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Was that published? I don't even understand the format... "Hey, Red Sox fans..." and then its nothing new. This is madness I tell you! Madness!

what the hell is this crap?

Couldn't someone sue the Japanese league for only allowing a certain number of non-Japanese players on each team?

Largest ever to someone not to play in MLB: Contreras, 4/32? Largest ever to a japanese player: 4/52 (Matsui's current contract).

I agree. Then he'll fly to NY, meet with the Mets and sell Zito for 16m a season ("Pettitte money").

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6262992 Rosenthal things this thing is going to happen, although I disagree with his logic, particularly the "posting part". I think the Red Sox would win the posting the second time too, they will make sure of that. I know its absurd, but I think they would put up 100m this time with only minimal interest in signing him. Cheap? Yes. Unfair to the poor Yankees and Mets? Maybe. Do they care? Nope. They will tell Boras to shove it by ruining the whole process. Like Rosenthal said, it has to happen.

Boras IS a whore. He's like Heidi Fleiss, the queen of whores. ...yes, the queen of whores. I'll be happy when this deal gets completed.

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/redSox/?p=784 Apparently the Sox are having their own press conference tonight.

Thanks, Dex. You're the man with the info tonight Kilo

And neither will Daisuke, for 2 years unless he signs for a "lowball" 10m a season + incentives. Cry me a river man. 10m a season is a LOT of money. More than the Sox starting SS. As much as Jason Varitek, who plays every day.

Money TheKilo. Money. The deal will be done and I will sleep well tonight.

Yes, and there is no reason to pretend that THIS season's FA market is going to dictate what every other player gets from here on out. If that was the case then every good hitter after A-Rod and Manny would have made at least 16m a year. Instead, those guys ended up representing the top 1% of baseball, with 13m a year becoming the norm for yearly all-stars. Vlad signed after Manny did. He had great numbers before hand, and he made 13.5 m this past season. In two years there is NO reason to believe that a pitcher will make 20m. That is nothing but baseless posturing. There is no intrinsic value for pitchers, but there is reasonable value.

Seriously. And not because Boras is a BAD agent. he's a great agent, if what you want is, as jacksonian said, guaranteed money. If you want to get on a team or find a place that suits you well its a crap-shoot. Boras was Varitek's agent and his contract seemed a little overpriced at 10m a year, but I wasn't too disappointed with it. I think there will be one very telling interaction. Matsuzaka, his translator, Theo, LL, perhaps TW and a select group of the other sox brass will sit down. Matsuzaka will listen to them, listen to them talk about baseball and their hopes for the team and for Matsuzaka and their description of Sox nation, and Matsuzaka will either think "THIS is what I want. THIS is what baseball is all about" or he will think "I don't feel comfortable with this." It is essentially a mutual interview. Schilling walked away from thanksgiving and his time on SOSH saying "Damn, these guys know their stuff. They approach baseball the way it is supposed to be approached." Let's hope its the same with DM.

Dude, 9 or 10m a year is not lowballing anyone. 51m is the ultimate sign of respect and you can say "well they shouldn't have spent that much then!" But they HAD to. Even the Yankees bid over 30m on this guy, which is like 3 times the previous highest bid ever. The Mets bid 40. This is the only way the Sox had a shot at him. Either this guy is worth what the top pitchers are (which I hear a lot of arguing)("they SHOULD have to pay him like Oswalt") Or he's 'untested' 'unproven', 'hasn't thrown a pitch yet in MLB.' He can't be worth both. It seems to me like 10m is somewhere between those two. I still think 12-13m will be the number.

The problem seems to be that Boras doesn't want to get a deal done. Like many here have stated (jacksonian, you included I believe) it is a matter of wanting to save 2 years and get an enormous FA check and simultaneously challenging the posting process itself. It will be a shame if this guy doesn't get signed. It will all come down to who can convince Matsuzaka: the Sox or Boras. Can boston convince him that Boston is a special place to be a mega-star, with tremendous fans, a historic stadium and huge media/endorsement possibilities; or, is he so interested in making more money than any other player that he's willing to risk injury over the next two seasons? It seems to me that a very simple mediation deal would solve the problem. Year 1: 8m (+ incentives that can make him up to 13m this season)(kicker incentives that automatically boost his salary to 13m with incentives the following year) Year 2: 9m (if kicker doesn't apply) 13m (if it does) He should continue with the possibility of kickers up until he is earning 15m a season or so. he will cost a shitload (already would have if you've signed him) but he will have to be successful to get paid the big bucks. Seems like a no brainer, wonder why they can't do that??

I'm reassured if Theo is in southern cal. I have a really hard time believing this deal isn't going to get done. I'm sure there's something reasonable behind it, but if the Sox don't sign Matsuzaka I'm going to be very, very disappointed. If this guy is truly the best pitcher on the market and the Sox don't get him I'm going to be pissed.

What do they mean by "last night"? Is that a quote for tomorrows paper?

Because this event is supposedly being covered by the AP and Japanese Media (and apparently not NESN directly, or ESPN live) I can't help but wonder if this is Boras' answer to the tinderbox-like response by the national media to one absurd Herald report which, as I stated earlier, I think only gets credit nationally because it was not in the Globe (which everyone knows is tied to the Sox) probably still thanks to the Sox brass.

nice jacksonian... you had me there for a sec.