MLB Offseason

[JMK]

Just thought I'd get this kicked off.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6153774?FSO1&ATT=HMA

Who on earth does Sheffield think he is? I know he's been an egomaniac since the day he put on his uni, but this is crazy. HE is the one who signed the contract. And now HE is angry that he's going to have to play for a paltry 13 million this season and be a free agent at season's end. He was hoping that the Yankees would decline his option year and let him become an unrestricted free agent, where he hoped he could score another 3 year deal.

Sorry Gary. YOU SIGNED THE DEAL! LIVE WITH IT!

And for the record, Abreu is just as good as you are. Maybe not in power, but he does more than you. Almost sounds like he's going to run his mouth until he makes so many enemies within the Yankees organization that they have no choice but to deal him. They should send him to Kansas City for a bucket of balls. What a putz.

[JMK]

Sorry Red Sox fans, we do not get to complain about the Yankees and their wild spending any more.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2656687


The Boston Red Sox may have posted the top bid for the right to negotiate with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, according to Major League Baseball sources.

There has been no official announcement, and the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka's team in Japan, have until Tuesday to accept or reject the high bid.

But, according to officials monitoring the bidding, the Red Sox bid may be between $38 million and $45 million.

Matsuzaka, who pitched for Japan's World Baseball Classic champions, is considered among the top prospects available this offseason.

If the Lions accept the top bid, the winning bidder has 30 days to reach an agreement with Matsuzaka. If a deal cannot be reached, he would return to the Lions for the 2007 Japanese baseball season.


By 5 p.m. Wednesday, major league teams interested in bidding on the rights to deal with Matsuzaka had to post a sealed bid. Major League Basball then took the highest bid and forwarded only the dollar figure -- not the identity of the team -- to the Seibu Lions.

According to a source within Major League Baseball, as of Friday afternoon, Seibu had not informed MLB officially whether it had accepted the bid.

There are three reasons the deal would make sense for the Red Sox:


• Talent evaluators who have seen Matsuzaka say he's a top of the rotation-quality pitcher who would improve the Red Sox staff.

• If Boston signs him it would effectively plant a Red Sox flag in the growing Far East market.

• By merely winning the bidding the Red Sox would block the Yankees from acquiring Matsuzaka. By signing him, they would gain the same kind of advantage the Yankees gained when they signed Johnny Damon away from Boston.

38-45 million just to negotiate with a guy who has never thrown a major league pitch? That's completely insane! Even Steinbrenner thinks that's outrageous!

In other news, Sheff has been traded to Detroit for 3 pitching prospects. Seems as though the Tigers believe their window is still wide open and wanted a power bat to help out. On the surface it looks like a good move that could put them over the top, but Sheff is prone to injury, and is a pretty big cancer when he is around. Leyland has had him before so hopefully he can keep him happy.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I don't like it. He very well could be great, but it shows the Red Sox have gotten impatient and trying to follow the Yankee lead.

[JMK]

I hate to say it, but they've been trying to keep up with the Yankees for years now. They just don't quite have the same resources as the Yankees, otherwise they would spend just as much.

[jjwr]

As we've seen by the majority of the WS Winners this centory('04 Sox withstanding) its not about how much you spend, its about picking the right players and putting a good TEAM together.

You can spend all the money in the world but still make poor choices, the result is making the playoffs due to an inbalanced schedule and then losing to a better team in a short series.

Imagine a well built 200M payroll? With that kind of scratch you could drop 100Mil on a ridiculous rotation and just mow everyone down, take this years crop for example, say the Sox wanted to get Crazy. They sign the new Japanese Pitcher and then hit the Free Agent Market and throw 14$-16$ Mil a year to Schmidt and Zito. So they add 45Mil onto their roster and now have a rotation looks like...

Zito
Schilling
Beckett
Diasutske(sp?)
Schmidt

That would be leaving out Papelbon, Wakefield and Clement. For another $40mil a year they could add a Soriano to their already potent linup and as well as Lugo and a quality 2nd basement.

With the amount they are willing to spend the Yankee's could be ridiculous but luckily they keep signing the wrong types of players and giving them too much money. I have a feeling once a few guys go off contract their payroll will start to get back into realistic levels, especially when these expensive guys are replaced with younger up and coming players.

As for the Sox and spending, I would really rather not see them go that route but we'll see how it all plays out I guess.

PS....why does Baseball take so long to announce these freaking awards? By the time they announce them no one cares anymore.

[JMK]

Seriously, I don't care about these awards at all.

As for the Sox....they are going to try and use the Yankees method of team building, which is the absolute worst thing to do. They are going to throw things like chemistry and character out the window (you can argue that they have already started doing this) and look to assemble an all star team, just like the Yankees have been doing for the past 6-8 years.

[JMK]

Oddly enough, I came across a story today which provides some support for my argument that the Red Sox are turning in to the Yankees:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/sports/baseball/14chass.html?ref=ba...



November 14, 2006
On Baseball
Red Sox Foil Yanks in Bidding for Pitcher


By MURRAY CHASS

...Red Sox chief executive, Larry Lucchino, who four years ago next month
unforgettably labeled the Yankees the evil empire after they beat out
Boston for José Contreras, who was a free-agent pitcher after
defecting from Cuba.

"'The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America,"
Lucchino said.


....What the Red Sox have done is forfeit their right to complain ever
again about economic moves the Yankees make. The Red Sox could argue
that even if their bid were added to their payroll, it wouldn't match
the Yankees' payroll. The Yankees' payroll this year was $214
million, the Red Sox $130 million. But the Boston bid is an expenditure the Yankees have never made. When the Yankees have signed Japanese players, they have been free agents.

[Jedieb]

....What the Red Sox have done is forfeit their right to complain ever
again about economic moves the Yankees make. The Red Sox could argue
that even if their bid were added to their payroll, it wouldn't match
the Yankees' payroll. The Yankees' payroll this year was $214
million, the Red Sox $130 million. But the Boston bid is an expenditure the Yankees have never made. When the Yankees have signed Japanese players, they have been free agents.

This should be my new sig. $42M just for the right to NEGOTIATE, forget about actually paying this guy a salary. He could end up being a $22M dollar a year pitcher. The only way this move makes any sense is if they made that huge bid just to keep him AWAY from NY. The big is retractable if they're not able to agree on a contract. If the Sox do sign this guy who knows where their payroll could end up.

Imagine if Cashman and King George had been behind this bid. The noise from Boston would be ear shattering.

[JMK]

I wonder if the 42 million can be included in the contract, if they come to an agreement? For example if they agree on a 5 year, 100 million dollar deal, can the Red Sox use that 42 million towards the 100 million, leaving 58 left to pay? If its not set up that way, the Red Sox have gone off the deep end. Like the kid that was bullied in school and comes back years later and shoots everyone in retaliation. WAAAAAY overboard.

[Kaast Dulli]

let's go mets......

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am wondering now if they are doing it just to keep him out of NY. If they don't sign him they get the money back and he goes back to Japan. If that is the case it makes sense.

[jjwr]

It doesn't make any sense, he would be a free agent next year so its not like he would be out of the Yankee's hands for long.

It does make sense from a marketing standpoing, this gives the Sox a huge foothold into the Japanese market. The last time a player has come up for bid was Ichiro in 2000, the market has changed a lot in 6 years so its hard to say this is too far fetched.

As for the contract, it won't touch 22M per year, thats just silly talk. With Boras as his agent they are saying he'll sign a 3 yr contract for around 30-35mil and be a FA when he's 29 and sign a huge deal at that point.

[JMK]

I know the contract won't go up to 100 million, I was just trying to use an easy number. ;)

I still think the Sox are out of their minds.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2662289

51 million just to talk to the guy? Complete insanity.

[jjwr]

Its really not that far fetched, the Mets were around 40Mil and two other teams were in the 30's.

[Jedieb]

As for the contract, it won't touch 22M per year, thats just silly talk. With Boras as his agent they are saying he'll sign a 3 yr contract for around 30-35mil and be a FA when he's 29 and sign a huge deal at that point.

3 yr $35M contract + $51M bid = $86M/3yrs = $28.6M PER SEASON! Yep, $22M is silly talk. It's could be much worse if he gets $30M-$35M. That $51M may not go into Matzuwhatever's pocket, but it's still part of what he's costing the Red Sox. It's a ridiculous expenditure of money and could well go down as one of the worst deals ever. Move over Tom Hicks, you may just end up with some company! Remember, A-Rod only costs the Yankees around $15M a year, Hicks is still writing checks for A-Rod.

[JMK]

All those teams bidding just to talk to the guy are nuts. The Red Sox just happen to be the nuttiest of them all. I don't know all the ins and outs of the deal, and where that money goes, or if it counts toward any contract they reach, but the writer of the link I posted is right - the Red Sox MUST get this deal done now. It will be a total embarassment if they don't, even if they get the 51 million back. The only way it turns out well for the Red Sox is if they get him and he's a Pedro-circa 1995 stud, or if he goes somewhere else and is a total bust.

[Jedieb]

Could you imagine if he goes down with an injury? Does the Japanese league have a DH? I'm just wondering how he's going to fare against MLB hitters and the DH.

[jjwr]

3 yr $35M contract + $51M bid = $86M/3yrs = $28.6M PER SEASON! Yep, $22M is silly talk.

I didn't realize you were including the post cost into the total. I thought you meant a straight 22M per year for the 3 years.

Its risky, no doubt about it. The Sox aren't stupid though, they wouldn't have ponied up 51.1M if they were just getting the player out of this, this buys them a ton of new fans and a huge new marketing opporunity.

Worst Deals? Mike Hampton,would be right up there, theres another Asian pitcher who signed a sick deal and who is horrible but I can't recall his name.

[Ryan Pode]

The Sox could lowball the guy and even if he doesn't sign, the Yankees can't get him for a year.

[JMK]

Morneau wins MVP!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2670876

Take that Jeter lovers! :lol

[jjwr]

I love it!!

Don't agree with one guy giving Jeter a 6th place vote, when just about everyone had him 1st or 2nd then a 6th place really stands out. Course personally I wouldn't have gone higher than 3rd for him.

If Ortiz does no better than 3rd cause the Sox tanked then why does Jeter do so well? In theory the same situation, yes they were a winning ball club but the Sox tanked and they had no real competition, so what exactly did he lead them to?

[JMK]

The Sox tanked in the regular season, and finished 3rd in the division. The Yanks won the division...what happens in the post season is not supposed to impact the voting, so the Yanks collapse vs Detroit doesn't count for anything.

So now Canadian born players have the MLB MVP (and Gagne won it a couple years back), NBA MVP (back-to-back), and NHL MVP.

:crack

[Jedieb]

Jeter got robbed you haters!!!!!!! :shootin

The yearly Manny trade talks are heating up.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2677627
If you send him packing it'll cost Ortiz at least 10 HR's a season.

[Jedi Master Carr]

We shall see, they shopped him around the last three years about this time. It could be all smoke.

[JMK]

Poor Derek Jeter. :cry I guess he'll have to settle for Jessica Biel.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Jessica Biel dates more guys in a year than most girls date in a lifetime. This is the fifth guy in the last month I had read that she has rumored to be dating.

[JMK]

I think that tart Lohan takes that prize. I read an article today quoting her as saying how Sex and the City made her want to not settle down with one person and to date (read: have sex with) as many guys as she can.

[Ryan Pode]

I think that tart Lohan takes that prize. I read an article today quoting her as saying how Sex and the City made her want to not settle down with one person and to date (read: have sex with) as many guys as she can.

Well let's hope she is so proficient at that, I find my way onto the list.

[jjwr]

Yanks just got in on the Japanese bidding, 26M bid for another Pitcher. Not quite as extravagant as what the Red Sox paid but still almost 3x the previous high.

This shows the Bid market for the Japanese players is really an unknown and the Sox are a bit more justified in their bid.

[JMK]

The Red Sox will be justified if their guy wins a hell of a lot more games, or at the very minimum, has a lot more quality starts than the Yankees' guy. If they end up as being more or less the same pitcher, then the Sox jumped the gun and blew their load for no real reason.

[jjwr]

Point is they weren't the only one, at least 4 teams offered more than 30M for him. The market for those players is higher than most people had initially estimated. Its still a stupid sum of money and obviously if he flames out it will be a waste of money but no worse than some of the other classic big blunder contracts.