What John Henry Can Learn From Belichick’s 4th and 2

Sure, this is a Red Sox site, not a Patriots one. But, we would be remiss if we ignored the lessons of the greater Boston sports community for lack of a baseball diamond. Whether or not you agree with Belichick’s 4^th and 2 call is irrelevant. The interesting part of the move is that Belichick actually did it. While the credit goes to Belichick for making a gutsy call – whatever credit is left to go around after the loss – should go to Robert Kraft. There are very few organizations in any walk of life, let alone sports, that foster a culture where a coach can take a risk like Belichick did – and not worry about job termination in the event of failure.

Theo’s “95-Win Team”, Beckett’s Extension, Falling Dominoes, and the Mailbag

Theo’s “95-Win Team" In recent years, one of the most important axioms put forth by the Theo Epstein and the Red Sox front office is the law of the “95-Win Team”. According to this directive, the team’s goal is to target 95-wins annually in an effort to compete every season. This is really a great piece of wisdom, as a team that wins 95 games will make the playoffs most years. In fact, the Wild Card winner since 2003 – the first year Theo took the esteemed office of Red Sox General Manger – has averaged a record of just about 95-67. However, this doctrine relies on one major assumption – that this team will always be able to perform up to their expected level... Josh Beckett's Extension Over the past few days, rumors have been circulating that the Sox and the Josh Beckett camp have been discussing a contract extension. Adding fuel to the rumors, Beckett and agent Michael Moye have indicated that there will be no hometown discount for the Sox, so the team will have to be ready to shell out quite a bit of cash. Introducing the FireBrand Mailbag And, finally, introducing the FireBrand mailbag, where we will answer all of your darkest, most burning questions about Red Sox Baseball. If you would like to ask the writers a question to be answered on the site, please forward your inquiries to Mike_Silver_FireBrandAL@yahoo.com.

Red Sox represented in All-Decade honors

The Sporting News released their All-Decade honors today. The Red Sox were well-represented with David Ortiz winning DH of the…

The Red Sox know how to manage “injuries.”

If Lowell goes down, Youk can shift to third and David Ortiz and Chris Carter can share the 1B/DH spots. Or even Rocco could DH at times. If Daisuke suffers from "arm fatigue." Which could also be labeled as "we are being careful with him because of the the WBC." Then Justin Masterson can shift from the pen to the rotation.

But Theo has built a team that can handle suspensions, injuries, performance issues, more than just about any team in the game of baseball. And the organization as a whole has built a farm system that has the players to either be quality Major Leaguers, fill temporary holes, or be traded to address any of these "holes."

Fangraphs weighs in on the state of “Our” Red Sox organization.

Although the team has promoted some of its talent; Lowrie, Buchholz?, and Ellsbury. It is still a very strong system, with the lower minors adding a lot of recently drafted talent as well. Less-known talent of course, but talent nonetheless. The team knows what they are doing in this regard, and even though they will probably experience a few down years in terms of drafting players, they seem to be ahead of most teams in the way they evaluate talent.

Lucchino and Henry want civilized spending

See, in a perfect world, every team would have a General Manager/Front Office that could make good moves, while spending as little money as possible. In this world, the top-tier payrolls would have a distinct advantage. If every GM was skilled at their job, and there wasn't much difference between the minds that are within each organization, then the extra money that a club would have, would play an even more significant role.

Breaking Jason Varitek’s psychological hold on the Red Sox

What does the return of Varitek mean for the club? Does it mean "more of the same?" No, I don't think it does. The actions of management over the last year have shown that the club is intent on shaking the psychological hold that Varitek holds over the team.

Varitek is a great leader, "The Captain," renowned for his hard work. But no one can defeat time, and if the Sox are to weather the transition from Varitek into another catcher, the team has to be weaned off 'Tek and how much he means to the club.

Sox’s recent additions don’t mean young pitchers will be dealt

The Boston Red Sox have made a few sensational low-cost, high-reward moves lately, bringing in Rocco Baldelli, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito and John Smoltz.

This has led several people to posit that the Red Sox may now be more amenable to dealing Michael Bowden, Clay Buchholz or Justin Masterson for a catcher such as Texas' Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden and Arizona's Miguel Montero.

Really?

Don't be so quick to assume the Sox may be more likely to ship out some of their younger pitching because of these deals.

Rocco Baldelli, John Smoltz signings are master strokes

Smoltz - y-its-mom (Flickr)

As we all know by now, the Boston Red Sox are on the cusp of signing outfielder Rocco Baldelli and starting pitcher John Smoltz to contracts. These are master strokes by general manager Theo Epstein.

All that's standing in the way of Penny, Smoltz and Baldelli is not ineffectiveness, it's injury. And all indications (considering the Red Sox do their homework on this) is that these players do not have injuries holding them back anymore.

They're ready and able to get Boston that World Series ring in a year where they have two heavyweights on their back in the Yankees and Rays. What the Yankees and Rays may not be counting on, however, is that the Sox, as presently constituted, could be better than them.

Building a Dynasty

In the wake of a season that ended five wins short of everyone's hopes but was gratifying in it's entirety nonetheless, the attention shifts from on field activities to the maneuvers of the front office behind the scenes.

The 2008 Boston Red Sox may not have fulfilled their ultimate organizational goal of a World Series championship, but they met a season filled with obstacle head on and emerged still one of the best teams in baseball over the course of 162 plus games.

From the exile of Manny Ramirez to the emergence of Jon Lester, 2008 proves one thing above all else, under Theo Epstein's management the organization itself is the organization's greatest asset.