Is this reply serious? Mau have you changed handles and are busting my balls as David 76? No way this is for real...anywho just to play along...
A few clarifications/corrections...
Rice was the only black on the Sox in the 70s? Off top of my head can think of Luis Tiant, Juan Beniquez, George Scott, Cecil Cooper, Reggie Smith, Rogelio Moret, Fergie Jenkins, Juan Marichal, Bob Watson, Ben Oglivie.....I'm sure others. And what is your basis for claiming Rice had it tough because he was black ? Fans loved him. Was a Sox his whole career. Became a coach for them. Now an announcer for NESN. Had his number retired by the team. He was supposedly gruff with the media, like Eddie Murray was, but other than hearing that....no idea what you are talking about.
Salary arbitration did not exist in 1981 when Fisk and Lynn became free agents and left after the front office screwed up and mailed their contracts two days late. The arbitration you read about was a grievance arbitration over whether or not they were free agents when the Sox screwed up sending the contracts late which an arbitrator ruled they were. White Sox and Angels gave them huge money and they left. Like when Cano left you and Ellsbury left us. Nothing more to it than that. Comments made by management to their disappointed fans after losing good players should be ignored.
Red Sox never turned on Tiant. Always a hero....strangely even after going to NY. And amazingly enough apparently...even though he is a black guy. They turned on Boggs, Clemens, Damon and now Ellsbury because they signed with the enemy. Had they signed with Seattle or whoever....no big deal. Trot Nixon signed with Cleveland and got a hero's welcome on his return. Same with Tom Brunansky and others who left to places not NY.
And back to the original post that got this BS started...I praised Ellsbury and you responded by claiming Ellsbury was another case of Sox management being unfair to its players by not signing him. And then you said he was treated unfairly the same way Rice, Ruth, and Fisk were....which is just making stuff up. I call absolute BS on all and still do. They made the judgment not to give Ellsbury 8/150 or whatever you gave him....likely after having to eat the Crawford deal. Just like the Yankees chose not to give Cano 10/200 or whatever he got....likely in part reacting to the bad ARod deal. Neither team were unfair to their former player....which you claimed the Sox were by not signing Ellsbury. And is BS.