Boston Sports Then and Now

This past winter, Mike Lowell was set to be dealt from Boston to the Texas Rangers along with $9 million (which would cover 75% of Lowell’s contract) in exchange for highly regarded catching prospect Max Ramirez.  The Red Sox, in turn, planned on signing Adrian Beltre to replace their third baseman.

Mike Lowell is spending his Spring Training in limbo.

The latter part of the plan came to fruition.  A previously unknown injury to Lowell’s thumb, though, prevented the 2007 World Series MVP from finding a new home in the Lone Star State.

Since the trade’s fall-through, it has been widely expected that the Sox will again look to deal Lowell in Spring Training — for real this time.  While it would be foolish for the team not to consider all options to do with the hobbled fan favorite, there is certainly a case to be made for keeping him in Boston for the final year of his contract, even at a hefty 12 million dollars.

In 2009, the Red Sox depth ran rather thin.

The bench by season’s end consisted of Rocco Baldelli, Jason Varitek, Jed Lowrie, and Casey Kotchman.  While each of the foursome contributed something in part-time roles, Baldelli was the only one who could do much offensively, and even he was limited in that regard.  In 2010, Lowell could be quite a weapon as a bat off the bench.  That he is offensively capable is news to nobody.  However, Lowell is the type of hitter that can succeed as a role player.  History has been kinder to high-contact, low-strikeout types of hitters when faced with sporadic playing time.  According to baseball-reference.com, in 12 Major League seasons, Lowell has struck out in just 12.5% of his plate appearances, compared to the MLB average of 18.0% in the same period.  High-contact hitters generally require less of a groove and thus fare better coming off the bench than do the types of hitters that strike out and walk a lot (recall the Jeremy Giambi experiment); Lowell fits the former bill well and as such could be very successful in a limited role.

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Jacoby Ellsbury

Jacoby Ellsbury was signed by the Red Sox in 2005 as the 23rd overall pick. He began playing for the Lowell Spinners. From the start, he showed that his patience and great speed were an asset when he led off the game by walking on a 3-2 pitch, stealing second, continuing to third on a throwing error and then scoring on a wild pitch.

Ellsbury made his Major League debut on June 30th, 2007 when he was called upon to replace the injured Coco Crisp. Ellsbury was then sent back down, despite his recent success.

As the playoffs approached, Ellsbury was brought back up to the Sox, and fit in perfectly. In eleven total postseason games, he hit .360 in 25 at-bats with two stolen bases.

He began his career with 25 consecutive stolen bases, but that streak was ended in a game against Milwaukee when the Brewers used a pitch out to throw him out.

Ellsbury has a lot more than just speed and hitting. He knows how to play the outfield as well.

On April 12, Ellsbury played his 179th straight regular-season game without an error, breaking Mike Greenwell’s Red Sox franchise record for outfielders. On April 15, Ellsbury with six errorless chances passed Coco Crisp for most errorless chances by a center fielder, setting a new Red Sox franchise record of 433.

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Yesterday, the Twitterverse — and, for that matter, Red Sox-based media at large — was abuzz with talk of Jason Bay as the Sox trekked to Port St. Lucie for an exhibition with the left fielder’s new club, the New York Mets.  Bay’s departure from Boston, amidst concerns about his knees and shoulder, was perhaps the team’s biggest off-season story and is certainly the root of wide-spread concerns regarding the Sox’ offense in 2010.

Jason Bay left Boston for the Mets this offseason.

In Theo Epstein’s time as General Manager, several players have left the team as free agents, igniting debate amongst media and fans alike.  Here, I will look at some of the more controversial decisions to let a player walk in the Epstein era and categorize said decisions based on their effect upon the organization since having been made.  Perhaps of note, the six players examined were important parts of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox.

Theo is not sentimental.

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Tim Wakefield

When someone says the name Tim Wakefield, one of the most automatic thoughts is the knuckleball. The 43-year-old pitcher has been on the mound for the Red Sox since 1995 and could be there for a while longer.

After graduating from Florida Tech, Wakefield was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round of the free agent draft in 1988. A scout told Wakefield that he would never make it past double A with his position skills.

At this point, Wakefield focused on improving his knuckleball that has made him so well known today. He had immediate success and it did not take long to make the majors.

In his Major League debut, Wakefield pitched a complete game against the Cardinals. He struck out ten batters and threw 146 pitches in doing so.

As the season continued, Wakefield started 13 games, going 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA. His success as a rookie earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

The next season, Wakefield began to struggle and was eventually released by the pirates. Six days later, the Red Sox picked him up. He began Read the rest of this entry →

"RJ" spent five years managing the PawSox.

For years, Ron Johnson opened his spring trainings as an assistant coach under Terry Francona.

Then would come April, and Johnson would find himself in Pawtucket and relative obscurity as Francona’s version of the Red Sox set out on a Major League campaign.

Johnson will stick around this year when the Boston squad breaks north.  In November, the Red Sox named the long-time PawSox skipper first base coach for the 2010 season.  The promotion is a feel-good story about a man who has spent seasons upon seasons informing his players of their big league promotion.

Little has changed in the early going for Johnson.  In a press conference last week, Francona explained that thus far, Johnson’s role is the same as it had been during his tenure in Pawtucket.

Still, he acknowledged that when the season starts the story will be a good one.  When a reporter commented that Johnson won’t have to suffer the long bus rides demanded by a Minor League season, Francona smiled, chuckled, and said, “Yeah, and he deserves it.  Good for him.”

Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury have both been managed by Johnson.

Johnson has spent ten seasons coaching in the Red Sox minor league system, including the last five managing in Pawtucket.  This will be his first big league gig.  In February, Johnson told NESN.com, “I’m really excited.  I’m more excited about this spring training than I have been in a lot of years. I’m very proud to have my first big-league job be with the Boston Red Sox. I want to be as good, or better, than I ever have been in the past.”

-Adam Vaccaro can be followed on Twitter.

Jeremy Hermida's star fell in Florida. He'll have a chance to make good on his promise in Boston this season.

In 2009, Red Sox fans cheered on a fourth outfielder in Rocco Baldelli whose playing time was limited to 62 games and 164 plate appearances.

This season, they can expect to see a whole lot more of Jeremy Hermida, who will be filling the role.

The fifth year outfielder, acquired by the Sox on November 5 for two minor league pitchers, has received little talk as the decade’s first season approaches. Hermida, though, should accrue significant playing time in a reserve role for Boston. He is expected to serve as the immediate backup for rightfielder JD Drew and leftfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. He will technically also receive backup centerfield plate appearances by playing leftfield, bumping Ellsbury to his former position and Mike Cameron to the bench.

Of course, it goes without saying that a fourth outfielder will accumulate playing time backing up the outfield spots. However, Hermida may be able to top 300 at-bats given the circumstances in the Red Sox outfield. Drew famously misses his share of games, and Cameron is entering his age 37 season; he’ll need plenty of rest. Further, Cameron has struggled against right-handed pitching, hitting .244 last season with a .318 on-base percentage and slugging .430 (compare this to his .271/.420/.534 line against southpaws and you see how staggering the split is). Hermida, meanwhile, hits quite well against righties. It would be beneficial both to Cameron’s keeping fresh and, perhaps, the team’s performance if Hermida saw some extra playing time against right-handers.

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