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The genius of Theo Epstein has taken four years, a abrupt resignation, a walk from Fenway to his car in a gorilla costume, a time of soul searching and a reintoduction to the Sox Nation. Through all of this there has never been any hesitation on the part of Epstein to call the shots. He's a confident young manager who has an uncanny ability to weigh the future ramifications of present moves. This has allowed him to trade away some crops down on the farm and put together a championship caliber ball club, while not selling the farm and having nothing left in the tank for the next couple years. This is the first year, that the farm system is really bringing life to the Boston Red Sox, and therefore is the first year that the fullness of Epstein's genius is obvious.
The "youth movement" is underway in baseball. Stars such as Jose Reyes and David Wright anchor the Mets, then there are the young pitchers in Verlander and Liriano. The most obvious case of this youth is in Florida. The Marlins and Rays are both incredibly youthful teams who have a huge ceiling. The Red Sox are a club that is in the race year in and year out and therefore cannot invest too much in youth, however this makes the development in the minors of utmost importance.
One of Theo Epstein's main goals upon taking the GM job of the Sox was to strengthen the farm system. However, in doing so he has never lost sight of the present and given up on a season. With this combination of short and long term vision Epstein was able to lead the Sox to a world championship in 2004. However, the teams that Epstein continues to put together are getting progressively better. Yes, the 2006 Red Sox are better than the 2004 Red Sox. The first place to look is at first base.
Kevin Youkilis has been the sparkplug for the offense. Kevin Millar was a great clubhouse presence, but his presence on the field is not nearly what Youk has provided this season. He boasts a .319 batting average and a .433 on base percentage to go along with 9 home runs. Perhaps the most telling snippit about Youkilis so far is that he has a Web Gem at three different positions. His play at first base as anchored an offense that lost its leadoff man for a majority of the season thus far. Many fans were calling for Youkilis last year, but with nowhere to play him on an every day basis Theo kept him down at Pawtucket allowing him to get playing time every day. That playing time and experience coupled with an opportunity to make a splash on the major league level has manifested itself in a way that the management could have only dreamed about.
Two acquisitions that flew under the radar this offseason was that of Mike Lowell and Mark Loretta. Loretta was acquired from the Padres for Doug Mirabelli because Loretta was coming off a thumb injury. After a slow start he is picking up his offensive numbers and although he'll never regain his 2003 All Star form he is most definitely an upgrade over the Todd Walker/Mark Bellhorn combo that patrolled the post for the past few years. The Lowell trade is a little different as the aging All Star was a throw in with Josh Beckett from the Marlins. Who knows whether Theo saw that Lowell would have a resurgence or whether Beckett was alluring enough to make Epstein shoulder Lowell's contract. Either way, with Lowell reverting back to the offfensive form that he exhibited in an outstanding 2004 campaign and with year-in-year-out gold glove defense Lowell is making Epstein look brilliant.
Alex Gonzalez plays short and there is nothing really to say about him other than that he is the best defensive shortstop in baseball. That is without reservation. He is abysmal offensively and draws the ire from fans at times, but he has sured up a team defense that was near the bottom in fielding percentage last year and they are now leading the majors in fewest errors. His defense is a considerable upgrade over the disastrous year Renteria had last season.
The outfield is pretty stable with Nixon and ManRam patrolling Peske's Pole and the Green Monster respectively. The new face is Coco Crisp. He was a budding star in Cleveland and yet the route to acquiring him was basically through the losing of Edgar Renteria. Renteria is a tough player to trade based on last year, and therefore Crisp is in a bit of a tough situation. He has to live up to the trade and his predecessor, cult hero Johnny Damon. As of yet, he hasn't lived up to his billing, but that is in large part because of injuries. When Crisp starts swinging again, it will be interesting to see the boost the Sox take from his speed.
(The moves of the offseason:
All of these positional moves have been outstanding. Damon is probably better than Crisp, but Crisp has more good years left. Other than that every other position is the same or an upgrade over the previous years. However, none of this can compare to the development job and juggling of the pitching staff that Sox management has done this year.
Schilling, Beckett, and Wakefield are a lethal 1-2-3 punch, but in baseball a fourth and sometimes fifth starter are needed. The Sox had this in David Wells and Matt Clement. Unfortunately Wells has been out with bad knees all year and Clement has struggled mightily all year. This has left two rotation spots open and what could have been disastrous turned into a brilliant display of managerial prowess.
Everyone in Red Sox nation was calling for the arrival of Jon Lester when Wells went down, however Epstein called up a little known AA pitcher, David Pauley to make a few starts. Pauley fared decently, and in the biggest start of his life he controlled the Yankees in New York for two ER over seven innings. There was a stretch when there was no fifth starter needed, and this made Pauley expendable. He is still on the roster but has been moved to the 'pen. In the next start when the Sox needed a fifth up came phenom Jon Lester. Although conditions were not enviable (start of game delayed four hours) he fared decently in earning a no decision in Arlington. Then Clement went down and Lester was inserted to the four hole. He pitched a gem at Atlanta holding the Braves to one run over five innings.
Then the real juggling act was put on display. A day before they needed a fifth starter the Sox picked up Kyle Snyder off waivers from the Royals. He has a hideous track record and hadn't won since 2003, but pitched a whale of a game and the Sox ended up getting the win. Following Snyder's start came Lester's next turn and it was his home debut. He decided to warm the Fenway faithful to him by pitching a one run, three hit, ten strikeout game over the Nationals. Then a day after that, Epstein picked up Jason Johnson from the Indians. Johnson, a veteran, with another ugly track record is a player that can fill the void left by the two pitchers on the DL. This allows Kyle Snyder and David Pauley to move back down and get some quality developmental starts at AAA.
The juggling act of picking the pitcher who will keep the Sox in the game and always knowing when to use whom has been a thing of pure genius. I have no idea how a GM can predict who is ready for a breakout and who isn't but I know I'm glad Theo doesn't have a team in my fantasy league.
The "youth movement" is underway in baseball. Stars such as Jose Reyes and David Wright anchor the Mets, then there are the young pitchers in Verlander and Liriano. The most obvious case of this youth is in Florida. The Marlins and Rays are both incredibly youthful teams who have a huge ceiling. The Red Sox are a club that is in the race year in and year out and therefore cannot invest too much in youth, however this makes the development in the minors of utmost importance.
One of Theo Epstein's main goals upon taking the GM job of the Sox was to strengthen the farm system. However, in doing so he has never lost sight of the present and given up on a season. With this combination of short and long term vision Epstein was able to lead the Sox to a world championship in 2004. However, the teams that Epstein continues to put together are getting progressively better. Yes, the 2006 Red Sox are better than the 2004 Red Sox. The first place to look is at first base.
Kevin Youkilis has been the sparkplug for the offense. Kevin Millar was a great clubhouse presence, but his presence on the field is not nearly what Youk has provided this season. He boasts a .319 batting average and a .433 on base percentage to go along with 9 home runs. Perhaps the most telling snippit about Youkilis so far is that he has a Web Gem at three different positions. His play at first base as anchored an offense that lost its leadoff man for a majority of the season thus far. Many fans were calling for Youkilis last year, but with nowhere to play him on an every day basis Theo kept him down at Pawtucket allowing him to get playing time every day. That playing time and experience coupled with an opportunity to make a splash on the major league level has manifested itself in a way that the management could have only dreamed about.
Two acquisitions that flew under the radar this offseason was that of Mike Lowell and Mark Loretta. Loretta was acquired from the Padres for Doug Mirabelli because Loretta was coming off a thumb injury. After a slow start he is picking up his offensive numbers and although he'll never regain his 2003 All Star form he is most definitely an upgrade over the Todd Walker/Mark Bellhorn combo that patrolled the post for the past few years. The Lowell trade is a little different as the aging All Star was a throw in with Josh Beckett from the Marlins. Who knows whether Theo saw that Lowell would have a resurgence or whether Beckett was alluring enough to make Epstein shoulder Lowell's contract. Either way, with Lowell reverting back to the offfensive form that he exhibited in an outstanding 2004 campaign and with year-in-year-out gold glove defense Lowell is making Epstein look brilliant.
Alex Gonzalez plays short and there is nothing really to say about him other than that he is the best defensive shortstop in baseball. That is without reservation. He is abysmal offensively and draws the ire from fans at times, but he has sured up a team defense that was near the bottom in fielding percentage last year and they are now leading the majors in fewest errors. His defense is a considerable upgrade over the disastrous year Renteria had last season.
The outfield is pretty stable with Nixon and ManRam patrolling Peske's Pole and the Green Monster respectively. The new face is Coco Crisp. He was a budding star in Cleveland and yet the route to acquiring him was basically through the losing of Edgar Renteria. Renteria is a tough player to trade based on last year, and therefore Crisp is in a bit of a tough situation. He has to live up to the trade and his predecessor, cult hero Johnny Damon. As of yet, he hasn't lived up to his billing, but that is in large part because of injuries. When Crisp starts swinging again, it will be interesting to see the boost the Sox take from his speed.
(The moves of the offseason:
- The Sox traded (SP) Anibal Sanchez, (SS) Hanley Ramirez, (SP) Harvey Garcia and (SP) Jesus Delgado to the Marlins for (3B) Mike Lowell, (SP) Josh Beckett and (RP) Guillermo Mota.
- (SS) Renteria and cash considerations to Atlanta for (3B) Andy Marte.
- (C) Doug Mirabelli to San Diego for (2B) Mark Loretta.
- Guillermo Mota, Andy Marte, (C) Kelly Shoppach to Cleveland for (RP) David Riske, (C) Josh Bard, and (CF) Coco Crisp.
- Josh Bard to San Diego for Doug Mirabelli
All of these positional moves have been outstanding. Damon is probably better than Crisp, but Crisp has more good years left. Other than that every other position is the same or an upgrade over the previous years. However, none of this can compare to the development job and juggling of the pitching staff that Sox management has done this year.
Schilling, Beckett, and Wakefield are a lethal 1-2-3 punch, but in baseball a fourth and sometimes fifth starter are needed. The Sox had this in David Wells and Matt Clement. Unfortunately Wells has been out with bad knees all year and Clement has struggled mightily all year. This has left two rotation spots open and what could have been disastrous turned into a brilliant display of managerial prowess.
Everyone in Red Sox nation was calling for the arrival of Jon Lester when Wells went down, however Epstein called up a little known AA pitcher, David Pauley to make a few starts. Pauley fared decently, and in the biggest start of his life he controlled the Yankees in New York for two ER over seven innings. There was a stretch when there was no fifth starter needed, and this made Pauley expendable. He is still on the roster but has been moved to the 'pen. In the next start when the Sox needed a fifth up came phenom Jon Lester. Although conditions were not enviable (start of game delayed four hours) he fared decently in earning a no decision in Arlington. Then Clement went down and Lester was inserted to the four hole. He pitched a gem at Atlanta holding the Braves to one run over five innings.
Then the real juggling act was put on display. A day before they needed a fifth starter the Sox picked up Kyle Snyder off waivers from the Royals. He has a hideous track record and hadn't won since 2003, but pitched a whale of a game and the Sox ended up getting the win. Following Snyder's start came Lester's next turn and it was his home debut. He decided to warm the Fenway faithful to him by pitching a one run, three hit, ten strikeout game over the Nationals. Then a day after that, Epstein picked up Jason Johnson from the Indians. Johnson, a veteran, with another ugly track record is a player that can fill the void left by the two pitchers on the DL. This allows Kyle Snyder and David Pauley to move back down and get some quality developmental starts at AAA.
The juggling act of picking the pitcher who will keep the Sox in the game and always knowing when to use whom has been a thing of pure genius. I have no idea how a GM can predict who is ready for a breakout and who isn't but I know I'm glad Theo doesn't have a team in my fantasy league.
2 comments:
I like the new template. My bad about Joe Maddon...I am stupid and living in the past.
I am not so sure you understand the Coco Crisp move. You didn't just lose Renterria.
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