Idiots Write About Sports

Not to keep seeding the clouds to rain on the Red Sox victory parade, but…
Who would you figure are the central figures on this year’s championship squad? My list is Manny Ramirez (the World Series MVP), Curt Schilling (gutty pitcher who came up big despite a devastating injury), Pedro Martinez (adding to his legend), Keith Foulke (rock-solid closer and difference-maker) and David Ortiz (the ALCS MVP). Your mileage may vary.
How did those players wind up in Red Sox uniforms?
i Manny Ramirez signed a free-agent contact that pays him a modest $20 million over eight years. That’s $160 million over the life of the contract, for those of you slow at math.
i Curt Schilling arrived in Boston, after the Red Sox sent a truckload of low-salary nobodies to a team desperate to shed payroll.
i Pedro Martinez arrived in Boston in a similar manner, arriving in a trade with an even-more financially strapped team.
i Keith Foulke signed as a free-agent, after Boston outbid a small-market team for the reliever’s services.
That’s four out of five high-impact players who are playing for the Red Sox simply because Boston had large piles of cash lying around. (Ortiz also signed as a free-agent, but for a pittance, so it’s hardly fair to include him in that statement.) Go through the rest of the Boston roster, and Trot Nixon is really the only home-grown player to have much of an impact on the team’s fortunes. (You could be charitable and include Varitek and Lowe in that group, though, technically, they came up through the Mariner organization).
I’m not saying that diminishes Boston’s victory — winning is winning, after all. What I am saying is that if the New York Yankees pulled off a similar feat — winning a World Series thanks in large part to a player signed to a gaudy free-agent contract, another one snatched away from a small-market team, and two pitchers who arrived thanks to one-sided trades — the cries of outrage would be deafening. They’re buying a World Series title! Evil Empire! Evil Empire!
So how come no one’s saying the same thing about Boston? Yeah, the Red Sox payroll isn’t as high as New York’s — but it is higher than the payroll of 28 other teams.
Maybe it doesn’t matter in the end. Hell, if Oakland ever won a World Series and got accused of buying a championship, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t care. But Red Sox fans have gotten a lot of mileage out of complaining about the Yankees’ free-spending ways without really acknowledging the team they pull for does the same thing. And as far as I’m concerned, Boston fans complaining about the Yankees payroll is like the Astors bitching that the Rockefellers are being a little loose with the trust fund.
[Update: Reading through this, I think I may have been unclear on a point or two. I’m not criticizing the Red Sox for bringing in people to help improve their chances of winning (just like I wouldn’t criticize the Yankees for doing likewise). The system allows free-agency movement and trades, and large-market teams shouldn’t have to take a vow of poverty for their championships to have meaning. What I am saying — or at least, trying to say — is that if we’re going to make a point of the Yankees predatory approach to player acquisitions, then maybe we should do likewise for the Red Sox. And I’d like to see a Boston fan address this point. I’m looking in your direction, Sports Guy.]