Is youngish Boston General Manager Theo Epstein a certified "Boy Wonder" for acquiring all-stars Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this past MLB offseason?
Hah, don't make Baltimore skipper Buck Showalter laugh. A spoiled rich kid is more like it.
"Crawford and Gonzales chose the Red Sox because Epstein had the most money to spend," snorted Buck, "not because of his superior knowledge."
"I'd like to see how smart Epstein would be with Tampa Bay's payroll," added Showalter.
Buck has a great point. Where would the Yale-educated Epstein be if he didn't have big BoSox bucks to wave at the available standouts he adds yearly?
Further, Theo's success in procuring pricey talent probably also has a lot to do with other teams'spending abstinence; they've learned you can't buy a title as easily as in the past.
Even the New York Yankees seem to be finally getting the point.
The Yanks failed to join any bidding war for offensive catalyst Crawford despite lacking outfield depth.
And the Yankees didn't pursue any sorely-needed starting pitching help once Philadelphia stole Cliff Lee out from under their noses.
Instead, the Bronx Bombers opted to go with their three serviceable in-house outfielders and several has-beens to fill out their hurling rotation. Consider it sort of lesson learned then.
Yes, Boston won the offseason by adding some key offensive pieces to go with their already deep pitching staff. But that doesn't mean that the BoSox are now in-like-Flynn as far as the 2011 American League pennant chase goes.
They are merely the best on paper.
But Showalter for one is not scared. "That just makes it even better when we kick their butts," said Buck, whose Orioles fared well late last season against Boston after he took over the O's managerial reins.
Yeah, Showalter may be popping off prematurely after his club's remarkable late-season turnaround under his tutelage. But then again, you never know.
Remember,Tampa Bay came out of nowhere several years ago to win the AL pennant, using unheralded but highly effective young pitching. Maybe Baltimore can replicate that success and snap a string of 13 straight losing seasons.
And despite their mound deficiencies, it would be unwise to dismiss the Yankees, as long as CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Mariano Rivera are still onboard.
Add much-improved Toronto with their pitching prowess and home run power to the mix and you've got an AL East that is probably the strongest division in all of Major League Baseball.
Odds are the AL champ will come out of the East. But a couple of Central and West teams would probably beg to differ. And you can't blame them for feeling that way.
Defending titlist Texas, minus Cliff Lee, still packs offensive punch with Josh Hamilton and Co. and has efficient starting pitching that follows the "screw pitch-counts" philosophy espoused by their GM Nolan Ryan.
Minnesota, with solid hurling and super stud catcher Joe Mauer, is always right there in the AL Central. Problem is the Twins morph into Twinkies at the sight of Yankee pinstripes in autumn.
The Chicago White Sox pack more of a wallop having added Adam Dunn to a line-up featuring first sacker Paul Konerko.
And in Oakland, General Manager Billy Beane's "Moneyball" could be making a comeback. The A's young starting pitching is outstanding and will keep them in most games.
There's even talk of ownership finally giving Billy Boy, MLB's original administrative maverick, enough cash to keep his mound crew intact instead of trading them off when they become expensive.
So, a number of teams look quite capable of giving Theo's Sawx a run for their big money.
But remember, the Red Sox missed the postseason entirely last year. So, in fairness, should Wonder Boy's spree yield a third Boston World Series title under his leadership, maybe Epstein deserves grudging credit for being both rich AND smart.
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