5GoldGlovesOF,75

Straw, the guy who tripled, has a slugging % of .289.

Nunez just called. He said Kluber can't throw at batters for swinging too hard anymore, because his slowballs can't hurt them.

I tell you the harm: Hamilton has a lot of letters that would have to be tackle-twilled to a Red Sox jersey. Every letter must cost a couple bucks apiece. Just think of the savings for Bloom every time he recalls Ort.

Don't get me going on Bloom's famous fallbacks: Franchy at 1B, Arroyo in RF,, Downs at SS (instead of Graterol, an actual big leaguer the past half decade), Valdez at second, Kike at short, and Mondesi at nowhere...

And sometimes, an arm is cooked, no matter how many new pitches and adjustments an old pitcher can master. What do all the years of data on Kluber mean for this season? Even if he suddenly develops an unhittable knuckle-ball and hangs around for another decade, past data for the way he used to pitch doesn't really pertain.

WAR and Pieces

I can see not spending large and long on starting pitchers over 30 -- especially after Henry broke his motto and got burned on both Sale and Price. I can see not spending large and long on a good but not great shortstop who may be unproductive playing at a less impactful position at the back end half decade of an 11-year contract. But I can't see not filling the line-up with legitimate big league gloves. They're plentiful, inexpensive, and to me, maybe the best investments for a front office obsessed with one-year deals and annual turnover. Crap defense is an embarrassment, unacceptable, and the quickest way to turn off viewers, who are more sure-handed with TV remotes than Boston's entire infield.

But... but... BUTT -- it gives us flexibility to sign more one-year dears next winter!

He proved he could be successful. Just shows again how stubborn perceptions get exposed by reality. Through the various levels of pro-am ball I've participated in over the decades -- playing, coaching, watching -- this question, paraphrased here, always comes up: Is he good or just doing good (well...)? All-Star rosters at amateur levels used to be determined by merit, with voters selecting worthy players based on their seasons, often with statistics as credentials. Nowadays, I see Little Leaguers have to try out for All-Star squads, in front of evaluators who don't know the kids or haven't ever seen them play in actual games. So naturally, anyone with a good arm and decent wheels makes the team (even if he's 0-for-20 with 20 strikeouts). Does he look good or is he actually performing? Now someone will say, 29 other teams ignored Wacha before he signed with the Pads. Yup, he proved them all wrong.

The defense is indefensible. It can't defend, and no fans can defend it... or soon, watch it -- unless changes are made. The Red Sox owe their spectators an entire line-up of major league fielders. Nothing is worse in baseball as an entertainment product than shoddy D; it's the only aspect ever mocked and compared to Little League. But legitimate defense is the first and easiest way back to respectability. Hitting is hard, and healthy pitchers are always a premium, but many soft-hand, sure-arm defenders exist in pro ball. Solid D with professional fundamentals immediately makes any pitching staff better, and gives the offense a better chance at outscoring opponents. And if you're worried about adding good gloves with bad bats, can it get much worse? Boston is 2-21 when scoring three runs or less. The Sox don't win pitcher's duels, where there is even less margin for error... physical or mental (like missing cutoffs and allowing baserunners into scoring position). Offenses fluctuate, but when a team is held to two or less runs scored in half its games the past month (11 of 22), the unacceptable D becomes even more glaring.

Good point. Epstein will forever be remembered for the curse-breaking on his watch, but all he was really doing was following a plan approved of by a lot of posters: adding the finishing pieces to an already really good core assembled by his predecessor -- Pedro, Manny, Damon, Tek, Lowe, Wake etc. In other words, it was ok for Theo to spend the prospects and cash needed to acquire Schilling and Foulke, only because the Red Sox were already a top World Series contender (but imagine the uproar if talksox existed when both fell apart in their last year's in Boston). But to his credit, Theo was relentless in upgrading positions and bench depth -- and he added David Ortiz... ... and ARod, who luckily landed with his blue lipstick in the Bronx.

...in the majors! ... in an era when every batter order was a Thanksgiving Day parade of inflatable balloons, with the Michelin Man and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man hitting 3-4.

Re. bullpen overusage -- I repeat, there's always a worry; it's early June. In the past, a rotation averaging less than 5 IP per start would spell doom by August, but maybe this year's bulk guys in those middle innings are being stretched out by design (or default). Re. the importance of D: I might agree with you, except even Cora admits his pitchers don't have swing and miss stuff. Pitch-to-contact guys need support behind them. That may not appreciably improve until/if Mayer and Rafaela get here in a year or two.

Roki Sasaki is the guy. He's 21, 6'2 (compared to Yamamoto's 5'10), and in 44 innings so far this year has a WHIP of 0.614. For his very young pro career, in 256 IP, Sasaki has a WHIP of 0.818. For perspective, the lowest WHIP for a big league pitcher in the Wildcard Era (1995-23) is 0.890, for a reliever named Koji Uehara. The best WHIP for a guy with frames mainly as a starter is 0.986 by Tony Gonsolin. He is closely followed by deGrom 0.993 and Kershaw 1.004. Sale's career WHIP is 1.047. Pedro's was 1.054.

The negativity only reflects negative areas of a team that many fans would have liked to have seen a bit more upgraded since last year. That really only includes the starting pitching and defense -- two main aspects usually required of a winning ballclub. The offense has been hot and cold, normal over a long season. Baserunning hasn't killed us as much. The bullpen is improved, but there's always a worry of breakdown from overuse. Hopefully, the depth being employed in different ways by management can prevent that. Positives on a rebuilding team are watching the younger or newer players develop together. It's June and the team is still alive, and vets returning from injury can contribute to improvement.

I was on record from the beginning of not wanting Price at all, because all he could do in the postseason at that point was whine about Ortiz taking him deep and not sprinting out of the box on 400 foot dingers. He was never someone I would invest in for the biggest contract in the history of baseball. Just typing it hurts: 7 years for $217 million dollars, a $31M AAV. But I was all in on Eovaldi for 4 years at $17M AAV.

... especially, it seems, nowadays, when every week someone feels a twinge in his elbow and suddenly lost for the next two years. Maybe we waste too much time arguing about age, since it doesn't matter how old a guy is, because they all break down eventually at one time or another. An interesting stat to research would be how many modern pitchers on each team don't go on the IL and never miss a turn in the rotation or call to the pen (that would be year-to-year, since whole careers are never unmarred). And this is why I'm never concerned about the back end of a longterm contract, and the supposed burden on payroll and taxes. All signings are based on how the player can help now and in the near future, with the understanding that the entire payout is based on a hopefully productive front end.

A Bridge Too Far: "a 1977 epic war film depicting Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied operation in Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II." This was my point about Bloom surrounding Devers with a load of veteran players in their mid to late-30s: who -- if any of those guys -- will be part of the core of his next awesome Red Sox team? If the answer is none, then Bloom is just filling out the laundry to field a team of placeholders... until, he told us, we "know what's coming." We hope it's a group of suddenly-promoted, not-overhyped youngsters all maturing into the next Killer B's... but we won't be surprised if it's the next stale wave.

Based on the organization's pre-Bloom history of trading for top starters, is it possible they have decided to continue stockpiling toolsy position players for deals later on? Speier's recent report on Red Sox international prospects was dominated by future "super-star" shortstops. It's hard to believe they haven't liked any first-round pitching prospects for years and years, since... Matt Barnes, the guy who peaked as an All-Star reliever for half a season. I can't account for Trey Ball (and bet no one in the front office can, either).

I made fun of Paxton for being the Invisible Man for a year. But if HG Wells is your author (for people who used to read), his story is evolving into The Time Machine. Another Bloom $10 million flea market find (some assembly required), Paxton has so far been worth the wait -- not quite the impact yet of the delayed debut of Schwarber, but finally contributing more than the ghost of Mondesi. $10 mil is what the Red Sox paid Paxton over the past two seasons, but if we look at it as a total salary for his actual games this year, that's not terrible for a decent starter... and in between Eovaldi and Wacha. The question for posters worried about budget and taxes: which one will go on the IL first? The answer is always Sale.

I don't mind those who complain about the Red Sox -- that's part of talkingsox. If every poster was super happy no matter what the standings said, we'd know we all were getting secretly funded for such contrived optimism. I can do without those, however, who get off on trying to prove others' opinions wrong every single day.

And the guy in charge told us that young star was a good bet to surround with... Turner, 38, Kluber, 37, Martin, 37, Bleier, 36, Jansen, 35, and Duvall, 34. Save us, Masa (29)!!!!

That's the point -- but Fenway Park is a tourist attraction, a museum, a novelty, and an entertainment center, which can arguably be a detriment to fans who only want a competitive team. Win or lose, the Sox still fill the seats... I didn't say all the seats, but since they were built for bodies that roamed America over a hundred years ago, there's plenty of overflow in most that are occupied.

This is why I -- along with you, and a few others -- can't see Bloom getting fired. Henry is a business man, and if he can still make a profit -- and spend less -- why would he move on from the guy he hired to make that happen? Posters can argue that Henry may not make as much when the brand is losing and less popular, but a smaller payroll and tax could still ensure a similar profit, where the income exceeds the outcome. Is there any evidence that the organization is spending more instead on R and D: Recruiting Developmental people (from winners like Tampa, Houston, Atlanta, LA etc)?

The sake of PR is good for business if you get better players that make a better team and lead to a better record. Talksox June contest: what were some of the marketing department's proposed slogans for 2023? Early entries... 2023 -- Taking a Step Sideways! 2023 -- Out with the old, In with the older! 2023 -- All-in Awesomeness!