You've heard it before and as certain as death and taxes you'll hear it again; the Red Sox, with their new acquisitions, are the favorite to win the 2011 World Series. The upcoming season should be very entertaining to follow and while the Red Sox are a formidable team they're far from a sure thing. The 162 game season can get understandably monotonous, hopefully I'll be able to help prevent that, but following a few specific developments is the perfect way to stay interested and will also make you a smarter fan. With opening day a mere 10 days away, it seems like a good time to examine some intriguing story lines for the upcoming season.
The starting rotation should be a strength of this team but it's not without questions that could derail any championship aspirations. The most crucial part of the rotation is the emergence of either Josh Beckett or Daisuke Matsuzaka as a reliable fourth starter. The key to Beckett's success is and always has been, his curveball. When his curveball has tight spin and is being thrown for strikes Beckett can put the numbers he did in 2007, when he finished a close second to CC Sabathia in the Cy Young voting. Another important part of his success will be the effectiveness of his change-up. In the past his change-up been mostly for show, it had little movement and was typically 3-4 MPH slower that his fastball. During his last televised spring training start his change-up showed much better movement, down and in to right handed hitters, and roughly 6 MPH slower than his fastball. It was however inconsistent and it's worth keeping an eye on during the season because if he can maintain an league average change-up the Red Sox could have a 3rd 'ace' on their hands. Daisuke's last two spring training starts have been successful, he's attacked hitters and not been afraid to throw strikes. If either Daisuke or Beckett goes on the DL the 6th starter looks to be Alfredo Aceves, Felix Doubront (depending on how many innings he has when the need occurs) or Tim Wakefield. Wakefield will most likely be used as a spot starter as opposed to a long term solution if one of the starting 5 goes down. The final starting rotation story line regards Clay Buchholz. If Buchholz is going to make the final jump to becoming an 'ace' and living up to his off the charts potential he's going to have establish his curveball as a pitch batters have to expect in any count, in any situation.
What happens to the bullpen if Papelbon struggles? This will become a lightening rod for the Boston media, and rightfully so. First and foremost Francona and Theo will have to decide if they can keep Papelbon on the roster or if they should cut their losses as he may become a malcontent and distraction. Second, regardless of what becomes of Papelbon, they'll have to decide if they're going to go with Daniel Bard or Bobby Jenks as the new closer. Unless one of the two is vastly out preforming the other one they'll probably lean towards Bard unless the numbers dictate Jenks is the better option in a particular situation (a slightly modified version of the taboo 'closer by committee' theory).
Can Salty and Ellsbury continue to develop? Ellsbury's development was brought to a screeching halt last season after 5 broken ribs limited him to 18 games. The focus with Ellsbury is whether or not he will continue to develop as a hitter and fielder (ie. more walks, more power and better reads on balls in center field). Salty's development is more important because even if Ellsbury produces like he did in 2009 the Sox will be fine. When watching Salty the most important things to keep an eye out for is his ability to throw out runners, playing time (if he isn't meshing with the pitching staff we may see significant playing time for Varitek at the beginning of the season unless Salty is hitting the cover off the ball), and if he can maintain a batting average above .250 and an OBP(on-base percentage) around .315.
What will become of the Red Sox now depleted farm system? Theo currently holds 5 of the first 50 in an historically deep draft. Many experts believe that the top 20 players in the upcoming draft could all be top 10 picks in any other draft. It will be curious to see how Theo approaches this draft, will he target the more reliable college players or the high upside toolsy high schoolers? (For more information on this years college pitching prospects check out this great article by Ian Theodoridis of soxprospects.com) In last years draft he used his early picks on college players. In 2005, the most comparable draft in terms of talent depth, Theo used his first 4 picks on collegiate players. The development of last years draftees will be crucial to providing the big club with elite talent in the coming years. While the current system is down, from past years, there are a few players that could make waves this seaspn. Keep an eye on RHP Anthony Ranaudo as he could move quickly through the system and get a cup of coffee in Boston as early as the 2012 September call ups, and international signee 3B Xander Bogaerts who has similar offensive tools to Hanley Ramirez at the same age. Stolmy Pimentel has all the tools to be a frontline starter but he needs to harness his 'stuff' and work on his secondary pitches. During the season I'll touch on how certain prospects are doing but, if you want to follow the Red Sox minor league prospects during the season more closely check in on soxprospects.com where they'll have weekly updates and in-depth scouting reports on every player.
These story lines will play a major part in the short and long term success of the organization and I will provide updates on each of these at the quarterly marks of the season. If you have any questions or topic requests send me an email at strikeoneblog@gmail.com.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
To Win, Or Not To Win. The Bullpen Is the Question.
The 2011 Boston Red Sox are in position to win their third World Series in Theo Epstein's tenure as GM. Let's not kid ourselves the Yankees are still a great threat to the Sox, maybe not in the regular season but they are still a very dangerous team in a 7 game series. A 7 game series will come down to who can slam the door late in games. The Yankees have Raphael Soriano and Mariano Rivera in the back end of their bull-pen, which makes them extremely dangerous with a lead. The Red Sox had one of the worst bull-pens in baseball last year. Acquiring reliable and productive bull-pen arms is the biggest crapshoot a GM faces when constructing his 40 man and 25 man rosters. Bull-pen pitchers can be hit or miss this for year to year which why the group Theo has put together will be the key to another World Series title.
In the past Francona has preferred to carry 12 pitchers on the active roster, which leaves 7 arms in the bull-pen. As it stands now the Red Sox have Papelbon, Bard, Jenks, Wheeler, Wakefield locked into 5 of the spots. Before I jump into who are the legitimate contenders for the final two spots it's important analyze what roles the current players fill. Papelbon, despite his struggles the last two years, will be the closer coming out of spring training and it's his job to lose. Papelbon's inability to dominate like he did earlier in his career stems from fluctuating mechanics that results in the loss of command of his pitches. While his fastball has always his clear-cut best pitch, it was his splitter that kept hitters honest and allowed him to have room for error with his fastball. Once his mechanics started to fall apart his splitter movement was the first thing to go. It no longer had that sharp dive and it became so inconsistent that he abandoned it altogether, his fastball speed dropped from 95-97 to 91-93 MPH and the movement decreased with it. Closers cannot be successful with a 91-93 MPH fastball that has little movement, and rarely thrown, ineffective, secondary pitches. Daniel Bard, the 8th inning closer waiting, will be setting up for Papelbon this year. Bard led all relievers last year with an average fastball velocity of 97.9 MPH that also had great movement. In addition to his great fastball, Bard also has a wipeout slider that has great two-plane break. His slider can be disappear from time to time so this season he'll have to work on its consistency to solidify his role as the closer for the 2012 season. On the off chance that Bard struggles this year (not likely but it's always a possibility) Bobby Jenks could slide into that role. Jenks had some struggles last year but he still has 'closer stuff' and a change of scenery (ie. moving as far from Ozzie Guillen as possible) could result in the Red Sox having the best 7th inning bull-pen arm in baseball. Dan Wheeler, who signed with the Sox after spending the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, will be a match up arm with and depending on who's more effective between him and Jenks will have 7th inning duties. Wakefield has been relegated to mop up duty and will get the occasional start but don't expect much from him in the way of meaning full innings or a high level of production.
The Red Sox are guaranteed to have at least one lefty in the bull-pen and at the moment they'll have to choose between Okajima, Rich Hill, Andrew Miller, Denny Reyes and Lenny DiNardo. The sample size is small for all of the relievers, but so far Okajima gave up 4 run in his first outing but he's since settled down and not allowed a run in his last 3 innings. Rich Hill, a local native from Milton, has changed his arm slot this spring from an over the top motion to a side arm slot, which changed his 12-6 curveball into a frisbee-esk slider. He has gotten solid reviews all spring, has not allowed a run and it looks like he has a real possibility of starting the year in the majors, but more than likely he'll start in AAA. Andrew Miller has been clocked as high as 99 MPH this spring and Francona and the coaching staff can't stop raving about his potential, but even so the Red Sox have been steadfast in saying he will start the year in AAA Pawtucket. Denny Reyes has a shot and the reviews seem positive, and Lenny DiNardo doesn't appear to have a realistic chance to start the year in Boston, but instead will be insurance ready for the call in AAA. I did not include Felix Doubront in this list because with his most recent elbow stiffness there's no way he will be in competition for a spot out of spring training. I also believe that he will be stretched out to be a starter for insurance if Daisuke gets injured or is ineffective.
Baring any injuries the Red Sox should arrive in Texas with the following 12 pitchers: Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler, Tim Wakefield, Hideki Okajima and Denny Reyes. This gives Francona a great balance of power and finesse, righties and lefties, and a variety of different arm slots, all of which should provide him with the ability to slam the door on teams late in games.
Any questions or requests for specific analysis on players, games or anything else should be sent to strikeoneblog@gmail.com
Monday, March 7, 2011
Where's The Next Blue Chip Prospect?
When Theo Epstein took over as GM in 2002 he vowed to make the Red Sox a "player development machine," and leading up to the Adrian Gonzalez trade there has always been at least one elite prospect in the system.
2003: Jonathan Papelbon, RHP (4th round)
2004: Dustin Pedroia, 2B (2nd round)
2005: Jacoby Ellsbury, CF (1st round) and Clay Buchholz, RHP (1st supplemental round)
2008: Casey Kelly, RHP (1st round) and Ryan Westmoreland, CF (5th round)
2010: Anthony Ranaudo, RHP (1st supplemental round)
These draftees have all been considered 5 star prospects at one point during their minor league career with the exception of, right handed pitcher, Anthony Ranaudo who has yet to pitch a professional inning. I felt the need to include him on the list because of his prospect status going into his final year at LSU. He was considered the top pitching prospect in the 2010 draft after posting a 3.04 ERA in 124.1 innings with 159 strikeouts as a 19 year old sophomore. Elbow soreness delayed the start of his 2010 season and resulted in mechanical flaws and ineffectiveness throughout the whole season. In order to prove to the Red Sox he was healthy, and worthy of a 7 figure signing bonus, he pitched 29.2 innings in the Cape Cod league without allowing a run and striking out 31 batters. If Ranaudo can maintain his mechanics there's no reason why he won't be considered a five star prospect and one of the top 50 in all of baseball when next year's lists come out.
As we all know Casey Kelly was traded to the San Diego Padres in the Adrian Gonzalez deal and while there have been conflicting reports on whether he is a five star prospect, he is one of the top 50 prospects in baseball. This leaves one name left on the list that has both professional experience and has been named a elite prospect, Ryan Westmoreland. Ryan Westmoreland, a left handed hitting center fielder from Rhode Island, was taken in the 5th round of the 2008 amateur draft by the Red Sox and signed for $1.6 million. Most scouts, at the time of the draft, believed he had all the tools to become a super star at the major league level but were hesitant to anoint him an elite prospect because of the lesser competition he played against in the northeast. As soon as he stepped on the field as a professional the hesitation melted away and the projection for stardom became a widespread consensus. Going into last season Kevin Goldstein, an expert minor league prospect evaluator for Baseball Prospectus, had this to say about Westmoreland, "One scout described Westmoreland as having "the tools of a top-five high school pick, with the advanced skills of a college player." Supremely athletic, Westmoreland has average power with projection for more, as well as a keen understanding of the strike zone and a silky smooth swing with some natural lift to it. He's an outstanding runner with instincts, as indicated by his 19 stolen bases in 60 games for the Spinners without getting caught." During spring training last year, Westmoreland felt numbness in his right thumb and pinkie fingers informed Red Sox officials. He was immediately sent for testing where doctors discovered a cavernous malformation, which is a mass of abnormally formed blood vessels, in his brain stem. The mass had bled into his brain which caused the numbness and tingling in his fingers. Doctors decided that surgery was not necessary because the chance of another bleed was very low and location of the mass made any surgery life threatening. Within days the mass bled again, leaving Ryan almost completely deaf and blind and with debilitating handicaps. His parents decided that surgery was a must in order to give him a chance at having any quality of life. On March 16th, 2010 Ryan underwent successful surgery to remove the cavernous malformation in Arizona. In the months following the surgery, reports began filtering out giving fans of Westmoreland an insight into one of the most inspirational stories in since Lance Armstrong. Doctors continued to set goals and Ryan continued to blow past them with flying colors. While his vision hasn't completely returned, he still has to wear thick sunglasses while he takes batting practice outside. Physically he is in better shape than he was before the surgery, stronger and lower percent body fat, but he still has trouble with tasks requiring small motor skills such as tying his shoes. He continues to take batting practice three times a week as he slowly works his back to his dream of one day playing in Fenway Park. Whether or not he ever plays competitive baseball again is nothing more than a luxury for him, when you consider that less than a year ago he underwent a surgery in which his survival was far from a certainty.
With no prospects currently worthy of the 'elite' tag, the Red Sox minor league system is down from past years, but there is hope for the future. As a result of letting Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre leave through free agency, Theo has 5 picks in the first 50 and 6 in the first 85. The system should be fully restocked after the draft with high impact 'blue chip' prospects. Experts are in agreement that this will be one of the strongest drafts in recent memory, similar to the 2005 draft, here's a look at the first round of the 2005 MLB Draft. If there is anyone within the system that has a chance to develop into a 'blue chip' prospect, scouting reports say put your money on shortstop Xander Boegarts, the previously mentioned Anthony Ranaudo or right handed pitcher Stolmy Pimentel.
Any and all questions can be sent to strikeoneblog@gmail.com
2003: Jonathan Papelbon, RHP (4th round)
2004: Dustin Pedroia, 2B (2nd round)
2005: Jacoby Ellsbury, CF (1st round) and Clay Buchholz, RHP (1st supplemental round)
2008: Casey Kelly, RHP (1st round) and Ryan Westmoreland, CF (5th round)
2010: Anthony Ranaudo, RHP (1st supplemental round)
These draftees have all been considered 5 star prospects at one point during their minor league career with the exception of, right handed pitcher, Anthony Ranaudo who has yet to pitch a professional inning. I felt the need to include him on the list because of his prospect status going into his final year at LSU. He was considered the top pitching prospect in the 2010 draft after posting a 3.04 ERA in 124.1 innings with 159 strikeouts as a 19 year old sophomore. Elbow soreness delayed the start of his 2010 season and resulted in mechanical flaws and ineffectiveness throughout the whole season. In order to prove to the Red Sox he was healthy, and worthy of a 7 figure signing bonus, he pitched 29.2 innings in the Cape Cod league without allowing a run and striking out 31 batters. If Ranaudo can maintain his mechanics there's no reason why he won't be considered a five star prospect and one of the top 50 in all of baseball when next year's lists come out.
As we all know Casey Kelly was traded to the San Diego Padres in the Adrian Gonzalez deal and while there have been conflicting reports on whether he is a five star prospect, he is one of the top 50 prospects in baseball. This leaves one name left on the list that has both professional experience and has been named a elite prospect, Ryan Westmoreland. Ryan Westmoreland, a left handed hitting center fielder from Rhode Island, was taken in the 5th round of the 2008 amateur draft by the Red Sox and signed for $1.6 million. Most scouts, at the time of the draft, believed he had all the tools to become a super star at the major league level but were hesitant to anoint him an elite prospect because of the lesser competition he played against in the northeast. As soon as he stepped on the field as a professional the hesitation melted away and the projection for stardom became a widespread consensus. Going into last season Kevin Goldstein, an expert minor league prospect evaluator for Baseball Prospectus, had this to say about Westmoreland, "One scout described Westmoreland as having "the tools of a top-five high school pick, with the advanced skills of a college player." Supremely athletic, Westmoreland has average power with projection for more, as well as a keen understanding of the strike zone and a silky smooth swing with some natural lift to it. He's an outstanding runner with instincts, as indicated by his 19 stolen bases in 60 games for the Spinners without getting caught." During spring training last year, Westmoreland felt numbness in his right thumb and pinkie fingers informed Red Sox officials. He was immediately sent for testing where doctors discovered a cavernous malformation, which is a mass of abnormally formed blood vessels, in his brain stem. The mass had bled into his brain which caused the numbness and tingling in his fingers. Doctors decided that surgery was not necessary because the chance of another bleed was very low and location of the mass made any surgery life threatening. Within days the mass bled again, leaving Ryan almost completely deaf and blind and with debilitating handicaps. His parents decided that surgery was a must in order to give him a chance at having any quality of life. On March 16th, 2010 Ryan underwent successful surgery to remove the cavernous malformation in Arizona. In the months following the surgery, reports began filtering out giving fans of Westmoreland an insight into one of the most inspirational stories in since Lance Armstrong. Doctors continued to set goals and Ryan continued to blow past them with flying colors. While his vision hasn't completely returned, he still has to wear thick sunglasses while he takes batting practice outside. Physically he is in better shape than he was before the surgery, stronger and lower percent body fat, but he still has trouble with tasks requiring small motor skills such as tying his shoes. He continues to take batting practice three times a week as he slowly works his back to his dream of one day playing in Fenway Park. Whether or not he ever plays competitive baseball again is nothing more than a luxury for him, when you consider that less than a year ago he underwent a surgery in which his survival was far from a certainty.
With no prospects currently worthy of the 'elite' tag, the Red Sox minor league system is down from past years, but there is hope for the future. As a result of letting Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre leave through free agency, Theo has 5 picks in the first 50 and 6 in the first 85. The system should be fully restocked after the draft with high impact 'blue chip' prospects. Experts are in agreement that this will be one of the strongest drafts in recent memory, similar to the 2005 draft, here's a look at the first round of the 2005 MLB Draft. If there is anyone within the system that has a chance to develop into a 'blue chip' prospect, scouting reports say put your money on shortstop Xander Boegarts, the previously mentioned Anthony Ranaudo or right handed pitcher Stolmy Pimentel.
Any and all questions can be sent to strikeoneblog@gmail.com
Friday, March 4, 2011
Surplus of Riches
Before I jump into today's blog, I'm going to give you a bit of an overview of the direction I plan on taking the blog. Leading up to opening day I will continue posting 2-3 entries each week previewing different areas of the Sox on both the major league and minor league levels. Once the season starts I will be writing weekly entries recapping the Red Sox week with player profiles, chronicling and analyzing their successes and struggles of the past week. I will also write about any major transactions that involve or will affect the Sox. In addition to my weekly Red Sox post I will also be writing shorter entries throughout the week, about anything that catches my eye around the league including but not limited to; major milestones (both player and team), unique occurrences (perfect games, no hitters, etc.), top MLB prospect debuts, and anything that you the readers may want to hear about. If there is any subject, player or analysis that you like me to touch on please don't hesitate to email me at boysofsummerblog@gmail.com. Now on to the line-up...
Terry 'Tito' Francona is in a difficult yet envious position as he attempts to set the Red Sox line-up without over thinking it. Since the Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez acquisitions Francona has been steadfast in his belief, and in my opinion rightfully so, that the Red Sox line-up is at its most dangerous when Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting in the lead off position. The alternative would be having Ellsbury hit in the 9 hole. One of the strengths of the Sox current roster is the balance between speed and power, and having Ellsbury bat 9th negates a large portion of that balance. I'm sure you're currently asking yourself, 'Why does Ellsbury have to hit 9th or 1st instead of 7th or 8th?' A valid question, based off the fact that over the course of a season the leadoff hitter will average almost 2 more at-bats per game than the #9 hitter. Having Ellsbury hit 7th or 8th would obviously get him more at-bats but the problem with this is that it limits Ellsbury's speed even more because of the high OBP hitters directly in front of him aren't fleet of foot, Ortiz and J.D. Drew. Hitting Ellsbury in the 9-hole behind Scutaro and Salty means that there is a lower probability of someone being on base in front of him, which would allow him to steal his way into scoring position more often. However, none of these options benefit the Sox quite as much as having Ellsbury leadoff. Without further delay here is my 2011 Boston Red Sox batting order:
Ellsbury, CF (for the reasons stated above)
Pedroia, 2B (this is a given, he can steal 15-20 bases hit 15-20 HR and work the count)
Crawford, LF (he says he doesn't mind leading off but he's just playing nice because it's his first season with the team. Hitting 3rd will give him the opportunity to steal bases while also hitting for power given the protection he will receive from the clean up hitter)
Gonzalez, 1B (no brainer here the guy can flat out hit, he's the front runner for the AL MVP and with the three people hitting in front of him and the one behind him he should produce at a Pujols-esk level. only qualm here might be that there are back to back left handed hitters. Gonzalez hit .337 vs lefty pitchers last year so the Sox should be fine against lefties)
Youkilis, 3B (he'll give Gonzalez protection and continue to produce like a top 10 MVP candidate)
Ortiz, DH (slow start or not he should be fine in the long run and with the new acquisitions there's less pressure for him to produce right off the bat)
Scutaro, SS
Drew, RF
Salty, C
(the final 3 keep the right/left combination)
Please leave comments good or bad and if you have any questions or requests email strikeoneblog@gmail.com
Terry 'Tito' Francona is in a difficult yet envious position as he attempts to set the Red Sox line-up without over thinking it. Since the Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez acquisitions Francona has been steadfast in his belief, and in my opinion rightfully so, that the Red Sox line-up is at its most dangerous when Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting in the lead off position. The alternative would be having Ellsbury hit in the 9 hole. One of the strengths of the Sox current roster is the balance between speed and power, and having Ellsbury bat 9th negates a large portion of that balance. I'm sure you're currently asking yourself, 'Why does Ellsbury have to hit 9th or 1st instead of 7th or 8th?' A valid question, based off the fact that over the course of a season the leadoff hitter will average almost 2 more at-bats per game than the #9 hitter. Having Ellsbury hit 7th or 8th would obviously get him more at-bats but the problem with this is that it limits Ellsbury's speed even more because of the high OBP hitters directly in front of him aren't fleet of foot, Ortiz and J.D. Drew. Hitting Ellsbury in the 9-hole behind Scutaro and Salty means that there is a lower probability of someone being on base in front of him, which would allow him to steal his way into scoring position more often. However, none of these options benefit the Sox quite as much as having Ellsbury leadoff. Without further delay here is my 2011 Boston Red Sox batting order:
Ellsbury, CF (for the reasons stated above)
Pedroia, 2B (this is a given, he can steal 15-20 bases hit 15-20 HR and work the count)
Crawford, LF (he says he doesn't mind leading off but he's just playing nice because it's his first season with the team. Hitting 3rd will give him the opportunity to steal bases while also hitting for power given the protection he will receive from the clean up hitter)
Gonzalez, 1B (no brainer here the guy can flat out hit, he's the front runner for the AL MVP and with the three people hitting in front of him and the one behind him he should produce at a Pujols-esk level. only qualm here might be that there are back to back left handed hitters. Gonzalez hit .337 vs lefty pitchers last year so the Sox should be fine against lefties)
Youkilis, 3B (he'll give Gonzalez protection and continue to produce like a top 10 MVP candidate)
Ortiz, DH (slow start or not he should be fine in the long run and with the new acquisitions there's less pressure for him to produce right off the bat)
Scutaro, SS
Drew, RF
Salty, C
(the final 3 keep the right/left combination)
Please leave comments good or bad and if you have any questions or requests email strikeoneblog@gmail.com
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Curse of Nomahhhh
As promised this entry will be shorter than the last. I intentionally didn't touch on the shortstop position in my first post because I felt like it needed more than just a little blurb, and the last post was long enough as it was. The infamous 'Curse of Bambino' left the Red Sox without a World Series title for a heartbreaking 86 years. The 'Curse of Nomar' has left us without a competent defensive shortstop that can also hit well enough to play on a championship caliber team. Orlando Cabrera, Nomar's immediate successor, was the closest thing to a quality well rounded shortstop the Sox have had. Cabrera, by all accounts, was not a great teammate and Theo was not about to deal with another malcontent shortstop, a la Nomar for the final year plus of his contract. Cabrera was also looking for a long term contract and with blue chip prospect, Hanley Ramirez, waiting in the wings and better options in the free agent market, Theo wasn't looking to lock down a lesser shortstop for more than a year or two. As we all know Theo went out and signed Edgar Renteria to a 4 year $40 million deal. Renteria was known as an offensive oriented shortstop but with the ability to play at least average defense. A reported wrist injury sapped Renteria's bat speed and reported back and leg issues played a factor in his abysmal fielding (how much of a factor isn't known because the extent of the injuries were never completely disclosed). Rente-wreck, as the fans and media mockingly referred to him, was traded to the Atlanta Braves for prospect Andy Marte after just one season with the Red Sox.
On October 31st, 2005 Theo Epstein ended contract talks with the Boston Red Sox, later citing his displeasure when information of the negotiations was leaked to the media, and escaped the media at Fenway Park by hiding in a gorilla costume. This single event set off a chain reaction that made its presence felt over the next couple years, including another World Series in 2007 and a stretch of some of the worst shortstop play Sox fans have ever seen. Less than a month later, the GM by committee; Jed Hoyer, Ben Cherington, and Larry Luccino completed a trade for Josh Beckett and the soon to be 2007 World Series MVP, Mike Lowell, by sending Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez to the Florida Marlins. This blockbuster trade was made against the advice of Theo, who remained on as a consultant to the team, and left the Red Sox without a shortstop for the present of future. On January 24th, 2006 Larry Luccino and John Henry announced Theo's return as GM and his new responsibilities as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations (essentially eliminating Luccino's influence in Baseball Operations).
A weak shortstop free agent class left little options for the 2006 season. Shortly after returning to his post as GM Theo signed Alex Gonzalez, an offensively challenged defensive wizard, to a 1 year contract. Gonzalez's defensive play in his only year with the Red Sox should've earned him a gold glove, but the voters gave the honor to defensively challenged Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter. From 2007 - 2009 Red Sox fans had to suffer through the offensive and defensive ineptitude of Julio Lugo. The Lugo signing will probably go down as one of Theo's worst as a GM.
Going into the 2010 season Theo made 2 signings that would finally put an end to the revolving door at shortstop. The second signing (don't worry I'll get to the first one) was of free agent Marco Scutaro, who has just had a career year offensively with the Toronto Blue Jays. Scutaro epitomized one of Theo's cardinal beliefs for building a championship contender; be at least league average at every position. Scutaro is league average every facet of the game and his 2 year deal became a bridge to the future of the position.
The future of the shortstop position was solidified in September 2009 when the Red Sox signed Jose Iglesias, a 19 year old defensive magician who had recently defected from Cuba. Iglesias is a defense first short stop with enough of a bat to be a #8 or #9 hitter in the Sox line-up. To say Iglesias is a good defender doesn't do his talent justice, both Dustin Pedroia and Alex Rodriguez have said he is (present tense as in right now as a 21 year old) one of the best defensive shortstops they've ever seen. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a professional talent evaluator so I'll sum up Iglesias' defensive wizardry with the words of people far more qualified than I: "Watching Jose Iglesias take infield practice is like baseball porn." -ESPN's Keith Law via twitter, an anonymous scout described Iglesias' pre-game workouts to Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein as "the equivalent of a live-action instructional video of everything a shortstop should do.", finally this is a link to a brief scouting report, with some video, done by MLB network MLB Top 50 Prospects: Jose Iglesias.
Since the glory days of Nomar Garciaparra, the Red Sox have not been able to find the shortstop that fits their team offensively and more importantly defensively. With the long term roster built the way it is Jose Iglesias looks to be a mainstay at the bottom of the line up, and more importantly in the field, at shortstop, where he should have no problem racking up multiple Gold Glove awards for years to come.
On October 31st, 2005 Theo Epstein ended contract talks with the Boston Red Sox, later citing his displeasure when information of the negotiations was leaked to the media, and escaped the media at Fenway Park by hiding in a gorilla costume. This single event set off a chain reaction that made its presence felt over the next couple years, including another World Series in 2007 and a stretch of some of the worst shortstop play Sox fans have ever seen. Less than a month later, the GM by committee; Jed Hoyer, Ben Cherington, and Larry Luccino completed a trade for Josh Beckett and the soon to be 2007 World Series MVP, Mike Lowell, by sending Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez to the Florida Marlins. This blockbuster trade was made against the advice of Theo, who remained on as a consultant to the team, and left the Red Sox without a shortstop for the present of future. On January 24th, 2006 Larry Luccino and John Henry announced Theo's return as GM and his new responsibilities as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations (essentially eliminating Luccino's influence in Baseball Operations).
A weak shortstop free agent class left little options for the 2006 season. Shortly after returning to his post as GM Theo signed Alex Gonzalez, an offensively challenged defensive wizard, to a 1 year contract. Gonzalez's defensive play in his only year with the Red Sox should've earned him a gold glove, but the voters gave the honor to defensively challenged Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter. From 2007 - 2009 Red Sox fans had to suffer through the offensive and defensive ineptitude of Julio Lugo. The Lugo signing will probably go down as one of Theo's worst as a GM.
Going into the 2010 season Theo made 2 signings that would finally put an end to the revolving door at shortstop. The second signing (don't worry I'll get to the first one) was of free agent Marco Scutaro, who has just had a career year offensively with the Toronto Blue Jays. Scutaro epitomized one of Theo's cardinal beliefs for building a championship contender; be at least league average at every position. Scutaro is league average every facet of the game and his 2 year deal became a bridge to the future of the position.
The future of the shortstop position was solidified in September 2009 when the Red Sox signed Jose Iglesias, a 19 year old defensive magician who had recently defected from Cuba. Iglesias is a defense first short stop with enough of a bat to be a #8 or #9 hitter in the Sox line-up. To say Iglesias is a good defender doesn't do his talent justice, both Dustin Pedroia and Alex Rodriguez have said he is (present tense as in right now as a 21 year old) one of the best defensive shortstops they've ever seen. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a professional talent evaluator so I'll sum up Iglesias' defensive wizardry with the words of people far more qualified than I: "Watching Jose Iglesias take infield practice is like baseball porn." -ESPN's Keith Law via twitter, an anonymous scout described Iglesias' pre-game workouts to Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein as "the equivalent of a live-action instructional video of everything a shortstop should do.", finally this is a link to a brief scouting report, with some video, done by MLB network MLB Top 50 Prospects: Jose Iglesias.
Since the glory days of Nomar Garciaparra, the Red Sox have not been able to find the shortstop that fits their team offensively and more importantly defensively. With the long term roster built the way it is Jose Iglesias looks to be a mainstay at the bottom of the line up, and more importantly in the field, at shortstop, where he should have no problem racking up multiple Gold Glove awards for years to come.
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