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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 24, 2023 15:45:51 GMT -5
I think the Brewers entertain hopes of winning the World Series this year and/or next year, and they have reason to, given that they're easily the class of a weak NL Central. To win theyll need an ace, not a pitcher who might be a starter but is probably better out of the pen. I doubt they're trading Burnes this offseason. They want to win in 2024, too. If the Brewers are a 2024 disappointment by July 31st, sure, theyll trade him assuming they do better than a compensation pick which is a pretty safe assumption. Otherwise theyll likely try to win, with him leading the pitching staff, something that Tanner Houck would not be doing. And if/when he walks theyll then take the compensation pick. I think for them the math is fall out of contention and trade Burnes for value greater than a comp pick or truly compete and take their chances and then take the comp pick and worry about 2025 in 2025. A third less likely scenario is,they re-sign him. They won't resign him. They Betts'd him in arbitration hearing. He is set for another arb showdown with them this year and will be outta there after 2024. Another thought would be to flip Sale/cash plus a prospect(s) to them for Burnes, where we intend to extend Burnes, and they can do what you said with Sale. How much $ and/or prospect(s) do you think that would take? Yeah I know they're not likely to sign him. My point is why would the Brewers want to punt on 2024 when they have a legit shot of winning in 2024? That would be like the Sox trading Pedro Martinez after 2003 when it was obvious the Sox had a legit shot to win in 2004. The Brewers don't get too many legit shots so I dont see them downgrading from Burnes in 2024 unless the season is lost come July. The Brewers have been on 1 World Series in their history, way back in 1982. I think they'll do everything in their power to take their best shot this year and next as pitchers like Burnes dont come around often.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 24, 2023 14:47:10 GMT -5
BTV says Houck would land Burnes straight up. Anyone buying that? I like Houck, but would do that trade in half a second if I though I could sign Burnes to contract for say 7yrs for $185M = $17M last arb yr in 2024 + $28×6). Anyone think this might be a realistic 1 for 1 swap? (And yes I get yrs of control, but still...) Curious to hear what people think, ty! I think the Brewers entertain hopes of winning the World Series this year and/or next year, and they have reason to, given that they're easily the class of a weak NL Central. To win theyll need an ace, not a pitcher who might be a starter but is probably better out of the pen. I doubt they're trading Burnes this offseason. They want to win in 2024, too. If the Brewers are a 2024 disappointment by July 31st, sure, theyll trade him assuming they do better than a compensation pick which is a pretty safe assumption. Otherwise theyll likely try to win, with him leading the pitching staff, something that Tanner Houck would not be doing. And if/when he walks theyll then take the compensation pick. I think for them the math is fall out of contention and trade Burnes for value greater than a comp pick or truly compete and take their chances and then take the comp pick and worry about 2025 in 2025. A third less likely scenario is,they re-sign him.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 23, 2023 12:02:30 GMT -5
Friends, context exists. It's not as simple as "84 win team > 43 win team, so the 84 win obviously team had an easier start, since the GM only needed to find six measly wins". Late 2019. Highest payroll in the majors. Worst ranked farm in the majors, and just about barren in terms of near-MLB-ready talent. High-priced FAs like Sale and Eovaldi dealing with health issues. Other high-priced FAs like Price and JDM past their primes and entering the back halfs of their deals. Powerhouse young core still productive, but getting much more expensive, without too much control left, and already unable to compensate for the dead weight elsewhere on the roster. The arrow was pointing down and there was no mechanism to change that besides a rebuild... We might as well talk about how Romulus Augustus had soooo much land back in 475 CE when he, at the wise old age of 10, started his 10-month tenure as the last ruler of the obviously-doomed Western Roman Empire. Why didn't he just, you know, acquire 6 measly cities for his empire so the barbarians couldn't get close? He already had a whole *empire*! Bolded is the crux of the disagreement. For some people, its "wow, he did better than I thought anyone would" while for others its "his job was to make the team a perennial winner, that didn't happen" I think a lot of us are more reasonable and would have settled for just getting a 3rd wild card spot either one of these past two years instead of last place playing meaningless games by mid August. Making the playoffs isnt that an exclusive thing anymore given that 40% of 30 teams make the playoffs each year. Bloom didnt get fired for 2020, not should he have. and certainly not for 2021 but he did for the share totality of 2022 and 2023.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 23, 2023 10:28:37 GMT -5
Off the top of my head, if you go back 20 years in time, Bloom's predecessor did as the Tigers with an unheralded farm system and a 119 loss team wound up in the Series just 3 years later and were the class of the division for the most part of the following decade. Detroit went 241-406 during Dombrowski’s first four years in charge. I stand corrected. You're right. I thought 2003 was his "inherit" season in the way 2020 was for Bloom, but apparently 2002 was that season for Dombrowski and it took the 5th season to have the big leap forward.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 23, 2023 9:09:11 GMT -5
Because it's not like he was forced into the position. In fact, he had more info on his employers before taking the position than most people get. Life advice to anyone just entering the workplace: When you get a new job, you're hiring your boss(es). Know who s/he is or they are before you sign that contract. Because the only expectations from that point forward that count as realistic are theirs. You've made many comments that imply Bloom miscalculated by taking a job he was likely to be fired from due to unrealistic expectations, but I don't think there's much of a chance he would have turned down the job even if you told him the outcome. He was paid handsomely to get 4 years of experience running one of the biggest clubs in the world and showed that he is more than capable of guiding a team through a rebuild. Even his detractors agree that he is a well-spoken, genuine, and likeable person, and that all matters in the workplace. By his future employers' standards his time in Boston was a successful audition, and he should have no shortage of suitors. I can see Bloom doing a lot of good in a place like Kansas City or Detroit or Oakland. They'd be lucky to have him.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 23, 2023 8:57:10 GMT -5
Bloom was the 15th longest tenured "GM" in baseball. Many of the guys in front of him are institutions in their organizations because of their success. The idea that he wasn't given a fair shot doesn't hold up relative to the rest of the market. He had an average (median?) tenure and for a guy with 3 losing seasons in 4 years that seems pretty fair. www.mlb.com/news/longest-tenured-mlb-general-managersHow many did more with less, though? Zero? Bloom was not perfect, but no GM in the game could have become an "institution of success" by now starting from where Bloom did. Passan and others hit the nail on the head that expectations like these are unrealistic and just set him up to fail. It's not one bit fair. Off the top of my head, if you go back 20 years in time, Bloom's predecessor did as the Tigers with an unheralded farm system and a 119 loss team wound up in the Series just 3 years later and were the class of the division for the most part of the following decade.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 23, 2023 8:32:20 GMT -5
Well, if you believe Story was signed to replace Xander, he actually cut salary by signing Story. a I think thought X would sign for a reasonable deal because thatâs what his history has proven. Also that position was stacked in FA. If SD wasnât involved we would still have him. He got overpaid. You have to have a backup plan. If you watched last year every time X sat Story was still at 2nd. Story was the backup plan but Mayer was the real plan. After drafting the best player in the draft whoâs a SS you canât sign a 29 year old long term. Thatâs just not smart no matter how good he is because for years there has been talk on this site alone about moving him off SS. The Story deal was just a smart deal at the time but i believe it was a little forced maybe by pressure because Bloom isnât a guy who likes players that strike out. Story has always been that type of player. Maybe they were looking for a little more pop but other than that doesnât seem like the type of player Bloom would pursue. If San Diego didnt act like drunken fools and shower Xander with all that money, the Sox still wouldnt have wound up with Xander. There were several teams around 200 million. The Sox had finally budged to the price range they used for Trevor Story. By then 160 million wasnt even in the running. Despite what was being reported at the time, the Sox already knew they were out on Xander. The shock Bloom felt when hearing that Xander signed with San Diego was not shock from losing Xander, as they knew they werent going to sign him but was the shock that the Padres spent that much money for him and blew them that far out of the water. The irony is that Bloom signed Story as a 160 million dollar insurance policy with the bonus of having both players in 2022. Xander approved of the signing and probably had the same thought a lot of players in his situation would have, which is, Story is a good player but I'm as good if not better than him. So I should be getting at least 160 million. We know that's not what the Sox offered him during spring training 2022. Had they done that I strongly think Xander would still have been the Sox SS. He has said as much. But Bloom didnt do that offer until really late in the game and by then Xander had a miserable season, as 2022 seemed like a pretty joyless slog for him as the team finished last and he probably thought to himself, these guys arent exactly rushing to sign me and he had resigned himself to the thought that he probably was not coming back even though he wanted to. They're not going to make a competitive offer. So by December at least a few teams were around the 200 million mark from what I've read and Bloom certainly wasnt going that high. He probably wouldnt have had to if he had been more aggressive in spring training but he wasnt. That's on him. That's one of his traits that factored in him losing his job. So we are left with the Padres being screwed for their stupidity as Xander is sure as hell not a 280 million player. But that's their problem. Xander is left wealthy beyond reason but playing in a place that lacks the passion that he enjoyed in Boston as he is not probably where he wanted to be. But at least he gets better weather although he probably spends a fair amount of time debating which uniform is uglier, the Padres uniforms or his old Boston City Connects canary yellow uniforms, lol. The Sox, meanwhile, were left for most of 2023 with a gaping hole at SS, that badly impacted them in the standings, and again that needless hole at SS contributed to the mediocrity that cost Bloom his job, and going forward for the next couple of years still have a question mark or two. Story, unsurprisingly, came back rusty in 2023. He apparently can still play SS but can he hit anymore? Probably, but to what extent? Will he be a 160 million defensive player with occasional pop and a meh bat? Will Mayer be ready late next year or 2025 or 2026 now that he experienced injuries and has yet to hit well in AA? I think at 160 million the Sox would have been better off with Xander's stability at SS. He'd certainly have looked like Ozzie Smith compared to the Kiké and company defense the Sox were subjected to, and his offense, even with his physical ailments would have been better and Sox fans were left without a core player that linked their current team to championship teams of the past as there is now nobody left that actually played with David Ortiz, so some brand continuity has been lost, which again added to fan apathy, which was another factor in Bloom losing his job. For me personally, I feel no special feelings for Trevor Story. Decent ballplayer, but no special memories attached. For me these memories come from big games from winning teams and maybe Story will one day have one of those indelible moments on a winning Sox team that bonds me to him, but it hasn't happened yet and it does, as a fan, create a little loss of identity for me. At the end of the day I root for laundry, but it is the players I remember.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 22, 2023 22:40:24 GMT -5
Martin getting a sub-1 ERA remains a huge reason I care. Like Koji. Koji was 1.09 and had a triple digit K/single digit walk total which was even more impressive. I think Martin has about 20 less innings pitched. He should be the closer.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 22, 2023 14:13:35 GMT -5
Are you suggesting Chaim made the decision to trade Betts when it's widely known that ownership tasked him with immediately slashing the payroll, including moving Betts? Kennedy said after the hiring of Bloom that "we can keep Mookie Betts or JD Martinez, but not both." Either way, the point is that he came from Tampa where they're all about finding hidden/unrecognized value. That was the selling point. Is that so? Keep a 7 tool HOFer or a good hitting DH who was approaching his 32nd birthday? I mean they had to know that 10 years 300 or 320 million wasnt keeping Mookie so it was decided that JDM was the keeper? Yeesh.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 22, 2023 13:38:46 GMT -5
Was the standard winning 78 games and finishing fifth in the division and becoming irrelevant?
Frankly he got fired because I dont think ownership trusts him to aggressively make the decisions necessary to restore the Red Sox to prominence.
Yes the farm is improved. That tends to happen when you're mediocre and draft higher. But yes, I'll still give him credit for Roman Anthony, Mayer, Teel if they do indeed develop as anticipated.
But still the pitching in the farm system is not super promising and the PoBO will need to be able to decisively deal the deal to get top notch free agent pitching and be able to trade for top notch pitching if necessary even if it gets a bit uncomfortable at times, which is why I wouldnt make a good GM but is a quality a GM needs to have and ownership feels Bloom lacks.
Growing the farm system alone, Bloom's strength, isnt going to restore the team to prominence. They need more. Ownership knows this and I'm not surprised to hear things like other GMs didnt care to waste time with Bloom at the deadline as the clock is ticking down and or that agents werent super enthused to deal with Bloom. The way he approached Xanders extension situation shows his approach and why a deal both sides seemingly wanted didnt work out.
Like I've said before I'd be cool with Bloom as a voice in the organization on the same level as Romero, BO, Ferreira, but not in the head seat.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 22, 2023 6:05:18 GMT -5
I find myself wondering how much worse off the organization would be right now if they had bottomed out, like the Orioles, pre-WS Cubs, pre-WS Astros, etc. The “failure to pick a direction” criticism of the last two Bloom trade deadlines is fair. It seems that failing to pick a direction would also be a fair criticism of the job he was hired to do. I don’t think there is a long list of GM/POBOs who would have done well attempting to play in both lanes. Attendance is down and fan enthusiasm is down. Surely, TV/radio ratings are down. It would be interesting to attempt to place a $ value on how much lower those things would be if 3 of the last 4 seasons were 100+ loss tank years, over 3 of 4 last place finishes with a high .400s winning percentage. Like, how much money did the organization really save on attendance/broadcast media revenue by sort of half heartedly being in the mix vs blowing it up? Then, you could try to place a $ value on how much value the organization lost out on in prospect/future value capital by letting so many assets play most/all of their contracts out. Hindsight is 20/20, but people were gonna end up pissed off one way or another. Well, sign me up for an ALCS run plus 2 roughly .500 seasons if the alternative is sucking horribly for 5 years. A rare opinion, I know, but it's how I feel. *for the record, they are over .500 over the last 4 seasons
Seems like a false choice to me. If they weren't going to tank, they didnt have to be mediocre in 2022 and 2023. They certainly weren't in 2021 when I think their circumstances might have been tougher.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 21, 2023 23:09:05 GMT -5
Congrats on 20. Glad I have been around for the last 10. I certainly love the Sox talk but draft coverage is second to none and I find that I get to see all facets of the franchise as far as major leagues, minor leagues and draft picks, how it all functions together.
Thanks guys for creating the best Sox site there is.
Happy 20th and many, many more. Thanks,!!!
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 21, 2023 14:57:55 GMT -5
If the Red Sox can get a solid pitcher with Verdugo as part of a package or simply get a good one on one deal I'd be very open to moving him.
Verdugo is gone after next year anyways, and the Sox do have an Abreu/Duvall combo they can replace him with if need be. I know an OF of Duran/Rafaela/Abreu plus Duvall platoon or whatever isn't exciting, but if they improve their pitching or some other part of the club they'd be foolish not to consider it.
Verdugo is what he is, which is a little above average player who has had issues that have already gotten him benched twice. I know he has the talent to hit better than he has and he showed he has the talent to play RF. Can we really count on him next season being in great shape and being an asset in RF again? Why hasn't his offense picked up? I was hopeful we were seeing a new Verdugo this year, great all around who would be consistent throughout, but then he took his annual month break on offense and I figured we'd see him bounce back like he always had, but he really didn't and I think his offense can be replaced, and his departure could open up another 10 million or so to improve the ballclub.
So no, I wouldn't give him away, but I would certainly entertain the idea of trading him.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 21, 2023 14:49:41 GMT -5
My number one pick would be James Click.
Not that I'm super educated in my opinion. Seems like he was doing a good job and got short circuited by his owner. Maybe he'd really blossom with the Red Sox if given a full chance.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 21, 2023 13:01:03 GMT -5
If the Angles were smart I think they'd find a spot for Bloom somewhere in their org. Bloom would be a legend if he turned that org into a prospect factory. Ahhh...Lets get the Trout deal done first though. Maybe the Sox should have hung onto Bloom...to trade him for Mike Trout, lol
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 21, 2023 12:56:17 GMT -5
Has anyone contemplated the timing of the Bloom firing? Why was he fired on 9/14 rather than the end of the season? Did they feel the need to act quickly to secure his replacement before they went elsewhere? Where they trying to prevent him from making another move (trade deadline already passed, talking extension with someone)? I certainly don't know the answer and not sure I even have a great theory, but the idea that they are going to "take their time" to have someone in place for the GM meetings doesn't seem consistent with the mid-season firing. I think they wanted more time to thoroughly find his replacement and have that person in place and prepared for what needs to be an aggressive winter of transactions. I also wonder if they were also trying to protect Cora and prevent Bloom from firing Cora, although that's probably less likely given that Bloom was not known for being overly aggressive. Then again, we'll see if Cora remains in the dugout when the new PoBO takes over.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 20, 2023 22:25:33 GMT -5
Nomar had mostly checked out and was a sullen malcontent on the ‘04 team(rings a bell). And while Mientkiewicz wasn’t much more than a reliable glove at 1B, Cabrera brought a great attitude and energy to the ‘04 team. He was a perfect fit and exactly what they needed. In fact, they blew it letting him walk after that season and signing Renteria instead. That was part of the free agent comp arbitrate (sign FA, let FA go nets you a 1st round pick). We used the Cabrera picks for Ellsbury and Lowrie I believe, so it worked out! Kinda funny how the Cardinals, Angels, Sox did a SS swap (Eckstein, Renteria, Cabrera), where the Angels only got a comp round pick for Eckstein while Sox/Cardinals got 1st round and comp I wasn't doing cartwheels when Nomar was traded but the trade surprisingly worked out well. The Sox defense, just like this year, was killing them. Nomar couldnt move and wasnt particularly motivated to play. Cabrera played SS every day stabilizing the position. He hit .294 and fit the clubhouse culture which was huge. Mientkiewicz wasnt great but he was a useful part of the bench and his presence gave the Sox a much better defensive option so that the Sox could bring in Mientkiewicz, Reese, Kapler, and another astute addition on Dave Roberts to improve the defense late in games while the defense was a lot better with Cabrera. I was thinking Bloom might do something similar in 2023, acquiring defense for the bench but he didnt. Cabrera and Mientkiewicz werent great but they were exactly what the Red Sox needed.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 20, 2023 22:17:18 GMT -5
I was wondering when we've experienced this sort of stretch of downer seasons, 2019-2023 excepting the late season surge of 2021 2012, 2014-2015 (but we had that out of nowhere 2013) 1992-1997 wasn't pretty (except for 1995) That's really it, starting looking at 1967 (which is when I jumped on the Red Sox train) They were under .500 in 1983, but people, including those who filled road ballparks when the Red Sox were in town, remained interested in them because it was the last chance to see Yaz. They didn't contend in '84 or '85. Then we had '86, but '87 was one of the crappiest, most unpleasant seasons in my lifetime. The stench of the previous year's WS meltdown just didn't dissipate. 1987 sucked but something good happened that year. The Sox unveiled rookies Ellis Burks and Mike Greenwwll. Not quite Freddy Lynn and Jim Rice, Burks and Greenwell provided hope and Todd Benzinger came up and looked promising. Sam Horn became the Fenway Fridge and smashed 14 HRs in about 150 ABs. John Marzano was certainly better than Gesman and Sullivan. The bullpen was brutal. But the feeling was with the Sox youth movement that if the Sox could get a closer they'd be competitive in the AL East and sure enough the Sox stole Lee Smith from the Cubs with Don Zimmer's help, and they did win the title in 1988. That pen was so bad that I was actually at Yankee Stadium for a game in June where Jim Rice's grand slam in the 3rd inning staked Clemens to a 9-0 lead but the Yankees scored 11 runs in the 3rd inning and the Sox would lose on extra innings by a score of 12-11.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 18, 2023 11:51:29 GMT -5
I'm sorry, its early still but I have to ask the question.
The Red Sox are seemingly persona non grata in the Boston media sports scene.
They're deemed mediocre and boring (which they have been) and are considered irrelevant and not worthy of talking about
So they spend they're time, mostly 90% of it, whether it's the season or offseason, dissecting the Patriots.
My question is why? Aren't the Patriots every bit as mediocre and boring as the Red Sox?
Like the Sox, they lost their franchise player and really haven't been relevant since, but they continue to get all this attention, but the Sox dont.
So when does fan apathy for the Patriots set in? If indeed it already has for the Red Sox?
Is it Bill Belichicks sunny disposition and amazing insights that keeps the media coming back for more?
I guess I just dont get it. Does the Patriots do a better job of marketing to the lowest common denominator than the Red Sox do?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 18, 2023 11:43:04 GMT -5
That's fine as long as the answer is hell no.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 18, 2023 11:41:30 GMT -5
It was the weirdest thing about Yoshida. It seemed like he was forever chasing Yandy Diaz and Dante Bichette for the batting title I thought he had a good chance of getting prior to the season and always seemingly just behind
Then one day he catches up and actually took the lead...and then fell apart completely. His 2nd half kind of mirrors the team's 2nd half slide.
I hope he figures it out and we get closer to 1st half Yoshida than 2nd half in 2024 because if he doesnt it'll start to be a sizeable albatross contract.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 18, 2023 11:32:34 GMT -5
Sabean was so bad 20-25 years ago. He's the guy who was losing draft picks on purpose in free agency because he thought they weren't worth the money. Reading his Wiki page, he sounds like a guy winding down towards retirement. His tenure as the SFG head of baseball operations gave the McCoveyChronicles crew PTSD lol If there’s someone who lucked into multiple championships, it’s him not Dayton Moore (who’s also a terrible GM) Have to say that the 2010 - 2014 Giants had to be the least intimidating dynasty of all time. They were a team of excellent pitching, Buster Posey, and a helluva lot of patchwork. Still not sure how they won thrice in 5 years.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 17, 2023 23:29:21 GMT -5
But Shaw batted lefty and Pearce righty. Yeah but he was a 4 WAR first baseman in 2018. Don't think they would have felt the need to give Moreland a platoon partner if they hadn't opened up a hole at first base with a trade for a reliever. In isolation Pearce was a helpful addition, but they shouldn't have needed to add him in the first place.
It's the weirdest thing about that 2018 team that they were solidly below average at 4 positions - C, 1B, 2B, and 3B. And they were only 8th in team ERA. But, somehow, 108 wins.
I wouldnt change the results given Pearce's undeniable contributions, and you act as if Santiago Espinal is some huge loss. He's not. He's basically a utility man. They're not that hard to replace. On the talent pyramid, they're not that special. The thornburg deal backfired but it was hardly a killer. Thornburg got hurt and Shaw had 2 good seasons before falling off a cliff. It was a bad trade, but hardly in the Bagwell for Andersen or Lyle for Cater and Guerrero deal. The trade was a mistake but was effectively covered over effectively if you value Steve Pearce hoisting a World Series MVP trophy over his head. I'd say it was like the baseball equivalent of putting a gouge in a wall and finding a beautiful painting to cover that space that blends perfectly with the rest of the room. Certainly better than leaving a gouge mark.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 17, 2023 21:38:07 GMT -5
- First bolded: I also love the 2020 finish and look forward to years of payoff when MM is owning SS and cost-controlled. - Second bolded: I agree that Never Bloomers undervalue 2021. For me, knocking the MFYs out of the PS before a raucous crowd at Fenway goes a long ways. But this gets to what I've said about Full Bloomers and Never Bloomers stretching their points to defend their guy. Don't you think Full Bloomers undervalue D-Dom's much greater level of achievement in winning three division titles and a WS with the Greatest Team in Red Sox history?
- Third bolded: We've probably all said all we have to say on the 2022 deadline, but how do you know they would have been B prospects? We don't know what they could have gotten for a subsidized Eo and/or a subsidized JDM. And as we have agreed, prospects are so volatile that today's 14th ranked guy on SP.com could be a future MVP and HOfer. We do know that getting under the LTT would have greatly enhanced their 2023 draft status. - As far as tanking in 2019, come on. Has any team in history, other than Marlins, tanked coming off a WS win? There was never a good year for Bloom to tank. Sounds like we mostly agree. Two quick points: 1) am I a "Full Bloomer" if I give him a 6/10 for his tenure? 2) I said the other day what Dombrowski deserves the most credit for is taking an otherwise middling team in 2016 and 2017 and making them 93-win division winners. 2018 is less obviously attributable to his specific moves. But the indictment of his tenure really concerns the mismanagement of the team's long-term situation in the post-2018 offseason. YMMV but I think the addition of JD Martinez was huge - and a credit to ownership for going the extra mile, spending what they spent to make sure they secured a very big piece of the puzzle. And the moves for Steve Pearce and Nate Eovaldi were huge as well, the perfect pieces to complete the puzzle that was the 2018 masterpiece.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 17, 2023 19:53:04 GMT -5
So did Roger Clemens. Just saying. Sorry, I don't quite understand the analogy. Do you mean that by drafting a college pitcher you may get a Hall of Famer? That did happen, sure. And we also drafted a gifted bowler in the 5th round too. I would consider these exceptions that indeed prove the rule (#TINSTAAPP). Though, I'd be okay if the BoSox started focusing on bowling prospects in the 1st 5 rounds. It's pretty simple. All I'm saying is they're not all duds. I try not to deal with absolutes like TINSTAAPP (I feel like that's a cop out for teams that can't draft and develop pitching). I think some pitchers are better "prospects" than others, that's all. I get the injuries, attrition rate, etc, but I don't believe all pitchers are necessarily a dime a dozen, or created equally.
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