A few more reasons not to panic

Derreck Lee. Mark Mulder. Jon Garland. Barry Zito. Julio Lugo.

No, these are not players the Sox necessarily need to make a deal on, though I would not complain about that. They are players who are in their contract year, however. Twelve months from now the Sox could be making a play for any or all of them to plug the holes they currently have. If the Sox take a conservative approach to their current limitations they may limp their way to a third place finish in the AL East this year but have ample cash available to land two or three of these guys with an aggressive approach next Hot Stove season.

Damon's departure need only hurt the Sox for one year. After that they will be well positioned for both short term and long term solutions that bring championship baseball back to Fenway. If the Cubs, ChiSox, A's, or D'Rays decide that they're out of the running early enough the Sox may also be able to make trade deadline deals for one or more of them and hammer out a deal before they hit the market. In the current highest-bidder free agent sweepstakes a mid-season extension may not be likely but it's a possibility given the financial resources not ceded to Damon, Renteria, and other former Sox.