Now that Ben Cherington has inked David Ortiz to a deal he would have gotten no where else and he has his poster child for the next two seasons and found its new medical director Dr Larry Ronan, it’s time to take a look at the rest of the issues on Yawkey way

Now that the Theo Era is truly over and the sox have Millions to spend, the issue is how and where to spend it. While physical responsibility is being preached more than at a GOP fundraiser the fact of the matter is that if you want to make money you have to spend it and Butchie and I have a few ideas on how Benny, Larry and Johnny boy should do that.

Resigning Cody Ross should be next on the Sox to-do list. This is a man who has shown he can perform here and says he likes playing in Boston. Yeah, he said that LAST year. Get it done. Offer him 3 years and $24 million.

Fill left field: I’m going to toss a very un-sexy name at you - Ryan Ludwick.

Benny and new manger, Jon Farrell, talked about being more aggressive and Ludwick is that. He is a free swinging right handed bat custom made for Fenway. While he doesn’t walk as much as you would like, he won’t break the bank and has shown that when he’s healthy and playing in a lineup with protection, he will produce power. I think it’s a great fit. He will be 35 in July and could be had for a 2 years $8 million per guaranteed deal.

Pitching? You want to talk Pitching? OK, we could do that. without a doubt there are more questions surrounding who will be on the bump this year for Boston than in any in recent memory. 1-2-3 spots for better or worse are filled by Buchholtz, Lester and Doubront. Toss in Lackey and the thing I loved most about last seasons deal with the Dodgers - Ruby De La Rosa, and the cupboard isn’t as bare as one might think.  But it isn’t full either. And while I won’t say lets go toss a truck load of cash at Zach Greinke, Ben will have to spend a few bucks to make this team competitive.

Anibal Sanchez is a great place to start. He can handle the best the American League has to offer, knows how to pitch in the post season, and his control seems to be getting better with age. The second name I like alot is Brandon McCarthy. While he is a gamble, I think it’s a good one.  In his last two seasons he is 17 and 15 with an ERA under 3.25. While he was hit in the head last year, I don’t think there will be any demons haunting him when he takes the mound again. He could be the steal the Red Sox need to make. Let someone else chase and over pay Kyle Loshe and Greinke, this isn’t the year to go looking for an ACE.

Later this week we will get into the Bull pen take a look at First and Short

Stay Green People

GO SOX