What in the name of Lou Gorman is Chaim Bloom doing?

The late Lou Gorman used to take a lot of grief from Boston Red Sox fans for some of his moves when he was the general manager of the Sox, and for his classic quotes.
For instance, when he was asked by the press why he didn’t pursue outfielder Willie McGee during the trade deadline, he replied, “But where would we play Willie McGee?” (The longtime St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, a speedster, did play one season, 1995, with the Red Sox, but that was when Dan Duquette was the GM.)
Gorman’s most famous quote came from spring training in 1987, when, in response to Roger Clemens leaving spring training because he was unhappy about his contract, Gorman cracked: “The sun will rise, the sun will set and I'll have lunch."
Gorman also took a lot of grief for trading away then-third base prospect Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros in exchange for relief pitcher Larry Andersen. The latter helped the Sox clinch the 1990 AL East title, but he became a free agent after the season and never played for the Sox again.
Bagwell, of course, went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Astros. (In fairness to Gorman, Bagwell wasn't the No. 1-ranked prospect at third base in the Sox organization at that time; that distinction belonged to the immortal Scott Cooper, who wound up replacing Wade Boggs , when the Sox were too cheap to pay Boggs and he wound up signing with the Yankees.)
But Gorman, a proud Stonehill College alum, did a lot of good during his tenure with the Sox. Most notably, he assembled the 1986 Red Sox team and orchestrated the trade that brought Dave Henderson and Spike Owen to the Sox at the trade deadline in August of 1986. Before that, he engineered the trade that brought relief pitcher Calvin Schiraldi to the Sox. Schiraldi, of course, was involved in the Game 6 meltdown, but they wouldn't have gotten that far without the ex-Met, whom Gorman knew from his time as a Mets executive.
And, let's not forget that if it weren’t for that still-too-painful to talk about Game 6 meltdown of the World Series against the New York Mets, Gorman may have ended the curse in 1986 --- 18 years before it was ended in 2004.
Moreover, Gorman had something that current Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom lacks: A soul, heartfelt passion and a sense of what the Red Sox are about --- all of which seems to missing from Bloom’s DNA.
Despite his lame explanations, Bloom clearly doesn’t “get” what the Sox are all about. Except for keeping Rafael Devers, he’s shipped everyone out of town who used to be a star here.
Matt Barnes is the latest example (see below).
Which brings me to nine more thoughts on the Red Sox:|
1. Question Mark Central --- Bloom continues to corner the market on question marks and rehab projects. The latest is infielder Adalberto Mondesí, who the team acquired from the Kansas City Royals in exchange of southpaw Josh Taylor.
Mondesi appears to be yet another player who has potential, but who is a big question mark for the Sox because in 2022, he appeared in the Royals’ first 15 games, but missed the remainder of the season with an ACL tear in his left knee. He could be the starting shortstop or he could be a complete bust. Yet another question mark hovering over this lineup of question marks.
2. Southpaw exits --- Taylor, meanwhile, never made it back from injuries to the Major Leagues in 2022. He had several rehab outings for Triple A Worcester and Double A Portland, so the trade was basically a swap of injured players. But for now, the bullpen has lost another southpaw.
3. Cutting Matt Barnes --- A year and a half after giving Barnes a two-year extension with a player option for 2024, the Sox designated one-time closer Barnes for assignment to make room on the roster for outfielder Adam Duvall, yet another reclamation special served up by the robotic Bloom.
This move makes little sense, since barring a trade, they will get nothing for Barnes and would be on the hook for Barnes’ $7.5 million 2023 salary if he’s not traded. Plus, Barnes had shown signs of improvement in September and to get rid of the veteran without even seeing how he looks in spring training is another questionable move by Bloom --- who takes analytics and technical stats to the extreme and is totally devoid of any emotion.
4. Get rid of Ryan Brasier --- Righthanded reliever Ryan Brasier should have been designed for assignment instead of Barnes. Brasier has shown absolutely no consistency since the 2018 season and last year, gave up a lot of bombs on pitches that had no movement and were thrown lazily. Why the Sox keep him on is mystifying.
5. Tone-deaf masters --- Owner John Henry and Bloom are masters at being tone deaf. They seemed surprised at the booing directed at them during the recent Winter Weekend in Springfield by hardcore fans who paid decent money to attend. Make no mistake: both richly deserved the booing --- Henry for trying to tell tapped-out Sox fans that “baseball is expensive” and Bloom for repeatedly trying to defend the Betts trade and losing Bogaerts. Fans have every right to be royally pissed at Bloom because Bogey could have been signed for a lot fewer years and less money than the 11-year, mega million dollar deal that the got from the San Diego Padres if they had offered him a decent long-term contract last spring instead of disrespecting him with a $90 million pact that was well below market value. Bloom and Henry should have had Bogey locked up well before the end of the season; he should never have become a free agent.
6. Truck Day Friday, Feb. 3 --- With the snow starting to return, enjoy it. We may have a late spring (Groundhog Day is Feb. 2). And despite the Red Sox’ brass’ best attempts to ruin the fun for Red Sox fans, we still desperately crave baseball.
7. Cheers for Lou Merloni --- I really like the plans to have former Sox infielder and WEEI sports talk show host Lou Merloni do a good chunk of games as the color analyst on both the radio and NESN broadcasts.
This is the best move that the Sox have made all offseason, besides extending Devers. Merloni is knowledgeable about baseball, has a pleasant voice and he doesn’t chatter excessively, as far too many analysts do. He also works well with Joe Castiglione on the radio, and on TV he’ll be a worthy successor to Dennis “The Eck” Eckersely, who retired from the NESN booth at the end of the 2022 season.
8. Raimel Tapia --- The ex-Blue Jay has been signed to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training. Tapia, who will soon be 29, has played parts of seven seasons in the majors, hitting .277 with a .709 OPS.
He's best known around here for his inside the park grand slam on a Friday night blowout game at Fenway Park last July after Sox centerfielder Jaren Duran badly misjudged the ball, and then inexplicably let his fellow fielders chase it. Duran should have been designated for assignment after that play. Instead, for some odd reason, he’s still on the 40-man roster while Matt Barnes is gone. Just maddening!
9. Want to stop the boos? Here’s how --- If Henry and Bloom want to stop the boos, they ought to slash ticket prices in half for a good chunk of the year. After all, if they’re going to stock the club with a lot of question marks and Triple A-level talent, they ought to charge Triple A prices.
And while they’re at it, they should cut the concession prices. $15 for a beer (I don’t drink alcohol), $5 for water and $7 for pretzels is highway robbery!