As New Year’s Eve approaches and you are reflecting on the 2017 Red Sox season, try answering this question from further in the past:
What happened on Aug. 25, 2012 that changed the course of the Red Sox franchise?
Unlike the infamous Babe Ruth trade, it was the amazing heist that then-GM Ben Cherington pulled off that continues to pay positive dividends to date.
How did Cherington dump so much salary, dead weight and bad attitude on the Los Angeles Dodgers? He knew how badly L.A. wanted Adrian Gonzalez.
Once he put Gonzalez on the table, he was able to stick the Dodgers with the oft-injured, always promising, Carl Crawford and his multi-year salary [$85 million].