One element of it is sad and one element worries me.
Of course the greedy Red Sox fan in me couldn't care less about the Padres. But the baseball man in me wonders why the Padres, with a staggeringly low payroll and revenue sharing, couldn't sign Adrian Gonzalez to a 5 year extension.
A great hitter and San Diego native could have been the face of the franchise like Joe Mauer is to the Twins. A 5 year extension would have him as a 10 year Padre and no doubt join the retired numbers in Petco Park.
And they could have had an extra $20 to resign him this summer if they accepted my money.
So Red Sox fans, have your guard up. The "Red Sox are just as bad as the Yankees" rhetoric is coming back.
Just accept it, say "Yeah, hate my team. I don't care" and enjoy the show.
Almost exactly a year ago, I lamented that the Red Sox had no offensive identity anymore and they needed that left-right combo that sparked their best teams:
Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro
Fred Lynn and Jim Rice.
Wade Boggs and Jim Rice.
Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks.
Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra.
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.
Maybe Gonzalez and Youk can be that 1-2 combo.
But I am a little bit concerned about one thing:
The Red Sox didn't have to deal Ryan Kalish, Jose Iglesias, Daniel Bard or Jacoby Ellsbury to land a potential MVP candidate.
"Why does this worry you, Sully?" You might be asking. "This means the Red Sox could have fleeced them... or at worst dealt away players who wouldn't be a factor in 2011."
Call me a worrywart... but doesn't that raise a red flag?
That the Padres would settle for players who could very well turn out to be good but not big league ready?
Combine that with Gonzalez coming off of shoulder surgery, I hope the Padres don't know something that we don't know.
Either way, welcome to Boston. I am rooting big time for Gonzalez and I hope like hell the "Red Sox are the new Evil Empire" articles keep coming all the way through October.
You are going to love Fenway. The stands are actually FULL during a pennant race.
