Red Sox Doomed to Repeat History?

(examiner.com)

The Boston Red Sox have landed the top two free agent hitters on the market this offseason in Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, signing them to big multi-year deals this week.

Ramirez will be getting $88 million over four years.
Sandoval will be getting $95 million over five years.

(whatproswear.com)

Its a surprising move to me, and maybe others, because of Boston's recent history with big contracts like this.  Just a mere two years ago, they acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Carl Crawford prior to the season and both had contracts over $100 million dollars.  The Red Sox ended up finishing last in the division, and oh yeah, they traded those two and Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August. This deal, totaling $250 million in contracts, was made so the Red Sox could lower their payroll.

Now mind you, it was a completely different situation on both sides.  The Red Sox were playing terribly under Bobby Valentine, and the Dodgers were just sold to Magic Johnson and his new ownership team who were looking to spend big money to improve their team.

Fast forward to now and the Red Sox have now locked up roughly $200 million in two players, coming off a season where they finished in last place, a whopping 25 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.

Sandoval is coming off his third World Series title in five years as a member of the San Francisco Giants, and is looking for a "new challenge" as he turned down a contract from the Giants for the same price that he signed with Boston for. Sandoval has had "issues" with his weight and people worry whether he can keep it in check to a point where his performance stays strong. That will be something to keep an eye on him for.

Ramirez is leaving a solid team in the Dodgers to head to Beantown. The Red Sox announced that they intend to play him in left field,  a completely new position he hasn't played in his MLB career. Rewind a few years when he was with the Marlins, and they wanted to move him from shortstop, he pouted and his performance suffered. Keep an eye out to see if this happens again.

The Boston front office wanted to address their offensive needs, and I would say they just did that, but will it pan out? Or will the Red Sox repeat history, gamble on big contracts, and still lose? I feel like the additions will help, but with the backgrounds these guys have, it could be a huge fail if they don't perform.