This is why Gammons is the Best

Peter Gammons wrote this in his blog today.  Take a look at what the Red Sox are doing in comparsion to the Yankees.  Very scary if you look at just the numbers. 

In the offseason a year ago, Lester’s name came up in discussions about a deal with the Twins for Johan Santana. At the 2007 winter meetings, Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell stood up in an organizational meeting and predicted Lester would be the equal of Santana during the next five years.

 

“You just don’t find people and talent like Lester, especially that young,” Farrell said.

 

Phrases such as the following are what define Lester: “When people talk about competing, that isn’t enough. I don’t want to just compete, I want to win. All my physical and mental preparation is about winning.”

 

So as the Red Sox prepare to sign Lester for five years and $30 million, they will pay Beckett, Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, John Smoltz, Brad Penny and Clay Buchholz less than $36 million this season. Compare that figure with what the New York Yankees are paying two of their pitchers. If you include two $3 million bonuses CC Sabathia will receive during the 2009 season, Sabathia and A.J. Burnett will make $36.5 million. Boston has 2009 obligations to Beckett, Lester and Matsuzaka for $21 million.

 

Boston’s bullpen of Jonathan Papelbon, Takashi Saito, Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson, Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez will make approximately $11.7 million in 2009. And that doesn’t include prospect Daniel Bard, who struck out the side Sunday against the American League-champion Tampa Bay Rays while throwing 100 mph. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Reds closer Francisco Cordero will make $12 million in 2009.

A-Rod admits the use of something

A-Rod if your gonna come clean, at least come clean you chump!  I purchased these at GNC, I used “banned substances” due to the pressure to perform.  There was a lot of pressure in Texas and not New York.  This was such a farce that Rod Blagojevich sounds more believable than you.  Nice make-up and phony tears you fool.  If you think that A-Rod only used from 01-03 and he didn’t know what he was putting in his system you should move in with Michael Phelps. 

Do Not Re-Sign Varitek!

I think I might be the only one in this boat, but I do not want the Red Sox to re-sign Jason Varitek unless he is the backup or he gets a non-guaranteed invite to spring training.  I cannot stand hearing all the mush heads assigning arbitrary attributes to Varitek that you cannot prove. It aggravates me to no end hearing people call Derek Jeter a “winner” he hasn’t won anything in 8 years or saying that Jose Offerman was the best in baseball going back on pop-ups.  

Peter Gammons writes in his blog today:

Scott Boras demonstrated his genius by actually getting his spokesmen to report that he couldn’t take arbitration for Jason Varitek because the Red Sox might have released him, which would never have happened. Period. Yes, Varitek will be 37 in April, and only six catchers have ever caught 100 games in a season at the age of 37, but he’s a huge part of the Red Sox’s pitching staff, can platoon with and mentor whomever the Red Sox acquire, and the last time he was a free agent asked Boras to give the Red Sox every opportunity to re-sign him out of loyalty to the organization. His declining $10 million-$12 million in arbitration meant that the market establishes the price, and that is just what has happened.

Is he really that important to the pitching staff?  Would Dice-K & Josh Beckett retire if they couldn’t pitch to Varitek?  His OPS has declined so bad over the last three years and he is now at a point that you assume he is going to make an out every single at bat.  Giving him one year would be stupid, giving him a second year option that is triggered by games played would be even more ridiculous.  The Red Sox have been very good about walking away from players when the time was right: Pedro, Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon. They are letting emotion dictate this decision to resign this stiff.  By giving out all this unnecessary money, John Henry will complain that they do not have the resources to take on a contract at the deadline to improve the team.

Peter Gammons On The Red Sox Catching Situation

From Boston.com:

Hey Peter, thanks for chatting. What young catchers would top the Red Sox’ wish list? DO you know of any particular order?

Peter Gammons:  

There’s a difference between wish list and realistic wish list, but right now, they seem to be focused on Miguel Montero from Arizona, with Saltamacchia in Texas a possibility. Early in the fall, they tried to make a run at Russel Martin of the Dodgers and Mike Napoli of the Angels, but without success.

Peter Gammons:  They can have Montero if they’ll trade Michael Bowden but thus far the Red Sox have refused to trade him.

Montero’s 2008 Stats:

2008 STATS
BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.255	5	18	.330	.435

You Can Forget About Hanley Ramirez In Boston

From Peter Gammons:

Ten days after the GM meetings, Epstein called Marlins GM Larry Beinfest and asked him if he were interested in trading Hanley Ramirez for a package including Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz. “No,” replied Beinfest. End of discussion. “The entire conversation,” says one club official, “lasted all of 20 seconds, a week before Thanksgiving.”

Red Sox News

From Peter Gammons:

One source close to Teixeira said Friday that the two sides are not that far apart, and the conciliatory and civilized nature of those words made it obvious that Teixeira likes Mr. Henry’s neighborhood, he just wants the kitchen and heating system redone as part of the deal. Teixeira is a very bright man who might be willing to take Washington’s money (if it has been offered) or go back to Anaheim or welcome the Yankees into negotiations; he knows what he thinks he is worth, and he knows Scott Boras’ math says the Red Sox could sign him, Jason Varitek and Lowe and be right around last season’s payroll.

Teixeira has been the model of reliability — he’s played about 151 games a season with a .919 OPS to go with his 34-homer average. Look, CC Sabathia is a great pitcher and an even better person. Plus, he proved this past season how much he cares by risking his arm to try to bring a championship to Milwaukee. And he and Teixeira have helped each other this offseason. Yankees GM Brian Cashman flew to Sabathia’s house during the winter meetings and moved the Yankees’ offer from $140 million to $161 million because he feared that if Teixeira signed quickly with the Red Sox or the Nationals and the Angels then approached Sabathia with a $130 million-$140 million offer, he might give them the California discount.

Mike Lowell is sitting in Florida watching the Teixeira drama play out, probably wondering why he didn’t take the four-year offer from the Phillies at this time last year and instead decided to remain with the Red Sox for three years.

Then there’s Varitek; Boras turned down arbitration and a virtually guaranteed $10 million a year for the catcher, and now Varitek doesn’t have one offer. The Red Sox tried to get Miguel Montero from Arizona, but the D-backs wouldn’t do Daniel Bard for Montero. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will not trade Michael Bowden, whom Epstein projects to be a very good major league starting pitcher.

If the Red Sox do not sign Baldelli, would they consider eating the final $22 million of Eric Byrnes‘ deal to get Montero? That has yet to be seriously discussed, but it’s something to consider down the line if the Red Sox can’t find a catcher.

That is all for another day. For two years, it has been the Red Sox’s plan to sign Teixeira. That plan remains. What remains to be seen is whether the Red Sox can quantify what Boras does or does not have in offers. When one side is talking about something between $170 million and $200 million, there is what Boras calls “the sticker-shock factor.” Especially when, in Epstein’s six years as general manager, the Red Sox have won two world championships, played in two more ALCS Game 7s and made only two major free-agent acquisitions — Daisuke Matsuzaka and J.D. Drew, both Boras clients.

The Red Sox did work out 22-year-old Junichi Tazawa, with the pitcher throwing major league baseballs. The difference between Japanese and American baseballs is even greater than the difference between balls used in college and those used in the minors and majors. This occasionally creates problems and has been a problem for Matsuzaka. Japanese baseballs are smaller and more pliable, and Matsuzaka, who has small hands, has had some problems with commanding certain pitches, so much so that Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell says, “We eventually had to eliminate two of his pitches because of the differences in the balls. Of course, what compounds the problem is that every major league team in Japan manufactures their own baseballs.”

Hence the private Tazawa workout with MLB baseballs.