MNSoxChief102

Nevermind. That Rosenthal account is a fake. http://twitter.com/#!/Ken_RosenthaI

Unbelievable. This off-season just keeps getting better.

From Sherman...

I stand corrected. But when it mattered most, he was the best pitcher on the diamond while wearing a Phillies uni. If Philadelphia had even one starter worth a s*** in 09 to step in behind Lee, the Yanks definitely would have had a much harder time winning that Series. At any rate, Lee's time in Seattle will be quickly forgotten if it already hasn't.

Interesting tidbit... Rosenthal discussed the Phillies interest earlier today and mentioned that while they have a lot of cash tied up already for next season, most of that comes off the books in 2012, making it likely that they could backload a deal for Lee and get reasonably close to what he's looking for. Obviously, he'd still leave a lot of cash on the table, but pitching in that rotation has to be a major draw for a hundred different reasons.

No joke. Their offense might take a hit considering the loss of Werth and the fact that they'd likely have to move Ibanez to afford Lee, but it wouldn't matter if all four stay healthy and effective. In the post-season, that rotation would literally be unstoppable. That said, all four of those guys have weaknesses and they all can be beat when they go up against a lineup full of tenacious grind it out players (ie: the Red Sox) as San Fran showed in the NLCS and the World Series.

If he signs with Philly, they have to be the favorites to take the National League. Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels at 1-4 in their rotation would be ridiculous to say the least.

Great post. I agree wholeheartedly.

Obviously the ownership. It's their money after all. I never said it was a new desire or anything of the sort. I agree with you that it makes sense to spend the money because we'll make it up with expiring contracts and the like. I have tried to argue that I think it's absurd to say the Sox operate with a significantly lower payroll limit than that of the Yankees. The whole Evil Empire thing is always been a sham. The limit is lower but not by much. If the Sox cared more about making money than they did about winning (a la the Royals, Twins, Marlins, etc) they'd be content to field an outfield of Ells, Kalish, and Drew next season simply from a financial point of view. But they're not doing that... instead they've gone all in to get Crawford even though the money is rather absurd, because they want to win championships. That's all I can ask for as a fan.

I understand economics just fine thanks. Your point about the Sox profit margin is valid, but what you're failing to take into account is that the only group of people that actually care about that is John Henry and the rest of the ownership team. They alone decide how much profit is acceptable year in and year out. If they choose to reduce their profits slightly to increase their chances of winning a World Series, why should we as fans care one bit? Profit margins mean much more to teams like Kansas City, Minnesota, and Florida, with owners that are clearly more interested in making money than they are in winning championships. What Steinbrenner realized years ago is that winning brings profit, and I think the current Sox ownership group has had that same mentality from day one. As a fan, I can't argue with that at all.

Perhaps the comparison isn't the greatest. I'll concede that. The point still stands though that if you have to risk your money on a player, going with a guy like Crawford makes way more sense than it does to go with Jeter, who's clearly on the downslope of his career. In any case, arguing the contract is stupid, from a fan's perspective anyway. All that any fan should give a s*** about is whether their team is doing everything they can to field a legitimate WS contender. The Sox are clearly doing that.

You're reading too far into what I wrote. Obviously there are "limits" to what we can do as a franchise. Where I disagree is that the Sox "limit" is significantly different than that of the Yankees. For years, we've listened to the incessant droning about the Yankees being the Evil Empire and the Sox being the Little Engine That Could. I've never bought into any of that ********. The Sox have always had the money to do pretty much whatever they want in free agency.... they've just chosen not to necessarily go that route in recent years to build a winner. But that ship has sailed. We had to improve in a big way this off-season, and so far the Sox have exceeded expectations in every way possible.

This is priceless... http://mlbbuzz.yardbarker.com/blog/mlbbuzz/do_we_have_our_mystery_team/3759685 Before signing Carl Crawford, the Red Sox may have engaged in some good old-fashioned negotiating hijinks. It would be just like the Sox to throw a monkey wrench into the Yankees’ attempt to sign Cliff Lee. And this little stunt, if it indeed happened, would have qualified. The Sox are one team that made a seven-year offer to Lee, according to officials with another club. But there was a catch. The offer was for a lower dollar figure than Lee would accept, making it an offer that Lee was certain to refuse. Why would the Sox do such a thing? Because with such an offer, they would empower Lee’s agents to say they had a seven-year bid, potentially forcing the Yankees to increase their six-year proposal. The Yankees do not plan to go beyond six years for Lee, according to a source with knowledge of the club’s thinking. The Red Sox often bid on free agents that the Yankees want to drive up the price. The Yankees often do the same thing in reverse. In fact, that was at least part of their motivation in entering the fray for Crawford.

Whatever.

I agree. My point though was that everyone seems to gloss over his contract and go apeshit over this one, even though it makes way more sense to overpay for a player for Crawford's ability than it does to do it with Jeter. The only thing he offers the Yankees right now is sentimental value to the fans and leadership in the clubhouse. Neither of those two are worth $17 million a season. Crawford on the other hand offers a hell of a lot more and then some. He makes our team better on countless levels. And that's all that really matters to me.

Right. Common sense dictates that paying a 36 year old shortstop with an average glove and average bat $17 million a season just because he's THE CAPTAIN is a much better move than paying $20 million a season to a 28 year old OF that hits for average, steals 50+ bases, and plays legitimate gold glove defense. Can't believe I missed that.

Care to offer an explanation why? I'm all ears...

We gave him $3 million and 4 seasons more than the Yanks just gave Jeter. Given the fact that they're 8 years apart in age and Crawford obviously offers a hell of a lot more offensively and defensively than Jeter does, I'd say it's not as stupid as you think it is.