radarluv1

its almost noon over there, i cant believe its taking so long. i would think that the press over there may hear of the acceptance and the amount and we would all have to wait for selig to tell us the team?

so durham and dave roberts are both type A? i'm hoping our other type A signing is a bigger impact player than those two.

i would be real surprised to see a deal for drew before the matsuzaka winner was announced since the cubs and red sox are expected to be serious contenders for both.

are they even spending the luxury tax money? there ought to be a law..

it should be monday morning over there pretty soon right?

i'm guessing japanese players dont count as A or B or c FA's? i really hope we dont sign any type A bullpen guys, that might be a waste.

MLB said they would step in if anything like that happened. Also, the Red Sox have a strong need for starting pitching. They really could use Matsuzaka. i'd like to see the red sox demand 5 yrs or more. selig and boras would really get their shorts in a bunch if things get dicey.

i dont understand why matsazuka cant just show up at somebodys spring training camp, wink and say his name is joe suzuki, and sign for some obscene money that will be all his. this anti-trust exemption is ridiculous.

are the tigers paying the whole contract? for those prospects, the yanks should be paying for some of the extenstion, too, imo.

You forget that they are a half day ahead, so tonight will be Saturday morning for them...I'm guessing the board will not make their decision over the weekend. this is a pretty big deal for them, they may not be waiting around for 5 oclock and then saying 'okay time to go, everyone have a good weekend'. the japanese are hard workers, maybe will be putting in some OT this weekend. i hope.

How does any of this prevent Hendry from dealing with it last winter? Or dealing with it differently the last 6 weeks? Or last July? He has a guaranteed two more years worth 22.5MM. He'll be what...31 at the end of that contract and still in line for another big FA payday. Think of the contract Soriano is in line for right now. Another couple of years and the prices will be even higher than they are now. That's the nature of the FA market. If you are Ramirez you either opt out (including that was the big mistake here) or you just play out your contract and hit FA while you're still in your prime. This is about getting the most money. Not loyalty. Not pleasing the fans. Not stability in the FO. Money. You get the most money by hitting FA as many times as possible. Why did Furcal take the 3 year 39MM deal instead of our 5 year offer? FA money. Teams have plenty of cash to burn and holes to fill. Agents don't ask for opt out clauses b/c it might cost their client money long term. agents dont ask for opt out clauses? isnt that in the players best interest to have the option?

wow, he would look great on our DL next year. Drew in '07!1!

xm home plate interview with ?orestes estrada? claimed matsuzaka was legendary since he was 18 when he threw a complete game, closed a game, and another complete game three days in a row at the national championship- kerry wood style. earlier it was said that the lions were using him an awful lot this year, more pitches and IP than ever as a pro, knowing that he was a goner. i just wonder this over-use is a concern and maybe a longterm commitment is a bad idea.

how's drews CF defense? its easier to get a RF bat. It's also harder to get Drew and a RF bat than just getting Drew. It's hard to tell how his defense is in CF, he's got just over a season's worth of time there and half of it was back in his STL days. For his career he seems to be average, although the last two years he got more than a couple games he was below average(all of this based on BP's Rate, a far from infallible source). try him in CF, if its not working trade jjones and bring up pie

how's drews CF defense? its easier to get a RF bat.

Doesn't he live in Arizona? During the offseason. I think he lives there full time. No, he's been living in Chicago during the season. why? does he have a job in chicago?

someone pleez. i dont know why i'm so fascinated, its either because we might get a good to great player or the sheer oddity and drama of the transaction. maybe both.

i would really hate to see them pay a posting fee that high and only get him for 3 years. how about 25 and 5/50 or 6/55? i thought boras has been saying a 5-6 yr deal is what he's expecting, but maybe that was just speculation here.

it sounds like accepting the bid is just a formality. someone posted a link that the seibu owner needs the $$, has been losing at the track, etc. maybe if they're in a big hurry they might accept immediately to get the clock started on the contract negotiations.

right, but the winning team may not see that as their problem. i'm just imagining how the team would defend an offer that was deemed to be too low by selig and of course boras. if they've already paid 30, are they also expected to pay top FA money in addition to that?

How about a 30 million dollar bid with a 4/30 contract with a player option for the 5th year? works for me as well. Question is, how much is boras going to want to string out of the winner. Considering the "window" for the winner of the bid and Boras/Matsuzaka would have when talking contract. Boras can't really afford to "string out the winner." Right now, if the Cubs win the bid....I would offer Boras/Matsazaka a "generous deal" of 5 yrs $50 mill (as someone allude to earlier) at the start of the negotiations, and tell Boras that the deal won't change much up or down. The franchise that wins the bid, wins all together, whether they signed him or not. Is there anything to stop a team, say like the Orioles or Blue Jays, from bidding some outrageous number (with no intention of signing the player) so that the Yankees don't win? Because, as I understand, if the teams don't come to a deal, the team gets its bid money back. I think all of MLB would hate that team, so maybe that's the answer to my question. Yes there is...In fact it was answer earlier in the thread. The cliff notes version of the answer would..if a team is proven o only make a bid (and low ball in neg....), just to keep him away from another team, Selig would pretty much step in, and void the deal. The rights to Matuazaka would go to the 2nd highest bidder. how do you prove that? you've already sunk $30 M into the player, would 5/40 or 5/35 really be lowballing? thats 14 or 13 per year. what a dumb process. edited for spelling. smrt poster!

on xm's home plate yesterday around lunchtime, they had someone from the ny times on, sounded like a yankees beat writer. did anyone else hear this? he said that boras was saying matz would not be a FA after next season if he went back to japan but he would the following season, due to his service time over there. this was different than everything else ive heard or read here. if thats true, that would give the player and boras even less leverage in the subsequent negotiations. and for that reason i have no idea why boras would mention it.

- rotoworld.com WTG phils! very cub-like moves

an open auction would do away with tampering/conspiracy theories, and might make a heck of a show. do all the japanese players in one afternoon, put it on PPV.

i dont know, you cant lose liriano and not be affected.