Count Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino among those not shocked about the Yankees opening their wallet this offseason.
“It’s like ‘Back to the Future,’ is my sense,” Lucchino said, according to ESPN Boston. “I’ve seen this movie before.”
This version includes the addition of Masahiro Tanaka, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann, as well as the signing of Jacoby Ellsbury away from the Red Sox. It was all part of a spending spree that included more than $500 million worth of contracts, blowing away what their reaction to the previous time they missed the playoffs, when, in 2008, they brought in CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.
“Different players,” Lucchino said. “I understand that. You can’t just go into the grocery store and buy exactly what you need to win. A lot of other things go into it as well: Luck, injuries, and all of that. Suffice to say, we won’t have any problem rekindling the rivalry with the Yankees.”
And Lucchino said he didn’t mind it and was looking forward to matching up in the AL East.
“Anything that can be done that increases the intensity of the rivalry, as this certainly does, I think is positive,” Lucchino said. “As long as it doesn’t go so far as to give them the advantage.”
The Yankees spent the better part of last year insisting they were going to try to keep their 2014 payroll under $189 million to avoid the luxury tax, but even with the loss of Robinson Cano, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and the suspended Alex Rodriguez, that notion is gone.
“They’re a different flavor of ice cream than anyone else in baseball,” Lucchino said. “The Dodgers are now using that same game plan, I suppose, certainly more so than anyone else in baseball.”