Anyone who doesn't care about the Red Sox should just click on the Next Blog link at the top right corner of the page....
OK, still here? I've been quiet on this topic for long enough, so I need to vent a little with regard to the Sox moves this winter.
The good:
1. Winning the Dice K posting. Yes, putting up 51.1 million just to talk to a guy is so piggish, that its amazing Steinbrenner didn't do it. But, it does make sense for the Red Sox. The feeling is that the Sox can recoup some of that money in new Asian revenue streams due to the exposure they'll gain. Also, this money is outside the scope of luxury tax calculations, so it can't really be added to payroll costs (although EVERYONE will add the posting fee to his contract and say "Is he worth 100 million????"). If he is a top end starter, then having him under their control for the next 4 or 5 years will be a big boost to the rotation of the future. Potentially a 2007 rotation of Schilling, Beckett, Dice, Wakefield and Papelbon isn't too bad, although every single one of them has MAJOR question marks. Can you ever remember a more boom or bust rotation?? Not one sure thing in that bunch, but each guy you could make an argument for winning 14+ games.
2. Sox ownership. I was convinced that back in 2002 the new owners would eventually pare down payroll a bit. Maybe not to Oakland or Minn levels, but closer to the mean level for larger market teams. Instead, they have spent pretty much without reservation. While this is not always a good thing, you'd rather have an owner who can spend than one who refuses to go over 50 million. Its clear that Henry has gotten caught up in competing with Steinbrenner and is saying "F it I'm a multi-billionaire, If we have to pay a little luxury tax... oh well".
3. Not giving Manny away. Look, he quit last year. He decided when the season was over, and he shut it down. Well, about 2 weeks later the season actually WAS over, even though the Calendar still said September 1st. He can be a total pain in the ass, but he still produces. There really isn't anyone available that can make up for his offense if you remove him from the lineup. So, despite their efforts to move him, they weren't just going to give him away (even though they already did that by placing him on waivers in 2003!!). That is a good decision. Manny is going to report in March, because he wants his 16 million (wouldn't you?). If someone like the Angels or Dodgers gets involved and gives you a nice package of players/prospects that maybe you can turn around for an Andrew Jones or someone you do it. Otherwise, I'll see Manny doing Manny things again this season for the Red Sox. Lather Rinse Repeat.
OK, now the bad:
1. DL Drew. Yikes. Just a boo-fest waiting to happen. WTF?!?! I know his OPS is great, I know his hit charts say he'll hit .680 at Fenway with a zillion HRs, but he is ALWAYS hurt. Every report says he doesn't really give a shit, has bounced around from a ton of teams already, the Dodgers are practically doing backflips now that he is gone....and the Red Sox hand him 70 mil!?! You have to love Theo saying he is a "complimentary player" at his press conference. What a freaking joke. For 15 million per year!? And Damon wasn't worth more than 10 per??? Ouch, a terrible miscalculation that has led to a cascading series of questionable moves.
2. Closer. Apparently they don't need one in 2007. They'll have a payroll of about 150 when it is all said and done, yet the bullpen door will swing open in the 9th and out will come....... Nobody!
3. The overall plan. What the hell is it?? Draw a "Patriot-esque" line in the sand on Damon saying you won't go above this number, then spend like drunken sailors on Drew and Lugo. Last season they "had 7 starters", but yet they had to acquire guys who were waived by the Royals to make starts for them since they had so many guys hurt and nobody ready to take those starts in AA or AAA. They trade away Arroyo for Pena, let Damon walk - so they have to scramble and trade for Crisp. Now they sign Drew, so they are back with having Pena as a 4th outfielder having watched Arroyo lead the NL in innings pitched. Ouch. Lets not mention letting Orlando Cabrera walk, overpaying for Renteria, then eating 3 million per on his contract just to get him out of town. Last year the buzzwords were "run prevention", they were going with a plan of pitching and defense. Now they got rid of the middle infield (which was brilliant defensively), and brought in a guy who is an avg fielder at SS. And they still haven't really addressed the pitching problems.
This overall circus of moves over the last couple years reminds me of the Wizards in the mid to late 90s. Remember when they were making trades that if you looked at each one in a vacuum, you could defend it as a decent move (bringing in Rod Strickland, bringing in Richmond, trading Rasheed, etc). However, colectively when you go back over all the transactions together you say WTF just happened??? Thats the Red Sox right now. Not good.
I'm not pining for the days of Lou "what would we do with Willie McGee?" Gorman, but an overall sense of a plan would be nice. Of course, if JD Drew blasts a 3 run HR off Pettitte in the first Yankee series, I'll be telling everyone what a genious Theo is....
5 comments:
A couple of things sir:
1. The Dice thing. Not a bad move since I agree on the merchandise and additional cash flow. What doesn't make sense is the way that they are lowballing him now. You pay $51 million to talk to the guy and now can't come to an agreement? You should be prepared to sign a 5-6 year $15-16 million contract. If I was his agent, that is what I would ask for, at the very least.
2. Am I the only one that thinks that the Beckett move was a great move at that time. Beckett proved he could shut down the Yanks and was an above avg. pitcher with some injury problems. You were getting a legit #1 to add to your staff. Looking back at it now it doesn't look good since the prospects you gave up are exceeding expectations, but at that time this was the right move in my mind. What didn't make sense was that extension. Crazy.
3. Drew- I'm so excited for this to play out. He will start off hot and everyone is going to go crazy. But the problem won't be in April and May. Its July and August where he breaks down, demands time off, and when he doesn't get it he will just slack off and play some of the most uninspiring ball you have ever seen.
4. Thoughts on the tampering issue by the Sox on Drew's old contract? This is starting to make some sense now. Why would a guy to is slightly above avg. leave $33 million on the table, unless he knew for certain a deal was waiting for him elsewhere?
5. Theo- I was a big supporter of his, but recently its becoming harder to do so. It seems as if you are really bent by the entire Damon thing, which it hurts now, but I see Bernie Williams all over again, so this doesn't seem so bad in the long run. I thought that Crisp was going to evolve into something better, so I liked that move. But some of the other moves, just doesn't make any sense like the Cabrera, E Rent, and Arroyo moves.
6. Still, all of this is better than deciding on who to spend your money on...Piazza or Floyd. Now those are good times my friend.
First of all:
Do not, I mean DO NOT, hit that "next Blog" button. It's like Quantum Leap - you have no idea where you are going to go.
I clicked it, and soon was transferred to an 11-year odl girl's blog where she details her worship of all things Hilary Duff. Wow.
2) Who the hell is Dice? the ESPN-approved nickname is D-Mat. Please refer to your style handbook to correctly give out nicknames to new players.
Thank You,
Management.
PS - my word verification for this comment is
q t frye
boy, if that's not trying to tell me something...
Cowboy up Eric and go with the new Dice nickname.
Eric, if it makes you feel any better this is the blog I got when I hit that damned button:
http://zua.blogspot.com/
Nice, huh?
1.Dice is a silly nickname, although I would gladly pay to see D-Mat break into some classic diceman nursery rhymes during the jersey ceremony. 5 years for 80 million sounds about right. Once Boras plays the wait to you see him in pinstripes next year card he'll be eating a box of dunkin donuts and playing everquest with schilling while remdog talks about what a nice fella he is.
2.I agree with Derek on Beckett, maybe it's just from the nasty game 6 memories of 2003, but
what other guy would you want at that point. It's amazing how quickly these nl pitchers go to shit upon entering the thunderdome. Even randy seems like a meek little child now; maybe it's because he's quickly becoming a fragile old man. The last nl guy I remember dominating the al was david cone.
3. I also thought crisp seemed like a fairly decent replacement for damon, but damon for 4 years was a hell of deal. It's hard to argue with the theory for coco. He was cheap and just entering his prime. Maybe it was one bad year.
The yanks and now the sox have fallen into the trap of eating salary just to throttle problems after 1 year. And then the front office never gets any heat for cutting ties because you can always attribute the failure to the atmosphere. Maybe it's true. I still can't imagine Contreras ripping off 17 straight wins and shutting down the sox back in ny.
And hey, easy on granpa bernie, he nearly had as many homers as Pertboy did last year.
4. Arroyo for wily mo also seemed like a reasonable idea too. I think it's probably a wash talent wise, and with their potential rotation arroyo really would have been an afterthought.
5. Drew at 70 million just sounds like a disaster in the making. That being said he'll probably be a little better than trot, who was vastly underrated, and probably equally fragile given their histories.
6. I think the plan appears to be pitching dominance. They have the makings of a very powerful staff, but as you said it will depend a lot on health, age, and adjusting to the al or the ml for that matter.
7. Generally speaking, everyone likes to play the power pitching wins the postseason card. I think it's far more an issue of starting depth. Postseason bullpens can usually succeed with 3 guys. And aces tend to cancel each other out, but teams with 3 and 4 starters are at decided advantage. We never had shutdown guys, but we had a potential number 2 at every spot during our run. So actually I think the sox have made some pretty decent decisions. 130 million for d-mat is pretty crazy, but I guess they thought he was the guy. It is kind of odd that they're pussyfooting around now. At least theo and larry can always cry poor if things don't work out.
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