Gold glove left fielder with five-tool ability? Check. Gold glove First Baseman who is also one of the five best bats in MLB? Check.
Anything else?
Theo Epstein got to dream big at Disney, and he turned his dreams into a mighty fine reality.
Signing Carl Crawford and trading for Adrian Gonzalez has infused life into a Boston offense that it hasn't seen since the Manny Ramirez hay day. Have you honestly thought about this lineup?
1. CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia
3. LF Carl Crawford
4. 1B Adrian Gonzalez
5. 3B Kevin Youkilis
6. DH David Ortiz
7. RF J.D. Drew
8. C Jarod Saltamacchia
9. SS Marco Scutaro
Incredible. Meet the new Boston Bombers.
And consider Crawford the happiest of them all.
It's hard not to be smiling when you just signed the largest contract for an outfielder in MLB history. Everyone knew the price went up when Jayson Werth signed his 10 figure deal. And now Crawford is the newest 100 million dollar man.
But with big signings come big expectations.
Can Crawford handle the higher media and fan scrutiny after years of a relaxed atmosphere in Tampa Bay? Will he be pressing out of the gate trying to prove he's worth every bit of that 140 million dollar deal? Will his defense be wasted in the short left field porch of Fenway? Will Crawford and Gonzalez give that much more offense than what Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez provided?
There still are some questions left to be answered, namely the health of the rotation and a suspect bullpen. But make no mistake: No team has improved themselves as much as the Red Sox at this year's winter meetings.
Now that Boston has stolen the headlines for the Winter Meetings, it's time for the arms race to begin yet again.
Cliff Lee, I believe there is a Brian Cashman waiting to speak to you on line one?
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