I'm probably beating a dead horse, but it's disgusting for the Sox to do practically nothing to really improve the team.  The Sox could have gotten Kuroda if they wanted to, could have gone after Darvish, and they most certainly (and they better) could get Oswalt, although I doubt they will- and the reason is that the Sox are eager to stay at or near the luxury tax as if they couldn't afford the extra quality that a Kuroda or an Oswalt can give them over the Carlos Silvas, Aaron Cooks, and Vicente Padillas of the world.

This team got killed last year because it lacked quality depth to plug in behind two injury prone top notch starters in Beckett and Buchholz.  You'd think it would behoove the Sox to strengthen the rotation so that their #4 pitcher is more likely to provide quality and be able to pick up the slack if/when injuries hit their rotation again.

Instead, they sit back, and just like that, the Yankees who finished ahead of them last year, struck.  They sign Kuroda (didn't phase them to go over the luxury tax) and they strike a deal for a very good young starter in Pineda (albeit at a steep price in giving up Montero, who is going to the wrong ballpark to jumpstart his career), so that their rotation is: Sabathia, Pineda, Kuroda, Nova, and Burnett, giving them four quality starters, and the guess is that Hughes will go for a bat and/or they'll go after Carlos Pena to DH.

Meanwhile, Tampa will be adding a top notch stud in Moore to the rotation next season to go along with Price, Shields, Davis, and Niemann.

The Sox, meanwhile, still have Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, and are crossing their fingers with Bard, Aceves, a return from the maddening Daisuke, and the flotsam known as Cook and Silva (and possibly Padilla).

If the Sox are lucky, they'll make the 2nd Wild Card team with 88 wins and if they make it to the ALDS, they wouldn't last long.

And this is because the Sox ownership, who I think has done a wonderful job over the past decade, has decided to draw the line, even if it causes a situation where they're not good enough to finish better than 3rd in their division.

To me that's a waste, and I'm disappointed, especially that they could react that way after the horrific finish to the 2011 season.  I can't remember the last time I was less excited for the opening of a new season.  I admit, the Sox could pleasantly surprise me, but I'm not relying on the 1990 Greg Harris/Tom Bolton/Dana Kiecker miracle scenario to beat out the talent the other teams in our division have.

I'm starting to feel that the Championship era of 2003 - 2008 is now a thing of the past not to be replicated any time very soon.