5GoldGlovesOF,75

Indeed, it would seem the front office can now justify keeping him around just for blow-outs, and consider his $10 million salary as an insurance premium to preserve the rest of the staff for more meaningful, high leverage innings this summer.

If we're really going to address the Kluber in the room, then let's not deny him his save. If you ask Buxton, Lewis and Kepler, they just may acknowledge he saved their night by serving them all meatballs.

... and both are better right now than the phantom Mondesi.

Your last sentence seems to contradict your first sentence. Then again, maybe these Red Sox are only a few players shy of being great: Brooks Robinson at third base, Mark Belanger at shortstop, and Paul Blair in centerfield...

After once giving away a Cy Young ace reliever in Sparky Lyle -- to the Yankees, no less (for Danny Cater, a singles-hitting first baseman), the Red Sox were the first team in the first free agent winter to sign an ace... in closer Bill Campbell. Then Zimmer burned him out in his first season and the guy was never the same...

We have each presented opposite views on when it may be best to invest in acquiring an ace. It makes sense to many posters to wait until a team is closer to contention before wasting resources -- and as some allude to -- a pitcher's prime. Other fans that have endured or seen rebuilds over the years also value the impact a top of the rotation starter has on the workload of the entire pitching staff, and even taking some pressure off of the defense and offense.

We need some bottom of the rotation openers. And zip-lock bags, for easy closing. But not the kind that leech toxins into leftovers. Because WAR is not healthy for children and other living things.

MLB.com just listed 10 trade chips and where they might land. According to the article, not one single pitcher or even player on the list is headed to Boston. But Bieber, Giolito, Flaherty, Stroman and ERod are all rumored to go to either the Angels, Mets, Padres, Dodgers, Astros, Phils, Braves, Giants, Rays, Orioles, and even the freaking D-backs....

None of those pitching prospects swapped by Boston were as good as Bello is so far in a big league Red Sox uniform. To trade Bello now would've been closer to giving up Lester, after he won the World Series in '07 (Bello's ERA is half a run better, but with another half season to go).

When revisiting trades for previous ace pitchers that won rings in Boston -- Pedro, Schilling, Beckett, Sale -- it's worth considering that in every deal, at least one of the Sox' then-best pitching prospects were included...

Chaimpathetical, to Tito: "If we throw in Dalbec, you can keep Bieber, as long as you substitute one of your other starters currently on the IL..."

The up and down Red Sox are maybe too hard to predict, but at least the younger players are trending positive lately. If a month from now, the Sox are still over .500 and a game or two on either side of a wild card, wouldn't fans deserve to be outraged by a sell off? Boston seems to play to the level of competition, but nine July games vs. Oakland (6) and the Cubs (3) don't have the feel of impending doom like a year ago, when upcoming AL East opponents loomed ominously.

It's true, Refsnyder didn't break his bat.

I can't believe on an 0-2 pitch that the Twins catcher called for a bases-loaded triple. CERAusly.

The Red Sox have become so cheap they pinch-hit for a guy with three doubles just so he won't break any more bats.

It's ok, we got Double Trouble up...

Pablo has to make contact here.

Vazquez held up his finger on home run trot to acknowledge his first longball of the entire season.

I don't know -- but doesn't there have to be something good first to comeback to? How about Boston Breakout Star of 2023? Duran is now only three doubles behind league-leader Alex Verdugo!

I'm with you. I much prefer possibilities over improbabilities. It's just depressing in the Bloom Era for fans to speculate like we used to every year on available talent -- on the free agent market, on the trading block, on disappointing or below-market clubs in sell mode. And a thread titled Fire Bloom is absolutely the place to whine about it. But anyone paying attention the past four years can't believe that all of sudden, Bloom will start spending or swapping like Epstein or Dombrowski when they really were all-in no bs going for it. Remember after the Betts trade, when the Boston media saw the next-best outfielder about to enter the market -- George Springer -- and figured he'd be a worthy replacement (as a talent and New England boy)? The Sox, it was said, had all that Mookie Money to fill the void with another good player to maintain their annual pursuit at contending. That's how it always was in Boston, since Yaz put us back on the map (now someone will post stats to show how lucky we were for not signing Springer -- when that isn't my point at all). Instead, look for Bloom to pick up a guy on the IL for a bargain price, because it worked once with Schwarber... and Paxton, after only two years... but not yet Story, who still thinks he's going to be a superstar shortstop with an internal brace in his elbow (that no other GM would touch when he was a free agent). Mondesi was never anything but a rumor...

Someone pointed out the '21 Braves were a mid-yearish .500 team -- like Boston is now -- and then went on to win the World Series. Like it could happen here. I replied that Atlanta made major additions to the roster, including four players who had major impacts: one who finished with the most RBIs in the NL, another who had huge postseason HRs, and the other two were only the NLCS and World Series MVPs. And now, posters are countering with Bloom's '21 in-season acquisitions -- who we know were Schwarber, a couple back-up infielders, and a few tepid relievers (including Robles, who had one good month -- ever in Boston -- sandwiched around brutal outings that included a blown save, and then a game-losing homer in back-to-back playoff games). The point is that when the Braves had injured or non-performing players, their GM didn't rely on utility men out of position, but dealt for four big league replacements that starred through October -- otherwise they don't win. The next time Bloom and his regime show fans such a commitment will be the first time.

There's also the qualitative data: Somewhere, a lonely Red Sox fan remembers the days he said, "If only we can just hang on long enough, until we can get the ball to... Robles!"

Liked a scrimmage. Then I thought of the Norris Trophy, given to the best defenseman... for the Red Sox, that would be in the Nor Us Division. "Don't ignore us," said Reese (slapping his bat into another mitt).

No, I don't. That summer the Red Sox added one impact player -- Kyle Schwarber. But if you're in the mood, have fun arguing about two relievers who for the most part of their Boston days were the epitome of low-budget Chaim Bloom suckitude.

The point was never about positions, but about actually making deals to fortify and maybe even improve the roster down the stretch. Can anyone even imagine the types and amounts of players Bloom would have to swap to add four regular or semi-regular big leaguers to the summer roster?