Season Recap: A farewell to Ortiz and what's next

AP/Charles Krupa

The Red Sox were swept out of the playoffs by the Cleveland Indians on Monday in a disappointing end to David Ortiz's final season with the Red Sox. David Ortiz bid an emotional farewell to Red Sox Nation after losing 4-3 to the Indians. The Red Sox did well to make it to the playoffs, but were outplayed in every phase of the game in the ALDS by a hungry Cleveland team.

So, how bad was it? As a team, the Red Sox hit .214 for the series, and a measly .163 with runners in scoring position. And especially in the first game, Red Sox hitters were swinging at air. Pitching? Forget about it. The team had an ERA of 5.04, and the big money guy, David Price, had a 13.50 ERA (so much for that $214 million contract - yikes!). The Red Sox could not get any momentum in any facet of the game, and with the exception of Andrew Benintendi and Brock Holt, no one on the roster really performed up to the bar they had set all season.

Now for the plus side - this will be a good learning curve for the young guys, and having that playoff experience under their belt will help them next year. And with no David Ortiz on the field, that should put more on the shoulders of guys like Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and the rest of the young core, but I think they are ready.

And the lineup was one huge positive for the Sox all season long, from Ortiz's monster final season to Mookie Betts having an MVP-caliber season, Andrew Benintendi showing flashes of brilliance both at the plate and in the field, and finally having 5 guys (Ortiz, Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez, and Jackie Bradley) with over 20 home runs.

What's next?
So, what's in store this off-season? The Red Sox have to fill David Ortiz's very large shoes at DH. In Spring Training, I would have advocated Hanley in that role, and that's still possible, but Hanley proved what I thought early in the year wrong, and I'm grateful for it. He was above average at 1st base, and I'd be fine keeping him there after what he has done this year. Edwin Encarnacion is out there, but I would say try Pablo Sandoval there, but I'm not the one making the decisions, and the verdict is still out on Panda. One thing is clear - filling Ortiz's spot will make for an interesting offseason.

Farwell, Papi:
On that note, it's time for the hardest part: Saying good bye to David Ortiz. He's been without a doubt the most important player in Red Sox history, winning 3 World Series championships. He changed the culture around Fenway, and he played the game with a huge smile from ear to ear every day. It's going to be depressing when he's not on the Opening Day roster, but the time was right for him to go.

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