If any of that sounds like a criticism of how the Red Sox do things, it isn’t. Rather, it is a compliment. One of the great strengths of the current Red Sox administration is that team officials generally do not succumb to emotion or public pressure. For as much as we laud someone like Terry Francona for maintaining his poise during times of crisis – deficits in the 2004 and 2007 playoffs come to mind – the same is true of upper management. The Red Sox devised their plan and they stick to it, and it has served them quite well.
On the even of September 2010, here’s the problem: you now see through it. Whether one measures the Red Sox’ Q rating through television ratings, talk-show volume, web hits or that intangible buzz, the Sox took a major hit this year. Broadcast ratings have plummeted. Secondary ticket sales have slowed to a crawl if not stopped altogether. Fenway Park has gone from among the most fashionable places to be seen to just another ballpark, and the timing could not be worse for a Red Sox administration that might have been planning for another lean year.
Seriously, might not that be, above all else, the reason the Sox put in a claim for Johnny Damon? The Sox lack star power. The Sox lack appeal. The problem now is not solely that there are better teams (plural) in the American League East, but that there are more exciting ones, too. The Red Sox are closer to fourth place than they are to second or first, and there appear to be no quick fixes on a relatively thin free agent market that could include Adrian Beltre, Victor Martinez and David Ortiz.
In the grand scheme of things – Epstein said last winter that 90 percent of Sox energy is focused on long-term planning – that is fine. Anyone who lived during all or part of that time from 1918-2004 won’t have a problem waiting four or five years. But for the first time during the Henry ownership, there has been a significant drop in interest coinciding with a long-term plan that seems to call for patience, which could create for an interesting offseason on Yawkey Way.
