Red Sox and Pablo Sandoval at critical mass

The Boston Red Sox eventually will have to address the Pablo Sandoval issue. The signing is now worthless except to Panda.

As Lou Costello would say: “Well that’s another fine mess you got me into” which can certainly apply to far too many Red Sox free agent signings and trades. The Red Sox have some burdensome contracts that can only disappear by a buyout or a sucker wearing Dodger Blue.

Baseball operations will have to have a reality check regarding Pablo Sandoval. I’ll sum it up as eloquently as possible – the Panda is finished. I’d say stick a fork in him, but forks have been a habitual problem in his ill-fated career. The Red Sox can just chalk this one up to a dead money and dead money is something the Red Sox have become rather adept at acquiring.

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Was this a bad signing? As an aficionado of all things Red Sox including various posting boards, chat rooms, social media and the more traditional media this was one deal that had universal rejection. A few Giants fans, I exchange emails with were quite negative on Sandoval. They were giving thanks, to some unknown baseball God for the Red Sox “winning” the honor of signing Sandoval.

Then the what to do with Sandoval has become a cottage industry, especially in the last month. Articles such as this one proliferate on blogs, news articles, and the ever negative sports shows.

Sandoval had a rather interesting beginning in Boston. His first season brought a new meaning to “Can anyone be this bad in fielding?” The metrics can be sketchy, but not this time. Even Butch Hobson – a long ago third base disaster – looked like a Frank Malzone compared to Sandoval.

Sandoval at third was a fielding triple play. Sometimes it’s the range. Sometimes it’s the glove. Sometimes it’s the arm. Panda could often combine all three into miscues. But fielding can certainly be overlooked if you hit and Sandoval had that with the Giants – especially in two World Series. That, however, was the past and his hitting left a wee bit to be desired.

The following spring Panda returned to camp after a stint as a double for the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man and promptly lost his (1) Job to Travis Shaw and (2) His year on the disabled list. The Red Sox in a surge of Panda confidence dumped Shaw off to the Brewers and pinned their collective third base hopes on the suddenly svelte Sandoval.

In camp, Sandoval looked like a ballplayer and not – think Terry Foster – a tub of goo. Maybe the Red Sox actually had one of those very rare moments when a deal worked out? Reality soon reared its ugly head and it became clear that Sandoval could not accomplish three rudimentary baseball tasks – hit, run and field. How bad was it? Josh Rutledge and Deven Marrero are the go-to guys at third. Occasionally, manager John Farrell has a senior moment and inserts Sandoval into the lineup for our amusement.

He is simply finished. Can a player be done at 30-years-old? Well, now may I present Allen Craig, who actually beat out Panda by a few years in the washed up department. The Red Sox even have $72.5 Million Rusney Castillo, who was literally done the moment he inked a Boston contract.

So what do you do?

As the well-known baseball philosopher, Dear Abby would state: “Are you better off with him or without him?” I do believe that phrase will have a resounding “YES!” acclimation, but the money? It is always about the money and the Red Sox are really – no – correction, please – really, really and really stuck.

Sandoval is one the books through 2019 when a payroll parole will be issued on his contract that is somewhere in the vicinity of a lesser oil-rich country. You release him you have to pay him. Gee…isn’t that collective bargaining agreement just great?