The Beltre Era Begins

It looks like the Red Sox have now officially signed Adrian Beltre, complete with press conference holding up the new jersey. It’s funny sometimes how long this stuff really takes to happen. Most people considered it official days ago. But, now that it’s official, I can look at what exactly it means.
First off, I don’t mind Beltre on the team. I guess, I don’t mind it as long as we assume he’s back to 100% after shoulder surgery. He’s a fine player. The number he put up the rest of his career in Seattle would be great. He plays sparkling defense, and has a little bit of pop in his bat. The contract the Sox signed him too would look to be very team friendly. It’s even been reported that he turned down longer deals to play in Boston. So, the Sox have a gold glove third baseman, excited to play here, and motivated to play well to get a new contract. He’s a right-handed pull hitter, moving out of Safeco Field, and into Fenway Park. There’s really no reason not to be excited about the deal. Except one. Didn’t the Sox already have his equivalent?
Mike Lowell is currently on the Sox. When healthy, he’s every bit the defender that Beltre is. He’s every bit the hitter that Beltre seems to be. So, why make the move? I hate to use the “In Theo We Trust” defense, since I hardly ever trust him. But, in this case, it looks like he knows something that I don’t. At least he’d better.
With this move, the Red Sox jump into the “Pitching and Defense” pool with both feet. One thing I will give Theo credit for. When he decides on a plan of action, he doesn’t hold back. When he wanted to go with the “closer by committee,” he picked a great bunch of arms to try it with. Now that he’s pretending that PnD is the answer, he’s assembled a great team to try it with. Gold gloves are all over the infield. The outfield has speed and consistency. The pitching staff is loaded with aces. If the theory was ever going to work, it’s going to work with the 2010 Red Sox.
I sure hope it works.