The 2010 Offseason Begins
I’ve been on vacation in the Bay Area over the past few days, hence my failure to dedicate prose to the mangled corpses of the Boston Red Sox. I was only able to watch the ALDS “games” in bits and pieces, which is very, very fortunate for me.
This 2009 team had a slightly different feel than the other Sox playoff teams we’ve seen in the past decade. With the exception of Kevin Youkilis (my vote for team MVP) the entire team was very streaky. Nearly all of their key players went through periods of torrid play sandwiched in between periods of futility. Papelbon’s implosion in Game 3 may have been disappointing, but can anyone really say that it was shocking? He had been playing with fire all season, and it caught up with him in the end.
The good news is, the team appears to be in great shape heading into 2010. The majority of the team’s core players are entering their prime, and Victor Martinez is returning and will take over the starting catching job.
So, the offseason analysis begins. What to do about Jason Bay, the shortstop position, the Varitek conundrum, among other things. We’re going to hit the ground running and will take a look at the most glaring issue on the docket (the Jason Bay situation) first. Stay tuned.
Things are not as rosy as you suggest. This team (1) does not hit for power on the road and (2) struggles against strong pitching, moreso than do some of the other playoff teams. The Sox need a new third baseman and DH, for starters.
Regarding DH: I don’t think they desperately need one. Ortiz was one of the best hitters in the league over the second half of the season.
Regarding 3B: what they really need (or, I should say, what is easier to find) is a first baseman. I’ll be addressing this in a post shortly.
I agree, make a serious run at Adrian Gonzalez (1050 OPS away from PETCO). This would allow you to move Youk to 3B, and either trade Lowell for 60 cents on the dollar or have the most expensive DH platoon in baseball.