Don't blame the Red Sox

It is a stigma that follows the Red Sox organization and its fans even when they have failed to sign a type-A free agent for the past two seasons, have a contract worth more than $100 million or come in second in total payroll.

Although the Red Sox do have a payroll that ranks in the top five in Major League Baseball, the Yankees ($232 million), New York Mets ($138 million) and Detroit Tigers ($138 million) all rank above the Red Sox $133 million payroll in 2009. There are also a total of seven other teams who currently have a payroll of more than $100 million.

The fact that fans of these teams have the nerve to complain about how the Red Sox do business compared to their own teams is outrageous considering the contracts some of these organizations have doled out over the years. The Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees all currently hold contracts worth more than $100 million. The largest contract in Red Sox history is Manny Ramirez's 8 year $160 million deal, which was purchased by the previous ownership and no longer exists. Currently the highest paid player under contract to the team is JD Drew's 5 year $70 million deal.

Unlike the Yankees, the Red Sox have a certain type of player they look for and a certain amount of years and money (depending on the player) they will not go over, which is why they failed to sign free-agents like Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez in recent years. Whereas the Yankees look for the player with the most hype surrounding them and whoever they feel will make them successful in the short term. While the Red Sox had been in the hunt to acquire free-agent Mark Teixeira's, services this off-season they presented an offer to the switch-hitting first baseman and stuck to their guns even after reports that their arch-rivals the Yankees had outbid them on the deal. The reason is because the Red Sox are in no shape or form the Yankees and they also have rules when it comes to how much they will spend, which does not include outbidding teams by so much money that the player couldn't say no to the offer even if they wanted to.

If the Red Sox had landed Teixeira then they would have most likely been ridiculed by fans of other teams who would have said they were just trying to buy another World Series. On the other hand, if the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals had won the battle for his services instead of the Yankees then their acquisition would have been praised as a great move for their organization. The Red Sox should not have to face criticism for having built a winning team off players they have developed out of their own farm system and sensible player signings they feel fit the team's mold. Instead of these fans and organizations ridiculing the Red Sox over the success of their organization, maybe they should take a look at the finances of their own teams before they begin to compare them to that of the obnoxious spending practices of the Yankees.