| 04 October 2010
The Red Sox beat the Yankees yesterday in their final game of 2010. They finished at 89-73 and in third place, but by beating the Yankees they enabled the Rays to win the AL East... I guess that counts for something.
Now we begin the process of preparing for 2011. We lost a number of key players to injury this year and it's easy to think that if we bring the same group back next season - and they all stay healthy - the Sox should win 90+ games and be in the mix for a playoff spot.
But it won't be that easy.
The 2010-11 offseason could be Theo Epstein's biggest challenge to date. Not only will he need to build a team capable of competing with the Yankees and Rays... he needs to build a team worth watching for 162 games. During Theo's run as GM, this team has transformed from a lovable band of "Idiots" to boring roster of robots... save for a few.
Lester and Buchholz are not Pedro Martinez, but when you buy a ticket for 2011, those are the guys people will be hoping they see. The problem lies with Matsuzaka, Lackey and Beckett. As 2010 dragged on, it became hard to watch these guys on the mound... Beckett has a shot at bouncing back, but Lackey and Matsuzaka are going to frustrate us until they're gone.
Losing Pedroia and Youkilis to injury hurt this team both on the field and in the press. They are clearly the new faces of this franchise and a full season of The Beard and The Elf will get people excited again. But will they also bring us a division title or another World Series?
That's where things get tricky.
Theo needs to make a quick decision on David Ortiz or lose him to free agency after the World Series is over. But with an opening at third base and Youkilis capable of sliding across the diamond, the Sox will be facing a domino effect while attempting to fill the corner infield spots and the opening behind the plate.
Ortiz, Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre carried the offense in 2010 when the rest of the team hit the DL. They also bring some flair to the roster, so I think Theo should try to bring them all back... but they might simply run out of cash.
Factor in a chance to sign Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth and the Sox will find themselves elbow-deep in the piggie bank.
Theo will be juggling all of this while trying to fix the biggest problem the 2010 Red Sox faced - a depleted bullpen. Papelbon's struggles may have made things easier for Epstein. He's still very tradeable, but Papelbon's value has dropped and you know he'll be looking for a chance to prove his worth with Free Agency on the horizon. What better place to do that than in the middle of the AL East, right?
If he bounces back, the Sox will be looking good in the 8th (with Daniel Bard) and 9th... but Theo is going to have to get creative when he attempts to build the bridge from the 6th to the 8th.
Bottom Line: 2011 is going to look much different from 2010... hopefully for the better.
Stay tuned for updates on what to expect from The Bottom Line during the offseason...
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