5GoldGlovesOF,75

I've just never before seen a batter point the barrel of his bat over his shoulder down at the ground, and when he continually couldn't get it into the hitting zone on time, not adjust his stance. Maybe it was easier to whip it up in the thin air at Coors Field... or maybe the new hitting coach was afraid to suggest a change to the new superstar? To Story's credit, when he returned from injury at the end of the summer, he finally altered his approach and looked improved.

You try standing up there in the batter's box when a 12-year old with a mustache is throwing in the high-70s only 45 feet away... According to ESPN conversion charts, that's like facing a 100-mph heater on the big diamond. If some kid beans you, will you even be able to get up to hug him?

You've got a week to rest up. Then brace yourself for the sure to be epic, monumental winter meetings.

Part of the checkbook Theo had access to -- that some posters swear Bloom is denied (with no evidence of organizational confirmation) -- was used to sign every Red Sox draft pick and international prospect. Then the MLB changed the rules.

My point is that Bloom has never acquired a reliever at the time the pitcher was actually good. Some used to be, others emerged when given a chance, but the Red Sox just don't pay market value for any upgrades to their bullpen, in the offseason or before the summer trade deadline. There are other reasons the bullpen invariably sucks, starting with the starters who break down or can't go long -- and the subsequent insufficient rotation depth -- causing the same issues at the back end. As others have noted, budget constraints and/or org philosophies may have conspired to create this pattern. But if things don't change, be prepared to get your joelys in the old familia way.

Boston never had many top 10 picks because they were usually a contender. Benintendi at #7 in 2015 was the Red Sox' best Top 10 pick since Trot Nixon went #7 in 1993. Nixon earned 21.2 WAR, surpassed by only one pick above him (ARod), though several other first rounders had better career WAR: Wagner, Derek Lee, Chris Carpenter, Tori Hunter and Varitek. There were a lot of recognizable names in the '15 draft -- Swanson, Tucker, Buehler, Austin Riley -- but the only first rounder with higher WAR than Beni's 15.7 so far is Bregman. We all have high hopes for Marcelo Mayer, but stardom is hardly guaranteed. The Red Sox may have missed by selecting Trey Ball #7 in 2013, but the picks immediately before and after him -- Colin Moran and Hunter Dozier -- are negative WAR below replacement players so far...

The Irony of it All: ...just saw an article on the White Sox signing Mike Clevinger. Here's the first comment posted at the bottom of the page: "Sox shopping at the thrift store again."

Cite all the stats you want to; I only have the ear test -- listening to many Yankee fans I know who never trusted Ottavino and dreaded him in any big moment or game. I also know a kid who literally burned his Cole t-shirt. Barbarians...

There is a roadblock with Fulmer -- which I hope the Brink's truck that GM Brian O'Halloran or a Red Sox intern is presumably driving will plow right through this winter. In three Boston years, Chaim Bloom has never acquired any relievers [I]when[/i] they were actually good. Bloom has signed or traded for plenty of bullpen arms, but all were either other clubs' discards, castoffs, rehabbers, reclamations, or comebackers. And that includes Yankee guys like Ottavino, coming off a crappy stint they couldn't wait to escape from, and Whitlock, a starter who became gold out of the pen while healing from TJ. But I'm not going to blame Bloom, because this could have been a company policy, and not just a strategy. Hopefully, it will change this offseason... because it almost has to...

Senga + Eovaldi ... so Senga + Eovaldi > value I just don't see acquiring an over-40 starter as the staff anchor of a ship that hasn't even been built yet. Trading a prospect package for an under-30 arm with at least ace potential is a better path to longer term stability.

This forum is tame compared to posters who respond online to Red Sox articles in the Boston Globe (I paid my dollar for six months). On there, both Old Red and Notin are right: a vast majority of fans want Bloom fired yesterday, and complain daily -- sometimes with humor -- with digs at him, the org, and the writers, who are, after all, employees of Henry (Globe owner)... including Shaughnessy: loathed by many, respected by most, read by all, but never censored for representing old-timers too rickety to cross another bridge year. There is also a small group of regulars who always have to defend themselves for always defending Bloom... so they also exist elsewhere (unless they're the same talksox dudes under different aliases). Bottom line: we all want the Sox to be good again now, and nobody is saying they're ok with a few more years in the cellar.

Of the Big Five SS that were becoming free agents in '21, Correa is definitely the guy I thought was the best player and best fit in Fenway, especially under Cora. He still might be, but I didn't want him at the expense of Bogaerts -- back then I was still hoping X could move to second or third or Raffy to 1B or DH. Correa's non-QO is certainly a factor this winter, and I'll be glad to welcome him to Boston longterm... but I'm sticking with my gut that if Bogey bolts, we'll see a placeholder at short, instead.

Right -- I'm good with most of those guys, but prefer Bogey and Eovaldi to Correa and Taillon. Not that I wouldn't welcome Correa, who's no villain to me. Though as I've said before, a Carlos signing -- for more than what X will get -- could rule out Raffy, as well. Correa could also be more amenable to shifting positions down the road, as he moved to third when he played for Cora in Puerto Rico.

I hope I'm wrong but predict the Red Sox won't sign anyone attached to a Qualifying Offer... including their own free agents. Bloom gave one up to sign Story, and he'll obviously want it back, somehow. Maybe it depends on where the Sox wind up picking in the draft; does anyone know when the new lottery order gets set -- as in, months before or the day of the draft?

Not yet. Instead, forum Damage Control contradicts that the Red Sox are a Top Five Spender -- but most of the payroll is dead money from the previous GM. Meanwhile, Henry has Kennedy admit that the current record is on all of them... so doesn't that mean the remaining budget has been spent unwisely? At least thus far...?

Hey - no politics on the board, dammit!

But if the organization didn't really want to spend big bucks on premium free agents this winter, isn't waiting on Bogey the perfect built-in excuse? By the time Boras' clients sign, all the other top talent may have already found new homes. Meanwhile, the impatient fan base should know by now to just get excited about welcoming and watching this year's next diamonds in the ruff.

Counter: so is not surrounding the not-a-rebuild with good enough complements -- including 40-man roster depth -- to stay out of last freaking place.

Absolutely required holiday eating...

I'm not big on reliever ERAs, but I'd say Maton helped Houston in the '21 postseason: charged with one run in 12 games -- a JD Martinez homer. Montero was one of the Stros' big three or four late inning guys in '22 -- and isn't that the definition of an actually good deadline pick-up: a player who will help down the stretch and also beyond. Houston evidently thinks so, agreeing to give him $34.5 million for the next three years... and Montero isn't even their closer or top set-up man (yet). Graveman, meanwhile, hasn't approached his lights-out run with Seattle, and the White Sox are on the hook for a Barnes-like $16M the next two years (neither have been as good since the ban on sticky stuff). Relievers -- the crapshoot of annual investments...

Pecan pie and sweet potato pie -- dang, those are some memories of gala feasts visiting my father down south... he had a pecan tree in his yard, and they grew Haymons, which you just can't get up North. Sorry you couldn't connect, but bet you have plenty of yum leftovers...

Appreciate your scenarios, but Bloom might not -- publicly -- as his goal of "sustained contenders" can't include any more cellar dwellers. Schwarbs could rake, but was not a relief pitcher. What I find odd is that this forum may be the only platform in Red Sox Nation where a few posters continue to say Hansel Robles did pretty well in Boston. Yes, he had a really good September in '21, but anyone who thinks Robles saved the season should remember it's because he almost blew it in August, when he was just brutal. And in the playoffs he was entirely unreliable: perfect inning vs. NY, blown save vs. Tampa, lost the first game to Houston. Not to mention 2022 was a total disaster. Come on, guys. Most of us here watch most of the games, even when they're unwatchable.

You've been around almost as much as me, so you know better than to ever assume there'll be another ring -- at least soon. Look at Seattle -- still never been to a World Series, despite a lot of all-timers playing together for the M's in the 90s and 00s. I'll actually be ok with the Red Sox contending and finishing first a few more times and having deep runs in the postseason like '21. The frustrating part isn't losing, but losing to a team like Houston that acquires relievers like Graveman, Montero and Maton at trade deadlines... while Boston adds Robles and Davis. I'll be ok as long as I can keep convincing myself that front office and frontline players care almost as much as the fans do...

You would if you were a big leaguer for another AL East team and got to bat against them.

Depends on the criteria... this could delve into MVP arguments on a team scale. Are the Red Sox the most successful for finishing dead last more times than they won it all? Consistently qualifying for the postseason is a factor, but winning some playoffs has to count, too (as does going 16-2 vs. the Twins, Yankees...). Houston is definitely #1 the past decade, and though it's easy for some to trash the Astros, it also took losing over 100 games three years in a row to get there. New York has won the most games and made the most playoffs, but most of its true glory came at the tail end of the dynasty from the 1990s. No Yankee fan would dispute this. In between are two model NL clubs with the best unis: Dodgers and Cardinals. Both have deep farms they don't decimate when trading for stars others can't afford (like Boston once did, for Pedro and Schilling). LA can also buy anyone it wants, and in this century, has had two losing seasons... but St. Louis has only one. Dodgers won one ring in a pandemic... Cards won two. I vote St. Lou.