5GoldGlovesOF,75

I'll take a gold glover anywhere on the diamond, especially in the outfield, where most of the Red Sox pitches will end up this year. Even NESN is already making errors -- yesterday they left out a big comma in their headline: "Red Sox losing Justin Turner to Blue Jays"... ... it should read "Red Sox losing , Justin Turner to Blue Jays"... to separate two thoughts: 1. 2024's prediction; 2. another good player they chose not to pay to stay

One thing Bloom is always credited for here is "rebuilding the farm." In your opinion, what is the short and/or long definition of that accomplishment? Isn't overseeing amateur drafts and international signings one of the main duties of every GM/CBO? Presumably, that includes listening to scouts and player development departments about prospects and their rankings, and what they're willing to sign for. Bloom hung onto all his best prospects, and never traded any for established big leaguers. The parent club didn't get better, but their kids had lots of good company. In comparison, Dave Dombrowski dealt lots of minor leaguers to turn his major league roster into a first-place club for three years. Breslow said when he was hired he was ready to trade prospect capital to improve the Boston Red Sox. He still has the next three offseasons and maybe four summer deadlines to do that... ... unless the Sox are sold, and new owners are trying to keep up with new owners in Baltimore.

According to WEEI breaking news today, Henry IS spending -- but on the PGA instead. Figures are reportedly in the billions -- that's with a "B" and an "S" -- said the Red Sox fans (some of whom might go golfing this summer instead of to Fenway).

So I'm saying, why would a team with a horrid defense like Boston's need another Gold Glover who strikes out a lot to play centerfield... especially since it's been over five years since the last one they had (who also was the ALCS MVP and helped them win the World Series). Who knows if his .900+ OPS at the final level below MLB will translate? I'm sure you know exactly 10 big leaguers had .900 or higher OPS last year, and none were centerfielders. Is it worth a shot to see... for a fifth-place team?

Right? Two years ago in AA and A, Rafaela only led the minors in extra base hits and had an .880 OPS. Last year in AAA, he barely improved a hundred points for a .988 OPS.

Agreed, but Taylor hit 21 home runs off big league pitching last year. Personally, I'd pencil Rafaela in CF all season in the majors, because he has nothing left to prove in the minors... ... especially, since Boston's outlook right now for '24 is so... challenging... plus, Ceddanne at minimum wage makes too much sense for a front office so concerned with cents.

You already know the answer -- especially on a team with a below-average starting rotation, where a good centerfielder is absolutely essential to even be competitive. Duran is not the answer, and if he's there out of the gate, that tells you right away how the front office views 2024. O'Neill and Duvall are corner men, not full-time, all-season CFers. If Rafaela's bat is so bad that they can't carry him, then bringing in a guy like Taylor would be a much better investment, record-wise, than Duvall.

Yankee fans will turn on Verdugo the first time he jogs out a grounder. They already hate him from playing outfield and jawing at them as a Red Sox. What are the chances he has an entire season of unblemished fan love... Dugie had a really good first half last season and couldn't even ride that wave of success.

The Yankees; they're zeroes. When the Sox beat them 5 more times, the Yankees will have 5 more losses. A 10-game swing and miss... or sumthing.

Man, they weren't confused -- just overly enthused! oh man, don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning... dig how beautiful it is out here... say something righteous and hopeful... it looks like we're gonna find ourselves another bridge... have a little faith, baby (why did they call that guy Oddball?)

Don't worry, they'll all be overnight sensational: Fisk, Lynn, Rice, Nomar, Pedey -- it's our legacy!

Maybe not... but Garrett Cole Cooper Criswell can! (I've been scolded for being too negative with all things Red Sox, so today it's all positive). And why not set the bar high? The projected 82-win season means a winning record!

Those are Tomase's quotes, not mine. I'd argue Rutschman turned that franchise around in half a season. Too bad Baltimore wants to be Boston South and not spend big to upgrade its pitching -- even IN their window. Ya, that Betts was a good one... but it's obvious he didn't want to stay in Boston, where he couldn't become a cartoon character on Puppy Dog Pals.

And spend on all that gas? Shift into neutral -- Brez, you steer... Sam, get out and push. Tomase today, looking with the rest of us for some semblance of any PLAN: "... when the prospects arrive, the pressure will be on them to perform immediately, and that's a big ask. It took Bogaerts four years to make his first All-Star team and seven to blossom into a true superstar. Jacoby Ellsbury's breakout came in his fifth season. Even the brilliant Betts didn't truly blossom until his third season." Roki Sasaki will be 30 in 2032. Hopefully, he'll have an opt-out by then and can be signed as a window upgrade... as the build-out dictates.

Looking at that group -- if they all hit the market -- and wondering what Giolito's thinking... even if he somehow rebounds back into Cy Young contention, does his agent really believe Gio can opt out and find a new contract much better than $20 mil AAV? Guess it all depends on how much Snell and Monty finally settle for this SPRING.

How can anyone get down on the Red Sox, when every year they're at least the fifth-best club in the mighty AL East? Of course, it's frustrating when they never recruit the players one suggests (except maybe Cesar Puello). And imagine complaining for years -- just like the rest of the forum, and rightly so -- about the Sox not adequately filling their starting rotation. If only the forum could better appreciate one's expertise on batting because of all the times he's squared up a baseball in Arizona and in Boston, and the comparative effects on the pitchers faced. The preceding paragraph might describe you or me or both of us. We're both loyal Red Sox fans, and a little obsessive -- or we wouldn't bother spending time typing about them daily (if you're wondering how someone so disgusted with the Sox is still here, I heard reading and writing helps ward off Alzheimer's). But one thing we both know: there's no way the Red Sox are the same as the Dodgers right now, and rooting for either certainly entails different fan experiences. I personally don't define my baseball seasons by which team out of 30 wins the very last game of the World Series.

When I typed "they have -- and use -- the resources" I didn't just mean spend money. The Dodgers also develop prospects, and make big trades -- and if you're in notin-arguing-mood, feel free to pick the ones that didn't work... but no one can deny LA never stops upgrading (yes, they dealt some good prospects for Scherzer and Trea Turner, and now both are gone, but it's doubtful Dodgers fan forums have an ongoing thread in honor of Keibert Ruiz. Why? Because they still have Will Smith). I've never said it's all about winning rings -- no Red Sox diehard who kept cheering from the 60s through the 90s can -- but the Dodgers have done a lot to make it more fun for fans to root for them than Boston has for its fans the past five years. What things have the Red Sox done right lately? Change CBOs and still not sign good starting pitchers? Choose the best players available in drafts and take Mayer and Teel, just because nobody else did yet? Extend Devers and renovate system-wide pitching infrastructure? At least the latter two are key decisions that could soon prove important...

For fans, the benefit of the Dodger Way is a perennial contender led by favorite players, year after year after year. It used to be like that in Boston. LA has averaged 94 wins for the past 11 seasons -- and that includes 2020, when they only won 43 (most in majors). It used to be like that in Boston. The Dodgers are defined by star players. Like the Red Sox from 1967 through 2019. Kershaw has been there for 16 years. Jansen was there for 12, Turner for 9. Max Muncy and Chris Taylor are still around, having seen the transition to Betts, Freeman, Smith and Ohtani. Maybe the best thing for fans: the Dodgers might not keep every great player, but they have -- and use -- the resources to always replace them with other greats. It used to be like that when Henry and Werner owned the Red Sox.

Tampa fans must have been overjoyed while the team was tanking that they could still root for a favorite Ray winning the World Series for KC and the Cubs. (makes me feel all mookie inside)

Yes. Isn't that part of the plan they've confessed to? Show the world they're not lying this time -- by actually keeping that core we're all counting on together... through all the annual competing for worlds championships.

Thanks -- that made me laugh. Why do all the better teams get to beat up on the same cellar dwellers in other divisions that we have to battle?

Why, just because he hasn't signed Roman Anthony to a $28+ million extension, like the frickin Tigers just did with their 2nd-best prospect, Colt Keith -- who is ranked #22 overall, right there with #24 Anthony? Was it a good investment? Keith is 22 years old and is signed through 2032. Anthony is 19... So now the Brewers and Tigers have extended top prospects longterm... you know, those rich-market franchises that play in Milwaukee and Detroit. Red Sox are probably just waiting until Anthony is a big league star, and then will flip him for a cheaper prospect with a cooler name, like Cole Gehrig or Judge Ito.

Great post. There's something happening here. What it is, ain't exactly beer.

It's bad enough being a Red Sox fan in a Bloomslow offseason, but when a guy you trust like Alex Speier deflects, it gets really depressing. In the Globe's Sunday Baseball Notes, Speier tells us how two execs with Boston roots turned down interviews to CBO the Sox because they were too comfortable working for other teams. Major factors cited were less stress and family considerations. Fair enough... but there was nothing about the other eight non-candidates and facts like regular last place finishes and continual lack of spending on top talent for the starting rotation. Also not mentioned were widely-held industry doubts about the tenuous job security and ultimate power of a Red Sox CBO in a front office already filled with established lifers posing as VPs and Assistants VPs.

But he's on our radar -- blip, he gone! (Men in Black just interrupted this post, shoving a waiver under the door and demanding signatures swearing this never happened, lest typists disappear somewhere in the deserts surrounding the Cactus League).