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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. Splints, that's Bloom Era talk. The steward of suckitude is gone. Look forward... unless Henry and Co. stay internal and promote -- then, there's really no hope for change. Don't worry, though; Sam will still tell us it will be Craptacular!
  2. Ha, just be prepared for some smartass to post: "Ya -- Devers can't get any worse!" Btw, I like our young outfielders starting or at least platooning next year. That doesn't include Duran, who is 27, in his prime, and may not improve anymore on D... but who I love turning singles into doubles, which may appeal to other MLB clubs and yield decent trade returns.
  3. There's only one intrigue left: can the Sox lose their last two, while hoping for a Detroit-Cleveland split, thus giving the hapless trio identical 77 win records? It could make the diff between getting the 12th overall draft pick and... breaking into the TOP 10, Bahbee!
  4. Maybe the Sox are mum because they someday envision bringing Mookie back -- in a trade they know will have to include Bauer and Urias -- for a millionth-round draft pick.
  5. This is a good best-case, but you have to admit it can also be another "if everything goes right" scenario of too familiar long odds. In other words, when Rice was asked the other night what is the Sox' biggest need to improve for next year, he said, "Ballplayers." Also, even if the Sox are destined to suck again, the front office absolutely has to add new right-handed power hitters... at least to entertain fans. Because even if Story rebounds with a career year and bombs 44 homers, that only replaces Turner's and Duvall's missing HRs -- which were good enough to land us in last place this season.
  6. He's not that tall; more like a scapewoodchuck (though still cute and fuzzy). If Masa was as athletic as Franchy, he'd be a scapecheetah (except when the latter played first, and was a scapecactus). ... now those have to be at least 7s on the notin scale But seriously, is leftfield defense the real culprit in killing the Red Sox D? Or does it just bother people too much that the guy wears his pants so high...
  7. Cora played for Francona, and Tito was always known as a players' manager, a guy who took care of his men (even when fullgrown boys like Manny earned whatever static he deserved from the media, opponents, even teammates). So maybe AC learned a bit about managing just from observing. Scheduled days off aren't a bad thing -- unless you're a fan who saved up and can only afford to attend one game, and your favorites aren't in the line-up. I know some posters don't like this, but is it really just coincidence that the Red Sox have had losing records every single August of the Bloom Era... after what many fans, media, and especially players felt were insufficient reinforcements at the trade deadline.
  8. We can hear it now... Mr. Burns croning: "I'm the Number One fan of the man from Tennessee..."
  9. In '22, Wacha and Hill were ok, but neither top-of-the-rotation when they were signed by Bloom, or by their next clubs, for that matter. We knew that winter they wouldn't be enough, because they were prone to injury -- just like many others Bloom was counting on: Sale, Eovaldi, and the rumor of Paxton. But let's agree that no matter what Bloom's budget -- though he spent big on good hit/bad glove or good glove/bad bat position players -- he never signed the Sox most important need: a top free agent starting pitcher.
  10. I give notin a 5 on the 5Gs scale... as long as Fenway doesn't turn keep transitioning into Pottersville. But I'm bereft of savagery today. It's a melancholy Saturday, raining for the fourth straight month here, with the Red Sox season about to end. All I have is a mellow tune for Cora to sing to free agents this winter, when he's opening up brief cases of cash Henry gave him for the '24 roster: "Please come to Boston for the Springtime I'm stayin' here with some friends, and they've got lots of room"
  11. Strikeout pitching, that doesn't get hit to third very often.
  12. Don't be so sure Devers would be any kind of upgrade over Casas at first base. If you suffered through as many telecasts as I have this season, you'd know many of Raffy MLB-leading third-base Es were not on throws. And that doesn't even include bouncers that got past him, and were dubiously ruled hits, according to official scorers. Let's just say he doesn't have the hands of a surgeon over at third...
  13. This one didn't change -- the day after the trade, Rice on TV told us that Mookie called him last night, with these words about Boston: "THIS is where I want to be." Jim Rice may not be anyone's favorite NESN analyst, but one thing he's never been accused of is being a liar. Or even an embellisher...
  14. Or circumstances when players look like they're not trying...
  15. We sat here the past four winters typing about which positions needed to be filled or upgraded, which free agents the Sox should pursue, and which guys they could add to the roster to make the team better. We even offered plenty of reasonable trades that were accepted on Baseball Trade Values (which no interns posing as posters relayed to their Chief). But every offseason, Bloom pivoted to Plan C pitchers... almost as if his Plan A was to only ink Plan Cs. Now he pivots to Plan Couch.
  16. But Mookie told us this summer when he returned to Fenway that he assumed he'd be signing with the Sox and play his entire career here! He said he and his fiance were even house-hunting in the Boston suburbs before the trade...
  17. Cloudy memory banks, but Lovullo did a good enough job when Farrell was ill to take over, but it would've been too insensitive to boot a guy going through serious treatments. Meanwhile, Arizona immediately hired Lovullo, and he's been there ever since.
  18. Maybe for LA -- Verdugo and Wong have 10.9 combined WAR this season, which beats Mookie's 8.3. That's a WAR profit, for only 12 years of Betts. Man, the Dodgers are stuck with Mookie.
  19. Nick Pivetta -- the best trade acquisition of the Chaim Bloom Era... #5 starter and swingman, able to bulk up after openers, or close out playoff Ws. Pivetta is about it, with 7.5 WAR in Boston since 2020. Verdugo leads all guys Bloom traded for, with 8.3 WAR. For those in LA keeping score, Mookie also has 8.3 WAR... this year.
  20. Merloni said the same thing last night, but then really blasted Baltimore -- (paraphrasing): "Flaherty? Flaherty would've helped the Sox more than the O's -- a 100-win team passed on top free agent pitchers last winter, which was a big disappointment... but this deadline they needed a Verlander -- best farm system in baseball, use it, trade up, their time is now. They need an ace with postseason experience."
  21. BB-Ref's chart, not mine. But it's a fact the '18 champs had four regulars at 4.8 or higher -- three stars in their primes and another young outfielder who looked like he had star potential. That club also had 21-year-old Raffy, who posted a 5.4 WAR the next season... not to mention, Sale on the mound had 6.4 WAR in '18. There's no way we'll know if Bloom's draftees will ever challenge that group in the MLB -- or even make the bigs or be regulars. But if some of his top prospects aren't awesome, we'll have plenty to type about to at least ward off Old-Timer's disease...
  22. Maybe it was Bloom's or company policy... not to pay one dollar more for starting pitchers than the failed anal dept's market evals. Instead, we were treated to Richards and Kluber -- and if any Wacha actually earned a raise, it was easy to point him to the Mass Pike (it's right behind the Monstah).
  23. This may be wrong, because maybe Bloom actually invested more time on the farm than in the big city. We don't know how much time and resources he devoted to scouting and developing prospects... but we do know that overall, Bloom was a terrible judge of big league "talent" -- based on what he added to the roster (including acceptable players forced into unacceptable roles), and what he passed on or let walk. And saying he wasn't allowed to spend is an excuse, considering big money was spent on positional free agents with (so far) mediocre results. So -- giving him the benefit of the doubt -- he was either too busy with the future, or just sucked at the present. Glad that's in the past (maybe... we'll see).
  24. The first 5 slots in any batting order are usually reserved for teams' best hitters. On winning teams, those guys are often star players. The 2018 champs were loaded with star players. Their first five batters in the final game when they won their rings featured four players with a minimum of 4.8 WAR -- Betts, JD, Bogey, Beni -- plus World Series MVP Steve Pearce. The 2023 chumps have zero players with 4 WAR. Devers is the closest at 3.5 WAR, and no other position players even have a 3 WAR. Baseball Reference considers 5+ WAR as "All-Star Quality." The last-place Red Sox have no stars and no quality.
  25. The drummer wasn't uniformed personnel, but a Pete Worst patsie who had been banned from other boy bands.
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