5GoldGlovesOF,75

The Eovaldi signing made sense for reasons we both provided: he was/is a stand-up guy, well-respected and well-liked by his team, and he was/is good. Those are the type of players worth investing in. He certainly looked to be healed. Sale was actually a bigger risk at the time, even with his Hall of Fame resume, especially considering length of contract.

I was all in on Eovaldi, who looked like he'd matured as a pitcher with the stuff of a Cy Young contender. People who insist he was only rewarded for pitching all night in the loss to LA must forget how he totally dominated New York and Houston, too. He was also sought-after by other clubs that offseason, and still throws 100 mph. There are actual cases of TJS where guys come back better and stay healthy. Eovaldi isn't one yet, and neither is Chris Sale. One good example is John Smoltz, who enjoyed six great years after surgery... and before coming to Boston.

Red Sox fans fully expect a top free agent pitcher to be signed -- especially after the club just celebrated (via tweet?) qualifying for the "reset". But you're right about the free agent market, which is why I also fully expect a blockbuster trade for a good, cost-controlled starting pitcher; can a package of Vazquez-Barnes-Beni yield someone's #3... maybe, if we agree to take back another big fat contract. Then cross your fingers that either Pivetta or Seabold step up, and another minor leaguer moves fast. Meanwhile, stopgap place-holders for Casas, Downs and Duran can be had when available -- and they will be available. But here's something I haven't heard or read yet: if Boston deals Vazquez, that means they're signing Realmuto, right? An All-Star Gold Glove .800+ OPS catcher would be a good addition to the core of a team building for sustained contention...

Starting pitchers. And not just arms. This Red Sox season should be the turning point for future generations, when the cliche "You can never have enough pitching" was modiifed to "Stockpile starting pitching". Trades, free agent signings and call-ups -- we need them all in 2021.

Betts also led the Red Sox to first place three straight years for the only time in their history 2016-18, pacing the team in WAR each season and finishing 2nd, 6th and 1st in AL MVP voting. Beyond the obvious tickets sales and fan adoration he generates, Mookie is exactly the type of core player a big market franchise covets when building for sustained contention. Risky Business? Princeton can use a guy like Joel...

I can't see this franchise -- ownership, fandom, media, and maybe most importantly, on-field management and the core of returning players -- tolerating the Bloom opener strategy again next season. Bloom could trade for all the Tampa openers from the past three years, and it still won't be accepted. Call it what it is: "bullpen games" are bullcrap games, because a team ran out of starters. No one looks forward to it (except maybe a pitcher trying to get in some work and impress so he may get more innings). You can bet no Rays fans were scrambling last year to get into their seats by the end of the anthem so they wouldn't miss Ryne Stanek's one inning, or clamoring to buy tickets for the next game because "Jalen Beeks is supposed to pitch the bulk innings!" Boston needs to plan on acquiring an entire new starting rotation -- because we can't and shouldn't count on anything from ERod, Sale or even Eovaldi. If we bring back Perez, I still think we need five legitimate MLB starters for '21. The Red Sox will have the resources to get them. Hell, the Blue Jays added six starters in a 60-game sprint...

Papelbon? I think he got 5... but any diehard Sox fan who watched his last few years in Boston (despite the stats) knew it was smart for the Fenway FO to let him walk at that point. Same with Kimbrel; both were 30, and after some spectacular seasons were showing some cracks in their mettle. Maybe the Sox learned from their very first free agent signing in history: Bill "Soup" Campbell, who in the first of his five-year contract was elite, overused, burned out and never the same again.

I think the opposite: like Mookie (said for years), JBJ is looking forward to free agency, and it would take more money to keep him in Boston. I doubt he'd even take less to play for a contender; he's never hurt and could be hoping to play another decade. If Boras thinks the market will rebound post-Covid, Bradley may settle for a one-year change-of-scenery deal in the best interests of earning a longterm contract in the future.

The Sox bullpen (and openers) in the theme to "Jeers": "Where everybody is no names..."

In 8 games, Dalbec has shown us he is just not a good tag-team partner to take to a singles bar: 7 hits, 5 dingers...

And because of this weird year -- we now know for sure -- with Barnes it has nothing to do with the 9th inning... because today was the 7th; it's all about the last inning... whenever that is... There are just certain guys that can't handle it -- not their arms, but their noggins. There's a reason someone traded for Workman well before the deadline... and that no contender traded for Barnes.

Casas... I just have a feeling this guy develops into a hitter and not just an all-or-nothing modern hacker (they probably said that about Lars Anderson, too, but he wasn't a monster that hit moon shots while still growing in the minors; then again, we didn't have cell phone video of every batting practice/sim game back then). But I could see Casas making the majors the second half of 2022, either given a shot to at least platoon for a bad club, or to help a contender off the bench. I mean, Devers moved fast at age 20 and was contributing in an MLB pennant race, then was ripping game-winning hits in the postseason at 21.

Lou Brock was the first absolute disruptor in my time as a baseball fan, with more pop than contemporaries like Wills or Aparicio. Brock was good enough to reach 3,000 hits, and great enough to set season and career stolen base records. He was a first ballot Hall of Famer, but with a below-average arm and high strikeout rate for his era that probably kept his career bWAR to 45.4 (in comparison, Mookie Betts is currently at 44.7 and will likely pass Brock before he turns 28).

As others have mentioned, one of the more disappointing aspects of this worst-ever pitching staff and last place season is that through it all, not one minor league Red Sox pitcher has been brought up and given a shot. We all know it's all about "the arbitration clock", because anyone that says "but... they're not ready" hasn't really been watching the alternatives Boston has been running out to the mound night after agonizing night. Can there possibly be any better time for somebody to get his feet wet than in the least stressful debut in MLB history, with no fans and no pennant race pressure whatsoever?

Dombrowski had -- and used -- a lot of resources. Not all moves worked out, but he was decisive and determined. His first target and prize was the best closer on the block -- Kimbrel. But he didn't stop there with the bullpen; people forget just how good Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg were when Dombro traded for them -- each was a 2.4 bWAR (Kimbrel was 1.3), which is great for a relief pitcher. That the Sox got very little contributions from those two and still had a franchise-best season, when even Kimbrel broke down at the end, is a testament to management (including Cora's use of "rovers" in the postseason). Contrast the above with the recent Brian Cashman posts (on the Yankee thread?). Cashman basically did what Dombro tried, stockpiling the best relievers available over and over; remember, NY had "the greatest bullpen of all time" the past few years... but with no rings.

Or the first day, if you're Big Panda...

I was in the camp all last winter that Mookie would never re-sign in Boston once traded. I knew he was gone once he hit LA, with its warmer climes and laid-back coverage... I just didn't think he'd sign almost immediately.

Yes and no. Bloom seems like the kinda guy needed for the future, Dombro was the perfect guy for the past... and every new day is a present (and Gyrobat just wants his leg to heal so he can keep swinging).

Go Red Sox -- go home! We're waving you in...

No, I was referring to next year.

1. yes, 2. yes, 2c and 2d. yes (if Toronto can get six new starters in one year, then Bloom can), 3 and 4. yup, 5-7 -- yes, but all should be defensively sound. As for possible call-ups, I'll be disgusted if they don't bring up a guy like Duran -- their best outfield prospect -- because he's "not ready", while balls keep bouncing off Peraza. Just tell us "we don't want to start his arbitration clock too early".

But -- if you paid me to play baseball... then it'd just be my job.

Well, I'm not sure the Red Sox new budget can afford all of these needs at once: four MLB starting pitchers, another four MLB relievers, another four contact hitters who can run first to third without getting thrown out every game, and a few more power hitters to drive them in. A phrase often associated with good teams is "pitching and defense" not "pitching and all-or-nothing swingers". You mentioned solid defensive guys like Taylor and Schoop, which I agree with... Murphy, a below-average fielder, not so much.

I have a bum knee, but I volunteer to play left field. At least I can catch a fly (except when it's buzzing around our kitchen).

Peraza isn't the answer in left... but he is a question: "Why, Bloom?"