Red Sox Payroll a Smoke Screen

 Not exactly the title I wanted to use on Truck Day but it fits, Like the old saying goes if you cant get it done dazzle them with stats, or in the case of the 2013 Red Sox. Payroll

 After “ The Deal” went down last season sending Beckett Gonzalez and Crawford to LA , we heard a lot of talk about physical responsibility and a return to the “ old ways”  of building the old town team. Yea RIGHT with that one move the sox decapitated 58 million off this years bottom line. What did they do with that windfall? Spend it on the likes of Shane Victorino, Ryan Dempster, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Lyle Overbay, Koji Uehara, Stephen Drew and the newly acquired Joel Hanrahan.

As it stands now the Sox rank forth in the majors in salary with roughly 163.5 million on the payroll for the coming season.  That’s more money than

Detroit 155 million

Baltimore: 95 Million

St. Louis: 120 Million

Toronto: 121 Million

Even the free spending Angels at 156 million trail the physically responsible Sox in payroll,

Did the Sox fill out their roster with roughly the same amount of cash they jettisoned, yes. Did they do it stpidly ? YES ,Is this team any better than it was the day after the trade and in position to make a run at a playoff spot ? I for one am not so sure.

But hey, with a 163 million payroll it makes you feel better about spending more for tickets than any other team in MLB doesn’t it?