Sox Exercise Addition By Subtraction
Sunday, August 26, 2012
If ever there were a classic case of addition by subtraction, this was it.
Saturday morning, the Boston Red Sox sent three of their high-priced veterans in pitcher Josh Beckett, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Carl Crawford to the Los Angeles Dodgers for five relatively no-name players.
Who Boston received in return was truly irrelevant because this was all about dumping overpaid, underachieving players. It was about blowing it up and starting from scratch. It was pressing the reset button on the franchise which has been stuck in an awful malaise since September of last season.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHeading to Boston as part of the deal is flame-throwing pitcher Rubby De La Rosa, first baseman James Loney, outfielder Jerry Sands, minor leaguers Allen Webster and Ivan De Jesus along with two players to be named later.
Boston will also send utility man Nick Punto and $11 million in cash to the Dodgers as part of the trade. However, the savings for the Red Sox is significant. Boston will save some $250 million in payroll between now and 2018 as a result of the trade. Next year, alone, they will save almost $60 million in salary by virtue of the move.
But, as much as this was about getting out from under bad contracts, it was also about changing the culture in a Red Sox clubhouse that had become toxic over the last 12 months. And no one was more responsible for that toxicity than Josh Beckett.
The ring leader of the beer and fried chicken brigade last September, Beckett never took complete ownership of his insubordinate actions, nor did he attempt even a half-hearted apology for them. This season, Beckett missed a start due to back issues but took the time to golf while he was supposedly injured. He was indignant in his response to questions as to why he felt it was okay to play golf with a back injury which prevented him from pitching.
Apparently Adrian Gonzalez had become an issue in the clubhouse as well, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo. Cafardo wrote this about Gonzalez in Saturday’s Globe. “Gonzalez had become a whiner who seemed to be involved in starting a group to complain about Valentine. He seemed to have an opinion on everything, and rubbed his managers the wrong way. Gonzalez was never the guy we thought he was supposed to be, no leadership skills whatsoever.”
That’s quite a scathing paragraph about the mild-mannered Gonzalez who many seemed to believe was a good guy. Is what Cafardo writes about A-Gon true, or is it yet another sorry example of the Red Sox front office trying to put their spin on the trade to justify the move to Red Sox Nation? You be the judge.
Of all of the players involved in the trade, Crawford comes across as the most sympathetic figure in all of this. All he did was accept the 7-year, $142 million offer Boston gave him a couple of years ago in free agency, a move any of us would have made as well.
Unfortunately, when you sign a contract that big, there are lofty expectations that come with it. And, even if Crawford were healthy, there was no way that he would have been able to live up to them.
What will be interesting to watch for here is what the Red Sox do?
Cafardo said that both Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury were also placed on waivers and that there could be action forthcoming on them as well.
Assuming there is not, where does Boston go from here?
Will Red Sox ownership empower general manager Ben Cherington to make all of the baseball decisions when it comes to rebuilding this franchise? Or will Larry Lucchino be heavily involved and will there be a reluctance to spend freely on high profile free agents moving forward?
Will they look to re-sign Jacoby Ellsbury to a long term contract or will they allow the oft-injured outfielder to enter the final year of his contract in 2013 without a new deal wanting him to prove his worth and durability?
Would the organization even consider being players in the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes this offseason? Hamilton is 31-years old and has had some personal and health issues to deal with throughout his career.
How about David Ortiz? He is a favorite of ownership for sure. But will they give their aging designated hitter the multi-year deal he is seeking or offer him arbitration again preferring to keep it year-to-year with Big Papi?
And what will they do about the managerial position for the team? Will Bobby Valentine be allowed to return for the second and final year of his contract or will he be show the door?
If, as many suspect, the organization covets Toronto’s John Farrell who is under contract with the Blue jays through 2013, they may just allow Valentine to manage the team next year and wait it out.
However, they could also make Toronto an offer for Farrell if they want him sooner, or they could bring someone else in if they really believe that Valentine is not the right man for the job.
So many questions, so few answers.
Still, all of Red Sox Nation currently resembles the Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz as they rejoice to the tune of “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” now that Josh Beckett & company have been shipped across the country.
