My point is (was), you came in here spouting like the White Sox were going to come in and roll over the Red Sox and they got beat by, well you already said it, Triple A pitching.
Sanchez really did his best to make Beckett look like crap last night which just brings it to a head how some of the deals since 04 have really gone poorly for the Sox. Honestly, I can't really blame it all on the FO as in some cases the players just didn't hold up their end of the bargain.
We can look at the guys who they let get away after '04, namely Pedro and Lowe. Lowe had a terrific postseason but an awful regular season. Not to take away from his October heroics any, but it happens every year where a mediocre pitcher makes an adjustment and does well in the playoffs. And over a short period of time its not that hard to do. Had they brough him back for 05 he would have put up Derek Lowe numbers, as in not good. Pedro has, at times, looked good with the Mets but he's been exactly what the Sox feared, hurt. His velocity is gone and he can't really be counted on in the playoffs. They did the right thing with both of those guys.
Clement was a bad signing, but the market forced that one. Everyone got a huge deal that year and none of that class has really panned out. Still, the Sox will likely dump Clement on someone else this offseason and end up eating 6 or 7 million of his deal.
Renteria was a boneheaded move and one of the few I really didn't care for. Yeah he failed to uphold his end of the contract by not performing well, but he never should have been signed. They had a good glove at short in Orlando Cabrera who is a very similar hitter to Renteria, only with a lower OBP. They knew he could handle playing in Boston and he came cheaper than Renteria. The Renteria felt like a panic move to calm the angry fans who watched them miss the boat on Pedro and Pavano.
That kind of takes us to the mess that is/was 2006. Damon is having a nice year in NY but like a lot of people at the time I felt like his style of play would catch up to him before his deal expired so I'm really not sad to see him in NY, even if Coco has had a poor season. Coco is cheap and under their control for the next few years and likely will post better numbers in 2007 (if he's still here). For those reasons alone, I don't want to see him get traded in the off-season in another panic type of move. I didn't think dumping Renteria was the best move either but I wasn't against it since his defense was so abysmal last year and hasn't improved leaps and bounds this year. The Beckett deal made a lot of sense at the time but of course looks pretty poor right now. Who knows how Beckett will be next year and the year after but I think almost anybody makes that trade. Hanley Ramirez has had a pretty nice season for Florida but nothing amazing. Yeah he'll get better but the media has exaggerrated his success. No one really wanted to see Sanchez get dealt but you have to give something up to get something in return, so be it.
The Arroyo-Pena deal has come full circle. It looked bad early on but the reasonable fans knew Arroyo would come back down to earth and he has. Yeah the Sox could have used Arroyo's arm this year but Pena had his value when healthy. If they didn't have Pena it would have been Stern out there in center filling in for Crisp which would not have gone over well. And Nixon has been pretty bad since July so its clear that the Sox need Pena in 07 and beyond.
Tavarez was a bad signing and not adding any depth to the bullpen was also a bad move. Seanez didn't work out but they didn't pay him a lot and it was only a one year deal so its not really a big deal. The Mirabelli trade was pretty dumb and I thought they overreacted to the Bard-Wakefield situation with that one. Meredith won't be this good forever, but it doesn't take the sting away.
Not making a deal at the deadline has gotten Theo crucified on WEEI, but I still have no problem with it. At best, they could have gotten Oswalt for Lester and Hansen (supposedly). After watching Beckett this year, Oswalt would not have been a lock to have great success in the AL and he has had his own injury troubles in the past. He, like Beckett, is basically a two-pitch pitcher and on the wrong side of 30. Meanwhile, Lester has at least demonstrated he has the makeup to pitch in Boston and has shown Andy Pettite like stuff. I don't expect him to ever be an ace, but a number 2-3 guy seems realistic. Of course, this isn't taking account Lester's health issues of late but no one could have possibly predicted that. As for Hansen, the jury is still out but he's shown an ability to at least learn on the job (by adding a two-seamer and change) and his stuff is excellent. It seems at worst he'll be Kyle Farnswoth and at best Brad Lidge. Its worth giving him another year to see what happens.
And that takes me into the winter of 2006. I've already stated I don't want to see Coco dumped in some panic move as it doesn't make sense. Unlike Renteria, he had a major setback in 2006 and comes cheap. And while I do expect them to explore the Manny Ramirez market I think this year has shown us more than ever that this offense needs both Ortiz and Ramirez to succeed. Outside of those two, there isn't a whole lot of power in this order (unless Pena improves a lot in 07) and if Ramirez is removed he must be replaced with a hitter of comparable quality. Andrew Jones is not that hitter, and I'm hesitant to say Lee is as well. Clement has proven he is pretty much useless as he can't be counted on to keep the team in games or eat innings, so why bother with him? He should be traded for fifty cents on the dollar. As for the rotation, it would be nice to get Papelbon into the mix but who closes? Your guess is as good as mine. I think Gabbard has shown that he at least gets a look come spring training because his stuff is decent for a lefty and he has demonstrated that he knows how to pitch. He could be a very useful end of the rotation guy, especially if Lester can't go in April. I also think a guy like Ted Lily could make sense if the money is right. If teams are willing to throw 7 or 8 million his way than forget about it, but if he comes relatively cheap he has his usefulness (and at least the Sox wouldn't have to worry about facing him). The bullpen needs an overhaul. I think Delcarmen will be and should be there but everyone else pretty much needs to go (except Papelbon, of course, though one could argue he needs to get out of there as well and into the rotation). Tavarez isn't completely useless so long as he's the innings eater and not really counted on to come into close games in the 7th and 8th inning. Breslow needs to show me more before I give him the lefty spot but Lopez sucks and doesn't deserve a roster spot unless its on an AL Central team (to face Thome).
Yeah, this is a long-winded post but this is the stuff I think about while I'm listening to WEEI in traffic everyday while they spout off some of the dumbest crap I've ever heard. The major problem the Red Sox ran into was that their 2004 team was not built to be a Dynasty. That was a team that saw its window closing quickly and seized the moment. The Red Sox get criticized for breaking up a championship team but that roster wouldn't have faired better than the 05 Red Sox. They're trying to be competetive and rebuild at the same times and its proving difficult. They have been extremely unlucky with some of their signings/trades but in the case of Beckett, Crisp, and a few others there is still time to change that perception. 2006 is a lost season, I think we can all admit that, but 2007 hasn't even begun. It will be an important season for this team because the few guys who did perform well in 06 will be expected to repeat that while other key guys need to improve. If Beckett and Crisp both repeat their 2006 season then this team is in some trouble because they'll have no ace and a hole in centerfield while other key guys are another year older.