Anyone else hoping Matsuzaka is a $100M bomb?

[Leonidas]

Seriously? I don't wish the many any harm or anything ill, but deep down I kinda hope Boston satisfies Boras' profound sense of overimportance and gives a guy who has yet to throw so much as a pitch in AAA $100M only to see him become the next Hidecki Irabu. First, it would serve any team that thinks it can simply buy itself into the playoffs right, as well as giving them something to think about. Second, well I was going to say something about this teaching gloating agents a lesson, but all they would learn is it is possible to sell icecubes to Eskimos for exhorbitant prices.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2694660

Scott Boras, the agent for Daisuke Matsuzaka, said his client "is worth well in excess of $100 million." The Boston Red Sox may not agree, but they said on Monday night that they were prepared to increase their offer to the pitcher.

[molson]

If the Red Sox have money to spend, I don't see how they can be criticized for spending it on talent. Every team is trying to "buy its way into the playoffs" - some teams just have more cash with which to make those purchases

[albionmoonlight]

Bill Simmons is so obnoxious about all things Red Sox that he single-handedly made me hate the team and hope that they fail at everything they do from now until they no longer exist.

So, to answer your question, yes.

[bbor]

But he has the gyroball!!

[Honolulu_Blue]

I hate both the Yankees and the Red Sox. So, yes, I hope it turns out poorly.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by bbor

But he has the gyroball!!

mmm...gyro

[CU Tiger]

Why am I betting on no deal?

RedSox win double that way.
they get theior $52 mill back, the Yanks dont get him and he cant pursue an MLB contract for 2 years. And next time he can not preclude any team even the one who failed to sign him this time....

[Travis]

Even moreso, I hope they sign him, that Clemens then comes aboard as the closer, and they both stink the joint out and finish behind the D-Rays.

Especially seeing as how the Jays are likely to lose Wells, it just gets harder and harder to cheer for them. At least there is still Rios (for the time being) and Halladay.

[Maple Leafs]

People, please. The Yankees are the ones who spend too much. The Red Sox are scrappy underdogs. We all agreed on this two years ago, please don't go changing your tune now.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

RedSox win double that way.
they get theior $52 mill back, the Yanks dont get him and he cant pursue an MLB contract for 2 years. And next time he can not preclude any team even the one who failed to sign him this time....

I was wondering about this. What was to stop, say, the Devil Rays, from offering his team $75 million, and then have the negotiations "fall through" so that no other team has a shot at him? Is there any rule that prevents this?

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Travis

Even moreso, I hope they sign him, that Clemens then comes aboard as the closer, and they both stink the joint out and finish behind the D-Rays.

Especially seeing as how the Jays are likely to lose Wells, it just gets harder and harder to cheer for them. At least there is still Rios (for the time being) and Halladay.

Yeah, if the Jays do lose Wells... there's not much of a reason to watch this year. They would have lost too much in the off-season. I cheer for the Red Sox and Yankees to lose every year.

[rkmsuf]

So I read that Schilling is learning japenesse? Man is that guy annoying sometimes.

[Ryche]

Originally Posted by Vince

I was wondering about this. What was to stop, say, the Devil Rays, from offering his team $75 million, and then have the negotiations "fall through" so that no other team has a shot at him? Is there any rule that prevents this?

As far as I've seen, no. There were some suggesting Boston offered so much just to block the Yankees.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Yeah, if the Jays do lose Wells... there's not much of a reason to watch this year. They would have lost too much in the off-season. I cheer for the Red Sox and Yankees to lose every year.

They've really managed to run a top of the line franchise into the ground as a middling, non-committal ballclub that can't see its head from its arse. That said, if a bad season means Riccardi is gone, then I'm all for it. He's no Gord Ash or anything, but...he's far from a Pat Gillick and seems like he's just trying to hit a homerun and get lucky one season to make himself look like a genius.

He clearly didn't learn nearly enough from Billy Beane about building a franchise.

[CU Tiger]

I think they did have to provide proof of worthiness...

Of course if the offer is too ridiculous the Japanese club could just tell Matsuzaka, sign for $1 and we will split the negotiation fee.

Supposedly Boston has already asked the Japan club to pony some $$$ but they declined.

Anyone who has done business with Japan knows they can probably expect phones to start ringing around 10pm, the night of the deadline...

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

They've really managed to run a top of the line franchise into the ground as a middling, non-committal ballclub that can't see its head from its arse. That said, if a bad season means Riccardi is gone, then I'm all for it. He's no Gord Ash or anything, but...he's far from a Pat Gillick and seems like he's just trying to hit a homerun and get lucky one season to make himself look like a genius.

He clearly didn't learn nearly enough from Billy Beane about building a franchise.

You aren't kidding in the least. J.P. is absolutely awful, and I'm scared to get excited about any players on the team at this point because he tends to get rid of them. Sure hasn't been many strides forward since Delgado left and then all that extra money was made available to him to work with. And as much as I like Rios, he's a perfect compliment to Wells, not a replacement.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Vince

I was wondering about this. What was to stop, say, the Devil Rays, from offering his team $75 million, and then have the negotiations "fall through" so that no other team has a shot at him? Is there any rule that prevents this?

We discussed this in another thread awhile back...basically what would happen is the commish's office would step in since they're not bargaining in good faith, and would eliminate the high bid and give the rights to the next highest bidding team. It would be a disaster publicly for baseball.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Logan

We discussed this in another thread awhile back...basically what would happen is the commish's office would step in since they're not bargaining in good faith, and would eliminate the high bid and give the rights to the next highest bidding team. It would be a disaster publicly for baseball.

international incident!

[Logan]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

international incident!

Exactly. A lot of oranges would have to be brought to those meetings.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Logan

Exactly. A lot of oranges would have to be brought to those meetings.

LOL- Super terrific!

[Mr. Wednesday]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I think they did have to provide proof of worthiness...

Of course if the offer is too ridiculous the Japanese club could just tell Matsuzaka, sign for $1 and we will split the negotiation fee.

There's been some indication that MLB doesn't something like this to happen, because it would undercut the competitive bidding.

(MLB has also stated that they will not allow Boras to buy Matsuzaka out of his contract at Seibu to turn him into a free agent, because it would be an attempt at an end run around the posting system.)

[Swaggs]

How much was this guy making in Japan? Unless he has an amazing salary to go back to in Japan, it would be hard to pass up the 3 year/$30M or 4 year/$40M. Plus the Japanese team that is losing $52M because Boras is being a hardass will be hella pissed.

[stevew]

I hope the Yakuza get Boras with a $100m bomb.

[JeffW]

"The posting fee represents the problem," Boras said. "It's historic, it's new, it's something that's never been done. How do you reflect value in a posting fee in an appropriate contract for a player?

It seems clear to me that the posting fee has to be absorbed by the player. If Matsuzaka is worth exactly $100 million, then the Red Sox cannot be expected to pay a penny more for his services, even if that means Matsuzaka gets less money than he would have in a free market contract.

[bosshogg23]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

How much was this guy making in Japan? Unless he has an amazing salary to go back to in Japan, it would be hard to pass up the 3 year/$30M or 4 year/$40M. Plus the Japanese team that is losing $52M because Boras is being a hardass will be hella pissed.

He makes $3 million/year currently.

[Ragone]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

So I read that Schilling is learning japenesse? Man is that guy annoying sometimes.

No he's turning japanese.. there is a difference

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Ragone

No he's turning japanese.. there is a difference

You really think so?

SI

[Leonidas]

Originally Posted by bosshogg23

He makes $3 million/year currently.

Which in Japan I think gets you two tickets to a Yomuri Giants game, a sushi dish, one Kirin beer, and a two-night Bukkake video rental.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Leonidas

Which in Japan I think gets you two tickets to a Yomuri Giants game, a sushi dish, one Kirin beer, and a two-night Bukkake video rental.

Schilling is brushing up on his bukkake.

[Leonidas]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Bill Simmons is so obnoxious about all things Red Sox that he single-handedly made me hate the team and hope that they fail at everything they do from now until they no longer exist.

So, to answer your question, yes.

And you just had to know, the instant they won the series, Simmons and the whole host of the Red Sox nation would let it get so far into their heads that the rest of us would wind up hating them as much as the Yankees. At least I did. It would almost have been worth reversing that whole deal and allowing the Yankees to win just so the rest of us wouldn't have two sets of uber-obnoxious fans to deal with. God help us if the Cubs ever win.

[gottimd]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Schilling is brushing up on his bukkake.

No pix pls.

[Ksyrup]

I assumed that Boras was looking for a $100M commitment, irrespective of the posting fee, by his comments. But in reading the latest article, their proposal is $66M over 6 years. The Sox are offering $48M over 6 years. Quite frankly, I can't say I that I think Boras' proposal is absurd (which I was hoping I could do).

The posting fee might be part of the Sox's calculation, but the player receives not one penny of it. And Boras is right (gasp!) when he says that the posting system is backwards - the better the player, the more of a discount he is required to take in his own contractual negotiations because the bigger the posting fee will be. I don't view this guy as an unproven commodity because the Sox don't either. They put up $51M to talk to him. That means they think he is a far surer bet than the typical AAA/college phenom with no MLB experience. And Boras is still asking for less than the guy would command on a true open market. I think I'd rather pay a 26-year old star of the Japanese league $11M over 6 years, sight unseen, than pay Gil Meche $11M over 5 years. Plus, even the Sox admit that part of the $51M fee was to show a commitment to establishing a Japanese presence, so they can't have it both ways - either it is solely considered part of what they want to spend for the guy, or it's partly (or mostly) an investment in the future.

I think the Red Sox had better up that offer or they look really bad. Boras isn't asking for anything outrageous here, IMO. And he's giving the Sox the full 6 years they own his rights, instead of asking for fewer years and declaring full free agency earlier. They'll have the guy through age 32-33 and there's no indication that salaries are going to decrease over the next 6 years, so he might actually be a bargain by 2010 at $11M per year. I'd bite the bullet, give him what he wants, and use better spies next time to figure out what your competition is bidding...

[molson]

Boston.com says Matsuzaka and Boras are on a flight with Henry and Theo back to Boston. So it looks like there's a deal.

[Ksyrup]

Good. For baseball, anyway. I don't really care who he pitches for, as long as it's not NY. Boston may be on its way to becoming the next Yankees, but they have a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go before I put them in the same category.

In fact, as long as they have Jerry Remy calling games, I'll continue to watch their games even.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Good. For baseball, anyway. I don't really care who he pitches for, as long as it's not NY. Boston may be on its way to becoming the next Yankees, but they have a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go before I put them in the same category.

I don't see why that's so difficult for people to understand. The Red Sox ARE scrappy underdogs to the Yankees, the evil empire to everyone else.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

People, please. The Yankees are the ones who spend too much. The Red Sox are scrappy underdogs. We all agreed on this two years ago, please don't go changing your tune now.

It's hard being a small market team like the Red Sox. Give them some leeway.

[Ksyrup]

In terms of money, Boston is getting to the point where they are in the ballpark of competing with NY. In terms of intangibles/hatred factor, I am less annoyed by Red Sox fans than by most small market whiny fans. If Bill Simmons is the worst of the bunch I've encountered, he's about 50% as annoying as all of the douchebag NY fans you encounter on the street corner. And there's only one of him. Plus, the fact that the Yankees are in NY just tops the cake for me. I can't conceive of a set of circumstances that would ever bring Boston, the city, down to the level of NY in my eyes. So the Red Sox have that built-in bias going for them.

Boston: At least we're not NY!

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Leonidas

And you just had to know, the instant they won the series, Simmons and the whole host of the Red Sox nation would let it get so far into their heads that the rest of us would wind up hating them as much as the Yankees. At least I did. It would almost have been worth reversing that whole deal and allowing the Yankees to win just so the rest of us wouldn't have two sets of uber-obnoxious fans to deal with. God help us if the Cubs ever win.

You have a lot of Yankees and Red Sox fans harassing you at work?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

In terms of money, Boston is getting to the point where they are in the ballpark of competing with NY. In terms of intangibles/hatred factor, I am less annoyed by Red Sox fans than by most small market whiny fans. If Bill Simmons is the worst of the bunch I've encountered, he's about 50% as annoying as all of the douchebag NY fans you encounter on the street corner. And there's only one of him. Plus, the fact that the Yankees are in NY just tops the cake for me. I can't conceive of a set of circumstances that would ever bring Boston, the city, down to the level of NY in my eyes. So the Red Sox have that built-in bias going for them.

Boston: At least we're not NY!

Red Sox fans are just stupid overall. Goes for most Boston pro sports fans. I'll give New Yorkers credit. Even if they are annoying they know their sports.

Listen to WEEI sometime if you are up around Boston. Will numb your brain.

[Desnudo]

Sounds like it's done:

BOSTON -- Daisuke Matsuzaka headed to Boston on Wednesday with Red Sox officials, a sign Boston had reached a preliminary contract agreement with the star pitcher.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2696321

[Desnudo]

BTW, no one has brought up the fact that Boston, culturally speaking, is probably not going to work for this guy. To the Yankees, Seattle, SF, or LA within two years.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

BTW, no one has brought up the fact that Boston, culturally speaking, is probably not going to work for this guy. To the Yankees, Seattle, SF, or LA within two years.

That's why it's key Schilling learns japeneese.

[Ksyrup]

How, under any circumstances, would he end up with the Yankees in 2 years, if he has signed what is likely to be a 6 year deal? Short of trading him to the Yankees after having his arms severed in a freak Schilling/bukkake incident, that is.

They've signed 2 Japanese pitchers to help ease the transition. One can only hope they've done their homework and they don't have a Manny Renteria on their hands.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

How, under any circumstances, would he end up with the Yankees in 2 years, if he has signed what is likely to be a 6 year deal? Short of trading him to the Yankees after having his arms severed in a freak Schilling/bukkake incident, that is.

They've signed 2 Japanese pitchers to help ease the transition. One can only hope they've done their homework and they don't have a Manny Renteria on their hands.

And maybe we can get Kobyashi to throw out the first pitch at a game!

[molson]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Red Sox fans are just stupid overall. Goes for most Boston pro sports fans. I'll give New Yorkers credit. Even if they are annoying they know their sports.

Listen to WEEI sometime if you are up around Boston. Will numb your brain.

Did Boston College reject your application or something?

It's pretty amusing rooting for crappy Patriots and Red Sox teams my whole life, and then overnight I'm "stupid, arrogant, and obnoxious". I don't get it. I've never hated Yankee fans. They just got attached to a different team when they were going up. It reeks of jealousy.

And no one's saying Boston's small market - but the difference between the Red Sox's and Yankee's payroll is the same as the difference between the Red Sox and Pirates.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

How, under any circumstances, would he end up with the Yankees in 2 years, if he has signed what is likely to be a 6 year deal? Short of trading him to the Yankees after having his arms severed in a freak Schilling/bukkake incident, that is.

They've signed 2 Japanese pitchers to help ease the transition. One can only hope they've done their homework and they don't have a Manny Renteria on their hands.

I would think that Boras put some nice voidable years on the deal, and if he pitches like an ace, he'll be able to test the market in 3 years.

[st.cronin]

Boston baseball fans are way more passionate and knowledgeable than New York baseball fans. New York football fans are more passionate and knowledgeable than Boston football fans.

Boston is a nastier city, but has better colleges.

I call it a draw.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

How, under any circumstances, would he end up with the Yankees in 2 years, if he has signed what is likely to be a 6 year deal? Short of trading him to the Yankees after having his arms severed in a freak Schilling/bukkake incident, that is.

They've signed 2 Japanese pitchers to help ease the transition. One can only hope they've done their homework and they don't have a Manny Renteria on their hands.

Because Boston won't work for him, I will guarantee it. It doesn't matter if you have one or two players who speak the language. It's the same problem Latin American players have had, only at least they usually speak some English.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Because Boston won't work for him, I will guarantee it. It doesn't matter if you have one or two players who speak the language. It's the same problem Latin American players have had, only at least they usually speak some English.

This is just utter bullshit. I hate Boston as much as anybody, but the myth that it's some racist homogenous O'shantytown is just a lie.

[Ksyrup]

But specifically, that there is any way Boston lets him go to NY? Impossible. Under a worst-case scenario, I can see him going to the west coast. No way they do a deal with NY, though.