Two things they need to do and it will cause a public relations nightmare:
1) let Ortiz walk
2) seek a trade for Pedroia and NOT for major league talent - they need farm hands.
The other stuff that should have ALWAYS been on their list but seemed to get pushed to the back-burner:
1) build that farm system. they were good at it for a while, but then they decided they had to do some PR damage control with the Texeira debacle.
2) get a training staff together that can keep these guys healthy
And things that just need to happen to clean the mess of September 2011:
1) release Dice K
2) trade Beckett
3) trade Lester
4) stop selling those damn bricks
What you'll have left is oddly enough not much worse than what you're going into battle with right now, but with far less clubhouse drama. Honestly, though, I think Larry likes all the media attention. There's no such thing as bad press. Red Sox "fans" will keep going to games regardless. Come one, come all pink hat nation!