All Good Things Must Come to an End

2004 was a year like no other for the Red Sox and the Nation. The players who made it happen will always have a special place in Red Sox history. But, time has marched on and we're heading into 2012. The game has changed and the Red Sox, for the past several years have been anchored in the past. Three members of the 2004 team were still with the team in 2011: Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, and David Ortiz. All three are now free agents and the Red Sox have some decisions to make. While Tek has so far been silent on his hopes for next year, both Wake and Papi have been vocal in wanting to return to the Red Sox. Wake wants to chase a personal milestone, while Papi wants the security of a multi-year deal. While it's hard to blame either player for wanting to continue playing and keep cashing those checks, is it really in the team's best interest to grant these guys their wishes?

I say no. While I wouldn't mind having Papi back on a 1-year deal with a team option, Wake and Tek need to go. They are both too far past their prime to be effective major league baseball players and neither showed any kind of veteran leadership last September while the Red Sox' season was sinking into quicksand. They are anchors to a past on which the Red Sox need to close the book. Tek can no longer hit for a decent average or throw out base runners with any kind of consistency. Also, he blocks the young and hungry Ryan Lavarnway. Wake's quest for 200 wins was a major distraction down the stretch and the last thing the Red Sox need in 2012 is the distraction of his quest for the all-time Red Sox wins record. Also, the knuckleball's a beast to catch and the wild pitches and passed balls have opposing teams running track meets on the bases.

As for Papi, he started out the 2 seasons before his walk year abysmally. He disappeared in September 2011 (1 HR, 8 RBI the whole month). He doesn't run out ground balls and, as much as I hate to say it, he's starting to remind me of 2008 Manny. The most prudent approach to take with Papi at this stage in his career is to go year-to-year. Papi can still mash the ball, but his slow starts to 2009 and 2010 are troubling. Add in the lack of flexibility the team has with the DH position, especially with emerging part-time DH candidates in Youk and Lavarnway, and it makes even less sense to sign him to a multi-year deal. If he wants that kind of security, he can look for it elsewhere.

With a new manager in the fold, there's no better time than now to move into a new era. If that means saying good-bye to heroes from the team's past, so be it. The game's changing, moving past the old wait-for-the-3-run-homer, station-to-station era--the Red Sox need to change with it.