speed was valuable, especially if he could hit anything like his minor league example. First time up he was extremely strikeout prone. The second time up he was better about pitch selection but his swing is long and he isn't getting hits out of his contact. His shaky defense hasn't improved. At his age, it appears we need to look elsewhere. Downs - He has shown defensive abilities but hasn't hit in the minors and is lost in the majors. Perhaps we should give him additional time in thee minors and see if the lightbulb comes on. Otherwise, he is no major leaguer. Cordero - Some power but a very poor hitter who is also a very poor defender. Let's move on as he is not going to help the team to be competitive. Dalbec - He has power and has had his moments but doesn't appear to see the ball that well. He has had enough time to demonstrate his hitting which is not good. He is a still defender at first an doesn't move well enough at first. Another guy that we should move on from. Refsnyder - He is an older guy who couldn't make it with other teams. Of the lot he appears to be the best, but a utility role should be his limit. Good enough to hang around with a low salary commitment. We don't have much time to wait before the trade deadline and we see what Bloom is intending to do. Probably sell. If that is the case, why not bring up Casas and others and jettison those that won't be with the club next season. Perhaps that causes a money issue that I don't understand, otherwise bringing up prospects and getting a look makes sense. If we can make a decent trade for a ML player or prospects, fine. Let's start looking to 2023 and beyond.

Today we had decent pitching against one of the better hitting teams. The problem is deeper than just pitching. We only were able to put 4 ML quality hitters on the field tonight and that isn't enough to give the run support even Ace pitchers need. Both Devers and JDM were out with physical issues which left us a hole. I can understand that we want to protect the players as much as possible, but they might have played if we were in the thick of a pennant race. I believe the decision has been made to sell and the front office will probably use the second half to try to make more rebuilding moves and also bring up additional prospects to get a better look at which ones might be on the 40 man in 2023.

You are coming across as someone who suffers from ADHD. Fifty seven thousand plus posts and numerous detailed thoughts about 2023. My experience tells me the front office will do something quite different, and since we will see the first major manifestation by Aug 2nd, I am willing to wait. Many moves they have made in the past were unsettling if not outright mistakes. I expect more of the same. I don't see a way to recover fully for the 2023 season.

You are catching up with me,

With 12 days left until the trade deadline and with our injuries and current lineup, do fans really believe the team will play better than 500 ball against Toronto, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Houston? Trades are unlikely to be made much before the deadline as teams trading are searching for the best offer. We will have to play with what we have and that will put Bloom and the front office in a weak position to argue for Buying. I thin we are looking to 2023 and beyond.

If you want to help the team, you do what is necessary. That is the point.

I see the Sox as having a very weak supporting cast in JBJ, Duran, Dalbec, Cordero, Plaweki and Downs. With Sale out, Pivetta with a tired arm (my guess) and Wacha out, there is not enough to make a run. Selling is a real alternative. Decisions made and not made before the season along with some bad luck has left the team too weak to be competitive this year. Decision time is fast approaching. I would like to keep Bogey but don't think that will be possible. Cut JDM loose and bring up prospects and give them a look. Sign Devers.

Who knows if we become sellers? None of us do at this point as we are on the edge of selling. Of your list of field players I would suggest that we currently have 5 ML quality players on the roster, and 6 when Story returns. (JDM, Bogey, Devers, Verdugo and Vazquez). My view is that Kike has been marginal this year so I didn't include him. I don't think we intent to extend JDM again so he could be traded as he won't be back next year anyway. With Bogey, i posited that he might be a player to keep on the roster to help us with the Devers negotiation. If he would be willing to switch to 2nd base and do some DH, I could see a contract extension. Could we pay him enough to keep him? I don't know, but he is an important part of the team and we should try to keep him. Vaz is a serviceable catcher who likes Boston. There aren't a lot of guys with as much talent out there. I know you have pointed out his defense is not top line, but if we want to maintain our competitiveness going forward, I would try to keep him. Devers is a must keep and lets hope we can do it without venturing into Sotoland. No player is worth what he is asking. Dugo is a serviceable outfielder on a team without a lot of strength in that position. I don't think we get enough for him to make it worth selling. Story is our SS of the near future and I would keep him. Other field players on our current roster are not people I would protect as I don't see them as a long term answer. I doubt we would get much for the lot.

The only two hits we got tonight were from Devers and Bogaerts. Cora threw in the towel as there was no chance in this one. It sad that we lack the talent to field a competitive team right now. We have 4 major league field players currently available. Lets get to the AS break and see what Bloom does. I don't expect a major effort to strengthen the team for 2022. Chances are we will have to replace some of our core players for 2023. There should be bucks to spend, but will Bloom use the resources effectively. I can't help but start to doubt his approach.