Good Progress In Boston
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by user Xinoph
After a pathetic season that saw the team start strong, but finish behind their northern neighbors once Murphy's Law caught up with them, the Boston Red Sox have laid a good foundation for next season. While some of the signings are questionable ($70 million for J.D. Drew?), the flurry of spending the Sox engaged in erased any doubt about the management's dedication to winning a division title in 2007.
It certainly has been a strange offseason thus far for the division. Often, every other team in the East is struggling to catch up to the Yankees in terms of both dollars and big-name players signed. This time, the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays have had similar offseasons - adding a few new big names while engaging in a flurry of re-signings and trades for prospects.
Boston's signings have been the headline-grabbers this year. The addition of Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo would ordinarily attract more attention and might even be Boston's big move of the offseason. Instead, the Sox continued their on-again, off-again relationship with Scott Boras by paying big bucks for two Boras clients - outfielder J.D. Drew and Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.
This isn't to downplay the moves made by their division rivals, but Boston has been the center of attention in the A.L. East this offseason. While the Sheffield trade was unexpected (in that it was the reverse of the usual Yankee philosophy, trading a talented veteran for prospects), the immediate results were hardly earth-shattering. The return of Andy Pettitte was a great move as well, especially since he brings the potential of Roger Clemens returning, but it will be interesting to see whether he still is the Pettitte Yankee fans are familiar with from several years ago.
For Toronto, the addition of Frank Thomas will strengthen an already-formidable lineup, assuming the 38-year-old stays healthy all season, and Matt Stairs may well be a very useful addition as well. Toronto will certainly be in the mix right at the top of the division again in 2007, but they can't count on the Red Sox and Yankees being plagued by injuries to catapult them into first place. The re-signing of Vernon Wells, if it goes through, will be a big boost to the team - but not an upgrade, and the loss of Ted Lilly is a blow.
So, it's been an interesting offseason for the A.L. East thus far, and there is reason for New England to be optimistic about their Red Sox - with several notes of caution. The team still needs to fill the hole in the closer position as Jonathan Papelbon departs for the starting rotation. Moreover, there's the potential for any or all of the new signees - Daisuke Matsuzaka, J.D. Drew, and Julio Lugo - to perform well below expectations. After all, one of them hasn't played in the major leagues yet, another has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, and the last is a clear downgrade in the area that was the team's saving grace last season.
So we'll see how things work out as the unpredictability of another MLB season unfolds, but on paper there's reason for Red Sox Nation to be cautiously optimistic.
