The Boston Red Sox failed to live up to fan expectations this offseason, to the point that team president Sam Kennedy, chief baseball operations officer Chaim Bloom and owner John Henry were booed during a team event in Springfield last month.
The latter also wanted to reduce the discontent within his group of the most seasoned fans. Without much conviction, however…
The fans support the club with such passion that we are able to afford a payroll of over $200 million. They bring the magic to Fenway Park. It is for them that we work. At first, someone asked me why I came to Boston to buy the Sox. I replied that I wanted to work and live in a place where every morning what I do matters.
It’s one thing to say you’re working for the fans, it’s another to do it in practice. Yes, the Red Stockings spend more than many MLB teams, but with the astronomical income garnered by the Boston team, we can certainly expect more, much more.
And in this area, the loss of Xander Bogaerts still does not pass in Boston. However, the owner prefers the easy route of living in the past and blaming the competition in the American League East Division.
If you add up the championships of these four clubs (Yankees, Padres, Dodgers and Mets), I’m not sure they add up to our total for the past 20 years. We play in the toughest division in baseball and haven’t been getting the results we’ve been looking for lately. In our section, if you play .500, you will finish last. However, if you’re asking me if we’re now going to go to $300 million, the answer is no.
Without jumping to $300 million in payroll, the Red Sox could certainly manage their assets better. But that does not seem to be in Mr. Henry’s priorities. Damage…
