NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Boston Red Sox's $120.2 million shopping spree has bought them a catcher who can't really catch, an outfielder who may not hit, an outfielder who probably should be a DH, a DH who will be a DH and a backup catcher. The free-agent market is Rodeo Drive prices for J.C. Penney production, and no team personifies that like the Red Sox.

And yet to boil it down to pure numbers sells short the upshot of the Red Sox's offseason binge, which continued Tuesday with the signing of Shane Victorino to a three-year, $39 million deal and followed that of Mike Napoli (three years, $39 million), David Ortiz (two years, $26 million), Jonny Gomes (two years, $10 million) and David Ross (two years, $6.2 million). This is as much an overhaul of a poisonous clubhouse atmosphere as it is a restocking of an organization in desperate need of talent. Boston wants to turn the old winning-creates-chemistry adage on its head and hope chemistry creates winning.

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These are the new Red Sox … friendlier than the old ones.

Better? Well, it's tough to get worse than the 93-loss debacle that was the Red Sox this past season. Bobby Valentine is gone, and the stench of discontent that permeated the clubhouse all season long left with him. The starting pitching, such a mess in 2012, seemingly can't get much worse. And a clubhouse bereft of personality, leadership and the many intangibles that led to a revolt against Valentine midseason gets a dose of guys with what baseball sorts deem good makeup – the kind of personality that blends into a clubhouse and improves its dynamic.

It's pretty easy to improve on a leaderless, mutinous mess. Doing the same with the on-field product is far more difficult, and each of the Red Sox's signings comes with at least one significant red flag.

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Napoli, the catcher who can't really catch, hit .227 this season. The Red Sox rationalized his signing as a testament to his power, which is enormous, and his patience, which is admirable. Still, if Napoli spends most of his time at first base, it leaves the Red Sox with a $13 million-a-year corner infielder who, outside of an outlier 2011, does not hit like a corner infielder.





Victorino, the outfielder who may not hit, comes off the worst offensive season of his career. He is 32. Generally, players are in the regressive states of their career at that age. And he got $13 million a year to play a corner-outfield spot, with Jacoby Ellsbury in center this year and fast-tracking prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. penciled in for 2013.

Gomes, the outfielder who probably should be a DH, is expected to play left. Since becoming a free agent, no team ever has guaranteed him more than one year and $1.75 million, and the Red Sox gave him two for $5 million apiece. He struck out 104 times in 279 at-bats this year. He's got power and he walks, and if he and Napoli can tap into their strengths, this offense has a chance to be dangerous.

Ortiz, the DH who will be a DH, is another such catalyst, back for his 17th season. The good: His 1.026 OPS this season was better than Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown OPS. The bad: He is a 37-year-old DH, and beyond a few choice examples – Edgar Martinez, Jim Thome, Harold Baines – carcasses litter the history of 37-and-over DHs.

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