Early Signs Point to Winter Action Sparking Another Red Sox Resurrection

The smartest thing the Red Sox have done over the past few months is not the signing of Pablo Sandoval (though that was good). Or viewing Hanley Ramirez as a left fielder (he sure ain't a shortstop anymore). Or continuing to woo Jon Lester (decision time is looming).

No, the smartest thing the Red Sox have done was cut bait with last summer's lost cause of a club the millisecond they identified that the season had gotten away.

By dealing Lester, John Lackey and Jake Peavy at the trade deadline last July, the Red Sox got an enormous jump start on 2015.

By corralling Sandoval and Ramirez, on paper at least, the Sox instantly improved a weak-tea offense that ranked tied for 11th in the American League in runs scored last summer (634) and a woeful 14th in the AL with a .369 slugging percentage.

Now, give the Red Sox a couple of starting pitchers and look out. It's easy to envision Boston, which won it all in 2013, leaping aboard San Francisco's every-other-year plan and contending again in 2015.

Clearly, general manager Ben Cherington has some texts to return, calls to make and emails to send. The light is still burning at his architect's table. Add Sandoval and Ramirez to Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig, Rusney Castillo, Shane Victorino, Daniel Nava and Jackie Bradley Jr., and what you've got is...enough grist to keep the hot stove chattering for a few more weeks.

"We always want to try to have center fielder-quality defense in both center field and right field at Fenway Park because right field is such a tough position in Fenway," Cherington told MLB Network Radio on Wednesday. "And we feel with that collection of guys, we'll have a good chance to do that."

The Red Sox's master plan, according to industry sources, is to add one starting pitcher via free agency and one via trade. And they have plenty of outfielders to deal. Of course, who knows how things will work out in the end?

The trade market is flooded with pitchers at the moment—Cole Hamels? Jordan Zimmermann? Johnny Cueto? Jeff Samardzija? Bartolo Colon? Ian Kennedy?—which benefits a club like the Sox. And with more extra outfielders than the Dodgers ever dreamed of, Cherington has plenty of directions he can go.As for Lester (or James Shields or even Max Scherzer), Red Sox owner John Henry said last week that even spending $180 million for Sandoval and Ramirez doesn't mean more checks can't be written. Henry flat-out said that the Red Sox could spend their way past the $189 million luxury-tax threshold for the first time since 2011.

"The way it's structured, we can blow through one year," Henry told Boston reporters, per MLB.com's Ian Browne. "Again, for next year, we have tremendous flexibility, so we could go through for one year and have it not overly affect us."

That takes us from the debate over how much money the Red Sox are willing to spend to how they're spending it. So far so good, except for the Ramirez contract.

Yes, Sandoval at five years and $95 million could become a little weighty. But if Sandoval himself does, the Red Sox will be protected by the DH spot in a post-David Ortiz world.

The problem with four years and $88 million for Ramirez is that it looks an awful lot like what the Red Sox unloaded a few years ago in Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez. Square peg, round hole.

It's no secret that Ramirez's attitude needs to be taken in for servicing every 3,000 miles. It's also no secret that, turning 31 this month, Ramirez is aging more quickly than the parents of a curfew-smashing teenager. Basically put on notice by the Dodgers in his walk year last spring that he was auditioning for a multiyear deal, Ramirez still missed 34 games with an assortment of injuries. Two years ago, he played in only 86 games.

Elbow, oblique, hand, thumb, hamstring...the only part of Ramirez that hasn't been bruised over the past two years is his ego. No more, said the Dodgers.

This is where the move to left field could be a brilliant stroke by the Red Sox. Without the daily wear and tear at shortstop, his health should improve. But will he keep smiling? Upon arriving in Los Angeles in 2012, Ramirez promptly posted a bumper sticker over his locker that read: "Attitude is Everything, Pick a Good One."

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2288335-france-should-grant-legend-thierry-henry-a-farewell-appearance