Introduction

This article is a follow up to the one published here on Monday, December 12th. In this article I will delve in more detail into the Red Sox current Pitching situation. Here we will break things down by talking about the current list of injured pitchers and the effect that has on the team, the 2011 pitchers that are currently free agents, the rotation, the bullpen, pitchers that were not on the Red Sox in 2011 that are now free agents & pitchers that might be available via trade.

The Injuries

Almost like a team plague, Tommy John Surgery seems to have hit the Red Sox like a virus over the past two years. First, I believe, there was Junici Tazawa who had returned late last season from his surgery & since his there have been three more players that have succumbed to it…

SP Rich Hill – Recovering from Tommy John surgery (on June 9th) and was recently non-tendered. His recovery will probably result in him being out until after the start of 2012, but with Boston having so many lefties under team control (Morales, Doubront and Miller) without the ability (options) to sent them to Pawtucket (AAA), they had to release him. Although, if one of those guys were involved in a possible trade, that would open the door up to the Red Sox re-signing him. I personally think he’s be a better option for them than two of them if not all three.

SP Daisuke Matsuzaka - will miss at least half of the 2012 season due to recovery from his Tommy John surgery. It is hoped that his return will be the equivalent of a trade deadline acquisition as he might be back sometime after the All Star game. Although, given the tendency of pitchers returning from this procedure having control problems coupled with Dice-K’s insistence on nibbling around the plate sounds like a recipe for some scary innings of work (hopefully the Red Sox can keep him in AAA Pawtucket during that awkward time is his rehab). I don’t see him being a reliable option at the major league level until the All Star break at the earliest.

Picture of John Lackey taken by Tony Molica

SP John Lackey - He is the last pitcher to succumb to this injury as of late and because he didn’t address this injury until after the 2011 season, he will miss all of 2012. On the bright side, it looks like the injury that made this procedure a necessity was directly related to Lackey’s poor 2011 performance (it seems as if he may have pitched with this injury most of the season knowing that he couldn’t hurt himself further), one that was the worst by any Red Sox starting pitcher in the team’s storied history for a full season.  Some have also reported that he stayed off the DL for the team’s sake given the state of the staff and took one for the team so to speak. So, maybe he will look more like the pitcher we saw with the Angels in 2013!

Former Red Sox Pitchers that are now Free Agents
RP Trever Miller (age: 38) - Miller only pitched in 2 innings for the Red Sox (in 3 outings) while recording 1K without giving up a hit, a walk or a run. In all of 2011 between the Blue Jays, Cardinals and the Red Sox he only pitched in 21.1 innings over 48 outings and had an 0-1 record with 1 SV 3 blown saves and 5 holds, while maintaining a 3.80 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.

RP Dan Wheeler (age: 34) - Wheeler is a Type B free agent. He declined the Red Sox offer of arbitration. He was on and off the DL during the 2011 season posting a line of 2-2 with 4 Holds, 0 blown saves, 39 K, 1.11 WHIP, 4.38 ERA in 49.1 IP. For his career he boasts a 3.88 ERA, 1.21 WHIP with 43 saves, a 25-43 record with 553K in 628.1 IP.

SP Tim Wakefield (age: 45) - With Wakefield’s reoccurring back problems over the past few years and his painful-to-watch attempt to get his 200th victory last year, it is probably only a 50/50 chance at best that the Red Sox re-sign him for the 2012 season. And the latest news is that Theo (I mean Jed Hoyer) may seek to sign Wakefield (and possibly even Varitek) with the Cubs. 2011 saw Wakefield go 7-8 with 93Ks, a 1.36 WHIP, .267 BAA and a 5.12 ERA in 154.2 innings pitched with 1 CG in only 23 starts (10 relief appearances) while giving up a whopping 25 HRs. In contrast to those numbers, he has a career average of a 4.41 ERA, 1.35 WHIP (so that didn’t change) with 2156 Ks in 3226.2 innings pitched over 463 starts (164 relief appearances) with 33 CGs with 6 of those being shutouts. Bottom line: I’d bring him back even if it was just for insurance. He’s a great team player, can both start and pitch in the bullpen and can eat up innings. On top of all of that, when he gets going (if), he can string together a bunch of consecutive wins (if you have a catcher that can catch him and not many can).

The Rotation

Jon Lester - In my opinion Lester is the Ace of this staff! He has won 15 or more games in his last four seasons (19 in 2010) and 2012 should see him pitch in over 200 innings once again (he had only 191.2 IP last year, the first time under 200 in those same four seasons) and be in contention for the Cy Young Award once again with  also hitting the 200K mark again.

Josh Beckett - If Beckett has post another sub 3.00 ERA he might be in line to go head to head with Lester for that Cy Young Award, but he will more likely have an ERA under 4.00 and 190 or more Ks. Last year, for at least half of the season, he proved that he can still be a co-Ace on this staff and Bobby V might be the type of manager that can motivate him to do so once again, but his best years are behind him at this point, I’m affraid.

Clay Buchholz - I see Clay as being, realistically speaking, a solid number two pitcher on this staff with a performance that is in between his 2010 (.708 winning percentage) and 2011 (.667 winning percentage) seasons if he can stay healthy.

Daniel Bard – At first, I wasn’t sure how to take the news of Bard joining the rotation, but with the acquisitions of Melancon and Bailey I have to agree with it. I think Bard, if the opinion of Curt Young (Red Sox 2011 Pitching Coach) is accurate, is well suited to transfer into the rotation like the Rangers have done recently with CJ Wilson, Alexi Ogando, etc. Young mentions the addition of a newly mastered changeup to go with his fastball and slider as reasons that back a move to the rotation. I think he’ll do just fine and might end up in the pen three quarters of the way into the season due to the added workload after being a short reliever up until now.

Picture of Alfredo Aceves taken by Tony Molica

Alfredo Aceves - If no one besides one of the slew of low risk starters the Sox have signed to this point pans out, Alfredo should be the fifth starter (or at least the first guy out of the pen to spot start). His 2011 performance when called upon has earned him that right.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (DL: Tommy John Surgery) - Dice-K might just be the equivalent to a mid season aquisition when he returns from Tommy John surgery. With Bobby V at the helm, it just might be what the doctor ordered for Dice-K in his final months as a member of the Red Sox due to Bobby’s time spent managing in Japan. I expect the best performance we’ve seen up to this point upon his return if he is healthy enough post-surgery to accomplish it.

The Bullpen

Bobby Jenks - In December, Jenks has lower back surgery to remove bone fragments and less than a month later has had a second operation on his back and will probably miss the start of spring training. If he can stay healthy he would be a valuable 7th or 8th inning option along with Malanson; otherwise, he’s sure to be DFA’d or traded during the season.

Scott Atchison - Atchison has his best numbers in the following categories in 2011: ERA (3.26) and WHIP (1.20), but his SO/9 were at a career low at 5.0. He also had very good command as seen with a BB/9 rate of 1.8 and he did not give up even one HR. I’d keep him, but would monitor his SO/9 and H/9 rates to see if they loose any more ground. If they do, I’d expect that to affect his ERA and WHIP numbers, too and if that happens I’d cut ties with him. The Red Sox no longer have the ability to option him to the minors (he is out of MiLB options). Due to the signing of OF Cody Ross, Atchison has been designated for assignment. In my most humble opinion, this should have been Albers. Sorry Matt!

Matt Albers - The only thing I like about Albers stat line for 2011 was his increase in SO/9 which was almost 3 points higher than his previous season high. What I don’t trust is a RP with a WHIP of 1.43, which sadly enough was his second best total in his career. I’ll see if there were any takers on him & try to get a decent prospect out of it. Maybe put him into a package to the Cubs in an attempt to land a better compensation deal for Theo.

Franklin Morales – His totals in Boston were his best since his rookie year of 2007. In Boston he posted a 3.62 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, a 2.82 SO/BB and a SO/9 of 8.6 second only to his 9.2 in 2009. That and the fact that he’s a lefty and only 25 years old tells me that he is a keeper. The Red Sox no longer have the ability to option him to the minors (he is out of MiLB options).

Michael Bowden - If Bowden can continue to lower his H/9, ERA and WHIP as well as increase his SO/9 while he continues to adjust to pitching in relief, he might have his best year in a Red Sox uniform in 2012. But even if he does, it might not be enough unless it is more significant than his progress thus far seeing his WHIP was 1.50. The Red Sox no longer have the ability to option him to the minors (he is out of MiLB options).

Junichi Tazawa - There’s not much to go on here so it all depends upon his efforts in spring training, but I don’t see a situation where he breaks camp with the big club. He’ll probably wind up in Pawtucket for some more seasoning of his game and see how he progresses as the season goes on. After all, he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Felix Doubront - Doubront’s numbers last year in Boston were not very good as can be seen over at Baseball-Reference.com and unless he can show signs of bouncing back in 2012, I would add him in with Albers and try to flip him to the Cubs in the Theo compensation deal. It’s time to cut bait on him or change the way they are using him (which may be the best route to travel if they cannot find a taker for him). The Red Sox no longer have the ability to option him to the minors (he is out of MiLB options).

Andrew Miller  - I don’t see where they can use him in Boston except in mop up duty unless he turns a corner in 2012 and starts living up to his potential. After all, he is just 26 years old. Just look at his numbers over at Baseball-Reference.com to see what I am talking about. His WHIP alone scares me away. The Red Sox no longer have the ability to option him to the minors (he is out of MiLB options).

RP Rich Hill - Was recently resigned to a minor league deal with the Red Sox that will pay him $750K if he makes it to Boston in 2012 after recovering from Tommy John surgery he had back in June 2011. I see him as a big part of the Red Sox bullpen if he can bounce back from the surgery.

Currently Available Free Agent Pitchers

SP’s

Rich Harden – I think they have gotten enough players like Harden already; therefore, I do not see them going after him, too! Although he can be dominant when healthy, but the problem is, lately, he rarely is…

Edwin Jackson - is going to cost too much for them to sign him this off season both in years and overall salary. He’d be a good number 4 or 5 starter though (much like Paul Maholm who was signed by the Cubs to an affordable one-year contract, darn you Theo!).

Roy Oswalt – On a one-year contract under $10M (probably around the $8M mark), I do that deal in a heart beat even if it means trading a few minor pieces to get it done! Come on Ben, sign him already!

Brandon Webb – He is damaged goods that I don’t think even the Red Sox would take a flyer on at this time. Let’s see what he can do on a one year contract for someone else before we jump to a final assessment on him for the long haul…

Chris Young – I still think that Young would be a good back end of the rotation kind of guy, but the question is…can he handle playing in Boston with the media frenzy and all? We may never know…the Sox may be done shopping for the rotation at this point.

RP’s

I have only listed the available arms I’d be interested in. If you would like to know my opinion on another name not listed here, please ask me in the comments below and I’ll get back to you ASAP!

Mike Gonzalez - If Gonzalez can get back to his 2009 form, he would be a nice lefty out of thre pen, but his ERA and K/9 are both trending in the wrong way, he is not a groundball pitcher and even his xFIP was over 3.7 which is a bit high for my taste for a bullpen arm.

Chad Qualls – My main concern with Qualls is the drop in his K/9 last year. He went from being over 7 and 8 (with a low of 7.47 in 2010) over the last four years, to a 5.21 in 2011. In fact, it has been dropping ever since it’s height in 2008 at 8.67. Although 2010 saw his ERA spike at 7.32, his xFIP was actually 3.72. Another bonus is that his groundball percentages have been 55% or more his whole career, which fits into the new GM’s mold for pitchers.

DFA List

SP Micah Owings – He’s coming off a year that saw him hit his best numbers in ERA (3.57), appearances (33, with 4 starts) and BABIP (.258) in the majors, but his xFIP was 4.51 (but even that was his best thus far in his career). I’d like to see him get his K/9 back up around 9.45 (2010 with the Reds). He can also be a long reliever, another spot start option or might be useful pitching in the 7th inning right in front of Melancon. A role he has not been in up to this point in his early career, but is something that could rejuvenate his career and allow him to regain those high K/9 numbers.

What I like most about his is his ability to be another right handed bat off the bench, something you don’t normally think about with a pitcher these days! Read this: in only 217 PA he has hit .286 with 27 R, 35 RBI, 9 HR, .313 OBP, .507 SLG a 106 wRC+, .222 ISO, .389 BABIP and holds a 3.8 WAR as a hitter. It’s almost like carrying an extra bench player! This move is a no brainer to me, especially when you consider that he only made around $423K last year.

Pitchers that Might be Available via Trade

If 3B prospect Will Middlebrooks sets AAA ablaze offensively and maintains his deffensive prowess, we might see Kevin Youkilis jettisoned out in a trade for one of these guys. If not, then a multi-player deal surrounding the likes of Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson, Matt Albers, Felix Dubront, Andrew Miller, Bobby Jenks or Michael Bowden (pick a few from this list, but there are others not mentioned that could be had) might pry one of these guys loose.

SP Matt Garza (Cubs) – Probably the least likeliest of trade possibilities, but it could happen. I just don’t think Theo and Jed would do it unless they were blown away (including Middlebrooks, Iglesias or Brittan) and I don’t see Cherrington doing that. The Cubs could use Youk, too.

SP Wandy Rodriguez (Astros) – I’m sort of luke-warm on Wandy…I just am not sold on him and I have no idea if we could handle the pressure cooker that is pitching in Boston. He also could be had on the cheap!

SP Brett Myers (Astros) – My least favorite choice. Myers is a poor mans Schilling and simply not good enough in my estimation, but could probably be had on the cheap.

SP – Tom Gorzelanny (Nationals) - Although I’d take Masterson or Garza ahead of him, Gorzelanny would work out well (if healthy) at the end of the rotation if he could handle the pressure in Boston. The deal that would net him wouldn’t be as costly either!

SP – Justin Masterson (Indians) – Probably my favorite choice on this list (which is admittedly short). I was disappointed to hear that he was a part of the Victor Martinez trade to begin with, although I would have never admitted to thinking he’d be this good as a starter. I always projected him as a long-to-short reliever. But after seeing what he’s doing in Cleveland, I’d be tickled pink to have him at the end of the Red Sox rotation! And…the Indians are looking to upgrade at 1B (Youk’s best position), too.

SP – Gavin Floyd (White Sox) - If the remaining free agent starting pitchers sign elsewhere or are asking for more (in terms of either years or dollars) than what the Red Sox are willing to shell out, then maybe the speculated trade for Floyd would be a nice option. The “other” Sox team has been either trading away players(Carlos Quentin) letting them walk (Buehrle) or signed to a long term contract (John Danks); making it difficult to understand what direction they are going in at the  present time. But seeing what the asked for in exchange for Quentin, Boston might be able to put a deal together either before the start of the season or by the trading deadline in July. I like this idea, but it would depend upon what they’d need to give up. The price might still be too high.

Hot Stove Season Transactions To Date

RP Mark Melancon - He was obtained via trade for INF Jed Lowrie and P Kyle Weiland. Melancon is primed to become a late inning arm that will be a big threat in either the 7th, 8th or 9th innings for Boston in 2012. He is young (will turn 27 during the season), comes inexpensive and will be under team control until after the 2016 season. He became the Astros closer after an injury to Brandon Lyon in May saving 20 in 25 opportunities over 74.1 innings (in 71 appearances) with an ERA of 2.78 and a 1.22 WHIP with 3 Holds. His other stats include a 7.99 K/9, .234 BAA and 2.54 K/BB. With the trade for Bailey, Melancon becomes the set up man for him taking over for Bard who will now be free to convert to the starting rotation.

Closer Andrew Bailey - He was obtained (along with OF Ryan Sweeney) via trade for OF Josh Reddick, 1B/3B Miles Head and P Raul Alcantara. Bailey, who is also 27 (like Melancon) is a two-time All Star as the A’s closer & will remain under team control until 2014.

Aaron Cook – Was recently signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. The 5th spot in the rotation (that is if Bard is the # 4 starter) is between Cook, Silva and Padilla (edge to Padilla) and he’ll need to earn it! Plus Cook has only had 10+ wins twice in his career (16 in 2008 and 11 in 2009).

Carlos Silva – Was recently signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He is a long shot who will probably start the season in AAA and be kept as insurance, but might help out in long relief if he regains his accuracy. The 5th spot in the rotation (that is if Bard is the # 4 starter) is between Silva, Cook and Padilla (edge to Padilla) and he’ll need to earn it! Plus Silva has only had 10+ wins in a season four times (2004, 2006-2007 and 2010). I like the possibility of Silva regaining his touch over Cook. Silva has also been better more recently than Cook, too.

Justin Germano - Was recently signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, but after seeing his numbers per Baseball-Reference, and the signings of Cook and Silva, I don’t see him making the big club out of spring training.

Vicente Padilla – Was recently signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He is my favorite choice out of the pack obtained to vie for the 4th & 5th spot in the rotation because he’s had more recent success than the others. He has also had four seasons with 10+ wins, but in those seasons he has been more consistent (14 wins three times in 2003-04 and 2008 and 15 wins in 2006) and his xFIP (3.40 and 3.47 in 2011 and 2010 in LA) has been more consistent throughout his career.

John Maine – Was recently signed to a minor league deal and will probably start off the season at AAA as a relief pitcher.

The Free Agent Pitchers, To Date, Who They Should Have Signed

The following pitchers all signed one year deals that the Red Sox could have afforded and should have made.

Hiroki Kuroda (SP) - Signed for $10,000,000 with the Yankees and the Red Sox were known to be interested in him. This is the one fish I am really sad to see get away and the fact that he went to the arch rival Yankees makes it hurt even worse!

Paul Maholm (SP) - Signed for $4,750,000 with the Cubs and the Red Sox were known to be interested in him. Why the Red Sox didn’t beat Theo to the punch on this one is beyond me unless they had no idea he could be had for so cheap and for just one year!

Jon Rauch (RP) – Signed for $3,500,000 with the Mets. He’d have been a nice addition to the pen…

George Sherrill (RP) - Signed for $1,100,000 with the Mariners. He would have been a nice guy to pitch to lefties (as much as I hate this tactic) out of the pen.

Joel Zumaya (RP) - Signed for $850,000 with the Twins and the Red Sox were known to be interested in him. At this price, he was so worth the risk!

In closing, if you have any questions about a player I have either mentioned or neglected to mention, but should have, let’s discuss that in the comments below. I look forward to seeing you there!

This article was originally posted at BaseballDigest.com on December 4^th, but was updated for this publication due to a few transactions that have occurred since it was written.

A Look Back at Boston’s 2011 Season

First, they had that horrific 0-6 start which led to their 11-15 April finish and this was after being tabbed as the AL heir to the Pennant due to their roster with the additions of 1B Adrian Gonzales (moving Kevin Youkilis to 3B) and LF Carl Crawford. Then they went on a tear where they were one of the hottest teams in baseball…until September rolled around. At this point I think we all know what happened then (too much probably), so I won’t rehash it here.

Boston’s Offseason So Far…

This resulted in ownership not picking up longtime manager, Terry (Tito) Francona’s 2-year option leaving the team in search of a replacement. Then there was the long and drawn out process of the Cubs prying away GM Theo Epstein to be their new head of Baseball Operations. Although Boston has promoted Ben Cherrington, who has held almost every possible Baseball Operations position since being hired by Dan Duquette (Boston’s former GM, who is now the new GM of the rival Orioles), they still have not reached an agreement on the compensation package for Epstein who was still under contract with Boston. The next step and the team’s top priority, as new GM Cherrington noted when hired, was to find a new manager.

In the process they lost out on the chance to resign longtime closer Jonathan Papelbon to the Phillies via Free Agency (signed to a record breaking contract for closers, 4 years at $50M with an option for a 5^th year). I’m not sure if this was a rookie mistake, a poorly communicated course of action or just the reaction to the current team situation (the seemingly disharmony between the front office, team field management and the players) because Papelbon didn’t even offer the Red Sox, the team who drafted him and the only place where he has played in his career, the chance to match or beat the offer. Seeing how his annual salary won’t be much different than his 2011 salary with the Red Sox is what makes this decision that much more interesting. Maybe Papelbon, who is not known to be the brightest bulb in the box, just didn’t realize that the reason why the Red Sox hadn’t contacted him yet (he did sign a lot earlier in the offseason that I would have estimated) was because they were solely focused on hiring the next team manager. Oddly enough, shortly after Papelbon’s signing, reports came out that Cherrington contacted either Ortiz or his agent to at least discuss the team’s interest in their longtime DH. Hmm…interesting. Does that move hint towards a rookie mistake in not extending the same courtesy to their former closer or were they simply just ready (and expected) to see him walk and sign elsewhere?

Happy Valentine’s Day, Boston

That brings us to the latest news…the hiring of the 45^th Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine (former manager of the Texas Rangers from 1985-1992, Chiba Lotte Marines in 1995, the New York Mets from 1996-2002 and another stint with the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004-2009 where he won a Championship in 2005). Many people have questioned the signing and even the interest in Mr. Valentine by the new GM due to Valentine’s longtime friendship to team President & part principle owner, Larry Lucchino, but if you look into this signing more closely his hiring actually makes sense. As the rumored leaked out of Valentine’s candidacy, I have to admit, as a fan, I wasn’t happy (not knowing much of the man except that he managed the Mets in the US and the Marines in Japan aside from the fact that he had the reputation of not getting along with upper management). However, in the last 24 hours and a little research, I have come to the conclusion that outside of Joe Torre or current Yankees bench coach Tony Pena (my personal preferences for the Boston managerial job), Valentine was the best choice for the job and here are some of the reasons why I now think so…

As Tim Kurkjian writes in his recent article entitled, “Bobby Valentine’s one of a kind”

concerning how Valentine would handle the personalities in the clubhouse after the issues that came to view after the season ended, “Valentine will not allow Josh Beckett to not work in between starts. Valentine will find out how three of Carl Crawford’s five tools disappeared last year, and he will make sure he finds them in 2012.” Kurkjian also writes, “He has no patience for some of the clichéd teaching techniques today, and the common misconceptions about the game.”

Kurkjian goes on to state how age has changed Valentine since his last stint managing in MLB,  “He’s not as smug and as arrogant as he used to be, but not much else has changed. No one sells a team, and the game, better than Valentine. When he takes on a project, “I have to do the whole thing,” he said.”

Kurkjian also mentions Valentine’s effect he has had on the game he writes, “Valentine managed seven years in Japan. He won a championship, but he did much more. In some ways, he changed the way they played baseball in Japan. He changed the way players approached the game and he humanized the players, which wasn’t easy given the structured nature of Japanese baseball.”

Scott Lauber recently spoke with Valentine’s former GM in NY, Steve Phillips about his relationship with his former manager and if he think he would be a good fit in Boston and this is what he had to say, “I think Bobby would be great,” Phillips told the Herald by phone today. “You’ve got an experienced manager who has opinions, who is a new-age thinker. Bobby, he’s not an old-school guy. He thinks outside of the box — a lot. Stats mean something to him. Numbers mean something to him. He actually suits the philosophy of the Red Sox very, very well. Based upon how I would evaluate the Red Sox, I think Bobby would be an excellent fit for them.”

“With the Mets, Phillips said Valentine sat in on meetings in which suggestions were made. He described Valentine as “very vocal,” yet receptive to ideas, especially if they were presented in a respectful way.”

By the way, Lauber started off that article with this statement (for those of you who don’t remember), “Nobody had a more volatile relationship with Bobby Valentine than Steve Phillips.

As the Mets’ GM-manager tandem for six seasons (1997-2002), Phillips and Valentine frequently feuded, often through the media.”

Remaining Free Agents from the 2011 Team

RP Dan Wheeler – if he can pitch in 2012 like he did in Tampa that any team would love to have him, but last season was one where he was inconsistent (probably due to injury) which makes him a questionable option.

P Tim Wakefield (45) – if they don’t get anyone from outside the system to pitch in 2012, then I would definitely bring him back on cheap money due to his recent back problems. I‘d bring him back in that scenario due to his flexibility to spot start on a moment’s notice, be a long man out of the pen or even a 7^th or 8^th inning set up to whomever the closer may be.

C Jason Varitek (39) – with Ramon Hernandez & Chris Iannetta are both in new homes already, unless they make a surprise signing, I think they should bring back the captain as their back up. All bets are off if they sign a starting catcher & move Salty to a backup role.

Player(s) To Look Out for in 2012

SS Jose Iglesias will get some platoon time under Valentine if he proves he can hit. If not, they may bring him up as a defensive specialist late in games. OF Ryan Kalish will get a serious look if he can stay healthy. If they do not resign either Varitek or Ortiz, then that would open up a roster spot for C/DH Ryan Lavarnway who has the ability to impress with his bat in 2012.

Holes that Need to be Filled

RF, 4^th & 5^th starter, bullpen arms and possibly a closer.

Now with Valentine’s propensity to platoon players, I could see them not make a move at all and go with both Ryan Kalish and Josh Reddick. Otherwise, look for them to pick up someone like Michael Cuddyer or Josh Willingham now that Theo signed David DeJesus to play RF for the Cubs in 2012.

Possible free agent 4^th and 5^th starters could be selected from the following list: Mark Burhle, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang, Edwin Jackson, Paul Maholm, Roy Oswalt, C.J. Wilson and Chris Young. From this list, Harang’s tendency to be a fly ball pitcher may not do well at home in Boston and it is unclear in Young, Oswalt and Capuano can stay healthy for the entire year. On top of that, I think that Wilson will cost more than he’s worth.

Possible free agent RPs could come from the following list: Todd Coffey, Octavio Dotel, Chad Durbin (who can spot start), Mike Gonzalez, John Grabow, Chad Qualls (in a set up role and Joel Zumaya (if he can stay healthy).

Possible Trade Bait

The top names I would expect to see traded would be anyone who they can move that refuses to play under Valentine (there have been rumors of player unrest over the selection of Valentine) including Josh Beckett. Other possible options would be Kevin Youkilis, Josh Reddick, Marco Scutaro or Jed Lowrie (depending on which wins the starting SS job in the spring) and Matt Albers (although he may not bring back much on his own). This would happen if Iglesias has a good Spring Training or it allows them to get a decent 4^th or 5^th starter, a right fielder or a quality arm in the bullpen.

Which leads to an interesting question for general manager Ben Cherington: what is the ultimate goal to be accomplished with this hire?  The last time the Red Sox had to fill this position, the organization was still licking its wounds from Aaron Boone’s ALCS-clinching home run off of Tim Wakefield in 2003.  Owners John Henry, Larry Lucchino, and Tom Werner were furious with Grady Little’s inability to acknowledge the staggering evidence that Pedro’s arm might as well fall off after 100 pitches in a ballgame.  Grady was an easygoing player’s manager, but faltered in the key aspect.

Enter Terry Francona, a man with former major league managing experience in Philadelphia (a town frequently compared to Boston and New York for their fan bases’ passion towards sharing their opinions).  Here was a guy who could do what Little did and take it one step further.  The result: bye-bye Bambino curse, hello Duck Boat parades in 2004 and 2007.

With those successes under the team and city’s belts, suddenly every September and October game took on added meaning and additional pressure.  The payroll ballooned to meet the demands of a passionate fan base for whom anything less than a championship meant dismal failure, much like their rival brethren four hours down I-95.  Somewhere along the way, with all that money being handed out to Jonathan Papelbon (who refused to talk long-term contract in order to squeeze every dime out of his arbitration years), Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, JD Drew, and so on, the players became too comfortable with their surroundings, as if they owned the place.

The qualities that made Terry Francona such a perfect fit for the job in 2003 were put to the test.  That clubhouse had grown so comfortable with his style that there was little maneuvering left for him to push people into when the team wasn’t going well.  Which brings us to today.

What does this team need in their next skipper?  The curse is gone, a new tradition of winning, not just contending, is in place.  But you have a team that lost their way in both April (don’t forget that horrific 11-15 start that was just as much to blame for the Sox’s position at the end of the year) and September, with the bulk of the team returning for 2012.   So what does this team need to put last year’s demons behind them?

Enter the new manager.  This team needs a new identity, a new chemistry, and a new voice to bring those two things together.  Which is why the pool of candidates is so interesting.

None of these men have an established managerial track record or reputation.  Which is PERFECT for this club.

A blank slate is the best place to start.  This team needs to start from scratch.  While there are still holdovers that have come up through the Red Sox system like Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury, this is still a relatively mixed group that has been acquired in recent years like Beckett, Lackey, and Adrian Gonzalez.  This team needs to develop a new identity the way the 2004 Red Sox came up with the “Band of Idiots” moniker.  That team had fun together and subsequently won together.

While the candidates for the job have learned from some of the games best managers (Charlie Manuel in Philly, former Sox pitching Coach John Farrell in Toronto, Jim Leyland in Detroit), they can learn and foster their abilities and team identity with the 25 players in that cramped clubhouse on Yawkey Way.

The Red Sox had self-imposed a deadline of Thanksgiving to have named their next skipper, but with their seeming top choice headed for the North Side of Chicago, it seems they don’t mind taking their time and having a new guy in place by the winter meetings.  It will be interesting to see which face they intend to stamp on that clubhouse as they try to bury the end of last year’s story when they report to Ft. Myers.

The trouble with hiring someone without a track record is we don’t have much to go on as far as predicting what they’ll bring to the table.  The reason is simple: the only people in proper position to judge their characters are Ben Cherington and whoever he brings in the room for the interview.  Nobody necessarily knew what men like Joe Maddon would bring to Tampa or Bud Black to San Diego.

This club needs someone who can be a stoic field boss in leading the troops on the field, can take proper direction from Cherington & Co. on how to deploy the players at his disposal, and help the 25 guys in the clubhouse remember to have fun despite the enormous pressures of playing in Boston.

While this seems like a monumental task, it also seems to be the mold many clubs have built successfully.  Joe Maddon in Tampa Bay is one such example of a guy who understands the philosophies of the front office but has served as a catalyst for his players, leading them to three playoff berths in the past four years despite one of baseball’s lowest payrolls.

The Red Sox will likely continue their hunt for the latest treasure in that mold of manager and hope it will reignite that perfect chemistry between front office, manager, and clubhouse that turned Fenway Park into the powerhouse baseball destination we’ve come to know it as for the past decade.

As Ben Cherington, the new GM for the Boston Red Sox, completes interviews with all of the candidates for the new manager’s job, he and the Red Sox ownership cabal are faced with many considerations. The new skipper will have to be a master of numerous disciplines.

In addition to executing Sabermetrics, the manager will need to have the social and motivational skills to ride herd over what can be a very difficult clubhouse, and the baseball experience to gain the respect of the players. Last, but certainly not least, one of the primary considerations is how much experience the manager possesses managing the media.

When it comes to the media, there are not a lot of towns like Boston (Not to mention media spread out over six New England states that cover the Red Sox).

New York, of course, is the media center of the world, but its media and fans do not work themselves up into the fever pitch that always has existed in Boston about one, and only one, local nine. In Gotham, there are more newspapers, but there are also two baseball teams to cover and other innumerable distractions.

For sheer determination, in the Hub, the white-hot glare of the media is like no other place. There have been players and managers here, too numerous to mention, (okay just two—Edgar Renteria and Grady Little) who have simply melted under the pressure.

Ted Williams famously (and rather sarcastically) called the ink-stained wretches that followed the Red Sox “the Knights of the Keyboard.” Today the Monarchs of the Media that he would have to add would be the intrusive Lancelots of the Lens, The Court of 24-Hour Cable, The Royal Radio Pontificators, the Wolseys of the Web, and the Behemoths of the Blogosphere. There may not be the 10 Boston papers Williams had to deal with, all competing viciously, sometimes making things up and, as Ted would have it, carrying out a vendetta against him, but we have our own megawatt monoliths, in all of their modern incarnations (Regarding making stuff up:  It may have happened recently; think drinking in the dugout).

While discussing the cult of celebrity and connotations of Camelot, it’s interesting to note that Williams may have been the first celebrity to get paparazzi-like harsh treatment from the media, ushering in a new era of media scrutiny in the ’40s and ’50s. Why then, if this was already happening, did the press in the early ’60s give JFK the gloves-off treatment that Williams never received? Perhaps there was a double-standard when it came to politicians and sports figures. Or, in Boston anyway, Williams was not the native son, or not yet the fully adopted son.

Today, generally, the fandom and the public do not have much sympathy for modern athletes and, more recently, managers and coaches suffering from media scrutiny. The sentiment may be, if they squirm a little, so be it. It’s a small price to pay for the benefits that modern athletes reap. But do the managers and the coaches deserve it?

Indeed, the pressure can be enormous. You can criticize Terry Francona for losing control of the Red Sox clubhouse but not for mismanaging the press. He built a reputation for giving the media something, while protecting his players perhaps a little too much, and had the tough skin and right attitude to take it all. Occasionally it was fractious (Prime example:  not-so-subtly reminding a young reporter, probably whose knees were shaking, who made a mistake in referring to him, “I’m not the coach, I’m the manager”). Isn’t it ironic to think that if often Tito took that tone with his players more he might still have a job?

Of course, Francona probably extracted (as in pulling teeth) a few media lessons from the master himself, the wizard of the wayward deflection down on Route 1, the incomparable and incorrigible media savant Bill Belichick. Patriots’ owner Bob Kraft must think that watching Belichick stay on message (or avoid any messages) is worth at least $4 million of the five he pays Belichick annually. For those in the know, it’s a big part of the coach’s skill set and, some might say, his genius.

If you ask the media if they have the same opinion of Belichick you would get a different answer. While there are some that can objectively take a step back and admire his obvious obfuscations, the beat guys and gals can get very frustrated with the Belichickian banter. They have a job to do, and must answer to editors and producers, (and readers, listeners and viewers) who want more information. And Belichick, more often than not, will just not give it to them if it does not suit his purposes.

Woe is the occasional intrepid reporter, often a newcomer who shouts out a follow-up question to a Belichick non-answer, calling him on it, if you will. It can be great theater, usually ending with the curtains going up in flames.

So, as the Red Sox ownerships begins Act Two, and the new manager, whoever he may be, takes center stage, the media considerations are mighty. In Boston, unlike most other places, the spotlight giveth and the spotlight taketh away. Sometimes quickly.

In the immortal words of the head coach of the local football eleven, “It is, what it is.”

When Harvey Frommer set out to write the history of Fenway Park, he no doubt knew he had his work cut out for him. This is not a book where if the author just muddled through their research, they could get away with it as its focus is one of the most famous meccas of sports in this country. An error in research would not go over kindly with the Fenway faithful.

With that in mind, Frommer did an impeccable job putting together the most significant stories that happened at the famed ball park. The hardest task in the endeavor of this book may have been whittling down the nearly century’s worth of history at the ball park and condensing it into a book that someone can actually carry around.

The reader’s first inclination that Frommer did not short change baseball fans on his research comes at the beginning of the book when he introduces the voices that help tell the story of the park. There are nearly ten pages of voices that helped make this book complete. Everyone from players, to managers, to broadcasters, to owners, to even long time ticket holders and serious fans of the Red Sox are featured in order to encompass all views on Fenway.

Instead of those voices being the background for the story, they actually become the forefront at many points in the book with their own words telling the reader exactly what they were thinking and feeling during their time in Boston. Once the reader gets immersed in the book, they will feel as though these players are speaking right to them as their stories are passionately told in a first person point of view that fans could only dream of having.

While the writing and storytelling in this book are certainly top rate, one thing that many readers are bound to be blown away by are the pictures. The book features many full color, and black and white photographs, of the memorable, and some not so memorable, times at Fenway. These will no doubt bring back memories in even the most casual of Red Sox fans.

Some of the more famous stories covered in the book include Babe Ruth’s debut in 1914, Ted Williams’ incredible 1941 season in which he finished with a .406 batting average, the infamous Carlton Fisk foul pole home run from 1975, the improbable story of the 2004 Red Sox and of course the history of one of the most storied rivalries in all of sports, the Red Sox vs. the Yankees.

Image via Wikipedia

The foreword to the book is penned by former Red Sox player Johnny Pesky who has essentially lived in Fenway for the past half century. Pesky sets the tone for the book as a walk down memory lane that is also a celebration of the ups and downs of Boston’s favorite ball club.

With any quality baseball book, there has to be a mound of statistics or else the sabermetric geared baseball heads of today may lose interest. Frommer does not disappoint in this aspect either. Instead of including pages upon pages of batting statistics that any fan could find on the internet within seconds, Frommer chose to illustrate things such as the attendance across decades and chronicle the growth of the fan base in a way that even allows outsiders to see where the crazed fans of today came from.

This book is a must by for any Red Sox fan and fans that consider themselves historians of the game should take a look at it as well. Even the most learned of Red Sox fans will no doubt find something in the pages of the book that they weren’t even aware of.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Click this Link to Buy “Remembering Fenway Park”

Image via Wikipedia

Apparently, former Red Sox pitcher Bill “The Spaceman” Lee recurred his role this year as a member of the Brockton Rox (an independant League Baseball team in Brockton, MA), albeit for just one game. He is now listed as being inactive, but did win in his only appearance of the season (in the last game of the Rox 2010 season) as shown in the video below…

Please share any memories or stories you may have of our beloved “Spaceman” from Vermont in the comments section below!

Aside from the plethora of injuries and re-injuries (see Jacoby Ellsbury’s three DL stints) the 2010 Red Sox have seen their share of the good and the bad. Let’s look at each, one at a time…

Photo of Jacoby Ellsbury by Icon SMI

The Bad

Injuries to the following players (not in any order) have resulted in stints on the DL: Boof Bonser, Junichi Tazawa (AAA), Dice-K, Tim Wakefield, Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Cash, Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Dustin Pedroia (2 times and might have surgery and would then be out for the year), Mike Lowell, Jeremy Hermida, Jed Lowrie, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Mike Cameron (2 times and is out for the year), Jacoby Ellsbury (3 times and is probably out for the year), Eric Patterson, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kevin Youkilis (who is also out for the year). Did I miss anyone? That’s 19 players for 22 DL stints and one (Tazawa) still hasn’t played this season. Of these players, four (maybe five if Pedroia joins them) are out for the year if you include Ellsbury and three of those four are opening day starters.

The Good

Even with all of these injuries the Red Sox are still within striking distance at 6½ games out of the Wild Card as of today with six more games against the Yankees (the last three closing out the 2010 regular season  at home in Fenway Park) and three more against the Rays (who just took 2 out of 3 from them this past weekend in mostly close games).

Photo of Red Sox 1B Mike Lowell by Icon SMI

The Stories

First you had the odd man out senario of Mike Lowell coming out of spring training still on the Red Sox roster despite the team trying to trade him. A trade to Texas fell apart after it was found out that Lowell needed surgery to repair an injury to his thumb (if I remember correctly). Then came the heroics of OF Darnell McDonald, a journeyman minor leaguer (for the most part) who was called up due to the initial injuries to both Cameron and Ellsbury. Then there was the Daniel Nava grand slam on the first major league pitch he ever saw! Throughout, we’ve witnessed a slight resurgence of the Bill Hall from 2005 who has played everywhere except pitcher, catcher and I think 1B. More recently we’ve seen the return of Jed Lowrie from mono & hit a game winning HR in Toronto and playing a lot of time at 2B. OF Ryan Kalish has also stepped up and shown us a glimse into the future. Heck, even top prospect OF Ryan Westmoreland, recovering from brain surgury (to remove a cavernous malformation), is starting to resume baseball activities and may be ready to play in winter ball.

Conclusion

Personally, I have finally thrown in the towel on this season even though mathematically they are not out of it. Realistically speaking though, if they did, it could get ugly! The simply have too many injuries to overcome in order to make a serious run. Their only hope would be for the pitching staff to put up a 2005 White Sox type of display that would carry the patchwork offense/deffense.

In The Off Season

They might try to unload Dice-K while they still can. This would allow them to make a pitch for Cliff Lee if he doesn’t resign with the Rangers (which might depend upon how they do in the playoffs). They will need either a first or third baseman if they cannot resign Adrian Beltre (which I don’t think Scott Boras will allow unless they overpay for him). They need to seriously retool the bullpen which might lead to the trading away of closer Johnathan Papelbon (paving the way for Bard) while his stock is still high. The following link to the article, “Give and Take: Jonathan Papelbon” by Marc Normandin and Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (dated 8/17/10) clearly shows his steady decline over the past few years (if you go there you can also check out my comment I made there which further bolsters my point here), but maybe someone like Duncan (in St. Louis) can fix his mechanics and revive his 2006/2007 status. Otherwise, it could get even uglier in 2011 for umpire Jerry West’s favorite closer (sarcasim)!

The kids will take over in the OF with Ellsbury in CF and a platoon between Camerson (due to his contract) and Kalish in LF or either of them in RF for the times when Drew cannot play. The fifth outfielder may just be Nava or McDonald, but I would bet on McDonald with Nava being sent to AAA to work on his defense.

Did I miss anything?

Please join me in raising the awareness to the wonderful work of The Jimmy Fund, the Boston Red Sox official charity for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Jimmy Fund was founded in 1948 and made popular by the generosity and support of the late great Red Sox LF Ted Williams.
To learn more about The Jimmy Fund, click HERE. The main page for The Jimmy Fund can be found HERE.

This is Boston Sports Radio station WEEI’s 9th annual event for The Jimmy Fund. Back in 2003 NESN (New England Sports Network), a cable TV station which is owned by the Red Sox, joined in the telethon to televise the event and has done so ever since. This telethon has become a two day event and they hope to reach the $5M goal they set for themselves after collecting $4.5M last year and over $21M in the past 8 years.

To spread the word, please fill out the form at this link (click HERE), to e-mail a friend about this important two day fund raising event!

WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon

For more details about WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, please check out the following two links:
http://www.jimmyfund.org/eve/event/redsox-radio-telethon/default.html
AND
http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/ccp.asp?ievent=275067&ccp=80886
For a listing of the events for these two days, please check out the event’s page on NESN, HERE.

The event has been going on since yesterday(19th) at 6am and continues today (20th) from 6am to Midnight!

Here are some of the video highlights from NESN.com during day one yesterday…

Last, but definitely NOT least, to make a donation, see below.

Make a Donation Here

Make a donation by clicking on the link, HERE.

Overall: 11-13
1-Run Games: 6-4
2-Run Games: 3-4
3-Run Games: 1-2
4+Run Games: 1-3
Shutouts: 1-2

Their Injuries

Jacoby Ellsbury Photo by Icon SMI

The injuries to outfielders Jacoby “The Human Spark Plug” Ellsbury (see post about his Charity Wine, Zinfindellsbury) and Mike Cameron have hurt both defensively and offensively despite the fill-in work of McDonald and Hermida (later on them). Ellsbury was found to have 4 cracked ribs after an April 11th collision with 3B Adrian Beltre, while Cameron passed a gall stone and had other stomache problems which sidelined him at almost the same time. As of this writing (5/14), Cameron looks to be due back next week with Ellsbury possibly a week or so behind him depending on how quickly he gets his swing back after a month layoff!

Their Disapointments

The Rotation

Jon Lester Photo by Icon SMI

On paper it looked to be the best in all of baseball, but it was missing Dice-K right out of the gate and the big three have struggled putting added pressure on the bullpen! Lackey has looked the best going 2-1, but got shelled in that one loss in Tampa Bay where he couldn’t get out of the fourth inning. Beckett has been the worst going 0-1 while giving up the following earned runs per game 5-3-0 (a no decision) -7-8 with 20 Ks in 28.2 innings, 13 BBs and 37 hits. Lester looked bad in his first three starts going only 16 innings while walking three batters per game (9) and giving up 21 hits to 14 Ks and 15 earned runs. However, since then he has looked great going 1-0 (with a no-decision) for the remainder of the month (and 3-0 in three starts so far in May) in 12.2 innings with 18 Ks, 6 BBs, 5 hits and no earned runs allowed.

The Bullpen

The bullpen looked inconsistent at best, but some of that has to be attributed to the fact that they were overused due to the lack in quality starts from the rotation. At times it has looked like the strength of the team and at other times like it was falling apart at the seams. Daniel Bard has let some inherited runners score, but his strikeout rate is encouraging. Delcarmen has shown glimpses of why he’s still a member of this Red Sox team and his velocity has improved. Okajima has looked more like he did in Japan (mediocre) than he has as a member of the Red Sox. And in my opinion, Showenweis has gone above and beyond what should be expected of him at this point in his career and I hope he stays if  and when they bring up Bosner. As the rotation gets better as the weather improves, that should breathe new life into this bullpen.

The Defense

This, along with pitching is what Theo tells us is going to propel the 2010 Red Sox and equals run prevention. But 3B and glorified (in almost every corner of baseball) gold glover, Adrian Beltre has been anything but a gold glove caliber 3B with 5 or 6 errors in the first month of the season. This is almost half his errors from a year ago (14). New stop gap SS Marco Scutaro has also not played as he was billed between second and third, but is showing some signs of improvement as of this writing (in May). Maybe he just needed to readjust? But maybe the most glaring knock on the Red Sox defense has been Victor Martinez’s inability to control the running game of the opposing teams who seem to be running at will against him. He has been working out with acclaimed catcher’s coach (and Red Sox bullpen coach) Gary Tuck to correct his footwork and delivery on his throws to 2B. Apparently he has formed some bad habits while with the Indians! They there’s the OF of Jeremy Hermida, Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald and VanEvery (along with J.D. Drew in RF) doing their best to fill-in for gold glove CF Mike Camerson and LF Jacoby Ellsbury…a daunting task to say the least! To their credit, they have done a decent job, but it is inferior to those to injured players.

The Offense

David Ortiz is off to another scary start to the season and one can only hope that this time he can come out of it sooner or else he may no longer see himself in a Boston uniform. Once again he is late on low to mid 90’s fastballs, the type that he use to drive to all parts of the field and he is once again hitting under .200 for the month of April. Likewise, J.D. Drew is also looking older than his years and is also hitting under the Mendoza line. Although, at the time of this writing, as is his usual streaky self, he is hitting well over .400 so far in May and is showing signs of life once again. Hopefully he won’t have another month as bad as April the rest of the way, but he will almost surely continue to be a streaky hitter throughout the season having ups and downs the whole way. Victor Martinez is not looking like the typical .300+ hitter that fans are used to seeing and you have to wonder if his defensive battle if affecting him with a bat in his hands, too. Also, you can’t make me believe that the Red Sox do not miss the loss of “The Human Spark Plug” Jacoby Ellsbury at the leadoff spot either!

Conclusion

The Red Sox are not as bad as they have shown in the month of April. The rotation is already showing signs of life once again and Dice-K is back with Wakefield as a 6th man ready, willing and able when needed! That, like I have already said, will improve the bullpen. Scuatro is showing signs of getting into a grove and Beltre can only get better (one would hope). On top of that, mid to late May should see the return of 2/3 of the OF which should help the BABIP of the pitching staff, too. And the supposedly weaker 2010 offense is also showing signs of life with Drew & Ortiz bringing their averages above .200 (as of this writing) while hitting over .400 and .300 respectively in May so far. I also think that Martinez’s woes behind the plate are affective him at the plate so when he gets straightened out back there it should translate into him improving at the plate as well! Add to that, having the teams leadoff man (and spark plug) in Ellsbury back in front of it and that should be enough of a distraction to opposing pitchers to allow them to make mistakes to the guys hitting with him on the bases (Pedroia, Martinez, Youkilis, etc.) allowing them to see better pitches to drive!

They will cut into the lead the Rays and Yankees had over them at the end of April to be within striking distance again come the All Star break (barring any more injuries)!

Matt Garza-Jeff Niemann-David Price Photo by Icon SMI

The Rays have shown that the off-season moves they made are paying off. Led by the play of Evan Longoria and strong pitching they have jumped out to a 24-10 record, best in the majors. The pitching of Matt Garza and David Price has been impeccable, with 10-2 won loss record between them. This pair, can be dominant and run away from the pack in the AL East.

Staring close behind them are the Yankees. Given the string of injuries and the ineffective pitching of Javier Vasquez, the fact that the Yankees are stalking the Rays, is an early season accomplishment. The loss of Curtis Granderson could play out to be a significant loss, especially if he has trouble coming back from that injury. Magnificed by the play of Johnny Damon this week in the series against the Tigers, many will question the front office’s reluctance to not pay the man!

Phil Hughes Photo by Icon SMI

However, the Yankees have been bolstered by the play of Brett Gardner, Francisco Cervelli, Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher. Their consistent play has made the injuries less onerous. The pitching of Phil Hughes has been a pleasant surprise and Joba Chamberlain is finding a home as the setup and part-time closer. This will enable the Yankees to save Mariano for the stretch run in August and September.

The Yankees were the odds-on favorite of most to be there again in October, save the question marks going into the season. The age of the Core 4 not withstanding, the Yankees should be at the very least the wild card. It looks like the AL East championship will be between the Yanks and Rays.

Where does this leave the Red Sox? Right now, the play of that team up in Boston has been disappointing to say the least. The injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron has really hurt the ability of the Sox to move runners around the bases. The pitching has been terribly disappointing, with the significant investment the Sox have made in Matsusaka, Beckett and Lackey. As a Yankee fan, I do know the talent at Fenway, and fully expect the Sox to start making their presence felt in this race.

So the American League East is going to be interesting and will make for exciting baseball in 2010. In the end, one of these teams will be the American League representative in the Fall Classic and another will probably be the wild card representative.