It wasn't exactly heart-breaking the way the Aaron Boone home run went, but the loss to the Tampa Bay Rays still stings for any Red Sox fan.
What the series went on to show is that with the lineups that each team put out on the field during that series, that the Rays were far and away the better team. The Red Sox dealt with too many injuries, and their lineup, which had been so potent during the regular season, fizzled in almost every game in the postseason.
Surprisingly, the Red Sox don't have any more work to do than any other team in baseball when it comes to the offseason. Jason Varitek is the only marquee name who is a free agent to be, and ironing out long-term contracts for Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis should be a top priority for Theo Epstein and the rest of the front office.
Here is a 5-item to-do list for Boston if it expects to make themselves a better ball club when April rolls around.
1. Get Healthy
Although the Rays were clearly the better team during the 2008 ALCS, one cannot help but wonder whether the outcome of the series would have been different in Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew had been completely healthy for the entire postseason.
Drew doesn't seem to be having any real setbacks from his back injury, and Boston should not be truly concerned about his injury or status for 2009 unless Drew does something crazy like go out and buy a motorcycle or something drastic like that.
Although no one has any idea how Beckett's oblique really feels thanks to his vow of silence during the postseason, it is safe to say that if he could pitch with it in the playoffs. No matter how much it hurt then, it will be a non-factor when spring training opens up.
Beckett also has the type of work ethic and drive that makes small injuries like these a moot point because he will do everything in his power to make himself healthy again.
The larger concern for the team rests with two of their injured sluggers. Ortiz, whether he will admit it or not, was visibly hampered by his wrist injury. Even after coming back during the regular season his swing was exceptionally slower and mistake pitches he used to crush were now getting fouled to the backstop.
Some seem to think that he is on the downside of his career and that he will never be able to reach the type of power potential that he had in 2004, and 2005, but I am still holding out hope.
If his wrist heals during the off-season, then he won't be tentative about taking healthy hacks anymore and hopefully he will regain some of his swing speed.
Lowell seems to be the worst of the group. The veteran third baseman turns 35 at the end of February and every year it seems as if he gets more and more fragile. His postseason was cut short with a recurring thumb injury and a bad hip as well, and the Red Sox showed that they had no contingency plan for this because they were forced to insert Mark Kotsay at first.
The Red Sox have relied on a healthy Lowell for a lot of offense he was not expected to produce in his years in Boston, and although he was still productive when healthy in 2008, it might be time to start searching for other alternatives.
Lowell may be able to get healthy for spring training but the likelihood that he will be able to play even 130 games is very slim.
2. Do not re-sign Jason Varitek, get creative in the trade market
If I had my way, Jason Varitek would retire gracefully, thank the Red Sox for all the great years they have given him, and then be promptly named bench coach or bullpen coach and have his achievements lauded publicly on opening day 2009.
Unfortunately, Varitek turns 37 at the beginning of next season, and his offensive ineptitude vastly out-weighs any sentimental value or game-calling prowess that he still has.
Everyone on the Red Sox when asked the question about Varitek's return said all the right things about how much he means to the team, the pitching staff, and all the important leadership qualities he embodies, and I believe they all sincerely mean that.
Unfortunately, where ever he hit the lineup during the season there was a gaping hole that could not be filled. His swing gets longer and longer, and his knees are not in great shape from all of his years behind the plate.
His OPS+ in 2008 was a miserable 74, and his VORP was below one, meaning that any catcher the Red Sox threw behind the plate could have been offensively and defensively better than Varitek.
What makes matters worse for the Red Sox is that Scott Boras is his agent, so instead of working out a hometown discount to stay with the Red Sox and become a personal catcher in the mold of Eddie Perez, he will most likely test the free agent waters and force the Red Sox to pony up the dough if they want to keep him.
Which is why they can't possibly re-sign him at his market value if they want to be competitive.
The highlights of the free agent class for catchers in 2009 includes: Miguel Olivo (who is the youngest at 30), Michael Barrett, Josh Bard, Rod Barajas, and Johnny Estrada, and Barajas and Olivo both of options that can be picked up...Needless to say prospects are grim.
The Red Sox were rumored to be after youngsters such as Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and former farmhand Kelly Shoppach. The logical choice of the two would be Saltlamacchia because the Rangers already have a young prospect behind the plate in Max Ramirez therefore Saltlamacchia would come at a lesser price.
Shoppach looks like the better player than Saltalamacchia after hitting 21 home runs in about half a season. Plus the Indians plan to move Victor Martinez to first base at some point and that point could be now with the emergence of Shoppach.
Letting Shoppach go to the Red Sox would mean the Indians would probably need Michael Bowden and/or Lars Anderson as the headliners of the package, and I don't think the Red Sox are willing to make that deal.
3. Chase Mark Teixeira
Notice how I didn't say sign Teixeira at all costs. I omitted the "sign" portion because I think it is fairly obvious to everyone involved with Teixeira and baseball that the Red Sox will be facing stiff competition for the switch-hitting first baseman's services.
The Red Sox desperately need another bat, especially if Mike Lowell doesn't return to full strength and Teixeira's defensive flexibility and hitting approach seem to make him the perfect candidate for Boston.
He could play first base, and the Red Sox could move Youkilis back to third base permanently, giving the Red Sox gold glovers at the corner infield positions.
However, the Red Sox should be wary of getting into a bidding war with the Yankees, Angels, or Orioles, all three of whom seem prepared to offer Teixeira a huge pile of cash to bring him in.
The Red Sox have plenty of money to spend, but it would be better served somewhere else because they could possibly sign two productive players for Teixeira's hypothetical price tag.
My guess is that this could come down to the Yankees and the Red Sox if both teams are actually interested, and this off-season, I wouldn't bet any amount of money against Hank Steinbrenner, the big guy seems to determined to open up his checkbook to put the Yankees back in the playoffs.
4. Sign another front-line starter
Now when I say front-line I do not mean that the Red Sox need to go after C.C. Sabathia, who would probably not play in Boston anyway. At the same time, if Jake Peavy is available for the right cost, I don't think the Red Sox can whiff on another ace the way they did on Johan Santana.
For now Peavy seems to be determined to only waive his no-trade clause for a national league team, probably because he knows he will be better in that league. But the Red Sox would offer Peavy an incredible chance to win a World Series, an offer that a fierce competitor like Peavy would be silly to not investigate.
Behind Peavy, the best three choices are A.J. Burnett, Jon Garland, and Derek Lowe. Burnett does not fit with any sort of philosophy that the Red Sox have ever lived by when it comes to free agency and I have serious doubts that Theo Epstein would sign someone so maddeningly inconsistent.
Garland will be a cheap alternative, but his ERA was 4.90, and his WHIP was over 1.50, both of which should scare the Red Sox because bringing him to the "friendly" confines of Fenway Park would not do him very much good.
Lowe is exciting and concerning at the very same time. He had a fantastic year for Los Angeles this year with his ERA at 3.24 and his WHIP at 1.13, and he obviously has a rich history in Boston. He also said that Boston would be his preferred destination if he had his way.
At the same time, Lowe turns 36 in June and he is represented by Scott Boras which means that he could be looking for a long-term deal, a deal that the Red Sox would be reluctant to give to a 36-year-old pitcher.
However, signing Lowe is the best option. If they were able to bring Lowe into the fold their rotation for 2009 would look like this;
Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Derek Lowe, Tim Wakefield.
The Red Sox have even more flexibility if Clay Buchholz returns to form and if Michael Bowden turns out to be all that he is promised to be.
Seven legitimate starting pitchers including four current or former all-stars are something that most teams can not boast that they have in their arsenal. By default the Red Sox would be able to turn the two odd men out of the rotation into the bullpen, allowing them more flexibility there as well.
5. Decide what to do with the excess of players in the outfield
The Red Sox have five outfielders on their roster heading into the off-season and they can't keep them all, it will be tough enough trying to find playing time for the remainder of the group to stay happy.
The outfield is made up of Jason Bay, J.D. Drew, Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mark Kotsay. It's safe to say that Bay and Drew will be safe from any sort of playing time debate or trade talk, but the other three will be subject to a lot of rumors during the off-season and the spring.
Mark Kotsay is a free agent and seems like the odd man out in the battle between the three, but Kotsay also has value because of his ability to play first base.
Sean Casey is also a free agent, and if the Red Sox can't land Teixeira, that makes Kotsay the de facto backup first baseman. It all depends on how much money Kotsay is looking for and how much Casey is looking for, but Kotsay might defy the odds and stay in Boston.
The real battle in the outfield is between Crisp and Ellsbury. They co-existed this year with Terry Francona riding the hot bat as defensively they were a wash. Crisp has just one year left on his contract and it seems pretty obvious that he will be trade bait in any sort of offer to get Peavy.
The possibility remains that the team will keep Crisp and Ellsbury and play them together again in the first half of the season and then see if they can't trade Crisp and his expiring contract for bullpen help which every team unfailingly needs at the deadline.
Luckily for the outfielders in Boston, unless prospect Josh Reddick has a monster spring, there won't be any upstarts challenging for their positions.
Reddick is the highest rated outfield prospect in the organization according to Soxprospects.com, and he is followed by Ryan Westmoreland, but both players have a long way to go before they are big league ready.
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