The Red Sox are transferring right-hander Garrett Richards to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive). His rotation spot will be filled by Chris Sale, who is expected to make his first appearance in two years on Saturday against the Orioles.
The Sox signed Richards to a one-year, $10MM guarantee over the offseason. (The deal also contains a club option currently valued at $10.25MM — with potential escalators — for the 2022 campaign, but Richards’ struggles this year make it likely he’ll be bought out instead). The hope was that Richards would solidify a starting rotation that looked to be one of the weak points on the roster. Things haven’t played out that way, as the 33-year-old worked to a 5.22 ERA/5.02 SIERA over 22 starts before losing his rotation spot.
Few pitchers in baseball seemed more affected by MLB’s midseason decision to enforce the prohibition against foreign substances than Richards, who acknowledged he’d previously used a sunscreen/rosin combination. Through games on June 15 — the date MLB announced their impending crackdown — Richards had a decent 4.09 ERA/3.85 FIP over 70 1/3 frames. In his nine starts since, the righty has a 7.20 ERA/7.45 FIP. Along the way, he’s worked to incorporate a changeup while cutting back on the usage of his curveball, which saw a rather precipitous decline in spin (albeit from a top-of-the-league 3100-3300 rpm range to a still high 2800-3000 rpm band).
That’s not to say Richards’ disappointing few months was solely the result of the foreign substance crackdown — nor was his prior success specifically because of sticky stuff. Richards’ strikeout and walk rates were worse than average even early in the season. His strong run prevention was largely on the strength of his ability to keep the ball in the yard, but the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction of late.
Richards allowed just five home runs through his first 13 starts, with a tiny 8.2% HR/FB rate in that time; since then, he’s been tagged for thirteen longballs on a 24.1% HR/FB rate. It’s certainly possible his diminished stuff plays a role in that — his four-seam fastball has been much more hittable since its spin dropped in June — but he’s likely also been prone to some poor luck on fly balls after benefitting from good fortune earlier in the year.
Whatever the specific cause, Richards’ recent struggles became severe enough for the Sox to reduce his role for the stretch run. Boston also bumped Martín Pérez from the rotation last week in favor of Tanner Houck, shaking up the starting staff as the team continues to struggle. The Red Sox have gone just 9-14 since the All-Star Break, falling five games back of the Rays in the AL East (not including tonight’s near-certain win over Tampa Bay). Boston holds a 1.5 game advantage over the Yankees for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
Called it
Thejmann – a blind man could have called it
He should’ve been there long time ago with all his crying. I imagine he’ll be crying more in the pen.
I agree he should’ve been bumped when they saw the spectacle he made over the sticky stuff and brought houck up then.
ya blue jays crushing souls
Unless he changes his attitude about being a reliever… I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he winds up being released at some point in the next few weeks. Of course in fairness to him… before being demoted to the pen… when asked about the potential of it happening he answered that he feels he can still start… and to be fair… what else could he have said “no I suck at starting so I want to be demoted?” … so maybe he will make a legitimate attempt to adjust and be effective. But if he isnt… or his ego gets in the way… they should just cut bait and go with one of the arms that have been doing so well in AAA (Kaleb Ort/Jose Adames)
Sox opened up 10mil in aaa space when Rusney’s deal expired
Patpatroid – no, with 1/4 of the season left it would only be around $2.5 million
He’s still better than Josh Tomlin.
Have to hope playing it safe with both Sale and Houck hasn’t left them too far behind. It’s been brutal watching Richards in particular for awhile. perez would throw a sometimes decent game, but Richards have been pretty poor even when a cpl Sox sites thought he was fair. My thoughts were he just didn’t stink quite as bad in maybe 2 of his last 8-10 starts.
SP depth within the system was wiped out early when Mata had to have TJ, then both Houck and Seabold forearm issues. Nothing else at AAA for them to call on, other than garbage type retreads worse than Richards until they could get Sale/Houck/Seabold healthy.
Might as well DFA richards for good when Houck is called up again for good to pitch this week. Seabold is now healthy and can be the emergency replacement after Perez for starts.
I’d be happy if he went with all his crying, n take Cordero, Santana, Martin, Robles n Davis
That annoyed the crap out of me. I don’t mind the cheating so much, since at least half the league used it. But once he got enforced, you move on, just like the rest of the league did. If you lose 200 rpms, then just figure out what to do with your remaining repertoire.
If anything, he should be grateful they allowed him to cheat long enough to grab one final $8M payday.
Richards had such potential with the Angels but injuries stifled his progress, especially that knee cap incident…ouch. But contrary to some comments, he seemed to be very low key on the Angels, not someone with a huge ego. Hopefully he takes the demotion in stride and figures his stuff out. He can be good.
As a side note, spin rate is stupid.
He didn’t take it well from what I heard.
Spin rates are facts, and can be neither stupid nor smart.
I chose to use personification in my comment for the reader’s enjoyment.
Guys who use sticky stuff and cheat make me wonder if the few guys who didn’t cheat and made less money regret it.
People who don’t cheat are not cheaters. Therefore, they don’t regret that they don’t cheat. They just don’t cheat.
I think you have a good point but what?
Joey Greco approves this statement.
greatgame 2 = Cheating is such a nebulous concept. Some say it’s not cheating if it doesn’t specifically break a rule (lawyer’s approach to cheating). Some say it’s not cheating if you don’t get caught (Cora’s approach). Some say trying to get an edge on your opponent is cheating (non sports perspective). Some say there are many gray areas of cheating (small cheaters that rationalize their behavior).
Coexisting with cheating is the concept of fair punishment. Some say if a precedent for punishment has been set then it should be adhered to for consistency’s sake. Some say times change and cheating is viewed differently in different eras and that’s fine (people rationalizing why some baseball crimes should be downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor) Some say you can’t punish an individual if there is proof against him when it’s common knowledge that he didn’t act alone (fraternal justification based on one guy should not go down if a frat gets caught having an illegal kegger). Some say don’t punish those who create revenue for the game (Player’s Union perspective and owner perspective).
What right? There is no one right answer. Each crime should be evaluated on several criteria:
1 – Was it planned knowing it was cheating?
2 – Was it a recurring event or one time event?
3 – Did it impact one or many game results?
4 – Is there actual evidence that proves results were altered due to the event?
5 – Who knew it was happening before, while and after it happened?
6 – Were the knowledgeable parties forthright in sharing their knowledge.
The sticky stuff cheating scandal can be answered as follows:
1 – Yes it was planned
2 – Yes it was a recurring event
3 – Actual evidence to it’s use is widespread knowledge among pitchers.
4 – The impact to games is questionable since both teams likely used it so the net effect may have offsetting with respect changing the outcome or it may have swayed the game in favor of one team.
5 – Who knew? Pitching coaches, managers, pitchers, catchers, most players if not all, fans, media. Pretty much everyone had heard rumors that it was happening and the new pitching metrics supported the guess.
6 = Were the guilty parties forthright in disclosing their use? Some were and some weren’t. The players association did nothing to stop it. Owners did nothing to stop it. The commissioner stopped it long after it started due to hitters being at a disadvantage and complaining.
Was the problem addressed properly? Yes, a new set of rules were defined and implemented quickly to eliminate it or at least reduce it going forward The new rules now punish violators that get caught.
Compared to other issues in baseball, this was a victory for the commissioner because the problem was significantly reduced and a fair punishment for a violation was established. This far exceeds other huge issues like the baseball being juiced and players taking the blame for the additional home runs 30 years ago. This is a great step in the right direction after botching both the sign stealing scandal and steroids.
Are steroids still throughout baseball? Yes. Are they seldom detected because the masking technology has developed faster than the testing techniques? Yes. Does that impact games? NO and it never has. So should testing techniques be improved to improve the fairness of play? NO. Steroids were banned because of the future damage they would do to players and that got spun into something different when the words performance enhancing were used. The negative connotation of the words turned what was intended to be a ban to protect the players into a ban on cheating. That clever misdirection concocted by Bud Selig cost an entire generation their place in baseball history..
It’s 30 years later and the conclusive proof about the impact of the ball being juiced significantly beginning in 1994 has yet to sway the believers because the stigma of the misleading words “performance enhancing’ still convict the players of that era without a trial.
Steroids allow players to develop muscle quicker, they add stamina to players, they allow runners to run faster and they allow pitchers to throw harder. Do they improve hand/eye coordination? No. Is that vital to the success of a hitter? Yes. Have there been machines built to improve hand/eye coordination in hitters? Yes. Does that too enhance their performance? Yes. Do some players have worse eyesight than others? Yes. Can those players have a procedure performed to enhance their vision? Yes
So the success of a hitter is dependent on eyesight, hand/eye coordination and strength/hand quickness. It’s legal to enhance your eyesight, it’s legal to enhance your hand/eye coordination but it’s not legal to take a product that allows you to enhance your strength development and your speed development. I use the word development because it is allowed to enhance your performance by lifting weights without a product that speeds the development and it is allowed to improve your hand and foot speed using resistance techniques but only without taking a product that facilitates that growth. So why are steroids banned if they help you become a more complete player with greater strength and speed but having laser surgery and other techniques to improve the more critical aspects of hitting are not banned? Because steroids are an illegal substance not because they improve performance.
So all the haters of the steroid generation need to recognize the REAL ISSUE with steroids – they are like the other banned substances they are dangerous to the player. Do players get banned from the HOF for taking amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana when it was illegal or any other drugs? NO. So why ban the steroids users? Those two infamous words are to blame – performance enhancing.
Do they actually enhance performance compared to the other legal substances that are banned? No. Why? Because a bigger stronger player gets less benefit from taking steroids than a player that has eye surgery and improves his vision. The building of muscle through steroids is a shortcut to greater strength but the greater strength has not been proven to impact home run statistics. The highest correlation with home runs per year is the juice in the ball. Recent years have shown the huge impact of a juiced ball and regression analysis shows the relationship between juice in the ball and home runs is nearly 1 but the correlation between steroid use and home runs is negligible.
This history lesson shows that the sticky substance which existed throughout baseball just like steroids got rectified in a far more equitable manner than steroids. The impact of the sticky substance actually impacted the game enormously just like the juice in the ball does but a quick and quiet fix got implemented effectively. In the meantime, the steroid users and there were many and may there still be many got made an example by the public, the commissioner, the media and the HOF despite the real culprit impacting home runs being the juice in the ball. How fair is that? An entire generation besmirched wrongfully and the powers that be have allowed it to continue as the inaccurate mantra for that era of baseball.
The commissioner, players association, public, media and current players need to create a movement to give back the dignity of an entire generation wrongfully accused of enhancing performance. It was a banned substance that should have had a similar penalty as the other banned substances but instead it became a capital offense rather than a misdemeanor.
30 years later the numbers still don’t lie. The steroid era HRS/GAME/YEAR were no different than the 14 decades prior to the 90s and the two decades since the 90s. The numbers vacillated up and down year to year throughout the 140 years of baseball and that is inconsistent with steroids impacting the HRs. It should have grown consistently during the era but it didn’t. Shame on Bud Selig for throwing an entire generation of ballplayers under the bus. Bonds is the greatest home run hitter of all time BUT he hit a very juiced baseball to become that leader as did Hank Aaron. Only Babe Ruth and his family can brag about being the real HR champion. He did most of his damage during a non-juiced era compared to Aaron and Bonds!! The records will fall based on the current juicing levels and how much significantly higher they are than Bonds era. Players starting after 2014 should be the fastest to HR benchmarks because because the ball is nearly 20% more juiced now than 20 years ago.
@ KD17;
Many players were juiced in the 90’s. Veteran scrawny OF’s and infielders were suddenly hitting 30 and 40 HR’s a year, including many 440-plus feet. Washed up aging pitchers were suddenly throwing fastballs harder then they ever had.
But not only didn’t all players cheat – most didn’t.
The ball became more and more juiced in the late 2010’s. Balls were flying off bats at such speed that one retired pitcher turned broadcaster said there was a good chance a pitcher was going to get killed by a batted ball, as there was no time for him to react. The Commissioners office even acknowledged that the balls were strung tighter in the manufacturing process, which caused the juiced baseballs. Yet it took 3-4 years to reverse that process. Why? MLB sets the requirements for vendors products. If not met they’re free to shop around for another vendor.
The one commonality we have is that when MLB games grow boring something is done to make it easier to hit the ball harder and further. It’s a marketing thing. In turn pitchers resort to using foreign substances to minimize the chance of batters squaring up their pitches. It’s a common survival reaction. It’s also illegal by MLB rules, but they weren’t enforced.
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Truth be told, MLB has a 50 or so year of history of allowing their game to get out of hand. It makes a mockery of historical statistics. The field is in no way level. The use of “greenies” by players in the 50’s and 60’s had to do with giving them enough energy to keep playing through a long season, where the long travel via train from city to city had them sitting around doing excessive drinking – and alcohol is a depressant. The greenies offset that some. But unlike the steroids, greenies did nothing to build muscle mass. Seen any pictures of Barry Bonds the past 10 years? The man is 30-40 pounds lighter. Why is that? Players from the 50’s-60’s tended to gain weight in retirement, not lose it.
Ever hear of the ‘Occam’s Razor’ philosophy? Might want to look that up.
Might also want to look up: “Follow The Money”.
We’ve have generations of potential consumers that want to be titilated. Drug use is accepted. Phonography is available to elementary school children via the Internet. With so many outlets competing for views, history is mangled and misrepresented as consumers are bored and need to see something more absurd than reality, because reality is boring. MLB is a business. The revenues have to continue to grow so that we can talk about a player that makes $30 million a year as being underpaid. MLB has been like a Stan Freberg comedy skit that has been growing more and more absurd for 50 years now. You can look Stan up.
P.S.
And look at the daily injury updates reported on this site recently.
Totally absurd.
Pitchers throwing out their arms, shoulders, forearms, wrists, etc. Position players with knee / leg problems, shoulder injuries, torn muscles, etc. All in spite of historic advancements in medicine and nutrition.
All this happening in a (now mandated) “non-contact sport”?
This is like the Roman Coliseum with the winning participants living like King’s, and the losing participants being thrown to the lions. Truth be told – it’s sick what’s going on. But as they say, it’s “The New Normal”.
MBA’s running franchises that have turned the front offices of a sport of human beings into rotisserie league participants that push the players around with the click of a mouse.
Samuel – Excellent response. The simplest answer is usually the right answer. That answer lies within the construction, transportation, storage, raw materials and manufacturing process of building a simple baseball since 1871. Never have there been identical balls from year to year or even day to day. The ‘juice factor” of the baseball explains why home runs peak and fall throughout the 140 year history of the game and as you said it’s all about the money today. Historically,ball discrepancies weren’t even considered except when the live ball era started. The 1950s jump in HRs was thought to have come from non-whites joining the majors and improving the overall skill of MLB players. It was also considered a side effect of players returning from WWII and developing as players rather than soldiers. The Korean war took many stars in the early 50s but the ball kept the HRs coming. All the way up to the early 1960s when something radically changed in the ball. It became far less explosive off the bat. The drop was erroneously credited to the pitchers and the mound was lowered proving nobody understood the phenomenon happening in baseball. The less vibrant baseball lasted until 1987 when McGwire graduated college and was promoted to the As. That year either a new supplier or new storage or new manufacturing techniques significantly juiced the ball back to the levels of the early 60s and more. Unfortunately, the MLB returned to the 1986 source for baseballs and HRs plummeted in 1988 from their new high in 1987. Did McGwires huge drop in HRs mean he stopped taking steroids? No. It meant the juice in the ball was not longer there but the juice in McGwire was still there. The net impact was his homers dropped off dramatically. So much for the steroid theory. 6 years of a similar juice level from 1988 to 1993 kept steroids from being the villain that it would become. By 1994, steroids had been around for 20 years and the home run growth had been consistent with the previous 100 years.
Then in 1994 during a strike year the HRS/GAME suddenly jumped back to the 1987 level. One way to explain this surprising situation is to say all the players stopped taking steroids for 6 years then suddenly started up again or the more obvious explanation is the 1987 source for baseballs was providing game balls again. From that point forward the juice in the ball ran close to 10% higher than the 50s and the societal focus went to “Chicks dig the Long Ball”. New peaks from the juiced baseball also got the previous generation angry at the modern ballplayer so to discredit their achievements, which were promoted by ownership across the league, the public started spinning the proliferation of home runs to steroids not a juiced ball which was the factual reason for the growth. Mark McGwire having a canister in his locker is the picture that destroyed credibility of an entire generation of ball players. Despite ownership loving the surge they all clammed up about knowing how rampant the use of steroids was. Selig was the worst. After back stabbing Fay Vincent to take over the Commissioner’s job he chose to throw the players under the bus and position himself as the savior of baseball.
Since he wasn’t a bright man I’m guess Selig didn’t even realize at the time that the baseball were responsible for the growth in HRs so to market his concept of steroids ruining the game despite no evidence of it, he commissioned scientist to conjecture on the impact of the flight of the ball based on more muscle mass. The irony of the study is that steroids accelerate growth they aren’t magical body builders. Players still had to pump iron to make the steroids work. The incremental muscle was translated in 8 feet of additional distance on balls hit to the outfield yet never did those brilliant scientists consider the variance in the baseball. The results of his study were flawed but he published it anyway and made the official MLB stand be that steroids caused the growth in home runs. Ignorant and naive MLB reporters still stick by the concept despite all the proof of the ball being the main ingredient in HR growth. The ignorant HOF committee still supports it too.
Your comments were so meaningful because that proliferation of growth that wrongfully got guys like Bonds banned from the HOF is still fueling marketing of the game. What hypocracy!!
good stuff samuel
That was a little over the top. Damn, I almost fell asleep.
A great novel and accurate
Amen
Wow
The problem is that those who used « sticky stuff » didn’t officially cheat as it has been tolerated for aeons by the MLB. It isn’t the players at fault but those who didn’t apply the rules . The same can be said about McGwire-Canseco era when steroids et al were firstly permitted and even when banned , weren’t tested for ….
Professionnel US sports has had this problem for decades and only resolve to fix it when caught (usually by the media)
Sale back on saturday. Houck has pitched well. Richards and Perez in reserve and after tonights showing i imagine it will be Phillips Valdez sent back to Worcester
I’m glad they made Valdez pitch that whole inning. It was terrible. He needs to reflect on that and figure out how to do better.
When I first saw the line score I thought they had a position player pitch the ninth. Just told him to throw strikes and let the chips fall where they may.. they’re up 19 runs. But it was actually one of their Bullpen pieces LOL.
You know, I’m not sure I agree or not whyhayzee.
If he bounces back OK, at least no harm no foul right? The problem with that is there’s been many a young player that’s been derailed, permanently, by being left out too long and just getting shellacked.
If he starts questioning all his stuff. Has no confidence. All of a sudden it’s a DFA and cya. There’s a fine line between learning you need to execute better and winding up losing your edge when someone steps into the box.
Cora mightve just killed off a ballplayers career.
But that’s what these guys are. They are mop up guys. They sit on the fence between AAA and MLB. This is basically their job, and they get paid well in doing so. We’ve probably had 5 guys on the roster this year that took the last seat in the BP. They will get abused and then sent down.
Valdez has had some outstanding outings but as a young player he has to learn how to rebound from the bad ones too. If he is that soft that he can’t make adjustments after a bad outing he is in the wrong profession.
Martin Perez and Garret Richards should have been designated for assignment over two weeks ago. I cannot believe that they are paying Richards over 10 million a year.
I’d have taken that over 24M/2yrs for Tanner Roark.
Richards is a scammer. Takes money for services he knows he can’t deliver.
More power to him, Richards did nothing wrong. Make that $ Garrett
Not to worry Sox fans, that rattling you’re hearing is just the wheels shaking loose. Garrett Richards, another Chaim-find in full Bloom.
30 Parks – Come on …… Wrong analogy. 2021 has been an incredible and unexpected toboggan run picking up speed as it progressed and flying along faster than anyone could have imagined in March.. Then, on July 29 right before the trade deadline it made it to the bottom of the run and realized it would have to finish the ride using first half momentum only to climb to the top of the next hill. Fortunately the team saw their GM standing bye watching the run and they called out for a push from him.
You know what he said to them? Hey, I’ve got something better than a push I have an injured Schwarber ready to help you in just two to three short week!!!! Distracted the driver of the toboggan crashed into a tree and the ride was over!!
Nice job Bloom!!
Garrett Richards as a reliever? According to bb-ref splits, the first time he has faced any given batter in a game (198 PA), they have a slashline of .331/.404/.589/.993. Is this what you would want to see coming put of the pen?
Maybe he can come out of the pen with enough sticky on his hand to make it through an inning?
His career RP line is .275/.329/.399/.727.
If we could get that, he’d be an upgrade over 1-2 guys. Plus he has the ability to go 3-4 innings. At this point, he needs to pitch well enough to land a contract next year. That might incent him to overthrow.
Ottoc, I fully agree. You can’t make a reliever out of a pitcher who gets pasted in his first inning. And don’t the Sox have some good bullpen pieces that are being pushed out by Perez and Richards? This feels wrong. It’s okay if Valdez gets sent down again, but who else? Shouldn’t be Rios.
We have Robles, Davis and Valdez. I assume that they will be replaced by Richards, Perez & Brasier.
I predict the start by Mr. Sale will be tepid, at best…..
I base this prediction on nothing but my gut (which is ample Vegas!).
Houck and Sale will decide if the Sox can get momentum back. The truth is this season is the worst thing that could have happened to the Red Sox. They had no expectations and had time and space to focus on developing and rebuilding. By competing everyone expected them to go for it.
The Red Sox may have a better rotation, on paper, next year if they have Sale, Houck, Whitlock and Eovaldi. The problem is they won’t have a rock solid #1 or #2. Sale due to his health and Houck and Whitlock haven’t had a full season, though their ceiling may be #2 or #3 starters at best.
I was thinkig the same thing. I’m not complaining about the great season we are having, but in an alternate universal, had we been .500, and 12 games back, we had a number of short-term assets that we could’ve sold.
When I see that amazing return that Berrios and Kimbrel got, it makes me wonder about Eovaldi & Barnes. Even the return Seattle got for Graveman, that’s a pretty good haul. Still happy where we are though….
Goose – Unless Cora does something to further screw up Sale I believe he will be the reliable #1 he has been for 10 years. Houck looks to have #3 type stuff right now but could ascend to a #2 or #1 SP down the road. Eovaldi will need to be the #2 if nobody is acquired and based on Bloom’s history so far I’m not holding my breathe about any off season additions. Trying Whitlock at the #4 or #5 is better than running out guys we know aren’t good – E-Rod, Perez and Richards. Pivetta should be hung on to for depth but he should fill the long reliever role. If he can improve his command he won’t hurt the team in relief.
In summary, the starting staff needs work. A reliable closer is needed. JD needs to be traded for the #2 SP they need. Devers needs to move to DH. Dalbec and Casas need to be the corners in 2022. Bogey and Kiki up the middle with Duran behind them. That leaves Verdugo and Renfroe in the corners. Its a very mediocre outfield without a standout like Mookie. The infield will get better in time with more experience at the corners. Short of finding a true elite player this team will continue to be a shadow of the 2018 team. Price was better than any #2 since. Houck I believe will be better than Porcello. 4 and 5 need to be inexpensive yet effective. That should be in Bloom’s wheelhouse but so far he hasn’t delivered the cheap talent that his reputation is built on.
More fourth place finishes are in the future because TB isn’t going away, TOR is improving and the NYY will go out and get whatever they need like the Red Sox did when they had DD. Running the Red Sox like a business trying to make money after 20 years of trying to compete with the Yankees continues to disappoint me. The war chest is huge so the money to reinvest in the team has been earned. It’s time the owners go back to adding talent not hope. Bloom’s only talent is selling the public on the hope for the future. I’m not buying.
Cora doesn’t screw up anyone he’s been terrific.
Pasha2k – Well documented statement. Clearly you know baseball, because you say you do. hahahaha Not one fact to support the argument.
pasha2k – I supposed Cora doesn’t cheat in your mind either!! hahahaha
Well said. Bloom never win anything before. I’m not sure why they are so enamored with him. Its easy to figure because they want cheaper talent along with a few high priced top level free agents.
If we think we’ve already witnessed tantrums from Nick Pivetta this season, wait until he’s moved to the bullpen. It’ll be ‘yuge’.
Richards cannot say that he didn’t get a fair opportunity to show his stuff with the Red Sox. He should have been deposited in the. bull pen 6-8 weeks ago. He has an option for 2022 at the same salary as 2021 but Bloom would be crazy to renew it. So, with Richards gone after one year, along with Perez and Andriese, the Red Sox will have about $20M to re-invest in another quality pitcher or two. Whether it be for a starter or reliever (s) will be dependent upon how far back Sele comes from TJ surgery.
He should have been designated for assignment
Did you miss his 3-inning shut out relief appearance?
Dear Bloom, here is a thought. Instead of signing endless amounts of utility players and bottom feeder pitchers you buy 1 ace? Wow, what a cocept! The Sox easily wasted 40 mil on terrible players. we couldve signed Trever Bauer for that much, but nooooooooo, this gm would rather buy 10,000 pieces of junk than 1 good ace.
Cause signing Trevor Bauer has worked out so well for the Dodgers….
He has picked up so many garbage pitchers. What did they waste 17 million on Perez and Richards and countless dollars on other team throwaways. Spend money wisely and pick up a good solid pitcher. Tampa Bay does not draw flies. This guys actions or non actions are going to be remembered.
Hey Bloom, is Schwarber going to play this year ? Did you not look at this guys medicals ? Rizzo was the better pickup but the Yankees outsmarted you! I want a GM in the middle of Dombroski who over traded and this guy who under trades!
AL344 hours ago
Hey Bloom, is Schwarber going to play this year ?
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As it happens, I believe that will be in a couple of hours. Good call:)
JB – He’s the DH forcing JD to the bench. Great move. I think you are missing the point. No defensive position and hurt at the trade deadline for a team fighting for it’s life in the division race. Two weeks later and the mistake has magnified 10 fold. It is being mentioned on the MLB channel as a huge mistake by Bloom. Those guys almost NEVER criticize a GM but they have been willing to state the obvious on this one!!
He’ll be the DH for a couple of days. JDM will play LF for a couple of days. So far, so good.
Bloom fouled you big time. Rizzo was the perfect fit and a starter. He picked up two lower end relievers and one has already been sent down
2 games
2 walks
2 doubles
2 runs scored
JB – He’s now played 6 games at DH and NONE anywhere else. You explained that he wasn’t displacing JD and that they would share. That hasn’t happened.
6 for 16 is good with 6 walks is good but ZERO home runs, ZERO RBIs and ZERO stolen bases. 3 of 6 hits were doubles that didn’t drive in anyone so we know he is clutch when nobody is on base!!! Excellent because as the hitting continues to slow he should get lots of doubles!!!
Look, I like Schwarber since he’s a former Cub who surprised me after he was drafted so high and I knew nothing about him. It was a good pick and he has hit well in the past. If they needed a DH he would have been an excellent choice.
They have TWO DHs so a 3rd DH simply kills the defense if you want to hit all three DHs.
Bloom should have been fired for the destruction of a year when players were making him look good by having career years. All he needed to do was what DD always did for the club, he got them deadline help.
KD17
JB – He’s now played 6 games at DH and NONE anywhere else.
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And he has now played 4 games in LF, 1 game at 1st, 8 games at DH, and has a 1.081 OPS. If you wanted to project his RS stats over 600 ABs, he’d have 56 doubles, 28 HRs, with a .349 average, and 126 runs scored.
The difference between us is that, when I am wrong, I get quiet, but will not continue to voice a wrong opinion. You seem intent on going to the mat with an opinion that, so far, has been 100% wrong.