Does anyone care.

[elktonnick]

The sad fact is that there is no buzz for the Red Sox.  Does anyone care?

[SeaBeachFred]

I would venture to say that most every Red Sox fans deep down cares.......cares very much.  But we aren't morons; we know ownership has decided that winning and spending money to achieve the best team possible is a pipe dream for us now,  John Henry in just five short years has undone all the good he achieved in bringing fame and pride to our ball club and making us for a time the most dominant team in the game.  They are gambling that the swath of young talent we do have will translate into the next great Red Sox team, but they had better develop about a half dozen good young pitchers to make this happen and pay the price for an ace like we had before in Pedro, Curt Josh and Jon.  I hope that can come about.

[longgame]

Agreed Fred, I care, I'm just not excited.  I will say that they are winning more in ST than they are losing, for what it's worth.  They seem to have a decent lineup offensively, but I haven't watched much to get a sense of defense. Pitching still worries me a lot so I don't expect much out of them.  I think keeping expectations low will help.  I'm hoping we get to see some good young players like Casas, Duran and Rafaela having good years.

[elktonnick]

One of the team's biggest issues is no depth.  Plus Cora despite his reputation will once again blow out the bullpen by the ASB.  Even if they manage to win more than they lose early come July and August they will fade quickly with a plethora of dead arms.  Barring injuries this is at best a 75 win club.  With their usual spate of injuries these guys could easily lose a hundred.

[Sea Dog 23]

It seems that the Sox received a huge body blow, and now they have no solution -- within their tight budget.  The loss of Giolito asks for a big PLAN B or C for Sox pitching.  How do they replace Gio and add another arm, which was in their PLAN A.  Two weeks ago Breslow seemed to indicate they were happy with an internal fix.  WTH?

For me I understand the Sox season will be a mail it in type for MGT., they have essentially given up on this team being competitive.  I will resort to following pitching development.  With Breslow and Andrew Bailey, they have some good minds, I think, to build for the 2025 pitching.  Their pitching creations from FA's and the waiver wire appear to be Criswell, Isiah Campbell, Justin Slaten (Rule 5 pickup), and Hendrix (for 24-25).  Like elk said above, the 2024 depth is fragile, and hopefully they don't create elbow problems for pitchers in 2024 which would carry into 2025.  Two weeks before the season, this Front Office is flying on a wing and a prayer.

[elktonnick]

It seems that the Sox received a huge body blow, and now they have no solution -- within their tight budget.  The loss of Giolito asks for a big PLAN B or C for Sox pitching.  How do they replace Gio and add another arm, which was in their PLAN A.  Two weeks ago Breslow seemed to indicate they were happy with an internal fix.  WTH?

For me I understand the Sox season will be a mail it in type for MGT., they have essentially given up on this team being competitive.  I will resort to following pitching development.  With Breslow and Andrew Bailey, they have some good minds, I think, to build for the 2025 pitching.  Their pitching creations from FA's and the waiver wire appear to be Criswell, Isiah Campbell, Justin Slaten (Rule 5 pickup), and Hendrix (for 24-25).  Like elk said above, the 2024 depth is fragile, and hopefully they don't create elbow problems for pitchers in 2024 which would carry into 2025.  Two weeks before the season, this Front Office is flying on a wing and a prayer.

Watched Criswell pitch twice.  His fastball tops out at about 90 if the wind is at his back.  He relies on changing his release point to fool batters.  I can't see him as a starter.  He will get clobbered second time through the order.  But they have indicated he may be their 5th starter.  If true it just shows how much their pitching is lacking.

[SeaBeachFred]

Now would be the time for the teamd to get buy and sign Montgomery.  We need at least another starter and Monty would more than likely become our No. 1 or two at least.  The money is there, the guys is still unsigned.  How about it front office.  Get your ship to sea.

[longgame]

It's absurd they haven't made a move to at least replace Giolito on the roster.  I'm actually excited about the lineup to some extent if they can get it going.  There's a lot of pop up and down that lineup.  But I just can't see our starting pitching getting anywhere and certainly can't see them pitching enough innings to not chew up the bullpen.  And that bullpen has Jansen (Yet to pitch) and Martin (injured). 

What a joy it's going to be for these guys to start off in the DR and then go to the West Coast too.  They pointed out on the broadcast that they play day games in ST and then will play night games on the West Coast that start at their normal bedtimes during spring training.  Could be a rough start which could cause a loss of confidence among the young players. 

TLDR - excited about the lineup, worried about the lack of pitching, bad start could send them reeling.