KillerBs said:
Everyone in the league knows the Sox have painted themselves into corner and need to deal Lester. The price may be going down as we speak. I expect to be underwhelmed by the eventual haul.
Yeah they want to "protect their asset" by not starting tomorrow. They also don't want to let fans send him off and vent their outrage at the cheap SOBs that own the team while soaking the fan base for every damn dime they can.
They are consistently a top 5 payroll team. How does that qualify as "cheap SOBs?" Here's how they've ranked on opening day going back a decade. 4th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd.
patinorange said:
It's a cruel world. What have you done for us lately? It's a different story if they are in contention this year or 2012 didn't happen. The collapse of a World Series champion and the mishandling of the Lester situation is a tough nut to absorb.
The FO messed this up. There can't be enough criticism on how they handled this and the first to worst is historic.
They are going to take a hit.
This is why people think we, as a fanbase, are spoiled. Their approach hasn't led to being a playoff team every year, but they've won three titles in the last decade. I'll take that over any other team in the sport, shitty seasons and all. Shit happens, but the payoffs have been more than worth it. The only model that's proven to put a team in the playoffs every season has been absurdly overpaying for talent and even that approach has been chopped down to size in the new CBA. The Yankees are paying for their approach now, and the Dodgers are in the middle of their cash flow run, but eventually they'll fall down hard.
8slim said:
Not that anyone asked, but the Sox don't get an "In Bill We Trust", Pats-like, blind faith from me. Of course the titles show they certainly "know what they're doing" so I don't subscribe to the hyperbole. But it's also the franchise of the 2011-12 offseason, so they're not infallible.
I think not being able to re-sign Lester is a mistake. Doesn't mean they're incompetent. But no one bats 1.000.
Henry is a hedge funds guy. He's constantly looking for a way to get and edge on the competition and he's happy to take risks when he thinks he's found one. Sometimes those risks will blow up. We're seeing that now. We saw it in 2012. That's the downside of having an ownership group led by someone like him. But again, three titles in the last decade more than makes up for the down seasons (2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014). If they remain one of the worst teams in the majors in 2015, it'll grow a little more difficult to stay so optimistic, but so far they haven't been a shitty team for more than one season in a row. 2011's club barely missed the playoffs. The collapse was epic and painful as hell, but they were literally in the hunt for a playoff spot until the last out of a season. That's not a shitty team.