Anything but a Luxury

The Boston Red Sox are clearly a “have” organization in Major League Baseball. Being a “have” however doesn’t mean that you can literally “have” whatever your heart desires or that you “have” no budget or parameters around which your team must be constructed. Sure those limits are self-imposed by the current ownership group, but let’s not forget, they own the team and fiscally responsible for its management. They have purchased — literally — the right to set those parameters to the bounds of their comfort level or desired profit margin. One such parameter currently in the focus of the media, the fans and the organization is the luxury tax threshold. But what does that all mean and how does it effect the 2010 Boston Red Sox or their approach to the upcoming trade deadline? To wit, this isn’t meant to be a column about whether the Red Sox should be cautious with respect to their finances/payroll or not. Bett...