Let the offseason banter begin

Off the field, though, there could be some movement. There are some big names out there, like Jake Peavy and A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira and Derek Lowe. Oh, and that Manny Ramirez guy. While we know one of those five (hint, hint, his name is Manny) won't be heading to Boston this offseason, Theo Epstein said last Monday that the Sox could do something big this offseason. Or they could do nothing at all. Remember, after all, that their big free agent signing last offseason was Sean Casey, whose disappearing act in October was rather impressive.

We've got a little of everything, and a lot of Teixeira today.

Yes, I know the mailbag's home is on Fridays, so I hope this doesn't turn your week upside down. But we will be doing mailbags periodically throughout the postseason, so be sure to send in your hot stove questions. We'll get you as many answers as we can. So with that, catch you next time.

So everyone is talking about signing Mark Teixeira in the offseason and who he would replace, Lowell, Youk, maybe Papi. But why not trade Jason Bay? He is a fastball hitter only and takes up a corner spot in the outfield where a good all-around hitter who also hits for power like Kevin Youkilis could fit. In my opinion Bay is the weakest link out of all of them and if you stuck Tex at first there wouldn;t any defensive drop off from moving Youkilis...your thoughts?
Ron, Haverhill

A: I actually had just this conversation with colleague Nick Cafardo on the way to the ballpark for Game 1 of the World Series. Though I haven't spoken to Kevin Youkilis about it, I'm not sure he would be interested in playing left field. He hasn't seemed all that happy with it when Terry Francona has placed him in the outfield out of need. But I do think the Sox are going to go after Teixeira. It just makes too much sense to not make a pitch for him, though it seems that the Angels will also be pursuing him. And you're right, that does leave an odd man out. The Sox could trade Bay, though from what I've heard they're very happy with him. Lowell is more likely to be on the block, as the Sox can't be sure what he's going to give them coming back from his hip injury. The Sox have said the surgery was a success, but that doesn't mean he's going to be the player he was in 2007. Youkilis would be much happier going back to third, a position that he prefers in some ways to playing first base. Of course, that's all predicated on the Sox actually getting Teixeira, which is far from a certainty.

Hi Amalie. I love your column and articles! We all know the questions about re-signing Jason Varitek. If we do (and I hope we do!) would there be any benefit to him hitting from only one side of the plate so he would have more time to focus on that side? He struggled more from the left side, but maybe his numbers would have been just as bad if he batted righty vs. right handed pitchers. What's your opinion?
Denise Wlodyka, Sedley, Va.

A: I've heard this a lot this year, that Varitek should focus only on the hitting from the right side. (For your reference, Varitek hit .284 as a righty, and .201 as a lefty. He did hit eight of his 13 home runs as a lefty.) But Varitek has said repeatedly that it wouldn't help him, and he seems unwilling to make the switch. His rationale is that the matchups are better when he can go lefty-right on a pitcher and, despite the poor numbers from the left side, they might not improve if he solely focused on hitting from one side.

Hey Amalie: Great coverage all postseason! I wanted to know who you think the Sox will concentrate on in acquiring in the off season? I would love to see the Sox go for Mark Teixeira. I'm hoping Ortiz will rest and heal up in the offseason but he's getting older. Also, Lowell is also getting old and we don't know how he will respond to his rehab. Now I know that these guys have "longer" term contracts but Teixeira could play first and DH (if Papi doesn't come back as the Papi we know), keep a big bat in the lineup with Youk at 1st and 3rd. I know you don't want to spend all that money and platoon these guys but there just seem to be too many uncertainties. What do you think?
M.Romeo, Los Angeles

A: I think Teixeira is likely to be a priority. Theo Epstein said, on Monday, that there's a chance the Sox could do something big this offseason, unlike last year. Teixeira would certainly be big. The Sox are going to have a lot of competition on that front, though, including the Angels and the Yankees.

Do you think the Sox will sit down with Ellsbury and talk to him about walking more and laying down some bunts once in a while? Its a shame that a guy with his speed is not bunting more, and trying to get more infield hits, rather then his line drives to the outfield.
Mike Burnat, Uxbridge

A: It would make a whole bunch of sense, Mike. He did seem to be hitting a lot more fly balls than is normally good for someone without a lot of power and with a lot of speed. Especially when he's struggling, as he did during the ALCS, it might have made more sense for him to work on bunting, and certainly on getting the ball down on the ground in order for him to have even a chance to beat out an infield hit or two. Then again, it also might have made sense for David Ortiz to work on his bunting skills in the postseason. Ellsbury is still young and needs to learn quite a bit about how he (and his skill set) and be utilized in the coming years in order to allow him to improve as an offensive force.

Amalie, Quick question in the wake of Game 5 of the ALCS: When a guy hits a walk-off home run he's obviously credited with a round-tripper and all that entails for his slugging percentage, power stats, etc. With any other walk-off hit it seems the batter is always credited with a single - even if it's a drive into the gap or a high ball of the Monster or whatever - presumably because he rarely runs past first while the winning run scores and because there's some subjectivity involved and the scorekeeper can't assume an extra base hit. However, in the case of J.D. Drew's winner in Game 5, the ball bounced over the wall for what clearly (no subjectivity here) would be ruled a ground-rule double under any other circumstances. Why is he only credited with a single? Kind of a moot point, I realize, but it does affect his (and the team's) postseason stats, and it seems the rules should give credit where credit is due. Plus, a ground-rule double in this case was important because it guaranteed Youk would score from second, even if he tripped rounding third, whereas a traditional single could have led to a play at the plate. Can you clarify what the scoring rules are on this? Thanks.
Drew Kramer, Denver, Colo.

A: You're not the only one who asked. Drew was credited with a single, even though the ball bounced out of the playing field, because he never reached second base. He can't have a double if he doesn't reach second. Had his teammates not mobbed him, it would have been a different story. Most people might remember Robin Ventura's grand slam single in the 1999 NLCS between the Mets and the Braves. Ventura hit the ball out with the bases loaded for a grand slam, but only one runner scored and Ventura never made it past first base. So he was credited with a game-winning single and just one RBI.

Hi, Amalie - Have fun following the offseason! I have really enjoyed Ask Amalie and love having a mailbag. I have a question about Mark Kotsay and Sean Casey. I am curious why the Sox went with Kotsay at first in favor of Casey for the last bit of the regular season and through (most of) the playoffs. Isn't Casey a better hitter? He is a regular first baseman - why was Francona (and/or Epstein) not confident in his defensive ability there? Cheers.
Helen Hamel, Wellesley

A: I would say that, ultimately, Kotsay is a better offensive and defensive player at first base at this point than Sean Casey is. Not only is Casey prohibitively slow on the basepaths, but he's essentially a singles hitter at this point. A slow singles hitter can do a lot to clog up the bases. The Sox were also pleasantly surprised by Kotsay's ability at first base. I know it's not his preferred position, but it will give him some additional attractiveness in the offseason in terms of finding an starting spot on another club. Kotsay made some great plays at first -- notably in Game 4 against the Angels -- and performed better than the Sox thought Casey would at the position, which is why he became their starter after they lost Mike Lowell.

In your most recent Mailbag, you answered a question regarding Justin Masterson's place on the Sox next year. You mentioned the 4-man rotation of Lester, Wakefield, Matsuzaka, and Beckett, and Michael Bowden as a possible up-and-comer. What, then, do you foresee as the future for Clay Buchholz? He struggled mightily this year, yet I'd hate to see the Sox give up on him.
Emily, Lynchburg, Va.

A: You weren't the only one who noticed that I didn't include Buchholz. That was an oversight on my part. If Buchholz can correct some of the deep issues that he had this season (mechanically and mentally, with his confidence), he could be in the mix for the major league rotation or could be used as depth in the minors next season. He seems to have also moved off the untouchable pile, and could be included in a trade this offseason. But, yes, if the indications we're getting from Buchholz's performance in the Arizona Fall League hold true, he could certainly be judged in that group of potential starters for the Sox. The biggest news from Arizona was that Buchholz's changeup appears to be back to where it was before this season. That would be a major upgrade for him over what he showed in 2008.

How do the Red Sox explain letting go of Carlos Pena or justify in 20/20 hindsight the trade of Hanley Ramirez, a future Hall-of-Famer, for Josh Beckett, with just one superior season out of three? Right now they could be fielding an infield of Youkilis at third, H. Ramirez at short, Pedroia at second and Pena at first. That would be truly awesome, and no one in baseball -- not even the Yankees, let alone Tampa -- could come close to matching it. Penny-wise, pound-foolish? Would appreciate your insight.
A.P. Warren, Bethesda, Md.

A: It's extremely difficult to fault the Sox for not seeing the potential in Carlos Pena. Lots of teams weren't convinced on him, including the Rays, whose major league roster he nearly didn't make out of spring training last season. As for the Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell for Hanley Ramirez swap, that's more debatable. I think that the Sox would likely not have won the 2007 World Series without that trade, given how much the Beckett and Lowell combination led that team. That being said, ultimately has this proven to be a trade tilted toward the Marlins? Over the course of their careers, that's a good possibility. If Lowell can't come back from his hip injury -- though the Sox seemed excited about his long-term prognosis -- and Beckett doesn't regain his form, that's likely the case. I do think Beckett in 2009 will be much better than in 2008. Perhaps this is a case where it worked out for both clubs in different ways. The Sox sure could use Ramirez at shortstop, though.

Love your take on all things Sox. Not to throw anyone under the bus, but since Curt Schilling's doctor accurately predicted the shoulder outcome, should the Sox have let him have the surgery back in January giving him a chance to pitch in the postseason? An extra live arm couldn't hurt at this point. Regards.
Rob K., Scarsdale, N.Y.

A: Thanks. Yes, the Sox should have let him get the surgery. They thought their best chance to get something out of Schilling was to hope he could come back with rest and rehab. He couldn't. They were wrong. Of course, there's no telling what Schilling would have had post-surgery to give the Sox, but Boston would have had at least a better shot at getting anything more than that 55-foot ceremonial first pitch for their $8 million this season. E-Sox, on this one.

Dear Amalie, one question that I have had for some time: it seems to me that Dustin Pedroia is now a darling of both the national media and his manager. However, thinking back on the 2007 season, I can recall Francona cringing at press conferences when grilled over the Pedroia vs. Cora questions as the rookie was in quite a slump during the first part of the season. In your opinion, was Pedroia pushed on Francona by the management or did Francona truly believe in his potential as a full-fledged, everyday, major leaguer? Cordiali saluti,
Richard Bonanno, Centerville

A: I'd say that it was a combination of the two. I think Francona has a lot of faith in Theo Epstein and Sox management and their belief helped him believe that Pedroia would find his way as a major league player. Even Alex Cora seemed to think that Pedroia would snap out of his funk and find his offensive touch. That Pedroia has developed into an MVP candidate is certainly a testament not only to Pedroia's talent, but to his team and coaching staff to stand by him when he was struggling. I grew up in Medford so I am a long time Red Sox fan. Ever since my son attended the University of Richmond I have followed Sean Casey's career with interest. It was great to have him sign with the Red Sox last spring. I do not understand why he did not start any play off games since he hit .322 during the year and their major weakness appeared to be hitting. Do you think that he will be back next year? By the way, I hope that you will be back also because I enjoy your writing.
Ken Spear, Glen Allen, Va.

A: I would be surprised if Sean Casey came back next year for the Sox. It's too bad, especially since he's one of the best baseball players I've ever dealt with. That nickname -- the Mayor -- is right on. He just seemed to have little utility for the Sox down the stretch, as Terry Francona showed far more faith in the skills of Mark Kotsay than he did of Casey, both in the field and at the bat. (Ah, yes, Casey at the bat.)