Boston Red Sox: 4 Essential Offseason Priorities

September 28, 2011 marked the end of the Red Sox season and their historic collapse.

The fallout that immediately ensued included the firing of manager Terry Francona, the departure of general manager Theo Epstein, and the media outcry over the behavior and performance of the team.

It has been a month since that fateful day, and it is time to look forward and see what needs to be done by the Sox this offseason to avenge their collapse.

Manager and Coaching Staff

Theo Epstein left to the Chicago Cubs and was immediately replaced by his long-time understudy Ben Cherington.

Ben has worked his way up through the organization and has been under the tutelage of Epstein for a decade, so he knows how to run the team.

Now it is time to search for the new helm of the ball club. Francona has a relaxed managerial style that allows the players to police themselves. He is widely known as a great player’s manager, but the personalities on this team just did not respond to him. Unfortunately a different voice is needed in Boston.

Cherington needs to find a manager that can get the Sox to respond in pressure situations and who can handle the scrutiny of the Boston media.  Francona was a great manager, but he was able to last for seven seasons in Boston because he handled the media so well.

Cherington will need to look for replacements at other coaching positions as well, as Curt Young, last year’s pitching coach, just left for the Oakland A’s.

Starting Pitching

The Red Sox pitching staff was 22nd in the league in ERA and 28th in quality starts. The main reason for the September collapse was the inept starting pitching from all members of the rotation.

It did not help matters that off-day starters were drinking beer in the clubhouse during games.

Lackey is out for the 2012 season with Tommy John surgery, Daisuke Matsuzaka is still rehabbing from the same procedure, and long time Red Sox Tim Wakefield is a free agent. This leaves a huge gap in the starting rotation.

Jon Lester, Clay Bucholz and Josh Beckett are the remaining starters on the major league roster. All three are excellent pitchers when they are on top of their game, but Bucholz and Beckett have a hard time making it through an entire season.

C.C. Sabathia has been rumored to be possibly opting out of his contract with the Yankees. As much as I would love to see another ace join the Red Sox rotation, I would not get my hopes up. The Yankees are not going to let their ace, their only dependable pitcher, go so easily.

Trades for a top-line pitcher also seem far-fetched because the farm system is depleted after the trades the past two years for Adrian Gonzalez and Victor Martinez.

The biggest names on the free-agent market include C.J Wilson, C.C. Sabathia, Roy Oswalt, Scott Kazmir, Rich Harden and Edwin Jackson.

Closer and Bullpen

One of the biggest decisions Ben Cherington has to make as he enters his first year as a major league general manager is to negotiate a contract with one of the league's top closers, Jonathan Papelbon.

Papelbon leads a strong closer free-agent class that also includes Ryan Madson, Heath Bell and Francisco Rodriguez. Joe Nathan and Francisco Cordero also have club options and could be available.

Papelbon has averaged just under 37 saves in six years since he became the Red Sox closer in 2006. He also has a career WHIP of 1.02 with an ERA of 2.33.

That being said, his postseason stats are more important to Boston fans. He has a 0.81 WHIP, ERA of 1, and seven saves over 27 innings pitched in the playoffs.

Re-signing Papelbon is very important to the team because Daniel Bard is the heir apparent for the closer position. After watching Bard fall apart and lose games at the end of last season, it is hard to say that he’s ready for the job.

Getting Bobby Jenks back from an injury-plagued year could go a long way in solidifying the bullpen depth, but a solid man on the back-end is essential to a championship-caliber team.

Veteran Contracts

Some of the most controversial decisions to be made concern the contracts of beloved veterans David Ortiz, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek and Jonathan Papelbon. All of them have been an integral part of the Red Sox for a long time.

Wakefield and Varitek are far past their primes and are better suited for backup roles.

Varitek still wears the "C" on his chest, but he is essentially the backup to emerging young star Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Varitek takes on a leadership and mentor role along with being the catcher for Josh Beckett.

Tim Wakefield is on the verge of becoming the Red Sox all-time leader in wins, but at what cost? He is a very good fill-in for injured starters, but he can no longer be a mainstay in the rotation.

David Ortiz may be the most controversial. He has come through time after time with clutch performances for this ball club. That being said, the past few seasons he has appeared to show signs of decline.

In 2009 he batted .185 with just one home run through April and May before turning it around in June.

In 2010 he started the season in April batting .143 with just one home run. Ortiz again turned it around, but the slow starts did not look like a sign of good things to come.

In 2011 he had a great season, batting .309 with 29 home runs. He showed everyone that he still has something left in the tank. He deserves to be paid as one of the top designated hitters, but for how much longer can he be a prolific batting threat in this league?