How to Fix the Boston Red Sox

I want to thank all of you for your concern and kind words. I received multiple texts, IMs, and emails in reference to the most recent Red Sox collapse. I'm happy to report that no, I did not drive off a bridge and no, I did not torch all of my memorabilia. Before I get too far into this post, though, I want to state up front that a lot of what I am about to write out is in the moment and I may look back and regret it. Then again, I may look at this post in a few months and compare it to what will actually happen and wish that this was the blueprint for the future. Only time will tell but I felt a sense of obligation to try and put together a rational plan for my favorite team following a choke job of epic proportions.

1) Figure Out the Managing Situation
The breaking news this morning from Ken Rosenthal is that Terry Francona and the Red Sox are mutually agreeing to part ways. The two parties are meeting this morning (or perhaps they already have) and it's likely that sometime today or tomorrow there will be a formal announcement that Tito has been let go. If he departs he leaves with a 734-531 record and two World Series championships. The Francona regime has easily been the most successful in Red Sox history and it's a shame to see it potentially end in such a disgracing manner. There are reports coming out of Boston that there were problems in the clubhouse, including pitchers drinking during their off days and cliques forming that caused fissures in the team's chemistry. I don't know how much stock I put into these things just yet but if it was happening under his watch then it's a huge red flag. Maybe this is just a case of a manager's message getting drowned out after so many years of continuity. At any rate, Francona is likely gone and he's rumored to be an option for the Chicago White Sox and I hope no Red Sox fans harbor ill will towards him for this ending. [NOTE: ESPN is now reporting that Francona has told the team that he is out as manager.]

As far as other options to replace Tito, well there isn't a whole lot out there. I've already seen Tony La Russa, Bobby Valentine, and Joe Torre as options but let's not kid ourselves, those are terrible fits. Buster Olney is speculating that the team should look at Pete Mackanin, the bench coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. I'll have to plead ignorance here because I don't know a heck of a lot about the guy but I trust Buster's opinion. Joe Maddon isn't going to leave Tampa Bay for Boston so that idea is shot and everyone that posts it on a forum or calls into a radio show suggesting it should just stop talking spots. It's obvious that John Farrell would have been the best option but he was stolen away by Toronto last offseason. If the team wants to stay in house then I personally believe that DeMarlo Hale is an excellent candidate. I doubt there will be a major, shocking hire but if I had to throw out a big name possibility I would say keep your eye on Mike Scioscia. I don't think he'd leave the Angels but that's the craziest possibility I could think of that has even a toe in the realm of possibility (I should note as I was typing this that Colin Cowherd mentioned it on his radio show, perfect timing). [NOTE: The Angels just let go of their GM, Tony Reagins. My main rational for the Scioscia suggestion was the fact that there was supposed tension between he and the front office. Scratch his name off the list.] I have accepted that it will probably end up being Jim Riggleman or someone of that ilk.

2) Give Carl Crawford Some Space
He's already being nicknamed the "Carlbatross." Fans and radio hosts on WEEI are already saying that he is more disappointing than John Lackey. There are suggestions that the team should try to trade him ala Vernon Wells. Stop it. Everyone who keeps suggesting this just freakin' stop. Yes, Crawford had the worst year of his career and he's signed for another six years to a gazillion dollars. I get it, he missed a catch that we as fans have seen him make time and time again for Tampa Bay. Here's the thing though: Crawford probably shouldn't have been signed in the first place. There was literally no place to put him in the lineup and it didn't make sense at the time and it makes even less sense now. Crawford doesn't like to hit leadoff and the team also happens to have Jacoby Ellsbury there. Alright, well he usually hit second or third in Tampa and he's more comfortable there anyway. Well, the team also happens to have Dustin Pedroia (pretty much the perfect #2 hitter) and Adrian Gonzalez (ditto for the #3 slot). Crawford started the year hitting in the three hole and it was obvious that he struggled to produce. So where does that leave him to hit in the lineup, the bottom third? Well then that negates his best asset, which happens to be his speed, because how can he steal a base when David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, or J.D. Drew are on base ahead of him? After his various leg injuries he didn't have confidence in his wheels and it showed.

Hopefully his sophomore year in red will bring better results. Maybe he had to take a step back to take a step forward, I truly have no idea. Perhaps the team should do with him what the Yankees did with Curtis Granderson, who also struggled against left handers: adjust to the pitcher on the mound. If there's a right hander up there then put him in the two hole and bat Pedroia in the cleanup slot (which, somehow, he makes work). When there's a leftie then bat him near the bottom and hope that he eventually has an epiphany like Granderson did this year. As far as his defense goes, anyone who knows advanced defensive stats or just watches baseball knew that he would lose a ton of value there. A lot of flyball outs that he got in Tampa were now doubles off of the high walls of the Green Monster. Remember the Evan Longoria walkoff homer on that dinky little fence in the left field corner? Yeah, I think it's easier to make to make an out on a flyball in Tampa than Boston.

3) Explore the Trade Market for Kevin Youkilis
This one hurts, a lot. I love Youk, his goofy batting stance, his intensity, and massive amounts of sweat have endeared him to Boston fans. However, having him play third base just isn't fair to him or the fans. Youk hasn't been able to stay healthy for the past few years (136, 102, and 120 games played the past three seasons with the past two ending with him on the DL) and third base is simply a few more demanding position than first. He took one for the team and changed position after the team acquired Adrian Gonzalez but it has become obvious that the team probably should have held onto Adrian Beltre somehow if they could have made things work and traded Youkilis last year. Youk has a few good years left but it would be doing him a favor to allow him to go to a team and play a position that will allow him to stay on the field while the Red Sox can get real value given his contract (two more years at 25 million without incentives isn't horrible for an above average first baseman). The team would have to get some sort of stopgap solution but they wouldn't need a long term guy if Will Middlebrooks advances as expected. We may start seeing him in Fenway anyway towards the end of the next season so why not stock up and give Youk a chance to prolong his career?

4) Patch Up the Rotation 
No, signing C.J. Wilson is not an option and moving Daniel Bard to the rotation isn't appealing either. Stop saying that this is the year that the team will finally get Felix Hernandez, too. I've read some fans out there who are clamoring for the team to trade one or both of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester but that would be cutting the nose off to spite the face. Clay Buchholz will be returning next year and that's an instant upgrade over the mess they were running out after the top two this year. Then things start to get murky and problematic. First off, here's food for thought: if the team had signed Freddy Garcia there's a good chance they would be hosting playoff games right now. There is the first thing that the team needs: depth. Theo may be trigger shy after the way that Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Bartolo Colon, and the gobs of other retreads performed but those are the types of guys you need to be successful. A team needs to be able to store away a starter or two in the minors (Kevin Millwood could have been huge for the team in September, alas he was let go). There is no reason that Kyle Weiland should be pitching meaningful games in September for the Boston Red Sox right now. Potential targets could include Jason Marquis, Paul Maholm, Jon Garland, or Chris Young. Avoid unreliable, injury prone starters that probably wouldn't take minor league deals like, Rich Harden, Erik Bedard, and Scott Kazmir.

Before the future rotation can be tuned up, though, the current one has to be figured out. Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz are givens and Tim Wakefield may be breaking down but he provides 140 cheap, decent innings (plus I love the guy). Yes, it was painful watching him go out start after start trying to win #200 and it will probably be like pulling teeth to watch him go for the Red Sox all-time wins record but he deserves it. Daisuke Matsuzaka has probably pitched his final game as a Boston Red Sox and while I was a big Dice-K supporter, it's probably for the best. Hopefully he goes back to Japan and finds success.

So now my gaze comes to one John Lackey, who I've heard called all sorts of things over the past few days. I don't know Lackey personally, and I can't judge and pretend to understand what he is going through in his non-baseball life. What I do know, though, is that he is not very good at his job, which is to get batters out in baseball games. I don't know if he is the root of the supposed "clique" (that allegedly includes Lackey, Beckett, Lester, and Jason Varitek) but this marriage of Lackey and the Sox just isn't working. He was pitching injured this year and maybe he should visit doctor after doctor until they tell him that he "needs" Tommy John. Realistically I only see a few options with him, though. The first is that he gets surgery and comes back and pitches, he makes too much money not to. This is the least appealing but probably will be what happens. The second is that he is packaged with a B-Level prospect and the team tries to find someone, anyone who will take 10-15% of his contract. I don't like this door either for obvious reasons. The next one is to outright release and pay the man anyway. I'll admit, this one seems lovely but unrealistic. The final, and most likely "Lackey subtraction" I can think of is this: he goes and gets the surgery and we see what happens when he comes back. If he is still the worst pitcher in baseball then he gets DL'd indefinitely ala Carlos Silva when he was on the Seattle Mariners. I'm not afraid of Lackey being released and coming back to burn the Red Sox but I hate the idea of having to give extra things just to be rid of the man.

5) Stabilize the Back of the Bullpen
Jonathan Papelbon went from one of the worst to one of the best at his position. T'is the life of a closer and it couldn't have happened at a better time for his wallet. With Papelbon slated for free agency there's a very real possibility that he may not be the Red Sox closer next year. I think everyone now agrees that Daniel Bard probably isn't ready to close and that the team will have to get a closer from outside of the organization. In the end I think that Theo will end up overpaying to bring him back but the team really doesn't have much of a choice. Jose Valverde highlights the cream of the free agent crop but he will probably return to Detroit, especially if they make a run in the playoffs. Heath Bell is also likely to stay with his team in San Diego. I would trust Pap over the rest of these guys.

6) Fill the Lineup's Holes
David Ortiz is slated to be a free agent. If he wants to return to the team I would welcome him only if he accepts a deal that's very, very team-friendly. Look, Papi is a living legend as a Red Sox, I get it. He's also 35 and not likely to hit over 30 home runs again and can't play the field. His uses are extremely limited and there are rumors that he was also a problem in the clubhouse. If this is the end of Papi's Red Sox tenure then I hope he finds success elsewhere and dread the thought of facing him next year.

So if they turn away from Ortiz then who can be brought in to DH? Well, if Youkilis stays then this is a slot for him. It's a waste, given that he's a great defender at first but it would be a great way to keep him healthy. That would mean that the team needs a third baseman and I already pointed to Middlebrooks as the future. Think more like Mark DeRosa than Aramis Ramirez, though I'll never count out the latter since these are the Boston Red Sox and they are capable of adding big contracts wherever they need them. Also, if you're a Red Sox fan reading this, please don't suggest something like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder. That's just crazy talk. If the team plans to bring in a big bat at DH or 3B it will likely have to come through the trade market.

Then there's the shortstop position. I want to put the brakes on the Jose Reyes express right now. Why on Earth do the Red Sox need another player with a leadoff hitter's skill set? I guess it makes sense if the team chooses to trade Jacoby Ellsbury, which I'm not fully against given that he'll never have a season close to this in oWAR again, but I would have to see what the team got back in return for Ells. Everything I have read about Marco Scutaro has said that he is a major part of the clubhouse and is the best guy in the locker room. He came in, albeit overpaid, and stabilized a position that the Red Sox had struggled at since Nomar's heyday. I would much rather bring back Scutaro than chase Reyes for megabucks.

I don't think we'll ever fully know what happened with the 2011 Boston Red Sox. There have been many times that I have hated to love this team (because it prevented me from fully enjoying the Tampa Bay Rays' rise to power) but this is the first time that I actively avoided watching. I roll my eyes at the various excuses that Adrian Gonzalez is throwing out there, including too many Sunday Night Baseball games (then again what can he really say? it's not his fault that this happened and maybe he truly believes it). I cringe every time I read a report of the team having a holier than thou attitude, including that they complained about team buses. Team buses of all things! It saddens me to see the best manager in team history give a press conference when it was so obvious that this season had pushed him to the edge. I hate that the team's fantastic GM, a guy who has brought two World Series championships and put together one of the most successful runs of team history, has fans trying to run him out of town to the Chicago Cubs. They'll rebound, they'll reload and come back next year and be a World Series contender because they're a major market team, but right now is the worst part of being a Red Sox fan. The team's future is cloudy and ready to be tabloid fodder and a significant portion of the fan base has gone off the deep end.

At least it's football season.