Chaim Bloom's Exoneration, The Sale of The Baltimore Orioles, And What It Means For The Red Sox!




Let's rewind for a moment to September 14, 2023.  This is the date that respected Red Sox Insider John Tomase wrote an article for NBC Sports Boston entitled "Chaim Bloom's Biggest Sin Wasn't Losing, It Was Making Red Sox Irrelevant."  You can find that article here.  At the time, and in part currently, I agreed with him.  However, after hearing Red Sox President Sam Kennedy point fingers and call Red Sox fans liars for daring to question their vision and commitment after a very atypical Red Sox offseason, I began to see things differently.  On top of that, the recent sale of the Baltimore Orioles by the Angelos family that nobody saw coming for $1.725 billion, has allowed me to see things through a different lens.  

Chaim Bloom spent four years as the Chief Baseball Officer after taking over for Dave Dombrowski.  I was, and still am, a big Dombrowski fan.  I liked that he had a "win now" focus and was never afraid to pull the trigger on a deal he thought would put the team over the hump in order to win a World Series.  A win now focus and the gumption to take risks in the trade market are two qualities that weren't really part of Bloom's repertoire.  In 2018, the last time the Red Sox won the World Series, the Team's payroll was 71% above the MLB average, according to The Athletic here.  I don't think it is a shocker that the team won the title that year, but I do think it is not always a formula for success.  So I can see why Red Sox ownership may have been uneasy with Dombrowski's apparent desire to throw caution to the wind financially and do whatever it takes to win now.  I, like most Boston fans in general, don't care that Dombrowski did this because, let's face it, it's not our money.  

Where I think Tomase is correct is that Bloom made the Red Sox irrelevant.  He made them a team that die hard fans can't even look at, but a team that "pink hats" will still watch, hence the irrelevance.  He and Red Sox ownership vastly underestimated, or didn't care about, Red Sox fan's impatience with losing.  Where I think Tomase is wrong is that he ignores the improvement in the farm system, the 58% reduction in payroll between 2019 and 2023, and the signing of Rafael Devers.  All of these amount to more than what new Chief Baseball Officer, and former Red Sox World Series Champion, Craig Breslow seems prepared to do.  Breslow seems dead set on doing only one thing: lowering pay roll even more.  

Where do the Baltimore Orioles fit in, you ask?  Baltimore Orioles Chairman John Angelos and the Governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, had worked for a about the last year in negotiations to renew the Lease at Camden Yards.  He did not inform the Governor of his intentions to sell the team, and according to state treasurer Dereck Davis, Angelos lied to state officials.  You can read all bout that here.  

Now, to connect this to the Red Sox.  On January 19th of this year, Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner was asked if Fenway Sports Group had interest in selling the team.  His response was, "No, people ask us that and the cornerstone of Fenway Sports Group is the Boston Red Sox, and hopefully we’ll be stewards of this a couple more decades, at least.”  Forgive me if I am now quite skeptical this is the case.  Ownership has been pumping their "full throttle" narrative while quietly decimating the roster and refusing to spend on helpful pieces, including Jordan Montgomery who is basically begging them to sign him.  Within the last year, The Boston Planning and Development Agency approved Fenway Corners, a $1.6 billion mixed-use project that will bring offices, labs, apartments, a slew of retailers, and street-level upgrades along Jersey Street, Brookline Avenue, and Van Ness Street.  The project will take approximately 5 to 7 years to complete, but it would be a strong selling point for a beloved major market franchise that is set to make billions of dollars from their off the field ventures alone.  The sale of the Red Sox might be a lot closer than people think and things are lining up to support this idea, in my humble opinion.  

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