Buyer beware

Was the Red Sox worth all that money?

So you're Katie Couric's boyfriend, TV mogul Tom Werner, and you chipped in with a bunch of the other lads to buy the Boston Red Sox before the start of the holiday season. The price was $700 million, the most money -- by far -- ever paid for a major league baseball team.

You've had the time now to unwrap this little package and examine exactly what you received for your bankroll. Let's see, there's the team, the ballpark and the Red Sox's share in a little New England television network called NESN.

The team, well, hmmmmm. Why didn't anyone mention that these guys haven't won a World Series since 1918? Was that an oversight? And that last year, hmmmm, they finished in second place, 13 1/2 games behind the Yankees? And that the two superstars, Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, were injured most of the time? And that the budget for salaries was second most in all of baseball?

Then there's the park. The park has to be either completely remodeled or replaced. Really. And the TV network? Do a lot of people watch those fishing shows and college hockey games in the offseason?

OK, OK, you're in the game again. That's the important thing. This isn't going to be like San Diego, where you were an owner and Roseanne sang the National Anthem and grabbed her crotch and the business simply didn't go well. You're going to make it this time.

You just hope Katie doesn't ask lots of questions about all this.

Leigh Montville's commentaries appear regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

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