CNN/SI Preview: Boston Red Sox
Posted: Tuesday March 02, 1999 05:48 PM
| |
Offerman will be counted upon to give the Red Sox some pop in the lineup as soon as he can find a position. AP |
By Bryan Boyle, CNN/SI
Since failing to re-sign Roger Clemens,
Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette has watched the Rocket win two Cy
Young awards and, as if it couldn't get any worse, reemerge in Yankee
pinstripes. Another former New England fixture -- and former MVP -- went
without re-signing this offseason. With first baseman Mo Vaughn lost to
the Anaheim Angels,
the question begs: Who'll replace Vaughn and his .337 batting average, 40
HRs and 115 RBIs from last season?
Jose Offerman?
Weren't we taught not to answer a question with a question?
Not only are Boston fans leery of the lone big offseason acquisition in
Offerman, but they're also unsure where he'll play. Where the
switch-hitting Offerman -- who signed a four-year, $26 million deal -- will
bat is leadoff, where he complied career highs in on-base percentage (.403)
and stolen bases (45) for the Kansas City Royals last
year. But his field position is yet undetermined.
Offerman may play second base, where his defense has been shaky and where
Jeff Frye seems
ready to start after a knee injury ended his 1998 season in spring
training. Offerman may share time at first base, where his defense will be
even shakier and where Mike Stanley
aims to situate himself. Or, Offerman may be used as a designated hitter
along with Reggie
Jefferson.
Regardless, if Offerman emerges as the team's best leadoff hitter since Wade Boggs, the
Fenway Faithful may forgive his fielding. But if Offerman doesn't work out
at the plate and on the base paths, much less turning the double play or
easing into a DH role, the Faithful may not forgive Duquette. 1998
Recap (92-70, second place, AL East)
In all fairness, Duquette did coax Pedro
Martinez from Montreal. Martinez, who went 19-7 with a 2.89 ERA and 251
strikeouts in his first year in the American League, led a staff that was
second in the AL in ERA (4.19) and batting-average against (.255).
Meanwhile the Red Sox offense, behind the noisy bats of Vaughn and
shortstop Nomar
Garciaparra, quietly compiled third-place AL finishes in batting
average (.280) and runs.
With the balance of power and pitching, Boston advanced to the second-best
record in the AL. As well, the Red Sox finished as one of only five teams
in the league with a winning road record. Nevertheless, Boston dropped two
straight one-run losses at Fenway to lose its division series 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians.
1999 Outlook
Manager Jimy Williams can only hope his new right fielder, Trot Nixon,
realizes his power-hitting potential in his rookie season. Nixon, 24,
overcame injuries and hit .310 with 23 HRs and 26 stolen bases in Class AAA
last year. While his arm isn't, in his own words, "the strongest in the
world," Nixon and Offerman on the same base paths could generate runs for
an aging pitching staff.
Along with Martinez and Garciaparra, closer Tom Gordon must
duplicate last season's efforts to return Boston to the postseason. Gordon
saved a major league-record 43 straight games last season en route to 46
total.
But if starters Bret Saberhagen, 34, and Tim Wakefield,
32, struggle early, or if newcoming fourth and fifth starters Pat Rapp, 31,
and Mark Portugal, 36, not improve their combined 4.90 ERA from last
season, Gordon may not have another 47 save opportunities. And Boston may
not have baseball in October.
|
