As the Red Sox loaded up and headed south for spring training, they brought with them hopes of another pennant run, armed with one of the better rosters in baseball. Optimism was high, and for good reason.
Of course, things didn't turn out as planned. The Red Sox struggled some early on, and never really caught stride. When they started to show signs of maybe putting things together, the injury bug bit and it bit hard.
Injuries were arguably the single biggest thing holding the Red Sox out of the playoffs, and if it wasn't at the top, it was surely right up there.
Missing the playoffs, by many accounts, is unacceptable in Boston. To some extent, that's a fair statement especially given how successful the team has been in the recent years. It simply comes with the territory of being a ballclub that contends every season.
Those same people who would call last season's shortcomings "unacceptable," are likely calling for the Red Sox to make a big splash this offseason. They're looking for the hot stove to be lit early and burn like an inferno all winter.
However, that may not be the best answer. As most would admit, last season's team did have high expectations and it wasn't without reason. The roster on Opening Day was arguably the best in all of baseball. But with injuries to players like Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, it's tough to expect much from the roster without them.
Simply getting those two back, at least in terms of offense, would be akin to making the biggest postseason splash of the offseason. Think of it this way: if Pedroia and Youkilis were free agents this winter, which offseason position players would garner more attraction than them? They'd certainly be in the argument, right up there with the likes of Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth.
More importantly, getting Pedroia and Youkilis back at full-strength and full-time gives the team their heart and soul back. It's an overused cliche, sure, but when it comes to these two homegrown talents, it really is true. And even if you don't put stock into the intangibles, you can certainly put stock into .300 batting averages with 20-30 home runs apiece and Gold Glove defense on the right side of the field.
When it comes to their lineup, though, the Red Sox do have decisions to make on Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre. Seemingly, it makes most sense to make a decision on one of them, and when you really think about it, it's probably Beltre whom they should pursue the hardest.
Re-signing Beltre, regardless of what his career stats may show following signing a big contract (signing on to play 81 games a season at Safeco Field was probably regrettable in hindsight), should be the priority.
He shores up everything else. With Beltre re-signed, you have the corners of the infield shored up with him and Youkilis. This would likely mean it's time to part ways with Martinez, but with the decisions already made, isn't that the one that makes the most sense?
Martinez, as talented as he is, is getting up there in age. He will only be a catcher so long, and will soon enough be looking to move to first base. Of course, that's where Youkilis will be for quite some time, and if Beltre is re-signed it likely means Youkilis isn't moving across the diamond anytime soon.
Moving on from Martinez gives the Red Sox some chances to see what they have the catching position going forward, a position that has never been viewed as one that brings a lot of offense with it. It may hurt for a year or two offensively, but it could prove to be better than overpaying for a player whose skills will likely diminish sooner rather than later.
There are areas of the game, of course, that the Red Sox will need to improve in. Their bullpen is something that they've acknowledged they'd like to address and the depth of the relief free-agency pool is pretty deep, as NESN.com's Tony Lee recently pointed out. In short, there's no reason to believe the Red Sox can't improve the bullpen.
The other improvement they'll need to make is in starting pitching. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say that the rotation, as a whole, lived up to their lofty expectations in 2010. Many of them are under contract for the foreseeable future, so it's unrealistic to think the Sox will make a blockbuster move. More specifically, don't expect them to be breaking bread with Cliff Lee over Thanksgiving a la Curt Schilling. Just getting guys like Josh Beckett and John Lackey to perform better could be another fix, as oversimplified as it may seem.
The Red Sox, for the most part, should be good with what they have now. They might be under pressure from fans to make a big move this offseason, but in actuality, they may not have to. With just a couple of key returns and a little bit of re-tooling, the Red Sox will be right back near the top of the game, long displacing any mentions of the word "unacceptable."
And if that doesn't work out, and things go south again, the Red Sox can take solace in the fact that they didn't overspend on a free agent like Crawford or Werth this offseason. Some Adrian Gonzalez guy will be on the market next offseason, and saving some money this offseason may truly pay off next winter.
