You better believe we're back in the baseball business baby. How bout that alliteration eh? Pitchers and Catchers have reported, and now all the position players are at the facility as well as well. You want optimism for a Sox fan in late February? How about Adrian Beltre droppin' head 5x in a row yesterday during BP. This guy is going to be a HUGE acquisition for the Red Sox this year, so much so that I think they could sign him to another contract in the offseason.
We do however have a couple-few quandaries entering camp.
- Mike Lowell- He is legit stuck between a rock and a hard place. Everyone knows he is going to be a consummate professional but how do the Red Sox distance themselves once again from the hometown discounted third sacker? Easy, You do essentially the same thing you did with Julio Lugo. Any prospect you get in return is a formality. The team your trading with knows that you have to get rid of him so you're paying at LEAST what you offered Texas (9-million of the 12-million he's supposed to make) and you're basically going to get damaged goods or a D+ level prospect in return. But in all honesty you don't need anything for a return its basically to save face when Lowell comes back and has a decent season for another team. You don't need anything for him because you have Adrian Beltre whom I'm guaranteeing hit's 30 round-trippers this season (you'll get the full predictions in about 2 weeks)
- 5th spot in rotation- This is actually the 4th and 5th and it's an all out ball squeezing fight to the death between He Who Shall Not Be Named, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield. He Who is coming off an injury and makes an ass-load of dough, Clay is the up and comer, and Tim feels he's entitled being the elder statesman. What to do? I realize that this won't be popular but if it were my team Clay would already have the 4th spot LOCKED which means its between The Samurai and Father Time. I have to start Tim on the DL in this situation though. If Matsuzaka is proven healthy than he is the more viable option as a #5 starter on this team. That's not to say that Tim won't get his shots throughout the year but when you want to give all of the guys an extra day of rest Tim's your man you can do this every few weeks or so and also can split the bill in a double header along with fighting it out for the long man role with Boof Bonser. Sorry Timmeh, you're going to be 44 in August and your AARP card is probably going to be in your mailbox in May. It's been a good run.
- CF/LF conundrum- I need all the pink hats and Michael Holley to stand up and insert your foot into your mouths. It is 100% the right move to insert Jacoby Ellsbury into Left field when you have Mike Cameron on the team. He has played in 2 games in his career in Left field and Jacoby actually came up as a corner outfielder and eventually moved to Center. I understand the 40% of people that say 'why did we sign him in the first place' but the fact of the matter is, that he's here. Deal. I don't care that Ellsbury is younger than Cameron, Ellsbury's speed is the real reason that everyone thinks he's a good OF, when that's not all its cracked up to be. His arm is average to below average and will only be aided by playing left field in Fenway Park. Cameron has the stronger arm, the experience, and the hardware, it's his position Ellsbury can and will become a better CF in the future by watching Cameron do his thing.
- Revolving SS door- You'll note that I did NOT want the Red Sox to make a run at Marco Scutaro, and while I'm still not sold that he's going to put up the offensive numbers he did in '09 I think I was being a bit of a revisionist historian and am backing off my comments slightly. Historically SS has been a primarily defensive position despite the outliers (Banks, Jeter, Tejada etc) and Marco Scutaro is a plus defender. Being a baseball purist I should have said I don't care what he does offensively just don't boot the goddamn ball. And I think that's the outlook I'm going to have going forward. He is on The Back 9 in terms of his career and Jose "my hands are softer than Johnny Weir's" Iglesias is not just waiting in the wings but chomping at the bit. I realize that they've signed him for 2 years plus an option, but it would not AT ALL surprise me to see them have Scutaro be the SS for 2010 and provided that Iglesias has a good year in the Minors make Scutaro be the Super-Duper-Utility man for 2011 and hand over the reigns to the Next Ozzie Smith.
- Offensive Woes- People are worried that the offense has no pop. I'm not one of them. I think David Ortiz is going to have a much more productive year I'd the HR's and RBI's of last year are not unattainable but the avg will be closer to .270 than .240. Not having Varitek and Nick Green in the lineup every day will make a huge difference. And coupled with not watching Varitek kill every rally the Sox start you get a full season of Victor Martinez. 1-9 you don't have any easy outs this year, BIG improvement if you ask me.
- Stolen Bases- There are two schools of thought for the stolen base against. That it's the pitcher or the catcher. Last year it was both. Brad Penny had THE SLOWEST time to the plate and Varitek's pop-time to second base was ranked in the bottom 3 in the league. Beckett and Buchholz are Also very deliberate going home and EVERYONE runs on either Wakefield or Paul Byrd. That was hopefully alleviated with the signing of John Lackey. Not that he's quick to home, although he is light-years ahead of Penny, but not allowing as many runners on will nip that in the bud. Also V-Mart working an entire Spring Training with the living legend Gary Tuck will also help combat the horses.
I'll tell you, I really like this team.
Stay Tuned
Ryan
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