Friday, November 25, 2011

What the Red Sox should be thankful for

1. John Lackey will miss the entire 2012 season.  Hopefully some extended time off will allow the 33 year-old to regroup mentally and come back with a clear head for the 2013 season.  He's been a colossal bust thus far in Boston, and the Sox need him to be a servicable pitcher, at the very least, over the final two years of his deal.

2. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has given this city more headaches than starts since 2009, is entering the final year of his six year, $52 million deal.

3. The bullpen has a natural replacement for recently departed Jonathan Papelbon in Daniel Bard

4. J.D. Drew is a free-agent, so Boston no longer has to pay him $14 million a year for 65 RBI and an equal number of at-bats ending in called strike threes.

5. Josh Beckett, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia all bounced back from injury marred 2010s and seem to be fine going forward.  Hopefully the same can be said for Clay Buchholz.

6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia proved he can be a solid everyday backstop and capable replacement for Captain Jason Varitek

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