FanPost

A Successful 2021: Forward Momentum


The most important thing that this team can do is not go backwards. This should be a fairly easy thing to do. All they have to do is pick a direction, and make moves. It's not necessary to be a playoff team. It's not even necessary to be a winning team. Dare I say it, it's not even necessary to have a higher winning percentage than last season...as long as they are moving in a positive direction.

I seriously doubt that last scenario will come into play. It would really have to entail blowing the whole thing up and selling off all of the quality veterans on the roster. This would be the route I would like the least, so luckily it's also the least likely, so I won't go into it much more, but it would basically be to get the best farm system in the league.

The second is to absolutely load up no matter the cost, or as I like to call it, the Dombrowski method. This is also extremely unlikely after last season and with Bloom at the helm. It would basically be buying Springer, Realmuto, Bauer and LeMahieu while flipping all of the prospects you just brought in for another top flight type pitcher on a cheap team. Then you hope for the best the next two seasons. Not the best idea long term, and also not the route I see Bloom even wanting to go.

The best case scenario is somewhere down the middle. You have quality young players who are either stars or close to it in Xander (28), Devers (24) and Verdugo (24). You should be building around them, and not necessarily with top end stars. Put players on the team that fit. Back in 2013, they made smaller moves that made more sense. They put the right handed power bat behind Papi that they hadn't had since Manny when they signed Napoli. They got Victorino to patrol RF and to get on base in front of the RBI guys. Not scrubs by any stretch of the imagination, but guys that made sense. I want to see some of that, and then I need to see growth from the younger kids. I need Verdugo to become that OBP guy with defense they need in a RF. I need to see Benintendi get his groove back, even if it's in a platoon situation with Renfroe. I need to see one (or more would be great) of the kids in Downs, Dalbec or Duran come up and show me they're someone who can legitimately join that young core for the next eight to ten years. And I need to see promise from some of the young arms that they have. Someone needs to take advantage of the spots that will be available at the beginning of the season. I don't need Aces. I need 5-6 innings of two run ball with a pen who can hold a lead. The offense should be able to do damage with that kind of pitching.

There's really only one way they can screw the season up, and that's to keep the exact same guys and not play as well as last year. They shouldn't have that issue. Mostly, I just need to have something I want to watch. That doesn't have to be a World Series contender...but I need to have quality baseball in the Summer months.