Its because someone BELIEVES you are good. Examples of that gone wrong are plentiful right in our back yard: Lackey, DiceK, Beckett, Crawford....and Epstein is another example IMO.

And there are plenty of examples of what went right.  Basically culminating in 2 WSC and 2 times in G7 of the ALCS, 93+ wins per year, and designated as the best GM in BB by Sports Illustrated.

In response to tomjoad544's comment:

Also Upton is not realistic

He most certainly is.

He should have traded Ellsbury last winter.

He should have started the season with Ciriaco and Iglesias, instead of Aviles and Punto, who incompetently was offered a 2 year contract in what amounted to bidding against the Red Sox in a 1 year market for an old limited UIF'er. 

He should have started the season with Middlebrooks at 3rd, and traded Youk over the winter.

He should have traded Beckett over the winter for a middle tier starter with good numbers v. AL East, and thrown in up to 30% of trhe remaining contract to get rid of the biggest player problem on the team. It's no surprise that the pitching staff went south under this indolent bum. He was never more than a follower who had above average talent but below average dedication to the team sports business. He was a cancer on the pitching staff in both dedication and leadership.

Assuming he claims he was against Crawbust's contract offer, or not, he should have kept Crawford to 2013 and looked to write off as much of his contract as possible as soon as Crawford put up decent numbers to the summer and/or to the end of 2013

He should have kept AGon and acquired J. Upton to put with him in the middle of the lineup

Just to name a few.

Assuming he claims he was against Crawbust's contract offer, or not, he should have kept Crawford to 2013 and looked to write off as much of his contract as possible as soon as Crawford put up decent numbers to the summer and/or to the end of 2013...

Typical softy.

First, he was totally against the CC signing (as was I).

Then, he wanted Jake benched and CC as the leadoff hitter.

Then, he bashed me for suggesting we should/could trade CC ASAP.

And now, when we dumped CC and nearly all of his salary, he writes this total drivel. Does he realy think we could have ended getting someone to pay even more of CC's deal after 2013- after we would have paid CC effectively about $20M.

The Dodger trade busted softy's bubble, and rather than admit he missed the boat, he stoops to this absurd idea.

In response to Joebreidey's comment:

Not everyone thinks that he is that good now. I will agree that he WAS that good until 07 when he lost his way:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2012/08/27/red-sox-were-left-in-disarray-by-theo-espstein/

So basically you wantEd to dump Ellsbury,

No, I wanted to trade Ellsbury's last 2 years, instead of paying him about 20 million. I was right, he was nothing but a bum this season, which is typical for this guy who has problems showing up for work.  

have a hitter who only hits against the Yankees,

So, you wanted that bum, Aviles, who doesn't hit against anyone, while I wanted Ciriaco who gets on base and has terrific speed and fields very well with excellent range.

a hitter who does not hit,

Iglesias has a greater impact with his fielding in every game, even when doesn't hit at all. as opposed to a SS who can't field a lick or hit a lick.

not actually improve the pitching,

Getting rid of Beckett would have improved the pitching. But, the incompetent Cherry did nothing to improve the pitching, even assuming frat boy Beckett had nothing to do with the pitching staff performance.

Now, put up or shut up. Right now, give the specifics of who you and the incompetent Cherry are looking to acquire to improve the pitching. What's out there is either bums with no value beyond cheap one year deals or a few massive contracts like Lee that other teams are desparately trying to find a sucker for.

waste another 22 million on Crawford which is almost twice as much as they put in the trade,

Selling low on Crawford is what makes you and Cherry incompetent. You buy bums like he and Ellsbury high and then sell them low. Ellspuff is now seeking the same kind of deal that the incompetent GM's office that included Cherry offered 142 million for. Odds alone say that Crawford's final work with the 2012 Red Sox would be followed by a decent 2013 that would enable the Red Sox to trade him with an increased trade value during the summer. It also allows them to get rid of the embarrassing Ellspuff and still get rid of Crawford's embarrassing contract 6 to 12 months closer to Bradley, Jr.

For the record, they gave away AGon and sent at least 12 million to get rid of Beckett and Crawford. Crawford's cost for half a year is about 10 million and 20 million for a season. You must work for Osama Obama. Your numbers are wrong.

Ellsbury 2012 and 2013 will cost about 20 million.

 and have two hitters who had worse seasons then Cody Ross making a combine 11 times more than him? I guess 69 wins was too much for. Maybe you should be the one who goes...

Cody Ross didn't have a better season than J. Upton. In Fenway, Ross was a whopping .807 OPS in Fenway, while Upton had a down season with a .785 OPS which would have exploded in Fenway with AGon. As for two players, it's pretty clear that the Red sox went from a marginal .500 team to a laughing stock when this "trade" was make. Cody Ross inn't anymore capable of playing more than a part-time season than Ellsbury. Had the Red Sox gone with J. Upton and AGon from opening day, got rid of Beckett, the leverage would have changed the production of both the offense and the run prevention that changes with game pressure from the opponent getting behind frequently, early.

 The 69 wins are 100% on the incompetent GM Cherry. That is a fact. He did zero before the trade deadline and then did a desparate waiver wire deal to cover his own incompetence.

Signing Nick Punto to a two year contract was the essence of incompetence. Cherry vacillated and is now hoping that dumping his own mistakes saves his job by turning the Red Sox into the Twins.

I can't wait for the incompetent Cherry and his next moves. Sell low and buy high, and write off more mistakes.