Submitted by Bosoxwest, Nov 17, 2006 12:50

This is the way MLB is constructed. This is the way the posting process is constructed. The Sox bid more than they needed to, but not by that much as Minaya went to $40Mil, and due to his reputation for utter insanity, they were probably lucky he stopped there.

The Red Sox are a big market team who need an ace starter for the next several years. There were three available, and two of them, Zito and Schmidt, are not aces - not in the AL East. That leaves Matsuzaka, who has been described by every credible judge of talent as a rare talent. They are overpaying him, yes, but he's 26 years old. Why would they go for the lesser, older Zito instead to save $10Mil lousy dollars? That makes no sense whatsoever.

The Red Sox also need a CF, a RF, a SS, a closer, and a backup catcher. The added bonus of the Matsuzaka scenario is that the negotiation period is finite, and they "bidding war" part of it is over - no getting juked around by Boras with his phantom offers of a third team offering $70 million for 2 years. They have to negotiate with Boras still, but to say that they have no leverage is ludicrous. You're implying the player has absolutely no say in the matter whatsoever. Boras is the worst human being since Hussein, that is known, but the player wants to come to the states, and wants to get paid - now. The deal will get done. He has two years until free agency, not one, so he won't want to go back. Why would he go back? He makes a pittance there comparatively. What if his arm falls off next year - he'd get nothing. Boras would get nothing.

The deal gets done, and if he stays injury free, in three-five years it looks pretty reasonable. Revenue-sharing has made the free agent market ridiculous. By the end of the offseason someone will have paid Alfonso Soriano more money than Matsuzaka, and the losers on him will have had to wait on signing their second choice to keep the money in play and probably get nothing - now that is crazy.

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