Dave Dombrowski, sent from Jesus (or Allah, Zeus, whoever), has put the Sox back on the map. The Red Sox needed bullpen help. What does Dave do? He trades some prospects for the best closer in the league of the last five seasons. The Red Sox needed rotation help? He signs the best free agent pitcher on the market. Hell, he even followed my advice and signed Chris Young (possibly making Bradley Jr. expendable to create an OF platoon of Holt-Young). I'm all for our new sheriff.
Part of me feels bad for Ben Cherington. The moves made under his tenure, for the most part, were terrible. That certainly wasn't all his fault, though.
Have you ever seen Cut Throat Kitchen? Essentially it is a (great) show where there are four contestants who periodically get eliminated based on the quality of the food they cook. The catch is, there are different evil stipulations contestants can bid on to torture their opponents. For example, a contestant (if they win the auction using their own potential winnings) can make one of their opponents cook only using utensils made out of tinfoil. Cherington might have been a perfectly fine cook, but Red Sox ownership gave him tinfoil utensils. He took over a team with a bunch of losers who were overpaid, was forced to hire a terrible manager, finished in last place, then turned all that around and won a World Series. After that? Another last place, followed by two of the worst signings the team has made in a long time, and one more last place for good measure. Sorry Ben, but your dish was not good enough to make it to the next round.
It may have been a stretch to fit Cut Throat Kitchen into this blog post, but you know what isn't a stretch? Saying the Red Sox have a chance to return to the postseason for the first time since that magical 2013 season. We can thank Dombrowski and his killer haircut for that - not Cherington. Sox fans... get excited. Sure, there are still holes in the rotation and the bullpen is shaky at best before Kimbrel, but if you were one of the few who were still watching in August and September then you know the potential this team has.
Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts are budding stars. David Price is far and away the best pitcher in the division. David Ortiz may be retiring, but he would still bat 3rd or 4th on most teams in the league. Now imagine if Hanley Ramirez, who I am fairly certain has been dubbed the official scapegoat of the 2015 disaster, hits like he did in April? I know, more stretching. But hey, he has to be better at first than he was at left-field, right? And if the man has any pride at all, he will try to redeem himself for last year's blunder, where some believe he was the worst player in all of baseball. Even if Hanley continues to fail, this team has more than enough talent offensively to be a wrecking crew like they were in the second-half of last season.
What could be the downfall of the 2016 Red Sox? Have your pick. Injuries are the easy choice, but a regression from Bradley Jr.'s long-overdue breakout would be disheartening. The rotation after Price is a mystery and Kimbrel isn't American League tested. Even Price himself may have pitched his best baseball already, though he is the least of my concerns. Bogaerts' power has yet to show up, and Pablo Sandoval is so bad it hurts. John Farrell, who was not with the team due to some obviously unfortunate circumstances, was absent for the "good" portion of the season. Can he bring back that success? Who knows. Clearly there are a lot of things to still be concerned about.
Even still, if you are not excited for this season... I just don't understand you. Dombrowski has done the best he can to make this team relevant again. Are you upset about $217 million? It isn't your money. Get over it. The negative nancys of Boston need to get a grip. The bottom line is they are a big market club that can afford to take on a contract like Price's not only because they have the money but also because the guy has earned it. He doesn't rely on his fastball as much any more which shows he may age well, he's been in the AL his whole career, and THIS TEAM FINISHED IN LAST PLACE THREE OF THE LAST FOUR SEASONS!
If you didn't like this plan, tell me your plan. What would you have done to improve the team? Go in with the same rotation from last year? Trade a Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts for a Sonny Gray or Chris Sale (because that is what it would cost!)? Sign Zack Greinke instead for close to the same money? Zach Greinke, who is two years older than Price and not AL East proven? If your argument is: "well they should have just signed Lester," then I hope you understand that Lester is not as good as Price (if you don't understand that... then I'm just sorry for you). I also hope you understand Dave Dombrowski was not President of Baseball Operations when Lester signed with Chicago. He is cleaning up someone else's mess. Plus, you can't be both upset about the money Price got AND upset that the Red Sox didn't sign Lester. That is hypocritical. Lester wasn't necessarily going to make $217 million but he was going to get a monster paycheck. The type of paycheck that could hamstring a team, especially when it is given to a pitcher over 30 (exactly like Price's). So, you either don't like the money given to Price and don't think they should have signed Lester or you are OK with the money and instead wish they signed Lester. Make up your mind.
It is time to get excited, not time to be the typical negative Boston sports fan who thinks the sky is falling no matter what happens. Enjoy Brady's MVP-pace season and realize your baseball team now has one of the three best starting pitchers in the American League. If that doesn't make you at least smile after seeing this team in 2014 and 2015, then you really just shouldn't be a fan.
