Larry Lucchino yesterday said the Red Sox may move the right field fence in 6 feet to make our bullpens roomier and up to code. Michael Silverman today suggests there might be something else to it, and I'm inclined to agree:
Another question, slightly more cynical, comes to mind. Is there some kind of old or new Yankee Stadium envy, or plain old offensive envy, going on here, with the idea that a shorter right field porch and more home runs will give a jolt to sagging NESN ratings and help dissipate the overall ennui that surrounds the team?
In the spirit of New Coke, the Spruce Goose and sending Doug Mirabelli [stats]the steal sign, let’s hope not.
I think Michael's right on here. I talked about this in my post about the Liverpool acquisition: I think this ownership group is borderline obsessed with the Yankees, to the point that it leads them to bad decisions.
No one knows what kind of change moving the fence represents -- there are a million factors, and baseball's dwindling power numbers mean that it probably doesn't result in as many more home runs as it would have years ago. But what it confirms to me is that the Red Sox can't operate without thinking about the Yankees, and that is depressing.
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