We have here a few ardent Bloom supporters who will continue to back him no matter what happens and no matter what anyone else says. I am sure they have their reasons. Everyone else is fair game to be ripped and tossed under the bus. But not Chaim Bloom. I do not think most of Red Sox Nation falls into that category. They just want to see results and some good baseball. They are not seeing that and they are not happy about it. Bloom is the man in charge . This is his third year. It is perfectly fair to hold him accountable.
Old school is good school.
I’m sure both want that kind of cash. But both have agents telling them “ not happening, dude.”
Soto is 23 years old (24 in October) and despite this one year has already established himself among the best hitters in MLB despite being only one year older than the top overall pick in last year’s draft. By the time he is 27, he very well might make Mike Trout look like Tim Salmon.
Bogaerts is 30 and probably looking may a deal close to the 7 year $175 of Marcus Semien last year. I put Bogaerts at 6/$150, I might be light.
Devers was offered something similar to the deal Matt Olson got from Atlanta (8 yrs $168mill) and commented the Sox were “about $100 mill off.” Since I doubt he wanted $68mill, let’s put him at $270mill for 9 years.
Let me say again that I have zero GM credentials.
Nevertheless, I must point out that "another season like this one" ignores all the injuries we have seen: Sale, Wacha, Eovaldi, Whitlock, Hill, Kike, Story, et al. Despite those injuries and the grim reality that this year's team ERA is 14th in the AL and worst in the John Henry era, the Sox are at .500 and 3.5 games out of a wild card. And don't forget that the AL East teams have 57 more wins than losses and the Sox play 19 x 4 = 76 games against the other four.
I am not saying this is a good season. Like everyone else, I'm appalled at the defense, baserunning, bullpen lapses, weak hitting with RISP, etc. In fact, I would definitely like to see some new faces.
Meanwhile, however, there is the dilemma of whether or not to retain Bogey and Devers, either of whom and definitely both of whom would be prohibitively expensive.
If Bogaerts can’t/won’t be extended, Enmanuel Valdez is off to a hit start in Worcester pushing for 2b. The FA OF class is weak (and won’t containJudge, especially if he breaks Maris’ still-standing AL home run record), but there’s always some arb eligibles that teams want to move.
I mentioned Laureano already. Cody Bellinger is a non tender candidate. Bryan Reynolds is one that should grab lots of attention…
My opinion of Alex Cora is that he is a good manager . Not the best manager , but a good one. I think he is kind of caught in the middle of the rancor between Sox management and the players , fans and media. He is doing his best to keep things calm and try to win with what he has been given. I would not like to see him leave.
Old school is good school.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I don't see a single poster giving Bloom a free pass on everything or even almost everything. I do see posters trying to give context to why certain moves were made and why the moves might have been understandable, at the time they were made, just like I try to defend DD's Sale extension at the time it was made but how it sucks, now.
I also see a fw ardent Bloom bashers who will continue to bash him no matter what happens and no matter what anyone else says. I am sure they have their reasons. Every poster who attempts to soften the blows thrown at Bloom are fair game to be ripped and tossed under the bus. But not the team leaders and clubhouse wonders.
They never mention any of his many good moves, and make it sound like everything he touches turns to doo-doo. Many assume he is choosing to not spend big and wants to run the team like the Rays.
Personally, I think 2021 raised fans expectations beyond reason. The 2022 team and farm are vastly better than the one handed Bloom. The DD budget is going to be greatly reduced, this winter, and Bloom should be judged on the teams progression from the end of 2019 to now and the end of this winter's moves and decisions.
I'm fine with people holding Bloom accountable. I don't think it's a black and white as many seem to think it is, but that's the way of the world, these days. Little nuances and context is present.
Bloom should be held accountable for all his choices.
He's made plenty of bad choices. Some look god-awful right now, but some of those still have time to be righted or at least partially improved upon.
The Beni trade is already looking better than it did at first. His team control is over after this season. We replaced his salary with renfroe, last year, and that alone just about evened up the score. Now Wink is tilting the trade to a net plus, and we still have more to see from him and the other 3 far-away prospects.
The Pivetta-Seabold deal was golden.
The JBJ trade looks like a total bust, and it hurt the finances, but Binelas and hamilton do still show faint promise, so maybe we need another year or two to know just how bad the deal was.
Many of Bloom's mid-level signings ranged from meh to bad, but what is really expected of most $3M to $10M signings? 50-50 success rate?
Paxton
Richards
(Barnes extension)
(Ottavino/German salary dump trade)
(JBJ-Renfroe trade)
Kike
M Perez I and M Perez II
Wacha
Hill
Diekman
Strahm
Renfroe
Pillar
Marwin
Peraza
Sawamura
Moreland
Andriese
One can easily argue these deals show less than 50% success, so bash away on these, but don't forget Whitlock, Winckowski, Schreiber, Refsnyder, Arroyo and a few other under-the-radar moves than probably balance those out or maybe even go plus side.
Are we better off now than the end of 2019 and start of 2020?
I'd say clearly much better on the 26, the 40, the farm and the finances. Call me a "prolific" poster who supports Bloom, but I am not one who never criticizes Bloom. It seems to me, there are more Bloom bashers who rarely mention the good than Bloom supporters who rarely mention the bad. That's my perception, anyway.
Sox 4 Ever