James Loney is an average MLB first baseman and who knows if right-hand pitchers Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa or outfielder Jerry Sands will pan out for the Red Sox at the Major League level. That's besides the point and obviously, on paper in terms of talent the players that the Red Sox gave up are on a whole other level than the Dodgers.
No, this was a salary dump as the stubborn Red Sox owners and front office were able to get rid of the team's biggest pain in the ass-Beckett. Gonzalez is a fine player but he proved in his year and a half here that he's not East Coast material. He's not a leader and he seems like a guy that only really cares about his personal numbers. If the team wins or loses, well that doesn't matter as much. Bottom line, he's not a winner. He is one of the most skilled first basemen in MLB but that doesn't make him clutch or likable for that matter. He never understood that we care way too much about the Red Sox and we overanalyze everything. He's from California so I'm sure he'll be comfortable in LA. The fans (when they show up) just want to be seen there and have fun, that's all they care about.
As for Crawford, his signing even more than Gonzalez in that ill-fated week in December of 2010 never made much sense. The Red Sox already had a center fielder and leadoff hitter-Jacoby Ellsbury-that is a better all-around player than Crawford. He was wildly overpaid and clearly pressed from day one to try and justify it. Unlike Beckett who is an asshole or Gonzalez who is clueless, Crawford is a decent guy. He wanted fans to like him and with his salary and lack of production, that was probably never going to happen. After last season's nightmare, he couldn't stay healthy this season. I honestly hope he is healthy next season with the Dodgers so he can get back to the player he used to be with the Rays.
What is there left to say about the Texas Toughguy? He morphed into a super villain, the likes of which I can never recall on the Boston sports scene. He kept digging himself into a deeper hole with his terrible performances capped off by ridiculous comments to the media and general surliness. In the last year, he has dragged down many teammates around him, notably Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. By shipping him out of town and hopefully getting rid of Lackey this winter, there is hope that the Red Sox will start to get part of their soul back.
Maybe the failure of these big-ticket players, along with Daisuke Matsuzaka whose career in Boston is quickly winding down, will make the Red Sox change how they evaluate free agents going forward. It is one thing to have good numbers in Tampa Bay, Florida (now Miami) or San Diego. Those markets are nothing like Boston and the inherit pressures you get by playing here. Boston now has plenty of money to use the next few offseasons. This was a huge step in the right direction, by also moving on from Lackey and Dice-K while (please God) not bringing back Bobby Valentine, the fans will return. We can live with some rebuilding if the team suddenly is likable easy to cheer for again.
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