I may be the only person in Boston who isn’t excited about this deal. I think it stems from the fact that I wasn’t actually that down on the Red Sox in the first place. Is it possible that the current clubhouse is an absolute mess, and the roster was in need of a major shakeup? Yes. But you know what? Adrian Gonzalez is a really good player. So is Carl Crawford. And we forget that even public enemy #1, Josh Beckett, was an All-Star; last year. What if the lack of success this season actually has nothing to do with fielding a squad full of overpaid unlikable players?
What if it’s just bad luck? The Red Sox have put 25 players on the disabled list this season, the most for any MLB team since 1987. At 60-67 they still have a run differential of +27. By comparison the Wild Card leading Orioles (69-57) are -46 for the season. Those numbers indicate the two teams could easily be flip flopped in the standings. And despite all the injuries to the offense, the Sox have still managed to score the second most runs (624, Texas has 654) in the American League. If the pitching had been just a little better, we’d be looking at whole different situation right now.
I keep hearing about the 250+ million dollars Boston will now save. This isn’t the NBA. Getting rid of big contracts doesn’t make you better. I don’t imagine the Sox ownership is having any sort of financial troubles. They can go out and sign whoever they like, regardless of what the current payroll is.
To me this trade feels like a bit of a panic move by the Red Sox, a dramatic change made to get the angry media and fans off their back (something they didn’t do last winter). Even though I had recently given up any hope for this season, I still thought they would definitely be a contender next year. Now I’m not so sure.
Check out my blog “37 seconds of sports and other stuff i care about” at lucidsportsfan.com, and follow me on twitter @LucidSportsFan
About Mark Vandeusen