5GoldGlovesOF,75

You know that it would be untrue You know that I would be a liar If I was to say to you Bloom is soon to be rehired

Can I have a hit off that pipe?

Does anyone really believe a team with the worst defense is just two pitchers away from becoming good again? No matter which starters Boston lands -- unless they're Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson clones -- the fielders will still have to make plays behind them. If the Sox actually do hire someone from the outside to run things, it very well could mean they're open to also making major changes on the big league roster. Would it be so surprising if at least one major shake-up of position players happens -- where maybe they actually move a big contract to make room for another? One of Story, Yoshida or even Devers could be gone, if it's all part of a package that makes the club better.

Vito: JH, speaks with a whisper Tom: Tom Sonny: Chaim... for whom the toll booths Michael: AC -- today we settle all roster business Fredo: Sam... "I'm smart, too" Luca: Lebron, sleeping with fishes Johnny Fontaine: Neil Diamond Clemenza: Papi Tessio: Manny Connie: that's Sam, too, shrieking, "Michael!!! You killed my Kluber!" Carlo: Kluber Paulie: Kike Joe Pesci?: Pedroia... not in the current Red Sox movie, but still should be, so they're not so damn soft

She actually traded an All-Star for an All-Star. The nerve of some people.

Who's pretending that? Here's my quote in the post you replied to: "Some posters love to argue against acquiring pitchers who are injury-prone' or 'IL risks' -- but nowadays, are any not?" They are all big risks -- old guys, young guys, Bearclaws, even mop-up position players who throw blooper balls slower than Little Leaguers -- ALL of them. So should GMs avoid signing the good ones -- the pros who have the stuff to top a rotation, lead a staff to the postseason, and better yet, those who have proven themselves in Octobers past? Raise your hand if instead you'd rather just load up on DFAed or rehabbing projects who if lucky may combine to get within three or four innings away from Neil singing: "To believe they never would..."

If only Bloom had signed more indestructible rocks of the mound like Richards, Hill, Wacha, Paxton and Kluber.

George knew what he was doing by always stockpiling starting pitchers, and he was also right on targeting big game "warriors" -- like he knew he was in trouble when Epstein (not Cashmen) landed Schilling. Some posters love to argue against acquiring pitchers who are "injury-prone" or "IL risks" -- but nowadays, are any not? Has arm history EVER slowed down Nathan Eovaldi on a big stage in October?

This may actually defend those who welcome "anyone but Bloom" to run the Red Sox. Henry could've picked any poster on talksox as CBO four years ago, and -- nothing personal -- there's a good chance Boston would have finished dead last in the AL East at least 75% of the time. Well, except maybe Jax -- who would've made sure the Yankees were World Series favorites every single season. Uh, wait a minute...

Doesn't matter; the next GM will get canned four years from now.

2020 And this was a poorly constructed team 2021 And this was a well constructed team 2022 And this was a poorly constructed team 2023 And this was a poorly constructed team Of course, these are only opinions, which somebody reminds us of every day we bask in the glory of typing speculations and assumptions. Some posters even pass on misinformation, with smarmy, "So you're sayings..." (even when you're clearly not saying). Meanwhile, there will always be those who defend the baseball acumen of a guy who studied Classics at Yale over a diamond lifer who spent parts of six different decades either playing or managing in the big leagues. According to the media, a few critics of John Henry have even refused interviews to run his club because "he fired Bloom for doing what he was hired to do." Do they really believe Henry told Bloom to cut payroll, restock the farm, and build the MLB roster bad enough to suck 75% of the time?

... or trading "prospects" for big leaguers. Remember this summer, it was Cora who said something like, "Building up the minors is important, but the majors is what matters most."

Cora will quite possibly have more of a say in how the Sox build the roster he has to make work. That has to be a better situation than what Bloom gave him the past couple years. No matter what one's opinion of Cora's performance in the dugout, a guy with his boots on the ground knows more about the needs of his team -- and which players are candidates from other clubs to target to fill those holes.

The average fan only cares about won-loss records and the standings. We don't grade on a curve. Prospective home-buyers researching school systems might look at test scores, but pleas from low-performing districts of limited budgets and historical mismanagement will only cause a run in the other direction.

There are basic facts in a profession driven by Won-Loss Records: If a team loses more than it wins, it is a loser. Finishing in last place -- no matter how many clubs are in the division or how good they are -- is still last place. The last one. A last place loser is a failure. Circumstances that lead to it can vary, but there is no doubt that losing and last place is a season of failure. Every time it happens again, excuses become more inexcusable.

The Red Sox' weatherlytics dept. attributes Braiser's success to LA's smog gravitating his pitches, as opposed to Boston, where it rained for four straight months and his grips slipped. But Kennedy promises they're looking to interview new meteorologists who can teach pitchers to throw more meteors.

Proof that mid-market clubs don't have enough interns to masquerade as posters on other clubs' fan forums.

Red Sox fans are still misinterpreting this. When building a roster, money will not be a factor.

At Last Call, Chaim grabbed a half-finished beer from someone else's vacated table... Henry hired him on the spot.

... and not one employee of the other 28 franchises ever omitted data from their taxes nor drove over 55 mph. One guy did confess to doing a double-take at a crosswalk once -- but only after she turned out to be a co-worker of his wife's friend.

Moncada was once Baseball America's Number One prospect -- and he was traded for a skinny southpaw, who was also extended (soooooo extended he snapped the tendons and ligaments in his shoulder, his elbow, and the patience of Red Sox Nation).

But no freaking trumpets! Where is your sense of joy and jubiliation... Scherzer and Verlander tried to start a booktalk club, and all the younger players thought they meant to compare gambling sites and parlay odds.

His character from Moneyball was always lurking. Maybe Bloom copiously studied the book and movie before his interview and totally told him what he wanted to hear. "That's it -- no more interviews! (I'm tired...) "

... but it almost never does. The Mets spend kajillions, but everyone kinda knew they were cooked even before the season when Diaz blew out his knee in the WBC.

'23 AL averages per 600 PA: 19 HR 69 RBI .247 BA .317 OBP/.411 Slug/.728 OPS Without pro-rating every guy on the roster (the Sox had three with 600 PA), there were four with at least 19 HRs, three with 69 RBI, but seven who hit .247 or better, and got on base and had a higher-than-average OPS... the skillfull seven: Casas, Devers, Duvall, Duran, Turner, Yoshida, Verdugo. The first five had at least .800 OPS, including three who qualified: Casas, Devers and Turner. The first two guys can certainly improve, and hopefully, so can Masa. JT is probably a goner, and may not be replaced from outside the org -- if the bulk of spending is appropriately on pitching. Moon asked if a few new studs at the top of the rotation, added to most of the returning roster, is enough to win. Depends on... winning what? Another handful of games to nab a wild card? Maybe... depending on the progress of younger players. Improving the pitching of a last-place loser more than likely makes them an average team. Enough to win it all? Very doubtful, unless you're assuming Martin and Jansen at a year closer to 40 will not regress nor get injured, and automatically repeat their '23 successes.