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Red Sox have already started on their plans for next year
tommyrusty7
Posts: 1,803 ✭✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
They let 1st base coach Goodwin go .
From what is being discussed already it appears there won't be any big money players acquired which is great news,
They are planning to keep their good players they now have ( no overpaid slugs) and pick up some decent players along the way.
This is how the Rays do it and I like it rather than paying out enormous amounts to these have beens out there.
Players like Mookie Betts are good but not worth what they want to be paid.
The salary cap if not adhered to will destroy a team quickly just watch what happens to the Dodgers this year.
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I like this approach, I don’t want them spending too 5 in MLB for a player by any stretch.
Rodreguiz is signing with the Tilgers. Five years $77 million.
just saw ERod signed with detroit. I was never all that enamoured with him. exceptionally average for my tastes. I am glad he got paid. more glad it wasn't the red sox who did it.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I will agree with you on that as he never showed me much either. He was sure not worth the 18 million the sox offered him.
Kudos to him for turning down 18 million, the Sox can use that paltry money elsewhere
He opted for the 5 year $77 million because he didn't feel confident in his ability to be a quality player in the bigs long.
Didn't you make a similar post about a week ago about Red Sox post season activities? Why begin another and not add to what you already posted?
Constantly chewing on what Bloom does or doesn't do pertaining to the retention of or loss of players doesn't really excite me, nor do I follow salary caps or anything else related to these greedy, greedy players wanting more and more, year after year. If that is your thing so be it. Money doesn't produce wins, never has, never will. Do I care if ERod jumped to Detroit for $77m? I couldn't care less. All these guys want is more and more $$.
There are 162 games per season, assuming 30 starts every 5th day, and being paid $10,000,000 per season (and that's LOW), the starting pitcher makes $333,333.00 per start. He then gets taken out in the 6th inning, or sooner. All this happens in 6 months playing a kid's game. Why should I care what they make, get, or don't get? All this is guaranteed money, NO incentive to excel, other than trying to do well. Imagine making that kindof cash every 5th day for throwing a baseball? Of course the fan gets to enjoy higher prices by never ending increases in tickets and other items sold at the ballpark, not too mention the obscene costs to park.
The Red Sox organization and many other teams are littered with stupid contracts, stupid trades and stupid management.
I do hope the team excels in 2022, but I have zero input regarding who stays, who goes, and who gets what, so I don't follow the off-season media reports. I may occasionally post a comment, but, like you and others, these are just my opinions, we all have them.
Can I ask why you would disparage a player for seeking out the highest contract he can find? Would you stay in your current position if you were being offered 2x, 4x etc. the salary from another organization for the same amount of work?
If you feel that loyalty should play a part, I can understand that point of view, though I disagree with it. the minute a player loses a step, a few MPH off the fastball or the bat begins to slow, they will be traded, benched or released. there is no loyalty from ownership to the players. why should a player feel loyalty to an owner? The same can be said for regular working stiffs like all of us. there is no loyalty in big business, just profit.
Would you rather the Billionaire owners put more $ in their pockets? because if the players dont see an increase, the money just goes into the owners pockets.
Not criticizing, just wondering about your mindset.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Craig44...
There is little to no loyalty in professional anything. My issue is with the obscene contracts being offered by management to sway a FA player to move on, or accept crazy money to stay. The prime issue is paying for a future performance that has zero guarantee of ROI. So, in the case of ERod, if I understand correctly, he has signed with Detroit for $77million over 5 years. I need not do the math, BUT, Detroit is on the hook for 5 years with this guy (unless there is a trade, etc), whether he pitches shut outs, no-hitters, or is pulled in the first inning, he's gonna get huge money for a non guaranteed performance. For sure, they're pulled by the 6th inning.
In the case you cite about going to another firm, for 2 or 3 times the pay. The hook there is, should you accept, and your performance does not show promise, or expected results, they can fire you immediately, NO GUARANTEED bucks. There is an expectation, and if you don't meet it you are toast.
Another illustration is...once upon a time, I was an Air Traffic Controller, my last duty station was Daytona Beach, FL. We all like to move on and move up, but, in this case, to go higher, demands a more complex environment and learning so many new things that are beyond the appreciation of those not familiar with the Air Traffic Control System. Should a Controller be accepted to a more complex facility, and does not check out, or become a full performance level Controller at the new facility, he is sent back to his former facility. Again, basically being fired. This is a humiliating experience that I have witnessed when a couple of guys didn't make it. Coming back was to always be known as "he couldn't cut it".
This type of work is indeed the same throughout the system, but more intense and complex as you move on. Working at Daytona Beach vs JFK in New York is like being an EMT vs brain surgeon. I know I could not perform at JFK. My former facility was at a Naval Base, although I was a civilian, I worked the Approach Control portion of that air space and dealt with so many egos of young pilots who were basically trainees. It wasn't easy, but I was fortunate to check out...some guys didn't and either left the FAA, or went back to their previous facility.
I think the players are indeed greedy, their pay is obscene and professional sports is rife with players who have oftentimes mailed it in, knowing their check is guaranteed no matter their performance. There are FAR too many to list, but the Red Sox have had their fair share. Some contracts are written in such a fashion, that short of just not showing up, they are mega-millionaires for life. Much of this craziness I heap on the players representatives, claiming market value, when in fact its a hollow story.
If, as you mention a player's skills begin to "fade", they're not gonna go to the poor house, they are already mega-millionaires. Needless to say, many go on to announcer positions, card shows to sign stuff, tv programs, etc, etc, the beat goes on for them, but NOT for the average non-pro person.
Here are a few facts of Red Sox management's insanity...
Pedroia...$31M
Price...$32M
Sandoval...$41M
Craig...$30M
and the whopper of whoppers...Rusney Castillo...7 years at $72.5M
Yes, there's more!
I trust you appreciate my point. I really, really don't care how much any owner's management team spends on their players, to ponder all that is pure folly and a waste of time. I have zero input, nor would I want any. Surely you're not losing any sleep over a salary cap, or any other financial involvement a team has doing its business, penalties, fines, whatever.
For sure, the fans always take it in the neck with higher cost of tickets, etc, etc, etc. Owners should make better decisions, but that horse has long left the barn around the ARod era. He got more, I want more and it goes on and on.
I trust you appreciate my position. I have always been a Red Sox fan, but I don't just rah rah the team through the year. If I see inept play, I call it. I am still of the mindset that Cora should have been banned from baseball. CHEATING IS CHEATING.
'Nuff said.
So guaranteed sports contracts are like working for the government.
I dont see problem one with players getting all they can get.
I see professional athletes for what they are. very specialized entertainers. irregardless of the sport played, Pro athletes are putting on a show that LOTS of people want to watch and pay very big prices to do so when at a live event.
They are, in essence, doing the same thing professional musicians and actors do. In the case of contact sports, putting life and limb at risk and often for much less money than actors and musicians.
For instance, it is estimated that Johnny Depp made in excess of $300MM for his roles as in the Pirates of the Caribean films.
Paul McCartney is worth around 1.2 Billion
Elton john around 500MM
is the job of an entertainer more "important" than a surgeon, teacher, Firefighter, pediatrician etc. no, of course not. but there are FAR FAR FAR fewer people in the world that can do what Paul McCartney or Johnny Depp or Peyton Manning can do than can be pediatricians. supply and demand.
He is not risking serious head trauma like a pro football player does either.
Ultimately, Musicians, Actors and pro athletes are making profits for their management, labels and owners. We live in a capitalist society, so the market should decide salaries, no? In fact, Pro athletes probably should be making more money every year if it were not for salary caps and luxury taxes that keep their salaries artificially low.
Keep in mind that there are only 32 people in the world that can be a starting QB in the NFL. those people deserve to be paid handsomely.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Gentlemen...
We all have opinions, I've read yours and you've read mine. This could go on and on, but it would be pointless to continue.
I just want the Sox to put decent team on the field for next year but to stay under the salary cap.
If players are greedy enough and owners are stupid enough to pay then there is not much us peons can do about it.
I, myself, don't go to movies or sporting events and have not done so since the early seventies.
I do get the baseball package and get my moneys worth because of the number of games available to my wife and I..
Agreed!! But, the salary cap means nothing to me, that's for them to deal with, not for me to be concerned with or about.
We all, at some point, do reach our limitations and life becomes a bit different than when it once was. The baseball package is a good deal for those who really watch a lot of games in the comfort of your own home.
If I may suggest, having an Amazon Prime account, gives you access to more tv programming (for FREE) than you could ever watch. They also have multiple channels within their programming, including a channel that offers educational subjects lectured by real professors from real colleges. This is for a small monthly fee of under $10. For grins, I took a solid geometry course, which brought back high school memories. I found it challenging and stimulating. Tons of good stuff at Prime Video.
Of course @MCMLVTopps knows that baseball players with less than three years of service are in precisely the same position as Air Traffic Controllers. If Bobby Dalbec, to pick at random, doesn't perform up to Bloom's standards he is not only "fired", except that he would more likely receive a demotion and not be free to offer his services to other employers like he would if he were an air traffic controller, and he would likely be told to report to Worcester (a less challenging job) and have his salary unilaterally reduced.
In the case of Rodriguez et al., the Tigers or whoever think he'll perform at a level to sell tickets and broadcasting rights to be worth much more than $77 million over the next five years. It is the same as any other entertainer. Sometimes management whiffs. If Rodriguez performs the way the Red Sox thought he was capable of when they offered him a one year $18.4 million contract, then he won't be able to renegotiate his contract. The reason you were able to be fired was because intermediate to long term contracts aren't customary in your business. They are in some industries, and woe to the worker who decides to break the contract and try to work somewhere else in the industry.
I think we're getting a bit beyond what I was trying to convey. That was simply that paying millions and millions of dollars to baseball players in guaranteed contracts going into multiple years with no assurance of performance, nor penalty for lack of performance is just crazy.
As for federal employment, During the first year of employment, you are in a probationary period and can be fired for almost any offense, lack of performance, etc, etc. It's kind of a "let's see how this works out" situation. Between years 1 -3, you are career conditional, at year 3, you have tenure and it takes a good amount of paper work to fire you, unless of course you do something really crazy.
While there are civilian ATC companies who hire controllers to work at low level and less stressful facilities, I assure you, the "fired controller" has zero options within the FAA ATC structure, there is no "Worcester" to go to or to apply at, you are simply gone. I've seen guys breeze through the system and I've seen them say goodbye, you can either do it or you can't.
Depending on the circumstances of the controller's removal, and level of expertise and training, he may apply for reinstatement at a later date, BUT, with the 3 year thing you cited, it is unlikely he has enough experience to be accepted anywhere in the FAA system. I would add, that IMO, it would probably take 3-4 years (if not longer) to effectively just work ground control at any of the major airports like JFK, O'Hare, LAX. We aren't even talking approach control or the tower position. Those who work there are very special people with incredible memories and ability to work under serious stress.
I don't think you're comparing apples to apples here, but I do get the gist of what you're trying to say.
I promise you, there is a HUGE difference between performing a kid's game between the lines and being a Controller working 10 or more planes and your radar scope suddenly stops functioning!! Not a pleasant experience.
Comparing a baseball player to an air traffic controller is like comparing a watermelon to a blueberry.
I have never been in that position but with hundreds of lives on the line I know which one is a more stressful job.
I cant imagine anyone arguing that an entertainment career is more "important" than a career like ATC or police/fire/Teaching/Medical etc.
it all boils down to demand and profits. Professional sports make owners HUGE profits. they need good players to have winning seasons. there are not that many good/great players to go around.
How many true #1 ACES are there in baseball in a given year? 15-20? Maybe not even that many. that is why those guys are making 40MM a year. not because their jobs are "important" but because they are needed so their employers can field a good team and make more profit.
It really has nothing to do with greedy players. I mean, if someone was going to pay me 5X more money for the same job but with a different company, would it make me "greedy" to change companies?
I think not
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Should you care to listen...here's a link to actual ATC communications at both JFK and Boston. There's a bit of a stretch in terms of "by the book", but we all did it, kinda relieves the tension. As long as the traffic was moving, no problem.
For this, they make about $140k +/- per year. Kinda puts things into perspective.
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/air-traffic-control-kennedy-steve-and-boston-john/
Will the Red Sox go after any of those expensive free agent pitchers or go with the 2 young pitchers they currently have on the staff?
I am in favor of going with the 2 young pitchers myself.
Sox picked up Cora's option for the next 2 years.
ESPN says re Michael Wacha signing: "Wacha, 30, was solid in a starting role for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and is expected to add depth to the Red Sox's rotation."
Pick your metric, but -0.7 WAR, 78 ERA+, -18 RAA doesn't scream "solid" to me.
as I recall, Wacha had one good playoff run with the cardinals about ten years ago and that was about it.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I doubt if he is one of the main pitchers but rather just a replacement for the 2 they got rid of.
Seven million dollars for a 1 year contract is considered chump change in todays marketplace.
I was born 60 years too early I guess but I would have missed the years where life was fun instead of in chaos like today.
I'm sure not. However the Sox have been complaining about getting too close to the luxury tax, so it seems bad to pay $7 million for a depth piece whose "solid year" this year wouldn't have been as good as the average 4A player hanging around Worcester. like Raynel Espinal or Kyle Hart. Even Daniel Gossett, the 4A starter with the third most innings at Worcester this year has a major league career comparable to Wacha's 2020, and all three would earn the major league minimum.
I agree as I am not in favor of giving marginal players big money but all teams do it except for the
Tampa Bay Rays who just keep throwing up tough young pitchers who do the job for them in most cases.
The sox have 2 or 3 young pitchers who fit in that category who should be given that chance to make it this coming year.
Can someone help me see if I'm missing a transaction?
Leaving: Eduardo Rodriguez, serviceable rightfielder Hunter Renfroe. (I don't think Martin Perez or Garrett Richards have retired or signed elsewhere yet.)
Arriving: a starting pitcher who was far, far below a AAA replacement last year (Wacha), a starting pitcher expected to have recovered from Tommy John by the All-Star break (Paxton), a starting pitcher who was essentially league average last year for his age 42 season (Hill), a centerfielder who had a 34 OPS+ last year from his age 32 season (how many centerfielders are able to play at age 32?) for $9.5 million (Bradley), and a third baseman who slots right in as the team's number 16 prospect (Binelas).
Rodriguez can be a decent pitcher some days and completely suck some days so it is hard to step up to the plate with him on this one. The sox just decided he was not worth the chance for the big dollars he wanted.