How Sweep it is...

Wow! To come from a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees and then sweep the best team in baseball (record wise) is quite an accomplishment. We have been waiting for this for a long time and it now seems worthwhile. Lets just hope it won't take that long to get back here again.

So now it's time for the business side of things to come into play. Theo Epstein did a great job building this team, now he has some decisions to make. I think now is the time for him to really prove his worth. First of all I think he has to re-sign Jason Varitek and I am pretty sure this will happen, that seems like a no-brainer. Then the decisions become a little harder. Pedro? D-Lowe? These two guys were instrumental in this World Series run, but will they be back next year? My guess is Pedro - No, D-Lowe - Yes. Money will be a factor here. At $17.5 Million and 33 years of age, Pedro will not be a hot commodity, imho, but who knows, as for D-Lowe, he earned $4.5 Million this year, relatively cheap for a good pitcher. I see him sticking around for a similar salary that will likely include some bonus clauses for performance.

I think pitching will be the key to a good team for next year. Timlin and Embree are in their final years of contracts, actually the team holds options for each of them for next year. Both of these guys are affordable, so I say the options will be picked up. Millar and Mueller are in the same boat, options that I think will be picked up.

So the key is Pedro. Do they or don't they. There are a few quality pitchers out there that could be had if the Sox cut Pedro loose. I guess we will have to wait and see, looks like this of-season is shaping up to be as exciting as the playoff run... well, almost...