Monday, May 11, 2015

Red Sox Front Office Has To Learn A Hard Lesson

    The Red Sox organization is going to have to learn the hard way that the wishful thinking method of roster construction could lead them to their third losing season in four years.  The entirely unexpected 2013 championship run was a lightning-in-a-bottle scenario and the Red Sox front office deluded themselves into thinking that they can get away with filling a roster with second or third-tier players for shorter contracts and be competitive every year.

     For 2014, after letting Ellsbury walk to their archrivals, they assumed that Jackie Bradley, Jr. would seamlessly assume center field.  Plan B: Reclamation project Grady Sizemore.   They also brought in AJ Pierzynski, who was poor defensively and never lived up to his offensive hype, not to mention the reputation for being a poor clubhouse presence.   The result: Last place in the AL East and a 71-91 record.  

     This off-season, they signed two big offensive targets Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, but they failed to improve their starting rotation after trading Jon Lester and John Lackey at the deadline last year.   Instead, they traded for Rick Porcello (a #3 who could be a #2 with a proper ace leading the staff) and Wade Miley (#3 or #4 at best), and signed reclamation project and former Red Sox Justin Masterson.  Remaining from the 2014 rotation were Joe Kelly and the maddeningly inconsistent Clay Buchholz.  Result so far:  Second worst ERA in the majors and last place in the AL East with a 14-17 record.  

      Not only is the pitching the problem so far this season, but the offense that was assumed would offset the runs allowed by the rotation has gone AWOL with runners in scoring position, just like it did last year.   David Ortiz is showing signs of age-related decline and Mike Napoli, who raked in spring training, has been toting a brutal sub-Mendoza average.   Promising youngster Mookie Betts has not quite lived up to his potential with the bat and reserve outfielders Nava and Craig have been non-factors at the plate.  Both of the presumed catchers for 2015 are lost for the season, forcing Blake Swihart to come up before he is ready. 

        Would another losing season and more empty seats at Fenway shake the Red Sox brass out of their delusions that they can get by with chasing mediocrity as long as they don't get saddled with long, expensive market-value contracts for aging players?   Or will they start drafting more high-ceiling pitchers so they can "grow their own ace"?   If they do finish under .500 again this year, a major overhaul is needed in the front office to get them back to winning consistently like they did in the mid-late 2000s.   They are a large market team with a payroll around $200 million who has no business being cellar-dwellers more often than not.  

         It is still early in the season, but there is no shortage of holes in this team that may not be able to be fixed from within the farm system or in trades.   Whether or not a new pitching coach will be able to turn things around with the rotation remains to be seen.   The RISP problem still remains, even with a new hitting coach this year and needs to be addressed.   It's going to be a long, uphill battle to contention for the 2015 Red Sox and possibly for future teams too if the front office remains set in their ways.  
 
    

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