Theo Epstein and Red Sox Go Back to Old Bag Of Tricks

People complain about the lack of impact moves by the Red Sox this past offseason.  In reality, the Sox went back to their old bag of tricks.  Don't misunderstand the situation, Mark Texiera would have been a phenomenal pickup and brought some much needed stability to the lineup.  Theo tried to get him in here, it just didn't work out.  Instead of panicking, he went back to an older model for team building, one that worked out quite well in the earlier part of the decade.

After the 2002 season Epstein made similar risk-reward acquisitions such as Bill Mueller, David Ortiz, and Kevin Millar.  The players, along with later pickups Mark Bellhorn and Gabe Kapler, went on to help the 2004 version of the Red Sox win the World Series.  At the time these moves did not look like the type to push the team over the edge, but rather as unspectacular moves to fill out the roster and have a hodge-podge of players surround superstars Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra (later traded, but that's a whole different issue), and solid role players Johnny Damon and Jason Varitek.  While some people will argue that these guys played over their heads, the new Red Sox were doing what Epstein and the rest of the front office had hoped.

This past offseason, Theo went with a similar approach of cheaper players who, if they produced like the front office knew they could, would provide not only solid depth, but likely spectacular results.  So while John Smoltz didn't work out for Boston (though after one start looks good for the Cardinals), and Rocco Baldelli has been less than average, the Red Sox took a gamble on a gaggle of players who could have been to this team what Mueller, Bellhorn, Ortiz, and Millar were to those lovable idiots of 2004.