5GoldGlovesOF,75

I love the renovated offense with Duran going two out of the box on every hit, and Devers and Verdugo using the whole field again. And this year, the Sox don't just have a man with a plan (like Boggs or Manny or Mookie) -- they have three: Yoshida, Turner and Casas. Boston also doesn't have to worry about a bad bullpen, like in '21, or contract distractions hanging over the club, like with Bogie and others in '22. But many weak areas seem to conspire against a legit title run, especially the defense and brittle starting pitching (I don't expect significant contributions or health from Story or even Paxton through October). The imbalanced batting order top-heavy with lefty sticks is also vulnerable to tough lefties on contenders, like McClanahan and Framber Valdez. Can Bloom fill all these gaps in the next few weeks? Maybe... but for a man who speaks in terms of sure bets, is it even worth it to deal prospects away with the longshot that everything will then break just right for three more months?

Paxton is a rental. If he has another really good start, he may bring back the best possible return of any deadline trade to date in Bloom's entire era. I always want the Red Sox to go for it, but this summer I have absolutely zero faith in Sale coming back healthy for any length of time, Whitlock looks done for awhile, and it really makes no sense to rush Houck back from major facial surgery (he should get lengthy rehab assignments to deal with both mental and physical recovery; this could affect the rest of his career). If a Paxton trade could net at least a good relief arm under control, and Bloom could acquire a decent bulk guy from an also-ran, I'd take my chances going forward now with a staff that could contribute to '24 and beyond.

Ronny, can you hear me? Ronny? Ronny...?

Skimming through the recent posts, I thought you guys were talking about Bloom almost crying at the airport, staring at his cellphone in shock when he discovered Bogaerts signed with SD. Of course, that tableau was described by a few media members who only hours before were assured by front office people that Xander was staying in Boston... ... perhaps it was all just posturing for the press.

Yup, that's why I don't bother trying to evaluate a GM based on who his organization drafts -- especially since it's so dependent on draft position and the best player available. Drafting names left on the board is part of the CBO's job, and not that scientific (though trying to spread out the allotted signing funds is trickier these days, and can add decent depth to the farm if done right). Signing the right international prospects, and hiring/trusting a staff of scouts and analysts, is perhaps more telling of a bossman. But his most important role is building the big league roster each offseason, and adding/augmenting to it at appropriate times in season. Mr. Bloom, you're on the clock...

Red Sox are the best team in the majors this summah! 9-2 in July... keyed by Bello, and a cast of openers, with Pivetta in the bulk role. Devers is heating up to boost the offense, with a cocoa crisp .395 batting average and 1.249 OPS. Raffy's supporting cast has also chipped in, led by Redbeard the Vet and his band of rookies: Duran .500/1.467, Yoshida .436/1.142, Turner .429/1.146, Casas .276/1.034. Ok, Chaim, end of plug -- now go get a good starting pitcher asap.

Don't hold your breath to welcome a 2018 Eovaldi or even a 2016 Pomeranz, just off the NL All-Star team. For the prospect it will cost an extreme title longshot like these '23 Sox, it may not even be reasonable to hope for a Jake Peavy, circa 2013. The ceiling may be a Paul Byrd, circa 2008... with the floor a '19 Cashner.

We knew it when he was feeding the homeless in the middle of the night during the '18 postseason (wearing a hoodie, so he wouldn't be recognized). But ownership decided he wasn't the kind of player they'd pay full market value to keep in Boston, and instead hired a guy specifically to trade him. People who say "get over it" are the ones who wish they could.

Man, haven't you been reading this forum all season? The Yankees are not in last place! Yes, they're at the bottom of the division, but that's also a tie for fourth. And they're only two games out of wild card berth, tied for seventh overall... in a 15-team league. They're better than half the teams in the AL. The Yanks are in half place! Their glass is half relevant.

Prediction: one of those three will be opening for Boston in the next month. Or bulking. And maybe setting upping. But not closing. Bearclaw is actually trying to reset his career by becoming a starter. So far in AAA, not so bad...

Snell's a great baseball player. During the pandemic, neither my kid nor any of his friends could ever beat Snell in The Show.

Bloom promised last winter he will surround Devers with talent. He didn't say what kind of talent, so... poets? Sculptors? Plumbers? Spaceman once asked: "What's really more important -- a good plumber or getting Rod Carew out with the bases loaded?"

Michael Holley, Boston sports TV, says $700M. Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy the Rays?

Regarding Ohtani and the impending biggest contract in the history of baseball: teams that have gotten burned in the recent past on big-money, longterm free agent pitchers (signed or extended) will have no appetite, and that includes John Henry's Red Sox. There's no evidence Bloom will even spend half of the projected Ohtani price -- say $300 million -- on the next-best starting pitcher on the market. Even that will be too risky, on who: Urias, Nola, Stroman? But most Sox fans will probably agree Bloom absolutely has to do better than more $10M rehabbing vets on one-year deals. How about some in-between starting pitchers, like a few Kodi Senga-TYPE signings (5 years @ $15M)? Pitchers from Japan (ones that don't also hit 30 HRs) usually agree to more reasonable wages while initially proving themselves in the majors. Guys

Mookie's too short.

Roman Anthony, age 19, just passed Marcelo Mayer on the MLB prospect list? That should generate some serious talksox... Since being promoted to high A Greenville, Anthony has 21 hits in 16 games with an OPS of 1.331. For perspective, Ohtani leads the majors in OPS with 1.050. A few ex-Red Sox are 1-2 in career OPS: Babe Ruth 1.163, and Ted Williams 1.115. A year ago, another teenager Miguel Bleis, was the Red Sox All-Star outfielder of the future. He's hurt this summer, but now we have Anthony. Maybe not trading young prospects as they develop is better than acquiring mediocre cast-off pitchers to bolster the rotation for another furious run at the third wild card...

But there is no Bloom history whatsoever that he is willing to offer market value for a multi-year contract to a frontline free agent starting pitcher. The closest he came to that was Eflin, who was apparently under everyone's radar -- except for those pitching alchemists in Tampa. Some posters like to insist (wish/hope/pray) that Bloom is just waiting for the right time to invest in actual under-30 starters... meanwhile, others insist it all starts with pitching, and the time is always now.

I can see the White Sox maybe accepting this trade for one of these pitchers, but not for two under-30 starters receiving recent Cy Young votes. For a Chicago GM to keep his job, the return would have to be more of a sure thing than two position players with potential (one of whom is redundant with the presence of Andrew Vaughn) and three decent arms that right now look destined for the bullpen. Have to think the White Sox would surely start by asking for Bello for either Cease or Giolito... ... and hopefully, Bloom would end discussions there. Or shift attention to a cheaper albeit more mediocre innings eater in Lance Lynn. He currently leads the AL in home runs and earned runs allowed, so at least we know he throws strikes. Ugh.

My math be off, but I think $700M is around one-thousand times the MLB minimum salary. So for the price of one Ohtani, the Red Sox could instead have 1,000 big leaguers making minimum wage. Now obviously he's a one-of-a-kind -- actually two-of-a-kind/once-in-a-lifetime -- ballplayer... and a thousand rookies probably won't turn into very many All-Stars or even regulars in a starting line-up. But you have to think Bloom and his boys could at least package together a couple hundred of them and trade for some all-purpose utility men and stretchable relievers capable of opening and bulking... I mean, Oakland has a run differential of MINUS 248 -- and Pablo Reyes, with a positive overall WAR and dWAR, couldn't make their club?

But Ohtani could make us the Angels. A host on talk TV today said trade Mayer and Bello for him. His reasoning: Mayer might someday be a star hitter and Bello might be a star pitcher, but Ohtani is already both. He didn't say, though, that the Sox would then have half as many players in the line-up or on the roster. He also said to pay him $700 million... because then the Sox would be the talk of Boston again (like, you fools-- I mean, gamblers-- hey, at least Sam Kennedy would finally be telling the truth).

Yup, and guys who attend universities with good baseball programs have at least a couple years of seasoning under professional coaches vs. better competition than kids with live arms in high schools. Even if not projected as first-round prospects, college strike throwers have value in completing pitching staffs at various levels of a farm system. And thus, they at least have a shot...

Makes sense. So does using those later picks on college pitchers, whose development into a pro won't take as long as a high schooler.

Good rundown. One thing we never hear about BPA is pitchers converting to regular positions. For example, half the Sox' picks yesterday were college pitchers -- were they the best players available or best pitchers available? I say this because growing up, and even through college, the best players -- guys with the arm to play shortstop or catcher -- are almost always also the best pitchers. And they all bat clean-up (and play quarterback and date the prom queen). Wakefield was a home run hitter in college, converted to pitcher in the pros when a coach liked his knuckleball. Still waiting on the Sox to try Dalbec, a collegiate star pitcher, on the mound... in the name of Ohtani, why not?

No shortstop? Haven't you been following the draft thread? No first baseman? Just move one of the 12 new shortstops over -- they're all just "best player available" so can play anywhere. As for an ace, here's a thought: if the Sox were really going to spend $600 million, couldn't they just use those funds instead to sign the next three top free agent starters on the market? Then they'd be investing in an actual rotation...

It's possible Sale will never be entirely healthy again, even if he has more great months like May 2023. What other $30 million dollar ace breaks a rib throwing a pitch, and a year later breaks a shoulder blade throwing another pitch? From now on, maybe we should just welcome spurts of Sale health as bonus rounds. Whitlock, unfortunately, is turning into another disappointment -- in perspective -- as the first under-30 pitcher Bloom locked up longterm. He's not the budget albatross of a Sale, but he is starting to look like damaged goods already. The Sox can't count on either, nor do they know for sure that Houck will return and not have issues (physical or mental) recovering from his injury. If Boston is serious about making a run this season, the club needs to add more than another bullpen piece that Kenley Jansen is requesting. Trading Paxton would only subtract from the rotation that is already 40% openers. The veteran position players on expiring contracts won't bring back any viable starting pitchers, either. If Bloom really wants to compete in the second half, he's going to have to deal some decent prospects from the minors.