Red Sox Reaction To Unit Trade

[Crash Course]

Over at mlb.com, they have a great feature with quotes from many in RSN on the Randy Johnson to NY trade. Here are some of the better bites:

"If the Yankees acquire Randy Johnson and Carlos Beltran I am sure many will concede the World Series to them," said owner John W. Henry. "New York has improved markedly every year since we purchased the Red Sox. A year ago their acquisitions led to that [assessment] and they indeed came very, very close. While the gulf between our two payrolls continues to widen, we've somehow managed to go toe-to-toe with them in some of the most exciting baseball ever. This offseason should serve to heighten the anticipation and provide an ever greater challenge for us. There is no doubt that our front office and our players find difficult challenges attractive [and] energizing."

Toe-to-toe? In 2003, the Sox finished 6 games back of NY. It was three back last year. Perhaps Henry should have said "we've somehow managed to extend the ALCS to seven games with them the last two years"?

"We won the World Series, and I feel like we're the underdogs again," Schilling told ESPN. "To get Randy tips the edge their way."

The edge on what? Winning the World Series? Or, finishing 1st in the AL East? Last time I checked, NY has won the AL East the last 7 years in a row. Why would 2005 be any different?

"The Yankees are always the favorite," said first baseman Kevin Millar. "They're favorites because of the names they have on paper. We're going in again this year as the underdog and we don't mind that. That's the way we like it. That's the way the Sox roll. We have a bunch of guys who just grind it out. We have a few big name guys that you need, but the majority of us just all play well with each other and I think that's what makes our team so special."

Yeah, Kapler, Roberts, Reese, all those "great guys" are coming back, right?

"We don't concern ourselves with what the Yankees do. We don't go tit for tat. We don't try to react to come up with moves in response of what they do," general manager Theo Epstein said recently, when Johnson's move to New York started to seem increasingly inevitable. "My philosophy with regard to the Yankees is, I assume they're going to win about 100 games a year and we have to win 100 if we want to win the division. Our whole gameplan is to try and win 95 to 100 every year to get us to the postseason so we have a chance to win the World Series every year. We spend a lot less time thinking about the Yankees and their moves than you might think. I assume going into every offseason that they're going to land probably the best position player and the best pitcher available because they have the means to do so and they're smart and they usually do. And they haven't won the World Series in a few years. We'll just focus on ourselves."

Well, Theo, if you don't concern yourselves with what the Yankees do, then why the quotes here from you, Millar, Schilling, and Henry (among others)? It sure seems like you're concerned enough to feel the need to talk about the trade, etc?

Did Steinbrenner and his gang have press releases when the Sox picked up Matt Clement and Wade Miller?

Why is it that we always here from RSN when the Yankees pick up a player like Johnson or Rodriguez? One would think, coming off their 2004 post-season, for once, the Red Sox would stop looking over their shoulder at NY.

[captain_napalm]

How can the Red Sox stop looking over their shoulder at the Yanks, when they haven't finished in front since 1995?

[Crash Course]

John W. Henry bitching about the Yankees payroll is like Pam Anderson bitching about Dolly Parton's cleavage.

[RedSeat]

Originally Posted by Crash Course

Well, Theo, if you don't concern yourselves with what the Yankees do, then why the quotes here from you, Millar, Schilling, and Henry (among others)? It sure seems like you're concerned enough to feel the need to talk about the trade, etc?...Why is it that we always here (sic) from RSN when the Yankees pick up a player like Johnson or Rodriguez?

Why? Most likely because they were responding to direct questions about the acquisition. And knowing the Boston press, it wouldn't surprise me if the questions were something along the lines of, "With the Yankees getting RJ, is there any way you can win the division next year?"

[Stageon]

Originally Posted by Crash Course

John W. Henry bitching about the Yankees payroll is like Pam Anderson bitching about Dolly Parton's cleavage.

LOL... nice one Steve

[Crash Course]

Originally Posted by RedSeat

Why? Most likely because they were responding to direct questions about the acquisition. And knowing the Boston press, it wouldn't surprise me if the questions were something along the lines of, "With the Yankees getting RJ, is there any way you can win the division next year?"

FWIW, Theo's answer was the right one - it's just that his answer doesn't match up with the response from Henry and the players.

The players, well, they're players - not much you can do there. But, clearly, Henry's answer should have been the same as Theo's, if it were true that they're not concerned about what the Yankees are doing.

[Jim Rice]

Just to clarify, this was not a Red Sox press release, as you implied. This was an MLB employee looking for quotes for a story on MLB.com. That isn't too surprising since MLB has a vested interest in keeping that rivarly on the front burner.

[Crash Course]

Any time a member of a ballclub front office says something to the press, on the record, and "OK'ed" it for publication, it's a press release.

They are releasing information to the press - with the information being their opinion.

[Jim Rice]

With the enormous difference being that this was instigated by MLB, not the Red Sox. "Press Release" implies a coordinated communication to the media initiated by the team. By your own description, the owners and GM in the article were giving contradictory answers, so its pretty clear they weren't coordinating this one.

[Crash Course]

Reading Henry's quote, do you really think he said that on the fly off the top of his head or that he had that all scripted and canned in his head, ready for when the question was asked?

[Jim Rice]

Actually, yes. He's an anal guy, so having that kind of answer in his head doesn't seem out of character for him at all - he's not Steinbrenner. And it makes a lot more sense than him taking the time to write out a statement like that in advance for the sole purpose of initiating a spin article on MLB.com, and then forgetting to tell his GM what the party line is.

[Crash Course]

FWIW, I just saw on google news that, according to a Jan 1, 2005 story in the NY Post, when asked about the potential of the Yankees adding both Randy Johnson and Carlos Beltran, Red Sox owner John Henry replied (with the quote at at the top of this thread) in an e-mail.

Since he wrote it, that tells me that he took the time to craft it, like a press release.

[Crash Course]

Here's a link from a NH paper that ties into the fact that it was an e-mail: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/.../-1/columnists

“If the Yankees acquire Randy Johnson and Carlos Beltran I am sure many will concede the World Series to them,’’ Red Sox owner John Henry said via e-mail. “New York has improved markedly every year since we purchased the Red Sox. A year ago their acquisitions led to that and they indeed came very, very close.’’

In fact.........since this link/feature is dated 1/1/05, same as the Post story, and is three days before the MLB.com story, it's now clear that Henry, in making this statement was not replying to a MLB.com inquiry, but, more so, sent an e-mail to press, en masse (as he often does), with this statement, as a press release.

[Jim Rice]

Not, it's not "clear". In your own post, you stated that he sent the email "when asked", so I'll choose to take that at face value and assume it wasn't Henry who initiated this. Why hunt for some conspiracy on something as meaningless as this?

Even if he did, so what? Assume he initiated all of this with a statement that played up the rivalry in the upcoming season. That's called making use of your assets, and it's what good companies do. General Electic does that by buying other companies, or investing in a state of the art research center, or whatever. The Yankees do so by spending their huge revenue stream on players, TV networks, etc. The Sox also do their share of that, but since the rivarly with the Yankees is also an asset, as is free advertising from the media, why not make us of them?

[Crash Course]

Originally Posted by Jim Rice

Not, it's not "clear". In your own post, you stated that he sent the email "when asked", so I'll choose to take that at face value and assume it wasn't Henry who initiated this.

I dunno. If more than one paper in different cities ran with the story - which we now know is true - that makes me think it was another one of his mass e-mails and not a reply to a singular party asking a question looking for an answer.

Originally Posted by Jim Rice

Even if he did, so what?

To me, it comes across as petty and paranoid to have to issue a statement everytime the other team makes a move. Talk about yourself, talk about what you've done, etc. Or, if you can't, then don't have your staff come out with lines like:

""We don't concern ourselves with what the Yankees do. We don't go tit for tat. We don't try to react to come up with moves in response of what they do."

It's conflicting and says that someone is therefore FOS.