The injuries have enabled the following:
1. return of Jed Lowrie
2. emergence of Ryan Kalish
3. seeing Mike Lowell finish the season as a RedSox
4. resounding entrance of Daniel Nava on the scene (Grand Slam on his first MLB AB)
5. rise of McDonald as a 4th OF, either in Boston or elsewhere
6. Daniel Bard becoming a premier set-up guy
7. Clay Bucholz and John Lester emerging as the 1-2 punch in the rotation
8. glimpses FelixD as a quality LHP out of the pen
9. sneak preview of Bowden as a future fixture in the pen
The farm system is certainly producing quality players.
Perhaps there will be major roster changes in the offseason. These include: Lowell, 'Tek,
Beltre, VMart, Ells, Big Papi, Okey, Atchison, to name a few. What about Wake?
My advice to Theo: lay off the high-priced free agents. Your track record is pretty bad. Develop young talent like you have been doing. Don't sign any more high-priced guys like Lackey, Drew, Renteria, Clement -- just admit it, Theo, you suck at evaluating free agent talent. You promised to turn the 'Sox in a "Development Machine". You're reaching your vision. You have two World Championships to show for it. Now, spend John Henry's dollars wisely. Don't go out and get banged up players like Mike Cameron.
Some scenarios for next year:
1B Lowrie
2B Pedey
SS Scutaro
3B Youk
LF Kalish
CF Ells
RF Drew (last year on his deal)
DH ?
C?
4th OF - Cameron
Utility INF - ?
Back up C - ?
2 more roster spots ?
1. Bucholz
2. Lester
3. Beckett
4. Dice-K
5. Lackey
6. Wake
7. Bard
8. Pap
9. Bowden
10.Felix
11?
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I suppose there are some silver linings out of this season. One strong one is that Mikey Lowell does finish out the season with the Sox. (Here's hoping he's in the lineup on Thursday night. The long good-bye will commence then!)
ReplyDeleteCertainly we've seen a change in Lackey since the season started. I think he'll be more effective next year. A season in Boston under his belt means more of a comfort zone next year. I strongly urge Theo to resign Vic and keep Tek around for another season. Salty just ain't gonna cut it as the primary catcher.
I have to put my two cence in for Beltre's return. He & did not start out on the best of terms. True, it wasn't his fault he replaced Mikey at third. Still, it was hard to accept him at the hotcorner...initially. He's actually kind of grown on me. The shenanigans with Vic and the whole rubbing of the head have kind of given the Wrecking Ball a more personal edge. I'm sure it's taken other Boston fans a while to accept Beltre as one of us. After injuring two players and a multitude of errors at third, it was a bit difficult to really like this guy. He plays hard, though, and he does swing a mighty bat. It would be worth bringing him back for another season.
Santa's Wish List for next season:
*Reliable arms in the pen
*A sure-handed shortstop. Too many games have been lost this season by E6.
*Beckett's groove back, if that's possible
*Resign Vic
*Resign Tek, or make him a coach
*Say good-bye to Ortiz. He's pretty much done
*A bigger city of Boston so there'll be room for all of us AND Theo's ego.
With one month left of Red Sox baseball, we can hope for the best for our boys and gear up for Hot Stove season.