The overall impact of this off-season for Boston is difficult to assess. I think they get more consistent with Lackey taking the bump 30 times assuming he is healthy. But the offensive downgrade is important to keep in mind, especially if Lowell is given away like he nearly was. That means that not only do you lose 36 homers and 119RBI, but you also lose a guy who hit around .300 with close to 20 homers. And both positions get replaced with worse players. The sox pen also takes a hit losing Wagner and Saito, since both put in well above replacement performance for the sox. So overall, they have the potential to be very good. And at the very worst, I think they are good enough for playoff contention. I think losing some of the guys they are in the process of losing, though, makes their potential high end performance lower than they were prior to this offseason. So overall, less potential upside, but more consistency and a higher potential downside.