There's nothing wrong with this, of course. They have won two World Series titles in the past 6 years using this strategy. It has, however, caused some unrest among fans who know that the money is there, but that it's not being spent. What's the point in having one of the largest payrolls in Major League Baseball if you're not going to utilize the money available? All of this changed during this off-season.
Crawford and Gonzalez will have the distinction of becoming the first two Red Sox players in history to earn more than $20 million dollars annually. Additionally, the Red Sox are known for avoiding long-term deals and, instead, opting to stay around the 5 year mark. I can't recall off the top of my head when, if ever, the Red Sox have offered two 7 year contracts in the same off-season. Nevermind the fact that these were two 7 year deals worth more than $140 million a piece.
Someone in the Red Sox front office hit a wall. They decided it was time to spend. Maybe they figured it was time to assemble an all-star line-up like their arch-rivals the Yankees do. I'm sure that more will come out about their reasons as the off-season progresses. The biggest thing that I can stress about their recent acquisitions is that it doesn't matter why they did it; they had to do it.
Even with the 2 World Series titles in the past decade, Red Sox fans still feel/felt like second-class citizens to Yankees. The Yankees front office has never had a problem issuing blank checks to prized free agents. They do it to beat the Red Sox and to make themselves the odds-on favorites to win the World Series every year. They do it because their fans demand nothing but the best. As a matter of fact, they do it because they, themselves, demand nothing but excellence.
Traditionally, the worst part of our season was watching our beloved Red Sox fall short of, yet another, World Series. I am not going list off the numerous ways that the Red Sox have managed to blow opportunities. In part because there's too many to list, but mostly because a winning tradition has been established in Boston. The Red Sox first World Series title in 86 years came the only way that it could have come; down 0-3 to the Yankees in the ALCS with Rivera warming up to close out the series. They subsequently swept the Cardinals in the World Series and gave us fans what we were dying for; a championship.
A mere three years later the Red Sox, once again, secured another championship. This time the Colorado Rockies fell victim to the Boys from Beantown. The Red Sox faced a 3-1 deficit against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS before rattling off 3 straight wins to win the AL pennant. Once again the Red Sox faced adversity and prevailed. Fans had seen their beloved team appear to be down and out two different times in the ALCS and, both times, the Sox triumphed. This was a different machine than fans were used to seeing.
In retrospect, this may have been the worst things the Red Sox could have done. We, as fans, have now become spoiled. We were used to success. We believed that we should win and we KNEW that we could. We had stared down our demons and came out the other side laughing. We were no longer the red-headed stepchild of the AL East.
Then something happened that changed the landscape of being a Red Sox fan. Actually, the worst thing started happening; the Yankees began winning again. The Red Sox failed to acquire Teixeira or Sabathia and they couldn't keep Jason Bay. Red Sox fans began to start to wonder if we were going to start spending the money to beat the Yankees or if we would just have to rest on the laurels of the past while New York resumed their winning ways. Things were not sitting well in Red Sox nation. Injuries and lack of production resulted in a less than stellar 2009 season. It was clear that new talent needed to be added, but would Henry and Epstein go out and spend the money?
The answer to this question came rather quickly. They went out and acquired two All-Star position players and spared no expense doing so. Third place in the AL East was no longer an acceptable result. Seeing the Yankees spend top dollar to acquire the biggest names in baseball while their fans watched aging talent decline, high-paid talent fail to deliver, and acquired talent leave for greener pastures would no longer suffice.
It was time to add the talent that fans were attending sold-out game after sold-out game to see win. It was time to add the talent that would allow them to escape the shadow of their rival. The Yankees are seeking championship number 28 and Boston is seeking number 8. Only two of those titles have come since 1918. The Red Sox needed to answer the bell and they did.
Why? Because winning was the worst and best thing that they could have done as an organization. Once the Red Sox tasted victory they realized that defeat would be met with disdain. Simply competing would no longer do; they have to win. The biggest problem with being a marquee franchise that finally starts winning is that you're expected to keep winning. Boston fans have become spoiled in this regard. 3 Super Bowl championships from the Patriots, an NBA Championship and another appearance from the Celtics, and two World Series Championships from the Red Sox.
The winning way has been established in Boston and the time to spend finally came.
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