Red Sox in season discussion

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Because thru two weeks ago he had pitched 20 times and only gave up runs in 6 outings. And he was nearly perfect all of April. Maybe he only pitches well when the team stinks?

That might well be the case. Of his outings since returning from the IL in early June (9 outings including today), three of his four best performances have come when he entered the game with the team trailing (6/9, 6/16, 6/27).

At the very least, he can't be trusted with a lead of any kind for a while.

Edit to add: Looking at his game log, I notice his FIP has consistently been above 4.50 (as high as 5.37) since the beginning of May despite his ERA until recently being below 2.50. His numbers are starting to catch up with his peripherals, which suggests the early season success was an illusion.

 

[Manramsclan]

It was Robles 6th blown save. It's July 1st. In 2021 4 players tied for the league lead with 8 blown saves.

That is ridiculous. He should not be pitching when the Red Sox are leading.

 

[catsooey]

The sad thing is that there’s no reason for us to be in this situation. We have the ability to be a consistently great team like the Dodgers or the Yankees, but the front office keeps picking a new extreme philosophy every few years and it feels like we have no direction. Even with the amazing number of championships, we seem to go back to last place or mediocrity afterwards. And we always seem to have a few glaring weaknesses that don’t get addressed. How Chaim decided these long shot relievers would be dependable is beyond me. Maybe as an addition to a solid staff, but sending wild cards out as your main lineup - it’s totally predictable that we’ve ended up in this spot.

 

[jon abbey]

Dodgers and Yankees combined championships the last 20 years: 2

Red Sox championships the last 20 years: 4

 

[lurker42]

Dodgers and Yankees combined championships the last 20 years: 2

Red Sox championships the last 20 years: 4

Right, but that's largely because they've had better success once in the playoffs. Both the Yankees and Dodgers have been more consistently good over that 20 year span. To wit:

Missed playoffs, 2002-2021:
Yankees: 4 times
Dodgers: 7 times
Red Sox: 9 times

Last place finishes:
Yanks and Dodgers: 0
Red Sox: 4

 

[jon abbey]

I mean, I'm a Yankee fan, I'm well aware, they are closing in on their 30th consecutive winning season, which is pretty crazy.

I do think that this is the kind of organization Chaim is trying to build, but it takes a while to build up a minor league organization while the MLB team competes every season. When other teams start grabbing rule 5 guys from BOS, you'll know he is making progress towards that.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

I mean, I'm a Yankee fan, I'm well aware, they are closing in on their 30th consecutive winning season, which is pretty crazy.

I do think that this is the kind of organization Chaim is trying to build, but it takes a while to build up a minor league organization while the MLB team competes every season. When other teams start grabbing rule 5 guys from BOS, you'll know he is making progress towards that.

I can’t believe people on this board are wishing they’d rather have 1 championship since 2000 rather than 4. WTF????
Give me the crazy weird ‘13 teams and this years mix and I’ll take the Bobby Valentine year over 1 championship in a pandemic season*. Thanks.
Crazy

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I can’t believe people on this board are wishing they’d rather have 1 championship since 2000 rather than 4. WTF????
Give me the crazy weird ‘13 teams and this years mix and I’ll take the Bobby Valentine year over 1 championship in a pandemic season*. Thanks.
Crazy

Agreed. I will happily take a World Series championship every five years and four last place finishes in between than twenty consecutive winning seasons with only one title.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Agreed. I will happily take a World Series championship every five years and four last place finishes in between than twenty consecutive winning seasons with only one title.

And it's not even like it's that dramatic. In the last 20 years, they've had four last place finishes but also five 1st place finishes and 11 total playoff appearances.

77 games into last season, they were 46-31. So basically, they're three games off the pace of last year's team. Blowing leads sucks and it's frustrating to watch, but it's going to happen. Can't get too worked up about it every time.

 

[tims4wins]

For all the talk about how Tuesday's loss in Toronto was the worst loss of the year due to the Houck situation, to me blowing a multiple run lead to a crappy team like the Cubs is 10x worse. While Toronto is a H2H playoff rival, it's the games like yesterday's that they can't afford to blow. Frustrating.

 

[BaseballJones]

For all the talk about how Tuesday's loss in Toronto was the worst loss of the year due to the Houck situation, to me blowing a multiple run lead to a crappy team like the Cubs is 10x worse. While Toronto is a H2H playoff rival, it's the games like yesterday's that they can't afford to blow. Frustrating.

It puts a lot of pressure on them to win these next two - you just really really don't want to walk out of Chicago having lost the series to the Cubs. Good lord.

Pitching matchups the rest of the weekend:

Sat: Josh Winckowski (20.0 ip, 3.60 era, 1.45 whip) vs. Alec Mills (17.1 ip, 9.87 era, 1.73 whip)
Sun: undecided vs. Keegan Thompson (67.1 ip, 3.34 era, 1.16 whip)

That Sunday game looks challenging, as Thompson is a good pitcher - career era of 3.36.

 

[catsooey]

And it's not even like it's that dramatic. In the last 20 years, they've had four last place finishes but also five 1st place finishes and 11 total playoff appearances.

77 games into last season, they were 46-31. So basically, they're three games off the pace of last year's team. Blowing leads sucks and it's frustrating to watch, but it's going to happen. Can't get too worked up about it every time.

Yes but look at a lot of those playoff appearances. They won a total of one playoff games between the ‘13 and ‘18 championship. We had disaster in 2011 and 2012. Then after winning in ‘13, they finished last in 14 and last in ‘15. Then Dombrowski had to undo some of the damage after they booted Lester and signed Panda, Hanley and Rusney Castillo.

Our first place finishes in ‘16 and ‘17 were largely due to a weaker division rather than us being a playoff ready team. Then we had the magic of ‘18, then there was ‘19 and ‘20.

I’m not saying the championships aren’t amazing, I’m saying that despite the championships there’s no reason we should be in the spot we’re in. The huge holes in the team team are predictable. I think Chaim can build a team this way in a small market where there isn’t the kind of pressure year to year. People don’t notice the mistakes in the same way and you can build with trial and error. But we are not Tampa Bay.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Yes but look at a lot of those playoff appearances. They won a total of one playoff games between the ‘13 and ‘18 championship. We had disaster in 2011 and 2012. Then after winning in ‘13, they finished last in 14 and last in ‘15. Then Dombrowski had to undo some of the damage after they booted Lester and signed Panda, Hanley and Rusney Castillo.

Our first place finishes in ‘16 and ‘17 were largely due to a weaker division rather than us being a playoff ready team. Then we had the magic of ‘18, then there was ‘19 and ‘20.

I’m not saying the championships aren’t amazing, I’m saying that despite the championships there’s no reason we should be in the spot we’re in. The huge holes in the team team are predictable. I think Chaim can build a team this way in a small market where there isn’t the kind of pressure year to year. People don’t notice the mistakes in the same way and you can build with trial and error. But we are not Tampa Bay.

No one's trying to be Tampa fucking Bay. Jesus tapdancing fucking Christ that trope has to die already.

LOL at saying Dombrowski had to undo the damage of the previous regime (Lester, Panda, Hanley, Castillo) but completely ignoring how Dombrowski's acts are what is really fucking over Bloom so far. Dombrowski simply threw money around and Bloom's had to work around the bloat he caused.

 

[A Bad Man]

Red Sox are in great shape. Farm is vastly improved, bordering on top tier, and ML club looks primed for contention in September with a few tweaks. Beautiful organization.

 

[E5 Yaz]

I’m not saying the championships aren’t amazing, I’m saying that despite the championships there’s no reason we should be in the spot we’re in.

A game out of the top wild card spot, with the fourth-best record in the league? How terrible ...

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Our first place finishes in ‘16 and ‘17 were largely due to a weaker division rather than us being a playoff ready team. Then we had the magic of ‘18, then there was ‘19 and ‘20..

So the first place finishes in '16 and '17 only sort of count, and '21 didn't exist at all. Man, there are things to question and critique, but this is just trying to support a narrative that isn't based on reality. It's lazy and it's lame

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

So the first place finishes in '16 and '17 only sort of count, and '21 didn't exist at all. Man, there are things to question and critique, but this is just trying to support a narrative that isn't based on reality. It's lazy and it's lame

I like to put an asterisk on the 2020 season for a variety of reasons and discount it (even though they all still played) but that’s some crazy ass decontextualizing to fit a narrative

 

[Cesar Crespo]

A game out of the top wild card spot, with the fourth-best record in the league? How terrible ...

with a much improved farm system and trade chips to possibly fill said weaknesses.

Some people will never be happy though. 1st place finishes don't count, WS victories are luck and magic.

If they wanted to argue the Sox were lucky and long term the Dodgers/Yankee model should be more successful, they might be right. But for what is already done, it's all about results.

 

[dhappy42]

A game out of the top wild card spot, with the fourth-best record in the league? How terrible ...

Yeah, why all the angst? The terrible start to the season? The weakness of the bullpen? This is a very good team, which should get even better soon.

 

[Harry Hooper]

I mean, I'm a Yankee fan, I'm well aware, they are closing in on their 30th consecutive winning season, which is pretty crazy.

I do think that this is the kind of organization Chaim is trying to build, but it takes a while to build up a minor league organization while the MLB team competes every season. When other teams start grabbing rule 5 guys from BOS, you'll know he is making progress towards that.

This post scores very highly on the wisdom/word count ratio. Kudos to you.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

It puts a lot of pressure on them to win these next two - you just really really don't want to walk out of Chicago having lost the series to the Cubs. Good lord.

Pitching matchups the rest of the weekend:

Sat: Josh Winckowski (20.0 ip, 3.60 era, 1.45 whip) vs. Alec Mills (17.1 ip, 9.87 era, 1.73 whip)
Sun: undecided vs. Keegan Thompson (67.1 ip, 3.34 era, 1.16 whip)

That Sunday game looks challenging, as Thompson is a good pitcher - career era of 3.36.

Any idea who starts sunday? And against that guy from Good Burger . . .

 

[scottyno]

Yes but look at a lot of those playoff appearances. They won a total of one playoff games between the ‘13 and ‘18 championship. We had disaster in 2011 and 2012. Then after winning in ‘13, they finished last in 14 and last in ‘15. Then Dombrowski had to undo some of the damage after they booted Lester and signed Panda, Hanley and Rusney Castillo.

Our first place finishes in ‘16 and ‘17 were largely due to a weaker division rather than us being a playoff ready team. Then we had the magic of ‘18, then there was ‘19 and ‘20.

The 2016 team had the 2nd best pythag in baseball. 2017 wasn't quite as good, but they were still 7th best. They were both very good teams that would make the playoffs almost every season.

19 also wasn't a terrible season, it just would have taken 96 wins to make the playoffs that year, a very atypical amount, so they were virtually out of it by September so it looks bad because they finished poorly once they were already out of it.

 

[The Gray Eagle]

I am trying to imagine how many fans would feel if we had the Yankees or Dodgers record over the past 20 years. Loads of regular season wins, playoff appearances virtually every year, but falling short every time except for one. The Red Sox would be considered to be huge postseason chokers, with the one title they won discounted as a random one-time fluke.

"They pulled ONE championship out of their asses, but every other year has been a total failure. This team is historically fated to choke on the biggest stage again and again, and it will never end. They have failed every year but one for over 100 years! It's a disgrace! Fire everyone! I am done with these losers forever! Blahblahblah..."

Thank god we have 4 championships instead.

Not enough for some people who are determined to be angry and upset about how bad we have it no matter what, I guess. "There are kids in New England who are almost FOUR years old who have NEVER been alive for a single Red Sox world championship! All they know is one measly Super Bowl win and the Bruins and Celtics getting to the Finals but LOSING! Won't someone PLEASE think of the CHILDREN??"

 

[MFYankees]

Given a choice between the Red Sox volatility and 4 WC in the past 20 yrs versus the Yankees/Dodgers consistency of high quality and 1 WC (each), of course I'd choose the Sox. But that choice is a false dichotomy concerning how we should approach the future. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but I hope Chaim sticks to the following principles: (a) building a strong farm system (and never bankrupting it with GFIN moves), (b) spending extravagantly on highest-quality coaches, scouts, instructors, and development tools at all levels of the organization, and (c) aggressively pursuing contract extensions, trades and free agents. As to part (c), I'd suggest a payroll model looking like the Yankees or Dodgers minus one big FA contract (such a model could include signing Devers and rolling up a Brinks truck for him). The model could provide enough financial flexibility to pursue a future irresistible opportunity or extend a future arb eligible player.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Given a choice between the Red Sox volatility and 4 WC in the past 20 yrs versus the Yankees/Dodgers consistency of high quality and 1 WC (each), of course I'd choose the Sox. But that choice is a false dichotomy concerning how we should approach the future. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but I hope Chaim sticks to the following principles: (a) building a strong farm system (and never bankrupting it with GFIN moves), (b) spending extravagantly on highest-quality coaches, scouts, instructors, and development tools at all levels of the organization, and (c) aggressively pursuing contract extensions, trades and free agents. As to part (c), I'd suggest a payroll model looking like the Yankees or Dodgers minus one big FA contract (such a model could include signing Devers and rolling up a Brinks truck for him). The model could provide enough financial flexibility to pursue a future irresistible opportunity or extend a future arb eligible player.

So basically continue to evolve into a Dodgers/Yankees model where the farm produces consistently and gives them the flexibility to keep the right guys around (as well as get the guys they need) without compromising/bloating the payroll into inflexibility like we've seen in the last 4-5 years. Sounds good to me. Too bad some fans don't have the patience required to get to that point.

 

[YTF]

Given a choice between the Red Sox volatility and 4 WC in the past 20 yrs versus the Yankees/Dodgers consistency of high quality and 1 WC (each), of course I'd choose the Sox. But that choice is a false dichotomy concerning how we should approach the future. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but I hope Chaim sticks to the following principles: (a) building a strong farm system (and never bankrupting it with GFIN moves), (b) spending extravagantly on highest-quality coaches, scouts, instructors, and development tools at all levels of the organization, and (c) aggressively pursuing contract extensions, trades and free agents. As to part (c), I'd suggest a payroll model looking like the Yankees or Dodgers minus one big FA contract (such a model could include signing Devers and rolling up a Brinks truck for him). The model could provide enough financial flexibility to pursue a future irresistible opportunity or extend a future arb eligible player.

Just for shits and giggles scroll through this link and see where the Sox have ranked in payroll over the past decade or so. Also if you peruse the various thread in these forums (especially during the FA season) certain folks here will tell you that this tightwad organisation is definitely minus more than one FA signing.
http://www.stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm#2020_payrolls

 

[soxhop411]

Xander last hit a home run on june 3rd and despite batting .326 the last 28 days he has a total of FIVE rbi

JDM is hitting .232 the last 28 days (3 HR/10RBI)

im shocked we did as well in June with two of our middle of the order bats hitting this poorly

 

[BaseballJones]

Lost two straight to the pathetic Cubs. Holy crap that’s awful.

 

[YTF]

Xander last hit a home run on june 3rd and despite batting .326 the last 28 days he has a total of FIVE rbi

JDM is hitting .232 the last 28 days (3 HR/10RBI)

im shocked we did as well in June with two of our middle of the order bats hitting this poorly

Everyone else has been contributing. The lineup has been considerably lengthened in the past month or so.

 

[soxhop411]

Everyone else has been contributing. The lineup has been considerably lengthened in the past month or so.

Still though. Its a bit shocking since those two have been our middle of the lineup bats

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Still though. Its a bit shocking since those two have been our middle of the lineup bats

I guess. Dugo has mostly been batting 5th and he OPS'd .905 in June. That counts as middle of the lineup too.

 

[Mueller's Twin Grannies]

Is X hurt? That's a long time without a long ball.

 

[MFYankees]

Just for shits and giggles scroll through this link and see where the Sox have ranked in payroll over the past decade or so. Also if you peruse the various thread in these forums (especially during the FA season) certain folks here will tell you that this tightwad organisation is definitely minus more than one FA signing.
http://www.stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm#2020_payrolls

Thanks. I think we're in agreement that the Sox haven't been tightwads and I appreciate the link you sent for shits and giggles. One other thing: since that link uses different parameters in pre-2020 years, I also took a quick look at the 3 teams' CBT Tax 40-man payrolls over the last 5 years (from Cot's: Cot's Baseball Contracts (baseballprospectus.com) ):

CBT Payroll in $M	BOS	NYY	LAD
2022​	241.842​	259.311​	302.361​
2021​	207.640​	208.419​	285.600​
2020​	184.859​	239.823​	204.654​
2019​	243.653​	234.570​	204.919​
2018​	239.482​	192.981​	195.040​

I hadn't realized quite how insanely the 2021 and 2022 Dodgers are spending their money. If, in the future, we're smart in developing our farm and acquiring players, and if we can hang within $20 - 30 M of the Yankees (i.e., minus one FA signing) I think we'll be in great shape.

 

[A Bad Man]

Is X hurt? That's a long time without a long ball.

His shoulder's been banged up ever since that weird play with Verdugo in the outfield on May 20th

 

[RobertS975]

Xander last hit a home run on june 3rd and despite batting .326 the last 28 days he has a total of FIVE rbi

JDM is hitting .232 the last 28 days (3 HR/10RBI)

im shocked we did as well in June with two of our middle of the order bats hitting this poorly

And not to mention the loss of Eovaldi and Whitlock for much of the month!

 

[catsooey]

Given a choice between the Red Sox volatility and 4 WC in the past 20 yrs versus the Yankees/Dodgers consistency of high quality and 1 WC (each), of course I'd choose the Sox. But that choice is a false dichotomy concerning how we should approach the future. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but I hope Chaim sticks to the following principles: (a) building a strong farm system (and never bankrupting it with GFIN moves), (b) spending extravagantly on highest-quality coaches, scouts, instructors, and development tools at all levels of the organization, and (c) aggressively pursuing contract extensions, trades and free agents. As to part (c), I'd suggest a payroll model looking like the Yankees or Dodgers minus one big FA contract (such a model could include signing Devers and rolling up a Brinks truck for him). The model could provide enough financial flexibility to pursue a future irresistible opportunity or extend a future arb eligible player.

This. Thanks, this is what I was trying to say.

 

[catsooey]

So basically continue to evolve into a Dodgers/Yankees model where the farm produces consistently and gives them the flexibility to keep the right guys around. Too bad some fans don't have the patience required to get to that point.

I don’t know if you were referring to what I wrote, but patience isn’t the issue for me. I do think they could pursue Chaim’s plan of rebuilding while putting some more reliable pieces in place to make sure we have a more solid bullpen. But my criticism and fear is that they’re not going to sign and commit to players like Devers.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I don’t know if you were referring to what I wrote, but patience isn’t the issue for me. I do think they could pursue Chaim’s plan of rebuilding while putting some more reliable pieces in place to make sure we have a more solid bullpen. But my criticism and fear is that they’re not going to sign and commit to players like Devers.

Just curious if you have any ideas on who those "more reliable pieces" for the "more solid bullpen" should have been. It's easy to criticize what they've done because it's been a mixed bag of success, but what alternatives have they missed out on that a different GM or a different plan would have found?

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Just curious if you have any ideas on who those "more reliable pieces" for the "more solid bullpen" should have been. It's easy to criticize what they've done because it's been a mixed bag of success, but what alternatives have they missed out on that a different GM or a different plan would have found?

I know this because I have asked this! The answer is:
I am not a major league executive so that isn't my job, but it is Chaim's and he should know who they are.

 

[Ganthem]

I know this because I have asked this! The answer is:
I am not a major league executive so that isn't my job, but it is Chaim's and he should know who they are.

And given the volatility of bullpen arms there was no reaaon to think the bullpen would be S bad as it has when the season started.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

I am trying to imagine how many fans would feel if we had the Yankees or Dodgers record over the past 20 years. Loads of regular season wins, playoff appearances virtually every year, but falling short every time except for one. The Red Sox would be considered to be huge postseason chokers, with the one title they won discounted as a random one-time fluke.

"They pulled ONE championship out of their asses, but every other year has been a total failure. This team is historically fated to choke on the biggest stage again and again, and it will never end. They have failed every year but one for over 100 years! It's a disgrace! Fire everyone! I am done with these losers forever! Blahblahblah..."

Thank god we have 4 championships instead.

Not enough for some people who are determined to be angry and upset about how bad we have it no matter what, I guess. "There are kids in New England who are almost FOUR years old who have NEVER been alive for a single Red Sox world championship! All they know is one measly Super Bowl win and the Bruins and Celtics getting to the Finals but LOSING! Won't someone PLEASE think of the CHILDREN??"

I mean, the 20 years thing is an arbitrary SoSH number that avoids the dynasty years but regardless, I think all you can really want from your team is to make it every year and put up a fight. The Red Sox are consistently able to close the deal when they make it to the postseason but the thing that bothers me more about the Yankees is the lack of a pennant. We've got two AL teams who are just better in the postseason than us. Even in 18, I genuinely think the Yankees could have won that series but they folded. In 17, we absolutely should have won but we barely hit the ball for 2 games in Houston. We should have been more competitive in 2020.

Now, this year, the story is going to continue to be "can the best Yankees team since 1998 finally get past Houston?"

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

And given the volatility of bullpen arms there was no reaaon to think the bullpen would be S bad as it has when the season started.

And it hasn't actually been as bad as people are making it out to be. They're decidedly middle of the pack in most categories.
MLB ranks:
15th in ERA
14th in FIP
19th in xFIP
14th in WHIP

Even for all the crying about blown saves, they're not the worst in baseball in that stat (they are second worst though). Tampa Bay has the most with 18, followed by the Braves and Red Sox tied at 16, then the Angels and Blue Jays at 15. If it's a significant detriment to the Sox, it's equally a detriment to their closest divisional and wildcard competitors.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I mean, the 20 years thing is an arbitrary SoSH number that avoids the dynasty years but regardless, I think all you can really want from your team is to make it every year and put up a fight. The Red Sox are consistently able to close the deal when they make it to the postseason but the thing that bothers me more about the Yankees is the lack of a pennant. We've got two AL teams who are just better in the postseason than us. Even in 18, I genuinely think the Yankees could have won that series but they folded. In 17, we absolutely should have won but we barely hit the ball for 2 games in Houston. We should have been more competitive in 2020.

Now, this year, the story is going to continue to be "can the best Yankees team since 1998 finally get past Houston?"

FWIW, the 20 year thing isn't really arbitrary. It's how long the current ownership has been around. In the context of discussing the effectiveness of ownership and its team building "philosophies", it's an appropriately chosen time period.

 

[catsooey]

No one's trying to be Tampa fucking Bay. Jesus tapdancing fucking Christ that trope has to die already.

LOL at saying Dombrowski had to undo the damage of the previous regime (Lester, Panda, Hanley, Castillo) but completely ignoring how Dombrowski's acts are what is really fucking over Bloom so far. Dombrowski simply threw money around and Bloom's had to work around the bloat he caused.

I know the mistakes Dombrowski made - he took things to the other extreme. That’s my point. I love Chris Sale and it’s a tragedy that he didn’t get a better contact earlier in his career when he was at his best, but that extension was a disaster and fairly predictable. Eovaldi has worked out better than I expected. As far as ‘not trying to be Tampa Bay’, I don’t know. I hope Bloom will commit to signing our best players but I’m not convinced he will.

 

[E5 Yaz]

As far as ‘not trying to be Tampa Bay’, I don’t know. I hope Bloom will commit to signing our best players but I’m not convinced he will.

You realize that if JWH says sign Devers and X, Bloom will sign Devers and X ... unless THEY decide they want to play elsewhere

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

You realize that if JWH says sign Devers and X, Bloom will sign Devers and X ... unless THEY decide they want to play elsewhere

The irony being that if they decide they want to play elsewhere, what Bloom (with JWH's permission) would have to do to sign them is grossly overpay them. We could call that the David Price strategy, I think.

 

[Ganthem]

I know the mistakes Dombrowski made - he took things to the other extreme. That’s my point. I love Chris Sale and it’s a tragedy that he didn’t get a better contact earlier in his career when he was at his best, but that extension was a disaster and fairly predictable. Eovaldi has worked out better than I expected. As far as ‘not trying to be Tampa Bay’, I don’t know. I hope Bloom will commit to signing our best players but I’m not convinced he will.

I hope Bloom will do what is best for the team regardless of how popular a player might be with the fan base.

 

[E5 Yaz]

The irony being that if they decide they want to play elsewhere, what Bloom (with JWH's permission) would have to do to sign them is grossly overpay them. We could call that the David Price strategy, I think.

Either way, Bloom will get blamed

 

[Yelling At Clouds]

I do think that this is the kind of organization Chaim is trying to build, but it takes a while to build up a minor league organization while the MLB team competes every season. When other teams start grabbing rule 5 guys from BOS, you'll know he is making progress towards that.

I think people get tripped up on the "it takes time" part because the Dodgers and Yankees didn't really have a fallow period while they built up the farm. Really no team has had a roller-coaster ride like the Red Sox have.

(I'll also note for the record that I'm generally an October Truther who thinks that World Series titles - while enjoyable, don't get me wrong! - aren't always the best indicators of a team's true talent level or overall organizational health. The Giants won three World Series in five years and I'm still not convinced they were actually good any of those years.)

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

(I'll also note for the record that I'm generally an October Truther who thinks that World Series titles - while enjoyable, don't get me wrong! - aren't always the best indicators of a team's true talent level or overall organizational health. The Giants won three World Series in five years and I'm still not convinced they were actually good any of those years.)

I would like to disagree with your theory.






But I can't