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Miller hits it right on the head. The Sox under Theo are looking very closely at their Portland and Pawtucket farm clubs - together with other semi-pro teams around the Boston area like the Lowell Spinners (who Jacoby Ellsbury also played for).
Boston is a very small city compared with NY, LA, Chicago, and others; but it has an extraordinarily loyal, active and demanding fanbase -- THAT'S WILLING TO PUT ITS MONEY WHERE ITS MOUTH IS. The result: per capita, the Red Sox are among the most profitable franchise in MLB and have parlayed the revenue into savvy signings of veterans, a first-rate scouting program, and arguably the best farm system in the majors. Young farm hands WANT to play for Boston, and since they've managed two of the last four WS titles, have gained even more interest from solid prospects.
Other cities, if they want to move ahead in the food chain, will just have to dig deep $$$ and lay the groundwork for victories. This is what started to happen in Boston after the departure of John Harrington, Dan Duquette, et al. The new team of John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein (together with Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherrington) have concentrated heavily on developing prospects and their foresight is now bearing fruit.
But let's also acknowledge for a moment the importance of TV revenue. Boston's New England Sports Network (NESN) brings in a great deal of money for the Red Sox. If other teams were to develop local interest in their MLB teams, TV money, I'm convinced, would follow. Then their management could build their teams more solidly from the ground up. Investment in the team builds interest, which builds TV revenue, which allows the team to grow even more. It's all cyclical.
It's an evolutionary process - and many teams just haven't been as aggressive as Boston has been.
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