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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. "Just point his head and let momentum do the rest..."
  2. At the outset of the season, Bloom admitted his roster was a right-handed bat short in the outfield -- so unless he's lying, one question about 2022 persists: Why leave the roster incomplete? It's hard to believe no reporter or columnist ever asked him this... or if they did, I missed his answer. Entering the season with holes on the field can't possibly be "the plan." And no offense, Moon, but an actual big league plan that includes "we just suck it up" might as well just be "we'll just suck"
  3. Severino signed one and has been hurt on and off ever since.
  4. The writer actually acknowledged other big markets aren't as bad -- "Other upper-tier revenue teams in baseball, in New York and Los Angeles (and even Boston), give a much higher return — and year-to-year competitive effort — to their fans." But Hoyer's a-lot-of-nothing quotes are almost the verbatim spin that regularly spews from Kennedy and Bloom.
  5. I agree we all liked our returning core of star players, but many of us were left hanging when Bloom said at the time the roster still needed a right-handed hitting outfielder. And we were all wary about the bullpen and starting pitching depth beyond the new but injury-prone veterans. The team just felt incomplete -- no one expected Devers, Bogie, JD and Dalbec to hit 44 less home runs than in 2021, but even if they didn't, was it reasonable to assume Story would supply the lost production of both Schwarber and Renfroe combined?
  6. Not quite, but most had pre-arb years bought out where they doubled or tripled salaries by age 25 or 26. Payroll really increased for some stars in 1993, when Cleveland was still just a 76-win team. Then they finished first or second for the next eight years.
  7. It was when John Hart, now an MLB Channel analyst, was GM. I found an old article from 2014 when he was then advising the Braves, who were locking up young players like they're doing now. "Here's the Hart Doctrine: if you're a baseball executive interested in keeping one eye on the present and the other on the future, and if you have a slew of young players with talent, then you should sign them to the longest contracts possible to drag them past the arbitration process." "Hart had a tremendous nucleus -- Albert Belle. Carlos Baerga. Kenny Lofton. Jim Thome. Manny Ramirez. Sandy Alomar Jr. -- mostly kept intact with long-term contracts. Then he added free agents along the way such as Eddie Murray and Orel Hershiser." Someone may point out no rings, but those clubs still won six division titles and two pennants... as sustained contenders. And they were fun to watch.
  8. https://sports.yahoo.com/wittenmyer-cubs-among-trendsetters-openly-015436551.html ... interesting gripe column about "smart-guy front offices" spreading disinformation to fan bases in attempts to cover up -- you name it: tanking, not spending, not trying to win, pretending to go for it, fans deserve more, etc. It comes from a Cubs' perspective, but here's a familiar quote that sounds like Sam Kennedy channeling Chaim Bloom: “We absolutely want to compete next year. We also want to build something really special for the fans. We want to build something stable, something lasting. And that’s the lens that we’re going to view our transactions this winter.” The speaker was actually Chicago team president Jed Hoyer, once a Red Sox interim GM and disciple of Theo Epstein. In fact, this is the first line in the column: "Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein finally did it." This is why it's doubtful Bloom is on the hot seat with Boston ownership. He's doing exactly what they hired him to do.
  9. Jays and Rays crush the Red Sox all season, and in the end, both only play two more games apiece in the final week. AL Beast '22 postseason (thus far): 0-and-4.
  10. Extending the identified young core of the next sustained contenders in Boston is definitely part of The Plan. It wasn't invented by Bloom, even if he calls it something else ("a new calculus?"), though Longoria was one of the better-known guys to be extended by Tampa. The Astros with Bregman, Yankees with Severino, Braves with anyone good, have made the strategy more prevalent lately. But didn't Cleveland seek to lock up everyone back in the 90s?
  11. It may not be a coincidence. The Sox are losing their doubles leader -- JD, who actually led the big leagues in total two-baggers the past two seasons... but next year a fast guy who can reach first base can turn that into two a lot easier with the new rules.
  12. Bloom will be ahead of the market if speedsters go up to nickel-and-dime a dozen... Put it this way, when management said at the presser they want a 2023 roster that is "more athletic," it's doubtful they'll covet trapeze artists.
  13. Hey, that's not "callous and insulting" -- that! must! be! compassionate! and complimentary! It's true that Boston has done a lot of spending in the wrong places lately. And the opposite: not spending in the right places. But where is the rationale to support "the success and recognition the franchise never deserved in the first place"? Why, because other big market teams somehow deserve it more? I couldn't find where the blog said the Yankees, instead, deserve all the credit for the Red Sox titles this century by taking ARod, thus changing the entire course of baseball history.
  14. Bloom may also be looking at the recent Lindor deal: star shortstop, age 28, 5.4 WAR... but compare that to one of the guys he was traded for -- Gimenez, now a star shortstop at age 24, 7.2 WAR in his first full season, third in the AL behind only Judge and Ohtani. Gimenez also makes about $340 million less than Lindor...
  15. Are you including the remaining three years still on his $20M AAV contract? If not, there's no way Xander will agree to stay in Boston for just one more season after that. That was the insult offer last spring. Plus, the probable wear and tear over the next four years makes a better payday then unlikely. Boras will make sure this winter he gets paid for at least the next eight years...
  16. Don't be surprised if some "smart" team tries to set a new trend this winter by loading up on speed to take advantage of the new rules next year -- not so much the bigger bases, but the limits on pick-off throws. Clubs that are short on power may compensate by taking extra bases with steals. A guy like Turner suddenly becomes way more valuable than a Corey Seager. Jarren Duran may even have increased trade value, just as a pinch runner. This smart team may not necessarily be the Red Sox, but many of the position prospects acquired by Bloom in the past year can really run (and cost a lot less than Schwarber and Renfroe types). Coincidence or foresight?
  17. Why not aim higher? Only trade top prospects for a top of the rotation anchor -- BTV accepted: Mayer, Yorke, Houck and Schreiber for Alcantara and Garcia. BTV gave Schreiber a high 20.4 rating, but the Fish might want a younger arm instead (where the Sox' farm is maybe deepest). Dealing Mayer, of course, is entirely contingent upon extending Bogaerts longterm -- which, if it happens, we have to assume Bloom and Co. are confident that any nagging injuries that sapped his production will soon be fully healed. Will another $180 million keep X in Boston? It's not $300M, but still makes him a $30 million-dollar man for the next eight years (an additional $10M per on top of his existing $20M for the next three, plus $30M per for the final five, which will take Bogie through age 38)... is that fair enough?
  18. If you believe the scene in Moneyball when the Henry character is recruiting the Beane character, the impetus is eerily similar to the moves and non-moves that have defined Bloom so far in Boston. If Beane did become Red Sox GM, maybe he signs the same crew as Epstein. Or maybe he uses his industry influence to make the ARod trade go through -- the deal that was supposed to send Manny Ramirez and minor league Jon Lester to Texas... That could ultimately only mean no rings in '04, when Manny was WS MVP, or '07, when Lester won the Game 4 clincher.
  19. Henry: But you already have us over the tax threshold... there's no turning back now, Billy (oh, wait -- Beane did turn back 20 years ago.. but you're the next best thing). Here, help me untie this knot on my purse-strings.
  20. Bloom will not pass up getting two draft picks so will offer each QOs. He knows neither will accept, because someone else will offer multi-years -- good but not elite starters are just affordable to more teams. And as much as the owners might love the job Bloom is doing, I envision a new mandate: Chaim, you're not allowed to ever count on aging pitchers coming back from any major surgeries again. Sign and/or trade only for healthy arms.
  21. Sox need at least a two Sixtos, which would be a twelve-pack... but just to be safe, make it a case of starters. Pitching, pitching, bitching. I'm ready.
  22. Man, another Red Sox team hasn't finished last since back in 2020. And you have to go all the way back to 2014/2015 to find back-to-back cellar dwellers in Beantown. Though in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018 the Sox finished first. They're hardly ever mediocre.
  23. Carson Coleman is already a better closer than anyone on the Red Sox -- and they're the best last place team in the bigs.
  24. Too bad Cora couldn't make pitchers miss bats, opponent batted balls not miss gloves, and his own hitters touch the ball with a ghost runner on second. Maybe coaches could've held more bunting practices... With the roster Bloom built, and the replacements he added to fill in for injuries, John Henry could've hired Bobby Flay to manage and not even he could use those ingredients to whip up something palatable.
  25. It's still hard to know exactly if the current CBO was forced to do business that way because of his predecessor, or because his new boss chose to hire him because that's how he works. Like some posters have already said -- if the Sox are going to stay over the tax limit anyway, why not just spend more for a better product. There's too much finger-pointing at this GM or that one, when we all know the Red Sox' worsts and firsts are all organizational overlaps. Epstein was great, when he was allowed to enhance a roster he inherited that already had Pedro, Manny, Damon, Wake, Lowe and Varitek, etc.
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