It was an exciting finish to the World Series last week, as Madison Bumgarner basically put the Giants on his shoulders and led them to their 3rd World Series victory in five years.
But now the 2014 season is complete, and we turn the page to what will surely be a fascinating off-season for the Red Sox and their fans.
The five day window after the World Series has now past, and we will see who they pursue this winter. The usual suspects are out there: Jon Lester, James Shields and Max Scherzer are out there are top starters, and you can't swing a dead cat without hearing the name Giancarlo Stanton mentioned as a trade possibility.
I really don't know where Ben Cherington will go with all of this. He has a ton of freedom to do what he wants to, as the club has money to spend on free agents, prospects to trade, as well as attractive MLB players that he can trade as well. It will probably reach a fever pitch when the Winter Meetings begin in San Diego on December 7th.
The trade for Yoenis Cespedes last July 31 tells me that Cherington is not afraid to make bold moves, and I have a feeling he will pull off another shocker (or maybe two) this winter. He's got a plan that I am sure he is keeping close to the vest right now.
But the first interesting move of the off-season was the Sox resigning Koji Uehara to a two-year extension. He will be 40 next summer, and obviously the Sox believe that his late-season struggles in 2014 was just a blip on the radar.
I am not going to make any predictions on what the Red Sox will do this winter. I just feel it will be an offseason of surprises. There will be a lot of pressure on Ben Cherington to make all the right moves as he did in 2013, which resulted in a championship. I'm not betting that will happen again.
But who knows.
I can only guarantee that the Red Sox team that takes the field in Philadelphia on April 6th will look very different from the one that concluded the 2014 season last September 28th.