Why Grady Sizemore should take his talents to Boston

In case some of you may have forgotten, the Red Sox really choked in September.  Yeah, it was pretty awful.  Yankee fans probably thought it was awesome.  Good for them.

Obviously on paper the Red Sox looked like they could of won 163 games last year, but baseball goes beyond talent I guess.  You need the right group of guys(personality wise) and a good manager to steer the ship.  Boston in September didn’t have these things.

While I obviously can’t take credit for the original idea of Grady Sizemore being potentially a great fit in Boston, I can elaborate on it.  It goes beyond statistics, raw ability and things of that nature.  I think it more has to do with how he plays the game.

Terry Francona couldn’t right the ship so to speak in Boston last season once the tailspin hit full gear.  To be honest, I’m not certain anyone could of.  The Red Sox are a veteran team with guys who have had tons of success at the big-league level – there’s a chance they would of listened to no one.

Of course, not all the Red Sox players were to blame.  Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury played their guts out till the Orioles stole that final game in Baltimore.  What Boston could use is another guy who plays like these guys.

Of course if Sizemore can’t stay on the field he won’t be much help to anybody.  But at the age of 28, the feasibility of him rejuvenating his career is certainly reasonable.

It’s not just the fact that Grady Sizemore is a legitimate five-tool player when he’s healthy, it’s the way he plays.  He plays like the centerfield version of Dustin Pedroia – a guy who goes for broke at any given moment.  Circa 2005 0r 2006, you could watch Baseball Tonight and see Grady Sizemore running 75 mph hour face first into the wall robbing someone of extra bases like every other night.  When he’s right, that’s his nature – the guy is fearless.

I shutter to think how hard Sizemore would play given the chance to perform on a big stage like Fenway Park.  It would be a blast to watch.  It could also be inspirational to some of the other guys on the club that aided the great collapse of 2011.

Grady Sizemore can still have star-power, and no offense to Cleveland, but baseball would benefit more from Sizemore playing in a larger market.  Besides, Cleveland’s first half success didn’t have a whole lot to do with Sizemore – maybe they don’t need him after all.

Of course with Jacoby Ellsbury in center, Sizemore would have to switch to right field.  He has said he’d still prefer to play center, but if Boston came calling odds are he’d suck it up and make the switch.

Good grief.  Can you imagine a healthy Grady Sizemore playing alongside Jacoby Ellsbury, and hopefully for Boston’s sake the Tampa Bay version of Carl Crawford.  That could possibly be the most aesthetically pleasing outfield in the history of baseball.

If Boston makes this move it would be a great gamble for Boston.  They could structure a quick, incentive laden deal to minimize the risk.  It would be great for Grady Sizemore.  One of the game’s most skilled players could have a chance to thrive on the big stage.  And in turn it could be great for baseball.

As a Tigers fan I wouldn’t mind either.  A potentially rejuvenated Grady Sizemore leaving the AL Central sounds all right to me.