The Case for Change

If the Boston Red Sox stand pat at the trade deadline, it's a sign that they are not willing to spend money to right the ship that has been floundering since last September. It's obvious to ownership, management & Red Sox Nation what the problem is. The problem is Josh Beckett & Jon Lester. Throw in John Lackey if he was healthy. Beckett & Lackey are being paid like #1 starters when they are both very average pitchers right now. Can they occasionally throw a good game? Yes. But they cannot duplicate 2 or 3 or 4 good games in a row like most #1 starters do. Jon Lester is a mess with his control. He has been healthy all year & he still can't find the reason for his wildness within the strike zone. To fix the problem of Beckett, Lester & next year Lackey will cost the team money. The team will need to eat half or more of the current contracts with Lester having the most team-friendly contract of the 3. The solution is to bring in - via trade or free agency - a real #1, top-of-the-rotation guy to compliment Clay Buchholz as a 1-2 combination. My first choice would be Felix Hernandez from Seattle. Lester is from the Northwest & would probably enjoy a chance to play closer to home. Since the Mariners need offense I would package Lester with Nava, Kalish, Lars Anderson, Nate Spears & pretty much any 3 or 4 prospects from Pawtucket or Portland. Make it a 5 for 1 deal. If we can't get Hernandez, I would go next with Matt Garza &/or Ryan Dempster from the Cubs. Other than these 3, the rest of the available pitchers from the few teams out of the race are no better than Cook, Doubront or Morales. If the Red Sox don't bring in a quality starter or two, forget about the playoffs this year.