BOSTON -- In the wake of the Red Sox worst finish in the standings in nine years, general manager Theo Epstein acknowledged the club has "a lot to address," and vowed to be "active" in upgrading the starting rotation, the bullpen, power and depth of the lineup and outfield defense.

Less than an hour after the Sox ended their 2006 season, which resulted in their lowest finish in the division since 1997, Epstein and manager Terry Francona met the media and reflected on a year that went from promising to disastrous over the final two months.

While recognizing that the team's run of injuries in the second half of the season contributed to its downfall, Epstein maintained that there were deeper issues.

"I do think there were two separate and distinct things which happened in the second half (of the season)," he said. "The first was that the team had some weaknesses and those weaknesses weren't revealed in the first half but were exposed in the second half. There were injuries. But that's not a crutch. You can't let the fact there were a lot of injuries mask the first factor.

"We have elements of a very, very good baseball club here. But there's no doubt in the world that we need to do better. I need to do a better job."

Last month, starter Curt Schilling said he had been told that the club would be willing to exceed the luxury tax threshold on the 2007 payroll. Epstein wouldn't commit to a specific payroll figure, but said the Sox have "more than enough resources" to acquire the talent to become competitive again.

"We'll do whatever it takes to put the best team on the field," he said.

Epstein said the free-agent market -- seen by many as particularly thin this offseason, especially when it comes to pitching -- is one avenue the team plans to pursue.

"It's not the world's best free-agent market," Epstein said. "There's going to be a lot of demand and limited supply. But that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities out there."

Lefty Barry Zito and righthander Jason Schmidt are seen as the two best starters on the starter's market. The relief list is spotty, but the Sox may have to take a chance on an reliever-turned-starter (Miguel Batista) or a closer coming off an injury-plagued season (Eric Gagne).

Epstein confirmed that the Sox intend to use Jonathan Papelbon, who saved 35 games as a rookie, as a starter next season so as to lessen the stress on his right shoulder. Papelbon, bothered by subluxation -- or partial dislocation -- of the shoulder joint, didn't pitch after Sept. 1.

The GM was less forthcoming about the team's plans for Manny Ramirez. Asked to confirm that Ramirez's agent, Greg Genske, had recently asked that the club try to trade Ramirez this winter, Epstein said, "Issues like that should remain private. That type of business is best handled behind closed doors."

Asked about his decision to not execute a trade at the July 31 deadline, when the Sox held a lead over the Yankees in the A.L. East, Epstein said he no regrets.

"At the trading deadline," he said, "we did everything we could do to acquire a player or players to make us better. We worked very hard to make some impact players available. But in the end, no matter what we did, we came close to prying them free but we couldn't. In the end, we had a decision -- we could have made some moves that were largely cosmetic, to cover our backsides a little bit. But that's not the way we want to do things.

"In hindsight, from that point forward, the team sputtered. I really think that based on our injuries and based on our performance the rest of the way, there was not a deal that we could have done or a player we could have acquired that would have made a difference. I thought it was the right decision (to stand pat); in hindsight, I'm convinced it was the right decision."

Epstein did admit that, in retrospect, the club erred when it sent Josh Bard and Cla Meredith to the San Diego Padres for Doug Mirabelli on May 1. Bard was a standout for the Padres as the backup catcher and Meredith was a key bullpen contributor while Mirabelli, reacquired to help knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, hit just .191.

"We got impatient there," said Epstein. "We have to balance immediate need with the long-term picture and I don't think we dealt with it the right way. I think we got impatient when patience really serves you better in the long run."

The club plans to meet with the coaching staff this morning, and several changes could be made. By Wednesday, Epstein and Francona will visit the Instructional League program, then Epstein will turn his attention to upgrading for next season.

"We have to get better with our personnel decisions," he said. "There's no secret or magic formula. But our personnel decisions have to be better."

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