Red Sox update

As of November 2nd, Jonathan Papelbon and David Ortiz are free agents. Out of the two, Papelbon is a must sign. With the bullpen in shambles, Papelbon must be resigned. Although he will be expensive, he is a proven leader and it is absolutely necessary to hold on to him. At the moment, Alfredo Aceves is the only reliable returner. With Daniel Bard possibly moving to the starting rotation, the bullpen will be in completely rebuilt.

As a lefty specialist, I really like the idea of Rich Hill being our guy. At one point, while with the Cubs, Hill was a very reliable back of the rotation starter. Since coming to the Sox, he has converted to a side arm reliever and has been very successful. Depending on when he returns from Tommy John surgery, h could play a major role in our bullpen. As of now, he is scheduled to return to action in the middle of the 2012 season. With the recent collapse of the Sox in the last two seasons, he may hold a crucial role in the stretch run.

Whether or not the Red Sox resign Papelbon, they will have to make some major splashes in the free agent market. Heath Bell, Joe Nathan, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge are among the many available relievers in the open market. I would be okay with letting Papelbon walk if we were able to land two or three of these guys. Bell deserves a hefty contract, and the same could be said for Madson. Nathan and Lidge are both coming off of injury ridden seasons and would be excellent low risk/ high reward investments given their spectacular track records. There are plenty of arms out there for Boston, we just have to spend our money wisely and go after the right guys.

David Ortiz, depending on what offers he has on the table, will be a very interesting player to watch this offseason. I am not particularly concerned with Boston's position players. As of now we have an excellent mix of speed, power, and on base percentage. If we fill some holes here and there the offense will be fine. If we can get a very dependable starter behind the Lester, Bucholz, Beckett trio, and rebuild the bullpen, we will be seeing a lot of the May-August versions of 2011.

I am very pleased to hear that the team has resigned Marco Scutaro. With Scutaro, you know what your going to get: an average around .290, 10 or so home runs, and 60 + R.B.I.'s out of the bottom of the order. He is also a spectacular defender and a capable top of the order guy. I do not want to see any major signings out of position players. Instead, we need a Bill Mueller or a Trot Nixon type player. Someone who is going leave his heart and soul on the field and bring the team together is an absolute necessity.

If there is an oppertunity to get a reliable right fielder, a solid back up catcher, a shut down bullpen, and another reliable starter or two, I would be perfectly okay with losing both Papelbon and Ortiz. But everything starts with our pitching. Our offense, if not always trying to come from behind, can be really fun to watch.