| Christopher Reina. 11th May, 2009 - 1:40 pm
 Partaking on a pilgrimage to Boston (i.e. Fenway Park) has been something I've done just about every other year since 2002.
I was in town in 2002 when the Red Sox were playing the Rockies in an Interleague series during the height of Nomar-mania and a brief Shea Hillenbrand craze.
I returned in 2004 for the end of the regular season Yankees' series, including the famous "Yankees are my daddy" remark from Pedro Martinez. Just a few weeks before coming back from 3-0, the crowds seemed cautiously convinced that the World Series drought wouldn't hit 87.
In 2005, I returned for another end of season Yankees' series where both clubs were still fighting to qualify for the playoffs and then a series in 2007 against the Giants in June.
On my trip in mid-April, I was struck by how Red Sox baseball is still incredibly popular in Boston, but as the Patriots, Celtics and Bruins are all fielding contenders, there isn't the same buzz at Fenway Park as there once was during my initial visits. Maybe it is because they were playing the Orioles, maybe it is because they were wearing these godforsaken hats or maybe the sense of urgency isn't the same now that they've won two championships five seasons, but maybe it is for another reason.
The turnover of the immensely likable, self-proclaimed band of idiots, that won the 2004 World Series has been dramatically rapid and here is how it happened.
An Immediate Breakup
Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, Tim Wakefield and Kevin (two postseason at bats that year) Youkilis are the only members of that 2004 club still remaining on the team just five seasons later. The Yankees, by comparison, have four players from their 1998 World Series team still on the roster, if you count Andy Pettitte who has gone and comeback.
The transition into the current edition of the club really began with the Nomar Garciappara trade, which netted Boston Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz.
"If it was in my control, I'd still be wearing a Red Sox uniform," Garciaparra told the Boston Globe at the time. "That's the place I know, I love, all those fans, I'll always remember. But I'm also going to another great place, a phenomenal city with great tradition as well."
"We just traded away Mr. Boston, a guy that meant so much to the city, and just like that, he's gone," added Johnny Damon to the Globe.
Other than every fifth day when Pedro Martinez would make a start, Garciaparra truly owned Boston.
"For some reason, I just feel like Nomar's part of the tradition in Boston," Martinez said. "I'm so used to seeing `Nomah!' and hearing the people go, `Nomah!' and No. 5 all over everybody's back. For some reason, I just framed him as a Bostonian, as part of the team. I think a lot of people are going to be sad in Boston."
Martinez was the next one to go, as Boston didn't make an earnest effort to re-sign him and the pitcher who won two Cy Young awards while with the club and should have won a third in 2002 signed with the Mets at the age of 33. Martinez ended up having only one more Pedro-like season and battled injuries for three out of the four years of his Mets' contract.
While it wasn't truly an either/or scenario, the Red Sox did essentially choose Curt Schilling over Pedro and he was the better pitcher from 2005-07.
Next to leave was Derek Lowe in that 2004-05 offseason when he signed with the Dodgers. He finally achieved an excellent level of consistency and had a better ERA+ than any member of Boston's staff. He signed with the Dodgers for $36 million over four years and the Red Sox found his replacement in Matt Clement. Clement, who signed a three year, $25 million contract, did make the 2005 All-Star game as an injury replacement, but never was the same after getting hit by the Carl Crawford line drive and is now out of the game.
Although he was only with the club for two months plus the postseason, Cabrera became a fan favorite in Boston, but he signed with the Angels that offseason for a four-year, $32 million contract shortly after the Red Sox signed Edgar Renteria to a four-year, $40 million deal.
"It was more generous," said Renteria at the time of the Red Sox's offer in comparison to the Cardinals. "They were more interested in my playing for them."
Renteria didn't hit and made 30 errors in his first season at Fenway and was quickly traded to the Braves for Andy Marte.
They also signed David Wells for the 2005 season and he ended up being their Opening Day starter. Boston finished the season without a single starter with an ERA under 4.00.
The one free agent Boston did keep was Jason Vartiek, who was the heart and soul of the lineup that remained unchanged other than Renteria for Cabrera during the 2005 season.
More Defections and a New Identity
Between 2005 and 2006, all remnants of Cowboy Up departed, as Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees and Kevin Millar signed with Baltimore. Bill Mueller signed with the Dodgers and Mark Bellhorn was let go before the season ended.
Youkilis was now ready to assume first base, plus they signed Mark Loretta for second base and flipped Marte and Kelly Shoppach for Coco Crisp.
But the biggest move was to boost their starting rotation in the form of Josh Beckett and the then burdensome contract of Mike Lowell. The cost was extraordinary, with Hanley Ramirez and Annibal Sanchez going to Florida. The Marlins chose Boston's package over one from the Texas Rangers, which included Hank Blalock and possibly John Danks (well done for Larry Beinfest). Hanley Ramirez is now one of the best two or three position players in the game, but Boston almost certainly doesn't win the 2007 World Series without both Beckett and Lowell, so this is the ultimate win/win trade of the decade.
Shortly after signing Bronson Arroyo to an extension in the end of January 2006, they dealt him to the Reds near the end of Spring Training for Wily Mo Pena.
"I really admire Bronson and have gotten to know him really well," said Epstein, but "if I allowed my personal feelings about a player or recognition that this player would prefer to stay in Boston ... affect our judgment in what we thought was best for the organization, then I wouldn't be doing my job."
Arroyo stopped short of telling the Cincinnati Post that he felt betrayed by the trade, but he clearly hinted at it.
"They didn't guarantee me anything, but the vibe I got from them from what they said to me was that they weren't going to trade me any time in the near future," said Arroyo. "That's relative to whatever you think the near future is, but I thought it came pretty quick."
The 2006 season saw Jonathan Papelbon become their closer and Jon Lester look like a mainstay starter. It also was Trot Nixon's last and Alex Gonzalez's only in Boston, so they then signed replacements J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo. They also made the biggest splash of the offseason by signing Daisuke Matsuzaka. To top it off, Boston signed middle-reliever Hideki Okajima, who became an excellent setup man for Papelbon and he helped shore up a bullpen that had long been a troublesome area of Red Sox teams.
Dustin Pedroia also came up as a full time second baseman in 2007 and he became the ROY.
A Hollywood Divorce
Boston began the 2008 season with the lineup virtually unchanged, except more at bats for Jacoby Ellsbury, who had an excellent 2007 call-up and an even better playoffs. But the identity of that lineup came to a long, slow end when they finally traded Manny Ramirez just before the trade deadline in a deal that netted Jason Bay, who has about as much personality as your dentist.
Manny was far from conventional and also far from blameless, but Boston's treatment of him was also far from conventional and they were at least partially responsible for both enabling and alienating him.
Ramirez was placed on waivers after the 2003 season, tried to trade him for Alex Rodriguez, shopped him before the 2005 trade deadline and then Manny asked out following the season.
We have no way of knowing what would have happened in the 2008 ALCS if Manny remained in Boston, they very well would not have made the playoffs, but it was clear that they at least missed his bat and impact in the lineup. Jason Bay is a fine hitter and he has exceeded expectations since manning the most historically significant position in Red Sox history, where only Hall of Famers (Teddy, Yaz, Rice and Manny) need apply.
From 2005 until 2008, Boston's offensive identity was Manny and Ortiz, but Manny is gone and Ortiz is signed through 2010 and is virtually certain to not be re-signed. So the Red Sox are now a club that belongs to Pedroia and Youkilis in both style and substance.
Boston strongly coveted Mark Teixeira to become that other cornerstone, but their approach was off-putting as could be read in this article by my colleague Andrew Perna. Even with Teixeira's excellent production, he doesn't deliver the same kind of fear that Manny or 2004 Big Papi packs when he's in the box, in the on-deck circle or even sitting in the dugout; he also is as corporate as Gordon Gekko without the charisma.
The Red Sox almost certainly will acquire a big bat either through trade (Miguel Cabrera) or free agency (Matt Holliday), it will be interesting to see if that player is more Drew/Teixeira or Manny/Pedro. The latter two were acquired by the previous regime and ended up being under appreciated components of the success on the field and the creation of Red Sox Nation off of it.
- Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM |
