Difficult, that is, by their standards. Playoff baseball has come to be expected in Boston and when the Sox finish third, albeit in a division as stacked as any in recent memory, it can be qualified as a disappointment. That’s just the way it goes around here. Given those expectations, and the aforementioned clean slate, will the Red Sox return to the postseason in 2011?
Of course, it’s an impossible question to answer at this point in time. But with offseason rumors rampant and the 2011 roster about ready to take shape it is never too early to speculate on where the Sox will be in 10 months.
Perhaps more important is where the rest of the American League East will be in 10 months. As noted in a prior question-and-answer session, the division was historically good in 2010. With just a little bit of fortune or perhaps one less major injury Boston could have easily been a 94-win team. And out of the playoffs! That says something about the competition.
Tampa Bay figures to fall off a bit if Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano all leave. New York is embroiled in a Derek Jeter circus and has a ton of question marks if it fails to land Cliff Lee. Toronto and Baltimore are intriguing, but likely not quite there yet. Second place in the division, which has yielded a playoff spot in seven of the last eight seasons, could be there for the taking.
Before last season began the Red Sox made moves to improve their pitching and defense. Many considered those transactions (Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro and Mike Cameron, specifically) to come at the expense of the offense. The team would pitch, catch and throw just fine, but would it score enough to be a playoff team?
As it turned out, pitching, catching and throwing was never the strong suit while runs came in bunches. Although many moves still need to be made, the 2011 club figures to have a bit more balance.
The loss of Victor Martinez will take the offense down a notch, while the return of Jacoby Ellsbury and others should keep the scoreboard well lit. General manager Theo Epstein will not go into another year with uncertainty in the bullpen, not after what transpired out there last year. And the rotation figures to establish consistency with the return to health of Josh Beckett, as well as a more settled John Lackey.
So much will change over the next 10 months but with such balance, as well as health and a potentially fluctuating division race the Red Sox will have every opportunity to still be playing baseball at that point in time. If not, they’ll have to wipe the slate clean once again.
Each day of November, NESN.com explored a different issue facing the Red Sox this offseason.
Monday, Nov. 29: Should Felix Doubront stay in a starting role?
