I'm not a fan of the open checkbook to build teams, don't get me wrong, they have a metic shitton of young players and the signings aren't bad but I can't point to a time in the past when it really worked out for them, or the NYYs in the last few years.

Sox sign Hanley Ramirez 14 years after they signed him as a rookie.

Sox agree to terms with Pablo Sandoval.


We'll see how it wall works out, hot stove season is in full swing!
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In 2014 the opening day payroll of the LA Dodgers was over $30 million higher than the NYY.

Just sayin'.
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And the Dodgers made the playoffs.

Just sayin'. :-)
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Hey Sox finished last, so take that.... oh wait nm.
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And the Dodgers didn't have their starting pitchers decimated by injuries . . . or traded away midseason.

Just :-) .
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Injuries always hurt more in NY, Thomas. I think it's the water. :-)
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^ This ... I mean Arod missed what an entire year?

:-)
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That's not what Captain Sully said. :-)

Never saw him pitch, so I really don't see the relevance.

But to get back to the original topic, this was cut from Jeff Passan's story on Yahoo about the Ramirez and Sandoval purchase.

Money still rules baseball more than it does any professional sport.

Were the Red Sox not a financial behemoth, one of the sport’s three powerhouses alongside the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, they would see a perfectly palatable path to respectability through their wide swath of future major league talent currently in the minors.

For a team like the Red Sox, which over the last three years sandwiched last-place finishes around a World Series championship, the ability to swallow the risk of multiyear deals amounts to perhaps the greatest competitive advantage that exists in baseball today. If Ramirez bombs out at shortstop or left field or first base or DH or wherever the Red Sox end up using him, they will survive. And should Sandoval’s weight become an issue or his bat disappear or some other malady hit, they will again survive.
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The cool thing about baseball is that there's no salary cap. Luxury tax, yes. But that means nothing to teams that can try to buy a winner.
Take a minute and think about how many teams have been able to buy a winner. I can think of two. The Yankees and the Marlins.
Then bump that up against how many teams have tried to buy a winner.
It doesn't really work.

The Yankees are a baseball anomaly, moreso than the BoSox. The Yankees are expected to win. Every single year. Their fanbase and income is staggering, and it makes sense they're expected to win.
I admire the fact that they take pride in that expectation. Most franchises would take advantage of it and maximize profits out the wazoo. Maybe field a decent team every four or five years. The Yankees bust their ass to buy a winner.

Baseball requires cohesiveness a lot more than talent. Requires is a poor word. Rewards is better. Look at the Pirates, O's, A's, and the Royals, for instance.
They're delivering a good brand of ball for 1/3 of what the Dodgers are paying.
Granted, the Dodgers and BoSox may be lumped in that "anomaly" regard with the Yanks, and they're expected to win.

My point is that by and large, a winner needs to be built through the clubhouse and farm rather than bought. Talent is everywhere, but personalities have got to mesh, and it isn't easy to keep a fire lit for 162 games.
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A lot of Sox fans remember the years, and decades, when they tried to do it on the cheap. That failed for 86 years. Three WS Championships in 10 years; I like this way better. Of course, my favorites are usually home grown.


Boston: A drinkin' town with a baseball problem. :-)
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To Scott's point, the Red Sox fans also remember teams from the 80s that had a clubhouse full of guys that did nothing but fight with each other, to be forever known as "25 players, 25 cabs".
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Not to be confused with a more recent team, known as "25 players, 25 bottles of beer on the wall". :-)
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or the 25 idiots, 25 shots of jack, before they went out and completed the historic sweep to move on to the world series

edit: historic comeback ... same thing
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No....no, it's not. :-) :-) :-)
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So much for Jon Lester's comments how he want's to end his career / go back to Boston, it's his home, his kids friends are there, "how much money does one man need, money isn't everything". I suppose money is something after all, thanks for the 9 yrs Jon, oh and EAD. :-)
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So Lester shows disloyalty to the Red Sox by accepting the second-largest contract for a pitcher to play for the Cubs? I guess this does hurt, considering how much loyalty Boston showed him when they traded him to the Athletics back this summer. :-)
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I have a better idea. Done and done.
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Very similar to the Kevin Brown situation when he was with the Padres. Had a monster year and considered leaving San Diego for the Atlanta Braves because he wanted to be closer to his wife and kids. Ending up signing a contract with the Dodgers. Guess his wife and kids came in second to the money. Or maybe Los Angeles is closer to Atlanta.
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I remember that. His contract had so many flights a year on the company jet to Atlanta.
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Lester broke off contract talks when the sox made him a lowball offer last spring... he just up their offer by 100 million.

The home town discount went out the window when he was traded.
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