by Mark Lawrence, DownUnder Editor
November 12, 2011—Sydney, Australia. I have a very bad feeling about the 2012 Red Sox.
At a time when the Club is experiencing the most uncertainty in recent memory, it seems that Theo-Lite is setting himself up to make a series of errors far more grievous than any yet perpetrated on the field of play.
Did it not occur to The BenCher that making even a token offer to young Papelbon would play much better with The Nation than simply holding the door open for him and watching him walk away? On balance the best closer in decades, Papelbon was likely going elsewhere anyway – a lot of the fans would’ve been disappointed to be sure, but now, losing the guy without so much as an offer to talk from Yawkey Way, well, the new GM isn’t inspiring much confidence in me, at the very least.
I’m assuming Cherington is actually Red Sox fan, or at least has a passing interest in the team, so his decision not to give a 31-year-old, top-shelf closer a four year deal doesn’t make much sense to me – surely The BenCher was aware that Pap was the first Boston pitcher to notch up two 30-save seasons and was the fastest guy to reach 200 saves in MLB history – among other things? Or are details like this just that – mere details? Has he allowed BlackSeptember to color his thinking?
Papelbon provided some of the fire that every team needs if it's going to succeed. You can be sure that there are some professional ballplayers down Manhattan way who are now thinking that their late inning appearances at Fenway next year are going to be that much easier, now that they don't have to face that blazing fastball and that intensely focused stare. And, along with his impressive abilities, the psychological advantage Pap brought to the Club has been completely overlooked in BenCher’s inflexible application of The Rules – no four year deals for young free agents. Well, okay, fifty million federal diplomas may have been a little steep, but hey – they could’ve at least talked about it. Couldn’t they? And what’s this nonsense about it being too early to give a 31 year old a four year deal? Wouldn’t it be better to lock up a guy in his prime?
So, anyway, who’s next?
If you assume the obvious, Cherington will be faced with decisions on guys like Wake and – wow, end of an era – Varitek. And the list of problems grows – what if Ortiz follows in Papelbon’s footsteps? What’s to be done about Mr. Personality, John Lackey? The $70M Right Fielder isn’t coming back – but I can’t see Beltran filling his shoes. And speaking of shoe-filling – who will replace these guys? Who will be our next closer? Bard or Bell? What about the rest of the pitching staff? Daisuke? Bobby Jenks? Hell, I’d forgotten those guys were still on the roster. And – hey wait a minute – we still need a new Manager. This mess just seems to get worse with each passing day. I’ve heard of re-building but this is ridiculous.
Yet, even though my confidence right now is at a nadir, there’s that still, quiet voice somewhere deep down telling me to Cowboy Up – hell, it’s only November and a week can be a very long time in baseball. And, right now, as a fan there’s only one thing I can do.
I’m going back to bed - wake me when something good happens.