| 09 February 2009
I just landed in California and my internet access is going to be limited all week, so let's get crackin'.
I tried to think of the best way to post all the answers we had to the "5 Questions for Red Sox Bloggers" ... and decided to post them one at a time throughout the week.
You'll be able to come back to this post all week to find all the responses... here are the answers to Question 1:
1. What was the best offseason move? (below)
2. Who will make the most impact in 2009: Smoltz, Penny, Saito, Kotsay, Baldelli?
3. Who will improve the most on their 2008 season?
4. Who will be the ace of the staff in 2009?
5. Early prediction time... Who will win the AL East this year?
1) What was the best move the Red Sox made this off season? This can include free agent signings, trades, contract extensions and "non-moves" like not overpaying for Teixeira...
Kent from Boston Blogger - Smoltz for 5 million.
Peter from Peter's Red Sox Forever - Signing Penny.
JS from Baseball Heavy - Probably letting the Yankees snap up Teixeira. I'm looking forward to seeing who if anyone from triple-A filters through to the big club after spring training.
Matt from Fenway West - I think the signing of John Smoltz was the best move, I was able to see him pitch multiple times when I lived in Atlanta and he has great stuff. If he can recover from his injury he will solidify the rotation and push the Red Sox into the playoffs. I would much rather have a healthy old Smoltz on the mound than A.J. Burnett.
Michael from Sox Addict - I was in the 'no more 200 million dollar contracts' camp so I've got to say that I'm pleased that the Red Sox didn't overpay for Teixeira. I would have loved to have another big bat in the lineup (especially not knowing how healthy David Ortiz and Mike Lowell REALLY are) but he would have set unrealistic contract standards in the future for the Red Sox.
Bob from Boston Sports Media Watch - Freezing ticket prices. It partially absolves Theo from becoming the complete laughing stock when he was duped by Boras, and is a consolation prize to fans for losing out on Teixeira.
Chris from Boston Sports Buzz - I really liked the moves to lock up both Youk and Pedey, but I love the Coco trade to KC for Ramon Ramirez. He's only 27 and could become a mainstay in the bullpen for the next 6 to 8 years. He averaged roughly one K per inning (70 Ks in 71.2 innings) and who's to say he might not get better?
Ian from Sox & Dawgs - For me the best move the Red Sox made this offseason was re-signing Jason Varitek. When you have a pitching that of the caliber the Red Sox have, I think the Red Sox are best served with him behind the plate for 2009. Yes the Red Sox will have to move on from Varitek at some point, but this wasn't the time. If they can make a trade for a younger MLB ready catcher to get some tutelage from Tek, even better. My other best moves were locking up the right side of the infield. Obviously both Pedroia and Youk have proven they can perform at a high level and rather get into drawn out discussions down the road, the Red Sox spent about 80 million for two players for the next 4 years. If you think about it, they could have had Teixiera for the same price in those 4 years. Now that's a high price to pay.
Jeff from The House That Dewey Built - The best moves were signing Pedroia and Youkilis to good contracts, locking them up through arbitration. Not only is the money beneficial to the Red Sox, but arbitration can be a headache. Now, it's not something that the Sox have to worry about with Pedroia or Youk's.
Dan from Red Sox Monster - Without a doubt, I'm most pumped up about the revamping of the Red Sox bullpen. In fact, I probably even went a little over the top with it (Operation Superpen). It's hard not to like our chances with a lead in late innings, though. Best case scenario: Ramon Ramirez and Justin Masterson build on their strong 2008 seasons while Saito, Okajima and Papelbon uphold their reputations as bullpen studs. Worst case scenario: One or two of the studs falter, and we're still left with an above average pen that has lots of young, live arms who can fill in during the dog days of summer. Good times.
Evan from Firebrand of the AL - The best move the Red Sox made this winter was to (not by choice, but still) return to their roots of using their financial flexibility to go after low-risk, high-reward players. These have paid off in the past -- Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, David Ortiz, Bronson Arroyo, Hideki Okajima, etc... look at the major free agent signings the Sox have done the last few years: Dice-K and Drew. Not that these two aren't valuable, but they aren't integral cogs of the team.
Bottom Line: No real clear favorite answer here, but it seems like everybody was happy to see Youkilis and Pedroia locked up... and I'd have to agree. I also like the re-signing of Varitek because I think it will make the transition to a new catcher easier than if he had not come back at all. If nothing else, having lots of different answers to this question means the Red Sox did lots of good things this offseason... right?
I wanna see what you guys think as well, so hit the comments section and tell us what you think the best move was and what you thiught of the answers above.
And check back all week, we've got four more questions to go... as well as a look at the AL East through the eyes of the enemy!
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