5GoldGlovesOF,75

More info needed: do the 20 grounders A misses go for singles? does B make every play he gets to beyond the 10 Es (so 90)? Are B's Es booted, dropped or through the legs -- accounting for one free base -- or do some include bad throws, allowing for two free bags?

How can you say that? Joe Jokes threw a two-hitter: Lowe and Paredes, back-to-back (upon review, it may have been back-to-foot...) Who says such clutch moments are not repeatable... Who says such clutch moments are not repeatable...

No, Bloom can't help himself attempting to contrive versatility for every best player available. Imagine the increased value of Rafaela when he can be converted to grounds crew utility, honing his focus while liming the batter's box and the fair lines, and building up hammies, quads and calves rolling out the tarp during rain delays.

Nope, but two of the many who were dealt in July would've meant a lot better shot at the postseason. It was the month that two team leaders (at least in salary) -- Jansen and Devers -- appealed for help for both the pen and rotation. According to Bloom, BOH and Sam K, that just didn't "make sense." Instead, in the first series after the deadline -- vs. a team the Sox were just one game behind in the loss column for a wild card spot -- Cora was left to start two openers. Toronto -- using starters Manoah, Berrios and Bassitt -- swept Boston. The Jays didn't even have to use their #1, Kevin Gausman. For fans, it will be remembered as the most despicable series of the season. The most ridiculous, of course, was being swept by Houston, when the Astros were another playoff-bound club Boston still had a chance to catch. The infamous Bear Claw Game will always be a reminder of what can happen when a front office regularly refuses to fortify the big league bullpen with legitimate MLB pitchers.

Again: to fans, and I dunno -- manager, coaches and players -- it also would have made sense to trade a few prospects they might never know for a pitcher at the deadline who just. might. have helped. pry open. the window... this year. And I'm not a poster convinced the playoffs is always a crapshoot, but I'm a fan who always likes to see my team play in the postseason.

You know how much the Bloom Error values versatility. DHs can sit on the left side of the bench, the right side, on a stationary bike in the clubhouse, and in-between at bats can gofer coffee, sausage and peppers, chili dogs, and Monstah fries... but not chicken and beer (not because it's against the rules, but the typical DH salary cannot afford the price of ballpark beers).

I just don't see a guy who has been top five in the league in batting average all year as a major problem. It's really a Bloom issue, for not spending more to fill more vital holes. I actually anticipate Yoshida improving in some areas in his second year in the states, maybe even becoming an All-Star by his third year... before regressing back into a fan target as an "albatross" at the back end of his contract. Maybe it's perception; when Masa strikes out, he just doesn't look as athletic as Trevor Story, when he whiffs. But while Yoshida has shown he can make consistent contact, Story has always been a K machine.

Said this last week; Rafaela in CF (Duran is not the answer) and fulltime Story at SS helps in two key spots -- but we have to live with Raffy and Casas at the corners, and the best way to offset them is by recruiting strikeout pitchers.

I'm not disagreeing with any of this; Toronto gave Chris Bassitt three years and $63M, and he leads the Jays in wins and innings pitched. Imagine if the Sox had signed a guy with a 3.81 ERA who threw 165 IP in 2023... they might even be four games better than Toronto (and the Jays would be four games worse). But OMG -- Bassitt will make $21M at age 35 and 36... is the market rate for his production such a risk, compared to wasting another $40M on four separate one-year contracts on guys in their late-Klubers?

This is why some of us want to Swift BOOT Bloom (sorry, moon; typo). His farm looks good right now, but so did my garden in the spring before three months of rain drowned my best apple tree and stunted most production on my hot pepper plants. Old fans who can sense Satchel Paige catching up with us don't hate Bloom the person, just the whole concept of the Bloom Era. I'll bet Alex Cora and his coaching staff does, too. Imagine them sitting at a hotel bar on the road just before the season -- or just after the deadline -- lamenting what their boss has deemed acceptable to give them for a big league rotation... now go make the playoffs!

Somehow, the favorite punching bag for Red Sox fans in 2023 has become Masataka Yoshida. Punchlines have varied, from his defense in left field, body-type, running technique, and lack of Schwarber-like home run power. Main complaint -- as usual for anyone who doesn't earn multi-million dollars per year in any job (much less, playing a kid's game) -- is that Yoshida, signed for an AAV of $18 million per season, is grossly overpaid. Last point first: per Sportrac, there are at least 60 MLB players with a higher AAV than Yoshida (more than half make at least $30M). That's an average of two per team, but we know small markets don't pay, so it's probably closer to four per team. On the Red Sox alone, that includes Sale, Story and Devers. Ex-Sox who also make more include Bogaerts, Betts and Schwarber. A strong September for Yoshida puts him on pace for about 18 HRs, 80 RBI, .300 BA. Q: how many big leaguers averaged all three of those stats in 2022? A: FOUR: Judge, Alvarez, Goldschmidt, Freeman. Regarding speed, Yoshida is second on the club in stolen bases, 8-for-8 in attempts. Another short Sox player, Pedroia, was 7-for-8 his rookie year. But Dustin was a dirtdog... and a great glove at second base -- a defensive position a lot more important than left field. As MVP has alluded to, LF defense is hardly the key to a lockdown D on the diamond. As Max has constantly posted, D isn't even much of a factor, as long as a guy can hit. Moving Yoshida to DH won't solve the Red Sox' putrid defensive issues... the most it will do is allow another bat (most likely a replacement for too costly Turner or Duvall) into the line-up. Among AL outfielders, Yoshida also has the second-best K-rate to Steven Kwan. He can start in my batting order.

Gotta wonder if/when Tek somehow becomes Red Sox skipper, how he, himself, would consider a catching prospect ready to start in the majors... Who would know better than the four-time no-hitter receiver? Would his expertise conflict with metrics crunched by analyticals who never played the game?

Cross him off our list, but isn't this the kind of guy LA would be interested in? Did comp for Yamamoto just increase or decrease?

I predicted a few weeks ago he'll have a cup of coffee by next September. This isn't some teenager with potential tools. Teel was the best catcher in college baseball this year, and will already be 22 when next season opens. Fisk was called up for a couple games when he was 21, after 97 games in AA. After a season in AAA, he returned to the Show for the last few weeks at age 23. The next year he was the Red Sox full-time catcher and AL Rookie of the Year. Varitek was the greatest college catcher of his day, but didn't earn a full-time job behind the dish in the bigs until his age 27 season. He had a shot of expresso at 25, then was platooned at 26. Rutschman, the #1 overall draft pick, made his debut last year at 24 and immediately turned around the Baltimore franchise... but was second in ROTY to JRod. He also finished 12th in MVP voting. This year he made the All-Star team. Teel will be 24 in '26... when he might be the Sox regular backstop.

Rice, Greenwell, O'Leary and Manny just thumbed their noses at you. But Franchy didn't... he missed.

I just looked up Red Sox drafts the past five years and from 2019 found #6 pick Chris Murphy, and #26 Brandon Walter. So discounting lost Covid time, four years? Then from 2018 we have Ward and Politi-- two who maybe wouldn't have even made the majors in Boston this year, but were nabbed by other clubs in the Rule V. The pitcher from the '18 draft who the Sox said was closest to making the MLB right out of college was #3 pick Durbin Feltman, a reliever. He still hasn't... and at age 26 is now in AA for Oakland. Wonder how many of the same pre-Bloom employees are doing evaluations for the front office...

Rejoice. I want him in my dugout, clubhouse and community, including as part of a new coaching staff that will be here sooner than later. If the Sox don't see the wisdom in keeping Turner around, it's inevitable that another organization will offer him a job to help players improve. JT's value to team culture entails so much more than just stats, but unfortunately that concept is like asking all the Sheldons in Bloom's office to sit in different chairs...

5. Status quo. Owners: "We're making more money, and keeping more money... Chaim, keep doing what you're doing... the illusion of contention... Sam will leak to the media that we're in on every expensive free agent pitcher, but dang, just got overbid. Underdog, UNderdog, UNDERdog!"

If Bloom is smart, he'll strike fast and lock up one of the second tier first -- I'm still in on Montgomery -- then beg Henry to win the bidding on Yama. But one of the five bigger spenders will prob overpay, and that's when Bloom needs to swoop in on Snell. I'd prefer Urias, but just like with Dombro and Nola, if Friedman deems Urias worthy, he won't let him get away. If LA doesn't want Urias, I'd be very careful...

Here goes: an ace pitcher sets the tone for any club, giving it the confidence that there's a good chance for a W, every five days, all season, providing consistent quality starts and "quantity" starts -- eating innings and keeping scores close (even on days he doesn't have his best stuff), giving the bullpen a breather and preserving relief arms from burn-out that comes from bad or thin rotations, resulting in too much bulk-guy/opener/high leverage overuse. An ace can also share with his pitching staff experiences that made him successful, such as work-outs, routines, pitch grips, books on hitters, umps, etc. Because he throws many above-average shutdown innings and outings, his supporting cast has less pressure to press, on defense and offense. His own batters can relax at the plate, knowing they don't all have to hit grand slams to outscore opponents, and because he throws so many strikes, the defense stays alert and on its toes. An ace makes any team better -- and for fans, better to watch -- and if there's no window open yet, watch out... because if he can't create a window by firing fastballs through the wall, maybe his grateful teammates will bash one open with their Old Hickory sledge hammers.

None of them at the position of importance considered by the Baseball Research Journal as "somewhere between 75 and 90 percent of baseball.”

Watched Nola closely on Fox TV last night. Good curve, but eventually got crushed by Milwaukee, last in the NL in team OPS. If Nola was really worth it, does anyone think Dombrowski, with full bankroll support of Philly owners, would let Bloom outbid him for Nola? But if Dombro allows Nola to leave, isn't that the ultimate buyer beware? (like holding a suspected witch underwater; if she drowns, then she isn't a witch)

If and when the Red Sox invest more in starting pitchers, the obvious key has to be to go more for swing-and-miss stuff than pitch-to-contact guys. We keep going round and round about how stuck we are with some bad fielders -- like Devers and Yoshida -- or budding core guys like Casas and Duran (who may be swapped out for Rafaela). Isn't the quickest solution, then, to just spend a little bit more on strikeout pitchers who are more apt to minimize the below-average support behind them? Are power arms at higher risk for elbow blow-out than junk-ballers snapping off more breaking pitches? Or are rotator cuff injuries more common these days than TJS? (it doesn't seem so...) Maybe this concept is why Bloom felt he just had to protect Ort over more finesse hurlers last winter...

Deer in the dead red lights... Cities shouldn't invest too much in police depts or fire engines, either... risky businesses

But... Sam told us our best deadline acquisitions would be the lackquisitions. And we all disbelieved him.