Boston's Blueprint

Warning: This will be a major jerk off of Boston sports. I will also provide, however, a persuasive argument to support the following claim. Boston sports teams have become the model of excellence in 3 of the 4 major sports. The Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics all have the attention of the rest of the class. We will start with the longest and most replicated but never quite duplicated example.

The New England Patriots burst onto the scene in 2001 with an unknown quarterback taking over for the face of a franchise and arguably the league (he was the highest paid player with a $100 M contract), Drew Bledsoe. The two touchdown (re. 14 point underdogs) beat the high flying Rams after an improbable late drive (Kneel that John Madden) and a legendary kick. The Patriots had shocked the world but it wasn't the first time that night they did. After the long drawn out introductions for the Rams, the Patriots "electing to be introduced as a team" came out of the tunnel as a unit. So began, the emulation of a dynasty. Your Super Bowl pregame is much shorter thanks to the Patriots, as this has become the status quo for every Bowl since.

The Patriots won with a mix of scouting/drafting, inexpensive veteran free agents and great coaching. They have shown time and again they know where to invest their cap money (Brady, Seymour) and when not to (Lawyer Milloy, Deion Branch). They know when a guy has more left in the tank (Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon) and when its time to let go (Bledsoe, McGinest). They win with coaching, preparation and the luck any team needs to sustain winning. This is the model of excellence in the NFL. Every team wants to be the Patriots with their superb front office and scouting, superior coaching and a team first attitutde. The 9-0 Titans and Jeff Fisher would probably agree with me here.

The Boston Red Sox are a bit of a hybrid of this example. They have the money to toss around so not only can they sign big free agents and keep their homegrowns from leaving when arbitration/free agency hits, but, and this is something that gets overlooked by most, they can scout in far reaches of the world and drop bonus money to sign high draft picks that other teams stray away from because they simply know they can't cough up $5M for uncertainty. Revenue sharing is starting to buck this trend, as evidenced by the Rays success this year, but it certainly is still a factor in the success of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have put a lot of money and effort into their scouting. They are looking where lots of teams haven't (China, Taiwan and Latin America) and they are drafting a mix of raw talent and finished, college type players. Their team this year, while falling short of the World Series, was evidence of the Red Sox scouting and development prowess. Pedroia won a gold glove and there is a good chance for him to be named MVP next week. Papelbon was dominant at the end of the bullpen and Lester looks like an ace. Throw in production from Youkilis, Ellsbury and Masterson, the Red Sox have a promising future filled with these homegrowns and some key trade/free agent acquistions (Bay and Ortiz). The Red Sox have traded their prospects wisely (such as Hanley Ramirez, a stud no doubt for Lowell and Beckett) for certain results and when to hang on to them (such as Lester and Ellsbury for Santana this past offseason. They have their bad ones (see Gagne last year) but again, they have the money to make up for this.

You have seen the price of minor leaguers go way up and it started with the Red Sox. You have seen an increasing number of foreign players in areas where they hadn't been taken from before. A premium has been put on scouting and development and the Red Sox have led the field in the MLB.

The Celtics have the most recent recipe for success that has been emulated. Teams saw what tenacity on defense could do for a team. Holding opponents around 90 points a game gave you a great chance to win, regardless of if there were hot hands on offense. You can already see this emphasis around the league early this season. Teams spent the offseason acquiring defensive minded players and the cliche the name on the front is more important than the one on the back has made a comeback. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops with the Celtics at the helm.

Three teams, three sports and three highly respected teams in their individual leagues. The Patriots have had the longest reign on top as they are still proving they can win with a team attitude and great coaching even as injuries ravage their squad. The Red Sox have pioneered several new attitudes in the MLB although they are certainly rivaled but many teams in their execution. Defense will be the increasingly emphasized for this season and beyond because of the Celtics' success last season. It will be interesting to see these teams and their counterparts take into the future seasons.