The Moose deal is taking long enough. In terms of Matsuzaka, can't wait what the number figure is going to turn out. I liked that 51.1.

By the way, Alex, did you have Matsuzaka's name spelled wrong on purpose?

Nah, just mad early and not spelling right yet...thanks, changed it.

$51 MILLION! Holy crap!

Will overpaying for the Japanese star silence the Sox fans about using deep pockets to win flags? They probably lack the insight or class to recognize errant uses of bankrolls. It is a result of "Yankee Blindness," a Yawkey/Sullivan caused virus enhanced by Steinbrennermania.

Keep Sanchez!

As for the Moose, talk about Mr. beginning-of-the-season. Nice to have him around, but not going to show up in October. My fear is that Schilling, Matsuzaka, and Beckett will.

Anyone able to read what Gammons is trilling about this morning?

Here's hoping this is Jose Contreras, Part Deux. ;-)

5 You're assuming the Red Sox are invited to October....

6 Gammons' article:
1. Matsuzaka is awesome, don't you remember the WBC?
2. The Red Sox have awesome pitching now.
3. Matsuzaka was worth more to the Yankees, who already have a 'niche' in the Japanese market because of Matsui.
4. Despite all I just gushed, health might be an issue because of all the innings.
5. The Red Sox are not blocking, they're trying to increase revenue and compete with the Yankees.

Typical stuff, especially the misuse of the word 'niche.' As a biologist, that's particularly grating. But yeah, mostly Go Red Sox, not sure he would have written such nice things if another team had gotten Matsuzaka (I will never, ever call him D-Mat).

7 Jose Contreras - the guy who sucked against his team's archrival and got ran out of town, right?

Not Jose Contreras - the guy who led a team called the Sox to a World Series Championship?

9 Dammit... my third bullet should read "...worth more to the Red Sox, because the Yankees have a 'niche'..."

9 how about Door-Mat?

I hope hes the Yuanks Door-mat...

gyro balls go gopherballs..

i donno whether DoorMat is a bust waiting to happen.. i am just glad.. we wont be the ones showcasing his 'transition' to MLB..

12 If anything, the recent Asian imported pitchers have had far more success early in their careers as the novelty of their stuff and deliveries baffles hitters.

Nearly everybody that matters thinks this guy is way better than those guys, so we're likely to see his best early and not the same kind of dropoff as the MLB hitters get used to him.

They're spending like drunks on Sake Way (formerly Yawkey Way).

To close the deal with Matsuzaka, now comes (with apologies to geisha culture) Theo's geisha dance with Boras the Spider, and what a dance it will be! Theo in his kimono and geta, coyly hiding his make-up caked mug behind a folding fan, the powerful Boras demanding that Theo tie his obi in front, as geisha prostitutes do.
Oh, the yen that will be spent before this dance is ovah!

I have a legitimate question: I'm curious how the scouting process works in Japan; (if there really is one) I mean, are the Japanese leagues the only places where players are allowed to play baseball? Is there a moratorium on international scouting before they play in the leagues? Are they required by law to play in the leagues before they can play in America? Or is there a concerted effort by Japanese officials (whomever they may be) to keep the international market at bay while sheparding youthful players into the leagues for a determined amount of time? Players from other countries can sign as free agents at a young age and are often developed through the farm system of the team that signed them, why is Japan an exception?

The only sense I can make of this is that they don't want what happened to the Negro Leagues after baseball finally broke the color barrier to eventually happen to them. From a purely business standpoint it makes sense for the bottom line, but in my opinion good businesses adapt to changing climates, and unless we're willing to speculate on the level of inherent racism from both sides, I'm willing to bet Japanese owners would readily adapt if they competed likewise in the international market. But I'd really like an answer on the first question.

The Daily News is reporting that the Yankees have had discussions with free agent catcher Henry Blanco. His career line: 225/290/367 and he's going to be 35. It's like every year the yankees try to have the worst hitting backup catcher in baseball. To be fair, there isn't much to choose from but Blanco is horrible.

11 Thanks. It is typical Gammons. What about Buster? Is anyone out there saying: WTF? It defintely reeks of anti-yankee bias.

This is going to turn out fun. I was much more concerned about Beckett and look how much fun that was! Now either DM is going to be:

a) Very overpriced = hampers their flexibility
b) As good as advertised = meaningful baseball in September
c) Injured = huge stomach punch

Of course, I still want to see him get signed. Anyone see the dollar figure ($51.11 million) as a loud desparate and paranoid move?

16 I just threw up in my mouth.

I could understand if they had a prospect ready, but good god! What the hell is Cashman's problem with the understanding the catching position? What's so damn complicated?

At least Gregg Zaun seems to have some life left.

So if the bidding was reversed and the Yankees bid $51 million and the Red Sox bid around $30 million, what would the stories be saying? I am guessing it would be a little different perspective.

14 Is Theo Epstein reviving "Tea House of the August Moon" at Fenway? Maybe he'll bring back "No, No Nannette" while he's at it.

The image of Theo as a Kabuki character is going to stick with me all day: pancake makeup, kimono, fan and that overtly coy stance. Thanks a lot Slice, once again I'll be laughing when I shouldn't be and its all your fault!

14 Or is it too early in the morning?

12 He'll certainly have success on the early part against the Yankees, simply because he'll be an URP (unseen, as opposed to unheralded.)

21 Well, I actually meant 15, but the way it is seems okay too >;)

20 "Tea House of the August Moon." Heh.

Now that the formerly frugal Boston Red Sox have become the Bonzai Red Sakes, the Theo as Kabuki Kid image will endure.
The geisha get-up is more befitting of Theo's personality than the gorilla suit, no?

$51.1 million is 6.01 billion yen. I'm going to refer to the latter when talking about Matsuzaka, in honor of his homeland.

23 Sliced, I have no words, I'm laughing too much.

24 I can not wait to throw that number around with my Red Sox-loving friends.

15
A Japanese player could, if he so choose, sign directly with an MLB team as Mac Suzuki did. But in general, they don't. The players prefer to come up through their own domestic leagues.

It's not like the Japanese are Dominicans trying to get out of poverty. They get paid a decent salary in Japan. But if they make it to this side of the pond, the salary becomes extremely decent.

26 Thanks Bob. Mac Suzuki jumped into my mind yesterday and I didn't know why until now.

The Dominican comparison is fairly valid, but what about Taiwan? And what's to stop big market teams from building academies in Japan if it's simply a matter of tradition? My thought is if MLB is trully trying to expand globally, that's something they would encourage teams to do, especially if they consider Japanese leagues second tier.

The NYPost story talks about the Yanks being in the Gil Meche sweepstakes. Excited?

Here's RHP Meche outside of Safeco Field from '04-'06.

Gil Meche - 224 IP, 5.31 ERA, .286 OAV, 31 HR, 151 K, 112 BB

I'd take my chances with Karstens, Rasner, or Sanchez before spending a dime on Meche. Maybe Cashman sees something in the fact that Meche's strikouts spiked in '06 and the fact that he's only 28 but I'm not seeing any point in pursuing Gil Meche.

It's done: Moose is signed up, for $22.5 for two years.

http://tinyurl.com/y7kqsm

(It's The Post)
They're also talking about signing Gil Meche.

Gil Freakin Meche? Gadzooks, is the pitching market really that thin?

Also, there's pretty much no way that Matsuzaka won't underdeliver on the hype.

28 Maybe (some of) Karstens, Rasner, Sanchez are going to be traded?

gammons basically wrote a love letter to boston for getting him.

no mention of the 100 mill it will cost or the answer to why didnt boston pay their own guys the past few yrs.

I wouldnt mind Meche as the 4th starter.

Bout time they took a chance on someone with some upside.

I for one would love to have seen the Yanks outbid everyone for Matsuzaka. It's not my money, so I really don't care how much he gets overpaid. I like the headlines and I like the excitement of seeing this supposed phenom in action in the MLB (especially if he was playing for NY). I loved the offseason that we signed Contreras, and I loved the anticipation. Too bad it didn't work out, but I don't think they should stop trying when there's as close to a legitimate thing as Matsuzaka seems to be. The worst that can happen is what has happened to us in the past with high priced newcomers. We've been through that before so it's nothing new. I might be singing a different tune if we had some really good prospects that could slot in this year, but our prospects don't seems to be all that good yet. Maybe (hopefully) the Yankees have been under-hyping these guys so they'll be a surprise to everyone (like Wang was) but I'm not really seeing a pitching plan for next year. The options they're talking about seem really underwhelming.

14 "Boras the Spider" is just sublime - at least for those of us old enough to get it.

By the way, kudos to Orestes Destrade, the only guy who got the amount of the winning bid correctly.

ill give cashman the benefit of the doubt and assume he has a plan for the pitching.

since the hitting is basically done save for a right handed 1b and a backup catcher (henry blano?)

cash knows he cant go into april with rj and pavano as key members of a rotation so i expect him to sign 2 guys. maybe one of the big guys zito or schmidt. maybe one or two from meche, wolf, lilly, batista

or maybe he works out another brilliant trade for a willis.

32 The reason Boston didn't pay its own guys (ie Damon, Pedro, and Lowe) is abundantly clear, and I'm amazed that people still talk about it. Its all about risk vs cost.

The Red Sox didn't offer Damon more than 4 years/$40 mil because they bet that in 2009, maybe even in 2008, he wouldn't be able to play CF and hit like he does, and that makes him a light-hittng DH (Boston already has two DHs) or a light-hitting 1B, which to them wasn't worth more than $10 mil/year.

Similarly with Pedro - the Sox didn't want to go more than 3 years because they were afraid his arm troubles wouldn't get them more than 3 years, and they didn't want to be on the hook for the cash if his arm did go out before the contract ended.

Lowe hadn't pitched well in '03 or '04, and they didn't feel he was worth bringing back for the prices they paid. They felt someone like Clement was a better option, and at the time, a lot of people agreed.

The Yanks, Mets, and Dodgers obviously made very different calculations - the Yanks felt Damon's contributions in '06 and '07 would be worth whatever happens in 2009 (or 2008). The Mets felt Pedro was worth it even if he only pitched two years, which is looking like it will happen. The Dodgers thought Lowe was worth 4 years/$36 mil.

The only real unanswered questions by the Sox are why they didn't pony up the extra $17 million for A-Rod, and why they wouldn't take on Abreu's salary last summer. That's the baffling part, especially now when they spent 6 billion yet just to negotiate with DM.

BTW - thanks Buster, for bringing up the opt-out clause in A-Rod's contract. Couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? Sorry I could leave that one alone myself.

32 Gammons didn't mention a word on why they wouldn't pay for their old guys because it's probably not that relevant: Those guys were old and declining. This guy is not. To pay those guys, they would be penalized for crossing the salary threshhold. The post is NOT SALARY.

33 Matsuzaka vs Meche at the Stadium Sept 21st, 2007 as the Red Sox try to clinch the division with 10 games left in the season!

(actually, I don't think that this gives the Red Sox that big an advantage - I was convinced that Clement in 2005 would give them the edge and Beckett last year, so I'll wait and see this time)

Gil Meche?

I call him "Cheesecloth"

33 Er... what upside would that be?

2006: 186 IP, 156K/83BB 24 HR, 4.48 ERA
2005: 143 IP, 83K/72BB 18 HR, 5.00 ERA
2004: 127 IP, 99K/47BB 21 HR, 5.01 ERA

As the low IP totals indicate, he's usually dinged up. Scott Proctor 2006 almost pitched more innings than Meche did in 2004. Expanding on 28, his three year totals away from the pitching friendly Safeco:

12-12, 5.31 ERA, 212 IP, .286 BAA

His Defense Independent Pitching (DIPS) takes into account only the K, BB, and HR (which have no bearing on defense), and it's 4.57, good for 24th in the AL last season, behind Mussina (3.45), Wang (4.04), and even Johnson (4.21). It should also be noted that Meche is ahead of Ted Lilly (4.61) and Barry Zito (4.87) in this statistic.

Anyway, on Meche: lots of HR, walks a lot, strikeout rate improving but still not great, four injury plagued ML seasons.... no thanks, I'd save my money and stick with KarRasChez (The three headed back of the rotation monster).

They nickel and dimed there own guys. Something you dont do.

They could have brought Damon back for an extra mill a yr. For a team that gave 52 mill to talk to a pitcher who hasnt pitched in america, i think that was doable.

they could have had pedro if they gave him an extra yr. they didnt even have to give him the extra money the mets did. they probably repeat if hes there in '05.

They fought tooth and nail over Variteks deal and he was the freakin captain there.

so they can cry about fiscal responsibility all they want. but every player knows it now that they were cheap and unloyal.

You will see how that effects them. When they start signing the JD Drews of the world. Team mercenary.

When did Darrel Rasner become a good pitcher?

I mean hes not bad in long relief, spot start here and there but hes not a playoff caliber starting pitcher.

If we're pinning our hopes on Rasner or Karstens, we're in trouble.

38
The post fee may not be salary but its not funds that just come out of thin air. They are funds that are used to pay for salary among other things.

that 52 mill (not to mention the 15 mill a yr he'll command in salary) could have been used say on the extra for Damon, the extra yr for Pedro, Abreu, A-Rod, 3-4 bullpen guys, a 2b, a SS, clemens, etc.

it definately has an effect and it cant just be written off as saying its not part of their bottom line.

They're paying 100 million on spec on someone whos never performed here.

I don't understand why they would sign Gil Mess. I mean, c'mon, lets give the young guys down on the farm a chance. I understand that Randy's back might act up and Pavano doesn't count, but if they sign Zito/Schmidt, that leaves two spots for the youngster. I ain't buyin' it.

42, 43 I agree it's a lot of money for one player... then again, Gil Meche has performed here, and has thoroughly been awful. You haven't explained what upside you see for Meche...

And I never said Rasner was a good pitcher, I'm that some combination of the three young guys should equal or exceed Meche's production in 2007. Plus I'd like to know which pitchers you think are both proven postseason performers, as well as have the upside you desired in 33...

In an of itself, throwing buku bucks at Matsuzaka doesn't represent a philosophic shift in the Sox approach to player evaluation, retention, and acquisition. But, if they sign JD Drew to replace Trot, for more than the Yanks paid for Damon, it starts to show 1) a clear misinterpretation of the future FA market by Theo as of last winter, or 2) a panic move by a team realizing that the bloom wears off the rose rather quickly, when you start finishing in 3rd place and missing the playoffs.

meche is 28 years old. Has a good, live arm and a pretty good K ratio.

Is he Santana? God no. But he may be someone like Chris Carpenter. Someone that once he gets to a new team will blossom and harness all the talent he has.

It's someone we havent had in a long time. Someone with some obv upside. Unlike RJ, Brown, Wright, etc.

Its a risk but sometimes you got to gamble.

41 I disagree.
We overpaid Damon and the Mets overpaid Pedro... in that in each case you're getting a declining player whose 4th year will be useless. Not that I'm complaining, but we paid Bernie like $15+ mil in 2005 to be about the worst in the league at his position.

The truth is, some teams will take a big hit in the future, to win now. I mean, Beltran was ONLY 2 mil/yr more then Damon. Not signing Beltran... big mistake. Signing Damon... fun, but overpriced.

If Matsuzaka pans out, at least he will be effective for the life of his contract.

Damon, while a very good player, has a career OPS of .789. This year, he posted .841, so he may have been worth $13mil. Next year? 2008? 2009?

Same with Pedro. He's pitched 2 of 4 years, and he might be done (although not done getting paid). This year he was 9-8 for the NL's best team, with a (less then league average) 4.48 era. This is worth $15 mil?

Letting Damon, Pedro and Lowe go were all painful, but smart moves.

45

By playoff caliber SP i meant someone who could actually start a playoff game for you. Not a proven guy. Only proven guy out there under 30 is Zito.

Can you see Rasner starting Game 3 of a series? He's too hittable. Hes got pedestrian stuff.

I wouldnt mind Rasner being an option for the 5th spot, long man, or waiting at Scranton (weird saying that) but we cant rely on him.

43 As I've stated b4, I don't think the Red Sox set their salary level at what they can afford, I think they set it at the threshold becasue they don't want to exceed limit because of their "shared philosophy"/tacit agreement with Bud.

The money for the posting fee is not money they could have spent on their own free agents. It's part of the gobs of profits they've been making while not chasing the Yanks payroll.

40 What do you think of Scott Proctor joining the rotation? He was a starter in the minors making 25 starts in 2002. Proctor could be a poor man's John Smoltz in the 4th or 5th starting slot. Britton and Bruney could fill the Proctor role in the pen.

47 Who's to say that Rasner, Karstens, Sanchez, etc. can't blossom into something great. They can't be any worse than Gil. Especially if it requires giving up something they are trying to get, young prospects (Sanchez).

40 Good post. Meche is interesting. He had his best ERA in a while, and his strikeouts went way up, but so did his BBs and HRs allowed. Young is nice, but we have a farm full of young. You need to be GOOD also.

Meche looks to be league average. For a team looking at the Post Season, is he a decent #4 or #5 guy? Do we NEED a #4 or #5 guy?

Are we at the point where a league average pitcher is worth over $10 mil?

Cash is a smart guy. Cash making calls to guys inflates their price. I would like to see him express 'extreme interest' in every decent pitcher, and then let everyone else overpay for them.

I hate to say it, but at least Zito is a decent #3. Based on what pitching is available, like last year, we will need to win the division on offense and C+ pitching, and hope our bats show up in the post season.

The Post season is a crap shoot. Detroit's pitching sucked the last 6 games of the season, stomped the Yanks and A's, then died for The Cards.... a team a few games over .500 in baseballs weakest division.