With a trophy, nobody is whining about anything except the 2022 strike. Red Sox traded Moncada (and Kopech)...they have a ring. Nationals traded Giolito and two other big league pitchers...they have a ring. If the Sox actually win a championship in the next two years, every bad move is forgiven.
1981 and 2020 are nothing alike. This will always be an asterisk season, much more than 1981. If the final four in each league are eight teams that won divisions or 35+ games in the regular season, then it becomes a smaller asterisk. But it’s good for baseball that they’re still going and the players there are trying to win.
There will be a trade that hurts in the next couple years, but if it means 95+ win seasons, ALCSs, World Series, and maybe a parade someday...you do it.