SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Red Sox Offseason to Nowhere Tour sputtered into Springfield this weekend, and the best that can be said is that this time it wasn't a total bleepshow.
Other than perfunctory boos for CEO Sam Kennedy and a leather-lunged heckle of, "You're Chaim Bloom 2.0!" for new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, it was a mostly disengaged affair, with some empty seats at the MassMutual Center, and the most heartfelt cheers reserved for tributes to the late Tim Wakefield.
It was no reprisal of 2023, when ownership took the stage to overwhelming boos that had owner John Henry glaring at his watch and muttering that baseball players were expensive, while Bloom strained to be heard above the catcalls every time he mentioned Mookie Betts.
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There wasn't nearly as much anger on Friday night, perhaps a sign of the apathy gripping the region during yet another quiet, boring winter.
The biggest cheers for the current team probably went to manager Alex Cora, who joined Jonathan Papelbon onstage for something loony tunes called the "Cinco Ocho Show" alongside two designated team leaders with thin resumes: slugging first baseman Triston Casas, who has all of 500 big-league at-bats under his belt, and shortstop Trevor Story, who hit .203 in 43 games last year. Nowhere to be found was superstar Rafael Devers, who, like Henry, chose to be elsewhere.
The task of eating excrement by the bucketful once again fell to Kennedy and Chairman Tom Werner, the two representatives of the ownership group who must consistently wear whatever public abuse the team receives because Henry refuses to show his face.
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Kennedy acknowledged that the payroll will be lower than last year's $225 million, which falls well short of the first luxury-tax threshold of $237 million. Werner tried to walk back his claim that this offseason would represent a "full throttle" pursuit of talent, which he'll never live down, even though it's now abundantly clear that Henry is leading the push for thriftiness, leading to natural questions of whether ownership remains on the same page.
"We're in lockstep," Werner said twice. When a skeptical follow-up questioned Henry's commitment levels, Werner added, "You can text John and he'll text you back."
Asked about the team's cratering brand, Kennedy told a story of a fan posing for a picture and then whispering, "We don't hate you as much as you think we do," which probably won't sell too many T-shirts on Barstool.
"When you get out and talk to Red Sox fans, people are angry and upset because we haven't performed," Kennedy said, even though what they really can't stomach is the fact that team isn't trying.
"I understand that when people equate spending, sort of aggressive spending with trying and I get that," Kennedy said. "We own that because we haven't matched up on big, boffo, long-term contracts. There may be a perception that we're not trying. And I can assure you that we are trying. We're building an organization that Red Sox fans are going to be very proud of."
When they'll be proud is an open question. The Red Sox are pinning the hopes of the franchise on a trio of prospects who have yet to appear above Double-A in shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony, and catcher Kyle Teel. They are the fruits of a rebuild that began in 2020 and has no end in sight.
If those three are the real deal, perhaps ownership will finally relent to spending around them. If they're not, we could be looking at a decade of mediocrity.
If that happens, the issue for ownership won't be boos, but shrugs.