5GoldGlovesOF,75

Anderson SS, Haniger RF, Bassitt SP, Barnhart C... all could help, but won't win rings. Kike -- if he doesn't make a great comeback this fall -- may be re-signable for a year plus option, but his hip ish may force him out of full-time CF; that could mean another look at Duran, or even a mid-season promotion for Rafaela, if his rise continues to be unstoppable. D is the key to escaping mediocrity. Here's the scouting report on Red Sox 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Rafaela, from SoxProspects.com: "best position is center field... in the outfield has really good instincts... takes really good routes... plus arm" -- does any of that sound like Duran? Ceddanne currently has 52 XBH in 88 A/AA games... compare with Mookie's last year in the minors: 46 XBH in 99 AA/AAA games. Granted, Rafaela has yet to play Triple A, but the trend is to discount any stats produced in Worcester, anyway. As for recruiting a guy like Diaz, Bloom has shown consistently he'd rather build his own bullpen on unknown or retread bargains. The lone exception was Barnes, and that lesson could be a never-again moment for this regime.

Franchy couldn't defend his dinner plate with machete, pitchfork and long-handle shovel. But at least he seems likeable, and doesn't make excuses and rag on reporters for asking about misplays. Baseball is supposed to be fun, and if it makes you rich that's even better, but doesn't Sal Perez seem to have too much fun, laughing and joking, as the leader of a last-place team? Maybe any of us would, too, it we could hit missiles every single day against Red Sox pitchers...

Thanks for labeling me into a category. But if you actually read posts attributed to individual posters, you'd know that I never ignore the total payroll -- I always acknowledge we're Number Six! But thanks for pointing out again some of the contracts that Bloom had nothing to do with, thus bringing back the focus on the players he actually spent on. I have also acknowledged what I consider Story's Gold Glove defense several times, as I have always been an advocate of defense, above all other assets, for true contenders. Maybe it's not so ludicrous, but only natural, that some fans here, as well as elsewhere, look at the the quality of players on the current Red Sox roster and wonder if Bloom could've spent some of those limited dollars in better places. His defenders argue that his plan was dashed by injuries, while his skeptics wish he could've monitored and adjusted sooner. It's what we do on Talk Sox forum.

The original Boomer? Hosmer's most Similar Batter through age 31 on baseballref: George Scott (who won the AL HR and RBI crowns at 31 in 1975). I've been watching the Red Sox for a long time, and I've never seen a Boston team before this that chose to address blatant deficiencies by trying to contrive platoons or even create regulars by moving so many guys out of position. I understand the value of carrying versatile utility players, and every good club loves a multi-purpose Brock Holt as a supplement -- but not quite as a 162-game full-timer. Loading up on these types may be cheaper than paying regulars, but then a lot of posters may argue there's a reason certain players aren't starters. Sometimes it works out -- Kike, touted as a great 2B, becomes the CF -- sometimes it doesn't; who remembers the name of 2021's Opening Day starting LF? A: Marwin Gonzalez. But this year fans could see right away that Arroyo in RF and Cordero anywhere were not the answers. Even those who rue the departure of our top catcher should recall that Cora was also playing Vazquez part-time at 1B in the end...

ANYone who played in the roid era is suspicious. And that includes several players who made the HOF, with unbelievable numbers or unbelievable sustained longevity. It's unfair, but that's just the way it is.

I know Moon and I both like Verdugo in RF in 2020, where he was at least as good as Jackson I-swear-his-name-was-Clint Frazier. Somebody voted for Dugo for AL MVP that year, too.

Who told you that? I replied to your query of who they could get to play first base with four names, and noted three were moved; those three were Santana, Mancini and Bell. All are now playing on new teams. It's too bad Shaw batted zero, Casas got hurt, Dalbec barely made contact at the plate, and Franchy barely made contact with the ball, his glove and the base when playing the field. It's worse when the guy in charge of a major market team lets it go for 100 games and only does something about it when a team literally has to give him a first baseman.

They weren't supposed to get anyone, but they could've adjusted when the original plan failed. That's what big market teams do: act immediately, not wait 100 games until they're doormats. When the Yankees third baseman breaks his ankle playing basketball, they trade for the American League's Most Valuable Player. Any actual big league first baseman would've been better than Franchy -- as we all kept saying... here are four on last place teams the beginning of June: Mancini, Santana, Bell, Crone. Three are now on new teams, so their clubs were willing to deal.

... not only over the winter, but all the way back to last summer, and the 2021 trade deadline. Meanwhile, the bullpens that went farther last postseason were the ones who improved more than Boston's. I also have no hope that Bloom will ever sign a reliever when the guy is actually doing well, because he tried that once, and Barnes has been unwell ever since. Could he ever make a Kimbrel or Hader trade? Also doubtful, based on the multitudes of established available relievers passed on the last two seasons. Hopefully, more high leverage arms will develop from within. Soon...

I agree, except I admit I tend to trust sources closest to the actual vibe in the dugout and clubhouse. This includes beat reporters and ex-players maybe on talk shows, but excludes anyone directly employed by the organization, like announcers. I do not, however, distrust writers for the Boston Globe, even if it is owned by John Henry, because no one consistently hammers the Red Sox more than Dan Shaughnessey. And I give Henry credit for allowing his biggest critic to always speak his mind.

No one should be shocked, since it was leaked the Sox thought they had a deal for his replacement last winter. Vaz knew he was a goner, so it was easier for him to speak out. Though it wasn't as bad as when Millar was interviewed in the winter of '03, and said he'd take ARod over Nomar -- because he thought both their trades were a done deal. It all culminated that summer when everybody in Fenway but Nomar stood up to watch Jeter run 75 yards so he could facewhomp a metal chair... then we knew, Nomar had to go.

They can start by paying fans to sit behind the poles that hold up the roof.

A demoralized clubhouse. Team leaders directly or indirectly looking at lowball offers can feel disrespect, that is not just represented by dollars, but towards the loyalty employees feel comes with service time. Players can also feel various levels of distrust, rejection and confusion as the season builds toward the trade deadline, with the impending doom of breaking up the band (which most expected this year) or the aftertaste of abandonment (when no reinforcements came in 2019). These guys are young men and brothers, so no manager -- no matter how motivational -- can break those bonds. It's really a front office problem. A player's manager like Cora or Francona may not be the best help when a GM or CBO loses the team. Then again, a hardass yelling at boys to grow up isn't always the solution, either. It may just be better to change the culture, and bring in some veteran voices with peer perspective (yep, those are the players who get hired as new managers when they retire).

I can't imagine things turning around that dramatically in one season. Even if Bogey walks and Devers is traded, will Bloom be spending to acquire an ace starter, a lights-out closer, and at least two 30-homer hitters -- all assets that define contenders and champions in modern hardball? Getting a few MLB-ready regulars to fill some holes, and promoting a few minor leaguers to man other key spots might provide hope for the future, but if the new Sox aren't much better than .500, that may not be good enough for a Nation turning its lonely eyes to Bloom...

I said it then and saw it coming. Nobody here hammered me for it.

Or just paint it freaking yellow. Green is the color of the fence. Green is in play. How hard is this?

I can't blame Bloom for doing his job, which was to trade Betts AND Price. And yet, Bloom will always represent this point in history as the guy who traded the Red Sox' best generational talent in his prime. Mookie said at the time the Sox were very open and transparent with him all during the process, and for all we know California is the place he wanted to be, as LA and SD were the only reported suitors. The return was no doubt depleted by the inclusion of Price, but LA had every intention of signing Betts. Technically, the deal was "for one year of Betts"... but that's like defending Bloom's spending by saying "Boston has the 6th highest payroll!" when we all know a bad portion of that is tied into debts from previous regimes. Maybe a CBO shouldn't be judged by his club's overall salary rankings, but on what he actually invests in with the funds available.

But this year it started at the top, before the season, when the front office dissed the team's two best players with below-market contract offers. Old fans who argue that true professionals shouldn't let such factors affect their morale and distract from winning need to remember these are mostly young, egocentric adult males.

The front office is so calculated that they literally refer to their methods are calculus. Is it possible that intentionally alienating players can be a strategy in souring a pending free agent's preference to return, thus making it easier to avoid paying a large and long contract to someone you'd rather not... despite public pressure?

All we are saying... is give Reese a chance.

This may be what is so frustrating about the deadline for Red Sox Nation. Unlike Michael Corleone, Chaim Bloom did not take care of all family business. But that's on him for recruiting too many friends of his; the organization needs too much disorganizing to do it all at once.

I witnessed Shaw do that last summer! Maybe the only better walk-off would be an inside-the-park salami -- Roberto Clemente supposedly did that once. That would be a run-off...

lamet Laments he cannot play second base...

Going forward, the Red Sox should have a better starting line-up with Hosmer, Pham and McGuire than Franchy, JBJ and Vazquez. And a better bullpen without Diekman... Who disagrees?

It's not quite the same when you can play the AL batting champ and the AL home run champ over there before you upgrade with a better all-around first sacker at the deadline. Both DJ and Voit were legitimate big leaguers, at least.