December 5, 2011
A road map to fix the Red Sox' woes
by Ian Browne/
On a team in need of new leadership, an on-field leader such as Dustin Pedroia may need to become more proactive in the clubhouse. (photo: Getty Images)
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The extremes were off the charts, perhaps unlike anything we’ve ever seen in Red Sox history.
There was that rocky beginning, when they went 0-6 on the season-opening road trip. But the sluggish start became a distant memory during those four months in the middle, when they looked like not just the best team in baseball, but one of the best Boston squads ever assembled. And then, that collapse of epic proportions in September which left the Sox not only out of the postseason but also in search of a new manager, and Ben Cherington taking over for Theo Epstein as general manager.
In the days that followed the tragic end to the regular season, there were reports — quickly substantiated — of starting pitchers drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse during games they weren’t pitching. There was mention of a clubhouse divided, unlike those golden “Idiots” days of 2004. If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought the world had fallen apart for the Red Sox.
So now seems like the right time for perspective. You know the old saying that you aren’t as good as you look when you win nor as bad as you look when you lose? That could have been the motto for the 2011 Red Sox.
How do things look heading into 2012? Probably better than you think.
Of the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, many wish they had the roster and resources that the Red Sox have going forward.
However, that isn’t to say there aren’t a few areas that need a tweak or a full-blown fix. Here is a categorical look at what the Red Sox need to do to ensure a rebound that their ravenous fans demand for next season.
Clean up the clubhouse
As Epstein said the day he was named the Chicago Cubs’ president of baseball operations, “Some of the things that happened in (the Red Sox) clubhouse should never happen in a major-league clubhouse.”
So Cherington won’t just spend his winter looking at on-field ways to improve the team. He needs to make sure they get better in the clubhouse, too, and support each other universally like some of the best Red Sox teams have done.
The starting pitchers, led by Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, need to rededicate themselves both in games they are pitching in and the ones they aren’t pitching in. A new tone needs to be set, one in which the pitchers and the position players form a bond instead of drifting into cliques. Cherington will spend quite a bit of time determining why things deteriorated in ’11.
“If I was a fan and I wasn’t in this job, I would be upset at the way the season ended and I would expect there would be some action taken to address those issues moving forward,” Cherington said.
It isn’t fair to blame the entire clubhouse breakdown on the pitchers. New leaders need to emerge. Perhaps an on-field leader such as Dustin Pedroia needs to become more proactive in the clubhouse.
“I think we have some players who are reaching that point in their careers where they are probably ready to take on more of that role. I think every player in our clubhouse has a chance to lead,” Cherington said. “They don’t all have to do it by leading other people. Every player in our clubhouse has a chance to lead themselves first. Be accountable of themselves by taking care of themselves by doing what they need to do to prepare for games and help us win.
“And then there are some players who will take on more of a public, or visual, leadership role in respect to being a voice of a team or players. I think we have some guys who are going to be coming into the part of their career where they will be able to do that.”
Also, Cherington might have to find a couple of positive personalities on the market, much like Epstein did way back when he brought Kevin Millar to town.
Push for pitching
For the second year in a row, the Red Sox were a disappointment from the mound. In a year in which there aren’t many marquee pitchers on the market, Cherington will have to get creative.
This could mean shuffling the deck with some of the pitchers already in house. Could Daniel Bard be a closer or even a starter? Alfredo Aceves said numerous times last year that he’d rather be a starter and it sure seemed like he earned that opportunity.
John Lackey won’t pitch at all in 2012 because of Tommy John surgery, but that might not be a bad thing considering the way he performed. Daisuke Matsuzaka, also recovering from Tommy John, could give the team a lift down the stretch, almost serving as a July 31 trade acquisition.
When the offseason started, Lester, Beckett and Buchholz were the only starters slotted into the rotation. To fill out the rotation, don’t expect the Sox to go after the Rangers’ C.J. Wilson or someone like that. With so many recent misses on the free-agent market, Cherington seems in the mood to be a little more creative.
“We need to add some pitching depth,” Cherington said. “We’ll do that through some good, creative, perhaps buy-low acquisitions. We’re going to do our diligence on every available player. But I think we need to hit on some pitchers this offseason much the way we did with Alfredo Aceves last offseason. We need to continue to do that.”
Decide on Papi
It’s hard to imagine a Red Sox lineup without the imposing presence of David Ortiz. He has been a cornerstone since 2003, but he’s a free agent. It will also look strange to see someone besides Jonathan Papelbon pitching the ninth inning for Boston as Papelbon left Boston for Philadelphia.
While Ortiz is five years older than Papelbon, run producers are harder to find in this age on the open market. While Papelbon has been the rare player who has been unflappable in Boston, there are several available closers should he leave, not to mention options from the current roster.
With Papelbon departing for Philadelpha, the Red Sox will have some money to spend. How they spend it will come under great scrutiny because the club has struck out on a lot of free agents in recent years.
Revive Crawford
There’s just no way you can call Crawford a free-agent bust just one year into his seven-year, $142 million contract. He simply has too much talent.
Though it was hardly fair to make Terry Francona a scapegoat for all that ailed the Red Sox late last season, the one thing the manager probably could have done better is be more stable with Crawford.
The speedy left fielder was demoted from the No. 3 spot in the batting order after just two regular-season games, and was taken out of the second and first slots after similarly short stints. Crawford is a top-of-the-order hitter. That is where he is in his element. But the onus is on Crawford to prove he still belongs there.
A revived Crawford would be a big game-changer for the Sox in ’12 and beyond.
Keep Youk healthy
Was there a more underplayed story than just how much the loss of Kevin Youkilis down the stretch impacted the Red Sox? The lineup simply isn’t the same without the relentless at-bats by Youkilis.
When he is right, he is one of the best all-around hitters in the game. Even last season, when he didn’t seem at this best for much of the year, Youkilis still made the All-Star team.
Youkilis will be 33 at the start of next season. When players get to their mid-30s, they often have to change some of their winter routines to maintain their health. Also, he might benefit from getting more games off. Third base seemed to take a much bigger toll on Youkilis than first base. If Ortiz leaves, perhaps Youkilis will become the DH.
Get it right in right
The Red Sox don’t need a reincarnation of Dwight Evans. But they sure could use some steady production in right field, something they haven’t had since Trot Nixon was in his prime. J.D. Drew helped the Red Sox win a World Series with a huge grand slam in 2007, and carried the team for a month when Ortiz got hurt in ’08. Other than that, he wasn’t worth close to the $70 million Boston paid for him over the past five years.
Drew will either retire or find a new home, leaving the Sox with a void in right field. Ryan Kalish and Josh Reddick might compete for the spot in spring training. Even so, Cherington will add a right-handed bat to that mix. Reddick slumped mightily down the stretch in 2011, and Kalish lost almost an entire year of development thanks to an injury, so this might be an area Cherington is more aggressive on than others on the free-agent and trade markets.
Crank up the machine
Remember when Epstein vowed on the day of his hiring back in 2002 that he would turn the Red Sox into a scouting and player development machine?
The machine has sputtered a little the last couple of years. Nobody could question its success when the farm system produced Lester, Papelbon, Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Bard. But when the Sox needed some reinforcements last season, there wasn’t much to be found at Triple A.
Shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias hasn’t developed at all with his bat. The Sox need to find a way to make that happen. His glove is ready for the major leagues.
This article originally appeared in the November-December 2011 issue of New England Baseball Journal.
Ian Browne is the Red Sox beat writer for MLB.com. He can be reached at feedback@baseballjournal.com
