5GoldGlovesOF,75

Thanks for the guidance. For a second there I must've taken myself too seriously on an anonymous forum where faceless posters known only by aliases gather to offer opinions, predictions, and experiences following a group of adults who play games for millions of dollars.

I once had a friend who worked for a garage door franchise. When times got tough, they sent him to their various outlets to tell all the colleagues he had built working relationships with that they were now fired. It really stressed him out, being the bringer of bad news. When he finished going to all the places, they fired him.

Bloom could care less if any player is pissed about who the Red Sox trade away or trade for. That's Cora's job to deal with.

Bloom certainly discussed it with fans at Winter Weekend, when he said "you know what's coming" from the farm, so that Raffy was worth making "that bet" (paying) to soon be surrounded with talent. Chaim didn't specify what talent he was talking about, so who knows -- the Sox may soon bring up some good painters, yodelers or coders. This just in from JP Morosi: "Sources say buyers include LAD, BAL, HOU, SFG, TBR, ARI, CIN, MIA, PHI, ATL." Does that mean the others are sellers? So far?

While a GM/CBO is judged by most for his big league clubs, I do like the development of Bloom's farm system -- which includes a lot more than just picking the best player available off a list of player rankings at the amateur draft. I also once had high hopes for Lars Anderson, Brady Anderson, and a guy from Connecticut, before he was traded for Larry Anderson...

A bit harsh, but the two guys you mention play -- or were supposed to play -- two of the most important positions on the diamond: starting pitcher and shortstop. Bloom deserves the ire of fans and media because he has built extremely flawed big league rosters that have, for the most part, failed miserably in the standings. He has spent plenty of money on busts, and hasn't spent enough to secure some of his "priorities" -- which is what he called Bogaerts. No, the Sox shouldn't have paid X what he got from SD, and yes, we all agree Boston -- where Bogie wanted to spend the rest of his career -- could've signed him for a fraction of that a year or two ago when Bloom chose instead to ink a strikeout king with a bad throwing arm. And I could care less what Bogaerts' WAR is this year, because anything is better than what we got instead from Story, who hasn't even got out of boot camp yet. Bloom assembled the worst pitching staff in Red Sox history in '20, refused to pay for better relievers at the deadline in '21 (like Houston did, which was the true difference in going to the World Series), CBOed another cellar dweller last year, and is now in charge of a bad defensive club that starts openers every other day. Sure he finally addressed the back-end of the bullpen -- hey, he did his job! -- but come on, Jansen also has five losses (one less than the staff leaders).

If only we had some decent shortstop prospects in the farm system, athletic enough to move to other positions.

I fully expect Bloom will be all in today on the starter with the worst ERA in the National League on the last place Rockies: Austin Gomber. A big lefty workhorse (more IP than any Red Sox pitcher) like Gomber who can win as many as he loses in Colorado can pitch anywhere. Plus, here are bb-ref's Most Similar comps for Gomber: at age 28 Al Leiter, and at age 27 Jordan Montgomery. But the main reason we need Gomber in Boston asap is for the fifth name on his most Similar Pitchers list: the legendary Cool Papa Bell, a lights-out Hall of Famer... not for his arm, but for being so quick he could turn off his bedroom lights and get under the covers before it got dark. BTV has Gomber worth 4.6 and accepted a deal for Valdez and Dalbec -- in Mile High, they could hit 60 homers... some of them even fair! Rox are in sell mode -- make it happen, Chaim.

But they're either too short to invest in longterm like Mookie, or too big to stay healthy like Judge. The safe height is about 6'5, like Papelbon, who hit one over the Monster in BP just last month. If I was 6'5, I bet I could... change the bulb in the kitchen light, without standing on a chair.

Definitely an f... ... also for fPEACE (player eval at committing errors)

... once he returns from the IL. Still, how many Edison Paulinos do we really need before he's redundant? Paulino 21, 5'10, 155, '23 MiLB stats: .238, .717, 21 SBs. Rafaela 22, 5'9, 165, '23 MiLB stats: .301, .830, 32 SBs. Meidroth 22 5'9, 170, '23 MiLB stats: .285, .825, 11 SBs. Bonaci 21, 5'10, 164, '23 MiLB stats: .305, .847, 6 SBs. (notice how I didn't even mention other more highly-regarded middle infield prospects like Alcantara or Cespedes...)

How about, even move the runner on second? But no complaints about Turner, as long as you don't use the dreaded C-word. Maybe he couldn't repeat his penultimate at bat in the 10th, or his last AB last night, but where would the Sox be without his past month of such repeatedly non-repeatable runs batted in?

I know: Fangraphs updated farm system rankings only places Boston 4th overall, just four spots ahead of Texas. Why would St. Louis want any of our guys. Don't worry, Bloom will snag Carlos Carrasco one second before time runs out, and you'll only have to wait 13 minutes after the deadline for the official announcement.

Montgomery and Stratton, a righty reliever having a decent year, for Texas' #11 and #14 prospects. According to Fangraphs, the Red Sox' #11 and #14 are Bastardo and Paulino. If Bloom doesn't think those two are worth trading to upgrade for an actual wild card run, then might as well sell.

Article today said Sox aren't interested in trading Turner. But we know that actually means unless someone else has an interest in really interesting us... As for the starting pitching market, Bloom can't deal Paxton unless he's reasonably replaced. The players deserve as much, especially the young core that is forming, going forward. Bloom can be cutthroat, but not at the expense of alienating players he's grooming to be part of sustained contenders. No wants to die on that Rich Hill.

As fans, all we can do is speculate. Managers make out line-ups and pitching moves based on a lot of info kept quiet. Teams never want opponents to know which players have nagging injuries that might be exploited. Example: batters jogging to first on grounders. Raffy may be favoring a hammy, Dugie may be benched, and no teammates questioned or commented on either scenario. But if Cora was ever playing favorites, it certainly wouldn't be tolerated in the clubhouse, and someone would leak it to the media.

I meant both. Gotta start somewhen with the staff anchors...

Not if your CBO is planning on building now for the then - which has been reiterated in several forms of Bloomspeak. Would that possibly mean he'll acquire and actually pay another guy who is AL East battle-tested... and four years younger and healthier than Paxton?

The hardest thing for Bloom isn't going to be trading Paxton (if someone else breaks down and agrees to part with a Joe Ryan-type pitching prospect). The hardest thing will be dealing one of his many middle infield prospects for Paxton's replacement. And then he'll also pick up Rich Hill for peanuts and crackerjack. Fans will be outraged when Paxton is gone... but Jordan Montgomery plus a legitimate pitching prospect is better for now and next year than Paxton and one of the surplus middle infield prospects Bloom has been stockpiling for this moment.

Geez, Moon, do you really think Washington would've snapped up 35-year old Ryan Brasier with the first pick of the Rule V draft if he was available to keep them out of last place? Bloom can't live it down because pitching is always the number one problem in Boston, especially developing pitching in the farm system, and there's no arguing that point -- no matter how many retreads he claims on waiver wires. And no one cares how old Ward was, he was still a mound prospect...

Those old teammates were just jealous of his green shoes. And that his wife was Miss Puerto Rico...

And most of us who watched the pitching staff last year weren't as concerned over losing Song (who Dombro took a shot on), but Thad Ward -- who the Nats immediately took with the first overall pick... Ward, now on the IL, maybe wasn't ready for the Show, but certainly had more promise than the trio you listed, among others that Bloom protected instead.

Last chance to trade for a Cardinals' starting pitcher: Montgomery, Flaherty, maybe even Mikolas, currently suspended "for acting goofy in Thursday's game" (NBC Sports headline).

Man, you called it on Turner heating up in July: .350 BA, .400/.600/1.000... 25 RBI Compare to Casas, now getting national notice: .350 BA .451/.800/1.251... 17 RBI

This is a fair post. Maybe even middle schoolers are too mature to actually blame the season on Kike, who only tried his best to do what he was asked by management. And even if Cora insisted he had confidence in Kike, it's still the responsibility of the front office to constantly look for ways to upgrade any and all roster weaknesses. Especially after AC ruled himself out as a SS option, having put on the recent front porch addition to his middle-aged physique. I tend not to dwell on actual dollar numbers and call ballplayers overpaid, when who among us would ever turn down salaries at market value for whatever services we would render (now I'll hang up and listen to snappy retorts...)