Is This 2014 Off-Season Looking More Like 2011 For Yankees-Red Sox?
By Ricky Keeler
All day Monday, the Boston Red Sox became one of the major stories of the 2014 Hot Stove signings. They were able to sign former Giants’ third baseman Pablo Sandoval and former Dodgers’ shortstop Hanley Ramirez to likely become their everyday left fielder. It has led a lot of Yankees’ fans to ask what’s next and whether or not Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and the Yankees’ front office will respond with a big move of their own. When thinking about these signings, it first made me think about the comments Red Sox’ CEO Larry Lucchino made last February about the Yankees’ $500 million off-season, which included New York signing former Red Sox’ centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury:
"“I always cringe when people lump us together. Other baseball teams sometimes do that. They are still, this year at least, relying heavily on their inimitable old-fashioned Yankees style of high-priced, long-term free agents. I can’t say I wish them well, but I think we’ve taken a different approach.” (h/t NY Daily News)"
As I discussed with Sean Sylver from 98.5 The Sports Hub last week on the YGY Radio Show, these latest moves by Boston show a departure from their plan last year, which was not to give long-term contracts to players in their 30s. While Sandoval will only be 29 this season, he is still going to be paid $95 million over five years, largely due to his postseason success. The Red Sox still need starting pitching, but they are rumored to be involved in either a trade for Cole Hamels or re-signing their former ace, Jon Lester.
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This Red Sox off-season is starting to remind me a lot of the 2010 off-season, an off-season in which the folks in Beantown made all the moves and it was the Yankees who largely stood pat. Keep in mind, in 2010, the Red Sox had 89 wins and were out of the playoffs while the Yankees had 95 wins and an appearance in the ALCS. So, the records aren’t what they are now in terms of Boston having two last place finishes in three years sandwiched by a World Series title.
New York didn’t do much to upgrade the team during the winter of 2010, signing veteran pitchers in Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon as well as veteran outfielder Andruw Jones. The Yankees didn’t need to make the big splash because they still had Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and were fresh off a World Series title in 2009 The only splashes that New York made was signing Russell Martin to a one-year, $4 million deal and inking closer/setup man Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35 million deal.
As for the Red Sox, they went out and made the big splashes of the winter. They traded for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres (later signed a seven-year, $154 million contract) and signed left fielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million contract.
With those moves added to a Red Sox lineup that was second in RBI in 2010 (behind only the Yankees), everyone had Boston as the team to beat in the American League. It turns out that wasn’t the case because after a great summer, Terry Francona’s squad had one of the worst Septembers in MLB history as the club missed the playoffs despite 90 wins due to a 7-20 September record.
While the Yankees could still be in the running for big free agents, it is important to note that maybe re-signing your own free agents plus adding some mid-tier guys could be the way to go. I have been in favor of New York buying a Max Scherzer, but you have to also take into account how many more big contracts do the Yankees want on their already inflated payroll?
The only move that Boston would make that should send a little bit of concern to Yankees’ fans is if the Red Sox go out and bring back Jon Lester. The Red Sox need starting pitching, but Lester owns the Yankees over the course of his career. In 29 games, he is 13-6 with a 2.78 ERA with a 9-3 record at Yankee Stadium. It should make Yankees’ fans cringe a little bit if Lester is pitching five or six more years with the Red Sox. That move, in my opinion, would make the Yankees go out and spend on a Scherzer to counter that move.
Even though the Red Sox have seemed to have kind of gone away from their plan on giving out long-term deals, this is what makes the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry take a step up. It wasn’t the best thing in September for both these clubs to be trotting out Triple-A-esque lineups in the first game of that final series. When the Yankees and Red Sox are both spending money and in the mix, it elevates the sport to another level as we saw back in 2003 and 2004.
As we head into Thanksgiving, the question becomes this: As the Red Sox begin to fill up on the top “turkeys” of the off-season, will the Yankees be stuck at the dinner table with only the side dishes? We did see in 2011 and in the past decades with the Yankees that money doesn’t usually buy the championship, but it’s easy to understand the frustration of Bronx Bombers’ fans that are watching their rivals up north go back to their money spending ways.