FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -Theo Epstein took risks that paid off with Boston’s first World Series championship in 86 years, sparking celebrations by long-suffering fans in 2004.
Then they complained when he took more chances by letting two key contributors that season, Pedro Martinez and Orlando Cabrera, leave as free agents.
But they celebrated again last year when Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, taken with the draft choices Boston received as compensation, helped the Red Sox won the title again.
The 34-year-old general manager’s approach is simple: Keep winning while integrating youngsters and ignoring critics.
“The only way to appease the perception police is to think short term, day to day, and that gets you nowhere,” Epstein said. “We’re not afraid to try something that we think might benefit the organization even if the downside is we wind up looking stupid.
“In this market, if you’re a slave to perception, you’ll be scared of your shadow every day.”
In 2004, Epstein risked the wrath of fans when he dealt Nomar Garciaparra at the trade deadline for Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. The Red Sox didn’t miss Garciaparra’s moodiness. Cabrera played errorless ball throughout the postseason and Mientkiewicz gloved the last out of the World Series.
Epstein has continued to add solid veterans while relying on Boston’s scouting department to find jewels in the draft. Mixing youth and experience builds a foundation that can make a club a consistent contender, not a one-year phenomenon, he said.
This year’s team is essentially the same as last year’s.
“It was a good feeling this winter not to be dependent on the free-agent pitching market, for example, or need to go get a player at one position,” Epstein said. “That’s how you stay a successful franchise, by thinking a couple of years ahead and not being cornered into a difficult place in the market.”
Since he became general manager in 2003, the Red Sox have drafted Jonathan Papelbon (2003), Dustin Pedroia (2004) and Buchholz and Ellsbury (2005). Shortstop Jed Lowrie (2005) and pitcher Justin Masterson (2006) could make contributions late this season or next.
Then there are the veterans.
Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell came in a trade with Florida in 2006. For last season, Boston added free agents J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo and risked $103 million on Daisuke Matsuzaka, an investment that is paying off. He’ll start the season opener in Tokyo on March 25 against Oakland.
Those additions are significant because the draft can be a crapshoot, especially with high school players who are picked when they still have a lot of development ahead.
“The draft is something you never figure out,” Epstein said. “We make plenty of mistakes in the draft and those mistakes can harm an organization for a long time. We’ve also done a lot right in the draft, and that can define an organization for a long time.”
Other teams in the AL East are counting on young players.
The New York Yankees, after seven seasons without a championship, are turning more to homegrown youngsters like pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.
“The Yankees, I think, rededicated themselves to the basics of scouting and player development a couple of years ago and quickly turned their farm system around,” Epstein said.
Tampa Bay, which finished last for the ninth time in 10 seasons in 2007, has young talent on its pitching staff and rising position players B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria.
“They’re going to be not just a team on the radar screen in coming years,” Epstein said. “They’re going to turn into a force.”
There’s no guarantee that Boston’s rookies will make an impact like they did late last season.
Will Buchholz pitch another no-hitter like the one he threw Sept. 1 in his second major league start? Will Ellsbury bat .353 in 33 regular-season games then lead the team with a .438 average in the World Series sweep against Colorado?
Buchholz has pitched just four major league games. Ellsbury still needs to take his “classic” batting practice swing into a game so he can drive the ball consistently, Epstein said.
So he doesn’t “buy into the notion that seems to be accepted in these parts that we’re definitely set up for the future, no matter what. Yeah, we have a chance to have things turn out well. We have a chance to be competitive year in and year out.
“But things change so quickly. Prospects don’t all make it, a couple of key injuries, and things can really change, not just for one season, but for your outlook going forward.”
Still, the Red Sox can become the first team since the 1999-2000 Yankees to win consecutive World Series. If they succeed, it will be because of talent, good health, and the mix of veterans and young players Epstein helped put together.
“We’re not afraid to make a mistake,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to let Pedro go and Cabrera and guys like that. Those two players turned into Buchholz and Ellsbury, and off we go. We improved as an organization for the long term.”
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