Deconstructing the Sox uniform change

According to Boston.com's front page, the Red Sox logo and uniform changes "have some fans wondering--why fix what wasn't broken?"

Hmm, let's see.... Why would the Red Sox do such a thing?

At Boston.com's Extra Bases blog, Steve Silva explores that very question:

According to the team, inspiration for the uniform changes started during a “turn back the clock” game against the San Diego Padres on June 22, 2007. The Red Sox wore gray road uniforms from the early 1980s, and team ownership and management were taken with the appeal of the traditional look.

According to the press release, the changes, which include the selection of a new primary logo and introduction of new primary road uniforms, "reflect the team's decision to make changes in design that return select visual brand elements and team appearance to the core traditions of the organization."

Well, maybe that's the answer. But couldn't it also be about, I don't know, selling a bunch of new Sox crap to millions of fans?

Quite possibly! As Silva himself artfully notes in his lede, the Sox unveiled the changes "in a marketing-driven event in the midst of the holiday season." What's more, the new gear is already available on RedSox.com, for some steep-ass prices.

Perhaps I'm being too cynical. For one thing, I'm a Twins fan. Also, it seems like just yesterday that Sox management felt New England's economic pain and froze ticket prices. Surely the team wouldn't be searching for some alternate way of increasing revenue?

Right?

Finally, as the Globe and others grapple with the question of what it all means, let's all remember that the New York Times Co., the paper's parent company, owns 17 percent of the Red Sox--though acknowledging that has gone out of fashion.