For a baseball fan, life in New England is always interesting. The area is passionate about the sport and the Red Sox always make for good theater. They are always making news of one sort or another. Even though I am not a fan of the team, I gotta admit that's it fun to follow the circus.

When I tell people around here that I am a Pirate fan, I usually get one of two reactions -- contempt or pity. They wonder how I can possibly continue to be a fan of a team that has been the epitome of futility for so long. And they wonder why I haven't "traded up" and switched allegiances to their beloved Red Sox.

Today is a good example of the different worlds that Red Sox fans and Pirate fans live in. The Red Sox will formally introduce Edgar Renteria as their new shortstop this afternoon. The Sox had a hole and went out and got the best player available, shelling out $40 million over 4 years to do it. This is not a rare occurrence in Red Sox Nation. Last year they needed an extra starter and a closer. They went out and got Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke. The Red Sox aim high and usually hit their mark. They don't always get their way (see Pedro Martinez's departure), but they are always in the midsts of the action. By contrast, the Pirates announced yesterday that they made a trade to fill their hole at catcher. Top-flight free agent options like Jason Varitek were never even considered. Even a recently released catcher like A.J. Pierzynski was deemed too rich for the Buccos' blood. So instead, they decided to trade for a 39 year old catcher. As I said, different worlds.

The Red Sox like to complain about how much money the Yankees throw around, but that's kind of like Jessica Simpson calling Anna Nicole Smith stupid. Looking at it as a Pirates' fan, the Red Sox and the Yankees are two peas in a pod. Both spend money to overcome any obstacle. True, the Yankees' budget (if that word can even apply) is much higher than the Red Sox. But, the Red Sox budget is much higher than the next team on the ladder. This year's world championship team had the largest payroll of any world champion in history. Having that kind of dough in your wallet definitely takes a lot of pressure off any kind of personnel decision the team makes. If things go sour, you can usually throw some more money at it. Case in point is Byung-Hyun Kim. The Sox signed him for 2 years at $10 million. He flamed out -- not so much a Derek Bell kind of flameout -- but close. That kind of poor investment would kill a team like the Bucs, but it barely was a bump in the road for Boston.

Unless the economics of the game make a drastic change, I don't see the Pirates ever being one of the movers and shakers of the league. And in a weird way, I am okay with that. I think the money that the Red Sox and the Yankees throw at problems is totally ridiculous. What's more, I think its spoiled their fans. I don't think Red Sox fans truly appreciate a great player when they get them, because in all likelihood there is another one right around the corner. When a small market team gets a great player, they truly appreciate them, because you never know when the next great one is going to grace their presence.

No, I wouldn't trade being a Pirate fan for anything. Sure, I wouldn't mind it if they loosened their purse strings a bit (being too stingy is not a good thing, either), but I don't have any regrets that the team is not the Red Sox. Here's the way I look at it. If you are still a diehard Pirates fan, especially after all that has transpired over the team's history, you've proved your mettle. Because no matter how horrible it gets, it just will make the good times all that much sweeter. I just hope the good times get here sooner rather than later. The moral high ground is nice, but a winning season could keep me warm all winter long.