CentralChamps21

Yes, and a lot of teams want to win.

2016 was a different year. 2021, with everything that has gone on over the past couple years, wasn't the right time to go all in with this team.

As someone who was a toddler in 2005 and 2008, this is by far the most emotionally invested I've ever gotten in a Sox season. Last year just wasn't at this level. It was largely very rewarding, but the crash at the end hurts much more.

Did you read my first paragraph? I argued that the Kimbrel trade was a bad idea even if he put up a 0.00 ERA after the trade. It was the wrong year to trade for rentals. The Cesar trade was actually the least bad of the ones made because the Sox didn't give up anything of value and someone had to soak up innings at 2B.

So, there would have been bitching? The GM's job is to give the organization the best opportunity to win at least one World Series within the next 3-4 years. It's not the GM's job to choose the path that causes the least bitching by fans on message boards.

My thoughts about the season that just ended and how to proceed: 1) The Kimbrel trade was awful - Not because Kimbrel sucked, or because 5+ years of Madrigal and Heuer were the cost. I didn't feel that way on July 30, but the more I've thought about it the more I've come to believe that the Sox shouldn't have made any trades at the deadline. The MLB postseason is always a bit of a crapshoot. Even more so this year with everybody having played 60 games or fewer last year. Even more so for the Sox with two of the most valuable pitchers from the first half of the season, Rodon and Kopech, having a fairly good chance of wearing down, which is exactly what happened. Kimbrel could have been perfect this series and it wouldn't have changed the outcome. If the Sox had Bryant, or Schwarber, or Gallo, or Escobar instead of Kimbrel it still wouldn't have changed the fact that none of the starting pitchers lasted 3 innings. Sox should have just sat on the roster they had and lived with the results. If they don't think Madrigal is the guy they want at 2B, they still could have traded him in the offseason. 2) There is an organizational coaching problem - This goes beyond the drunk guy in charge, though he certainly didn't make anything better. This team is bad at: defensive positioning, holding runners on, swinging and missing too much, hitting too many grounders, and probably a couple other things I can't think of right now. There needs to be an overhaul in how this team uses data and applies it to how the players are coached. 3) There are too many similar hitters - Eloy Jimenez, Jose Abreu, Andrew Vaughn, and Jake Burger are all right-handed hitters who swing and miss too much, hit too many balls on the ground, and don't provide much defensive value. I don't think upgrading 2B and RF are going to be enough. I think there need to be some trades to diversify the roster. Trading Abreu or Eloy would be tremendously unpopular, and I'm not saying to do it no matter what, but if a really good return can be had, it needs to be seriously considered. 4) Catching is a problem - I'm a big advocate of Grandal's, and while he's proven his bat belongs in the lineup every day, he's just not working out behind the plate. This is a really tough problem to fix as there is a real scarcity of good alternatives. Nearly every available catcher is either bad with the bat, bad behind the plate, or both. Maybe the return on trading one of the guys listed above needs to be a catcher.

I've literally never advocated for retaliating, but there's no reason not to do it here. Who cares if Ruiz is suspended the first five games of next season.

Absent evidence that that input actually happened I'm not going to assume it did.

Can't be just on him though. There have to be other coaches noticing this and not doing anything.

I'm sure they'll try but it's not going to be easy. Probably have to eat at least half his salary just to get a lottery ticket in return.

The worst part about this is having to root for Boston in the ALCS. Never thought I'd do that.

A grounder up the middle and the Sox STILL DON'T HAVE AN INFIELDER THERE!

It's a 1 year gamble though. Doesn't tie up money long term.

Tepera made himself some huge coin over the past 3 days.

Crochet wasn't a bad choice, he just shouldn't have grooved a 3-0 fastball to a righty with a lefty on deck.

I've learned not to try and predict what a return can be. We spend so much time making up trade proposals and the actual trades end up being nothing like that at all.

Because Sheets is batting after Eloy.

If a team makes a reasonable trade offer for Eloy, the Sox need to listen.

Hey, look, one of the top 6 guys in the lineup got a single!

I didn't think it was over at 5-1 Sunday but I do think it's over at 5-1 today. Can't really explain why other than not feeling the energy today.

I'd have preferred a walk.

I don't think the Sox are coming back from down 5-1 again. Have to get out of this inning at 3-1.

Where are the TLR ass-kissers defending the decision to bring Kopech in?

Maybe Tony should have meant it when he said Kopech wasn't available.

When the ump is fucking the Sox over with the strike zone, they have to swing at shit pitches like that.