2021 Red Sox: Do Not Blame Bloom

Do the trolls of Twitter find it easier to just write off every little issue than to look at what is good about their favorite team? The 2021 Red Sox team has not been fun to watch since early July. This is a fact. The team managed to blow a hefty lead over their most hated rival. This too is a fact. There is no denying it has been bad. Expert level bad. There is also, thanks to a rather cake schedule, time to right the ship.

2021 Red Sox: Bloom Doing Bloom

Chaim Bloom was hired on October 25, 2019 by the Boston Red Sox to succeed Dave Dombrowski as head of baseball operations. Bloom walked into Fenway, sharply dressed, a large smile affixed to his face, and told Red Sox Nation he was here to, “build as strong an organization as possible, in all aspects, so that we can have sustained long-term success and compete for championships year in, and year out."

Patience is not really a strong aspect of Red Sox fans. Wildly passionate, but never patient, at least not since 2004. Chaim Bloom is about patience. He is about rebuilding the farm system, while simultaneously putting a competitive team on the field. Bloom has done just that in 2021. Bloom has done what he set out to do, yet he is widely scrutinized by the angry mob of Anti-Bloom Haters on Twitter.

The anger, for most, began on February 10, 2020. Four short months after being hired, Bloom was faced with trading Red Sox star right fielder Mookie Betts. This trade did not sit well with most of Red Sox Nation, who believed the Red Sox should and could afford to keep their homegrown superstar, no matter the cost. The cost came to 12/$365M, two more years, and $65M more than the Red Sox"s reported best offer. Betts"s near-immediate contract extension with the Dodgers was also likely a 2020 COVID-19 discount. If there is no pandemic, Mookie Betts tests free agency, and he likely goes to the highest bidder, and even more likely the price is somewhere closer to Mike Trout‘s 12/$425.5M.

As hard as it was to see Mookie Betts settle perfectly into Dodger Blue, and immediately win a World Series, the outrage towards Bloom was incredibly unfounded. An abysmal shortened 60-game season didn"t help matters. The truth of the matter is that with Bloom, the Red Sox future is brighter than it has been in years. The Red Sox win championships, but they"re also known for not sustaining said championship window. The closest the Red Sox ever came to back-to-back championships was 2007 and 2008. Bloom is looking towards making the Red Sox, the Dodgers 2.0! Bloom is following Andrew Friedman"s model to a tee. Friedman built one of baseball"s best farm systems, even going as far as hoarding top prospects, and didn"t give out a nine-figure deal until 2020, and Mookie Betts. A dynamite farm system is what helped Friedman make his superteam even more super, by adding Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the 2021 trade deadline.

2021 Red Sox: The Trade Deadline

Oh, the 2021 trade deadline. The 2021 Red Sox team, as a whole, has been awful since the trade deadline. The amount of suck however reaches beyond just the deadline. The Red Sox record since July 5th is 17-22. It has been bad, it has been ugly, but to blame Chaim Bloom, and fans" perception of a lack of moves at the trade deadline is just asinine. Chaim Bloom went out and got arguably the best bat on the trade market in Kyle Schwarber. Fans were outraged the Red Sox got outbid by the New York Yankees for Anthony Rizzo‘s services but failed to realize that Kyle Schwarber was and is the better bat in 2021. Having to wait a bit for Schwarber to come off the injured list after the deadline and seeing Rizzo play well against Miami and Baltimore once again harkens back to the impatience of the Red Sox fanbase. Kyle Schwarber is good, in fact, he is very good.

Red Sox fans were also gifted, after the deadline, with the long-awaited return of ace Chris Sale. In two starts back, Sale has pitched quite well.

Since his return from Tommy John surgery, even as well as he has pitched, Sale says he is not satisfied with the results.

For the Red Sox, to have someone with Sale"s mentality come back and take accountability should boost morale, not to mention how well Schwarber has been playing since coming off an injury. The Red Sox have had issues since July 5th, but none of those issues have to do with Chaim Bloom or the trade deadline. It is about on-field play. Red Sox General Manager Brian O"Halloran can say all he likes about the blame being on the front office because, to be fair, he has to save face with players. It would be an absolutely awful look to blame the players, being one of the higher-ups within the Boston front office. The front office is not the reason the Red Sox top hitters went ice cold with runners in scoring position, or why usually reliable bullpen arms have been struggling. The Red Sox as a team, a whole 26-man roster, has been underperforming. Chaim Bloom brought in Kyle Schwarber, Austin Davis, and Hansel Robles to help. Austin Davis especially has pitched well and is mightily needed as a lefty out of the pen, after the injury to Darwinzon Hernandez.

Robles too has been of value.

Outside of Kyle Schwarber, the deadline names were not that sexy, but it in no way means they will not help. Not to mention, Chaim Bloom did not burn through the farm system to acquire these three men at the deadline.

2021 Red Sox: Down on the Farm

The farm system, something that a lot of fans do not seem to understand is of great value to the Boston Red Sox. Chaim Bloom was brought in to build the farm system. Dave Dombrowski has been wrongfully accused of completely destroying the farm system. While Dombrowski did trade a good deal of chips away, he did so understanding just how much depth was in the farm system at the time he pulled the trigger. You can trade away Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech when you have Rafael Devers and Tanner Houck waiting in your farm system. Dombrowski also drafted Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck, Gilberto Jimenez, Jay Groome, and Bryan Mata, some rather intriguing prospects. Dave Dombrowski set the farm system back while building a championship roster in 2018. Chaim Bloom was hired to rebuild and sustain the farm system.

Chaim Bloom has done a sensational job since being hired with rebuilding the farm system. In 2020, Baseball America ranked the Red Sox system 20th, and in 2021, the system has cracked the top ten, being ranked ninth. The addition of Marcelo Mayer, with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, and the emergence of Blaze Jordan and Nick Yorke, both 2020 draft picks, breathe new and exciting life into the future of the Boston Red Sox.

Red Sox fans can be as mad as they want about Chaim Bloom not adding, anyone, or the multiple additions of Max Scherzer, Anthony Rizzo, Craig Kimbrel, or José Berríos, it is one hundred percent their prerogative. If any one of those men is added to the 2021 Red Sox at least one of Yorke, Casas, Jimenez, Jordan, Jeter Downs, or Houck is gone, or even multiple, which compromises the future. With potential contract extensions to Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, a 2024 infield/Designated Hitter option might comprise of some kind of combination of Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Nick Yorke, Marcelo Mayer, and Blaze Jordan. That would be an infield consisting entirely of homegrown talent.

Red Sox fans: do not blame Chaim Bloom. Chaim Bloom is great for this organization. He is exactly what is needed. Also, do not give up on this 2021 Red Sox team, they"re extremely talented. Here is a little food for thought…

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