SoxProspects News
|
|
|
|
Legal
Forum Ground Rules
The views expressed by the members of this Forum do not necessarily reflect the views of SoxProspects, LLC.
© 2003-2024 SoxProspects, LLC
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Home | Search | My Profile | Messages | Members | Help |
Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
4/29-5/1 Red Sox @ Orioles Series Thread
|
Post by manfred on May 1, 2022 8:56:28 GMT -5
The minor affiliate have forgotten how to win also. Only Worcester has a winning record and its 12-11, Greenville has 10 game losing streak. It is catching. Yeah I've been watching our minor league performance especially after last year when we had an impressive cumulative record. This year we were up early to +17 wins. Bottom has dropped out. The Casas train has derailed (hopefully temporarily). Duran was en fuego last year but tanked in Boston. The AAA to majors gap seemed to be cavernous. What would Casas produce in a similar jump when he is Not lighting it up for the WooSox? I feel for Dalbec...Oooff. Keep your head up... Sure it's early but it looks like we have only 3 reliable offensive players in Bogey, Devers and Verdugo....for a team that historically has had an offensive calling card. Right now we are SAD. Prognosis negative, Jerry. After a fast start Verdugo has become thoroughly unreliable. He’s got a lower bWAR that Refsnyder.
|
|
bigmarty58
Rookie
2011 Pancreatic Cancer Survivor - One of the lucky ones
Posts: 162
|
Post by bigmarty58 on May 1, 2022 9:35:02 GMT -5
The sox hitting (or lack of) can it be attributed to a new hitting coach this year. Too many good hitters not getting it done. Perhaps Bloom needs to take a look at this area not just the players.
|
|
|
Post by alexcorahomevideo on May 1, 2022 9:46:40 GMT -5
If only this team had a right fielder that could hit better than .156 JBJ is JBJ. But I love how he's the lightning rod for what the problem is for this club for many of the posters here. To me you can start complaining about JBJ only AFTER the players that are EXPECTED to perform well offensively start doing so. Love the free passes Verdugo, Story, and Kiké are getting. Verdugo, after a great start, looks like last year's version. But at least he's had a few impactful games. Story and Kiké have been major disappointments thus far. If either of those two have had any real impact moments, I'm hard pressed to remember any. Its not his fault. He was put into a situation where he needed to perform and he's not that guy. It also wasn't his fault that Milwaukee gave him that stupid contract. Its on Bloom that he decided to sell Renfroe for prospects without having a legitimate replacement in place. I mean not that homers mean everything or anything but Renfroe has 5 so far. This deal currently looks as bad as the Benintendi one. But again its early so we'll see. I also don't think any of those guys are getting free passes but JBJ has performed the worst out of those guys at the plate so its natural to go after the guy hitting under .160. There is no chance Duran can be any worse. None. The impending departures of Devers and Xander might be distracting these guys as well. Its hanging over this franchise like a guillotine.
|
|
|
Post by prospectlove on May 1, 2022 9:54:57 GMT -5
Hate to say it but it seems to me Bloom's inability to bolster the team is coming to haunt him. I mean his trademark is to be able to build the fringes of the roster better than his counterparts yet the Sox bench is worthless, the lineup is not particularly deep and their bullpen is putrid. You'd think he can identify a potential high leverage closer/reliever among all those arms out there but he has yet to identify that guy and as a result they have yet to replace Barnes since he went south and it's showing with all these demoralizing walkoff losses and blown leads. Beyond the 27th and 28th spots on the roster there's a lot of deadwood doing nothing. Even the JBJ trade...by itself it might be a really good deal down the road but to help this team he needed a RF replacement for 2021 Renfroe and he didn't get that guy. He didn't even get a platoon guy for JBJ, not that he should be starting anyways. I guess Story is the lineup replacement but a lot more expensive and a downgrade from the potential loss of X. The Wacha and Strahm moves look useful but little else has been added to help. Let’s not forget we’ve traded down in the OF three years in a row. Maybe that pays off in 3 years, but it is not helping these days. I personally do not see a trade down from betts to verdugo and from benetendi to Renfroe. There is nothing wrong with verdugo or Kiki. The mistake was not getting a quality right fielder after getting Jackie Bradley who couldn’t hit when he was here the first time, left and couldn’t hit in Milwaukee, and still can’t hit now. One position. One player. The other two given what dombrowski left us with and getting out of that hole were necessary and positive moves to mainly add flexibility and depth. I know you love dombrowski but the single biggest mistake was not getting a real right fielder who can hit/field from the plenty of ones on market this past off season. ( Suzuki being prime number 1). Add in the bullpen which is atrocious and trying to have depth with strikeout king dalbec and you have issues. Situational hitting drives me crazy. How many times have we had runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs and not gotten him home? It will be interesting to see how this team is built. Because looking at it now we could have holes at cf, rf, 2nd , catcher, starting pitcher, and relief going into off season. That’s assuming Kiki/Vasquez/Xander/jd/euvaldi/ Bradley all sign elsewhere in off season. Be prepared for some spending on players that don’t work out as they will be a bit desperate given what’s out there on the market. I’ll even start by arguing it might just behoove them to trade devers and fill some of those holes if they aren’t signing him the year after. Might as well rebuild and get players in the next win cycle when our system has a lot more depth to it to compete the way bloom is building us to compete. ( depth and stats built from within)
|
|
|
Post by manfred on May 1, 2022 10:04:34 GMT -5
Let’s not forget we’ve traded down in the OF three years in a row. Maybe that pays off in 3 years, but it is not helping these days. I personally do not see a trade down from betts to verdugo and from benetendi to Renfroe. There is nothing wrong with verdugo or Kiki. The mistake was not getting a quality right fielder after getting Jackie Bradley who couldn’t hit when he was here the first time, left and couldn’t hit in Milwaukee, and still can’t hit now. One position. One player. The other two given what dombrowski left us with and getting out of that hole were necessary and positive moves to mainly add flexibility and depth. I know you love dombrowski but the single biggest mistake was not getting a real right fielder who can hit/field from the plenty of ones on market this past off season. ( Suzuki being prime number 1). Add in the bullpen which is atrocious and trying to have depth with strikeout king dalbec and you have issues. Situational hitting drives me crazy. How many times have we had runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs and not gotten him home? It will be interesting to see how this team is built. Because looking at it now we could have holes at cf, rf, 2nd , catcher, starting pitcher, and relief going into off season. That’s assuming Kiki/Vasquez/Xander/jd/euvaldi/ Bradley all sign elsewhere in off season. Be prepared for some spending on players that don’t work out as they will be a bit desperate given what’s out there on the market. I’ll even start by arguing it might just behoove them to trade devers and fill some of those holes if they aren’t signing him the year after. Might as well rebuild and get players in the next win cycle when our system has a lot more depth to it to compete the way bloom is building us to compete. ( depth and stats built from within) I’ll leave Mookie, but Beni is better than Renfroe who is better than JBJ… well, this season than all three of our OFers. Combined, actually. Renfroe is a .5 bWAR. JBJ? 0. Kiké? 0. Verdugo? .1. (Beni is also .5).
|
|
|
Post by ortiz on May 1, 2022 10:07:44 GMT -5
If only this team had a right fielder that could hit better than .156 JBJ is JBJ. But I love how he's the lightning rod for what the problem is for this club for many of the posters here. To me you can start complaining about JBJ only AFTER the players that are EXPECTED to perform well offensively start doing so. Love the free passes Verdugo, Story, and Kiké are getting. Verdugo, after a great start, looks like last year's version. But at least he's had a few impactful games. Story and Kiké have been major disappointments thus far. If either of those two have had any real impact moments, I'm hard pressed to remember any. This seems backwards to me. The reason to complain about jbj is exactly what you mentioned, his track record, this is what he is whereas the rest have a track record which makes it hopeful they can come around. Bloom needs to be a little quicker on the trigger, he was too slow getting rid of shaw he needs to have called Duran up already. This isn't the rays, I don't think fans/ownership is going to give him the kind of long leash other clubs might.... This year is shaping to be catastrophic and there isn't hope to contend next year with all of our aging fas.... Nice knowing you bloom.
|
|
|
Post by notstarboard on May 1, 2022 10:09:45 GMT -5
JBJ is JBJ. But I love how he's the lightning rod for what the problem is for this club for many of the posters here. To me you can start complaining about JBJ only AFTER the players that are EXPECTED to perform well offensively start doing so. Love the free passes Verdugo, Story, and Kiké are getting. Verdugo, after a great start, looks like last year's version. But at least he's had a few impactful games. Story and Kiké have been major disappointments thus far. If either of those two have had any real impact moments, I'm hard pressed to remember any. Its not his fault. He was put into a situation where he needed to perform and he's not that guy. It also wasn't his fault that Milwaukee gave him that stupid contract. Its on Bloom that he decided to sell Renfroe for prospects without having a legitimate replacement in place. I mean not that homers mean everything or anything but Renfroe has 5 so far. This deal currently looks as bad as the Benintendi one. But again its early so we'll see. I also don't think any of those guys are getting free passes but JBJ has performed the worst out of those guys at the plate so its natural to go after the guy hitting under .160. There is no chance Duran can be any worse. None. The impending departures of Devers and Xander might be distracting these guys as well. Its hanging over this franchise like a guillotine. Did you look at how Binelas and Hamilton have started off the year when giving the trade a negative review?
|
|
|
Post by manfred on May 1, 2022 10:19:54 GMT -5
Its not his fault. He was put into a situation where he needed to perform and he's not that guy. It also wasn't his fault that Milwaukee gave him that stupid contract. Its on Bloom that he decided to sell Renfroe for prospects without having a legitimate replacement in place. I mean not that homers mean everything or anything but Renfroe has 5 so far. This deal currently looks as bad as the Benintendi one. But again its early so we'll see. I also don't think any of those guys are getting free passes but JBJ has performed the worst out of those guys at the plate so its natural to go after the guy hitting under .160. There is no chance Duran can be any worse. None. The impending departures of Devers and Xander might be distracting these guys as well. Its hanging over this franchise like a guillotine. Did you look at how Binelas and Hamilton have started off the year when giving the trade a negative review? That is fine, but how many seasons should we be pleased by moves that result in good seasons for AA guys who will be 25 in September? I get — and like — trading guys for prospects at the right moment. But not repeatedly at the expense of the current roster. This season has been *awful* so far. In the end, this is supposed to be entertainment, and it is basically unwatchable. Management— owners down — are responsible for fielding a product worth paying for.
|
|
TearsIn04
Veteran
Everybody knows Nelson de la Rosa, but who is Karim Garcia?
Posts: 2,837
|
Post by TearsIn04 on May 1, 2022 10:26:38 GMT -5
A few thoughts:
- CB needs to make a decision early (not now, that would be too early) about this team's chances. Once he thinks there's little chance of rescuing the season, he should be ready to sell. He might get more for the assets by selling them at the start of July than at the deadline. He should at least be ready to listen to offers.
- FG has the payroll at $236.6M. Starting the fire sale early would give them a bit more room to send money in deals for the assets they move and enhance the prospect package coming back.
- Unlike 2020, a lost year isn't anything to celebrate. But a lot of us said back then that it could take three years to build out the farm and achieve payroll flexibility to the point where we'd be ready for a big run. We got the gift of the 2021 ALCS run, so I'm willing to reset the three-year clock.
- About that farm system, I think some of us - including me at times - have been too giddy about where the farm system stands. MLB PL has the system ranked 12th. That's a lot better than what CB inherited, but still only three spots above flat-out average. He's going to have to do a lot more than just wait for Yorke, Casas and MM to turn into stars if we are to see the Next Great Red Sox Team.
|
|
|
Post by notstarboard on May 1, 2022 10:28:45 GMT -5
I personally do not see a trade down from betts to verdugo and from benetendi to Renfroe. There is nothing wrong with verdugo or Kiki. The mistake was not getting a quality right fielder after getting Jackie Bradley who couldn’t hit when he was here the first time, left and couldn’t hit in Milwaukee, and still can’t hit now. One position. One player. The other two given what dombrowski left us with and getting out of that hole were necessary and positive moves to mainly add flexibility and depth. I know you love dombrowski but the single biggest mistake was not getting a real right fielder who can hit/field from the plenty of ones on market this past off season. ( Suzuki being prime number 1). Add in the bullpen which is atrocious and trying to have depth with strikeout king dalbec and you have issues. Situational hitting drives me crazy. How many times have we had runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs and not gotten him home? It will be interesting to see how this team is built. Because looking at it now we could have holes at cf, rf, 2nd , catcher, starting pitcher, and relief going into off season. That’s assuming Kiki/Vasquez/Xander/jd/euvaldi/ Bradley all sign elsewhere in off season. Be prepared for some spending on players that don’t work out as they will be a bit desperate given what’s out there on the market. I’ll even start by arguing it might just behoove them to trade devers and fill some of those holes if they aren’t signing him the year after. Might as well rebuild and get players in the next win cycle when our system has a lot more depth to it to compete the way bloom is building us to compete. ( depth and stats built from within) I’ll leave Mookie, but Beni is better than Renfroe who is better than JBJ… well, this season than all three of our OFers. Combined, actually. Renfroe is a .5 bWAR. JBJ? 0. Kiké? 0. Verdugo? .1. (Beni is also .5). Renfroe, Verdugo, and Benintendi all put up almost the same WAR last year and Kiké more than doubled them. Why ignore 2021 and focus on a one-month sample? JBJ was obviously trash last year but that's why the prospects came back with him.
|
|
|
Post by notstarboard on May 1, 2022 10:35:26 GMT -5
Did you look at how Binelas and Hamilton have started off the year when giving the trade a negative review? That is fine, but how many seasons should we be pleased by moves that result in good seasons for AA guys who will be 25 in September? I get — and like — trading guys for prospects at the right moment. But not repeatedly at the expense of the current roster. This season has been *awful* so far. In the end, this is supposed to be entertainment, and it is basically unwatchable. Management— owners down — are responsible for fielding a product worth paying for. This season has been awful so far, and I have hated watching it, but that has almost nothing to do with swapping out corner OFs. It has much more to do with almost the entire roster, which put up the 5th most runs in the majors last year, slumping at the same time. I could see criticizing the hitting coach, Cora, etc. for the bad approach at the plate, but I don't understand criticizing Bloom. Guys are simply not hitting like they have in the past, even when adjusted for the 2022 dead ball era. Should he have looked into his crystal ball, seen this coming, and traded almost the entire roster to prevent it? More than likely these guys will right the ship offensively. Just hope the hole isn't too deep by then, or it's sell off time.
|
|
TearsIn04
Veteran
Everybody knows Nelson de la Rosa, but who is Karim Garcia?
Posts: 2,837
|
Post by TearsIn04 on May 1, 2022 10:42:09 GMT -5
Yeah I've been watching our minor league performance especially after last year when we had an impressive cumulative record. This year we were up early to +17 wins. Bottom has dropped out. The Casas train has derailed (hopefully temporarily). Duran was en fuego last year but tanked in Boston. The AAA to majors gap seemed to be cavernous. What would Casas produce in a similar jump when he is Not lighting it up for the WooSox? I feel for Dalbec...Oooff. Keep your head up... Sure it's early but it looks like we have only 3 reliable offensive players in Bogey, Devers and Verdugo....for a team that historically has had an offensive calling card. Right now we are SAD. Prognosis negative, Jerry. After a fast start Verdugo has become thoroughly unreliable. He’s got a lower bWAR that Refsnyder. Players the caliber of Beni and Verdugo remind me of a quote from Danny Ainge a few weeks after he got traded to the sub-.500 Sacramento Kings. He was used to winning with Larry, Kevin, the Chief and DJ, but suddenly found himself in a place where he was supposed to be The Man. He said: "I figured out what's wrong with this team. I'm the best player here and I'm not good enough to be the best player on the team." Beni and V-Dog are nice complementary parts and worth having, but nothing more. And there's nothing wrong with that. I didn't like the Beni trade at the time and still think the return was way too modest. Too much quantity, not much quality.
|
|
|
Post by manfred on May 1, 2022 10:45:18 GMT -5
That is fine, but how many seasons should we be pleased by moves that result in good seasons for AA guys who will be 25 in September? I get — and like — trading guys for prospects at the right moment. But not repeatedly at the expense of the current roster. This season has been *awful* so far. In the end, this is supposed to be entertainment, and it is basically unwatchable. Management— owners down — are responsible for fielding a product worth paying for. This season has been awful so far, and I have hated watching it, but that has almost nothing to do with swapping out corner OFs. It has much more to do with almost the entire roster, which put up the 5th most runs in the majors last year, slumping at the same time. I could see criticizing the hitting coach, Cora, etc. for the bad approach at the plate, but I don't understand criticizing Bloom. Guys are simply not hitting like they have in the past, even when adjusted for the 2022 dead ball era. Should he have looked into his crystal ball, seen this coming, and traded almost the entire roster to prevent it? More than likely these guys will right the ship offensively. Just hope the hole isn't too deep by then, or it's sell off time. I am not saying it is all Bloom’s fault, but how does escape criticism? He started Bobby last year, and he stuck with him. That’s his guy. This is his OF. Story was his big move in the off season. The depth — or lack thereof — that puts them in a hole with JDM? His doing. Franchy as next guy up? Him. There are two decent hitters in this lineup, and he was gifted them. Yes, you can say guys aren’t playing well, but a guy like Kiké had a career year last year… it was hardly inconceivable he’d return to Earth. Indeed, I’d ask: how unpredictable have performances been? CVaz has been in steady decline. Dalbec has shown a high potential for sucking. JDM is still decent but clearly has lost a step. Story is probably the surprise, and he’ll likely right the ship.
|
|
TearsIn04
Veteran
Everybody knows Nelson de la Rosa, but who is Karim Garcia?
Posts: 2,837
|
Post by TearsIn04 on May 1, 2022 10:48:57 GMT -5
This is still a game thread, so I'm comfortable saying this: We need a 2022 Celtics championship BAD to keep the City of Champions narrative going. It's going to be a few years for the RS and the Patriots. It's not like the Pats were a guard away from greatness.
|
|
TearsIn04
Veteran
Everybody knows Nelson de la Rosa, but who is Karim Garcia?
Posts: 2,837
|
Post by TearsIn04 on May 1, 2022 10:56:35 GMT -5
This season has been awful so far, and I have hated watching it, but that has almost nothing to do with swapping out corner OFs. It has much more to do with almost the entire roster, which put up the 5th most runs in the majors last year, slumping at the same time. I could see criticizing the hitting coach, Cora, etc. for the bad approach at the plate, but I don't understand criticizing Bloom. Guys are simply not hitting like they have in the past, even when adjusted for the 2022 dead ball era. Should he have looked into his crystal ball, seen this coming, and traded almost the entire roster to prevent it? More than likely these guys will right the ship offensively. Just hope the hole isn't too deep by then, or it's sell off time. I am not saying it is all Bloom’s fault, but how does escape criticism? He started Bobby last year, and he stuck with him. That’s his guy. This is his OF. Story was his big move in the off season. The depth — or lack thereof — that puts them in a hole with JDM? His doing. Franchy as next guy up? Him. There are two decent hitters in this lineup, and he was gifted them. Yes, you can say guys aren’t playing well, but a guy like Kiké had a career year last year… it was hardly inconceivable he’d return to Earth. Indeed, I’d ask: how unpredictable have performances been? CVaz has been in steady decline. Dalbec has shown a high potential for sucking. JDM is still decent but clearly has lost a step. Story is probably the surprise, and he’ll likely right the ship. I don't think he is escaping criticism. I'm generally in his corner because I like a long-term approach with a goal of sustained success, but I'm open about not liking the Beni trade, replacing E-Rod with Wacha/Hill (though E-Rod has been bad and Wacha is pitching great and could be a nice deadline piece), and other moves and non-moves. But while I'm glad that D-Dom ran the organization for a few years - we all loved 2018! - I also think there's no denying that digging out from a bloated payroll and no farm system takes some time.
|
|
|
Post by foreverred9 on May 1, 2022 10:59:17 GMT -5
I think the criticism of this year should be that he started the year with what seems to be an incomplete roster. Reminiscing about past players would be a moot point if we signed a right fielder this offseason who was producing.
The counter argument would be that we need to think of Story as that “right-fielder”, but my general point still stands. It’s disappointing that they couldn’t do more in the offseason given that we’re Boston. There’s some big holes that we typically don’t see at the beginning of the year.
|
|
|
Post by manfred on May 1, 2022 10:59:32 GMT -5
I am not saying it is all Bloom’s fault, but how does escape criticism? He started Bobby last year, and he stuck with him. That’s his guy. This is his OF. Story was his big move in the off season. The depth — or lack thereof — that puts them in a hole with JDM? His doing. Franchy as next guy up? Him. There are two decent hitters in this lineup, and he was gifted them. Yes, you can say guys aren’t playing well, but a guy like Kiké had a career year last year… it was hardly inconceivable he’d return to Earth. Indeed, I’d ask: how unpredictable have performances been? CVaz has been in steady decline. Dalbec has shown a high potential for sucking. JDM is still decent but clearly has lost a step. Story is probably the surprise, and he’ll likely right the ship. I don't think he is escaping criticism. I'm generally in his corner because I like a long-term approach with a goal of sustained success, but I'm open about not liking the Beni trade, replacing E-Rod with Wacha/Hill (though E-Rod has been bad and Wacha is pitching great and could be a nice deadline piece), and other moves and non-moves. But while I'm glad that D-Dom ran the organization for a few years - we all loved 2018! - I also think there's no denying that digging out from a bloated payroll and no farm system takes some time. Ok, I don’t want to get too far away from just game stuff, but last thing is: what is the statute of limitations on the DD excuse? Can we set it at, say 4 years? Next year most of it is gone. So… then?
|
|
|
Post by incandenza on May 1, 2022 11:04:18 GMT -5
-Something is going on psychologically other than rational calculation when people talk about tanking for multiple seasons because the team has a bad stretch for a few weeks. I really think it's some sort of desire to "punish" the team for playing poorly.
-It's really too early to be talking about stats. Renfroe has a 125 wRC+, which surprised me because when I looked at it literally two days ago it was 76 and he was behind JBJ in fWAR. A 50 point swing in two days tells you all you need to know about how meaningful these sample sizes are. Likewise, Benintendi is leading the league in hitting, but he has an xwOBA of .302, the worst of his career other than 2020 and his 2016 cup of coffee.
Verdugo, meanwhile, has a .365 xwOBA, the highest of his career (and continues to look pretty good to me despite the recent slump). JBJ, in fact, is at .287 (with only a .237 wOBA) - not so far behind Benintendi. By both numbers and eyeball test, both those guys have been unlucky.
-Having said that, there's plenty of downside risk with this lineup: Kiké has only been an average hitter in his career and is on the wrong side of 30; JDM is in decline and already having nagging injury issues; Story is a career 111 wRC+ guy, which is not as good as his reputation seems to be; Dalbec is... not a sure thing, let's say; Vasquez is Vasquez; JBJ is JBJ. God forbid Xander or Devers get hurt.
-Overall, I feel like the issues are about half luck, half roster construction - the offense will be better than this, but I don't know if it'll be good enough.
-Bunt, throwing error, and that's the ballgame. If you like the zombie runner rule you are just objectively wrong.
|
|
|
Post by notstarboard on May 1, 2022 11:07:39 GMT -5
This season has been awful so far, and I have hated watching it, but that has almost nothing to do with swapping out corner OFs. It has much more to do with almost the entire roster, which put up the 5th most runs in the majors last year, slumping at the same time. I could see criticizing the hitting coach, Cora, etc. for the bad approach at the plate, but I don't understand criticizing Bloom. Guys are simply not hitting like they have in the past, even when adjusted for the 2022 dead ball era. Should he have looked into his crystal ball, seen this coming, and traded almost the entire roster to prevent it? More than likely these guys will right the ship offensively. Just hope the hole isn't too deep by then, or it's sell off time. I am not saying it is all Bloom’s fault, but how does escape criticism? He started Bobby last year, and he stuck with him. That’s his guy. This is his OF. Story was his big move in the off season. The depth — or lack thereof — that puts them in a hole with JDM? His doing. Franchy as next guy up? Him. There are two decent hitters in this lineup, and he was gifted them. Yes, you can say guys aren’t playing well, but a guy like Kiké had a career year last year… it was hardly inconceivable he’d return to Earth. Indeed, I’d ask: how unpredictable have performances been? CVaz has been in steady decline. Dalbec has shown a high potential for sucking. JDM is still decent but clearly has lost a step. Story is probably the surprise, and he’ll likely right the ship. It's not even a question of 2021 being career years for some of these guys and then them regressing to the mean, though. The vast majority of the lineup is playing well worse than they have over their careers even when adjusted for the deflated balls. I think it's fair to criticize Bloom for roster depth. I really wanted Suzuki this winter and while I'm fine to roll with JBJ for a bit longer, RF is thin at best. 1B has been a bit more surprising - going into the year I was fine with Bob starting until Casas was ready. He seemed like he'd at least be able to keep the spot warm based on his 2020-21. Bob imploding has left 1B feeling thin, but we wouldn't be having this conversation if he was at his career averages. That 1B situation is the team's broader issue right now. So many guys are underperforming that we're looking down the bench saying "surely there must be someone else who isn't terrible", and bench players, many of whom are also slumping, are all who are looking back at us. Aside from that RF spot, though, the team's depth would feel just fine if the starters were having even average years. Plawecki as backup C and Arroyo as backup middle infield are both solid imo. I don't hate Refsynder as a backup corner OF based on his awesome AAA performance and his few solid games in Toronto, although it's tough to count on him for much. I understand being worried about some combo of Cordero/Davis/Refsynder/Arauz to round out the bench. I don't love it either, even if I have some belief in Cordero and Refsnyder and see AAA reinforcements from Casas and Duran the horizon.
|
|
TearsIn04
Veteran
Everybody knows Nelson de la Rosa, but who is Karim Garcia?
Posts: 2,837
|
Post by TearsIn04 on May 1, 2022 11:10:48 GMT -5
I don't think he is escaping criticism. I'm generally in his corner because I like a long-term approach with a goal of sustained success, but I'm open about not liking the Beni trade, replacing E-Rod with Wacha/Hill (though E-Rod has been bad and Wacha is pitching great and could be a nice deadline piece), and other moves and non-moves. But while I'm glad that D-Dom ran the organization for a few years - we all loved 2018! - I also think there's no denying that digging out from a bloated payroll and no farm system takes some time. Ok, I don’t want to get too far away from just game stuff, but last thing is: what is the statute of limitations on the DD excuse? Can we set it at, say 4 years? Next year most of it is gone. So… then? Again, I'm not a D-Dom basher. As I type this, I'm looking up at a panoramic photo on my wall of Fenway on the opening night of the '18 WS. But yes, I think it's reasonable to expect a good team in 2023. For the first time, he'll have a lot of payroll space and I think he'll get enough value guys on short-term contracts to have a 2021-type season. Having the extra money gives you the ability to miss on a few signings and absorb it.
|
|
|
Post by incandenza on May 1, 2022 11:13:47 GMT -5
I don't think he is escaping criticism. I'm generally in his corner because I like a long-term approach with a goal of sustained success, but I'm open about not liking the Beni trade, replacing E-Rod with Wacha/Hill (though E-Rod has been bad and Wacha is pitching great and could be a nice deadline piece), and other moves and non-moves. But while I'm glad that D-Dom ran the organization for a few years - we all loved 2018! - I also think there's no denying that digging out from a bloated payroll and no farm system takes some time. Ok, I don’t want to get too far away from just game stuff, but last thing is: what is the statute of limitations on the DD excuse? Can we set it at, say 4 years? Next year most of it is gone. So… then? I think so. A ton of payroll space opens up next season, and I think it'll be fair to look at the 2023 roster as basically Bloom's creation.
But also if you're going to judge Bloom you have to judge him on what he's trying to do, which is build organizational depth, i.e. a productive farm system. By next year the farm will be mostly his creation as well, and some of his depth-building additions (like Winckowski, Downs, Seabold, and Hamilton) will be showing whether or not they'll actually pay off. But a lot of that depth will still have future ETAs.
|
|
|
Post by manfred on May 1, 2022 11:19:09 GMT -5
Ok, I don’t want to get too far away from just game stuff, but last thing is: what is the statute of limitations on the DD excuse? Can we set it at, say 4 years? Next year most of it is gone. So… then? I think so. A ton of payroll space opens up next season, and I think it'll be fair to look at the 2023 roster as basically Bloom's creation.
But also if you're going to judge Bloom you have to judge him on what he's trying to do, which is build organizational depth, i.e. a productive farm system. By next year the farm will be mostly his creation as well, and some of his depth-building additions (like Winckowski, Downs, Seabold, and Hamilton) will be showing whether or not they'll actually pay off. But a lot of that depth will still have future ETAs.
That is true, but I will hold him to the promise of contending and being sustainable. I’m not impressed by his depth building, and we do not appear to be contending. I think he has drafted well (though it is hard to go crazy on Mayer, since he got him because a) the team tanked and b) the top player inexplicably fell to that spot). But all these 4:1 trades seem to be adding numbers to soxprospects listings without any clear next wave of real help. Maybe that changes. But I don’t see anyone in that group who will contribute next year. Add: I swear, I’m done now. I know this is very repetitive. Play ball!
|
|
|
Post by redsox04071318champs on May 1, 2022 11:23:09 GMT -5
That is fine, but how many seasons should we be pleased by moves that result in good seasons for AA guys who will be 25 in September? I get — and like — trading guys for prospects at the right moment. But not repeatedly at the expense of the current roster. This season has been *awful* so far. In the end, this is supposed to be entertainment, and it is basically unwatchable. Management— owners down — are responsible for fielding a product worth paying for. This season has been awful so far, and I have hated watching it, but that has almost nothing to do with swapping out corner OFs. It has much more to do with almost the entire roster, which put up the 5th most runs in the majors last year, slumping at the same time. I could see criticizing the hitting coach, Cora, etc. for the bad approach at the plate, but I don't understand criticizing Bloom. Guys are simply not hitting like they have in the past, even when adjusted for the 2022 dead ball era. Should he have looked into his crystal ball, seen this coming, and traded almost the entire roster to prevent it? More than likely these guys will right the ship offensively. Just hope the hole isn't too deep by then, or it's sell off time. Agree on some points. A whole team slump isn't on Bloom. However, one of the arguing points this offseason centered around JBJ as a 3rd OF vs being a 4th OF. Most scoffed at the notion of JBJ being a starting OF, that Bloom would resolve the issue with a guy as good as if not better than Renfroe. Bloom didn't. He didn't even get a platoon partner for JBJ. I'd say that's negligence on Bloom's part along with his inability to find a closer. If they're not willing to spend to get a proven closer then they need to identify one on the cheap, and that has yet to happen and it's reflecting on the mounting number of walkoff losses. Sox pitching has been reasonably good but the pen is predictably bad at holding late inning leads. Those things are on Bloom.
|
|
|
Post by redsoxfan2 on May 1, 2022 11:24:45 GMT -5
The minor affiliate have forgotten how to win also. Only Worcester has a winning record and its 12-11, Greenville has 10 game losing streak. It is catching. Yeah I've been watching our minor league performance especially after last year when we had an impressive cumulative record. This year we were up early to +17 wins. Bottom has dropped out. The Casas train has derailed (hopefully temporarily). Duran was en fuego last year but tanked in Boston. The AAA to majors gap seemed to be cavernous. What would Casas produce in a similar jump when he is Not lighting it up for the WooSox? I feel for Dalbec...Oooff. Keep your head up... Sure it's early but it looks like we have only 3 reliable offensive players in Bogey, Devers and Verdugo....for a team that historically has had an offensive calling card. Right now we are SAD. Prognosis negative, Jerry. Might as well give Jarren another chance, but his BABIP is .515.
|
|
|
Post by incandenza on May 1, 2022 11:34:21 GMT -5
This season has been awful so far, and I have hated watching it, but that has almost nothing to do with swapping out corner OFs. It has much more to do with almost the entire roster, which put up the 5th most runs in the majors last year, slumping at the same time. I could see criticizing the hitting coach, Cora, etc. for the bad approach at the plate, but I don't understand criticizing Bloom. Guys are simply not hitting like they have in the past, even when adjusted for the 2022 dead ball era. Should he have looked into his crystal ball, seen this coming, and traded almost the entire roster to prevent it? More than likely these guys will right the ship offensively. Just hope the hole isn't too deep by then, or it's sell off time. Agree on some points. A whole team slump isn't on Bloom. However, one of the arguing points this offseason centered around JBJ as a 3rd OF vs being a 4th OF. Most scoffed at the notion of JBJ being a starting OF, that Bloom would resolve the issue with a guy as good as if not better than Renfroe. Bloom didn't. He didn't even get a platoon partner for JBJ. I'd say that's negligence on Bloom's part along with his inability to find a closer. If they're not willing to spend to get a proven closer then they need to identify one on the cheap, and that has yet to happen and it's reflecting on the mounting number of walkoff losses. Sox pitching has been reasonably good but the pen is predictably bad at holding late inning leads.
Those things are on Bloom. Are the walkoff losses a bullpen issue or an offense issue? The Red Sox bullpen has a 3.23 ERA and 3.44 FIP, 7th-best in the AL. But if the offense never scores in the late innings anything less than perfection from the bullpen is going to result in blown holds/saves.
Last night is typical. Yeah, Barnes gave up a run, but there's no way that run should have been decisive.
|
|
|