Postgame Spread: $51M, Daisuke-Sucky, Me Love You Too Much

Monday, November 13, 2006

Aw, shucks.

2 Comments:

Gotta say, I'm still extremely surprised this happened. But the more I think about it, the more this makes perfect sense for a team that hasn't gone to Asia yet. Even at $42M, it's probably going to work out for Boston.

Regarding the money, I have to think that Henry, Lucchino and Werner would never do this deal if it were foolhardy. They're nothing if not shrewd businessmen. Talent evalutation is one thing, but this was a business transaction first and foremost, so I trust them to have done right by the franchise. From my standpoint, that takes all pre-salary money concerns out of the equation.

That leaves the contract. Knowing what we know about him at the moment (he's a premier pitcher in Japan, he beat the shit out of the field in the WBC, Bobby Valentine swears by him) and what we know about the current free-agent market (A.J. Burnett got $13M/yr!!!) I think fair market value is going to be extremely difficult to establish. Luckily, the consequences of not doing a deal at this point will be harsh for anyone who attempts any advanced douchebaggery. Boras has his eyes on the next contract, ETA winter '09, so he's not going to risk his reputation on this one. And the business circumstances are likely to keep Larry Doucchino in check. So, theoretically anyway, we're not likely to see a contract that's ridiculously unfair in either direction.

And I think the talent is there. The health, perhaps not so much, but nobody seems to be comparing him to Hideki I-Rob-You in terms of his ability. Besides, I know what I saw in the WBC. Dude can pitch. Whether he's an ace or not is up in the air, but it's not like he's a AAA guy or something. I'm not too worried about that.

Anyway, this is obviously good news. And I'm not buying into the "outrageous price" argument now that I've thought about it.

By Jeff, at 6:12 PM
Like I've been saying (at least for a minute), the winning posting bid was going to be the team that had compelling non-baseball reasons to make a downpayment of sorts on other kinds of revenue, etc. That it was the Red Sox was not expected, exactly, but makes perfect sense in retrospect. The contract could still be a major liability if he gets hurt, but that's true for any FA pitcher. Filling your rotation in free agency is a dicey proposition any way you slice it, but this is the guy you want to spend on--if the posting is written off as another kind of expense, not payroll. Looks like it was in Boston.

By Jesse, at 12:49 AM