The Yankees winning a World Series would obviously be horrible, but would it even change anything the Red Sox front office does?
It’s like looking at a car crash, albeit one that was bound to happen, took fifteen years to come to fruition, and involved roughly a billion dollars committed in total and $260 million on the 26-man roster in 2024 alone, which is more than 25% over the next-closest team.
I’m talking, of course, about the New York Yankees being in the World Series for the first time since 2009. It’s the result of good conditioning, luck with limited injuries, skill on the diamond, and, frankly, savvy off-season moves, none of which (or maybe about half of one of which) the Red Sox have displayed over the last 12 months. Worse, they’ll be facing the Dodgers, a team that has had some combination of the same, which is frustrating after watching all the iterations of a starting lineup or rotation that the Red Sox were rolled out in 2024. The Guardians didn’t stand a chance, and, sadly, neither did most teams in this year’s playoff bracket, most of whom had spent more active dollars than the Red Sox, who finished the season in 18th in this statistic between the likes of Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks, etc. sitting out this season and the likely Cy Young winner Chris Sale being mostly on our payroll despite producing results for the Braves. Still, for the most part, these are teams that don’t take half-measures, and these are mostly teams that spend money.
Many have already been waving the proverbial white flag on the season for a few days to a few weeks, and it’s pretty clear that the Yankees will be a driving force for the next couple of years, given they can lock Juan Soto up long-term and are always competitive. So, too, will the Baltimore Orioles, whose youthful and exciting play, propelled by waves of exciting prospects, has resulted in 192 combined wins over the last two seasons, even if that’s dampened by 0 postseason wins in the same amount of time. But we’re talking about the Yankees, who now stand four wins away from us not being able to use the terms “History Channel championships” and “ok, what about in this century?” Yes, the Red Sox have boasted more Series wins than any team since 2000, and that will stand no matter who hoists the trophy in a couple of weeks. But, again, these are the Yankees! The vigor to outdo the empire that was so strong following 2003’s ousting by the same man who manages the club, Aaron bleeping Boone, is all gone despite the same ownership group signing the checks. So, the question is, would the Yankees winning the World Series really change anything?
The old adage goes “what have you done for me lately?” And this Red Sox squad, marred by horrific bullpen play late in the campaign and choppy if not unforgivable defense throughout 2024, was just a couple of games away from finishing last for the fourth time in five years. At any point, seeing the Yankees contending more than the Red Sox in this time frame should have sprung a switch on the seat like that “ejecto seato, cuz” scene in 2 Fast, 2 Furious, igniting a flurry of transactions to, well, ya know, get a top rotation arm, or, better yet, two, and to stop speaking in thinly masked language like “we’re going to try to contend” while saying they “don’t know where the payroll is going to land” which, given that you can Google Sam Kennedy’s comments after 2022 and 2023, sure feels like the precursor to another “aw shucks… but don’t worry, we’ll get them this off-season!” twelve months from now.
Was Rome built in a day? No. But if Rome were a playoff appearance, it could certainly be built with an additional $50-60 million, which would only then get Boston to a level of spending commensurate with some of these contending teams such as San Diego, both New York teams, the Astros, and the Dodgers.
So, when, or if, the Yankees, who pay their top three starting pitchers $82 million this season, up from $72 million in 2023 and $68 in 2022 (notice a pattern? For the record, the Red Sox’s 2024 number is $32.5 million counting Giolito’s $18 and Chris Martin’s $7.5) win the World Series, actions will speak much louder than words. And, in this league, the ultimate action is opening the checkbook.