Disproving Boston Red Sox fans’ most foolish complaints
Disproving Red Sox fans most unreasonable complaints
As the Boston Red Sox continue to make their climb up the AL East standings, I can’t help but be frustrated by the reaction of Red Sox fans. Boston has long been known as an extremely tough place to play, but there’s a stark difference between tough and delusional. And far too often, Red Sox fans are falling into the latter category.
I understand Red Sox fans are never going to stop being the most passionate, demanding fans in baseball. But with this article, I want to point out four of the most common criticisms I see roaming the web, ranging from misguided to flat-out wrong, and give evidence to the contrary. So let’s dive right in.
Red Sox owners are cheap!
I don’t even really see the argument here. From the moment they bought the team in 2002, the Red Sox have shown a commitment to winning virtually unmatched by any other owner. One of their first moves was to hire Theo Epstein, and give him and the rest of the front office free reign to do whatever it took to end the team’s 86 year championship drought.
With the owners squarely in his corner, Epstein was free to make the moves that led to two World Series championships. He spent big money on Keith Foulke, J.D Drew, and Diasuke Matsuzaka. He made a risky trade for Curt Schilling. The Red Sox owners also recognized the importance of spending money on the draft, and backed the decisions to go over-slot on many eventual big league contributors, including Mookie Betts.
Even after Epstein resigned after the 2011 season, the Red Sox ownership group continued to back Red Sox GMs. When Ben Cherington was general manager, they supported the fire-sale of big-name stars Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford. When Dave Domborwski was GM, they backed the signing of David Price and J.D Martinez, and the trade of Chris Sale despite the steep prospect package. And even though Chaim Bloom hasn’t spent nearly as much money as his predecessors, John Henry and Co. still backed the decision to spend big on Trevor Story. Through all these GMs, the Red Sox have been near the tops of the payroll leaderboards.
Most of this foolish argument centers around the trade of Mookie Betts, but rational fans will realize that trading Mookie, while heartbreaking, was the right move. With the money given out to players who weren’t even on the big league roster, like Pablo Sandoval, Dustin Pedroia, and Rusney Castillo, the Red Sox were in payroll hell, and the farm system was suffering. The Red Sox chose to deal Mookie, and even though he has still been excellent with the Dodgers, he has missed significant time with injuries in each of the past two seasons, a problem that should only worse as the 5’9, 180 pound outfielder ages.
What’s most mind-blowing about this complaint is that if the Red Sox do pay for a big-name free agent and it doesn’t pan out, fans will complain about management being careless with their money. It’s a lose-lose situation. If said fans want to see a team that isn’t committed to winning, they can go be fans of the Rockies or Reds, because as long as John Henry’s group is in charge, the Red Sox are going to be spending money.
Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom can’t run a big market team
Let me ask you, the cynical Red Sox fan: What move has Chaim Bloom made that has not worked? He joined the team after the 2019 season following a successful run with the Rays, and was immediately given the impossible task of trading future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts. Bloom is not at fault for the trade, as the orders came from above, but he was able to acquire Alex Verdugo, who has turned into a key piece in the Red Sox lineup.
Bloom was even better the next offseason. He selected Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 draft, who was the team’s most trusted reliever come postseason time. He signed Hunter Renfroe, who hit 31 home runs and drove in 96 runs. He signed Kiké Hernández to a two year-deal, who produced 5.9 WAR and became Babe Ruth in the postseason.
Yet Red Sox fans still complained. These are the Red Sox! We don’t do under-the-radar moves! We sign players to nine-figure deals, and trade them halfway through their contract! It was almost as if Red Sox fans were offended that Bloom was giving out short-term, low-risk contracts, as if being compared to the Rays, a team that is always in contention despite bottom-of-the-barrel payrolls, is a bad thing.
Bloom would finally give out a big contract this past offseason, signing second baseman Trevor Story to a 6-year, $140 million deal. Despite underwhelming offensive numbers, Story has been a key contributor to the Red Sox so far, perfect in 10 stolen base attempts and being one of the best defensive second basemen in the game. In addition to the Story signing, Bloom has continued his run of short-term steals, as new additions Matt Strahm, Rich Hill, and Michael Wacha have all exceeded expectations.
Fans will always want their teams to spend the big money to bring in the big stars, but recklessly shelling out cash without thinking about the future is how you end up like the 2019 Red Sox: A team without a farm system, in payroll hell, and a fired GM. Bloom has shown he can operate the best of both worlds, making the short-term deals that made him so successful in Tampa Bay while still spending money when the situation calls for it. Until he gives us reason to do otherwise, Bloom deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Red Sox can’t beat AL East teams!
This complaint at least has a little cadence. The Red Sox have struggled all year long against their division rivals. They are 1-2 against the Yankees, 2-2 against the Rays, 3-7 against the Blue Jays, and worst of all, 3-5 against the Orioles. The adds up to an ugly 9-16 mark, easily the worst of the four AL East contenders.
I’d be lying if I said that record wasn’t cause for concern, but I do believe it is at least a little misleading. 15 of those 23 games came during Boston’s 10-19 stretch, a period when they weren’t playing well against anybody. And even during that stretch, they played the Yankees tough in all three of those games, held the Blue Jays offense in check, and would have won their series in Tampa Bay if not for a Trevor Story error with two outs in the tenth.
It’s also not as if the Red Sox haven’t beaten good teams this year. They won a series versus the Astros (something even the Yankees couldn’t do). They took a series versus the Cardinals, a likely playoff team this year. They swept the Guardians, a first place team entering the series, in their home ballpark. And while the Mariners and Angels haven’t performed up to expectations this years, both rosters are still ripe with talent, so it should be noted that the Red Sox won 9 of their last 11 games against the two clubs.
All told , it’s far too early to declare that the Red Sox can’t beat their AL East rivals. If anything, this past series against the Blue Jays should give evidence to the contrary. While the first game was essentially a throw-away with callup Connor Seabold starting against Cy Young candidate Kevin Gausman, the Red Sox had a lead going into the ninth inning of the second game , and pulled off a dramatic comeback in the third game. All of that happened with a roster decimated by both Covid-19 restrictions (Tanner Houck, Harren Duran) and injuries (Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Whitlock, Kiké Hernández, Chris Sale, Josh Taylor). Once the Red Sox get all their horses back, which should happen by the end of the month, they shouldn’t have any trouble with AL East teams.
Red Sox bullpen sucks!
Bullpens are a lot like NFL kickers. When kickers hit a field goal, nobody celebrates them. After all, that’s what they’re supposed to do. Yet when they miss a field goal of any variety, they get flamed on every social media outlet imaginable.
The same is true with bullpen. What is the first thing you think of when I say “2022 Red Sox bullpen?” It’s not John Schreiber carving up righties, or Tanner Houck making people look silly, or Matt Strahm’s run of dominance. It’s Hansel Robles hanging sliders, or Matt Barnes getting rocked, or Ryan Braiser watching a ball sail over the fence.
As fans, it’s natural to remember the bad times more vividly than the good. However, it should be noted that there have been a lot of good, and the good has come from the teams most important relievers. The bad, meanwhile, has come from relievers who are not going to see the field come October. Said relievers are only getting innings these days because of injuries to relievers like Garrett Whitlock and Josh Taylor.
The returns of those pitchers, along with the inevitable additions at the trade deadline, will push the troublemakers of the relief corps to the curb. If everything goes to plan, Robles, Barnes, and Braiser, who have combined to blow 10 saves already this season, won’t be throwing meaningful innings down the stretch.
Look, no amount of bullpen success will ever be enough for a Red Sox fan. But just look at this potential post-deadline bullpen:
Tanner Houck Garrett Whitlock John Schreiber Matt Strahm Jake Diekman Josh Taylor Hirokazu Sawamura (Trade Deadline Acquisition)
There’s not one liability on that list. So if I can, I urge Red Sox fans to be just a little but patient. The makings of a great bullpen are there, and it should arrive within the month.
Next. The most hyped prospects in recent Red Sox memory. dark