The Plan

Last time I heartily ripped into the Red Sox front office, specifically GM Theo Epstein, for their actions over the two previous seasons. The issues include indecision over the direction of the ballclub, terrible talent scouting and acquisition, trading away good prospects for weak, veteran fixes, and most importantly by wasting two years of the incredible Ortiz / Ramirez duo. Today I??m going to follow up with what I feel is the best course of action for the team heading forwards from the disappointing 2006 season.
The Boston Red Sox are in a blessed position right now, compared to nearly every other organization in the majors. The farm system is brimming with talent, the heart of the order is historically good, and you have a nearly unmatched $120+ million to spend on payroll. In spite of this, the last two teams have limped along with bottom-of-the-barrel pitching and few alternatives to the everyday players.
Theo has stated time and time again that the Red Sox can act like the 1950s Yankees, rebuilding while winning, and with the resources at hand, there??s no reason why this should not be possible in this day and age. And yet, we find ourselves doing each only half-heartedly, with weak results for both.
Here are my suggestions for getting us back on the right track:
1). Get back to low-risk, high reward –
Getting Ortiz was one of the greatest moves in baseball history, because there was virtually no risk involved. If he flopped, or got injured, then you??re down a million and a half, or less than the cost of Jason Johnson this season. Remember him?
With the exception of the Hee Sop Choi pickup, the Red Sox seem to have completely abandoned this process lately for position players. Instead of attempting to load AAA up with potential offensive stars who haven??t quite clicked yet, we give shots (meaning valuable major league innings) to retreads like Bryan Corey.
As I mentioned, getting Choi was a good step, as he??d had some success in the majors. But why do we keep latching onto no-upside veterans instead of stocking the minors with possible stars? Where were we when Corey Patterson and Brandon Phillips were on the block? Why couldn??t we trade one of our many retreads for Cesar Izturis? Sure, they??ve sucked in the past, but they??re young and could somehow turn it around. Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things if Patterson and Izturis sink the Paw Sox?? season?
2). Don??t rely on the low-risk people to get you into the playoffs,
or 1b). You gotta use what you got, to get what you want –
Now, when you do get these players, know how to use them. There is no excuse to let people like Gabe Kapler or Doug Mirabelli get inning after inning this time of year when you could be playing David Murphy and George Kottaras every game. These players may not produce, but at least he??s been given a chance. Does anyone think Kapler will be a key part of our next championship run?
And similarly, when you do have players in AAA mashing the ball, use them. Last year we easily could have won the AL East crown if we??d played Kevin Youkilis or Roberto Petagine instead of the near-dead Kevin Millar. When Mueller was hitting below .200 in September, Youkilis easily could??ve been walking every 5 at bats. When players are struggling, replace them either with youngsters who need experience, or players who have been mashing the ball. Is it that damaging to give them a shot?
Don??t rely on the spare parts you collect, but try them out. And if they are spare parts, make them valuable or potentially valuable in some way. I??ve had it with the Kaplers and Mirabellis.
3). Pay attention to the obvious-
Earlier this season, Craig Hansen had a ridiculous split between innings. In inning one, he had a 1.4 ERA, and was mowing down batters. In the second inning he was sent out, he had an ERA of 14. And what does Francona do in the middle of a pennant hunt? Repeatedly send Hansen out for second innings, where he gets killed.
Yes, our bullpen sucks, but isn??t a reliever who doesn??t have an ERA of 14 available somewhere out there? If Beckett has drastically better numbers pitching to Mirabelli than Varitek, why on earth is he throwing to Varitek? It??s the little things like this that make a good team better than the sum of its parts.
4). Avoid Caveat Emptor-
Beckett implodes. Crisp can??t get above .270, whenever he actually plays. Renteria puts up the worst numbers of his career. Shouldn??t we have seen this coming?
Beckett was coming from a much weaker NL East, where his ERA would be at least a point less. Crisp was one of the 10 luckiest hitters in the league in 2005. Renteria can??t adjust to the AL, and manages to out-suck his meager career numbers. So why do we continually ignore obvious information in our decision-making process? Is a pitcher who would struggle to get below a 4.3 ERA worth 2 of our top prospects? Is a player forced to play center and hit leadoff, who has never been able to do either, worth our top prospect? Is Renteria worth $12m when Orlando Cabrera commands 8?
We need to look at the obvious numbers right in front of us before making a decision. Our front office is renowned for its ability to look at the big picture with logic and understanding, why are we falling for hype over reality?
When we are counting on a player having a career year to justify the contract, we simply should not make that deal.
5). Spend. ?