Almost Time to Go.

I've been on sabbatical for the last month or so as you've clearly seen from my lack of posts. And by sabbatical I mean I was either too lazy to post or the Red Sox were making me vomit so violently I couldn't see straight.

Nearly a month and a half into the season is more than enough for me to fully judge the team that I prognosticated to be 3rd in the AL East and what's my synopsis? I severely over-estimated where they'd finish this year.

Now however is an opportunity. An opportunity to not only to prove to the fans that the owners of the Boston Red Sox are not complete incompetents but an opportunity to build for the future. This team isn't going to win. They don't have the pitching and it seems like they are allergic to getting a hit with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.

What the Red Sox have are pieces. Pieces that other teams that are actually in the hunt would want. The Red Sox have a core of 6-7 players that that should be untouchable:

Dustin Pedroia: Despite his "That's not how we do it here" comments, you don't get rid of arguably the best player at his position in baseball, EVER.

Adrian Gonzalez: Is he hitting like Rosie O'Donnell (post-A League of Their Own, of course)? Yes. But up through last year, there is a case that he could have been one of the Top 3 hitters in baseball over the last 5 years, yes five years.

Jon Lester: Has he been an Ace? Nope. But you don't get rid of a left handed starting pitcher that consistently gives you 200 innings, and an ERA in the low 3's or better. He needs to go back to being fiery and not ornery, big difference (more on this to come).

Daniel Bard: An electric arm, and he is getting better. If Bobby Valentine knew how to run a pitching staff he'd probably have 2 more wins and a couple less runs on his ERA. His ridiculous decline in strikeouts this year is worrisome but he's getting outs and pitching to contact. He needs to add another pitch and keep his arm slot consistent when he's tired but he is indispensable right now.

Jacoby Ellsbury OR Carl Crawford: Unfortunately you have to pick one. You can't afford to pay two outfielders 20 million dollars and Jacoby Ellsbury is probably going to approach it after 2013. Would it suck to eat 70-million dollars? So, you have to pick your poison, an oft-injured CF that has no problem hitting lead off and seemingly has the capability to hit 30 HRs. Or an oft-injured LF that was a strange fit to begin with that won't hit lead-off and clearly has issues upstairs. I'd vote for Ellsbury, but I could keep Crawford if it meant getting a stud in return.

Will Middlebrooks: I hate rushing judgement on players but he has the smooth swing of an Evan Longoria and is 3x the fielder that Kevin Youkilis is at the Hot Corner. He is a player you build around not store on the farm.

It's tough to watch the Red Sox when you hate the manager and the starting rotation is in shambles. But now is when Ben Cherrington needs to earn his money and build us a winner for the future.

Stay Tuned

Norton