Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
If it's not really fucking stupid, it's incredibly, shortsightedly premature. Take your pick.
The 2014 season is OVER. Have no doubt about that. Now is the time for prospect development and evaluation. Get him back to SS as soon as possible for those purposes.
I have to concur. It'd be interesting to see if the team rebounds once "the pressure is off." So I can't quite rule out a mid-season run of some kind. Pending FA acquisitions, I'd thing the Sox are best off getting their rookies' feet wet. Catcher, 3B/SS, OF seem to be the most obvious slots to improve on - either through smart development this year or FA acquisitions.
No future in Boston: Drew, Hackzynski, Peavy
Maybe a future in Boston, maybe tradeable: Lester, Uehara, Ross, Carp, Mujica, Gomes?
Guys who need to play at the ML level when healthy: WMB, RDLR, JBJ, Xander (3b/SS), Nava, Mookie (OF - or do we send him down and stop the clock?).
Guys who need to rest or be driven slowly with 2015 in mind: Pedroia, Victorinio, Ortiz, Napoli?, Doubront?, Buccholz?, RDLR?, Lester (post signing?)
Callups for exposure?:
Vazquez, Brentz, Hassan?, Shaw?, Barnes, Britton, Webster, Wilson, Wright.
Especially volatile/young players whose success or failure will set the course of the 2015 Sox (assuming no acquisitions) and who therefore should be planned for in terms of coaching, fitness, development: Buchholz, X, JBJ, WMB, Vasquez, (RDLR/Workman/Doubront/Webster/etc.)
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I'd trade Peirzynski, Drew and Peavy for anything PLUS an innings eating catcher with the right work ethic and batting approach, I'd then promote Vasquez to get his feet wet (and then send him back down to AAA).
I'd then rotate some of my AAA players up to get them cups of coffee/exposure, including any ML bats (Brentz?, Shaw?).
I'd coddle the older players (Victorino, esp) and get them lots of rest. I'd get everyone on board with the idea that they play Game #1 of 2015 like it's do or die and go from there; no trips to DC, no "I'll work my way into playing shape" as the season goes, etc.