Organizational Rankings: Practical makes perfect for Red Sox

After 24 hours of poring over rumor ("the Mets are in on every pitcher whose last name starts with 'L,' 'M' or 'W!'") after stupid rumor ("the Pirates plan to jump their payroll past the $17.5 million threshold"), I'm so over the Winter Meetings. It's not even winter yet. Semantics, I know. But still.

It seems as good a time as any, then, to revisit our MLB organizational rankings, last updated in August 2008 after the trade deadline. They're intended as big-picture evaluation, as opposed to an analysis of transactional minutiae. This year, we've appended each ranking with an "organizational blind spot," loosely defined as the one problem area that the team just can't seem to address. Hello, Cleveland bullpen!

Marco Scutaro might not be an upgrade at shortstop, but the Red Sox are still No. 1. (AP)

Some of baseball's franchises know what they're doing. Some don't. Apologies if your favorite team ranks on the sad side.

1. Boston Red Sox (previous ranking No. 1): Forget the whole do-more-with-less ethos that has consumed most teams and public libraries -- the Red Sox do more with more. They remain baseball's most practical and least sentimental franchise, which will be affirmed once anew if they deal Jonathan Papelbon and his 75 annual innings of scrunchy-faced snarl. Why? Because closers not named Mariano Rivera are fungible. In a "bad" season, the Sox won 95 games. Ask Royals fans if they'd settle for that once every eight years.

Organizational blind spot: Shortstop, though that may well have been addressed with the signing of Marco Scutaro. What a fun name that is to say. Marco. Scutaro. Marco. Scutaro.

2. Philadelphia Phillies (15): This team has been fueled by the uncanny developmental streak that produced the core of the two-time defending NL titleist's lineup: Utley, Howard, Rollins, Ruiz et al. What bumps the Phillies up the list is their newfound skill in patching holes: the trade for Cliff Lee when Cole Hamels proved unready for staff-ace designation, the rotation-stabilizer/thumb-in-the-Mets'-eye double shot that was the Pedro Martinez acquisition, etc. The farm system is still stacked. Cheez Whiz remains an important part of a balanced diet. It's always sunny in Philadelphia.

Organizational blind spot: Patience. The team overpaid for Raul Ibanez and Placido Polanco early in their respective free-agent tenures, but neither busts a budget beyond repair.

3. New York Yankees (7): The Yankees have finally figured out that if you're going to spend stupidly, you should do so on the top-of-the-market guys, not on the Jaret Wrights. The Yankees correctly characterized the 2009 free-agent class as devoid of impact players, then fired their bullets in 2008 when two such under-30 guys (C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira) were available for cash and picks. Be very afraid.

Organizational blind spot: Bench piffle. They've improved from years past, when Bubba Crosby and Enrique Wilson were entrusted with keeping Joe Torre company, but there's still too much of an inclination to rely on name guys (like Jose "The Burnett Whisperer" Molina) instead of equally able home-bred cheapies.

4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (3): This could be the year the bottom falls out -- who replaces John Lackey and Chone Figgins? -- but they've got a strategic philosophy ("make contact and run like hell") and they stick to it. Divisional dynasties have been built on far less.

Organizational blind spot: On-base percentage. It can't be lost on anyone that transformed the L.A. offense in 2009, despite injuries to a few of the core boppers, was OBP atop the lineup. The more guys you have on base when your best hitters come to the plate, the more runs you'll score. It's a complicated statistical matrix, I know. Let's see if the Angels remember this as they jockey to replace Figgins.

5. Atlanta Braves (16): It's probably too early for a they're-baaaaack pronouncement, but you have to like the rotation (they're one of the few teams in baseball with starting pitching to spare) and rebuilt bullpen. The NL East is about to get fun again.

Organizational blind spot: Corner outfielders, at least until Jason Heyward arrives. If the Braves can't deal from their rotation glut to get a guy like Josh Willingham (a perfect fit due to his right-handedness, if not his totem-pole defense), they're not trying hard enough.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (6): Before you hold last year's fall from grace against them, consider that they have young players all over the diamond and numerous top-20 prospects with cool cop-movie names -- Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, Desmond Jennings -- just a few months away. Kudos to Andrew Friedman for not overreacting to the team's growing pains by exiling B.J. Upton or importing a "character guy." Ability trumps clubhouse giggles.

Organizational blind spot: The inexorable passage of time. The more MLB service the talented players accumulate, the less chance they'll be wearing a Rays uniform. This kinda sucks.

7. Texas Rangers (19): The 2010 Rangers will be a prospect fetishist's delight. They're the one team in baseball that could package multiple young'uns to get one of those cheap, young stars -- Adrian Gonzalez, Zack Greinke -- that might become available as their current employers remain mired in rebuilding purgatory. Get on board, everybody.

Organizational blind spot: Hitters who don't get homesick, maybe? Prior to 2009, pitching was the obvious problem. Now, they've got a slew of frisky arms on the way -- good thing, because 2009 overperformers like Kevin Millwood aren't likely to hit the high notes again -- so it falls on Jon Daniels to trade one or two of them for offense.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers (17): They did an awful lot right over the last year, holding the line on Manny's contract demands and snaring Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudson on the cheap. Who knows what happens now that the McCourt divorce plays out publicly, though. One would've thought that offering arbitration to Wolf and Hudson would be no-brainer decisions, but the team is said to be wary about its finances as it girds for the off-field combat ahead. They'd probably like to have Carlos Santana and Josh Bell back.

Organizational blind spot: Games against the Padres in early July and the manager's overassessment of the importance thereof. By September, my arm ached in sympathy with those of the bedraggled L.A. bullpen staffers. By October, they had nothing left. This is a tactical complaint more than an organizational one, I suppose.

9. St. Louis Cardinals (11): They're in standstill mode, sort of, as they figure out how much Pu will cost when his bill comes due after 2011. But they always make the big addition when they need one -- Holliday! celebrate! -- and rarely overbid in the open market. The system works. Trust the system.

Organizational blind spot: Rock-solid regulars. The org has had enough mild success converting pitchers into outfielders and outfielders into second basemen that they're overly inclined to tinker and fidget. Sometimes, the most obvious solution -- Orlando Hudson would have been a great fit here something like 32 times over the last six seasons -- is the best one.

10. Chicago White Sox (14): Say what you want about the schizophrenic way the Sox went about their business last July (when they were buyers) and August (when they were sellers). They head into 2010 with an under-control budget and a starting rotation of Buehrle/Peavy/Danks/Floyd. That makes them the early favorite in the depressing AL Central, no matter how they address the DH (Hideki Matsui?) and right field vacancies.

Organizational blind spot: Scott Podsednik. Also, shiny, pricey baubles just staring at them from the on-sale shelf, like Alex Rios. I wouldn't allow Ken Williams to do my grocery shopping unless accompanied by a debt counselor.

11. Seattle Mariners (29): One of my former editors used to tell me, "If you can't climb the mountain, go around it. If you can't go around it, go through it." When I asked what I should do if I weren't able to secure an industrial-strength boring machine to burrow an impromptu tunnel, he looked at me blankly. Is it any wonder I've evolved into the middling writer-type person you're reading today? Anyway, the Mariners found a way to climb/dodge/detonate the mountain, focusing on defense and, in the process, assembling a slappy bunch that's starting to look an awful lot like the L.A. team they've been chasing for the last decade. They get points for creativity.

Organizational blind spot: Offense. Duh. Since there aren't too many sublime two-way guys like Chase Utley out there, the Mariners are eventually going to have to punt a position or two defensively if they hope to lift their offense above sea level.

12. Colorado Rockies (23): It took the Rockies 16 years of thumpy, mostly losing baseball, but they finally figured out that rangy outfielders are a necessity for any team that plays 81 games in Coors Field. GM Dan O'Dowd did a wonderful job of in-season tinkering, adding cogs for the rotation (Jason Hammel) and bullpen (Rafael Betancourt, Joe Beimel).

Organizational blind spot: I'm not sure there is one. They're roundly competent, if not inspiring, in most facets of the game. Not sure how much I loved some of Jim Tracy's maneuvering during the NLDS, but that's a minor concern.

13. Minnesota Twins (12): They "do things the right way." You'll never catch them "overrunning second base" or "grooving fastballs to Alex Rodriguez in a clear hitter's count." I admire the development pipeline and all, but what happens if Joe Mauer is merely human in 2010? Who makes up the difference?

Organizational blind spot: Nick Punto and his .647 OPS in 2,530 career plate appearances. There has to be something that prompts the Twins to keep sacrificing at-bats on his utility-scrub altar. Does he personally fund the college educations of 22 orphaned lepers? Is blackmail involved? If I were a Twins fan, I'd subscribe to Soldier of Fortune.

14. Florida Marlins (11): Judging by the trade conversations they're having in sunny, cosmopolitan Indianapolis, the Marlins have a good grasp on which of their soon-to-be-expensive guys won't prove a worthwhile investment (Dan Uggla and Matt Lindstrom). Also, they did a nice job locking up Hanley Ramirez, one of the game's three best players, for a far-below-market-value rate.

Organizational blind spot: Ethics. They're getting tons of revenue-sharing cash and plenty of public money for their new ballpark, and still they plead poverty. I hate everything about the Marlins.

15. Baltimore Orioles (29): The team has mostly rid itself of dud contracts and wisely dealt away guys like George Sherrill -- who, while talented, likely wasn't going to be a contributor to the next great Orioles team. The kids, especially the young pitchers, are progressing through the system. Matt Wieters started living up to expectations in September. Sssshhhhhh.

Organizational blind spot: You wonder if they'll repeat past mistakes and overemphasize the bullpen via pricey signings. There are enough live arms here that the team should be able to fill these slots from within -- if not now, then soon.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks (4): They deserve a mulligan for 2009, as things went awry in spectacular and unexpected ways. I worry about the team's increasingly conservative approach, though, especially as it pertains to the draft. There doesn't appear to be too many high-ceiling guys in the system.

Organizational blind spot: It is entirely possible that several of the young position players we've been hyping -- Chris Young, Stephen Drew -- might not live up to their advance billing. They're still young, of course, so it's on the D-backs to do some serious self-assessment this season.

17. Oakland A's (8): Hate the starting nine, love everything else. Check back in 2011.

Organizational blind spot: Value. Imagine an organization in this climate that doesn't even bother trying to get the best players for the least amount of money. Shame on them and their gilded economic arrogance.

18. Cleveland Indians (18): Love the starting nine, hate everything else. Check back in 2011.

Organizational blind spot: The inability of a fundamentally sound organization like the Indians to construct a functional bullpen is one of the modern world's great mysteries, right up there with Stonehenge and Kelly Ripa's broad appeal.

19. Pittsburgh Pirates (22): They finally get it! It's better to win 60 games paying nothing to short-term patches than 72 while funding Derek Bell's latest small-business venture. The team's new regime also has a knack for selling high on established veterans, as witnessed by the deals that exiled Xavier Nady and Nate McLouth. Zach Duke should be next in the trade queue. While he may be a number-two in the talent-starved Pirate world, he's better suited as a low-rotation guy elsewhere.

Organizational blind spot: Public relations. In the wake of the McLouth trade, which prompted locker-room and fan grumbles, the Pirates did a poor job explaining the economic imperative that motivated it (namely, that McLouth wasn't getting any better, younger or cheaper). Given how beaten down Pirates fans are after 17 seasons of on-field incompetence and off-field inadvertent self-sabotage, they need to be treated delicately, perhaps as one might a dumb child.

20. Chicago Cubs (5): Everybody got either hurt or old, plus they imported the human hurricane that is Milton Bradley Jr. Dumb and unlucky -- meet the new Cubs, same as the old Cubs.

Organizational blind spot: The manager. Personally, I hope Lou Piniella stays in baseball forever. He's funny as hell and can always be counted upon for column fodder. But his management of the talent at hand -- the botched Gregg/Marmol decision, pinch-hitting choices seemingly motivated by a keen desire to get back to the hotel in time for Letterman -- leaves a lot to be desired. They're not saying "booooo!"; they're saying, "leeeeeeeeave!"

21. Milwaukee Brewers (3): Warm feelings of the 2008 run notwithstanding, this team did itself a major disservice by heading into 2009 without any functional pitching behind Yovani Gallardo. That's a huge black mark on a franchise that had otherwise built itself up with great care.

Organizational blind spot: Third basemen who can actually field the position. Ryan Braun, Mat Gamel -- if a guy can't throw or bend as a 22-year-old prospect, he's not going to develop into Graig Nettles upon arrival in the bigs. Right now, the Brewers have, like, 13 guys on their 40-man roster whose best defensive position is first base.

22. San Francisco Giants (27): But the good (the Lincecum/Cain pairing, the high-end talent bubbling beneath the majors) still doesn't outweigh the bad (the costly self-inflicted wounds in free agency -- Rowand, Zito, Renteria). Also, barring a signing or trade, they'll go into 2010 with an untested rookie as the second-best bat in the lineup.

Organizational blind spot: People who count something other than pitching the ball among their primary baseball skills. I believe such people are commonly referred to as "hitters."

23. Detroit Tigers (10): On one hand, they're smart enough to realize that Edwin Jackson's first half of 2009 was out of line with anything he'll likely do again and that Curtis Granderson -- lovely human being though he may be -- has devolved into a platoon candidate. On the other, they're paying the six-pack of Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, Brandon Inge, Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman around $71 million next season. You tell me where they're going to find the money for necessary upgrades all over the diamond.

Organizational blind spot: Big years. Have one or two of 'em and the Tigers will reward you richly, much to the team's long-term detriment.

24. Toronto Blue Jays (25): Well, at least they're rid of the financial obligations to Scott Rolen and Alex Rios.

Organizational blind spot: Practicality. They're looking for a sundrop rainbow unicorn hug of a deal for Roy Halladay, when the reality of his situation -- he's 33 and in the last year of his contract -- dictates that they'll have to settle for a pavement sandwich.

25. Cincinnati Reds (24): There are lots of solid pieces here: Votto, Phillips and Bruce on offense, Harang and Arroyo in the rotation. But there's no shortstop or center fielder, and the organization has shown an uncanny ability to import precisely the wrong players to fill those voids (like Willy Taveras, who achieved historical ineptness as a leadoff hitter in 2009).

Organizational blind spot: Resource allotment. Spending $12 million on a closer, $11 million on a fading, frail third baseman and $3 million on a marginal offensive catcher with frying pans for hands isn't the way for a pauper franchise to thrive. Old-school Reds GM Walt Jocketty oughta intern under one of the 30-something execs in Texas or Tampa.

26. New York Mets (13): Let's see: the manager, GM and team doctor are under siege. The owners may or may not have been broken by Bernie Madoff. One star is supposedly too quiet, another is too frail. Nothing would surprise me: a return to full health that spurs a playoff run, a simultaneous manager/GM putsch, nothing. It's inexplicable how a big-market franchise manages to shoot itself in the foot as often as the Metsies do.

Organizational blind spot: Catcher. The team now wants a savvy sherpa to guide its staff, despite mounds of statistical evidence suggesting the import of a pitcher-simpatico backstop has been overstated. I see a future with many, many Molinas.

27. San Diego Padres (20): I don't envy new GM Jed Hoyer and the task he has in front of him, which almost has to commence with a trade of franchise player/local demigod Adrian Gonzalez. I'd start badgering the Rangers on a deal that would send Gonzalez back to Texas for an A-list prospect smorgasbord.

Organizational blind spot: Manners. Former GM Kevin Towers deserved a better fate.

28. Washington Nationals (28): Judging by this week's additions of Brian Bruney (wild) and Ivan Rodriguez (expired), I'm not sure whether they're trying to build a baseball team or a spare-parts depot.

Organizational blind spot: Human resources. Jim Bowden, Jim Riggleman, etc. The next leader-of-men sort that the franchise hires will be its first.

29. Kansas City Royals (26): Two words: Yuniesky Betancourt.

Organizational blind spot: Staying on message. Right after GM Dayton Moore preached the importance of on-base percentage, he went out and grabbed Mike Jacobs (.313 career OBP). Right after he stressed the importance of building from within, he inked the human depth charge that is Kyle Farnsworth. There's some nice pitching on the way, but does anybody have faith that Moore will be able to resist the temptation to block them with an army of Tim Reddings and Braden Loopers?

30. Houston Astros (30): They can't hit or pitch and have no help on the way from the farm system, plus they'll pay $48 million to three players while attempting to pare the payroll to $85 million. Good luck with that.

Organizational blind spot: Starting pitchers? Contact-averse middle relievers? The left side of the infield? Foresight? Conviction? They're all in short supply here.