Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies, the new World Series champions. It took five games for them to win their first championship since 1980, and in the name of sportsmanship I tip my hat. But more importantly for us, this signifies that it’s officially the offseason, and you know what that means: Boras, Boras, and more Boras. I can’t stand the man. In large part because of him, the free agency market represents pure capitalism at its worst, and he just keeps pushing it further and further and making the whole offseason ordeal that much more unbearable. He stops at nothing to land that extra million for his clients, even if it means tainting the game and painting the town green, if you know what I mean. He’s ruining the sport by making it that much more of a business and making loyalty that much less of a factor. I’m not a fan. Seriously, don’t even get me started. Point being he’s going to complicate our lives once again this offseason, I’m sure. Not to mention Theo’s life. I mean we’re just fans. We cringe at the mere thought of having to deal with Boras day in and day out. Theo actually has to do it. I’m telling you, I give him a lot of credit for going in there and always coming through in flying colors.
Jason Varitek has already filed for free agency. And this past season has made it painfully clear that we can’t necessarily absorb his lack of offensive production. Ideally, we’d be able to sign him for a three-year deal and have him split playing time with another young catcher like I said, but Scott Boras will likely demand some insane amount of money that’ll force us to let Tek walk. And that’s a shame, because Tek loves it here and the team needs him here. He wears a C on his jersey for a reason. So we should definitely try to bring him back, but it’ll be up to Boras to be reasonable, if that’s possible.
Ideally, we’d also be able to pick up Mark Teixeira, make him a third baseman, and have him gradually take over playing time for Lowell if Lowell can’t bounce back from his injury. I really hope he does though, because he’s one of the best defensive third basemen in the league, and in 2007 his offense was just unreal. But in the event that something’s still not right, it would be nice to have an A team replacement. But, again, Scott Boras will probably make that impossible.
Schilling and Kotsay also filed for free agency. Sadly, Schilling’s career seems to be coming to a close. I think I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I thank Curt Schilling for everything he’s done for us. From the bloody sock in ‘04 to his transition from power to finesse to World Series champion in ‘07, he was the man. And he did it all for the team and for the city. I mean he made his decision to come to Boston after talking with fans on Sons of Sam Horn. If that doesn’t say something for Red Sox Nation and for the kind of team we have, then I don’t know what does. As for Kotsay, if we land Teixeira he’d pretty much be taking Kotsay’s place, but because that’s so unlikely Theo may want to consider keeping Kotsay on board.
Wakefield will of course be coming back. He’ll be the first pitcher in club history to pitch fifteen consecutive seasons. He sometimes gets a bad rap during the regular season for his game-by-game inconsistency, but in the long run all he does for us is win. He’s had double digits in the win column in six of his last seven seasons. That doesn’t sound like inconsistency to me.
In other news, Manny Ramirez could sign with the Skankees, and the Red Sox will remain in City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Florida for three more seasons of Spring Training. Then, in 2012, we’ll be moving to a new Fenway-esque stadium in southern Lee County. A nice touch, considering that 2012 will mark Fenway’s 100th anniversary. Can we say All-Star Game?
The thing about Teixeira, though, is that he’s not a great fielder, which is why he’s been stuck at first. He’s by no means bad, but he doesn’t have the range you need for a third baseman. I think your best bet, if you sign him, is to keep Youk at third while Lowell works his way back – although that doesn’t make sense for one reason: to do either what you suggest or what I suggest, you’re going to have bench either Youk or Teixeira with some regularity, unless you make Youk a shortstop or something, which i don’t see. And you can’t sit either of those guys, not even for Lowell’s D. So if you sign Tex, as I see it, you basically tell Lowell that you’re done with him, because he just doesn’t fit on a roster with Youk and Tex in front of him.