First, and foremost,...we won't be able to truly evaluate the John Lester trade until, at least the playoffs. If Oakland gets to the world series, and maybe even wins it because of John Lester, then Oakland got the better of the deal. But that's a big "IF." They better make sure they have a very good defense to back him up. (along with timely hitting). Sports pundits always say, "Offense gets you there but defense wins championships." I don't disagree with that BUT, in baseball, the saying is PITCHING wins it and that's not entirely true. Good pitching WITH good defense wins titles. But the name of the game is still...score more runs than the other team and you definitely win. Period!
ALSO, although it hasn't been widely reported, there was a lot of problems in the lockerroom.....
John Lackey's big mouth complaining that he would NOT play for the $500,000 his contract called for next year!! Let's make this clear---that clause was Lackey's idea (for some reason) but the Sox would have fixed that if Lackey kept up his performance. Remember, in four years he only had little more than one year where he pitched well. NOTE---some think it's because he already had his big deal and he's been known to hold back until his contract year anyway. We've seen that before haven't we?
Leadership in the clubhouse was missing. David Ortiz relinquished his role as a leader when he started to complain, IN THE MEDIA, about demanding an extension or he'd leave the team! That's not what team leaders do. Leaders work for the good of the entire team, not just themselves. He's already being paid a few million more than any other team would pay him. I feel a good rule of thumb is---would Red Auerbach stand for that? Absolutely not! By the way---Bill Belichick runs his teams with those same Auerbachian principles.....negotiate in the media---bad mouth the team to the media, etc---and you're gone. You can't have a CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM until you have built a team. Every winning coach in the history of pro sports has coached that way...ALSO, Dustin Pedroia
running up the "back stairs" to the bosses is not a team leader's position. The biggest complaint was the manager playing THREE guys who couldn't hit their weight being fixtures in the batting order for over 60 games. If the manager isn't going to give us every chance to win it can't help but hurt team moral. Another smaller complaint was moving Bogartes from shortstop to third base. Actually he doesn't even belong in the major leagues yet.....'nuf said!
NOTE---As of this writing John Lester is 2-1 for Oakland while Yoenis Cespedes has TWO walk-off hits and has driven in 24% of the entire teams runs since he got here. He's affected at least three of the batters around him who see better pitches because of him. That should tell a little bit of the trade right there. And that doesn't even address the other guys the Sox got with their trades. In case you've missed my point...I think the Sox did well under the circumstances AND...they still have a chance to sign Lester in the off-season. They KNOW Billy Bean will not pony up the $20 plus millions Lester is looking for. I believe that factored in heavily in trading with Oakland rather than the other teams. And there's still more "dealing" to come.....Stay Tuned