Kimmi

I pretty much agree oldtimer. Boras trying to state that the players who sign the big contracts provide more WAR than those that sign 2-3 year deals, well, DUH. It's all about analyzing the risk versus the reward, and the most bang for your buck. I fully admit that if JD signs with the Sox in 2 weeks for somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 mil, I'll be very excited, but right now, I'm kind of over it. I just read an interesting article by Joe Posnanski about how this slow offseason might not be just a 'fluke' type thing, but the beginning of the end for those 6+ year contracts. It's been shown time and time again that those contracts rarely work out, and it's also known that a player in his early 30s is typically well in the decline phase of his career. With FOs becoming more and more analytical, they are starting to pay more and more attention to this type of thing. Someone like Mookie who is looking for a big payday when he reaches free agency might not get the type of contract that he thinks he's going to get.

You have to get to October first. I'm not a believer in the idea that Darvish, Price, or Sale are postseason chokers. Get pitchers who can get the team to October, and they should be able to get you through October as well. In other words, I'm not making my decision on whether to sign or not sign a player based on postseason performance.

I am good with LoMo and a solid starter as well. Then again, I think we will contend if we stayed status quo, provided that our starting rotation, namely Price, stays healthy.

Boras' logic in his 'studies' is flawed in many ways. I don't know where to start.

Sure. IMO, that's a big if. But if JD does have several offers in the same range as the Red Sox offer, then JD is in the driver's seat.

I very much agree with this sentiment, even if the Red Sox are one of the teams that can keep up with the others. I think it's good for baseball when there's more parity and the smaller market teams can compete. IMO, the league should set a minimum % of the revenue sharing that each team has to commit to payroll each year. Any owner who does not spend the minimum would be required to return that money, which could then be divided evenly between teams who have met the minimum requirement.

No, but paying JD $125M/5 versus not signing JD at all can and will make a big difference in how they approach everything else. This is not just about Pom either. It's about any player they might want to extend. It might even be the difference between the Sox being willing to pay Mookie the $10.5 mil he wants versus taking him to arbitration.

I could live with that.

Nunez is not better than JD, but Nunez plus Darvish would be. I wouldn't mind re-signing Nunez, but I think he will be looking for a guaranteed starting job, and not just a temporary one.

90% may be a bit of an overstatement, but Dombrowski only added Price to the rotation before the 2016 season, then Pom midseason. The rest of the rotation was already in place. My point stands.

They are very rare, but if a player is willing to leave some money on the table to play for a specific team, I think that's a pretty good indication that he wants to play for that team.

They can. Are you suggesting that the Sox increase their offer to JD to make him happy, even if there are no other offers?

Truck Day is about two weeks away!!!

Maybe he doesn't know what he can realistically offer Pom until he knows whether he's going to pay JD $125 or not?

Of course he's not just sitting around all day, but he really can't know what to do until he knows what JD is going to do.

LOL He's no Theo, that's for sure. But you hit the nail on the head. Until we know what's happening with JD, Dombrowski really can't or won't make any other moves, including possible extensions to our current players. The waiting is holding the Red Sox hostage, which is what irks me about it.

This is the truth. This is one thing I like about Pedroia so much.

Personally, I am comfortable going into the season with what we have offensively. As far as Dombrowski goes, however, I would still be highly surprised if he does not add a significant bat before the start of the season. I still believe JD is coming to Boston.

I have to believe that JD and the other unsigned players have to be getting antsy. Of course none of us really know what's going on, but if I were JD, I'd jump on that $125 mil offer.

If Martinez is looking for $200 mil, then that is the fault of Boras for putting that idea into his head. That said, I do agree with you that JD is responsible for what's going on as well. Boras will ultimately do what JD tells him to do.

Thanks Ben! The winning team was already 90% in place when Dombrowski came to this organization. Dombrowski could have found less expensive ways, in terms of money and prospects, to put together the other 10%.

Yes you do. You also want the player to be reasonable with his expectations.

Of course. If the Red Sox outbid themselves to get JD, I would be upset with the FO, not with JD. It's like when we signed Price, or traded for Sale or Kimbrel. I hated the contract/cost of getting the players, but was thrilled to have the players on the team. I won't begrudge JD, unless he holds out through ST and that affects his play.

Boras sometimes has some good points to make, but IMO, he is pretty much FOS in this article. Perhaps if he hadn't started off with such a ridiculous demand of $210 million, he and JD would realize that the $125 million offer is indeed a very good and more than fair offer.

Yeah, I didn't get that at all either. There is still no indication that any other team has or is willing to offer that amount.