10 Ways to Fix this team

[PWNdroia]

1. Sit Ortiz- As I've been saying since day 1, he's finished. This has been proven nearly every game. He's not just hitting into outs, he's getting multiple strikeouts a game. Players like Lowell or Hermida can do better than Ortiz at hitting. Ortiz's only job is to hit and he isn't doing it.

 

2. Fire Francona- Honestly, I mean it. His time here is done. He helped us get two championships, but he ruined our chances last year and is doing the same now. He's making stupid decisions in the bullpen as to who to send out. He gives pitchers like Papelbon too many days of rest and expects them to pitch perfectly. He also overuses the best guys so they aren't rested. Remember, this is a guy who pinch-ran Buccholz a year ago to try to force a run on the base paths.

 

3. Sit Drew or trade him- I should not even have to expand on my account of JD Drew. He's not worth the money, never was. His only hits are the ones that help us in the least. He has had some memorable postseason hits, yes, but there is an MLB rule that you need to win so many games in your division to reach the postseason. Drew has not helped us reach that caliber in any way with his offense. Anyone making as much money as Drew and not performing doesn't deserve to start.

 

4. Don't extend an offer to Epstein- Most of his overall deals have failed, no lie. His most memorable deals are signing Curt Schilling, the "old" David Ortiz, and Keith Foulke for the 2004 season. While he's done a great job building our farm system, his other deals have been blunders: JD Drew (see above), Julio Lugo (worst deal ever made), Matt Clement, trading away Arroyo (he was not that great, but we needed pitching that year; and I must admit I praied Pena for awhile), trading away Cla Meredith for Mirabelli, and trading Manny for Bay (this one not so much as it was a necessity, but it essentially was trading away more than we received). The Hanley Ramirez trade is up for debate, yet obtaining Beckett and Lowell gave us a championship. Still, the Hanley trade disproves his idea of building up young talent, though there is question whether he was involved in this single trade or not. Still, I see more negatives in his tenure than positives. Complete OBP isn't working so well...

 

5. Make Pedroia bat 3rd- He's the only guy really hitting. He deserves to hit in the #3 spot. In fact, if we could get him to bat for all nine guys, it'd be sick. I think it will make a difference if he knocks runs in rather than getting on base and not getting home.

 

6. Trade Buchholz for offense- This was is up in the air. Buchholz has potential. Yet, we've been hearing this for four years now. When will this "potential" evolve into "goodness"? I haven't seen it yet. While not possibly the biggest issue, if we could trade him for proven pitching or hitting, we may have a better chance at success. We can compensate for his loss. His talent is there, but we have yet to see it unfold since four years now.

 

7. Play some smallball- Obviously swinging away isn't working. The Sox should try to bunt and hit and run, but only if they can do it successfully. Make the other teams bow down to the almighty Sox by running the bases constantly and confusing them harshly. It's not likable to work, but with the production we have so far, it's worth a try.

 

8. Get a catcher that can actually throw guys out- Maybe keep Victor Martinez at DH or split time with another catcher that we get in a trade. We need to throw guys out. We can't let teams like the Rays run all over us. It isn't an option.

 

9. Spend more money and wisely- Again this goes back to Theo Epstein. We really can't do this now, but it is an issue. The Bankee$ spend money, so why can't we? Pay money for smart talent. Don't overpay for failures like Lugo and Drew, but overpay for guys who will help us like Matt Holliday or CC Sabathia (just examples). The Yankees do it and they have won championships. We can't spend as much as they can, however, Theo can push a bit to spend for some decent power hitters or base stealers, not these minuscule OBP guys who aren't getting it done. I credit him for Lackey, but beyond that I can't say much...

 

10. Get more middle relief pitching- Enough of my blabber, you get the point.

 

These are just suggestions, That's all.

[riverside sluggers]

The Hanley trade wasnt Theo's... it was done during his hiatus

[TedWilliams101]

I'm glad you aren't the one making decisions.

[PWNdroia]

The Hanley trade wasnt Theo's... it was done during his hiatus

 

I did somewhat mention that in my post...

 

^And you're right, it's not my job. I'm just analyzing the situation, and I don't think they are doing a good job right now.

 

But I'm not ranting, that's a plus side.

[riverside sluggers]

You say that Theo doesnt pay for talent. He locked up Pedroia, Youkilis, Lester and Beckett last couple years. Plus Lackey for 5 years/$82.5 million

[BigPapiEnFuego]

I thought you were leaving?

[msubulldogs21]

You say that Theo doesnt pay for talent. He locked up Pedroia' date=' Youkilis, Lester and Beckett last couple years. Plus Lackey for 5 years/$82.5 million[/quote']

 

Don't even pay attention to this guy.

[PWNdroia]

You say that Theo doesnt pay for talent. He locked up Pedroia' date=' Youkilis, Lester and Beckett last couple years. Plus Lackey for 5 years/$82.5 million[/quote']

 

Well, four of those guys were already in our farm system (I was looking at players outside of ours that he paid for), which I mentioned Theo was great at doing. And Lackey was one of the pluses I mentioned. Outside of our farm system, aside from Lackey and Schilling, Theo has not signed anyone significantly helpful to this team (I could be missing a few more in his defense).

 

As for the Ramirez/Beckett trade, I know it wasn't under Theo's tenure, however, after reading Theo's book and upon further research, some say Theo was involved. Either way, this was not a bad trade I mentioned. I just felt it was contradictory to Theo's original ways of bringing up the farm system.

[example1]

Do you have any clue how quickly Theo would be hired by another team if he were to become available? I'm saying like 10 seconds before the first phone call, and probably 25 offers before he chooses, with the others being teams like the Phillies and the Yankees who can't possibly explain to their fans why they would ditch their current GM for another one.

 

Also, who would you replace him with? How about Francona? Who would you replace him with?

[example1]

As for the Ramirez/Beckett trade, I know it wasn't under Theo's tenure, however, after reading Theo's book and upon further research, some say Theo was involved. Either way, this was not a bad trade I mentioned. I just felt it was contradictory to Theo's original ways of bringing up the farm system.

 

Theo wrote a book?

[PWNdroia]

By the way (sorry for double posting), I just wanted to make amends by finding ways to help the team rather than bash it. This is my last attempt before I leave. This team is in a crisis (from what I see), it seems even worse than I predicted, and I just wanted to give what I feel this team needs. Rather than rant, I thought I could give some tips (many mentioned from other threads) on how to make this team better. It's the least I can do for my past stupid actions. Again, I apologize if I offend, and I'll try my best to leave again seeing as I'm not needed.

 

^With help, Theo wrote a book. And about him and Francona leaving, that's not my decision to make. You're right. It's a tough position to choose who would replace them, but I think this team has shown it needs change.

[example1]

^With help, Theo wrote a book. And about him and Francona leaving, that's not my decision to make. You're right. It's a tough position to choose who would replace them, but I think this team has shown it needs change.

 

What's it called? I read "Feeding the Monster" by Mnookin, but have no reason to think Theo co-wrote it.

 

Also, stop with all this leaving and staying discussion s***. Nobody cares one way or another... and that's not an offense to you, it's true of just about everyone here. I could leave and few would care, same with many of the other many year posters.

 

If you want to contribute something, contribute it, but don't waste a bunch of space ranting (as you already know).

[jacksonianmarch]

You want 10 ways to fix the Red Sox? Here goes...

 

1. Platoon Ortiz and Lowell. You cannot give up on the big Popup just yet, and having him face lefties is screwing with him more than it is helping. If still no Ortiz signs of life by mid May, you cut your losses

 

2. Stop looking at the Yankees. The only thing the sox can do is win games and let the pieces fall where they may.

 

3-10. Be patient. I stand by my predictions and my prediction is that Boston is a 90+ win team and will win the wild card. Their starting pitching, aside from Lackey, has been total dogshit and that is what this team is built around.

[Dipre]

This PWNdroia guy's a f***ing tool.

[Dojji]

5. Make Pedroia bat 3rd- He's the only guy really hitting. He deserves to hit in the #3 spot. In fact, if we could get him to bat for all nine guys, it'd be sick. I think it will make a difference if he knocks runs in rather than getting on base and not getting home.

 

7. Play some smallball- Obviously swinging away isn't working. The Sox should try to bunt and hit and run, but only if they can do it successfully. Make the other teams bow down to the almighty Sox by running the bases constantly and confusing them harshly. It's not likable to work, but with the production we have so far, it's worth a try.

 

8. Get a catcher that can actually throw guys out- Maybe keep Victor Martinez at DH or split time with another catcher that we get in a trade. We need to throw guys out. We can't let teams like the Rays run all over us. It isn't an option.

 

These are just suggestions, That's all.

 

These are the ones that I either agree with or, at least, would look into.

 

5: Pedroia isn't a conventional 3 hitter, but his and Victor Martinez' offensive profiles (apart from the obvious speed issue) really aren't that different -- and going Ells-Scutaro-Peddy-Youk-Vmart-&c. might help stretch the lineup out a bit.

 

7: If you did bay Pedroia third, you could get Ells on, move him over with Scutaro without wasting a good hitter, and then be a Peddy or Youk single away from a run. I'm not a big small ball fan, but our offense isn't going to be what it usually is, so looking into ways to make runs happen makes some sense.

 

8: We definitely need to upgrade defensively at catcher.

[Eck20and8]

Theo was responsible for this year's all-defense all the time strategy, add in Dice-K, Drew, Lugo, Renteria, Beltre - and I'm not sure why John Henry trusts Theo with his money anymore

[yeszir]

Theo was responsible for this year's all-defense all the time strategy' date=' add in Dice-K, Drew, Lugo, Renteria, Beltre - and I'm not sure why John Henry trusts Theo with his money anymore[/quote']

 

There's a little matter of 2 world series rings, I guess.

[Dipre]

There's a little matter of 2 world series rings' date=' I guess.[/quote']

 

And interestingly enough, Lester, Youkilis, Pedroia, Papelbon and Ellsbury are not mentioned.

 

Weird huh?

[yeszir]

And interestingly enough, Lester, Youkilis, Pedroia, Papelbon and Ellsbury are not mentioned.

 

Weird huh?

 

Every single one of them did come up through the system though.

[Dipre]

Every single one of them did come up through the system though.

 

But they're still a significant part of the payroll.

[yeszir]

But they're still a significant part of the payroll.

 

So? He has a point that a lot of the recent big name acquisitions have yet to pan out.

[Dipre]

So? He has a point that a lot of the recent big name acquisitions have yet to pan out.

 

If you want to call out the GM in his handling of money, you need to look at the whole picture.

 

Of course he has s*** the bed on a number of acquisitions, every GM shits the bed every once in a while, but if you're responsible for two WS teams in the span of a decade you have to be doing something right.

 

Not to mention the jury's still out on Cameron, Beltre, Scutaro and Lackey. Because it's April 18th. Those could signify a change of fortune in regards to Epstein's FA signings.

[italstallianion]

Plus there are some FA acquisitions that looked good at the time but did not work out. Hindsight is a b****, so signings like Beltre, Cameron, Scutaro, Penny, Smoltz etc might all look bad now, but in order to fairly evaluate Theo's performance, we'd have to go back to what the deal was at the time it was made.

[TedWilliams101]

Some of you guys don't want to give Theo any credit for the farm system or any credit for his moves that worked. Fact is, his decision to go "defense" in '04 in the Nomar trade ended up winning them a World Series. There is good reason to build around pitching and defense, just because the team is playing like s*** right now doesn't mean Theo's wrong... it means they are playing like s***.

[yankees228]

Plus there are some FA acquisitions that looked good at the time but did not work out. Hindsight is a b****' date=' so signings like Beltre, Cameron, Scutaro, Penny, Smoltz etc might all look bad now, but in order to fairly evaluate Theo's performance, we'd have to go back to what the deal was at the time it was made.[/quote']

 

This is a fantastic point, and one that is often overlooked. However, I'm not looking to argue each one right now, but you could make the case that some of those moves didn't make sense at the time either.

[rhet]

If you want to call out the GM in his handling of money, you need to look at the whole picture.

 

Of course he has s*** the bed on a number of acquisitions, every GM shits the bed every once in a while, but if you're responsible for two WS teams in the span of a decade you have to be doing something right.

 

Not to mention the jury's still out on Cameron, Beltre, Scutaro and Lackey. Because it's April 18th. Those could signify a change of fortune in regards to Epstein's FA signings.

 

So let's see if I have this right. Theo won two championships, so therefore he shouldn't be criticized for making mistakes with John Henry's and the fans' money? He shouldn't be criticized for misjudging free agents or misidentifying his team's needs? Ever? He is always a superior GM because his team won two rings, no matter what he does in the future?

[Dipre]

So let's see if I have this right. Theo won two championships' date=' so therefore he shouldn't be criticized for making mistakes with John Henry's and the fans' money? He shouldn't be criticized for misjudging free agents or misidentifying his team's needs? Ever? He is always a superior GM because his team won two rings, no matter what he does in the future?[/quote']

 

Massive strawman.

 

I said you need to judge the whole body of work.

 

He has s*** the bed in some respects, but mostly, he's done a good job, as identified by the WS rings.

 

If he goes from '10 to '12 without assembling a playoff team, by all means, can his ass, but with the way this team has performed since he took the GM job, you can safely assume he's done a more than acceptable overall job with "John Henry's and the fans' money".

 

If you can find me a GM that hasn't f***ed up several times in the FA, trade market and even in spending the team's money in the draft, i'll be the first one with a "Fire Theo, bring XXX to Boston" sign outside of Fenway.

[ryan44]

So let's see if I have this right. Theo won two championships' date=' so therefore he shouldn't be criticized for making mistakes with John Henry's and the fans' money? He shouldn't be criticized for misjudging free agents or misidentifying his team's needs? Ever? He is always a superior GM because his team won two rings, no matter what he does in the future?[/quote']

That post was in response to someone questioning why Boston's owners should trust Theo with their money anymore. Of course you can criticize Theo for making bad moves, but just because this year's team looks horrible right now is certainly no means to make a sweeping statement like he shouldn't be trusted anymore.

[Gom]

i'll be the first one with a "Fire Theo' date=' bring XXX to Boston" sign outside of Fenway.[/quote']

That's a long swim for you.

[Dipre]

That's a long swim for you.

 

I'll also need a taxi. Thank God you're always available.