Submitted by neil gaffney, Oct 25, 2007 21:17

There is a second element at work here - luck. The Red Sox put up the big dollars and made every effort to sign Carl Pavano - the top shelf treatment - including visits to players' homes. But luck was with the Red Sox because Pavano, in the high life mold of Broadway Joe, signed with the Yankees, where he has arguably been the worst player investment the Yankees have ever made. I'm sure Theo Epstein falls down on his knees in gratitude that he didn't sign Pavano despite all the effort. When the Red Sox, having lost Pavano, went after and got Beckett, who has more than earned the dollars he has been paid, the Marlins insisted that the Red Sox take Mike Lowell and his large, for the Marlins, contract. A huge double win for the Red Sox.
The Red Sox were also prepared to unload Manny Ramirez to get A Rod, who for the first few years was unimpressive as a Yankee given the money he was paid. This year of course another story. Ramirez of course has a very large contract, Rodriguez has the mother of all contracts. Given the dollar difference between the contracts, probably a win for the Red Sox.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.