Why the Boston Red Sox prove baseball needs an overhaul

Allow me to preface my comments with a few notes before I begin.
I never hated the Boston Red Sox (or New York lite as they have become).

I usually pulled for them as a quid pro quo with my brother,once the Indians were eliminated and enjoyed doing so.
Another good friend of mine along with my nephew are Red Sox fans and this article will not deal with the general obnoxiousness (sp?) of the average Red Sox rooter.

What it will deal with is this-The Boston Red Sox are just as much to blame as the New York Yankees for the current state of baseball.
Now,I know that the Red Sox just traded for the fabulous Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego and gave away three excellent prospects (and another to be added after the Rule 5 draft on Thursday) to get him.
I know these three players are solid as I have seen all three play and I am sure the other player will be solid as well.
I will even concede that at least Boston had to trade some players of value for Gonzalez and San Diego was able to get a return for Gonzalez instead of the Sox writing a check next winter and the Friars receiving nothing in return other than two low first round draft picks.

That all duly noted,why should they have had to?
Adrian Gonzalez is from San Diego,a hometown player!
Gonzalez is popular locally and with his Mexican heritage adds to the interest in the Padres from Mexico,which is a huge bonus with the proximity to the San Diego market.
Why shouldn't Gonzalez spend the remainder of his career with the Brown and Yellow?
Well,they cannot afford him and signing him would likely send the team into circus mode as signing him cripples the teams ability to place parts around him to contend -"Come see the fabulous Adrian Gonzalez hammer the ball at Petco even though your Padres are going 72-90!".
And even signing him isn't a guarantee under those conditions.
Look at Zach Greinke,who signed a long term deal with the Royals,who now are buckling under the weight even though his contract is fairly reasonable with a pitcher of his caliber along with Greinke wanting to play for a winner and will possibly be traded this winter.
It really is a zero win situation for the Padres of the world.
Joe Mauer signed a long term deal in his home city,but the Twins manage to stay in contention for the most part with juggling parts along with being in a division with some other smaller cities (Cleveland,Kansas City),if the Twins ever slack off slightly for a year or two,Mauer could join the group of wanting to play for a winner.
 San Diego had no choice in the matter.Move him now and hopefully add four cheaper pieces to the eventual puzzle or wait and get next to nothing.

Boston isn't cheating at all.Theo Epstein is brilliant and I think the world of his skills,they are playing the game,however it is an unfair game.
Imagine playing poker and as soon as you draw a good hand,you have to cash in a key card for three unknown cards-that is the state of baseball today.
New York and Boston also reap a quiet benefit of players in the draft as players fall beyond their skills because of contract demands.
Those teams scoop them up because they can afford them and then use them for trading chips down the road in a vicious cycle that never stops.
Believe me-this doesn't stop until New York and Boston realize that a league is only as strong as its perception and as fans continue to tune out this great game because their team has little to no chance to compete and watch their favorites move to those cities,the game will continue to weaken.

Now if your idea of fun and (this is fun for ESPN) and you want to watch all Yankee-Red Sox all the time then lets allow them to do just that.
Granted,in its own way,the rest would be technically minor league baseball,but at least the playing field would be level while those players played for Seattle until the "Big two" snatched them up.

Want to be sickened more?
As the Gonzalez deal was announced,most articles then talked about the Red Sox inevitable signing of either Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth to add to their All-Star team as the Yankees close in on Cliff Lee (I don't buy him staying in Texas for a minute,although it would be great if it happened).
That is what fans are dealing with and I know these teams don't win every year,but they are able to do things that others cannot.
Oh,No,Boston only won 89 games and missed the playoffs once-lets plunder the Padres and throw money at a big name outfielder and I don't want to hear about losing Adrian Beltre either.He was a rental and if Boston wanted to keep him,they would have found a way.
I personally think letting him walk was smart as Beltre's history is big contract years and lesser numbers otherwise,but you would not be able to convince me if they truly wanted him,the dollars are there.

The Yankees aren't innocents either with their 51 million for three years of the declining and overrated Derek Jeter.
Anyone think that Baltimore,Pittsburgh,Tampa or Houston could afford 17 million for that production?
When it is all said and done,Boston will have Gonzalez and either Crawford or Werth,New York will have the other outfielder and an elite arm from somewhere even if not Cliff Lee.

My Red Sox friends always justify their reckless and unfair spending with a variation of this "We have to-New York makes us do it to compete".
Fair enough,but you made my argument-Boston has to in order to compete,but they can afford it,too many others cannot.
The system is broken and needs to be fixed.
Baseball will always have good and bad teams,nature of the beast,but it shouldn't come down to who has the most money-it should come to who evaluates talent the best and the organization that manages the total picture in the top manner.
Look at the NFL,every team has an equal chance-can any of you honestly say that the Steelers,Packers,Colts and Ravens would be near the top every season under baseball's guidelines?
Nope,but they can with the cap and by being among the smarter organizations,they can thrive for a long period of time.
Can you say the Pirates,Brewers and Orioles could do that in baseball?
No way.

I understand why the players don't want a cap,but why not the owners?
Level playing fields mean more chances to contend and contention means money usually and if it doesn't than that market might not deserve a big league team.

You want the game repaired?
The beginning is a hard cap.
Pick your numbers,whatever they are with a ceiling that you cannot exceed and a floor that you must meet.
Add a slotted system for the amateur draft like the NBA (gag) uses.
No more of this, I need five million more to play in Houston because I would rather play in New York.
No system is perfect and other items can be added and tweaked,but it is a start to straightening out a mess that everyone can see other than baseball itself...