Well Done

I have to big up the Boston Red Sox on their signing of Matsuzaka (Dice-K). I was very skeptical that they were going to get it done. In the end though they gave him six years and $52 million guaranteed. If I am a Red Sox fan, I am very happy. They gave Dice-K the annual salary that they intended to, but gave him the years that Boras wanted. I am sure the Sox would be happier at four years, but if he pitches as good as they hope, six years is fine.

I am not one of those people that combines the posting fee with the contract. The posting system is in place right now and there is no getting around it. Which ever team signed this guy would have paid some posting fee. The Yankees just paid $25 million for a guy who might not even be in their rotation and who some scouts project as a long reliever. This is the way business is done with Japanese players, so you have to consider the contract and the posting fee mutually exclusive. Hopefully this posting system will change over time, but right now its the way business is done.

As for the Red Sox, they look very good on paper right now.

Dice-K
Beckett
Schilling
Palpebon
Lester
Wakefield

I would keep Palpebon in the pen since they appear to have a glaring weakness at closer and five capable starters. After this season, Schillings' contract is up and there is a chance that he retires. If that is the case, move Palpebon then, and go after a big time closer. Maybe Craig Hansen will have developed into the stopper they projected by then.

1. Julio Lugo SS
2. Kevin Youkilis 1B
3. Big Papi DH
4. Manny LF
5. JD Drew RF
6. Jason Varitek C
7. Mike Lowell 3B
8. Coco Crisp CF
9. Dustin Pedoria 2B

This is a team that has a deep line-up and is very good defensively. They have a solid fourth outfielder in Wily Mo Pena, which is key considering Drew's health issues and Mannys' head issues. They need a back-up catcher who is better than Mirabelli, and who can catch Wakefield. They have Alex Cora, who can play multiple infield positions off the bench as well. Their bullpen has issues, but over all, this is a much better ballclub than what they finished up 2006 with.

Ultimately, it comes down to how they match up with the Yankees. I like what the Yankees have done with their pitching. They have a bunch of older guys who have proven they can pitch in big games on short term deals. In addition, they have a bunch of promising young guys who they hope can take over in a year or two. Guys like Phil Hughes and Humberto Sanchez have a lot of potential. What I do not like though is that the Yankees pretty much stood pat with their line-up. They need a good defensive first baseman and a good back-up catcher. In addition, their outfield defense look horrendous. In addition, this AROD situation is three years deep and has shown no signs of improving. It gets to a breaking point every October, and the Yankee executives try to forget it over the offseason when no one is talking about it anymore.

The Yankees need the AROD soap opera gone. They will regret having Matsui and Damon in center and left. They will suffer if Giambi plays more than 20 games at first base. Randy, Pettitte, or Mussina will go down for the season in the middle of the year and Hughes will be given a shot. Wang had a great year, but his strikeout (or lack thereof) numbers are staggering. Guys like Rob Neyer have shown that it is borderline impossible to consistently have the success that Wang has had with so few K's. That will be interesting to watch. The bottom line though is the division title will come down to a big series between the Sox and the Yanks in September. As much as I root for the Blue Jays (my mom is from Toronto) realistically I do not know how they can match-up well with the Yanks and Sox. The Sox have done more this offseason, but they also had more holes. At this point both should be happy with where they are at.

Now if the Mets would only sign Zito so I can be content as well.........

STKAFI