How the Red Sox can become a championship team again, according to readers
The Red Sox are currently tied with the New York Yankees for last place in the AL East.
The Red Sox announced Thursday that they fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who spent almost four years with the Boston team.
Bloom’s career in Boston was a complicated one, with a record of 267-262 for all four years. This season has a similar record, as the Red Sox are currently tied with the New York Yankees for last place in the AL East standings after Thursday night’s game.
One action Bloom is heavily criticized for is Mookie Betts being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2020.
We asked Boston.com readers if they agreed with the decision to fire Bloom. Out of the 662 readers who responded, about 88% said they agreed with the decision to fire Bloom.
Some readers who agreed with the decision expressed frustration with recent trades, such as reader Charles O. from Medford, who cited Betts as an example.
“They need to keep their star players. You can’t just keep letting star players go elsewhere, and expect to be a consistent winner,” he said. “It is very different if the player is over 35, but allowing players to go like Betts who are in their prime is not a winning strategy.”
We also asked readers what they felt the Red Sox need to do in order to become a championship team again.
A common theme among readers was strengthening the team’s pitching.
“Pitching. A championship team always starts with pitching and ends with pitching. Defense and pitching wins games and games won wins championships,” said reader Nicholas D. from Bolton.
Other readers also pointed out that since going to Fenway Park can be expensive, the team’s quality should match that price. According to NBC Sports Boston, the average cost of a trip to Fenway for a family of four is about $385.37.
“When charging premium prices for tickets, concessions, and NESN360, there is a legitimate expectation of fielding the highest-caliber team,” said reader Sean from Watertown. “This entails committing to signing top-tier players to substantial contracts and ensuring that valuable homegrown talents remain with the team, not achieving success elsewhere, as exemplified by Betts’ championship in Los Angeles.”
Read below to see what Boston.com readers feel the Red Sox need to do in order to become a championship team again.
Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
What do the Red Sox need to do to become a championship team again?
“They need to keep their star players. You can’t just keep letting star players go elsewhere, and expect to be a consistent winner. It is very different if the player is over 35, but allowing players to go like Betts who are in their prime is not a winning strategy.” — Charles O., Medford
“Bloom has largely already done the damage, notably the trade of once-in-a-lifetime athlete in Betts. To restore competitiveness, it is crucial for Red Sox ownership to reinvest in their Major League team, not just their Worcester affiliate. When charging premium prices for tickets, concessions, and NESN360, there is a legitimate expectation of fielding the highest-caliber team. This entails committing to signing top-tier players to substantial contracts and ensuring that valuable homegrown talents remain with the team, not achieving success elsewhere, as exemplified by Betts’ championship in Los Angeles. The city no longer has the same passion for the Sox as it once did. The same can be said about the ownership.” — Sean, Watertown
“Spend on core players in key positions (center field, shortstop) and build around them. Avoid injury-prone starting pitchers. Based upon the Red Sox wealth (as created and maintained by the fans via ticket sales, media viewership, and merchandise sales), the team should always be featuring an elite (top 10-15) starter atop the rotation, top 10 defense, and top 10 offense in the MLB. The resources are there to maintain that, at a minimum. Letting Mookie Betts go was an unforgivable mistake, but we’re here now. Let’s not ever make that mistake again. Twice in 100 years is twice too many. Chris Sale is not an elite starter by any measure.” — Shane C., Newburyport
“The Red Sox need reliable starting pitching and a clear vision. Both of these things did not happen under Bloom. One of the biggest criticisms I have of him is that he took a middle road in the past two trade deadlines rather than committing to buying or selling. The Red Sox also need to invest like a large market team if they are going to charge the park and concession prices of a large market team.” — Rick N., Lincoln, R.I.
“Upgrade pitching and defense. Encourage young players to get away from the current home run or nothing mindset held by many of the current roster as evidenced by the high number of runners left on base through the year. Just put the ball in play similar to putting the puck on net, good things happen.” — Doug R., Pembroke
“Do not continue to be so impulsive with free agent signings and develop their own pitchers.” — Robert, Sudbury
“Lock in the high potential younger position players. Concentrate on pitching in the farm system.” — Bill, MetroWest
“Every man on the roster contributes. Five for five in off season signings. Skip pitchers with fragile makeup. Clutch dirt dog player or two. Yearly youthful adds. And good luck!” — Jerry M., Belchertown
“Two new good starting pitchers and an emphasis on defense in spring training.” — Mark L., Dorchester
“First, rehire Bloom. He was unfairly scapegoated here. We may never fully know the facts of what led to them trading Betts — how much the ownership had a hand in it, but fairly or not, he will always wear that around his neck in this town. Short of that, start spending some money again on top caliber ball players — especially pitchers!” — Skip, Woburn
“Go back to spending like a major market team. The Red Sox have had a reset that has lasted five years where the Major League roster has been in a decline over that period. They have built the Minor Leagues up so now it’s time to fortify with spending on high priced Major League talent.” — Dan B., Hudson, N.H.
“Pitching, we have the bats and speed again, defense needs work, but pitching is critical.” — Rick T., Florida (formerly Woburn)
“Act like a big market team that it is. Although it may be growing into a mid market since the team hasn’t invested properly the past few years creating apathy amongst fans. You can’t let two homegrown stars (Betts, Xander) leave without a long term impact.” — Jeff C., Natick
“Get rid of Chris Sale, who has never come close to earning his keep while with the Sox. Spend some money on some quality pitchers in free agency or trade for some. It always comes down to pitching and the Red Sox have a habit of signing marginal pitchers who seldom come through.” — Tom B., Fitchburg
“Needs to become a much better defensive team and add quality pitching.” — Jeff W., Framingham
“The Red Sox are not a team that was put together through being conservative. They need leadership who can go get the talent they need while building their farming system.” — Daniel B., Pittsfield
“Pitching. A championship team always starts with pitching and ends with pitching. Defense and pitching wins games and games won wins championships.” — Nicholas D., Bolton
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
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