Why Boras Is Evil and Plan B
According to the Globe's Gordon Edes, there has been zero progress on the Matsuzaka front, meaning that (in my humble opinion) the door is now, officially, closed. It is believed that once the Red Sox board John Henry's private jet bound for Boston the talks will cease, as there will no longer be time to get a physical.
Before I get to the reason I chose the above title, I'd just like to say that there's one thing that's really sticking in my craw: Scott Boras. No, it's not that he's trying to get the most for his player, nor is it that the negotiations are going down to the wire. What really bothers me is Boras's complete disregard for fair play. By all accounts, the Red Sox don't even know if Boras has told Matsuzaka about their offers. Boras has made no official counteroffer, saying only in his press conference last night that his player is worth in excess of $100 million, despite never pitching in the majors. The Red Sox have atypically gone out of their way, it seems, to demonstrate just how serious they are about signing the young pitcher. They flew to California of their own volition just to try and get in touch with the player they're supposed to be negotiating for, and even though Boras promised a meeting between front office brass and Daisuke, no such meeting has taken place. In fact, Matsuzaka has been held out of the negotiations on purpose.
This is turning into Boras's own personal crusade to gain attention for himself, going so far as to make crass statements like "In Japan he's know as the national treasure, [in the United States] he''ll be known as Fort Knox." That's just plain rude, and not to the Sox. By all accounts there is a certain etiquette that must be adhered to when dealing with a foreign culture, and Boras has done everything in his power to ignore it, at least publicly. Sure, this is frustrating because I'm a Sox fan who wants Matsuzaka in the rotation, but it's made doubly so because it feels like only one person showed up to the poker table with the intention of playing.
Now, on to Plan B.
Well, that's a good question. There was never any sparkling free agent talent on the market to begin with (Barry Zito, in my opinion, would be a terrible fit for the Sox), and any team with an arm to hang 15 wins on is holding on for dear life. At this point, I really think it would be in the best interests of the team to just put Lester (health permitting) and Papelbon in the rotation and hope for the best. There's still the possibiliy that Brad Penny could be pried from the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez, but unless Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier are included, I'd rather hold on to the fickle slugger.
The limited options simply demonstrates how important signing Matsuzaka is. He's not just a pretty face at the top of the rotation for the next 5 or 6 years, he's the keystone for the next 2.
Before I get to the reason I chose the above title, I'd just like to say that there's one thing that's really sticking in my craw: Scott Boras. No, it's not that he's trying to get the most for his player, nor is it that the negotiations are going down to the wire. What really bothers me is Boras's complete disregard for fair play. By all accounts, the Red Sox don't even know if Boras has told Matsuzaka about their offers. Boras has made no official counteroffer, saying only in his press conference last night that his player is worth in excess of $100 million, despite never pitching in the majors. The Red Sox have atypically gone out of their way, it seems, to demonstrate just how serious they are about signing the young pitcher. They flew to California of their own volition just to try and get in touch with the player they're supposed to be negotiating for, and even though Boras promised a meeting between front office brass and Daisuke, no such meeting has taken place. In fact, Matsuzaka has been held out of the negotiations on purpose.
This is turning into Boras's own personal crusade to gain attention for himself, going so far as to make crass statements like "In Japan he's know as the national treasure, [in the United States] he''ll be known as Fort Knox." That's just plain rude, and not to the Sox. By all accounts there is a certain etiquette that must be adhered to when dealing with a foreign culture, and Boras has done everything in his power to ignore it, at least publicly. Sure, this is frustrating because I'm a Sox fan who wants Matsuzaka in the rotation, but it's made doubly so because it feels like only one person showed up to the poker table with the intention of playing.
Now, on to Plan B.
Well, that's a good question. There was never any sparkling free agent talent on the market to begin with (Barry Zito, in my opinion, would be a terrible fit for the Sox), and any team with an arm to hang 15 wins on is holding on for dear life. At this point, I really think it would be in the best interests of the team to just put Lester (health permitting) and Papelbon in the rotation and hope for the best. There's still the possibiliy that Brad Penny could be pried from the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez, but unless Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier are included, I'd rather hold on to the fickle slugger.
The limited options simply demonstrates how important signing Matsuzaka is. He's not just a pretty face at the top of the rotation for the next 5 or 6 years, he's the keystone for the next 2.
Labels: 2006 Offseason
Ryan Brodeur at 11:02 PM
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