Hugh2

Neither would I. Realistically you're not drafting 4 SS every year. You're drafting a SS, a 2B, a 3B an an outfielder every year. They just all played SS up until that point.

Or it might of been I had an actual vision of the future.

I said it before and I'll say it again, the Sox are adding starters this offseason and I expect one of them to be a big name. With zero moves their rotation in a few years is 1. Bello 2. Crawford 3. Houck 4. Whitlock 5. Murphy/Walter Bello is the only sure thing there. The rest of those guys are good, and maybe 1, MAYBE 2 develop into a viable 4th/5th starter on this team but most of those guys are bullpen arms. AND I THINK THEY WILL BE REALLY GOOD THERE. But still just bullpen guys. Maybe one of two from the Drohan/Perales/Wilkmen make their way into the rotation as well. With some reasonable projection maybe you have 3 starters there, maybe 4 but even in that situation it's a bunch of BOTRS filling out the entirety of the rotation. No high end talent outside of Bello (who may be a #2, not a true 1) The team realistically needs to sign two starters to long term contracts over the next two seasons. They just reset. They really need sign Yama. He's the perfect fit.

Sox could QO Paxton and keep him for a year. I think you do that thinking he accepts. It's overpaying but who cares???? It's for a year.

I actually had a dream a few weeks ago that in 2024 the Boston Red Sox end up drafting a short stop with their first-round pick. And everyone got angry.

Who cares about Arod, Nomar was clearly a much better fielding short stop than Jeter, until he got injured. Look at peak Nomar from 97-00. He was clearly better than Jeter, and if we recall that was the consensus around baseball back then outside on New York at least. All respect to the captain, but the Jeter shine don’t rub on this Sox fan.

I think pitchers appreciate the guy who get to more balls and make more plays. This was the Jeter vs. Garciaparra argument back in the day. Nomar would end up booting a few more balls than the captain, but at the end of the day we all know who the better short stop was in his prime. Prime Nomar was really really good (on all fronts)

I remember learning in school when evaluating a scenario like this that you always do so as a “all things considered” What we happens to one sample size happens to the other, you’re isolating two variable to measure performance and come to a conclusion. Adding in uneven variables is just changing the question. It’s like asking what’s 2+2 and then saying it can’t ever be 4 if you’re multiplying the solution by 10.

Well….which one is it?

There going to be some people who will always chose 8, b cause they are think the pitcher will pitch better knowing they will never make an error. This is of course wrong.

They answer is in that OPS. How hard is it to find a fringe corner defender that hits .775? Those guys are just very replaceable so why pay them?

If they’re not any better in 2024, I don’t see Bloom being the guy to stick with to “go for it”

Maybe he smells really bad?

This is what I think too, they realistically need two starting pitchers. One should be a top-tier guy, and then one second-tier. Maybe someone with ACE potential but not first tier anymore. Someone who fits the Kluber mold but perhaps a few years younger and not actually washed up.

Good defense makes good pitching even better.

Also, I should add the risk in drafting pitchers. High school pitchers is the most risky investment in the draft. So much so the Sox aren’t the only team who have backed off doing so. Between every class (high school hitter, high school pitcher, college pitcher, college hitter) hugh school pitching is by far and large the riskiest investment. That leaves college pitching. If you’re not picking in the top 5-10, then even those guys go bust or never develop into anything special. The best college pitcher we drafted in decades has been Matt Barnes or Tanner Houck. Plenty of Anthony Ranaudos, Brian Johnson’s, Pat Lights, and other high college pitchers that have never hit. Yes obviously pitchers are drafted high and become studs, but organizations that have had good starting pitching have also been lucky hitting on guys late in the draft. Roy Oswalt was a 23rd round pick, James Shield was a 16th round pick, Cliff Lee was a 4th round pick. Jordan Zimmerman 2nd round, Jon Lester 2nd round. Corey Kluber 4th round.(for those who have forgotten he used to be really good) Brandon Webb 8th round. At the end of the day you can trade hitting for pitching, or trade pitching for hitting. Sox are really good at drafting hitters. Just stay with that and trade for a few guys or sign them. If the Sox can’t draft:develop pitchers, then aside from an organizational overhaul that could take several years their farm system would suck right now. I know people care about the big league team, but the farm system ultimately exists to make the big league club better. By developing future stars or trading for areas of need. Also, in recent years, the Sox have gone very heavy in the IFA market with pitchers, playing the numbers game. That my take years to materialize

Devers played as good as an average defensive 3B last year. Also, I’m fairly sure top notch defenses can still have a weakness. No one has 9 good glovers out there.

He is, there’s no universal definition of a rookie that all of MLB and all the prospect ranking community abides by. Which seems weird considering that the MLB literally has draft compensation now tied to the performance of those rookies and their ranking. For example, MLB considers Yoshida a rookie, he has not shot at ROY but even if he did the Sox wouldn’t get a draft pick for him. For ranking bodies like Soxprospects it’s all subjective, as it is elsewhere

Hey we all got opinions, but fortunately there’s more talent than just Nola on the Market. I’m not really sold on any particular guy. I do have a gut feeling that Yama is going to be worth every penny he gets

Exactly, and what they’re losing the next few years they will replace within the farm. With line caveat being pitching, which is why I truly feel signing pitchers closed that gap. For example, I can see Roman Anthony replacing Verdugo after he leaves, Teel when Reese leaves etc. and if someone like Perales or Wilkeman hit the next two years then this team becomes dangerous with legit TOTR pitchers out front (Nola, Ohtani, Yama, insert ace here). I also think you need Turner gone to improve this team. And I know that sounds so backwards because he’s been so good for us, but he’s old, he could easily fall off a cliff next year and I want Yoshida at DH. I think it’s reasonable to assume Casas will get better at 1B. And with Rafaela up and Yoshida out of LF, and story at SS over Kike this defense is astronomically better next year. Maybe not a top ten defense but going from worse in the majors to average would be transformative. If the Sox had just AVERAGE defense this year, they probably win 3-5 more games at this point. They either have a wild card or are clipping at a teams heals. Add some pitching and improve the D and this team is dangerous

Given their long term success, the Sox can be forgiven for a subpar season here and there. But too much losing for too long will result in a dramatic drop in revenue. Henry has shown a willingness to spend, big at times, even set the market and go over. Not like LAD, or perhaps the new age Mets but he does over the long term Because it’s been a few years since he’s made, or authorized such a strategy makes it easy to believe he’s a cheapie with a change of heart. I get that opinion and why some feel that way But he’s not dumb, he knows he can’t put bad to mediocre teams out there year after year and not expect his finances to drop. This team is a winning team, you are what your record is. They have some good young talent, they have some payroll flexibility and more young talent trickling its way upward towards Boston. I know the past three years is horrible precedence for this opinion. But I’d be shocked if he doesn’t switch gears this offseason. This is why I’ve been predicting for a while that I expect the Sox to be BIG time players in the starting pitching market this year. That makes the rotation better and the bullpen better when you can have 2-3 of Whitlock, Houck, Crawford in there. With Rafaela coming up, Story healthy (hold our breath into 2024) the defense looks like it should be better behind that pitching as well. I truly feel this team with its upward projection next year could be a true contender with some good quality pitching added. Opinions are like *******s, we all got one and this is mine. I’ve been wrong before but I have to believe Bloom and Henry can see this as well. The fan base is restless. And even those who haven’t turned on them and want a change will eventually do so. Everyone has a breaking point. To me, it just makes too much sense to not go big. Now maybe that’s not Nola, it doesn’t have to be

I would offer my own critique with the simple change to “all women”

One could say the Mets 2023 season might be a deterrent for any owner thinking of going Steve Cohen. I don’t believe this though because Cohen has a lot more money than a lot of these guys and seems to add fandom into his decisions more than business where’s most owners want to make a buck. Over inflated liabilities is a good way to lose money in the long run. Well, s*** man, we gonna find out soon enough.

The penalties, that get very steep after 2-3 consecutive years over seem to be heavily influencing teams decisions. I can see a franchise like SD that thinks they have a legit chance of getting a World Series taking that swing. But I doubt they will set themselves up to live over like Cohen has done with the Mets. Paying 100% tax and losing your picks will destroy a franchise, probably won’t hurt much one year. It’s like smoking crack. Not a great decision, but you’ll get high and have a good time. Now go do it every day and watch it ruin your life.

Maybe, but so far only Steve Chohen has dared to stay above that limit. Philly may have to reduce payroll if they want to reset. Dodgers also would have reset this year if it wasn’t for Bauer.