The Yankees strike again - swooping in to steal prize free agent Mark Teixeira from the rival Red Sox. Why am I so happy? Probably because it demonstrates once again that for all of their self-congratulatory posturing about being the best managed team in baseball, the Red Sox cannot compete for free agents. Once again, Theo Epstein, John Henry, Larry Lucchino, and the rest of the bean counters on Yawkey Way failed to grasp the free agent market. In a year when they shed payroll by 20 percent, they allowed themselves to be outbid by the resurgent Yankees by a mere $10 million (roughly $2 million a year over the life of the eight year contract). That's a piddling number, and it's precisely the same sort of short term thinking that led them to take a pass on A-Rod four years ago.
But let's look at those few instances when the Red Sox under the current ownership have actually signed their man. J.D. Drew. Julio Lugo. Jason Varitek.
In almost every instance, the Sox have outbid, drum roll please, themselves! They showered money on J.D. Drew, despite the fact that nothing about his playing justified a $75 million contract save for his mythic blandness. They snapped up the mediocre Julio Lugo, far outbidding all other virtually non-existent suitors for the journeyman player's services. He promptly rewarded them for their $36 million investment by hitting .237 and .268 in 2007 and 2008. Heady stats and that doesn't even count the 16 errors that he was able to commit in the field last year alone. As for Varitek? Let's just say that if Varitek was an African-American or Latino player, he would need an elite team of Navy Seals to protect him from the historically racist Boston fandom. Last year, "the captain" was able to ensure an easy out at the bottom of the order with his mighty .220 batting average. Let's just say that this holiday season it's safe to assume that visions of knee replacement surgery vie for space in his head with those of sugarplums.
Yesterday, the number crunchers were once again able to keep the tradition alive. Kudos.
