Red Sox Hire Chaim Bloom As Chief Baseball Officer

Green Monster

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Major League Baseball frowns upon teams making major announcements during the postseason, however, the Phillies could make the announcement between World Series games.
The first two games of the World Series will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 22 and Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Assuming the Phillies are only interviewing Girardi, Showalter, and Baker and all three of the interviews are wrapped up, the earliest the Phillies could make an announcement on the manager would be Thursday, Oct. 24.
If the World Series is over in four games, Oct. 27 would be the next open date that wouldn’t interfere with a game. Should the World Series go to six games there’s be an off-day on Oct. 28 between games five and six.
This excerpt from an article about the Phillies manager search (prior to Girardi news).........Would seem to point to Monday as the first opportunity for any type of Red Sox announcement
 

Earthbound64

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Could a deal be in place but not announced until after the world series.........is there some type of a blackout period? Although, several new managers were just named which would seem contrary to a blackout
I think it's generally discouraged on days with games* but alright when there's an off-day.

*Unless you're Alex Rodriguez, of course.
 

VORP Speed

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Unless I’m reading that quote wrong, I’m not getting the sense that @VORP Speed thought much of Chaim – at a minimum it seemed he thought there was some crash and burn potential.

Say what you will about the Sox lack of FO stability since Theo left. But even accounting for Ben’s post-2013 flops, Henry has not whiffed making a GM hire these last 17 years. Tho I do guess there’s a first for everything.
I actually think Bloom is a phenomenal hire and will do an outstanding job. The "big market team overpaying him" comment relates to the fact that the Rays will just turn to the next boy genius Yalie up (James Click '00), pay standard Rays scale and not miss a beat.

My only concern with Bloom from a Sox perspective would be ownership meddling---getting twitchy if he does some unpopular things and not allowing him to fully implement his vision.
 

burstnbloom

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This is great news. Bloom has quite a track record of talent development and has essentially co-run the Rays with Neander. Hopefully he employs the same flat baseball ops room that has led to so much innovation in Tampa. He certainly has his work cut out for him but I'm excited to have the Red Sox be one of the "smart" front offices again. I'm interested to see what he can do with this roster and more importantly what he can build long term with these kinds of resources.
 

BoSox Rule

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Being a cynical man, I wondered if MLB relaxed the announcement rules to allow some distractions from the Taubman story
I don’t think most people care who the GM of the Red Sox is or the manager of the Phillies/Cubs/Padres on a national level. A-Rod opting out of a record contract from the Yankees during a clinching game is different.
 

Ale Xander

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Shabbat Shalom

Looking forward to another member of the Yale tribe lead baseball ops in Boston
 

jon abbey

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Changed the thread title, really great hire by the Sox.

(Fuck.)
 

Plympton91

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Being a cynical man, I wondered if MLB relaxed the announcement rules to allow some distractions from the Taubman story
Right we can’t get too excited for about 72 hours while everyone goes back to make sure he didn’t tweet something offensive 8 years ago.
 

SouthernBoSox

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Ownership has a history of picking the right guy for particular team cycles.

This fits that's to a T. They targeted him and got him with no leaks. I'm impressed and very excited to have him guide us through a very difficult roster management time.
 

tims4wins

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Each of the last 3 Sox GMs has won a title, right? Let’s make it 4 in a row.

Edit: I’ll take “things that would have sounded insane in 2003 for $500, Alex”
 

The Gray Eagle

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I'm very happy with this hiring. He seems very smart and widely admired. He sure has a tough job ahead of him with the front office's decision to suddenly slash payroll though. Good luck Mr. Bloom. L'Chaim!
 

canderson

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Ownership has a history of picking the right guy for particular team cycles.

This fits that's to a T. They targeted him and got him with no leaks. I'm impressed and very excited to have him guide us through a very difficult roster management time.
It’s almost like Henry is good at advanced speculation.
...

The title is interesting.
 

DeadlySplitter

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so basically three of the four interim GMs become assistant GMs to Bloom, O'Halloran the most senior of those in title, Raquel to somewhere else
 

chawson

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What’s this mean for Eddie Romero???
He’s the Assistant GM, and will probably retain his focus on international scouting and player development. At 37, he’s still got plenty of time to be a GM.

Adding Bloom only adds heads in the room, plus it weakens a direct rival.
 

The Boomer

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I think hiring a high-profile outsider like Bloom makes a Mookie trade more likely. The need to have someone in charge who can make tough, immediately unpopular moves like that could well be one of the reasons why the Sox would decide against promoting an internal candidate like Ferreira, who has more invested in relationships with the current clubhouse.
With another post-season fail, the Dodgers might want to add a Hollywood superstar like Mookie. They are one of the few franchises who can afford him and nobody wants him haunting the Red Sox in the AL for the rest of his career. Friedman has one of the farm systems with many prospects of all kinds at AA and above (some with ML cups of coffee) who won't take long to develop into decent major leaguers. Andrew Friedman was Bloom's old boss and mentor. Their ability to get a deal like this done if Mookie must move won't be surprising.
 

cornwalls@6

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Thats BS she needs to be on the same level as Bloom or maybe slightly below. But certainly a higher level out of the other 3 she was lumped in with.
It's been pretty widely reported, and also noted here, that she did not want the top decision making job, and doesn't care much about title. She seems to love and be very good what at she does, and is decidedly not a damsel in distress, and not in need of anyone's chivalrous protection.
 
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DeadlySplitter

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With another post-season fail, the Dodgers might want to add a Hollywood superstar like Mookie. They are one of the few franchises who can afford him and nobody wants him haunting the Red Sox in the AL for the rest of his career. Friedman has one of the farm systems with many prospects of all kinds at AA and above (some with ML cups of coffee) who won't take long to develop into decent major leaguers. Andrew Friedman was Bloom's old boss and mentor. Their ability to get a deal like this done if Mookie must move won't be surprising.
Mookie for Lux and Urias, get it done Theo Chaim
 

Dewey'sCannon

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With another post-season fail, the Dodgers might want to add a Hollywood superstar like Mookie. They are one of the few franchises who can afford him and nobody wants him haunting the Red Sox in the AL for the rest of his career. Friedman has one of the farm systems with many prospects of all kinds at AA and above (some with ML cups of coffee) who won't take long to develop into decent major leaguers. Andrew Friedman was Bloom's old boss and mentor. Their ability to get a deal like this done if Mookie must move won't be surprising.
This makes a certain amount of sense, but I still hope it doesn't come to that (trading Mookie). If JD opts out, then the pressure to trade Mookie just to save money in 2020 will be significantly alleviated.

If JD does not opt out, or if he does and they still want to make significant moves to reduce payroll, I think a deal with the Dodgers involving Price could be possible. I think the Sox will be looking to trade JBJ anyway, so they may have a hole in the outfield to fill, so I could see the Dodgers sending Pollack to the Sox in a deal for Price. Could even be straight up. Both teams get rid of a player and contract they no longer really want, and the Sox save money in the exchange.
 

soxhop411

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a few things.
It is not pronounced high-em like the pronunciation guide the rays posted.
It’s more like chhiam (חַיִּים)almost like you are coughing up phlegm.
See: View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dZaSnNg_RPE


second he did an interview with Tablet, a Jewish newspaper. In this piece he says he keeps kosher and has a jar of gefilte fish on his desk that he will eat when they win the WS:
Of course, the name isn’t the only thing that tips people off about Bloom’s Jewishness. As the gefilte fish in his office shows, there’s also his unusual diet. “His kashrut is one of the things about his Judaism, other than obviously his name, that people notice the most,” his wife, Aliza Hochman Bloom, told me, “because he eats a lot and because there are notable things that he can’t eat all the time.” Bloom visits every Rays minor league affiliate each year, and whether he’s taking staff out to eat or dining in the clubhouse, the restrictions are readily apparent and accommodated by the team chefs. “He’s been with the organization for 14 years,” said Hochman Bloom. “They all know.”
When you walk into the office of Chaim Bloom, the senior vice president of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the first things that stands out is a large jar of gefilte fish.

It has been there for over a decade, a testament to one of the most unusual—and certainly one of the most Jewish—bets in baseball history. As Bloom explains, the fish is a holdover from Passover circa 2006-2007. Thanks to the holiday’s dietary restrictions, Bloom subsists throughout on jars of store-bought gefilte fish that he brings to the office. That year, one of the team’s longtime employees was passing through and asked about the stuff.

Did Bloom like it? The man inquired dubiously. “I said, ‘No, I actually think it’s sort of gross, but it’s just kind of what you do,’” Bloom recalled, “Which I do—I think it’s sort of gross.” Bloom promptly offered his interlocutor a taste, who declined. “He said, ‘No way, that sounds terrible.’” Then, however, came the challenge: “He said, ‘I’ll tell you what, if we win the World Series, I’ll eat that jar of gefilte fish
.’”

More here:
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/282617/chaim-bloom-tampa-bay-rays
 

moondog80

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Thats BS she needs to be on the same level as Bloom or maybe slightly below. But certainly a higher level out of the other 3 she was lumped in with.
This is based on your intimate knowledge of the duties off all members of the Red Sox' front office?