example1

IF health is not an issue, and IF Jon Lester can actually come back to the rotation and be helpful, then I could see Papelbon as a viable option. Otherwise they need him in the rotation.

Boras is just doing his job. His job is to be a money grubbing scumbag who lies and weasles to get the best for himself. He's the best at his craft and his craft demands selfishness and being sly. I don't like that, personally. I guess I just dislike the agents who would rather have their player sit out than make a measley 11 million dollars. He's the super-agent, I don't like agents much, therefore I don't like Boras. I think he works well with the red sox. I don't mind that, as they have benefeted from being able to pay his players to play in boston. That's been a nice perk in the "Boras Relationship" category, but I still don't like him for what he does.

Maybe the front office will continue wrapping up their f***ing deals in their incestious relations with Mr. Boras. Get Matsuzaka signed then never deal with that guy again. :thumbdown Sick of Boras :thumbdown

I think there is doubt there was tampering. I'm sure Boras is good at skewing the lines between tampering and not, but this guy is EVERYBODY'S agent. He gets offers all the time for his FA's and he is well aware of the CURRENT value of most of his players, regardless of their signed value. haven't you ever wondered how Boras can possibly not have conflicts of interest in his dealings? I certainly have. I see it as very reasonable to assume that Boras was informed about the Sox willingness to go hard after JD thanks to discussions he heard about involving trades for Drew, inquring about his availability when he was last a FA, his high OBP and, not to be underestimated, Boston's enormous media and frenzied fan base's quest for rumors. Put simply: Boras knows the Sox like Drew. Boras knows the Sox fans are unhappy. Boras knows the Sox have money. Boras knows the Sox have a hole in RF. Boras knows the Sox like OBP. Boras knows JD has an unbelievable OBP. Boras knows JD will get more than 11m a year.

The change in the collective bargaining agreement forcing smaller market teams to spend their money on baseball rather than lining the owners pockets? Just a guess. Perhaps more concrete is the way of evaluating value in the first place. If value is seen (as I've written about in past posts, and as mentioned in baseball between the numbers) as different depending on the team that is spending the money, then a lot of what has happened ths year makes sense. the teams that have spent the most on players are those who are closest to being "over the hump" in terms of playoff contention. the goal is to make the playoffs, winning the WS is an on the field goal, but I don't think it is a realistic thing for any team to aim at at this point in the season. So, the teams that I have seen spending the most (Dodgers, Astros, Cubs, Red Sox) are all likely planning on spending to the point where they have added enough wins to get into the 93+ wins category (with luck, health, etc., of course). The value for a player like Soriano added onto a lineup with Lee and Ramirez is considerably more than it is for a player like Soriano added to the Royals (he might bring them from 72 wins to 76, no increased profit). If Boras were smart enough to look at the needs of the upper-middle class teams--in terms of current mlb talent, last year's record and ability to spend--(which he is) and if he believed that these large market teams acted like most large market teams a few players away from the playoffs would be expected to behave (which they did), then its not difficult to predict that there would be an up-swing of $$ paid to even marginal FA's. Despite baseball's reputation for having uneven payrolls and supposedly talent, there are a lot of teams between the .500 and .560 win% who are capable of spending money to contend. Texas, seattle, San Diego, St. Louis, Houston, Detroit, both Chicagos, Boston, both New Yorks, etc., the list of non contending teams is much smaller than the list of contending teams. In an environment like that, with a basic understanding of supply and demand it isn't impossible to predict that JD Drew could get more than 11 million a year. ESPECIALLY after a largely healthy season. This guy was a former #2 and #5 overall pick in 97 and 98. His talent is not the question here. If he's healthy he's worth more than 11m in today's game.

At what point does a team having extreme interest in a player in previous seasons become "tampering" in another season? If Boras knew that the Sox coveted Drew in previous seasons, and he knew that they needed a RF, then it seems only logical to say "JD, I can get the Red Sox to pay more than 11m a season for your services" without any conversation between the Sox and Boras having taken place in the few weeks before JD left the Dodgers. The Sox had discussed Drew with Boras very recently (2 seasons ago, I believe). It certainly doesn't seem weird to me that Boras could assume they would want him. The guy is an OBP machine, he's a good fielder. Except for the injuries ANYBODY could have told you that this guy is the perfect Red Sox hitter. It doesn't take a conspiracy. All the Sox had to say to Boras sometime in, say, August was "we're going to improve our team this offseason" and that's all Boras would need to know that JD would get the current going rate for a middle of the order OF.

Bah. Dotel is nothing but an injury prone set-up man. He's good and would have been a good sign but he obviously wants money more than the chance at winning he would have had in Boston or NY. Fair enough. The same is probably true of Gagne. Both guys know they probably only have one contract left so they better get as much out of it as possible.

But I don't thnk they're really going to have it be at bargain basement price. I think their offer will be reasonable. We've all 'heard' that they offered like 8m a year, but we also all 'heard' that the Yankees were the sure fire winners of the matsuzaka stakes, and also that the Sox had won for an 'absurd' bid of 38-43m (it ended up being higher than that, obviously). If Matsuzaka sits out the next two seasons (MLB-wise) there is a tremendous chance that he could get injured and never see a red-penny from the MLB. I think that's too much to risk. I think the Sox will sign him for 13-14 a year for 4 years.

I really think that I see a reasonable solution to this, and I think most other people here do too, which is what makes the whole stuation so frustrating. 1) I undestand the sox "low-balling" Boras. That's who they're lowballing, not Matsuzaka. I know its weird, but they have shown Matsuzaka lots of respect throughotut ths process. They have addressed him respectfully, kept negotiations quiet, and proved to the entire Japanese baseball fanbase that, no, they're not insane, they have a player that a MLB team is wlling to pay 51.1m to negotiate with. Matsuaka is a bona-fide hero thanks to that bid and he's styling. I really think this is the only chace that any team will have to screw Boras, if they so choose. Instead of the team choosing the free agent and getting the agent that comes with him, the team was chosen for the agent and it is non-negotiable. The Sox can legitimately say take it or leave it. At worst they don't get the guy and get all their money back. At best they sign him. 2. I think the Sox really want Matsuzaka. I also think they will make a reasonable offer for him. 3. If the sox stick with the 8 million dollar offer that was originally mentioned and are willing to lose him over that then I think they would be being DICKS. I think they just don't want to be jerked around. What they want to avoid is paying Matsuzaka THIS YEAR'S inflated Free-Agent price when, in fact, he hasn't thrown in the MLB yet and even if he were really good he probably doesn't deserve more than 11-13m a season. No pitcher really ever deserves more than that, when you take the variable markets into account. Sometimes you have to pay more due to supply and demand, but supply is 1 player, demand is one team. I don't see why this wouldn't happen at a reasonable price when all is said and done. The sox just don't want to get screwed over by Boras and Matsuzaka doesn't want to get screwed either.

But Matsuzaka wouldn't have made 100 mill over 3 years. The Sox would have spent that much but the amount Matsuzaka takes home is much, much less. Just to clarify.

In 50 more at-bats last year, JD Drew K'd 4 more times than Manny Ramirez. I wouldn't call that a lot of strike outs. It would be more concerning, also, if the guy weren't getting on base at a .400 clip.

Most superfluous thread ever? Yes: No:

Mods: can we somehow clear up all this "manny might get traded" crap from the boards, consoladate it into a single thread or something?

I guess so. except that everyone in the lineup has a solid OBP and can play in the field.

Is this guy worth 6 m with the liklihood that his arm will fall off by early May? The upside is tremendous, but 6m is a lot of money (and I'm one who tends to not complain about them spending money ).

That's kind of what I was thinking. The above rumor says 5m, which I think sounds about right... perhaps even a bit low--depending on how the teams see his health.

That's one way to see it. Or they have the guy who averaged the 5th highest game-score last year in the AL and who is still a tremendous competetor (Schilling); a guy who threw the most 95+ mph pitches out of anyone in baseball last season and who has all the potential to shut down any team on any given day (Beckett, 26); Japan's most famous pitcher for the last 7 years who possesses at least SIX plus pitches with great movement and a great understanding of how to work hitter--including international, japanese and MLB (Matsuzaka, 26); Last year's rookie of the year runner up who has more passion and grit in him than anyone on either team (Papelbon, 26); and a cagey veteran knuckleballer who can chew up innings and tends to pitch in crazy high-scoring games. A historic Yankee killer. I'll hold on to them. There's also that Lester guy, and that Bard, Buchholz and Bowden combination. I'm pretty psyched about Red sox pitching this year.

As far as taking too many pitches, would it hurt to have drew bat 2nd or 3rd where that type of approach sets up ducks on the pond? What the Sox will need is for Drew to be swinging for the fences (or at least the gaps) to get Manny or Papi in.