5GoldGlovesOF,75

Until they start throwing and landing on ILs, the starting rotation has depth in bodies -- if not innings. There is no doubt there will be limitations of most, except for maybe Pivetta. Perhaps that is why the Sox are continually adding to the bullpen, preparing for match-ups for four or five innings every night. In the eyes of the front office, an investment in quantity may supersede the cost of market quality...

Dombrowski keeps spending like his window is wide open, arms outstretched past the shutters to Philly fans... the crowd eagerly cheering him on. Bloom is shrouded behind small but colorful stained glass, the kind at churches. It looks like he might be waving at Sox fans, but he's really just holding up one finger. If it's his index, it might mean wait...

All this angst about Ort. Ort is an odd word. "Ort" as defined by the Free Dictionary by Farlex (over 13 billion served): 1. A small scrap or leaving of food after a meal is completed. 2. A scrap; a bit. (Cookery) a leftover fragment of food. How can any of this pertain to the recipes on Bloom's Menu for force-feeding the masses? Tried fitting into a seat at Fenway Park lately? Small portions...

I've given the Red Sox grief for not signing a top starter this winter, but gotta give Bloom credit for rebuilding the bullpen. Also, have to believe Cora had some input, with what he had to throw out there in the late innings last season -- and yes, even in the '21 playoffs. It may not be coincidence that the "starter" the Sox offered the most money to -- reportedly -- was Eflin, who looked great in relief in the '22 postseason.

I don't know if Bleier is going to fit in. He walked 20 batters... in the last three years combined!

During or after 2019, Henry did say he thinks good teams shouldn't stay completely the same, but bring in some new blood, too. I agree to an extent -- youngsters with something to prove or even ringless vets still hungry (mostly for paydays) can keep incumbents from getting complacent. Front offices like to call changes upgrades; in reality they're usually business decisions... though Pena replacing Correa was an all-timer in Houston. But if keeping Bogaerts means Bloom wouldn't have signed Jansen, Turner and Duvall, let's keep it real: while they all fill valuable roles, All-Star Silver Slugger shortstops are among the most indispensable assets on a diamond, along with ace starting pitchers and the catchers who lead them. However, the Red Sox didn't "botch" their chance to keep Xander with the one-year extension offer to the industry's super agent always after the largest longest contracts. That told Bogey they didn't see him in their plans, and may have been a way to prep X for dropping his no-trade at the deadline... thus, July is where Bloom botched his best chance at salvaging something from the Bogaerts' debacle.

Ceddanne Rafaela came out of nowhere to land in the MLB top 100 list. He features Gold Glove defense in the outfield and the infield, but was also leading the minors in extra-base hits last summer... and not just because of his sprinting speed; he lined balls to the walls with hand-eye quickness. Players make major jumps every year. Gunnar Henderson went from #64 overall to #1 in one season. Mayer is already at #9 preseason... ... can a guy like Miguel Bleis have a monster year and blast past him? No prospect has a higher raw power rating in the system than Bleis, including Anthony, Jordan, Hickey, Brannon, Kavadas, Binelas, Valdez, Scott. And at 170 pounds, there is still room to grow...

My bad -- but in '21, Betts' 4.2 WAR was still better than Devers' 3.5. Granted, Raffy was swinging -- and dealing -- with one good arm down the stretch. Maybe that's the point, though -- Raffy is already banged up a lot more at a younger age. I'd still rather have either instead of Renfroe, Ottavino and Richards.

Stats say he did: 6.4 WAR, 35 HRs, led the league in runs scored, Gold Glove, 5th in MVP. Isn't that the kind of guy you build a team around? Don't get me wrong, I love Raffy and am glad he'll be here for the next decade (and hope I am, too, to watch him). I just couldn't stomach Bloom defending the Mookie trade by saying it freed up "resources to sign Kike, Renfroe, Ottavino and Richards." I realize Chaim was scrambling on stage, but it's notable the last three names, whether you like them or not, were all one-and-done in Boston. Not the kind of players diehard baseball fans look forward to rooting for...

Raffy didn't look so good playing on a bad hammy in the second half of '22.

Great question. Assuming the history of longterms and even what experts like Bloom tell us, neither will be as good on the back half. So to me, the real debate is who will be better in the next five years -- especially, since that's the window to build around these stars (Chaim won't even have a job if we're waiting longer). It also depends on criteria. If it's WAR, gotta go with Mookie, the better all-around player. If it's just offensive production over a decade, Raffy might make the most sense, since he's five years younger. But look at injuries: both recently experienced some normal nagging that affected their games or even caused them to miss a few. This is where Devers' age works against him, because he's already having aches and pains...

You don't have to, but your CBO was just last week, comparing why it's better to build his team around Raffy, starting now.

I think Bloom's speech is quoted a few pages back. But you're right if referring to Bogey and/or Raffy. However, that narrative maybe would've brought down showers of more than boos: tomatoes, beer bottles, spitballs (banned in Boston, but not Springfield)... The wounds from Xander were too raw, so Bloom had to blab about his first year and deciding not to drive off a cliff (his words). Was it a mistake to tell fans there is a worse fate than two last place finishes, as in maybe five years of rebuilding?

No one is revising history, just commenting on Bloom's explanation of why he didn't bet big on Mookie. I'm just not buying the excuse that the time is now right to build around Raffy but not Betts, who is still great and better than Devers, and just might be for the next half decade. And what fans consider it a waste to watch their favorite players star for their team in any year? Or would rather have a top pick four levels down still trying to someday make the majors? There may even be some Yankee fans who don't think Judge's '22 season was a waste...

Instead, the Red Sox were over the tax threshold last year and still didn't have Mookie. If you're a billionaire and going to be over, might as well blast into another orbit, like Cohen. I think both Mookie and Raffy will be really good players for the next five years. Let's see which org -- LA or Boston -- does best in surrounding their big bets with talent.

This will always be the grassy knoll in the Mookie character assassination conspiracy. Some day there will be an expose on History Channel where a former Red Sox intern in a disguised voice and shadowed face swears he overheard Henry issuing his first mandate to Bloom: "get rid of Price." It may be the one thing Bloom can't admit to, but he did tell the Winter Weekend boobirds they were smart -- which just might mean he knows we all know there is no way any club would even touch half the contract of a miserable ballplayer who only plays every fifth day and is just ok maybe half that time for a $32 million dollar salary... unless Betts was attached to the deal.

The flaw in Bloom's argument against making his big Betts three years ago is that Mookie is still a great freaking ballplayer today, and better all-around than Devers. Will Mookie be in five years? Maybe not, but according to Chaim's argument again -- that longterm guys are "much better up front than on the back end" -- Raffy might not be so good, by then, either.

Failing is still a problem, even if directly the result of ownership refusing high budget moves. Chaim Bloom may have been hired as the anti-Dombrowski, but every time someone points to the Sox' top five payroll, it makes a lot of Bloom's bad decisions look worse. 2020 facts: he took the job, he traded the team's best homegrown player in half a century, he said the Sox were going to be worse, and he acquired the majority of the pitchers who gave up 5 1/2 runs per game. Very few of his additions in '20 had any positive effect, except Verdugo's two months and Pivetta's two starts. But I'm on board in Two-Three with Yoshida, advocated for Duvall, and hope Turner pulls some highballs in Fenway (can't shake a Jack Clark-Andrew Dawson vibe for the latter two, but maybe one can have an Esasky season).

I told myself I wasn't going to participate in the list of Bloom's Worst Moves, but if 2020 was an entire season, that whole first year might have its own Bottom 20.

Bleis makes the MLB Top 100 Prospects at #93. He's one of only four 18 year-olds on the list. The only outfielder his age ahead of him is Chourio of Milwaukee (signed as a shortstop).

Instead, the Rays could've just spent all that on Verlander 43M, Vazquez 10M and Segura 8.5M -- one pitcher, catcher and fielder. Just think of the savings on daily team laundry, washing 3 uniforms instead of 26.

Even me with my defective skills can read between these foul lines.

Whitlock was the top set-up man in '21 and has the potential to be even better, hopefully as a starter. But he'll be 27 in June and it's hard to deny that health has been an issue in his career. That he's the best core acquisition in three years can be considered an indictment on the Bloom Era. Many of Chaim's best recruits were only sub-contractors, and not full-time company men. Renfroe for a season and Iglesias and Schwarber for a stretch run were big factors in a successful season. Wacha was as good as could be expected on a bad team. Feel free to add other favorites who earned their one-year contracts and left. Who has Bloom brought in who's still here that matters? Verdugo. Kike and Pivetta -- a streaky multi-purpose swingman and a #5 innings-eater. Maybe Arroyo will someday play a whole season. Story is an official bust until he's no longer the position player version of Sale. I'm optimistic about the young guys... but make way for Yoshida!

No one -- the public, anyway -- knew Whitlock had another injury requiring surgery until they shut him down at the end of the season. The Red Sox limited his usage because of a previous injury. I can't believe a poster said babied instead of handled with care. For some fans, this pick from the Rule 5 Draft tops the list of the Greatest Moves in the History of Chaim Bloom. Whitlock was the best set-up man on a club that made the playoffs. But there have been cracks in the rare pearl discovered amidst so many empty clams. Maybe someday, Whitlock can be a top-of-the-rotation starter. Or even an All-Star. If either happens, it will be a first for a Bloom acquisition.

I didn't think that during the Springs' trade, but I immediately assumed Ronaldo was overrated -- as in, would the Rays send a legit prospect to Boston if he was any good?