The Aftermath

The 2009 Red Sox teams had their Ups and Downs this year but to think that this team was championship caliber is a bit of a stretch. They got beat by a grittier, mentally tougher, and stronger all around team. This team was not the team that feasted on the corpse of what the Angels used to be. Bobby Abreu single handedly changed the dynamic of that team for the better, and after his comments saying that he wants to stay with the team for the duration of his career, I'm not excited about playing them in 2010.

The inefficiency by Jonathan Papelbon, as evidenced on Sunday, has been a glaring question all year. He also should realize that there is only one Daisuke Matsuzaka, and that no other pitcher in baseball can load the bases every time you pitch and expect to leave the game unscathed. All year long he was battling to keep runners off the bases and failing miserably. Now Theo, You have to ask yourself a question. Is this the time to get rid of Jonathan Papelbon? His stats have declined the last 3 years, and his walks are an incredible cause for concern. He has value on the trade market and could be a vital piece of Theo's puzzle that he obviously needs to put together differently next season.

The revolving door at Shortstop was STILL a cause for concern. Alex Gonzalez, sured up the position (in the field) but do we really want another guy hovering around .230 for a season in our lineup? Theo has said that he wants to be league average or better (all around) at each position. Alex Gonzalez is still a VERY good defensive short stop but his bat overachieved during his second go-round with the Local Nine, but eventually had to be replaced in the pivotal games in October. When the Offense was the biggest concern in the playoffs another piece of deadwood in the lineup is not going to help out next year.

The Red Sox triumvirate of catchers this year of Jason Varitek, Victor Martinez, and to a lesser extent George Kottaras was simply paltry at throwing out baserunners. And with the league evolving into a faster, more athletic League the necessity to have a "heat-seeker" behind the dish is growing exponentially. The Yankees will still have some players that can run, the go-go Rays obviously can haul ass, the and the Angels go like a raped ape. Something needs to be done with it.

Although Jason Bay's numbers were fairly close to his career averages but his hiatus from the team for a solid 3 months in the middle of the season didn't help our bid for the division this year. Granted the Yankees played damn near .700 baseball for the better part of 4 months so it may not have mattered anyway but the fact remains that consistency is the name of the game.

The emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury as a legitimate top of the order bat who gets on base and alters the game with his legs is a very good sign of things to come. Our infield defense although better with Gonzalez at Short is in need of a face lift. I love Mike Lowell but his range is shot, I don't care that the surgery that he got says he will be better in over a year (meaning 2010), we need to infuse the lineup with a youthful power bat at one of the corners. Thank you Youkilis' versatility!

There was a lot of bitter taste in the mouths of Red Sox Fans this year with the Yankees decimating us the final 10 games of the season series, and the barrage of base stealers trampling on our faces, and Papelbon going all Mitch Williams on us yesterday. But there were holes, glaring holes that were insurmountable this year. As they say, better luck Next year.

Stay Tuned

Ryan