Total Recall

Back in September, as the Sox geared up for their final playoff push, I wrote an article here on Fire Brand about Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro. In that article, I recounted the last three years of Indians baseball, making the case that the success of Shapiro’s rebuilding program was a blueprint for the Red Sox, post-2005. What I wrote, more specifically, was this:
“Because, as I sit back and look at this 2005 Red Sox team, I see – more than any other collection of players – the 1999-2001 Cleveland Indians. The 2005 Red Sox are a devastatingly powerful offensive club, though their offense is aging. several key contracts will run out over the next two seasons, including those of Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, and Trot Nixon. The pitching is often just good enough to win, with a couple young guys, but mostly deeply aged talent. The Sox farm system, barren for so long, is now ready to produce key younger players – but not at every position.
Last season, I viewed the Sox as a team on their last chance. I still do. A point was reached last year, a tipping point where if we did not win it all – and possibly even if we did – large scale changes would need to be made. We did win it all, as it turned out, but in doing so we decided to get older rather than younger. Despite all the talk of the Sox