Red Sox... show some willpower this off season

I know what I am about to write is not going to be embraced by all Red Sox fans… especially in the wake of a Yankees World Series celebration and a ticket price increase at Fenway.

I realize all Red Sox fans who are 14 years old and under have no real memory of a Red Sox team that didn’t fancy itself a pennant contender.

Even the most recent Sox team to fail to make the playoffs, the 2006 edition, was in first place at the All Star Break.

And I also know that the Red Sox have gained a reputation of being Yankee-esque in terms of free agent gluttony and raiding low budget clubs for top players in exchange for subpar prospects.

But please hear me out… especially young Red Sox fans and recent bandwagon jumpers.

I do not think the Red Sox should be aggressive this off season.

The Red Sox have too many long term holes on their team and I don’t think a free agent spending spree is the answer.

Nor is trading away a ton of young talent... even for an Adrian Gonzalez.

This year will be the end of David Ortiz’s career in Fenway. And you can say the same for Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek. The season should be a farewell tour to those three great Red Sox and maybe have a chance to say good bye properly instead of awkwardly.

(For examples of beloved Red Sox who were given awkward goodbyes, please refer to Tiant, Fisk, Evans, Boggs, Clemens, Vaughn, Garciaparra, Martinez, Damon, Foulke, Ramirez.)

But there are long term question marks at shortstop. (Is Jed Lowrie really the answer?)
There are long term question marks at catcher. (Victor Martinez can do the job now, but he should be a first baseman.)
There are long term question marks in the corner outfield positions. (Unless you think we are truly entering the Jeremy Hermedia era.)

And I do NOT want to see the Red Sox turn into a team that has a revolving door of veterans breaking down to fill those holes.

Look at the post Cal Ripken Orioles and the recent Mets to see teams like that.

And oh yeah, the Orioles and Mets were considered to be powerhouses with great fan bases and perennial contenders… like the Red Sox.

It can ugly in an awful hurry.

I’d rather take a step back for a year and fix the problems and be a contender in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 rather than plug holes each year with the moronic refrain “Red Sox fans won’t accept anything less than a World Series contender every year.”