Many fans don't like the shift, but in reality it doesn't effect the purity of the game. The original rule in baseball was there had to be 9 guys on the field. Where they positioned themselves was never an issue. Hell, the manager could have 7 guys all clustered in LF if he wanted.
Obviously, we recognize Pedro as a great pitcher, but what should also be remembered was that Pedro was the driving force that convinced the SOX FO to sign Ortiz.
I guess we can all agree that as long-time SOX fans we may not have had a team of much great pitching, but we sure can't complain about the hitters who came thru here.
Ya know Moon, I seriously doubt we'll ever see a 3 and 4 hitter in any team's line-up that will touch Manny and David. And in the history of baseball, imho, one would have to go as far back as Ruth and Gehrig.