Is Crow On The Menu? (Part I)

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I'm pretty damn pumped about the Sox this season and while I'm always the optimist, this year really has a special feel to it. I am buying into the way they've figured out that their best year was in 2005 and thus intelligently tried to replicate it.

Gone is the softball lineup, back is the speed and top-to-bottom dynamic approach (and I'd argue, done so in an even better way than in 2005).

Gone are unproven arms in the pen, back is a stable of guys who might end up being a dominant 7th, 8th, or 9th inning arm this year (five different guys have a long history of doing just that).

Gone are unreliable youngsters and gutless vets in the rotation, back is a one through five group where anyone can win 17 (all but Danks already have).

However, I haven't agreed with everything Kenny and Ozzie have done. Specifically, I was totally blown away by the decision to acquire Mark Teahen and give him $15M for the next three seasons. And I didn't see any wisdom to bringing in Andruw Jones and counting on him for significant semi-regular production.

Today - why I no longer hate the Teahen moves. Tomorrow - why I no longer hate the Andruw Jones move.

With Teahen, I've since come around on the motivation to move Getz. Beckham is a franchise cornerstone and the team wanted him at 2B. That means Getz had to go, despite the scrappy value and upside he had. Hey, that happens - you can't always find a spot for everyone and certainly Getz doesn't seem like a guy who will be remembered as "the one that got away."

However, I'm still uncertain if the corresponding move was to add Teahen. And then give him $5M per for three. To me his stats SCREAM mediocre utility IF, and those guys are a dime a dozen, easily had for $1M and a one year deal. Heck, even if you see his high end as a legit starting 3B, you can't expect him to be better Juan Uribe or Pedro Feliz, who both signed only one year deals for around $4-5M. And both of those guys are known as plus glove men, which Teahen is not.

But here's the thing - I may end up eating crow on this. Teahen's career numbers (outside of a fluke stretch in 2005) and his Spring numbers suggest otherwise. But I'm starting to come around to the idea that Teahen brings more to the table than the numbers. Maybe hitting .270 in the #9 hole and being average defensively at third will be enough.

Why? Because Teahen apparently is a bigtime jokester. Sounds like a ludicrous reason to forgive a stunning lack of production and overpayment, but I'm a big believer in chemistry. Not just in how the guys like each other, but what they bring out of each other. I made a big deal at the beginning of last year that losing The OC and Swish would hurt this team. They both brought something necessary to the clubhouse and I didn't see anyone replacing it.

Was that the reason we struggled instead of returning to the playoffs? You know, I think it was part of it. Not the major part, but a part. And just like a utility infielder or second lefty out of the pen, even smaller parts are important when your goal is winning the whole damn thing. So yeah, I think it hurt to lose The OC's intense, dickish need to perform.

The guy has done nothing but play in the postseason since he was traded from Montreal to the BoSox in 2004 - I think his attitude is one of those reasons. You need a guy who you don't feel too comfortable around, who you fear you'll piss off. Who keeps you focused on doing your job because you don't want to deal with his bitchiness if you don't. Given how low key so many of the Sox leaders were, I think they needed OC around. Combined with AJ, you had a few guys ratcheting up the intensity, not in a rah-rah way, but in a this-shit-is-for-real way.

Swish actually brings the opposite, but I think it's equally necessary to having a winner. The guy's light-hearted, goofy approach is a crucial to surviving a marathon schedule. A 162 game season filled with weeklong roadtrips twice a month, with games each and every day. Hell, for most of these players, even being home isn't really home - they live in other parts of the country (or world) during the off-season.

It ain't easy to get up for every game, but it sure helps if you've got a guy who's making it fun along the way. Especially as you hit those slumps or losing streaks or just dog days of summer. Swish brought an idiocy to that 2008 team that everyone commented on - it was a clubhouse unlike any other. This from a team who'd spent 2006 and 2007 being a bunch of boring, low key stiffs incapable of getting the most out of their impressive collection of talent.

And that's why I'm mildly hopeful that my three different off-season posts whining about the idiocy of the Teahen acquisition and extension won't be part of my Best Hits compilation. From everything I've heard, he's a force of personality who will bring the joy and camaraderie that a team needs to reach that next level. Loosen guys up, keep them having fun with the game, and keep the energy level where it needs to be night in and night out.

That stuff matters. Every one in the bigs has talent. Every team is capable of winning, especially if you just want to talk about a single game. So having that slight edge of feeling loose, feeling good, being excited about baseball - that might be what you need to bring out the full talent of the squad and getting it playing beyond the sum of its parts.

You can't watch sports and not believe that the intangibles play a major part. What's predicted on paper rarely is what plays out. So I'm buying into this possibility - that Teahen's mediocre play will suffice, given what's needed of him (just not be a sure-out in the lineup or a detriment in the field). Because he's going to be important to keeping an interesting mix of personalities in the right mindset to play some special baseball this year.


Tomorrow - why Andruw Jones might not be Ken Griffey Junior Part II.

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