Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Position of the Week

Ok, so we have to wait for February for the pitchers and catchers to report. This is what I propose...Let's take a hole in the Red Sox roster and discuss. Since this is the first week, let's start with first base. By the time the Sox get a GM and begin to fill in some of these positions we might have a lot of this figured out...

With Olerud and Millar gone, who is left? Well, from last year's team there is Youkilis and Petagine. Is there a chance that Petagine is our everyday guy? Unlikely. What about Youk? It looked like they were starting to groom him for that position a little last year, and he didn't look totally uncomfortable. Given that he isn't the best fielding third baseman, would this be a logical move for him?

I guess to answer that we'd have to look at alternatives. If Youk is at first then we are looking for a third baseman (and this becomes a discussion for a future week).

Konerko has been mentioned. However, don't you think that with Chicago's pitching, and the fact that they just won the WS, paired with the fact that they don't mind spending money, that Konerko will be in Chicago again next year? This is how I am leaning with him. Also, I've mentioned that his bat would be a tremendous addition to the Red Sox lineup. I still think that. However, I've also made the argument that with Youk at third, Renteria at short, and a Cora/Pedroia split at second that we will need a very good fielding first baseman. Does Konerko fit that bill?

I'd like to see the Sox get someone like Lance Berkman (not available). This way if Manny stays, they could move the guy to LF on some days, let Ortiz play some infield, and let Manny DH. This gets rid of some of the Manny crap in left, keeps him in the lineup, and doesn't really hurt us in the field (Ortiz is a good glove man, he just can't play there everyday).

At the risk of becoming a team with too many jack-of-all-trades and not enough specialists, I'd really like to see the Sox go after a quality first baseman. Not sure who is out there. Certainly, Erstad would be great, but who would it take to get him?

Mientkadfhaera was waived by the Mets. He's a great fielder. But...I think the whole "last ball of the WS" thing has blown up that chance...Plus, he can't hit.

What about bringing Olerud back for one more year? I don't know if he's an everyday guy, but he's a possibility. What if Youk and Olerud split the time there. That way, when Olerud is in, they move Youk to third to keep him in the lineup.

Again, I don't want the Sox to be a team with interchangeable parts. I'd rather have guys that are first baseman, second baseman, etc...But with guys like Youk (not the best at throwing the leather around) they may have to go that way.

Thoughts?

8 comments:

  1. I'm not sure I'm capable of caring.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think I have to agree with Rebecca here. With the events of the last 12 hours, I still am in too much shock to perform this level of analysis.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, shock's about right. We can talk until we're blue in the face about first basemen, but now we have to face up to the very real possibility that a new GM will come in and trade Papelbon and Hanley for Jim Thome or something like that. It's terrifying, and it makes me not so happy to be a Red Sox fan right now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If you posted this yesterday at this time, it would be a discussable question. As of now, so much is up in the air that it's just absolutely impossible to know. On the one hand, ownership clearly wants a well-run team; on the other, it's increasingly clear that Lucchino has an agenda here, and Theo's popularity didn't let him push it through to the degree he wanted. So the guy who's hired will likely have Lucchino to answer to on a numbe of issues. I'd bet after this that we see Damon back, but 1B could go in any number of directions.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, you are all correct. Why discuss baseball now that Theo has left? Life is over...

    The guy helped in bringing a WS to Boston. But that doesn't make him a superhero.

    Is it a big loss, yes, but life goes on...

    The guy turned down millions. It is difficult for me to feel bad for him...sorry...I know that opinion is very unpopular, but that is how I feel.

    If he left because Lucchino is a jerk then he should have announced that he wasn't returning after the Sox were bounced and saved the drama. Because...Lucchino wouldn't have just become a jerk yesterday, this would have been an ongoing thing...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, you are all correct. Why discuss baseball now that Theo has left? Life is over...

    No, life isn't over. It's just all of a sudden, there's a new priority, probably much bigger than who plays 1st base. Sorry, but talking about the next GM, and the future of the Red Sox, is still talking about baseball.

    It is difficult for me to feel bad for him...sorry...I know that opinion is very unpopular, but that is how I feel.

    Huh? I didn't say I felt bad for him, because I don't. No one else here said that either. No, I feel bad for the Red Sox. It's clear the ownership is interested only in business, and not baseball, and that sucks.

    But I agree, the timing of this is odd. My guess is that the contract negotiations were a lot more bruising than anyone thought.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The idea of this particular thread was to discuss (each week) a different need on the field...

    Theo is gone and someone else will come in...

    So...

    What would we like them to do when they get here?

    We already have other threads on Theo leaving...I just thought it might be nice to talk about something other than that.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, like I said, I hope it's nothing stupid like trading for Thome. I'm okay with Konerko; and I really like Erstad, but I get the sense that his best years are behind him.

    So much depends on how the Manny thing plays out. If he's traded, Sox need a really really strong hitter. In that case, Erstad won't do...unless another position is filled with a basher. Maybe Andruw?

    The defensive guys you mentioned, Olerud and Mienteijrdhadhsdwz, could be hired, but only as backups...

    ReplyDelete