dgalehouse

The Red Sox outfield " progress ." From the " Killer B's" to Cordero , Verdugo and Renfroe . What happened???

That is really an unfair comparison. 108 wins gives you a lot more room to fall than 84 wins does. The drop in winning percentage is not a good way to look at it. However , I am by no means defending Dombrowski's inertia during the 2018 - 2019 off season. That was the beginning of the decline.

With all due respect to Cora , I don't think a few games in the P.R. Winter League is a good test for being the Red Sox centerfielder. I will repeat it again. We went from being the best team ever assembled in 2018 to the A.L. East basement two years later. So , I am not yet confident in Bloom and his plan. Why not sign JBJ and let Duran show what he can do in AAA ? We have already gotten rid of too many from the championship team.

Duran may well be the centerfielder of the future , but I don't know about right now. JBJ has the best , albeit most despised , agent in the business. I think he will wind up with a decent deal . I don't know what Bloom is planning other than " building the farm." Give JBJ a fair two year offer , Chaim. Try to keep at least some semblance of the good times.

Harm , Would you agree that a ninth inning lead is less likely to be blown when you have a really good closer ?

It always amazes me how so many of the analytics devotees undervalue the importance of a closer. To me , there is nothing more frustrating and demoralizing than blowing the lead in the ninth inning.

I think people have a knee jerk reaction to announcers. Remy was a popular guy , so they like him as an announcer even though he is average at best. And O'Brien is terrible. So often you hear folks say they can't stand Hawk Harrelson. But I loved watching him do the ChiSox games. His "over the top homer " persona added to the telecast.

EHern is a decent , versatile player with a some right handed power that should play well at Fenway. I think he was a nice acquisition and will be useful. However, I cannot accept the idea that he is a better center fielder than JBJ , the analytics notwithstanding. I just don't see that.

I still think the Sox will sign JBJ . If they don't , Bloom will have gotten rid of all three members of our championship outfield. The rare reverse trifecta.

My local wagering " expert " Paul " Needlenose " Minagge gives the following odds on the A.L. East race. Yankees the favorite at 5-2 . Rays at 7-1 . Jays at 11-1 . Sox at 20-1. Orioles - forget about it. When asked if he consults Baseball Trade Values , he said " Huh ?"

JBJ : We all know his limitations as a hitter. No need to keep repeating that. But Jackie is a good player , a popular player , an exciting and sometimes spectacular player . Stop the penny pinching and give him a nice , two year deal . He has earned that . If he refuses , move on. But at least try to give us a few remnants of the championship team to root for .

Almost anything would be more fun than last year.

The injuries and underperformance of the starting rotation was a stunner. But the bullpen problems were very predictable. We lost the strangely under appreciated Craig Kimbrel , one of the elite closers of this decade. We also lost the popular flame throwing set up man , Joe Kelly. We did not want to pay the price . Understandable. But , absolutely no one was acquired to replace those guys. No one . Instead, the remaining pen guys were all bumped up a notch , out of their effective comfort zones . Not surprisingly, the blown saves came early and often . The pen straightened out a bit late in the season due to Workman and a couple of hard throwing left handers , but it was too late . The damage had been done . This was on Dombrowski. And I am not second guessing here. I predicted the bullpen problems right from spring training. The problems with the rotation were another story. Did not see that coming. Bottom line : The Sox did not exactly stand pat. They did less than that.

Absolutely. There is a natural depreciation in many things in this life. The beauty of the woman / women you love. The car you bought . Your Smart TV , etc. , etc. And most definitely you , yourself. It certainly happens to baseball players too . Mookie Betts may or may not be an exception to the rule. But the question is : Were the good times worth the inevitable decline in value ? In Mookie's case , I think the answer is yes . That's how life is. If you want the best , the most exciting players , you have to pay the price. Now , the Dodgers are spreading the news. And the small time Charlies are singing the blues.

The folks who like Bloom do so because they see his philosophy as being in line with their own way of thinking. And that's okay. But when the results are terrible , like last season , some other fans are not going to be too happy . The Bloom adherents are having to make excuses or blame others for the mess . Their loyalty to their guy is commendable . But how long can it last ? Already we are seeing some fans starting to write off this season , and saying things will get better in 2022. Maybe 2023 ? The problem is that a baseball season is a long time , a chunk of our lives . We don't all have that kind of patience just because we like Bloom and his style. We want to be " all in " all of the time. As for John Henry ; we really do appreciate the four titles . But has his attitude changed in the last couple of years ? Where is he , by the way ? He has been very , very quiet lately.

Okay , you are watching with " optimism " . But you were the first one to jump ship when we hit some rough waters in 2019. I always try to be optimistic. But I am just trying to explain to some folks here why many of us are a bit disgruntled. And why some of us are not feeling the love for Chaim Bloom .

Professional sports are a part of the overall entertainment industry. When you go to see , or just stay home and watch , a movie , show or act , you don't worry about what the budget costs for the production were. You don't care how much the stars , supporting cast or headline entertainers are being paid . You just want to see a good , entertaining event. Unfortunately, a lot of the sport's owners don't want to spend what it takes to provide that. They come up with cockamamie things like the luxury tax to save on the spending. They trade a generational talent like Mookie Betts for the likes of Verdugo and Downs and expect us to understand and applaud. Now , I have no idea what their profit level is , or if any of them are actually losing money on their investment, but I do know that I am not desirous of watching a mediocre or worse performance for an entire season. Or maybe even longer. If they want us to part with our dollars, don't say things like " We are not all in this year." Especially coming on the heels of a debacle like last season. Kudos to the Dodgers .

Bloom took over a team two years removed from being the best of all time. In his debut season , he finished dead last. Behind even Baltimore. The Baltimore " freakin" Orioles beat him. That is why he gets criticized. Results do matter. Your average ticket buying, NESN watching , beer drinking, hot dog eating fan wants to see winning baseball , not a bunch of excuses , payroll cuts and A - Ball prospects who " just might help " somewhere down the road.

Good advice : If you are hiking , having a wonderful time , and you come to a cliff ; don't go over it or jump off of it . Turn around and go back where you were . You do have the ability to do that.

I think the trade of Benintendi is the prelude to signing JBJ . Perhaps a two year deal tops. I can't see Cordero as a full time center fielder. Slowly transition to Duran.

There is plenty of money to spend. It is just a question of how much of it the owner is willing to spend on the baseball club. There is nothing much we can do about that. I do think that when management says they are not " all in " , many fans will also decide that they are not all in either. The " luxury tax " is the owner's creation. It was not our idea.

There are certainly a lot of " maybes " and " what ifs " associated with this year's edition of the Bosox , and their chances for success. But there is still quite a bit of talent on the team and it could still be a good one . Not 2018 caliber good , but good enough to contend all year and keep us interested. Let's get it on.

Legitimate excuses. But still nothing commendable about the results.

In fairness, Bloom deserves more time to succeed. But I can't see praising a guy who finished dead last in his first year on the job.

I tend to be results oriented. The ultimate goal is winning. For a G.M. or most anyone. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. But sometimes when the pudding turns out terrible , some folks still say that the cook did a good job. That is true loyalty . Or true stubbornness .