Exactly 10 years ago, one day after the Red Sox set the baseball world on fire with the trade of Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto, the task began for Ben Cherington and Co.
This wasn't about the players the Red Sox were getting back from the Dodgers - with no disrespect to Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa. This was about stockpiling spending money for the following offseason.
Well, here we are again.
On Aug. 26, 2012 the Red Sox were 61-67. Friday they find themselves carrying a very similar record - 60-65 - with the same sort of reality Ben Cherington and Co. faced a decade ago.
We all know how things turned out, with the Red Sox fixing whatever ailed them on the way to their worst-to-first story of 2013. So wouldn't it be worth the trouble to figure out if there were any lessons to be learned from that turnaround?
As with any season or situation, this isn't an apples-to-apples situation. In many ways, what Chaim Bloom faces is more daunting that Cherington's task. Why? Because back then the Red Sox still had a core to build around thanks to the presence of David Ortiz, Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Those sort of presences this time around may all have one foot out the door. J.D. Martinez. Nathan Eovaldi. Xander Bogaerts. Michael Wacha. And even Rafael Devers. Heading into this season, they all represented the type of players that should have served as a foundation.
And we aren't even talking about the ultimate no-brainer, moving on from Bobby Valentine to someone in John Farrell who was the ultimate right-guy-at-the-right-time.
So Bloom's challenge will undoubtedly be to find at least a couple of the kind of go-to guys Cherington already had.
But here is where the post-2012 way of doing things can be appreciated by this collection of Red Sox decision-makers ...
The strategy taken by Cherington heading into 2013 was this - don't spend all the Dodgers money on one guy (Josh Hamilton), but spread it around to fill in gaps. That would seem to be an approach Bloom would certainly embraces. But there are two things that should be appreciated if and when the Red Sox go down this spread-the-money-around road.
1. You actually have to outbid for these players. When the Red Sox signed Shane Victorino to a three-year, $39 million, it was perceived above market value. The same could be said for Mike Napoli's original three-year deal, or Ryan Dempster's two-year contract. The buzz was that the Sox were overpaying for second tier players who they thought were going to be good fits.
The question this Red Sox front office is whether or not they are willing to do the same.
While the Red Sox have secured the services of such players as Matt Strahm, Trevor Story and Wacha by coming in at least a bit higher than other clubs, they undoubtedly have to take their financial aggressiveness to another level, just like Cherington did.
This won't be solely about valuing players at a certain level. This will be about getting slightly uncomfortable when it comes to going above that value ... once again, just like Cherington did.
With industry perception consistently identifying these Red Sox as a team that is less-than-aggressive when it comes to their offers and approaches, Bloom has to start flexing financial muscles he hasn't yet had to exercise.
2. There has be a value placed on presence. That a big part of the equation when bringing in Victorino, Dempster, Napoli, Jonny Gomes and David Ross. All 30-somethings who were secure in their existence. The 2023 Red Sox will need that.
It's great that the promise of Brayan Bello and Triston Casas seem around the corner. But if you don't have the likes of Bogaerts and Eovaldi helping steer this group in the right direction from a player's perspective, the weight of a season in Boston is probably going to be too heavy for even an upgraded collection of talent.
There will be names surfaced, and moves that are made. That will all be part of what figures to be a wild offseason. But as the Red Sox deal with their current lot in life, there are some lessons that should be remembered heading into this roster rebuild.
Yes, the game has changed, but the blueprint for bringing back respectability hasn't. What happened 10 years ago should not be forgotten.
Thanks to MacFarlane Energy where they provide championship quality home heating oil and HVAC services.
