The Red Sox: Youth Of The Nation

Since Theo Epstein took command as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox his philosophy has been simple, yet effective: Develop young players in the farm system.  A remarkable strategy from both a player development standpoint and as a business strategy.  If done correctly the outcome is a bargain priced player who has been molded to a clubs preference.

Of course the big "if" in the process is if it's done correctly.  Epstein commented that, "You can't guarantee the results all the time in baseball or in life.  But you can guarantee the quality and the integrity of the process."

In his time as a member of the Boston brass we have seen the emergence of such phenomenal players as Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Justin Masterson, Jed Lowrie and Clay Buchholz.  And now Epstein, as well as the rest of Red Sox Nation, will be counting on the young-bloods more than ever to produce.

After a failed attempt at signing the switch-hitting Teixeira it looks as though Boston will finish the offseason without making any huge free agent signings.  But let's not forget that the Sox only missed the Fall Classic by one game, or even one swing of J.D. Drew's bat in a bases loaded situation that was giving most Red Sox fans hopeful flashbacks. 

Point being the Red Sox didn't need to make any huge offseason deals to still be set up to play ball in October.

That doesn't mean that 2009 will be a walk in the park for the boys from Beantown.  They are going to rely on the young farm-raised talent to get them through to October.  That means Pedroia will have to pick up right where he left off, accumulating every piece of hardware he is eligible for.  Ellsbury won't have Coco Crisp to fall back on if he slips into another midseason, or postseason, slump. 

If Lowrie wins the starting role at shortstop he will have to prove that he deserves it and try to finish by going two back-to-back seasons with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at shortstop.

The biggest question that still remains in limbo for the Sox is the void that still lingers behind home plate.  Unsure of what the future held for Jason Varitek the Red Sox wanted to leave their catching options wide open and chose to non-tender Kevin Cash, who later signed with the Yankees. 

Now with Cash officially out of the picture for next season and continuing to play the waiting game for answers from the Scott Boras/Jason Varitek camp the Red Sox signed Josh Bard.

The signing of Bard successfully put a veteran catcher with major league experience back on their roster and added another switch-hitter to the lineup.  However Bard is not an every day catcher and, unlike Cash, has had trouble handling the zany knuckleballs of Tim Wakefield.  Though Bard has commented recently that he has matured as a player and feels that he can handle the dancing demon that is Tim Wakefield's knuckleball.

Boston has a catcher in Triple-A Pawtucket, George Kottaras, that has extensive experience catching knuckleballs and spent last season catching the MiLB Triple-A Starting Pitcher of the Year, Charlie Zink's, knuckleballs.  Kottaras is also a power hitter with power capable of whopping 20-25 fence busters a year.

Boston also has another promising catcher in triple-a Pawtucket who split time behind the dish with Kottaras last season, Dusty Brown.  Though Brown's skills behind the plate surpass Kottaras' his bat isn't as strong and he wouldn't bring that punch to the middle of the lineup that Boston could benefit from.

Though both Kottaras and Brown sound like feasible options as potential backups neither have major league experience and Boston's Commandant, Theo Epstein, says they're about a year away from being ready for the bigs.  However, if Boston is able to retain their eminent captain, Jason Varitek, either could prove to be the perfect protege to the Old Bull.

If Mike Lowell is unable to stay healthy throughout the season again we might see Youkilis shift back to his native third base position and see the emergence of Lars Anderson.  A six foot four inch 210 pound left-handed first baseman with a perfect hitters frame and a smooth and fluid swing tailor-made for Fenway. 

If Anderson is able to emerge and compete in the big show like he can in the minors he would be the perfect addition to the middle of the lineup.  Not only would he bring power but he would allow the lineup to alternate left and right all the way through.

As we sit back and wait for the drama of the hot stove to cool to a simmer and the season to start there shouldn't be any cause for stress.  Theo Epstein, and the rest of the Boston brass, have things under control. 

They may not add another top-dollar Scott Boras client to the roster this off-season, but the youth of the nation are groomed and ready to take us to the Fall Classic in 2009.