Baseball - The Red Sox Changed Pitching and Hitting

After Boston missed the playoffs for the first time in his tenure Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has decided to overhaul the team and move in a new direction.
The change began on Monday when the team decided not to renew the contracts of pitching coach Dave Wallace and hitting coach Ron Jackson. Following the announcement Jackson thanked the Red Sox in a statement for the memories he collected while he was with the club. He also expressed his confidence in the Red Sox's management to build a team that will bring success back to the franchise.

Al Nipper, who replaced Wallace while he was out because of surgery, is likely to fill in the recent vacant position. The former Red Sox pitcher was also the pitching coach in Boston and Kansas City in the 1990s. Epstein also announced Victor Rodriguez had been hired as minor league hitting coordinator. Bench coach Brad Mills and third base coach DeMarlo Hale will be back too.

The Red Sox complete their second season since their 2004 World Series title with an 86-76 record, which is 11 games behind the rival New York Yankees in the AL East and a game behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Boston had finished second in the previous eight years. But it went 9-21 in August, including the five-game loss against the Yankees that essentially ended any hopes of a fourth consecutive playoff appearance.
After a past season characterized by numerous injuries and poor pitching performances, the Red Sox already underwent dramatic changes and is now planning for 2007. Epstein decided that Papelbon will be a starter for the next season. However Epstein still has a lot to do to fully overhaul the team such as settling contract issues with many of its current players and free agents.