Theo Epstein Already Looking Towards 2010
Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are moving forward with their plans for the 2010 MLB schedule now that the World Series is over. The Red Sox will look to wrestle that World Series trophy away from their rivals — the New York Yankees who defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games on Wednesday night in the Bronx.
Here’s how Epstein is approaching their game plan: “We’re really just in the planning stages, going through different scenarios, trying to get as good a feel for the market as we can. It’s a complicated landcape between trade possibilities, the free agent market. We spend as much time as we can trying to get a really good feel for the landscape and getting a feel for the supply-demand dynamic of this particular offseason, and then we can go forward with a strategy in place instead of just going in blind and seeing what presents itself.”
The Keys:
Jason Bay – the Red Sox have exclusive rights to the left field slugger until November 20th.
Alex Gonzalez – The Red Sox have a $6 million club option, but could get out of the deal with a $500,000 buyout.
Jason Varitek – the Red Sox could keep him with a $5 million club option or he could decide to stay with a $3 million player option.
Epstein is patient and confident that the team is heading in the right direction. The pitching is solid, the offense is above average and there is room for improvement on the defensive side of the field. “I don’t think you try to look at the offseason as a defining moment. It’s more part of a process. You’re going to hit on some players, you’re going to miss on some players, and ultimately the success of next season is really created over the process of several years, not just one offseason. Again, there are only so many times a year when teams really sit down and talk trade. It’s harder than the average person might think to engage other teams in trade talk. It’s a nice opportunity the next six weeks or so to do that and see what happens.”
Come on Theo, make us proud – we have confidence and faith in ya!
