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SZR who do you consider to be the depth for Atlanta at C and 2B?

Willie Aybar at 2B looks like a player and McCann, obviously.

As has been said, Giles is overrated and trading a "prospect" for a young all-star pitcher is something you gotta do.

Now ESPN Radio has said that Matsuzaka signed for 3 years, $45 million with Boston.

I couldn't have heard that correctly, could I?

sounds right to me... all the news outlets were talking about a total cost of around $100 million after the amount of their bid was disclosed.

$96 million sounds like a deal...

$32 mil per? That's insane.

Makes A-rod look like a fuckin steal even if he batted left handed for the next three seasons.

Eh, think of that money this way, it's money they did NOT have to spend on signing bonuses when drafted, paying coaches in the minor leagues to develop him, subsidizing minor league teams maintenance, travel costs, etc, etc. Don't get me wrong it's a lot of money, but bringing them up through the ranks costs money as well.

All that doesn't add up to $32 mil per. For three years.

I understand your point, but if they don't keep him around after three years, then the investment makes no sense.

There was talk about being able to broadcast Sox games over in Japan, but still......Zito's asking price just went WAY up.

No it didn't. He is not making 32 million per year. He is making 15. The other 51 million went to the Seibu Lions. Zito will get right around there as well. Probably from the Mets.

Was Zito going to get that much before this? You'd figure he could ask for more based on an unproven pitcher making that much.

Still, it's insane the money the Sox gave up for him.

"Eh, think of that money this way, it's money they did NOT have to spend on signing bonuses when drafted, paying coaches in the minor leagues to develop him, subsidizing minor league teams maintenance, travel costs, etc, etc. Don't get me wrong it's a lot of money, but bringing them up through the ranks costs money as well."

you could use the same rationale with any free agent. i dont see how this guy's situation is different.

one thing i'm curious about:

what if a team bid really high just to prevent another team from getting him? if they don't sign him, they don't owe money to anyone, so whats to keep a team from doing this?

Remember, some of that $51 million will be made back with the sale of Matsuzaka jersys and Red Sox t-shirts in Japan. But as of now, they are a lot of yen in the red.

The Other Evil Empire Strikes Back

"what if a team bid really high just to prevent another team from getting him? if they don't sign him, they don't owe money to anyone, so whats to keep a team from doing this?"


I would guess losing credibility with teams from the far east for future prospects, and with MLB teams for any current FA. Having a reputation for duplicitous dealings does not help anyone's prospects in the future.


I see you point about FA, F4F, you are probably. I guess it just comes down to the fact that most of these guys not named "Ed Wade" seem to have a decent idea what they are doing.

So much for the Phillies getting Soriano

He signed a deal with the Cubs

8 years - $136 million deal

that contract is just ludicrous.

Yes that contract is crazy but it is the way things are going to be in MLB

And with the Phillies management being the way the are you can't expect them to sign anybody to that kind of contract in the near future

Anyway now maybe they will get smart and use that targeted money to sign some pitching

That is insane money. I didn't really want the Phillies to sign him anyway, but that contract is nuts.

Probably the worst post-CBA contract ever signed. It's comically bad.

i wonder if he got a no-trade clause. $136 million for a 31 year old player? yeesh.

That's more per year that A-rod costs as of now (with Texas paying part of his salary). In fact, doesn't this deal make him the second most expensive player in baseball (behind that pitcher the Sox just signed, including their "negotiating deposit").

I don't quite understand what surprises you guys so much about this deal. I thought it was widely accepted that Soriano was gonna get in the 15-17 million dollar range. 8 years is maybe a bit long but there have been plenty of guys that were as productive at 39 as they were at 29. Sheffield, for one.

its the years more than the money that is blowing me away.

So, now what? Go hard after Borowski and another reliever or two, try to re-sign Wolf, trade Burrell if you can...suddenly the Hot Stove League got a lot less interesting.

I don't quite understand what surprises you guys so much about this deal. I thought it was widely accepted that Soriano was gonna get in the 15-17 million dollar range. 8 years is maybe a bit long but there have been plenty of guys that were as productive at 39 as they were at 29. Sheffield, for one.

Shef is an infinitely better hitter, a rarity (being able to continue at an extremely hgih level into the late 30's), and doesn't have a game that relies at all on speed.

I think I'm along with the previous post...I'm more surprised that he not only got more than he was asking for, but 8 years to boot.

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