Rebuid or Contender
I have been a fan of the Red Sox for as long as I can remember and I can honestly say that last year was one of the hardest seasons to watch. Hired and fired new manager Bobby Valentine, a blockbuster trade or shall I say, garage sale of three of the biggest names on the roster {Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett} and a last place finish in the division had me wondering how long it would take to get back to the post season.
Of course with free agency, a team can re-establish it’s dominance by big name acquisitions over the winter meetings, but that idea hasn’t worked for the Sox in recent memory. The signing of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez at the end of the 2010 season had promise of a deep postseason run in 2011 and the years to follow. Instead, it led to one of the worst September finishes in league history in 2011, going 7-20 for the month and blowing a 9 game lead in the AL Wild Card race. With a loaded pitching staff and a line up that led the league in hits, runs, RBIs, and third in HRs no one was surprised that Terry Francona, the man who delivered 2 World Series titles, wasn’t returning as Manager in 2012.
Now 2012 is behind us, and the Red Sox started 2013 by welcoming back a familiar and well respected name and face. John Farrell returns to the Red Sox, where he was the Pitching Coach from 2007-2010, to become the Manager of the team. I have to say, with the pitching situation being as inconsistent as it has been since he left to be the Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, this hiring brings a sense of hope along with it. Hope that he can breathe life back into the slumping arm of Jon Lester, John Lackey’s reconstructed arm, and the psyche of Daniel Bard, while cultivating the chemistry of this team of new and old faces. A daunting task it might seem. Or is it?…
The Red Sox have elected to not chase the big name free agents like Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke. They focused on a more chemistry driven approach, signing working class free agents i.e. LF Jonny Gomes, OF Shane Victorino, First Baseman Mike Napoli, Shortstop Stephen Drew, and Pitchers Ryan Dempster and Koji Uehara. A trade for Closer Joel Hanrahan and avoiding arbitration with seven members of the team including Jacoby Ellsbury and newly acquired Hanrahan, rounds out an off season for a team that may be more of an AL contender than in the beginning of a rebuilding era.
With Pitchers and Catchers getting set to report to Spring Training, I am excited about the possibilities. #TeamRedSox!!!!