pagsz's Journal: Ruminations of a Red Sox Fan

Well, with the baseball strike averted, Red Sox fans can return their attention to watching their team collapse when it counts (a yearly ritual in New England).

As of early June, the Red Sox had the best record in baseball. With a June 6 win over the Detroit Tigers, the Sox improved their record to 40 - 17 (3 1/2 up on the Yanks). Since then, they have gone 36 - 41. That's sub-.500 baseball. No wonder the Sox are sinking back in the standings (7 1/2 back in the East and 5 in back the Wild Card).

So, as is the norm in Boston, a promising spring is followed my a mediocre summer.
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Things don't look to get much better in the next few years either. In one fan's opinion, the Red Sox won't seriously contend for a World Series until at least 2010. Why? Simple: the farm system. The Red Sox have one of the weaker farm systems in the majors right now. Back in July, when negotiating a deal for OF Cliff Floyd, the Red Sox didn't offer much. That's only because they didn't have much to offer. They were probably the only team dealing honestly with Montreal (no other team offered up any prospects, the Red Sox didn't because they couldn't).

Take a look at the current roster. On the 2002 starting team, I can think of three that came up from the farm system: OF Trot Nixon, 3B Shea Hillenbrand, and SS Nomar Garciaparra. In the past ten years, the minor league system has produced three All-Stars: (now NY Met) 1B Mo Vaughn, and the aforementioned Hillenbrand and Garciaparra.

Now, for comparison, the Yankees. Current Yankees up from the farm: CF Bernie Williams, SS Derek Jeter, 2B Alfonso Soriano, C Jorge Posada, P Andy Pettite, and CL Mariano Rivera. All-Stars from the Yankees farm system: see above.
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The Red Sox can compete with the Yankees on a payroll basis. They can match pretty much dollar-for-dollar what the Yankees spend. What they can't match is the Yankees farm system. There's very little talent on the horizon, and any that comes in the next couple of years will take at least five years to develop.

The Red Sox aren't going to win by outspending everyone else, the Yankees are loaded and teams like the Athletics, Twins, and Mariners are smarter about how they use their money.

Until the farm system gets fixed, the Red Sox ain't gonna win anything. So, what does a Sox fan do in the meantime? Root for any team with a chance of knocking off the Yankees. If it can't be us, at least let it not be them.