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Hook, Line And Sinker…
By Administrator | November 17, 2006
At 8PM on Tuesday, Major League Baseball confirmed what had been rumored for several days — that the Boston Red Sox were the high bidder for the rights to negotiate with Japanese starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.
In making the announcement, MLB announced that the Red Sox would pay the Seibu Lions (Matsuzaka’s Japanese team) in excess of $51 million for the rights to negotiate with the player’s agent, Scott Boras — a process that will likely result in a further expenditure of $40 - $60 million over the next three-to-five years. The $51 million is a staggering amount of money to pay a foreign team in return for the rights to TALK to a player — and the expected price tag of $20 - $25 million per season is an irresponsible amount of money to pay for a player who will step onto the diamond every fifth day (if healthy).
Red Sox Nation has been abuzz over the prospect of adding “D-Mat” to the front of the rotation… most fans seem to have bought into the program hook, line and sinker. And although I want to be happy over the prospect of adding a potentrial ace to the rotation, I cannot get excited…
…at least not yet.
Over the last two winters I have bought into the “fiscal responsibility” mantra that has been preached on Yawkey Way — you know, the “develop your own talent and don’t overpay for free agents” philosophy that they have embraced. The team would not give Pedro Martinez an extra year — that was OK with me… the team would not overpay for Derek Lowe — that was OK with me… and the team would not give Johnny Damon more money than they had given Jason Varitek — and THAT, too, was OK with me.
I also did not mind the trade that shipped NL Rookie of the Year Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez off to Florida in exchange for would-be ace Josh Beckett… I believe Beckett will be fine over the long haul… and I do not believe either Ramirez or Sanchez could perform at a level comparable to their 2006 level if they were to play for the Red Sox (or on any other American Lg team, for that matter). I am an avowed AL-snob.
But I cannot applaud the forthcoming expenditures to the Lions and Team Boras… it appears to me to be an irrational over-reaction devoid of logic and motivated by desperation. Other teams in the D-Mat sweepstakes apparently bid in the $27 - $35 million range… the Red Sox bid was nearly 50% more than the next highest bidder.
What are they thinking over on Yawkey Way?? [That is not a rhetorical question... I would really like to know what the heck they are thinking]
Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that the Red Sox ownership is committed to winning… and I am pleased that their actions will keep Matsuzaka away from The Evil Empire. But at what cost?
The Red Sox organization seemingly turned its back on the fiscal responsibility they have preached during the tenure of the current ownership… they are now preparing to pay more than $100 million for a pitcher over the course of the next four-to-five years.
For a PITCHER!!!
I need more information before I can cozy up to this course of action…
I need to know which other players could have been signed for that $100 million.
Certainly I have never advocated that the Red Sox should have given Pedro Martinez an extra year — not in consideration of the condition of his shoulder. Nor did I believe we should have given Derek Lowe the kind of money he eventually received — he was far too inconsistent to warrant that kind of investment.
But the $100 million would have allowed them to go the extra $12 - $13 million to retain Johnny Damon… and in retaining Damon they would have been able to hold onto 3B Andy Marte and C Kelly Shoppach (rather than swapping them for Coco Crisp)… and in retaining Marte they would have had another prime prospect in their farm system (or bargaining chip for a trade)… and in retaining Shoppach they would not necessarily have had to ship Cla Meredith to SD to re-acquire Doug Mirabelli.
And then there is Barry Zito — the top free agent pitcher during the current winter spending season. With the $65 million left over after having paid Damon ($100 million minus the difference between the Damon and Crisp contracts over the next four years), the Red Sox likely could have signed Zito to a suitable contract.
And then there is the consideration that both Damon and Zito are known, though imperfect, commodities… not only because they have played in the US but also because they have performed at a high level in the American League.
I need to know how much of the $51 million that will be paid to the Seibu Lions they are capable of recovering through television revenues, merchandising and marketing opportunities.
Many reports indicate that the projected additional television and merchandising revenues will be split equally with the other major league teams… so the money will not be re-couped there. They cannot sell EVERY square inch of the left field and center field walls as advertising space to Japanese companies… and even if they did it seems unlikely they could recover anything close to $51 million.
They are not going to sell additional tickets — they already sell out the ballpark every night.
So where are these additional revenues going to come from? And if the additional revenues aren’t there, how high will ticket prices have to go in order to cover the cost of acquiring D-Mat? (Or is JWH going to reach into his own pocket to cover the tab?)
I need to know how many years they will own D-Mats rights for — is it three years or six years?
Recovering $51 million over six years is a lot easier than recovering it over three years.
I need a lot more information… but until I get it I will pray that sanity and fiscal responsibility continue to reign at Fenway Park… because right now I am (for the first time in a l-o-n-g time) starting to wonder…
Topics: Sox Players, SoxTransactions |
