5GoldGlovesOF,75

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).

... too expensive for Boston to sign.

Let's not forget the benefits to the established relievers. There's a reason the Red Sox bullpen burns out and the club collapses just about every August... it's not just bad morale caused by a front office refusing to properly fortify the roster at the deadline.

Another week of no Red Sox pitching upgrades... so we're back to this: There was this one time in baseball history when a team won without an ace starting pitcher! The Royals, back in the mid-20teens! And one time when the last place Red Sox signed a bunch of veteran free agents with something to prove -- and they did, by winning it all, back in the mid-20teens! EVERYTHING went just right for those Sox, so it can again... (if only they already had All-Stars like Ortiz, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Buchholz and Lester). Does anyone remember the name of Boston's pitching coach on the '13 Koji Sox? Hints: first name was Juan, last name was Nieves. Bet some posters still won't get it. Point: he wasn't. Andrew. Bailey...

Why was Chaim Bloom replaced? Maybe it wasn't just franchise fiascos of losing homegrown stars... or denying deadline deals for vets on expiring contracts... or even the torpid ten-million dollar rehab signings. What if Bloom was fired for the perception of all the big money he wasted? Story and Yoshida have been overpays so far... and then there is Devers. Imagine a boss looking at the biggest expense for his company -- the guy with the largest salary on the payroll -- and noticing only two things: worst fielder in the majors at his position, and a batter who tries to crush 10-run homers on any pitch in the northern hemisphere. Fans are glad Breslow (and the next two or three CBOs) control Raffy for the next decade. But he could really use a powerful righty hitter protecting his at bats in the line-up. Can O'Neill stay healthy and become that guy... ?

Sam: "No discount? No contract!"

YES! THE ANSWER TO ALL OUR STARTING PITCHING PROBLEMS Ryne Stanek -- 56 career games started back for the Bloom TRays: 83 IP, 2.71 ERA (nearly a run less than as a reliever)... oh, but ZERO WINS (what did you expect for an Opener?) Wait a minute; Stanek earned $3.6 million last year. Before we sign him, we need to fire all the band outside Looie Tiant's, the stilt man with the long hair (and the Savannah Banana who pitches), the electronic scoreboard, and the guy who repaints the foul poles yellow over the black sharpies that everyone uses to autograph while risking their lives or at least their kids'...

Right -- don't improve the team, because then you'll have to spend even more to be even better. And don't buy that pretty young woman a nice necklace, because then she might like you, and next thing you know, she'll expect earrings... even diamonds. Just wait until she's an old maid, when she'll be happy with a friendship bracelet made out of string. Meanwhile, listen to Neil Diamond.

Now, here's something to celebrate... but no jumping up and down or you might throw up: Today's headline from reporter Ian Browne: "Coach Bailey might be Sox’s top pitching get" (Andrew doesn't turn 40 until the last day of May, but come on -- out of the majors for seven years? How long before he goes on the IL...)

No, here's the thing: the Red Sox suck, because they have losing records, and all the other teams in the division are better. And Boston fans can't just look forward to highly-ranked prospects turning things around, when rivals like Baltimore and Tampa still have better prospects coming, while New York and Toronto have owners willing to spend large amounts of money to improve.

If only they didn't have to play so many Major League ballclubs!

Posters on Royalscam.com rue the new schedule because KC has to play more games vs. the AL East. "We can't even the beat the Tank Sox!"

The Red Sox were also really unlucky that the new schedule let all their division foes place less games against each other and more vs. the other divisions.