Cherington also pointed out the Cardinals went into the season with Albert Pujols unsigned, Adam Wainwright out for the year, and Ryan Franklin as their closer. And they won the World Series.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, had signed Carl Crawford and traded for Adrian Gonzalez. They had one of the deepest rotations in baseball. They won the offseason, hands down. But they didn’t make the playoffs.
So do we overreact to the Hot Stove? Aren’t the teams that win the teams that evolve, whether it’s through a young player coming on (as Buster Posey did with the Giants in 2010) or some guy who comes out of the clear blue and performs above and beyond?
Cherington and Valentine are correct. The pennant and the World Series aren’t won in December or January.
“That’s why you play the games,’’ said Valentine.
The 2004 Sox really didn’t find their identity until Theo Epstein made a trade-deadline deal in which he boldly sent Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs in a three-team deal that netted Boston Orlando Cabrera, Dave Roberts, and Doug Mientkiewicz, who immediately changed the dynamic of the team.
Sometimes this way of thinking is an excuse for not getting things done in the offseason. Sometimes ownership tells the GM to draw the line on expenses. But once the season starts and there’s a feeling that one key piece will get you over the hump, the competitive juices take over and teams extend themselves to get that piece.
There is nothing wrong with trying to get by with what you have.
Some of the greatest GMs in the game - folks like Epstein, Terry Ryan in Minnesota, the Yankees’ Brian Cashman - have taken the approach that, “OK, let’s see where we get with the team we have early in the season, and if we have to adjust, we’ll adjust.’’
