It's a good start. No?

280? Is that a typo? That is huge. He actually looks a lot like Wright. (But bigger.)

http://tinyurl.com/yfqzz2

I'm not that familiar with Britton, but I absolutley love where Cash is going with all this — Sheff, and now Wright.

Younger. Meaner. Leaner. (payroll, not waistlines in this case)...

Unless, of course, Cashman has a plan for the back end of the rotation. If he has targetted some free agent, or better yet, if they are committed to using some AAA talent (can Karstens or whomever really be that much worse than the Wright, et al), then it is correct to keep Wright from cluttering up the rotation/BP.

We have Wang and a whole lot-a-nothing beyond Unit right now. I'll assume Moose will be signed for 2 years and that Unit's long, long, long, 300 year old back will be okay and that some approximation of a front of the rotation starter will be signed. I might sign one of those two above for depth if either can be had but I would give the kids a really good long look. I'm not sure what I'd give Pavano.

I'm really curious to see what Ca$hman has up his sleeve. He sure is collecting some pitchers and I don't get the feeling he's hording them only so he can show them off at the next Minor League Complex barbeque.

Be interesting to see what direction he goes. Does he go for Meche and Lilly. Two guys with upside. Take a chance.

Needs a lefty in the pen. How about Jamie Walker? Pitched real well for the Tigers.

The only aspect I can see favoring Wright is that he's a starter.

The deal seems like a steal. Why did the O's agree to it? Do the Orioles know something bad about Britton? Are the Orioles confident that they can help Wright return to his 2004 form, when he was 15-8, 3.38?

another young power arm. i like it.

Hello, when did the O's move to the NL? Over thinking that one? :-)

He's the guy who brought Wright back to form a few years ago, and now he has him again. Watch for Wright to frustrate the hell out of us by going 8 innings with 3H and 1ER a couple of times in 2007...

Yankees total payment is $4 million which is what they would have paid to buy Wright out. This way they make the same payment and they get Britton. Nice work in my book.

my aunt mildred would be a genuis too if she was there pitching coach.

Cliff... Purple and Blue are the default colors most browsers are set for. This is controlled in: Tools/Internet Options/Colors.

However, I also see 'grey' as the visited link color. The link colors can be declared in your html code. Your code DOES seem to alter the links... as they highlight RED during mouseover, which is NOT the browser action, but created in code.

Have your web guy check your defined stylesheets:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://static.baseballtoaster.com/css/BronxBanter.css"
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://static.baseballtoaster.com/css/toaster.css"

Feedback please?

fick isnt much of a defensive catcher at all. hes what they call a dh.

he did so well early that he got sent to triple a.

Both these guys have immense tallent. They needed coaching and experience. Cabrerra in particular needed to learn how to "pitch" and controll his emotions a little. Those two may be really good this year.

8 That same reason made me feel confident that something is being worked on, and when the announcement is made, it's going to make our whole off-season. (And no, I am not really referring to the Matsuzaka deal- as too many unknown factors, including how he can handle the transition not just pitching in ML level but also changing his entire environment, are involved- but just something big and Abreu-like.)
Is it obvious now that I have become a firm believe of Ca$hman?

http://tinyurl.com/yd3x4r

when they only really have 2 sp's now when moose resigns

makes me think that they may think they have a better than fair shot at matusaka

At any rate, we have found that this is one glaring whole on the roster that necessitates more than just a warm body.

I would hope we can steal Hong Chih Kuo from the Dodgers, but that's hopeing for a bit too much ;)

lucky for me i got to watch hesters run

fun!

Not everyone has to be on the cover of muscle and fitness to pitch.

And yeah, a 49 (52?) yard field goal attempt. Brilliant move, Coughlin. /sarcasm.

also, we should all pitch in and send ca$hman a thank you card or a bouquet of flowers or a candygram or something. there was an outcry calling for young power pitchers the day after the ALDS ousting. he has landed 4 young power arms for the exact cost of getting rid of jaret wright. while i saw the logic presented here regarding holding onto wright, if ca$hman thought unloading him in favor of britton was a good idea, i will trust him until britton blows up.

i love the speculation that says that there must be another deal for a starter coming soon. moose should be returning any day now, too.

take heart, people. things are looking good.

And, looking at it from all the other teams' perspective: what team that wants to compete in '07 and beyond is going to give up MLB proven young starting pitching? None of them. That leaves the teams that won't contend in '07: the Royals, the Nats, and the Pirates. (IMHO the Rays and the Orioles could be on the verge if things break right.) None of those teams will want to give up young pitching either.

Now, I could see Ca$hmoney using some of that young pitching to get a hitter or two (young catcher and/or righty 1B anyone?). But not a pitcher.

I think pitchers are fatter because, being limited to life on a small hill, they consume more calories than they use.

insightful, educational, and hilarious.

yeah, this waiting is killing me. i figured we'd know what was happening by now. i am pulling my hair out...

In the meantime we wait till Tuesday. Does this mean we now close on Zito or is something greater on the horizon, a Johnson/Vasquez type trade for somebody REALLY interesting like Hong-Chih Kuo or Scott Kazmir as rumours fly?

in fairness, wright did mention that the kid had a month off before the series, and that could potentially have something to do with it, but... who knows.

Pitchers can get away with it if they can still pitch.

As someone who has been thin and fat and thin and fat a numbers of times...
I really don't believe I did ANYTHING better when I was (and am now) fat, except maybe eat.

And while it's possible that being a bit (10-15) lbs overweight might not hurt, I can't believe being overweight is any advantage at all.

If a fat person is in very good shape (oxymoron?) and has muscle 'hidden' under the fat, it may be deceptive. And yes... muscles do get stronger carrying extra weight... but those muscles also have a lot more work do... especially heart and lung.

When you look at 'pure stamina' sports, you rarely see overweight people.

A few year ago, Jorge put on weight and muscle, I think to achieve better power. Now he has lost the weight, and is a much better defensive player.

Being a little overweight is probably better then being a little underweight (reserves), but my purely personal opinion is:

Being more then a little overweight holds no advantage, and is probably a disadvantage. These guys are just fat... and I would venture are better off losing the extra weight.

While I see Zito as a distinct possibility in the Yankees sights, I think what we should really be expecting is the out of left field surprise trade / signing like jayd is saying. There are some pitchers out there who may not be as untradeable as people think...and Cashmoney is known for his powers of misdirection.

Red Sox fans better never, never, ever complain about not being able to compete with the Yankees for players or the Yankees buying players.

Six "fat" players to consider:
George Herman "Babe" Ruth
David "Boomer" Wells
Hideki "Fat P@$%& Toad" Irabu
Sal "Fugginunbelievable" Fasano
Sidney "Arrested Development" Ponson
John "insert unkind knickname here" Kruk

Now, who can name an All-Time Fat All-Star team? Any clever takers?

The bold belongs to me.

Maybe they're just living in the limelight and soaking up a little free name exposure. Hell, if it wasn't for Mike P and COH who ever would have heard about them anyway?

Either way, I JUST WANT TO KNOW!

a side note, theo has reportedly made an offer to jd drew, and it is said to be a larger contract than the one he offered damon.

(i'm sure that damon will still be considered the one with "loyalty" issues around here.)

i guess if you finish under the blue jays, you can dust off the checkbook. i look forward to seeing my boston baseball buddies soon. they've always been complaining about the money non-issue. i had been telling them for years that the sox had the money to compete, but chose not to.

they're doing everything they can to prove me right.

the evil empire club has a new member.

$42 million! Amazing. So much for the budget that Red Sox fans claim are constrainting Henry, Werner & Co.

now they're going to give the always reliable jd drew 50 and julio lugo 40+

wow. we're seeing this team implode. these are the kinds of bad moves that set back a franchise.

Someone explain to me how this could make economic sense for both the Sox and Matsuzaka/Boras. Under what scenario, for instance, would it not make more sense for Matsuzaka/Boras to turn down the Sox' offer and wait until next year?

The one factor in Boston's favor, it seems to me, is that the $42 mil doesn't get luxury taxed. That makes a big difference, but I don't see how it could be a big enough difference.

JD Drew is a better hitter than Damon, by the way. But he's a corner outfielder. It'll be very interesting if Theo really does throw more money at him than Damon was offered.

The timeline I got for official announcement will be around 4am ET.

76 And yes, I meant 4 am in case anyone's wondering.

This sounds a little like 'slavery' to me. If D-Mats waits a year, he can negociate with any team, and has a LOT more $$s possible (as there would be no signing fee). Instead, to save a year, he can only negotiate with the ONE team with the highest bid. Also (Rock-and-hard-place), I believe he has a 'duty' to sign unless the deal is extremely bad, meaning SL could get $42 million (one shot deal) while D-Mats has to work 4 years to make a similar amount? Can the Sox really be planning on paying this guy like $20mil/year?

I heard D-Mats is expecting $13-$15mil/year.
4years @ 13mil + 42mil = 94 million!?!?

This seems nuts.
I know it's not my money but common....
This guy has not pitched one game in MLB yet.
Is it me who is nuts?

Otherwise, they've lost their heads.

now he can take that 40 plus and get 2 sp's, a 1b, a backup catcher, a lefty for the pen, and invest heavily in young latin american players.

He doesn't have to sign a contract if he doesn't want to go to the winning team. He can stay home, wait a year, then play for the greatest sports franchise in history. That's us by the way.

or they could sign him and then trade him. mets? rangers?

This whole bidding process certainly favors the owners and not the players. NOT waiting this extra ONE year is gonna cost D-Mats over 20 mil.

this whole posting process is just stupid.

why not have an open auction? they could even get a better deal if that were the case. its just dumb

ca$hman will just have to get crafty. and after all, that is what ca$hman does best.

the only way i can see the sox signing him is if they had an under the table deal to pay a portion of the bid, a la seattle as per the tampering reports earlier this week.

anything else is lunacy.

I doubt there will be a lot of hang-ups over honor. Matsuzaka's agent will be the antidote to that!

im thinking and i know boras is too that roy oswalt money is certainly reasonable for a 26 yr old big time ace and boston must think so too if they paid 42mill just to talk to him.

right?

also, they still need a closer.

They are using the money they involutarily saved over several years of this ownership and investing in the Japan. The contract they eventually sign with the player will be just paying the guy to pitch.

The Red Sox were in a position to bid ludicrously high and either caught the Yanks by surprise or the Yanks realized and opted out.

ss
2b
closer
some bullpen help

and u have to assume the fenway dough is maxed out since they already sell out every game and charge the highest prices in the league

now they cant ever see anything about money again

They would HAVE to bargain in good faith, or Boras would (as he has before) steer his clients elsewhere from then-on just to screw them back. Boston's playing with big snakes, if you ask me.

i love the hot stove...

I think.

105 Exactly. Just earlier this year, Olney became the first media person to ask what the Red Sox was doing with all the money that they have been pocketing since they bought the team. Henry has been selling their fans BS as he stuck every penny in his pocket. Hell, they were even selling souvenirs from the World Series. It is about time that Henry and Werner splurge on the payroll.

that kind of smoke and mirrors game would never fly with NY fans.

I agree. But that just means that the team has to decide how much it can afford for a posting fee, given how much they'll have to pay in salary. The posting fee is their problem, not the player's

I agreee. But that just means the team has to decide how much they're willing to spend on a posting fee, given how much they'll have to pay in salary. The posting fee is their problem, not the player's; the team needs to take it into account, but it's strictly above and beyond the contract.

even still, he supposedly gives up longballs more consistently to righties.

when they can touch him.

Regardless of which team wins the bid, I'll bet Boras has DM take a Godzilla-like contract, where DM becomes a non-arb eligible free agent after 3 years. That gets him back on the market at 29, and lets Boras drive his prize sky-high, presuming he does what he's supposed to do.

What this does make me think, however, is that maybe the Sox will actually really trade Manny to balance it out?

If the pitcher wants to come to a premier MLB team and doesn't want to risk another year of 140 pitch counts, the Red Sox are in great negotiating shape.

If the pitcher has pinstriped pajamas and dreams of going out chasing girls w/ derek, then the red sox are in trouble.

http://tinyurl.com/yk73tk

I have a strange feeling that this process will turn out to be some greatbighuge car wreck in the near future.

If so, then doesn't Boras know that next year he can get at least close to $20/year? I know, you're right about the big pitch counts, it's a little bit risky to wait.

And, of course, there's still a chance that the Lions reject the bid. I don't know enough about the NPB, but the Lions could decide that another year of having DM on their team is worth as much or more than whatever the bid amount is.

And how much will 'honor' play into things? With all the hype, especially from the WBC, people everywhere in the baseball world know DM's name. The Lions might decide its more important from an 'honor' standpoint to let Matsuzaka walk than to sell him. "Why would you willing let go of our greatest player?" and whatnot.

150 Uh oh.

thats called collusion and its illegal. mccourt in LA doesnt have it either. selig wants the high market teams to be leaders but theres no "agreement" in place. especially when said franchises think they can improve.

but dont all these moves go against theo's mantra of being fluid and not committing all the resources to a few players???

i wonder if they trade manny now to get some payroll savings. and take his 20 mill savings and spread it around.

I'd like to see Ca$hman hold a press conference: "We're very disappointed, we so admire Matsuzaka and we hoped he would be a Yankee. We had no idea that the Red Sox would commit so much of their available money toward the posting fee."

i just cant see how they nickel and dime two boston legends, pedro and damon, and now break open the vaults for d mat and drew. they didnt sign damon because of 2 mill a yr more.

imagine the yanks not signing jeter because of 2 mill.

id rather have trot nixon any day of the week. now when he got up there even if he was hitting 260 i was still scared he'd drive one.

drew? a guy who has been run out of st lou and atlanta for not being a gamer now replaces one of the ultimate gamers?

thats funny. when hes on the dl in may for a cramp, lets see how boston fans feel.

I'll let you judge for yourselves.

Now, DM is another story. He's young and he's (supposed to be) a front-line ace #1 pitcher. If there's anything you overpay for, that's it right there. Now he maybe has some mileage on his arm, but that could be controlled, and I'm guessing their risk-reward assessment went much more to the reward side. It didn't with Damon and Pedro (and Lowe), and that's why they didn't resign those guys.

a) it should silence those who whine about yankee spending

2) it will tie up sox $$$$.

beautiful.

if they go after lugo and a closer, too... heaven!

Shennanigan number 2 is what turned me against Tom Reilly, former Attorney General of MA (who was thoroughly defeated in his bid to become governor). Because the Yawkey Trust, as a charitable fund, owned the Red Sox at the time, and because the Trust took a lower bid (the Dolans put in a significantly higher bid than Henry), Reilly's office was supposed to investigate things to make sure there was no funny business going on. I believe he made a stink about it at first in the papers, but I don't think anything was ever investigated. I'm sure nothing ever will, either.

Of course if he lands with us then all bets are off and of course it's Robin Roberts, the early years.

Sorry ... I saw it laying there and I had to pick it up. I know I shouldn't have.

Also, call me petty, but I hope DM tanks if he's a Sox.

Granted, if they sign DM at, say, 4/50, Drew at 4/50, and Lugo at 3/30, thats 40 Million per year extra salary alone right there for three positions...

1b: Mo Vaughn
2b: Luis Sojo
ss:
3b: Charlie Hayes
c: Sal Fasano
rf: Babe Ruth
lf: John Kruk
cf: Lance Berkman
dh: Cecil Fielder

SP: David Wells
SP: Rick Reuschel
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Jeff Juden
SP: Curt Schilling

RP: Juan Berenguer
RP: Terry Forster
RP: Charlie Kerfeld
RP: David West

CL: Bob Wickman

If the BoSox do get Matsuzaka we need to do something about this. I propose that 100 of us infiltrate Fenway the first day Matsuzaka pitches dressed in Red Sox clothing and boo him no matter what he does in order to destroy his confidence. That way he will feel he has dishonored his team and, if we keep it, he falls on a steak knife before the All Star break.

Of course, we'll have to look like die hard Sox fans to get others in the stadium to cheer with us so I suggest that we don't bathe for 3 weeks, knock out a few teeth, and smoke enough crack to knock down our IQs by about 50 points.

Who is with me?

Not actual people who watch actual games. Damon is a gamer. Drew? He can barely play 100 games a year. He got ran out of St Louis and Atlanta. Not exactly two hard towns to play ball in.

What happens when he misses a week in May? How will the Boston fans treat him?

Something tells me they're going to be begging for Trot back.

LOL.

From Gammons:

It makes one a little concerned about Daisuke Matsuzaka because he made but nine starts in 2002 and threw 18 complete games in 2006.

177 Keep it comin', wsporter, I'm seriously in the mood for schadenfreude. Where's Rilkefan, I bet he could help.

its back to back losses and its 3 losses at home and its the fact that they havent beaten a team with a winning record except the jets?

not the pats yr

177 MFD, I can add some schadenfreude - the Red Sox are in desparate need of a shortstop!

Wait, here's more - Anibal Sanchez will cost a fraction of what Josh Beckett will next year, and will put up better numbers even after adjusting for league and park effects! Again. Oh, and he's four years younger.

F'ing irony - my pain, their joy. Blech.

Later.

Matsuzaka missed most of 2002 with a non-structural arm injury. It was akin to a VERY serious case of dead arm, probably a result of throwing 150-160 pitches on multiple occasions over the 2-3 years prior. He hasn't thrown that many pitches since, and has actually learned to pitch very effectively.

There's no use in wishing Matsuzaka will suck. He won't. He's going to be a tremendously gifted starter for the Red Sox (or wherever they trade him, if that's the case). I'm disappointed as a Matsuzaka fan, but the Red Sox still aren't better than the Yankees, and it's tough to say whether this one move will make them better than the Blue Jays either. Remember, Schilling isn't going to last forever, Beckett is still a huge question mark, Papelbon has never been a Major League starter, and they have no closer. They also have holes at 2B, SS, and RF. Will Varitek continue to stink it up? Will Lowell have another decent year? Who's at first base?

I still like the Yankees to win the division, and I also like the wild card to come out of the AL Central. Imagine if the Red Sox get Matsuzaka, spend $100 million and still don't make the playoffs. Sweet, sweet revenge.

I know that Matsuzaka probably will be damn good, and i agree that even if he is, it doesn't really completely solve the problems for the Red Sox.

Find us another Japanese pitcher. Japanese Pedro is gone; can we find Japanese Andy Pettitte?

now i just hope he doesnt since hes now a rival.

Matsuzaka may be excellent, but how much more wins can he get in a year? I am saying this redardless of which team is getting him. Even if the Yankees are getting him, it actually just kind of prove how the market can never be fair.

194 Mike, thanks for all the info you've given to us on DM. If the Sox have him, I'll hate seeing him pitch in that uniform, but I get the feeling I will really enjoy seeing him pitch, in no small part because of everything I've learned about DM from you.

It's what, 45 million to talk, and a likely 5 or 6 year deal at better than Zito/Schmidt money. Boras has said openly that he expects Zito to sign a 5 year 80 million deal or better. Matsuzaka will surely demand more than that. The bottom line is that it's too big a risk, and a bad move for a guy with some injury problems and who is accustomed to pitching once per week.

That, along with the borderline illegal posting fee (Some of you may remember how Soriano's career was shortened when he was basically held hostage in Asia and had to find resolution through the courts while basically having to defect) is bad for baseball, and I hope, bad for the Red Sox.

Retroactive aggression dated 8/31/06 won't pan out, and theo won't be there in 2008.

they're going to pay him pretty much 20 mill a yr for 5 years

if hes not a cy young winner than is it worth it?

ask the mets how kaz matsui worked out

Stormer, I agree, if they sign him. If. My bet is they don't and Boras gets a nice bidding war next year. Much better for Boras, more money for Matsuzaka, and no cost to John Henry.

And, Brian Cashman, if you are reading this, for the love of all that is holy, DO NOT SIGN BARRY ZITO.

Agreed. But what about Matsuzaka? I don't suppose anyone gives a rat's ass about him. What if he gets hurt between now and then? I was incensed some years ago when I learned what had happened to Soriano over there. The so called masogininstic "democracy" that is Japan should do the right thing and allow Matsuzaka to negotiate with any team, anywhere. If he is owed money on a contract or the team has "rights" to him--I quite frankly don't give a shit what words they use to describe it--then the team should be compensated and he should be released. It's horribly unfair and amounts to endentured servitude. They are grossly underpaid while being forced before inherently corrupt arbitrators--like the one Soriano initially went before--to seek a fraction of what they should be being paid. Matsuzaka has no choice, if the US would even allow him to leave and sign here, which we wouldn't, he would surely find family members back in Japan breaking big rocks into little rocks.

The Red Sox better sure as hell get a deal done with Matsuzaka. Sending him back there would be very sad, but truthfully, not out of charachter for the team which waited almost fifteen years after Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby first set foot on a Major League field to sign a black player, and have consistently, until recently, signed by far the fewest numbers of minority players in MLB. Sorry, but an anglocentric city like Boston needs to be constantly reminded why they have shit the bed as often as they have. It is the curse of racism, not the curse of the Babe.

http://tinyurl.com/yf2ry2

==
The Boston Red Sox won the bidding to negotiate with celebrated Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Seibu Lions, according to a person involved in the bidding process.

Baseball and the Japanese commissioner's office will make simultaneous announcements at 8 p.m. EST Tuesday (10 a.m. Tokyo time Wednesday), baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said Monday at the major league general managers' meetings in Florida.
==

Drat. I guess it might be worth it to them, to get a foothold in the Asian market. The Yanks already have that foothold, with Matsui and Wang.

that, sir, is an incredibly stupid statement. i do not know how you can somehow link a failure to sign matsuzaka to racism in boston. i take offense and i wish bad fortune to you and your family.

And he doesn't think the Yanks will go after Zito, either.

>> And, no, I do not think this means the Yankees will go after Barry Zito with guns a blazin.' Past history (Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright) has to have taught them something about over-hyped free-agent starters. <<

That's good...I guess. But our starting rotation is going to need something next year. Who are they going to get, if not Zito or Matsuzaka?

Mike, any info on Igawa? I know hes a year older than DM, a lefty, and has pretty good #s, he worth it? Seems to be flying under the radar...

To Stormer:

The important thing to remember is that while Matsuzaka may not have the freedom that a player in the West has, and while he may experience real physical abuse with the number of pitcher he throws, he loves his country. He loves pitching in Japan. Most players do. You have guys here that could play in the Majors if they wanted to, but they elect to stay? Why? Because Japan is a wonderful country to live in. There are virtually no poor. There is universal health care. There is a culture thousands of years old that is comfortable and familiar. Japanese food is not oily and has helped people live to be 120 years old in some places. The point is, Japan is home. He is Japanese. He wants to try his hand at the highest level of competition in the world, so he has asked to play in the Majors. If the Japanese players were so pissed about the system, they'd form a stronger union and strike, but that is unJapanese, and you probably won't see it happen anytime soon. It is part of life to accept the things you can't control......

To ric:

You may disagree with Stormer, but wishing ill on anyone's family is a disgrace. You should genuinely feel ashamed at yourself for losing perspective on baseball.

As to Igawa, he's good. He'll be a solid Major Leaguer. The Yankees should bid. They shouldn't over bid, but he'll be slightly better than league average, and could easily win a playoff game or two.

The guy you will hopefully see in pinstripes after next season, is Japan's #2 pitcher, Koji Uehara. Unlike Matsuzaka, he will be a free agent. He is the pitcher that teamed with Matsuzaka to win the WBC, and always gets the tough international matchups. He's a little older, and there are a few health issues, but he is very very good. He was drafted by the Angels out of college, but he chose to pitch on Matsui's Giants club.

The Yankees should aggressively pursue him. If he can stay healthy, he is like a slightly better version of Brad Radke. He never, ever walks hitters and is very strong in big games. I'm starting an Uehara Watch blog very soon, so you can get the background and follow him next year. Stay tuned.

http://tinyurl.com/yceabx

>>Sources say the Mets finished second in the sweepstakes with a bid of around $38 million to Matsuzaka's team, the Seibu Lions, which, much to their shock and dismay, was a very distant second. The Mets believed they'd made a winning bid - and why shouldn't they have, given that the last time a superstar Japanese player of this caliber, Ichiro Suzuki, was posted for play in the majors, the winning bid was $13 million?<<

The Yankees supposedly bid $30 million.

214 Mike, the other Japanese pitchers that you mentioned seem to have good potential. Hopefully, the Yankees are thinking the same way.

Oh well, what now? Zito? That'll be a lot to pay for a number 3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ4SR8Icwvw

Here's Kei 'Iron Nerves' Igawa's official site. http://www.k-igawa.com/

And his JapaneseBaseball.com profile. http://preview.tinyurl.com/ynezea

He looks better than any starter not named Moose or Wang. Bid away, Ca$hmoney!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ4SR8Icwvw

Here's Kei 'Iron Nerves' Igawa's official site. http://www.k-igawa.com/

And his JapaneseBaseball.com profile. http://preview.tinyurl.com/ynezea

He looks better than any starter not named Moose or Wang. Bid away, Ca$hmoney!

208 I read that USA Today article and I thought their source was ESPN, not an independent one. Read it carefully and see if you agree.

Simone 217 and wsporter 218 seem to have different ideas of how costly it will be to the Sox if they fail to sign Matsuzaka having won the bid. I'm with wsporter on this. As long as Theo maintains plausible deniability, some may fume about it but there won't be any substantial consequences.

Thanks to all for the Igawa info. I'd be pretty happy signing him for say five years, $25 million. Sure, two years would be better, but he's only 27. Then snag Koji Uehara next year, and with a brilliant Ca$hman move here, a finally ready for prime time Phillips there, we got ourselves a Bloomingdale's staff for a WalMart price.

Like I said a couple of days ago -- Theo is "all in". ^_^ Let's see how much he has left to go after Lugo and/or Drew.