Blooms moves or lack thereof

[elktonnick]

Baghdad Bloom needs to talk less and act more.  It's getting tiresome to watch as they totally don't understand the market. The market has trended towards big long term deals and they keep offering short deals with more AAV.  It doesn't move the needle when you can get a contract that takes you through retirement. 

I have no idea which journeymen he'll trade for and what he'll trade with.  He claims they want to build home grown talent and they let them walk when they come up for renewal, and meanwhile who in that farm system is tradeable?  Casas and Bello are off limits from what I understand (as they'll be key parts of this team) so what are you going to get for Dalbec and Downs and Duran?

Now every time someone signs someone (3 catchers including Vaz moved yesterday, good thing we don't need a catcher) I think "we could have used that guy".  So I guess we're passing on upgrading the catcher spot, we've downgraded the SS spot.  We're taking a flier on Casas as every day 1B which I'd be okay with if he had a MLB lineup behind him.  We have likely the worst OF in MLB.  And Chris Sale is at the top of our rotation, all 150 pounds of him. 

The media is ripping the Sox left and right.  They should change the name to the Boston Titanics.

IMO one of the reasons for the trend towards long-term contracts is inflation
It makes financial sense to lock some one long term and mitagate the longterm risks of injury through insurance.

[longgame]

That's exactly it, the out years aren't worth as much as they seem to.  Remember Manny signing for $20MM a year, then the Sox spread out the end of his contract forever.  If he was hurt insurance would have covered them too.  Not as much risk as the owners want to make out, plus I always laugh at how fans act like it's their money too. 

In the meantime, Zunino signed with the Guardians, where he'll be an old man compared to the rest of that team.  I guess this means we're going with McGuire/Wong for next year so mark another fully downgraded position.  Hopefully Bloom doesn't sign Sanchez.  Active payroll right now for next year is estimated at $149MM.  Story is the highest paid player on the team.  Sale has a higher AAV but for some reason only about $17.5M counts this year.  Didn't look into why.  That puts them at or below the likely team average.  It's hard to fathom what is happening, or rather not happening.

[Sea Dog 23]

The doors are still open at FSG.  To make room for Jansen on the 40 man, they DFAd Hoy Park - we hardly knew ye.  Seems like he earned about a $mil (?) I don’t think they’ve made it official for Yoshida.  They can move Ort or maybe Frank German.

The Sox did say they were going to add 7-9 players, now with $40mil left to spend.  You can see their pitiful budget. Correa went to Giants, 13 /$350m.  He was not Sox worthy.  Nor was Ross Stripling at $12.5m AAV. You’d think Bloom would go for Yarbrough, who went tonight for 1@$3m.  I’m not sure who they’re targeting now. They did imply today that Houck is now a SP.  Rich Hill to complete the staff I guess, as crazy as that sounds.

[longgame]

The Correa signing really busted the Sox.  They could play off that they thought Bogey was paid too much, but now it's clear that if you want a top SS you're going to pay a lot for a lot of years.  The Sox are sticking their heads in the sand and offering contracts which would have been attractive 10 or 15 years ago.  It's mind boggling.  There's no way they open up the wallet for Swanson so it's Story at SS and then Arroyo I guess at 2B?  I still say put Kike there and get at least one legit outfielder out there. 

Something is really bothering me about the Sox' approach.  They say they want to build the farm system.  So isn't the best way to do that is stock up on free agents to give those guys time to develop?  Instead they get mid-level talent and then have to DFA prospects.  Bloom says they'll be active in trades.  Well that's going to be more young players and you still have to pay the guys you trade for - or do you just get them for two years until they hit free agency?  Or keep signing the Kikes and Matt Barnes of the world?  Nothing makes sense and the Sox are floundering even worse with apparently no valid short or long term plan. 

[elktonnick]

The Correa signing really busted the Sox.  They could play off that they thought Bogey was paid too much, but now it's clear that if you want a top SS you're going to pay a lot for a lot of years.  The Sox are sticking their heads in the sand and offering contracts which would have been attractive 10 or 15 years ago.  It's mind boggling.  There's no way they open up the wallet for Swanson so it's Story at SS and then Arroyo I guess at 2B?  I still say put Kike there and get at least one legit outfielder out there. 

Something is really bothering me about the Sox' approach.  They say they want to build the farm system.  So isn't the best way to do that is stock up on free agents to give those guys time to develop?  Instead they get mid-level talent and then have to DFA prospects.  Bloom says they'll be active in trades.  Well that's going to be more young players and you still have to pay the guys you trade for - or do you just get them for two years until they hit free agency?  Or keep signing the Kikes and Matt Barnes of the world?  Nothing makes sense and the Sox are floundering even worse with apparently no valid short or long term plan.

I read somewhere that the Red Sox farm system is worse now than it was last year.  Blame Henry on the budget but Bloom is failing on his own terms.  I think a solid case can be made that Bloom is no judge of talent.

BTW Correa's reported contract means that Devers should expect a minimum 10 year deal in excess of 280 to 290 m.  If Sox are unwilling to sign him for that type deal, one can expect that Boston will never be competive again.with this ownership or with Bloom.

[longgame]

The Correa signing really busted the Sox.  They could play off that they thought Bogey was paid too much, but now it's clear that if you want a top SS you're going to pay a lot for a lot of years.  The Sox are sticking their heads in the sand and offering contracts which would have been attractive 10 or 15 years ago.  It's mind boggling.  There's no way they open up the wallet for Swanson so it's Story at SS and then Arroyo I guess at 2B?  I still say put Kike there and get at least one legit outfielder out there. 

Something is really bothering me about the Sox' approach.  They say they want to build the farm system.  So isn't the best way to do that is stock up on free agents to give those guys time to develop?  Instead they get mid-level talent and then have to DFA prospects.  Bloom says they'll be active in trades.  Well that's going to be more young players and you still have to pay the guys you trade for - or do you just get them for two years until they hit free agency?  Or keep signing the Kikes and Matt Barnes of the world?  Nothing makes sense and the Sox are floundering even worse with apparently no valid short or long term plan.

I read somewhere that the Red Sox farm system is worse now than it was last year.  Blame Henry on the budget but Bloom is failing on his own terms.  I think a solid case can be made that Bloom is no judge of talent.

BTW Correa's reported contract means that Devers should expect a minimum 10 year deal in excess of 280 to 290 m.  If Sox are unwilling to sign him for that type deal, one can expect that Boston will never be competive again with this ownership or with Bloom.

And they better decide soon.  Either offer him something like that now, or trade him.  That's the number and they can't roll the clock back 20 years.  At some point the team has to at least act like they're interested in fielding a competitive team, don't they?

[SeaBeachFred]

The doors are still open at FSG.  To make room for Jansen on the 40 man, they DFAd Hoy Park - we hardly knew ye.  Seems like he earned about a $mil (?) I don’t think they’ve made it official for Yoshida.  They can move Ort or maybe Frank German.

The Sox did say they were going to add 7-9 players, now with $40mil left to spend.  You can see their pitiful budget. Correa went to Giants, 13 /$350m.  He was not Sox worthy.  Nor was Ross Stripling at $12.5m AAV. You’d think Bloom would go for Yarbrough, who went tonight for 1@$3m.  I’m not sure who they’re targeting now. They did imply today that Houck is now a SP.  Rich Hill to complete the staff I guess, as crazy as that sounds.

Sea Dog, Bloom has been outed as a small market bean counter with a small market brain and either with the blessing of owner Prune Face or maybe even on his own is driving the team into another miserable summer next season.  That a big market team like ours could descend into a pathetic mediocrity is an indictment of the malfeasance of those who are lying to their fans and pretending they  are something that they most certainly are not.  That pitiful budget of $40 million for mine players?  What kind of real talent can we expect with that miserable allocation of resources.  Like you and others I'm disgusted beyond belief.

[MongoLikeSox]

I'm baffled as it gets with Bloom. Henry I don't condone, but I understand. We can vote with our money, but at the end of the day, it's our dime.

Now on Bloom, WTS is going on in that guys' cavernous skull? He trades a young, legitimate prospect for someone who nobody else wanted and then turn around and DFA the guy a month later??? That move cost us Thad Ward on top of it? It's exasperating.

And who in the hell sends a guy like Thad Ward to the Arizona Fall League to get him ready for the big leagues, but doesn't protect him after he's wowed the scouts? An idiot that thought far more of PR points than his baseball team.

Red Sox farm system worse? That was hard to do, but they did it. Their upper level talent was not developed for big league success. Sure, the intent was there. It just didn't happen. Big fails. Most of the touted promoted position players bombed at their respective next levels. Season-long disasters.

This is an organization that "stays the course" as long as it can when they are under the microscope. Imagine the stubborn idiots without that microscope keeping them from going too far into the ditch? In August, IIRC, we listed out all the acquisitions and names the Bloom got and their massive fail rate. A month later, Bloom himself throws the system under the bus by saying it's all their fault for not giving these kids the tools needed to succeed. I'm not making this up. I'm paraphrasing from memory here, but the bloom-speak was simple - 'We got the right players and pieces. The blame, then, falls on us as an organization for not doing what we needed to do to ensure their success. We have to do better job of coaching on all levels.' 

This is the worst that it's been for a long time. That's saying something.

[longgame]

So a guy like Bellinger (who signed a one year deal for $12MM) couldn't fill a hole in the outfield?  I just don't get how they think a poor fielding guy who never played MLB is going to be a big upgrade with the two other poor defenders out there. 

Nothing makes sense with this club.  Like Mongo said they let the young prospects go.  They trade them for depth pieces at best.  They don't want to pay anyone other than Trevor Story and Chris Sale, also mediocre (do we even know if Sale has anything left at this point since he hasn't really pitched more than a couple of games in years?). 

Continue to be supremely frustrated and based on what I read elsewhere, so is every other Red Sox fan (except the pink hats who think you should be happy no matter what slop they put out there.)

[MongoLikeSox]

The BS department keeps on ah keepin' on. Devers is the new #1 priority, meaning to get him signed to his extension. Have we just danced this same waltz recently?

And the Red Sox MLB page states that Jansen is overjoyed because he is coming to boston, and Yoshida chose the Red Sox because they are the best organization out of the 30 teams.

Hokey Dokey!

[longgame]

While the Yankees loaded up with Rodon last night, there were reports that the Sox were heavily interested in Swanson - so I guess we won’t be getting Swanson either.

[elktonnick]

The BS department keeps on ah keepin' on. Devers is the new #1 priority, meaning to get him signed to his extension. Have we just danced this same waltz recently?

And the Red Sox MLB page states that Jansen is overjoyed because he is coming to boston, and Yoshida chose the Red Sox because they are the best organization out of the 30 teams.

Hokey Dokey!

Henry has a bridge in Brooklyn he wants us to buy.

[Sea Dog 23]

If the Sox were congressmen, you’d say they were making sausage. The product sure doesn’t look like your father’s baseball.  On Friday the Sox DFA’d Hosmer (the Boston press: “they didn’t want him”)  So the net effect was losing Jason Groome to the Padres.

But with a40 man slot now available, Sox traded with KC with minor league pitcher Wallace (who we got for a good OF Kevin Pillar) for a guy named Mills, who will pitch in the Boson bullpen. A 6-4 submariner coming off an 4.49 era 1.50 WHIP (the Boston press: “they like his arm slot”)  Bloom, the smartest man in the room, rinse and repeat.

[elktonnick]

The fundamental question is this any better than last years team
  Quick answer is nope.  The secondary question is whether Bloom has laid the foundation for this team to be consistently competitive long term.  Answer is nope.  The reality is the farm system does not look any better than it did under Dombrowski.  It has yet to produce any position player who can play solid ball at the ml level.

[MongoLikeSox]

Looking at what we lost......
That kid Wallace was a BP guy who had 12.6K per 9IP. 3.81 ERA in Portland doesn't tell the whole story. He had a rough start after a rough 2021. Was off to a roaring pre-Pandemic start. Had a bad start with Portland, but finished it off with very nice August and September ERA's below 2.00. Big letdown last two games. 1 inning each, 4 walks, 5 SB allowed. Got rattled, but did not allow any runs.

Looking at what we got back......
Mills came up through the Mariner's system. Last two years of AAA was 3.14 and 2.14. He had stints in the bigs both years and that did not go well. 9.15 and 4.60 ERA's respectively. His K's per 9 plummeted upon being called up. We've seen a lot of that. I supposed there is some hope for him with the improved ERA, but he had a major jump in WHIP after going to the Royals mid-season.

We all know Hosmer - we think. So, Mr Value himself DFA'd Hosmer? I'm sensing there is something we do not know about Mr Hosmer. Big time defender with Warning Track power generated by a swing that didn't match any of his numbers. Decent enough offensively save HR's on top of way above average defense and nobody wants him? It does not make sense. Something does not add up.

We did get a pair of Minor Leaguers from San Diego along with that Jay Groome deal. A 23 year MI named Ferguson with massive BB numbers to go along with his .214 BA which included a .161 A+ BA when the Sox got him. The greatest organization in Baseball (the Sox) did manage to fix him once we got him and his BA jumped to .181 with us. Drinks of Chaim!  The other guy, Corey Rosier, has some decent numbers, though. At least until he got into the Red Sox farm system. His BA dropped 100 points from the .263 he was hitting. Both players were drafted last season.

Both players also have had some very impressive SB numbers. David Hamilton might have some competition soon in the productive speed department. I have no idea how well they play defense.

Anyone noticing some trends? LOL