The Boston Red Sox brass (minus John Henry, he was “busy”) met with the media and fans at their annual “Winter Weekend” this past weekend and tried to walk back some of the comments they made at the beginning of the offseason. On Monday’s Felger and Mazz, Mazz gave his thoughts on what they had to say to the media over the weekend.
Mazz: To be clear, I don’t think they’re stupid, but here’s the thing: I have stated this many times throughout the years. Alright, I don’t think they’re dumb, but it’s obvious that they believe you to be. Therefore, the way they go about things is deceptive. Why they simply don’t disclose the truth eludes me. Do you know my motto? Be truthful. That’s what I live by. That’s the motto I aim to live by. Tell it like it is. Therefore, if the real story is that “we’re trying to grow our minor league system and we believe we can be competitive while we’re doing that, but it doesn’t really make sense for us to sign $500 million free agents until we get to a certain stage,” then OK! Even though I don’t agree with them, at least I would accept that they were being honest. As of right now, I neither believe nor respect either. Additionally, consider the nine additional victories they would have received if the defense had been improved, as demonstrated by the example he provided. Nine is a falsehood, to start with. Most likely, it was half of that.
Mazz: Accurate. The other argument is that, as our new intern made a very valid point, wouldn’t it be more sense to go out and spend the money if they were 86 or 87 simply by including the defense? Saying something like, “Well, wait a minute, If we’re 86 or 87, then now’s the time to go drop 300 million on Yamamoto and now we’re in the game,” would seem to be even more justification for going out and getting a top pitcher to post bail. You know what the target was for victories per season back when Theo Epstein was here? 95. Every year, that was the objective—not 86 or 87. If you want to play 86 or 87, go acquire a modest midmarket squad and enjoy yourself.