I think the 'problem' is that it's a seriously loaded division and extremely hard to know how to approach things as a BOS GM. You have BAL who has done a complete rebuild and whose young star players are just starting to emerge, TOR who has a great young core and who is very aggressive trading prospects, TB who seems to be continually reloading, and NYY who are trying to protect their prospect core while continuing to compete now. Really Bloom probably should have done a full-fledge BAL-style reboot from day 1, but I doubt the fan base would have put up with that (and it was not clear that was the way to go at the time).
This may not be as much of an issue come next year, given the new balanced schedule
Right, it actually may be more of an issue because AL East teams may have even better records collectively with a presumably weaker schedule.
Not for nothing, but Theo Epstein did a pretty good job of this. Maybe the ownership team has outsized expectations?
I agree with this and would go so far as to say that attempting to compete this season, when it was clear from the get go that they were a step below, has set the team back even further than they would have been otherwise.
I don’t know…. I think when the old core fell apart Theo was under similar constraints and made some pretty bad decisions then jumped ship. Cherington came in and actually fixed up his mess…. Then ownership seemed to stick their noses in and forced some more bad decisions on him.
I kind of disagree that Bloom's previous three offseasons are instructive for how he'll be operate this next one. One reason is that Bloom has had exactly zero typical offseasons since he was hired. The first winter was about finding a manager, carrying out the Mookie trade and then watching the pandemic (and Sale and E-Rod injuries) render everything pointless. The second winter was COVID-stricken with plenty of reasonable concern of a shortened season. And last winter was swallowed up by the lockout.
Except Theo had the huge advantage of scoring multiple compensation picks when they let the aging core leave.
Regarding Turner. The new pickoff rule will really enhance the value of speed guys. And the shift ban should similarly enhance the value of good up the middle defenders.
There’s incalculable handwringing about how an athletic power hitter the size of Aaron Judge might age into his late thirties. I’d be much more concerned how a speedy, slap-hitting so-so shortstop ages in that span.
Err .. I DO want to keep Bogaerts (see above) . Just about anyone they sign as a replacement is going to have the same age related decline.
That’s probably true. But his first two drafts were good. In 2003 four of the top six made the Majors with Papelbon being the best. In 2004, three of the top five made the Majors with Pedroia being the jewel of that crown.
Sorry, I meant to direct that at the rhetorical you, not you personally, and I agree with you. I think I just used your post as a springboard to go off on another anti-Turner rant.
While there have been a rash of injuries this year, this team was lucky to get to where they did last year. A team can get hot at just the right time, but last year’s team did not have anywhere near the talent of the other three teams that played in the LCS.
If this is referencing old tweets of Turners I really don’t think Bloom cares. He kept Brasier around, traded for a backup catcher that got caught jerking off in a parking lot as well as an unpopular Asshole who slaps people over memes he doesn’t like.
I somewhat agree. I absolutely give them both until the trade deadline next year. If there are no signs of improvement it may be time to cut bait.
I said the same thing a month ago, and this board pulled a Blondie move on me - Rip Her To Shreds. Let's see how well you fare....
Mediocrity might be the best the Sox can do or develop.
my memory of Manager start dates isn’t strong, but I think Cora was the last one and John Farrell was the one before that, so maybe it’s just a Sox thing? Tito in 2004, too!
But that could also be attributed to guys playing out of position based on roster construction. Take out Kiké's shortstop errors, for example, and we're likely not even having this conversation.
Well, Cora's managerial tendencies have changed. He's pinch hitting a lot more for example - but he's still not using his players' speed to steal. The "Rate+" stats are compared to the league, not MLB total (e.g., he's now, just this year, a hair above average with PH.)
Steal 2 Steal 3 Sac Intet Walks Subs
Rk Year Age Tm Lg G Ch Att Rate Rate+ Ch Att Rate Rate+ Ch Att Rate Rate+ PA IBB Rate Rate+ PH/G PH/G+ PR/G PR/G+ P/G P/G+
1 2018 42 BOS AL 162 1482 131 8.8% 130 1034 20 1.9% 135 1521 7 0.5% 42 6166 8 0.1% 38 0.62 100 0.14 68 4.3 100
2 2019 43 BOS AL 162 1586 83 5.2% 87 981 13 1.3% 98 1521 18 1.2% 116 6400 22 0.3% 119 0.80 137 0.18 108 4.9 111
3 2021 45 BOS AL 162 1384 46 3.3% 57 999 12 1.2% 83 1437 10 0.7% 72 6147 31 0.5% 198 0.59 96 0.14 84 4.5 103
4 2022 46 BOS AL 162 1437 60 4.2% 65 1032 9 0.9% 63 1537 12 0.8% 82 6167 17 0.3% 103 0.57 85 0.12 57 4.6 105
5 2023 47 BOS AL 58 517 34 6.6% 80 370 2 0.5% 30 544 4 0.7% 91 2203 2 0.1% 32 1.00 136 0.28 126 4.1 98
5 years 706 6406 354 5.5% 86 4416 56 1.3% 88 6560 51 0.8% 78 27083 80 0.3% 102 0.68 107 0.15 82 4.5 104