Harvest Time

September 1 is a glorious day in baseball. With the humidity of July and August behind them and the postseason a short month away, the 29 teams of Major League Baseball--and the Pittsburgh Pirates--can focus on the future by expanding their rosters to hold 40 men.

The Sox began their harvest of the farm system today by calling up five players with previous Major League experience. Joey Gathright (OF) is a speed freak who will complement Jacoby Ellsbury on the basepaths; George Kottaras (C), who seemed expendable after the Sox picked up Victor Martinez at the trade deadline, deepens the backstop; Chris Woodward (SS/2B) and his prominent ears have already filled in for Jed Lowrie this year (but then again, who hasn't?); defensive wunderkind Brian Anderson (OF) played three games with the Sox after being acquired from Chicago in the Mark Kotsay deal; and Junichi Tazawa (SP) makes his return to Boston after a meaningless two-day stint in the Gulf Coast League.

What strikes me as odd is that GM Theo Epstein hasn't yet called up more pitchers. The Sox are among the top teams in baseball both offensively and defensively; our only glaring weakness is on the mound, particularly at the back of the starting rotation and the middle of the bullpen (I'm talking about you, Manny Delcarmen). Why try and fit Gathright and Anderson into an already stacked and healthy outfield when Daniel Bard can't control his 100-mph fastball enough to get outs? Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the way back from the injury problems that have nagged him all year, but how is third-string catcher Kottaras going to help the team if Dice-K continues to struggle?

Theo still has time and ten roster spots to work with before the postseason starts in October. With that being said, my next few entries will highlight the three players from the Sox farm system that I think need to be called up in order for the team to make a legitimate run at the World Series trophy. Check back tomorrow for the first installment of "The Backseat GM's Guide To Postseason Success."