Lefty Grove, Pedro Martinez, Carlton Fisk, Jimmie Foxx, Bobby Doerr, Wade Boggs, Nomar Garciaparra, Ted Williams, Dwight Evans, Fred Lynn, David Ortiz, Dave Roberts, Dick Radatz/Jonathan Papelbon, Bobby Valentine.

ok -- I jest, Terry Francona

Marcos -- That Paul Testa is one charming fella isn't he...hard to avoid the charisma!

I do agree 100% on Aviles not being an everyday option at 3B. They can get away with something less than Youk. But has to be a defensive + and a consistent presence. I don't think Aviles or Lowrie are either.

I have to agree with many commenters here thus far that Youk's trade value isn't a major league ready, high ceiling player. Not that Youk isn't worth alot, but you don't give up young controlled high end talent for aging, injury riddled guys no matter how good they are. I also don't see Pujols as a fit here -- too many long term high dollar contracts rids the roster of any long term flexibility. Too highly leveraged.

That said, I think the most enlightening thing in this piece -- and it is well thought out -- is a path to freeing up the type of money to allocate to any player (or a few players) that could make a difference immediately at Fenway Park. Well done.

It's really hard to give Youk a grade this year as injuries so depleted his ability. That said, injuries are a part of overall performance and vs. what we all expected out of Youk this was a disappointment that, luckily, the offense was able to overcome. I'll weight my grade more heavily to his healthy start and give him a C+ for the season.

I think this has to the be overall approach this offseason. The only things I'll add are (1) It may be necessary to consider moving Josh Beckett if he was truly one of the causes of the culture issues and they don't think they can swing him around and (2) I just don't see Ellsbury signing here. If that's the reality, do you consider dealing him with his value at an all time high -- especially considering it may be the only way to part with Lackey by linking them together in a deal.

Thanks Maxwell -- let me know what you would like to see more over next season from us (besides more episodes/consistency -- I hear that loud and clear already).

Fair point Frank -- I take responsibility. I moved back to MA from out of state over the summer and getting the family settled was priority #1. Glad to hear people missed us.

Darryl -- I am with you most of the way here. This is a smart ownership group and as long as Theo is around a very smart baseball operations department. Theo won't be content to let this fix itself. He has shown himself to be proactive in addressing issues that he considers that "fatal flaw".

Evan and I were discussing this on twitter -- and we both fear what could happen however if Theo weren't 100% on this ship. The Cubs rumors not withstanding, there is enough smoke to the fire of discord between Theo and management dating back to the gorilla suit exit. The issue was always autonomy around baseball operations and you can't tell me that ownership wasn't steering the ship a little this past offseason. How much Theo agreed with that course is a real question. Maybe Crawford always was his guy? We know Gonzo was. But to think Theo didn't have strong input that he felt compelled to consider from Henry and Lucchino would be naive.

I get the feeling that the Lucchino/Theo issues haven't fully worked themselves out over the years and that for the culture change that needs to happen around the club to take root, one of them needs to go. And for all the positives Larry has bought to Boston, I think his time with this team has run it's course. I would take Theo's side and the importance of the product on the field over Larry's and the overall Red Sox brand and biz ops every time as the more important cog in the overall machine. (This is mentioned in detail in the latest Fireside Chats podcast - http://firebrandal.com/2011/10/01/episode-109-whe....

It's time for ownership to double down on Theo as a part of this club's future. He is either in for the long haul or not. But lets not leave any cause for doubt. To make the hard decisions needed this offseason the Red Sox will need a unified GM/Manager combo that is ready to see this thing through for the next five years.

We'll be switching servers over the next few days to take care of this issue....thanks for the heads up!