I am very excited about the upcoming season for the Red Sox. Even more so than last year, and I think I may be in the minority. (Although, not alone, as you can see from the responses of the other bloggers to share their opinions on the upcoming season at the
Cardinal70 at bat blog.)
The main things fans seemed to be concerned about in the offseason were the change in management with the associated lack of making a big splash in the free agent market which has led to perceived shortcomings at starting pitching, shortstop, corner outfielders and closer positions. Let me address each of these and demonstrate why I don't believe any of these are legitimate concerns.
Management
Fans clamored their disappointment that we ran "THE GREATEST GM IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD" and the "MOST BELOVED MANAGER EVAH" out of town. No argument from me here. However, let's not overestimate the impact that these positions have on the results on the field. Theo Epstein was the genius wonderboy who made all the right moves to bring a championship to Boston after 86 long years. But if Dave Roberts doesn't beat the throw to second, Theo becomes the man who traded Nomar for
some spare parts and would probably need to wear a bullet proof vest the rest of his life, lest he run into some angry members of Red Sox Nation. He did made some great acquisitions - picking up Bill Mueller, David Ortiz and Bronson Arroyo from the scrap heap, signing Foulke and Schilling, but he also spent a lot of money and/or traded some good prospects for the likes of Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Eric Gagne, Wily Mo Pena, and many others who weren't large contributors. And let's not forget Julio Lugo, Edgar Renteria or the panic re-acquisition of Doug Mirabelli. I'm giving him a pass on Lackey and Crawford for at least few more years. Anyhow, Dan Duquette brought us Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek, and he doesn't get much credit because the team didn't win under his watch. In summary, I think Theo was (is?) a good GM, but Ben Cherington learned under his watch, and the impact of the GM change is negligible.
