OF Issues Galore
By Brian Phair
After writing my post bashing Theo a few days ago (https://bosoxinjection.com/2009/12/13/what_is_theo_doing/), I thought he was taking my advice and offering a 5-year contract. The only problem was, it was to John Lackey and not Jason Bay. I love Lackey and think he will add a strong arm to the Sox rotation, but the biggest hole the Red Sox have is in the outfield.
Then, yesterday, I hear the news that the Sox have signed Mike Cameron, and that means one of two things. Either the plan is to have him be a starting outfielder, or it then frees up Jacoby Ellsbury for a trade to the Padres for Adrian Gonzalez. WHAT? Mike Cameron is a lifetime .250 hitter who strikes out over 140 times per year. I’ll concede, Cameron can hit the long ball, averaging over 20 a year, but at what cost?
Then comes the Jacoby Ellsbury trade rumors. Do the Sox really plan to trade Ellsbury and lose their lead-off hitter and 90% of the team’s speed? Cameron, who was once a strong base-stealer, has lost most of that ability with age (only stealing 7 bases last season), and his inability to get on base makes him a poor lead-off hitter. Another compelling reason, as my friend said when he heard the news, “That would be stupid. The Sox are going to lose all of their female fans if Jacoby get’s traded.”
Here is my advice for Theo. Offer Jason Bay a fifth year, and beg him to come back, because now he may end up on the Yankees. He loves Boston and wants to win. Give him the right contract, all this “move on” crap will be over. Then offer an extra prospect or two instead of Ellsbury and convince the Padres to trade Adrian Gonzalez. If you want to have even an inkling of a chance at the AL East, you need a strong lineup filled with power hitters.
If Theo takes my advice (HAHAHA), Sox opening day lineup would look like this:
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
C Victor Martinez
1B Adrian Gonzalez
3B Kevin Youkilis
LF Jason Bay
RF J.D. Drew
DH David Ortiz
SS Marco Scutaro
Starting Rotation:
Jon Lester
Josh Beckett
John Lackey
Clay Buchholtz
Daisuke Matsuzaka
(Tim Wakefield, if needed)
Bring on the duck boats…