Before you all start killing me, please read the whole post.    Obviously, Theo Epstein and the Red Sox had a huge offseason. However, I still wonder if Theo made the right moves.  I will not criticize Theo for his bullpen moves, as the bullpen is unpredictable. However, I will criticize him on the four main moves he made. He:                1: Let Victor Martinez go,                2: Let Adrian Beltre go,                3: Signed speedster Carl Crawford to a 7 year, 142 million dollar deal to snag him from LAA, and                4: Traded Eric Patterson, Reymond Fuentes, Anthony Rizzo, and Casey Kelly to San Diego for slugger Adrian Gonzalez.  I will decide whether the move was good or not based only on before this season, so I don't have an advantage over Theo. Also, if the move was not good, I will decide what he should have done instead, again, not based on hindsight.                1: Theo let Victor Martinez sign with the Detroit Tigers for 4 years and 50 million dollars.  Theo's first move of the offseason was also his worst. If Theo had signed Martinez to a 4 year deal, he would have had him at ages 32, 33, 34, and 35. Those seasons are the start of most players' decline, but hitters as good as Martinez would still be productive at age 35. As for Martinez not being a good defender, if Posada can catch at age 38, why can't Martinez catch at age 35? Also, even with the season Papi is having, it is unlikely that Boston signs him to a 3 year deal at seasons' end, so at some point, Boston could just convert Martinez into the DH. Yes, you lose the 19th overall draft pick by keeping Martinez, but another move I would change makes up for it. Also, Martinez kills lefties.  Did Theo make the right choice? No. What should he have done? Sign V-Mart to a 4 year, 60 million deal.               2: Theo traded Eric Patterson, Reymond Fuentes, Anthony Rizzo, and Casey Kelly to San Diego for slugger Adrian Gonzalez, and signed him to a 7 year, 154 million deal after the season started to lock him up through 2018, his age 36 season.  They say "First is the worst, second is the best, and third is the one with the treasure chest!" So far for Theo, first is the worst and second is the best, as getting AGon was the best move of the offseason for Boston. It was a no-brainer, because anyone would take a 29 year old slugging 1st baseman who has a great glove over a 32 year old 3rd baseman who bats .270 with 25 home runs and 80 RBI with a great glove. His career year so far makes it sweeter, but it was a great move anyways.  Did Theo make the right choice? Yes.               3: Theo signed speedster Carl Crawford to a 7 year deal for 142 million, snagging him from LAA and making him the highest paid outfielder ever in the process.  This was simply a bad move. Many people were hoping that the Red Sox would sign Jason Werth, but he quickly signed with Washington for 10 times his werth (pun intended). This set the market for Crawford, so signing him was a bad idea. Once Werth signed, the Red Sox should have gone the route of trade. Also, they would get their draft pick back from Tampa Bay, so the Red Sox would be able to re-sign V-Mart wiwthout any huge consecuences compared to the draft we just had.  Did Theo make the right choice? No way, Jose. What should he have done? This is a little complicated.    He should have traded for Justin Upton. Still only 23, Upton has all the tools his brother has without the Manny-esque ego. He can hit for average, hit for power, run, has a cannon for an arm, and isn't quite as erratic as his brother in the field. If they did get Upton, he would convert to left field, as Drew has mastered Dewey's corner. They would trade Josh Reddick, (Kalish can take over RF when Drew leaves) Yamicco Navarro (Iggy can take over short when Scutaro leaves) Salty (V-Mart would occupy catcher for a few years) Larvenway (Ditto with Salty) and maybe throw in a player to be named later. All of the guys I named have potential, so the trade isn't unrealistic, especially with the way Towers was marketing him. Upton becomes a superstar, and a of the players I name become very good players. Not a bad trade for Arizona, but a great one for Boston.              4: Theo let Adrian Beltre sign with Texas for 6 years and 96 million dollars.  This was a no brainer. The Red Sox had just acquired a star first baseman, and moved their former first baseman to third. They already have a good DH. They get 2 draft picks. Who doesn't let Beltre go?  Did Theo make the right choice? Of course!                                                Theo's overall grade 2 right 2 wrong 50%  The numbers say Theo failed, but he didn't. I don't have a view of all the things Theo uses to build a roster, as I can only see the numbers. However, from a fan's point of view, he could have done a much better job. Despite this, our team is great.                                              I took over a hour to write this.    
Posted by b126962

 Before you all start killing me, please read the whole post.    Obviously, Theo Epstein and the Red Sox had a huge offseason. However, I still wonder if Theo made the right moves.  I will not criticize Theo for his bullpen moves, as the bullpen is unpredictable. However, I will criticize him on the four main moves he made. He:                1: Let Victor Martinez go,                2: Let Adrian Beltre go,                3: Signed speedster Carl Crawford to a 7 year, 142 million dollar deal to snag him from LAA, and                4: Traded Eric Patterson, Reymond Fuentes, Anthony Rizzo, and Casey Kelly to San Diego for slugger Adrian Gonzalez.  I will decide whether the move was good or not based only on before this season, so I don't have an advantage over Theo. Also, if the move was not good, I will decide what he should have done instead, again, not based on hindsight.                1: Theo let Victor Martinez sign with the Detroit Tigers for 4 years and 50 million dollars.  Theo's first move of the offseason was also his worst. If Theo had signed Martinez to a 4 year deal, he would have had him at ages 32, 33, 34, and 35. Those seasons are the start of most players' decline, but hitters as good as Martinez would still be productive at age 35. As for Martinez not being a good defender, if Posada can catch at age 38, why can't Martinez catch at age 35? Also, even with the season Papi is having, it is unlikely that Boston signs him to a 3 year deal at seasons' end, so at some point, Boston could just convert Martinez into the DH. Yes, you lose the 19th overall draft pick by keeping Martinez, but another move I would change makes up for it. Also, Martinez kills lefties.  Did Theo make the right choice? No. What should he have done? Sign V-Mart to a 4 year, 60 million deal.               2: Theo traded Eric Patterson, Reymond Fuentes, Anthony Rizzo, and Casey Kelly to San Diego for slugger Adrian Gonzalez, and signed him to a 7 year, 154 million deal after the season started to lock him up through 2018, his age 36 season.  They say "First is the worst, second is the best, and third is the one with the treasure chest!" So far for Theo, first is the worst and second is the best, as getting AGon was the best move of the offseason for Boston. It was a no-brainer, because anyone would take a 29 year old slugging 1st baseman who has a great glove over a 32 year old 3rd baseman who bats .270 with 25 home runs and 80 RBI with a great glove. His career year so far makes it sweeter, but it was a great move anyways.  Did Theo make the right choice? Yes.               3: Theo signed speedster Carl Crawford to a 7 year deal for 142 million, snagging him from LAA and making him the highest paid outfielder ever in the process.  This was simply a bad move. Many people were hoping that the Red Sox would sign Jason Werth, but he quickly signed with Washington for 10 times his werth (pun intended). This set the market for Crawford, so signing him was a bad idea. Once Werth signed, the Red Sox should have gone the route of trade. Also, they would get their draft pick back from Tampa Bay, so the Red Sox would be able to re-sign V-Mart wiwthout any huge consecuences compared to the draft we just had.  Did Theo make the right choice? No way, Jose. What should he have done? This is a little complicated.    He should have traded for Justin Upton. Still only 23, Upton has all the tools his brother has without the Manny-esque ego. He can hit for average, hit for power, run, has a cannon for an arm, and isn't quite as erratic as his brother in the field. If they did get Upton, he would convert to left field, as Drew has mastered Dewey's corner. They would trade Josh Reddick, (Kalish can take over RF when Drew leaves) Yamicco Navarro (Iggy can take over short when Scutaro leaves) Salty (V-Mart would occupy catcher for a few years) Larvenway (Ditto with Salty) and maybe throw in a player to be named later. All of the guys I named have potential, so the trade isn't unrealistic, especially with the way Towers was marketing him. Upton becomes a superstar, and a of the players I name become very good players. Not a bad trade for Arizona, but a great one for Boston.              4: Theo let Adrian Beltre sign with Texas for 6 years and 96 million dollars.  This was a no brainer. The Red Sox had just acquired a star first baseman, and moved their former first baseman to third. They already have a good DH. They get 2 draft picks. Who doesn't let Beltre go?  Did Theo make the right choice? Of course!                                                Theo's overall grade 2 right 2 wrong 50%  The numbers say Theo failed, but he didn't. I don't have a view of all the things Theo uses to build a roster, as I can only see the numbers. However, from a fan's point of view, he could have done a much better job. Despite this, our team is great.                                              I took over a hour to write this.    
Posted by b126962

Not much to discuss here.  We'll never be privvy to whatever prospects were discussed for Upton, so it is a non-starter.  VMart was signed to be a DH.  It's pure speculation to assess how a DH would do as a catcher 2.56 months into a 4-year contract.  I was deadset against a Salty/Tek combo, but in all honesty, it looks like a far better move than signing VMart would've been.  Gonzo a definitely yes, and CC I never quite understood.
Posted by Joebreidey

Boy Sherrif your really ignorant, and slimy. I like words like this... thanks for teaching them to me... 
Posted by BurritoT

theo did make a couple of good moves (agonz and letting vmart go) and made a terrible one(crawford). But keep in mind what really killed us was not signing matt holliday when we had the chance. He signed for less than crawford and would have been a much better fit. Crawford never made sense from the get-go. His skillset was not needed and is pretty much identical to ellsburys. IF we did not have pedroia then crawford would have been a fit. He is best suited for the #2 spot in the line up. Holliday on the other hand was a perfect fit for us. He is right handed, hits for a high average, and has 30-35 homer/ 105-110 rbi ability. I have no idea why theo passed on him and signed lackey instead. 
Posted by redsoxpride34

theo did make a couple of good moves (agonz and letting vmart go) and made a terrible one(crawford). But keep in mind what really killed us was not signing matt holliday when we had the chance. He signed for less than crawford and would have been a much better fit. Crawford never made sense from the get-go. His skillset was not needed and is pretty much identical to ellsburys. IF we did not have pedroia then crawford would have been a fit. He is best suited for the #2 spot in the line up. Holliday on the other hand was a perfect fit for us. He is right handed, hits for a high average, and has 30-35 homer/ 105-110 rbi ability. I have no idea why theo passed on him and signed lackey instead. 
Posted by redsoxpride34

 All right. My Upton idea was insane, and getting Crawford wasn't the worst idea, but I still think that an ideal situation would have been getting someone besides Crawford. Maybe they could bring Damon back?
Posted by b126962

This is nuts.  Victor has caught 18 games in Detroit but given catcher money.  Tek has caught 33 games.  So to simply say that Victor should be here as the catcher ignores reality.  Theo knew he was going to go hard after Gonzalez.  That moves Youk to 3B and means Beltre is the odd man out.  Theo also got picks from letting players go and we all know the Sox have had good success with supplemental picks.  You can argue about Carl Crawford all you want.  In year 5 you might be proven right.  In year 1, he was in a slump, nothing more.  He is a dynamic talent and the Sox like what he brings to the table.  Having the diversity of Ellbury, Crawford, Pedey, etc being able to run is a huge asset.  The Angels won a championship being able to go first to third and the Sox now don't have to always be station to station.  These decisions are a whole lot more complicated than the OP acknowledges.  The bottom line is the Sox are positioned for 2011 to be one of the best teams in baseball.  The early season slump kept them from getting out of the gate like the 1984 Tigers.  But the Sox are hitting their stride now.  They are also set up for the future with draft picks to replace some of the talent lost in the Gonzalez deal.  You see, running an organization is much more than just grading one move as a success or failure.
Posted by jimdavis