Promethium Wrote:
I don't see how a Red Sox fan can be mad at him for taking the money, when he left KC/Oakland beforehand. You also have had Manny Ramirez demanding a trade several times in the last year. It's not like the Red Sox are a small market team. They buy just as many players as the Yankees do, Manny, Pedro and Curt Schilling, etc.
I also don't see the hatred for Pedro and Clemens that I have with Damon so far.
kc and oakland made no attempt to keep him. those teams are very selective about the few players that they sign to long term deals with serious money involved. and while the red sox do have an enormous payroll, as you have seen from their negotiations with johnny, pedro, arod, and big papi, they don't just pay whatever it takes to sign a player, as the yankees do. and of the 3 players you named, the current sox brass signed only 1, and would never have gotten involved with manny for 10 years and sat back as the mets overpaid pedro.
onto the reason that johnny is a scumbag... boston elevated johnny to superstar status. that guy was in the league forever before he showed up, but sox fans embraced him in a way that other cities hadn't. he was the face of the franchise even though he was not the most important player in the lineup. if you had been in or around fenway at any point during his tenure, you would know what i am talking about. he was on and on for his last 2 years in boston about how badly he wanted to sign there again, but when the yankees threw 3 mil/year more than the sox at him, he signed immediately without giving the sox a legit chance to counter, making him the first player of any consequence to go directly to the yanks from the sox since the babe. then he has the balls to go on some crazy campaign to let the fans know how sensitive he is and he doesn't want the boston fans to hate him. poor johnny! and of course, there is the simple fact that johnny would not be the superstar that he is if boston had forced a no long hair, no facial hair policy on him and that's a fact. you can dispute it if you would like, but you are dead wrong if you think otherwise.
look at the contract papi signed. 12mil/year which is well below his market value. no nonsense, no whining. the guy wanted to play in boston so he signed for what they are willing to pay.
as for pedro, the sox didn't want to sign him for 4 years, so he left. the sox were not making a competitive offer. clemens was having a personal dispute with the general manager when he left and he still had the decency to stop in toronto before new york.
lastly, if you aren't from boston, you will never understand the importance of baseball and what the yankees represent to us, particularly if your frame of referece is kc or oakland. the sox generate that payroll because they are supported unconditionally even in the lean years. boston is not in a market that is significantly bigger then many of those they outpay around the league. that's why we are in your ballpark when the sox roll into town. because we like the sox better than you like anything.
so, i hope i answered your question.