Roche: Sox Thoughts
BOSTON (CBS) - Just some quick thoughts on the Red Sox and their "grind it out" mentality now that Ben Cherington is in charge.
--A no-brainer for both parties as David Ortiz accepts salary arbitration and comes back next season. The 36-year-old DH is unique at that position and produces(.309, 29, 96). Ortiz gets a raise to 13-15 million dollars while the Sox can see if he shows any decline. Depending upon what his numbers are at, then he either gets another one year deal at the same money, less money, or they say good-bye.
--The way the market is working out it appears that Ryan Madson could fall to Boston as their closer. The Sox also could try to work a deal for Oakland's Andrew Bailey. Or Ben could go into the spring with Bard pegged for the role or he could sign or trade for someone that hasn't closed before. He made a point that the St Louis Cardinals began last season with Ryan Franklin as their closer and won the World Series with Jason Motte in that role. Motte had 3 saves entering the season and had 5 in the postseason.
--Will be interesting to see which right handed bat the Sox end up with to put in right field with Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick. Here are a few names and their lifetime splits vs LHP:
- Josh Willingham(.254, .372, .489)
- Cody Ross(.282, .349, .563)
- Ryan Ludwick(.237, .316, .435)
- Michael Cuddyer(.290, .378, .491)
- Carlos Beltran(.293, .364, .528)
Of course there may be other names out there, but will be interesting to see where Ben goes with this.
Enjoy the hot stove season.
