FORT MYERS, Fla. — I’m old enough to remember when the Red Sox were the Yankees’ great rival.
In its strangely stark feast-or-famine recent existence, Boston — four times a champion this century — has somehow fallen all the way to AL East afterthought. Of course, they could become a force again, if only the historically decorated (but seemingly distracted or disinterested) ownership group starts trying to win again.
The group, headed by John Henry, bought the Pittsburgh Penguins and Liverpool soccer club and lately is investing billions in golf (but not in baseball), raising speculation the Red Sox are temporarily on the back burner.
One Red Sox person said he believes it, that he’s eve
Regardless, the Red Sox are the ones who are down lately, finishing last two straight years and three out of the past four. Yet, with nearly limitless resources and notoriously loyal fans, the Red Sox made player deals that look only incremental. Here’s a partial rundown of their most significant moves — player and otherwise.
1. They hired former pitcher and another Yale man, Craig Breslow, to replace fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.
2. They expanded the role of team president Sam Kennedy, perhaps as compensation for combat pay since he’s the one usually trotted out to take the abuse of those loyal fans.
3. They brought back Kennedy’s Brookline High teammate Theo Epstein, a three-time World Series champion and two-time breaker of historic curses (including theirs in 2004). Yes, that’s a great move, but probably too late to save the season.
