Fire Bloom .

[jacksonianmarch]

Most rankings have the Sox about 10th or 11th best farm, so I guess most pens are just horrible then. Pack it up everyone.

For the first time in a long time the Sox were actually able to bring up younger pitchers (Winckowski, Crawford, Bello) and there are others on the horizon that could bolster the pen next season (Mata, Bazardo, Murphy, German, Politi). There are even some longer shots like Thaddeus Ward who has pitched well since coming back from TJS and Ryan Zeferjahn who has been much better since converting to relief and reducing his pitch mix.

You could have posted this a few years ago and been right on the money, but I think you're a little off base at the moment.

Your minor league system is top heavy. You have 2 high level prospects in Casas and Mayer. That usually rockets you up. But the sox farm did not have a good year. Also, the sox pitching prospects are thin as an anorexic teenager. You and I both know it. Beyond Mata and Bello, there really isn't an arm there that gives you an inkling they can pitch in the bigs.

[Bobe2]

That's BS. Playing armchair GM is part of every sports chat board. Says nothing about one's fandom.

Sure it is, but you all say the same thing, get original have your own thoughts be entertaining instead of blah blah blah, and saying the same things over and over and over again, stop trying to intimidate others with endless numbers and useless facts and figures, like you said it’s a chat board not GMs in training

[moonslav59]

Your minor league system is top heavy. You have 2 high level prospects in Casas and Mayer. That usually rockets you up. But the sox farm did not have a good year. Also, the sox pitching prospects are thin as an anorexic teenager. You and I both know it. Beyond Mata and Bello, there really isn't an arm there that gives you an inkling they can pitch in the bigs.

Have you really researched Sox prospects all that much?

No "inkling they can pitch in the bigs." That's a pretty low bar you set to go on and neglect all pitchers beyond Bello & Mata. Now, what I'm about to say may not mean much, because our pitching prospects have been so scarce and underwhelming for many years, but this farm system has more quality and quantity of promising pitchers in a long time.

We've already seen Crawford show signs he can "pitch in the bigs." Wink and Seabold, not so much, but the book is not closed on them, just yet.

Beyond those that have pitched in the bigs and Mata, we have plenty of hopefuls, and I'm not talking long shots to "make the bigs."

Frank German: .495 OPS Against in AA/AAA (63K in 49 IP) 0.90 WHIP
He could easily be a very good set-up man or maybe even a decent c loser.

Brandon Walter: .585 OPS Against (75 Ks and 7 BB in 58 IP in AA/AAA)

Wikelman Gonzalez: .623 OPSA (121 Ks in 98 IP at A-/A+)

Chris Murphy: .665 OPSA (136K in 134 IP AA/AAA) 1.24 WHIP

Thaddeus Ward: .601 OPSA (66 Ks in 51 IP on 4 teams-rehabbing)

Farther away or a longer shot:
Luis Perales: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Shane Drohan: .690 (157K in 130 IP) 1.26 in A+/AA)
Tyler Uberstine: .657 (101 K in 92 IP at A-/A+)
AJ Politi: .602 (74K in 64 IP in AA/AAA)
Jacob Wallace: .670 (74 Ks in 55 IP at AA)
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: .561 (42 in 38 IP at FCL/A-)
Jedixson Paez: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Juan Encarnacion: .642 (129K in 113 IP A-/A+)
Luis de la Rosa: .626 (58Ks in 49 IP (FCL/A-)

Others: Noah Song, Victor Santos, Ryan Fernandez, Angel Bastardo, Noah Dean, Luis Guerrero, Reidis Sena

[moonslav59]

There seems to be a lot of armchair GMs and not many real Sox fans here

I thank you for the positive attitude you have always shown towards the team you root for.

[moonslav59]

Sure it is, but you all say the same thing, get original have your own thoughts be entertaining instead of blah blah blah, and saying the same things over and over and over again, stop trying to intimidate others with endless numbers and useless facts and figures, like you said it’s a chat board not GMs in training

Bell "trying to intimidate others?"

Get real.

[Bobe2]

Bell "trying to intimidate others?"

Get real.

I wasn’t zeroing in on him, he just happened to be the person that I responded to I would have said the same to whoever replied

[moonslav59]

I wasn’t zeroing in on him, he just happened to be the person that I responded to I would have said the same to whoever replied

I love your originality. No blah, blah, blah from you.

[Bobe2]

Have you really researched Sox prospects all that much?

No "inkling they can pitch in the bigs." That's a pretty low bar you set to go on and neglect all pitchers beyond Bello & Mata. Now, what I'm about to say may not mean much, because our pitching prospects have been so scarce and underwhelming for many years, but this farm system has more quality and quantity of promising pitchers in a long time.

We've already seen Crawford show signs he can "pitch in the bigs." Wink and Seabold, not so much, but the book is not closed on them, just yet.

Beyond those that have pitched in the bigs and Mata, we have plenty of hopefuls, and I'm not talking long shots to "make the bigs."

Frank German: .495 OPS Against in AA/AAA (63K in 49 IP) 0.90 WHIP
He could easily be a very good set-up man or maybe even a decent c loser.

Brandon Walter: .585 OPS Against (75 Ks and 7 BB in 58 IP in AA/AAA)

Wikelman Gonzalez: .623 OPSA (121 Ks in 98 IP at A-/A+)

Chris Murphy: .665 OPSA (136K in 134 IP AA/AAA) 1.24 WHIP

Thaddeus Ward: .601 OPSA (66 Ks in 51 IP on 4 teams-rehabbing)

Farther away or a longer shot:
Luis Perales: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Shane Drohan: .690 (157K in 130 IP) 1.26 in A+/AA)
Tyler Uberstine: .657 (101 K in 92 IP at A-/A+)
AJ Politi: .602 (74K in 64 IP in AA/AAA)
Jacob Wallace: .670 (74 Ks in 55 IP at AA)
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: .561 (42 in 38 IP at FCL/A-)
Jedixson Paez: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Juan Encarnacion: .642 (129K in 113 IP A-/A+)
Luis de la Rosa: .626 (58Ks in 49 IP (FCL/A-)

Others: Victor Santos, Ryan Fernandez, Angel Bastardo, Noah Dean, Luis Guerrero, Reidis Sena

Case in point

[a700hitter]

Over The Monster. Why did Familia pitch last night? Excellent article to read, or listen to.

We will not have to see him pitch any more. That is a positive.

[Red Foreman]

Bloom was brought in to trade Mookie and clear salary space. That has been accomplished at all costs. Thanks Chaim. Now it is time to bring in someone with an ounce of talent evaluation skill. Payroll out and garbage in doesn't equal championships.

[notin]

Have you really researched Sox prospects all that much?

No "inkling they can pitch in the bigs." That's a pretty low bar you set to go on and neglect all pitchers beyond Bello & Mata. Now, what I'm about to say may not mean much, because our pitching prospects have been so scarce and underwhelming for many years, but this farm system has more quality and quantity of promising pitchers in a long time.

We've already seen Crawford show signs he can "pitch in the bigs." Wink and Seabold, not so much, but the book is not closed on them, just yet.

Beyond those that have pitched in the bigs and Mata, we have plenty of hopefuls, and I'm not talking long shots to "make the bigs."

Frank German: .495 OPS Against in AA/AAA (63K in 49 IP) 0.90 WHIP
He could easily be a very good set-up man or maybe even a decent c loser.

Brandon Walter: .585 OPS Against (75 Ks and 7 BB in 58 IP in AA/AAA)

Wikelman Gonzalez: .623 OPSA (121 Ks in 98 IP at A-/A+)

Chris Murphy: .665 OPSA (136K in 134 IP AA/AAA) 1.24 WHIP

Thaddeus Ward: .601 OPSA (66 Ks in 51 IP on 4 teams-rehabbing)

Farther away or a longer shot:
Luis Perales: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Shane Drohan: .690 (157K in 130 IP) 1.26 in A+/AA)
Tyler Uberstine: .657 (101 K in 92 IP at A-/A+)
AJ Politi: .602 (74K in 64 IP in AA/AAA)
Jacob Wallace: .670 (74 Ks in 55 IP at AA)
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: .561 (42 in 38 IP at FCL/A-)
Jedixson Paez: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Juan Encarnacion: .642 (129K in 113 IP A-/A+)
Luis de la Rosa: .626 (58Ks in 49 IP (FCL/A-)

Others: Victor Santos, Ryan Fernandez, Angel Bastardo, Noah Dean, Luis Guerrero, Reidis Sena

Noah Song, too…

[notin]

It’s many fans just looking at things in a different way. Some just worry about what’s going on today with todays game, and some go much deeper, and worry if JH has to pay a tax, and what the tail end of the 40 man roster looks like, and all the jobs, and responsibilities that Bloom has. The old different strokes for different folks, and what wets your whistle. I see both sides.

No one worries if Henry has to pay a tax. Some folks just acknowledge he won’t always do it, and history has backed them up on this repeatedly…

[notin]

Bloom has a philosophy for constructing a bullpen. It is not unusual. It is straight out of the analytics handbook. That is , relievers are hit or miss. Don't spend money on the bullpen. Piece it together. Sometimes that works. Obviously, it is not working for the Sox. I have said it for a long time. In today's game , the bullpen is so vital. If you don't have a good one , you are in trouble. We can only hope that this becomes a priority this off season.

That’s actually NOT the analytics approach. In fact, that’s the approach of Old School GMs.

[Bobe2]

No one worries if Henry has to pay a tax. Some folks just acknowledge he won’t always do it, and history has backed them up on this repeatedly…

The Sox have been over the luxury tax 11 times for a grand total tax of around $50 million, in comparison the Dodgers tax for last year alone was $40 million, on a $340 million payroll,

[jacksonianmarch]

Have you really researched Sox prospects all that much?

No "inkling they can pitch in the bigs." That's a pretty low bar you set to go on and neglect all pitchers beyond Bello & Mata. Now, what I'm about to say may not mean much, because our pitching prospects have been so scarce and underwhelming for many years, but this farm system has more quality and quantity of promising pitchers in a long time.

We've already seen Crawford show signs he can "pitch in the bigs." Wink and Seabold, not so much, but the book is not closed on them, just yet.

Beyond those that have pitched in the bigs and Mata, we have plenty of hopefuls, and I'm not talking long shots to "make the bigs."

Frank German: .495 OPS Against in AA/AAA (63K in 49 IP) 0.90 WHIP
He could easily be a very good set-up man or maybe even a decent c loser.

Brandon Walter: .585 OPS Against (75 Ks and 7 BB in 58 IP in AA/AAA)

Wikelman Gonzalez: .623 OPSA (121 Ks in 98 IP at A-/A+)

Chris Murphy: .665 OPSA (136K in 134 IP AA/AAA) 1.24 WHIP

Thaddeus Ward: .601 OPSA (66 Ks in 51 IP on 4 teams-rehabbing)

Farther away or a longer shot:
Luis Perales: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Shane Drohan: .690 (157K in 130 IP) 1.26 in A+/AA)
Tyler Uberstine: .657 (101 K in 92 IP at A-/A+)
AJ Politi: .602 (74K in 64 IP in AA/AAA)
Jacob Wallace: .670 (74 Ks in 55 IP at AA)
Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: .561 (42 in 38 IP at FCL/A-)
Jedixson Paez: .523 (50Ks in 36 IP at FCL/A-)
Juan Encarnacion: .642 (129K in 113 IP A-/A+)
Luis de la Rosa: .626 (58Ks in 49 IP (FCL/A-)

Others: Victor Santos, Ryan Fernandez, Angel Bastardo, Noah Dean, Luis Guerrero, Reidis Sena

I stand by my comment.