Red Sox 2019 (Boston: rating, drought, Indians)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Same here. I wasn't expecting it. Maybe after a bad year next year, but not now. I wonder if they're just noticing that the farm system was gutted over the past few seasons?

It's just kinda crazy, the Sox are going to finish with a +.500 record, and the guy's getting canned. Less than a year after a 108-win season and world series championship. That was with a first year manager too. His team has made the playoffs three years in a row. I don't know, do random firings like this have any deterrence effect on other people who might be looking for the job?

Honestly this year has been more about pitchers who should be better not being better. I think Cora has a lot of blame here too. Offense is still downright scary. But a lot of contracts expiring soon and people are gonna want to get paid. The farm is kinda gutted too, but we will see.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Honestly this year has been more about pitchers who should be better not being better...The farm is kinda gutted too, but we will see.

This is his MO: not afraid to make big moves and signings, bad at building bullpens and leaves gutted farm systems in his wake. Maybe ownership decided it was time to head in another direction with the bill coming due. As you pointed out, he won a World Series last year and that trumps the rest of it. The team is still plenty talented but there are some tricky negotiations approaching... Maybe Theo is ready to come home.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

It's just kinda crazy, the Sox are going to finish with a +.500 record, and the guy's getting canned. Less than a year after a 108-win season and world series championship. That was with a first year manager too. His team has made the playoffs three years in a row. I don't know, do random firings like this have any deterrence effect on other people who might be looking for the job?

Honestly this year has been more about pitchers who should be better not being better. I think Cora has a lot of blame here too. Offense is still downright scary. But a lot of contracts expiring soon and people are gonna want to get paid. The farm is kinda gutted too, but we will see.

Yeah, it's not as if this year's team didn't have the talent.* There was a lot of underperforming this year, and they're still not an awful team. I guess it's not bad to root for a team that won't tolerate mediocrity, but this seemed premature.

*The exception, and many of us have harped on it all season (and the offseason prior to this season), being the back end of the bullpen. That rests squarely at Dombrowski's feet. He underestimated the need for a strong, consistent set up guy and closer, and he overestimated the existing talent. The starting pitching and middle relief underperformed anyway (this team should have at least been a surefire Wild Card team even without a strong closer/setup combo), but coming into the season without a strong candidate in that role hurt them dearly and you can blame Dombrowski for that.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

It's just kinda crazy, the Sox are going to finish with a +.500 record, and the guy's getting canned. Less than a year after a 108-win season and world series championship. That was with a first year manager too. His team has made the playoffs three years in a row.

They didn't just make the playoffs; they won the division 3 years in a row - which is the only time in their history they've done that. And let's not forget that we had just finished in last place 2 years in a row prior to his arrival.

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Honestly this year has been more about pitchers who should be better not being better.

Yep, and it all goes back to Spring Training when the starting pitchers barely got any innings in. Why???

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I think Cora has a lot of blame here too.

I agree. In fact, I feel Cora is largely responsible here. Again, Spring Training.

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

The farm is kinda gutted too, but we will see.

Is it? Dombrowski has a reputation for killing the farm, but I don't follow the farm enough to know if he did that here.

The word going around is that he got fired for not doing anything at the trade deadline. As far as I'm concerned, that's Monday morning quarterbacking. I feel he made the right decision. The offers were horrible; we would have had to give up far more talent than we would have received in return. And nobody had any idea we'd go on an 8 game losing street immediately after.

Frankly, I felt he did a spectacular job in Boston...though I'm not completely comfortable saying that because, again, I really don't know what he did or didn't do with the farm.

Having said all that, I never really liked the guy. You may think this is a strange reason, but I don't care for how he drinks his water. He sips from his bottle of Poland Spring like he's drinking wine at a fancy country club. His son does the same thing. IMO, they just look like a couple of stuck up d-bags. Just not down to earth.

[johngolf]

Somebody has to pay for the dismal season. I expect this bought Cora another year but on a short leash.

[redplum33]

Must watch.


https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1171202537573273600

[redplum33]

The inside story of how Dave Dombrowski’s firing took place

[redplum33]

10 games out of the 2nd wildcard. 18 games remaining. It's done.

[porterhouse]

It was done awhile ago

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

It was done awhile ago

It was.

There was a thread a while ago that questioned why the Red Sox were not as popular as the Patriots even though both teams have been the most successful in their respective sport over the past 20 years. This season embodies the answer. The Patriots haven't won every Super Bowl since 2001, but they've been contenders in most seasons and they've been consistently good. The Sox have been far less consistent. Especially in recent years. They'll win the World Series and then turn in a clunker of a season (or a few seasons). I realize that being in the hunt for the Wild Card in September is hardly awful, but it's disappointing for defending World Series Champions and the highest paid team in the Majors. The last two decades have been excellent for the Sox. But they've been otherworldly for the Patriots and that's why there's a solid gap between the two in terms of popularity.