In a city like Boston, the start of spring training doesn't just resemble the beginning of the baseball season; it resembles the light at the end of the tunnel. Once the famous (or infamous) truck leaves for Fort Myers, Bostonians know it won't be too long before they can put their ice scrapers away, give their backs a rest from all of the shoveling, and maybe even go outside without a winter jacket fit for climbing large mountains. The walk from the car to the grocery store gets a little less treacherous, and you can actually see the sun for an hour or so after you get out of your nine-to-five. Remember last year? With the additions of Adrian Gonazlez and Carl Crawford surely making the 2011 Red Sox the "Greatest Red Sox Team Ever", and snow falling more fiercely than the stock market on Black Monday, saying Boston was giddy for spring training would have been like saying Tim Thomas' political stance "leans a little to the right."
It is fitting, then, that at the end of this lukewarm winter, the buzz around Red Sox spring training is far from boiling. However, I sincerely do not believe the mild winter is the only factor in the apathetic attitude towards the Red Sox this spring. Think about it. What have the Red Sox given us to be excited about? Their big-name winter acquisition was Bobby Valentine, who hasn't managed a major league game since he led the Mets to a last place finish in 2002. Meanwhile, the Angels got C.J Wilson and Albert Pujols, the Yankees got Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda, the Tigers got Prince Fielder, the Rangers got Japanese star Yu Darvish and the Rays improve each year through the maturation of their insanely deep farm system. Every single AL contender got better this winter. So unless Bobby V greatly improved his opposite-field power, or has an arm that can give the Sox 175 innings with a sub-4 ERA, John Henry's ball club has moved backwards in the AL.
While every contender in the American League was improving, the Red Sox have gone nowhere or declined in all aspects of the game. The bullpen is unquestionably worse with the loss of Papelbon to Philadelphia and the loss of Daniel Bard and probably Alfredo Aveces to the starting rotation. The additions of Melancon and Bailey certainly do not offset the losses of the top three pitchers out of the 'pen last year. I will personally guarantee Ortiz won't match his .309 batting average, or his .953 OBPS, and am bearish on him matching last year's 29 HR and 96 RBI. The outfield will be lucky to tread water from how they performed last year with Carl Crawford's wrist injury and Jacoby Ellsbury's inevitable return to Earth. The infield is certainly worse as the only change is the Scutaro/Lowrie combo being replaced by the Punto/Aviles tandem. Scutaro wasn't the second coming of Nomar, but he was a proven, starting Major League shortstop who was good with the glove and average with the bat. Punto and Aviles don't bring what Scutaro brought to the table. But hey, trading your only starting shortstop and his $5 million salary was okay because it cleared up the funds to secure Edwin Jackson right? No. Roy Oswalt? Nope. That $5 mil is still sitting John Henry's pocket. But did we mention you can buy a commemorative Fenway brick for $250? And don't forget their $75 coffee table book.
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| You could buy groceries for your family for a week. But who needs food when you have an engraved brick?! |
While legal documents may claim that individuals own the four major sports franchises in Boston, everybody knows they belong to the fans. The players know it, the fans know it, the media knows it. This past decade of success may have led people to think that we expect champions in Boston, and will accept nothing less, but it really isn't the case. As spoiled as we have been, we still haven't lost sight that winning a ring requires as much luck as it does skill and effort in running a team. With that said, if we were able to bust out the truth serum, you can bet that Robert Kraft, Wyc Grousbeck, and even (I can't believe I'm saying this) Jeremy Jacobs would tell you they have done everything in their power this year to win another championship. John Henry would charge $250 to hear his answer. Then he would tell you that he has done all he could to squeeze every penny possible out of the Red Sox fan base by keeping the team relevant throughout the season. Relevant enough to ensure the $12 beers and $4 bottles of water continue to be sold at all 81 home games. Relevant worked for 86 years in Boston, but this is not a one-team town anymore. So as Boston packs away it's dry snow boots, and exiles their unworn shovels to the shed for next winter, its a good thing that we aren't looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, because there isn't one.
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