Pessimism surrounds the impending sale of the Boston Red Sox. Some media members think that there is some behind the scenes movement that will dictate who will be the next Red Sox owner(s). Perhaps the issue should be settled by a game of darts or a race around the world.

Such shenanigans seem to be endemic to Boston. The consensus among baseball people (media, MLB executives, etc.) is that the highest bid submitted by the potential owners will not necessarily secure the ownership. The major problem lies in the secret manner of how the sale is being conducted.

But is that any surprise? Red Sox fans are more than used to the curious behavior of the Olde Towne team’s management and CEO John Harrington.

Although nothing is decided as of yet, the two leading groups are the Tom Warner/Les Otten group and the Joe O’Donnell/ Steve Karp group. However, the Warner/Otten group seems to be pandering to the Save Fenway Park crowd (Boston mayor Tom Menino most notably). The group has stated that their goal is to restore Fenway Park and keep the team where it now plays. This tacit pledge of an alliance may be important when the issue of a new ballpark inevitably arises.

But the ultimate factor of the final approval for the sale will come from the collective nod of the other owners in Major League Baseball, headed by the commissioner Bud Selig. New owners that gain control of a team come under extreme scrutiny. Back in 1977, Selig (then