Pulling the Thread — The Unraveling of the Red Sox

By: Jon Morrill

    In an article in the Boston Globe this morning prior to the announcement of the Edgar Renteria trade, Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield openly pondered things like, “What the heck is our team going look like next year?” and “Why are they dismantling the whole team? The whole starting infield is gone. Manny will be gone. If they don’t sign Johnny, he’ll be gone. If they trade Trot, holy cow, the only guys left will be [Jason] Varitek and I and [David] Ortiz.”
That’s right, Sox fans. They’re talking about trading Christopher Trotman Nixon–the Dirt Dog himself. The untouchable. The guy who personifies everything that the Red Sox were supposed to be about in recent years: grit, toughness, intensity, selflessness, intestinal fortitude, and most importantly–dirt. What would the grounds crew at Fenway Park do with all the extra line chalk after having most of it on Trot Nixon’s hat for 81 home games for the past eight years?

But alas, surplus field material is a matter for the groundskeepers and not for the fans. Back to the original thought, Wakefield has plenty of reason to worry. In fact, Red Sox nation has plenty of reason to worry. Since 2003, 4 Yawkey Way has housed one of the best clubhouses the game of baseball has ever seen. The 1998 Yankees they weren’t, but they won at least 95 games for three consecutive seasons. They suffered heartbreaking, gut-wrenching defeat in the 2003, only to come back in 2004 to battle through mid-summer malaise to go on a tear to finish the season, sweep the Anaheim Angels in the ALCS, and then stage the greatest comeback in baseball history against their most hated rivals–the New York Yankees. Oh, right, then they went on to sweep the World Series against St. Louis. And let’s face it, they were fun to watch–both on the field and in the dugout.

As it seems now, the thing that both the New England region’s franchise and its people clamored, longed, and pined for and cried over for 86 long years is the thing that has most disrupted the greatest example of chemistry this side of the DuPont company. In the 13 months since the Red Sox reversed the curse, the Animal House of Major League Baseball has taken some major hits, and apparently is now on double secret probation. This time last year, the Red Sox lost some key parts due to free agency, and not necessarily for bad reasons. Pedro Martinez wanted too much for too long, and Derek Lowe wanted too much for too little despite perennial postseason heroics. Another huge change between October 2004 and March of 2005 was the signing of free agent shortstop Edgar Renteria, allowing incumbent shortstop Orlando Cabrera to walk out of the door, despite team chemistry.

That decision proverbially bit the Red Sox in the proverbial butt today, proverbially, as the team formerly known as the Beaneaters traded their faux-upgrade from Cabrera to the Braves for super-prospect 3B Andy Marte. The move leaves a gaping hole between third and second base. Or should I say it adds to the gaping hole between third and second with the ridiculous non-re-signing of swith-hitting, clutch-hitting 2003 AL Batting Champ and defensive stud Bill Mueller, who may very well sign with the Dodgers now that they picked up former BoSox skipper, from 2002-2003 no less, Grady Little. Or should I say that it adds to the gaping hole between third and first, as the other shoe has finally dropped on Kevin Millar’s stay in Boston. Millar, who had been the personality glue holding the Red Sox clubhouse together over the past three years was never known for his defense, but had a huge drop off in offensive production in 2005.

In June of 2005, Boy Wonder former Red Sox GM Theo Epstien, as ballyhooed as he was in Boston, publicly lamented his off-season acquisitions from before the ’05 season; which included the signings of starting pitchers Matt Clement, David Wells, and Wade Miller along with relievers Matt Mantei and John Halama, effectively saying that if what the Sox had gotten from their pitching up until that point in the season was the best they could have gotten, he had made a “huge mistake”. Both Clement and Wells had solid years in a Red Sox uniform, both being extremely effective at times and quite pedestrian at times.

Now I know what you’re going to say. “But Jon, the Red Sox just traded away backup catcher Doug Mirabelli to San Diego for what’s been described as the `heart and soul of the Padres’ since Tony Gwynn left, 2B Mark Loretta. And they picked up 3B Mike Lowell from the Marlins in the Josh Beckett deal.” Thank you, disembodied voices, I was well aware of both of those things. I like the Mark Loretta deal, it was by all accounts a steal–it was a backup catcher, albeit a valuable one in Mirabelli, for a team leader in Mark Loretta. Let’s just hope we don’t hear the “oh, he didn’t have the right make-up to play in Boston” stories this time next year like we do now about Edgar Renteria. I guess my question with the situation is, why are the Red Sox taking a chance on a guy who’s due a ton of cash coming off a terrible season in Mike Lowell, but not take a chance with a guy who is coming off an equally terrible season but who’s been with your club during a World Series and is a proven commodity in your clubhouse?

Here’s an idea, as hypothetical and optimistic as it may sound: Keep either Millar or Mueller. It’s your choice, really–pick whether to mispronounce `Miller’ or misspell it. Anyway, pick either Millar or Mueller–preferably Mueller. Try and work out a middle infield situation with Loretta and Mueller, who can play second, and either re-sign Millar to play first or try out Kevin Youkilis there. I realize it’s a stretch on both sides of the offensive/defensive coin: assuming that either Mueller or Loretta could successfully play shortstop; assuming that at least of one of the Millar/Lowell experiment will break out of their respective offensive funks; and that Youkilis would be a decent fit at first. If it works out, great; if not, what the hell are the Red Sox brass doing listening to some sports writer anyway? One option the Red Sox may have if both corners at third and first are taken care of is to try and package a deal with Oakland for Barry Zito to swap with Youkilis, who was once highly coveted by Oakland GM Billy Beane and referred to as the “Greek God of Walks” in the Beane-inspired best seller, Moneyball.

Boston may also try to deal for SS Miguel Tejada, who is now demanding a trade out of Baltimore, or try to sign starter Jarrod Washburn who was not offered arbitration by the Angels today.