Source: Red Sox Sign Carl Crawford to 7 Year, $142 MM Deal

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I wonder if Lucchino, Henry, etc are still bitching about the Sox' inability to spend with the Yankees.

[pr_capone]

He could have easily held out for $144m. He got screwed.

[Pushead2]

it's a rad race to the top!

[kcxiv]

Salary Cap this bitch. Bug Selig needs to fucking step down and they need to restore some fucking competitive balance. Certain teams have absolutely NO chance year in and year out to even compete. Its sad.

[Pushead2]

Salary Cap this bitch. Bug Selig needs to ****ing step down and they need to restore some ****ing competitive balance. Certain teams have absolutely NO chance year in and year out to even compete. Its sad.

this

[KC_Connection]

This is going to be the next Vernon Wells contract in a few years (or is it going to be Jayson Werth's too?).

[KC_Connection]

Salary Cap this bitch. Bug Selig needs to ****ing step down and they need to restore some ****ing competitive balance. Certain teams have absolutely NO chance year in and year out to even compete. Its sad.
Sucks for the Rays, Jays, Orioles, but there isn't going to be any salary cap in baseball.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

At least the Rays get the Sox' first round pick and a sandwich pick for losing Crawford.

[kcxiv]

Sucks for the Rays, Jays, Orioles, but there isn't going to be any salary cap in baseball.

I know there isnt, but it sucks that some teams have no shot of ever having any kind of sustained success. They have to HOPE and PRAY that their prospects pan out within 2-3 years so they can make a run for something special. Then after that happens, the stars to somewhere else and they gotta do it over again. Youll never see stars for teams with no money have a legit superstar for 7-12 or so years.

[HotRoute]

am i the only one who thinks this was a bad signing by the bosox ?

[Buck]

Is this more than they gave Adrian Gonzalez?

Guaranteed AGon hits 50+ HRs for the next few years. Using his hit chart at Petco, he would have hit 31 Homers at Fenway (that was in like 73 games).

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Something that popped into my head:

The Sox will have 4-5 LH in their everyday lineup. If the Yankees sign Lee, they'll have perhaps the two best LHP in baseball. They are going to own that lineup.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

am i the only one who thinks this was a bad signing by the bosox ?

It's a horrible signing relative to the money they paid, but that contract doesn't' affect them the way it does other teams.

[JD10367]

Salary Cap this bitch. Bug Selig needs to ****ing step down and they need to restore some ****ing competitive balance. Certain teams have absolutely NO chance year in and year out to even compete. Its sad.

This.

And I'm a Red Sox fan.

[JD10367]

am i the only one who thinks this was a bad signing by the bosox ?

It was a solid signing. He can bat high in the order and do a shitload of things, and provides another big bat to back up A-Gon (who will probably bat 3rd) and the aging Ortiz (who will probably bat 4th but could slide). Plus they still have Youk and Pedroia. They still need middle relief (lefty) but are looking pretty good.

Oh.... did you mean financially? See, that shit don't apply to teams like the Sox and Yank-Mes, with no salary cap. It's funny money. It's Monopoly money. They don't really give a shit about it, because they're raking it in hand over foot from marketing. With no salary cap... :shrug: The Luxury Tax is a joke (and they've already figured that out anyway... hence the reason the Sox have a "handshake deal" in place with Gonzalez already and won't finalize it until the season starts, thus pushing it forward and not taking the hit this year, thus they were able to go sign Crawford as well).

And, as a bonus, this signing now basically forces the Yanks to overbid for Lee to save face with their fans. :thumb: And God forbid Lee end up going to the Angels; if the Yanks lose out on Gonzalez, Crawford, AND Lee, their fans will go apeshit. LMAO

[WebGem]

Sucks for the Rays, Jays, Orioles, but there isn't going to be any salary cap in baseball.

I'm a huge Blue Jays fan and I love MLB the way it is. It's by far my favorite pro sport.

[Amnorix]

Is this more than they gave Adrian Gonzalez?

Guaranteed AGon hits 50+ HRs for the next few years. Using his hit chart at Petco, he would have hit 31 Homers at Fenway (that was in like 73 games).

Gonzalez is $154MM or something.

This is my team and I agree with all of you -- the lack of a salary cap is ruining baseball and making it an absurd sport. I no longer have much interest in it becuase the competitive landscape is so blatantly unfair. It's hard to feel overjoyed about winning the WS when you know that your team is one of only 10 who really have a legitimate shot of being in the hunt. The other 20 are praying for a miracle.

I remember a few years ago someone saying/writing that Tampa Bay ought to enjoy their team now because soon all their players would be wearing Red Sox or Yankees uniform. Sad, pathetic and insulting, but unfortunately true as well

[Amnorix]

I'm a huge Blue Jays fan and I love MLB the way it is. It's by far my favorite pro sport.

Then you don't understand that your team has one arm tied around its back, and will almost certainly never win the World Series in the current environment.

[Amnorix]

Something that popped into my head:

The Sox will have 4-5 LH in their everyday lineup. If the Yankees sign Lee, they'll have perhaps the two best LHP in baseball. They are going to own that lineup.

There is ALOT of talk around here about being "too lefthanded". Everyone is in agreement that it is a potential issue, but also that you can't NOT sign Crawford and Gonzalez because of that.

Note also that Gonzalez batted .330 against lefties last year, so I'm pretty uncertain whether it's a real problem for the lineup as a whole.

Sox might move JD Drew (and pay 80% of his salary) if they're really worried about being too lefty.

[DaKCMan AP]

This sucks. Was hoping he'd go to Anaheim so he'd at least be out of the division.

[YayMike]

I'm a huge Blue Jays fan and I love MLB the way it is. It's by far my favorite pro sport.

As an Orioles' fan I agree.

Oh and btw...the Red Sox don't have shit on the Orioles off-season!!!

Hardy and Reynolds >>>>>>>>>> Gonzo and CC!! ;)

The only thing that aggravates me with Boston is how they whine about not having the money, and then go out and get these two guys. NY at least says, **** it, we are going to buy who we want and there ain't shit you can do about it.

Boston will win the AL East for the foreseeable future.. maybe my birds finish 3rd this season...

[MIAdragon]

This is going to be the next Vernon Wells contract in a few years (or is it going to be Jayson Werth's too?).

LoL

[MIAdragon]

For the record not a big fan of this. I don't think he's worth the money.

[The Bad Guy]

I think this was a waste. They should have just offered the same deal to Cliff Lee instead of going this route. I know they had offered a 7 year deal with insanely low salaries the first couple of years to drive up the price, but Lee there instead of Crawford would have given them an edge over NYY.

Crawford is a fine player, but when he's 37, he's going to be basically a 295 hitter with 7 HRs and 35 SBs making about 24 million a year.

Offering that to Lee, and signing someone like Magglio for 10 mill a year on a 2 year deal would have been much better.

[The Bad Guy]

I'm a huge Blue Jays fan and I love MLB the way it is. It's by far my favorite pro sport.

How anyone can love baseball more than football is beyond me.

[Dave Lane]

How anyone can love baseball more than football is beyond me.

I used to before all the competitive imbalance stuff started.

[DaKCMan AP]

How anyone can love baseball more than football is beyond me.

QFT

[The Franchise]

And my team is to busy stuck in divorce court. Fucking awesome.

[CoMoChief]

Gotta pay to play.

That's how it is, unless you play in the ALCentral, where you can benefit from having a $70M payroll since the talent in this division is so fuckin bad.

[WV]

At least he's not a Yankee.....enough said.

[WebGem]

Then you don't understand that your team has one arm tied around its back, and will almost certainly never win the World Series in the current environment.

I do understand that it's very unlikely. It's not 'certain'. And why would I care about that? I don't want a salary cap, nor do I want the playoffs expanded. Both are fucking terrible ideas for MLB.

[WebGem]

How anyone can love baseball more than football is beyond me.

It's not like I don't love football. I haven't missed a Chiefs game since 1996. But you're far more likely to catch we watching some random NL game (league I hate) midseason w/ mediocre teams than an NFC MNF game in December w/ two good teams.

[WebGem]

As an Orioles' fan I agree.

Oh and btw...the Red Sox don't have shit on the Orioles off-season!!!

Hardy and Reynolds >>>>>>>>>> Gonzo and CC!! ;)

The only thing that aggravates me with Boston is how they whine about not having the money, and then go out and get these two guys. NY at least says, **** it, we are going to buy who we want and there ain't shit you can do about it.

Boston will win the AL East for the foreseeable future.. maybe my birds finish 3rd this season...

See, it's not just me.

And FWIW I fucking hate the Red Sox more than just about anything. It's pretty much a tie with them and the Broncos.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

This competitive imbalance shit is completely overwrought.

Since 2000, these teams have played in a WS:

Yankees, Mets, Diamondbacks, Angels, Giants, Marlins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Astros, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Phillies, Rays, Rangers

15 teams out of 30

Since 2000, these teams have played in a SB:

Ravens, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Bucs, Raiders, Eagles, Panthers, Steelers, Seahawks, Colts, Bears, Saints, Cardinals

14 teams out of 32

[JD10367]

I think this was a waste. They should have just offered the same deal to Cliff Lee instead of going this route. I know they had offered a 7 year deal with insanely low salaries the first couple of years to drive up the price, but Lee there instead of Crawford would have given them an edge over NYY.

Crawford is a fine player, but when he's 37, he's going to be basically a 295 hitter with 7 HRs and 35 SBs making about 24 million a year.

And when Cliff Lee's 40 he's going to be a 4 ERA guy making even more than $24M a year. Did they overpay? Probably. Can they afford to overpay? Sure. But at least Crawford's an everyday player. I can't see paying $175M to a guy who works once every five days.

[KC_Connection]

This competitive imbalance shit is completely overwrought.

You're right. As I said, it only really sucks for the Rays, Jays, and Orioles.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

The Rays were going to lose him anyway. Might as well get a pick that belonged to a team in your division for losing him.

Sucks more for the Jays and Orioles, IMO.

[eazyb81]

You're right. As I said, it only really sucks for the Rays, Jays, and Orioles.

Yep. It would be great to see a realignment that put NYY and Boston in separate leagues.

[JD10367]

It's hard to determine exactly how much gets spent, but here's a list of 2009 payrolls at the start of the season. If someone has a good argument as to how this looks fair, and why there should not be a salary cap in baseball, go for it. Otherwise, it's fucking bullshit. It's about as fair of a fight as China invading Hong Kong.

Team 2009 payroll
New York Yankees $201,449,189
New York Mets $149,373,987
Chicago Cubs $134,809,000
Boston Red Sox $121,745,999
Detroit Tigers $115,085,145
Los Angeles Angels $113,709,00
Philadelphia Phillies $113,004,046
Houston Astros $102,996,414
Los Angeles Dodgers $100,414,592
Seattle Mariners $98,904,166
Atlanta Braves $96,726,166
Chicago White Sox $96,068,500
San Francisco Giants $82,616,450
Cleveland Indians $81,579,166
Toronto Blue Jays $80,538,300
Milwaukee Brewers $80,182,502
St. Louis Cardinals $77,605,109
Colorado Rockies $75,201,000
Cincinnati Reds $73,558,500
Arizona Diamondbacks $73,516,666
Kansas City Royals $70,519,333
Texas Rangers $68,178,798
Baltimore Orioles $67,101,666
Minnesota Twins $65,299,266
Tampa Bay Rays $63,313,034
Oakland Athletics $62,310,000
Washington Nationals $60,328,000
Pittsburgh Pirates $48,693,000
San Diego Padres $43,734,200
Florida Marlins $36,834,000

[eazyb81]

And when Cliff Lee's 40 he's going to be a 4 ERA guy making even more than $24M a year. Did they overpay? Probably. Can they afford to overpay? Sure. But at least Crawford's an everyday player. I can't see paying $175M to a guy who works once every five days.

Crawford's entire value lies in his speed, which will not hold well into his mid to late 30's. He's never even hit 20 HRs in a year.

I think Crawford's contract could look pretty bad in about 4 years.

[eazyb81]

It's hard to determine exactly how much gets spent, but here's a list of 2009 payrolls at the start of the season. If someone has a good argument as to how this looks fair, and why there should not be a salary cap in baseball, go for it. Otherwise, it's ****ing bullshit. It's about as fair of a fight as China invading Hong Kong.


While the payroll differential is extreme, Hamas' post above was pretty clear in showing that it does not create a competitive imbalance.

[blaise]

I get the Rays and Jays fans anger toward the Sox and Yanks, but Orioles fans need to blame Angleos. That team had sellouts every night, people drove from all over Maryland, Virginia and DC to see that club. Angelos ruined that team. Bad free agent signings, cycling throgh GMs and managers and undermining them. The fans got sick of it. And had Angelos not bungled it so badly we may have never seen the Nationals move to DC; DC was an Orioles town, but the Orioles failures left the door open for the Nationals and now there's thousands of fans Angelos permanently lost.
It's a complete and total shame and failure what he's done

[blaise]

While the payroll differential is extreme, Hamas' post above was pretty clear in showing that it does not create a competitive imbalance.

I wouldn't say that's true. It creates some imbalance because the Yankees, Red Sox and Angels have more of a chance to get to the playoffs every year. The Yankees payroll obviously creates some degree of imbalance. It's not like they're just making solid roster decision after roster decision and that's why they make the playoffs every year. They're payroll certainly helps.
You can't buy a World Series appearance, but it does create some level of competitive imbalance.

[DeezNutz]

Fortunately for most of us, intelligent roster construction still matters and stupidity is roundly abused. See: Mets, NY and Cubs, CHI.

It's tougher to have a lesser payroll, no question, but it's not an insurmountable hurdle, either.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Fortunately for most of us, intelligent roster construction still matters and stupidity is roundly abused. See: Mets, NY and Cubs, CHI.

It's tougher to have a lesser payroll, no question, but it's not an insurmountable hurdle, either.

This is right. It definitely gives them an advantage, which is why the Sox and Yanks almost never miss the playoffs. But it isn't a guaranteed ticket to a WS title, either.

Remember that the best Yankee teams were built through the farm system by Stick Mitchell. Jeter, Williams, Rivera, Posada, etc. They've only won once since the influx of mercenaries.

[Amnorix]

This competitive imbalance shit is completely overwrought.

Since 2000, these teams have played in a WS:

Yankees, Mets, Diamondbacks, Angels, Giants, Marlins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Astros, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Phillies, Rays, Rangers

15 teams out of 30

Since 2000, these teams have played in a SB:

Ravens, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Bucs, Raiders, Eagles, Panthers, Steelers, Seahawks, Colts, Bears, Saints, Cardinals

14 teams out of 32

Interesting. Push it forward by one year, and you will see that from 2001 to last year, only four teams in the AFC have made it to the Super Bowl: Pats (4x), Colts (2x), Steelers (3x), Raiders (1x). That's 4/16 AFC teams, with one being a one-off from 8 years ago, for the simple reason that all else being roughly equal, superior quarterback play will get you to the Super Bowl.

The NFC, with fewer truly dominant quarterbacks during the last decade, have had a far more wide open tournament. What you see there is a new team in the SB basically every year.

In baseball, however, it's functionally impossible for one player to have such a dramatic effect on a team. What you see instead is perhaps one team every year or two catching lightning in a bottle. Meanwhile, however, every year (barring injuries weirdness) the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and some other high $$ teams make the playoffs pretty much every single time, despite tremendous turnover in the roster.

[Amnorix]

Fortunately for most of us, intelligent roster construction still matters and stupidity is roundly abused. See: Mets, NY and Cubs, CHI.

It's tougher to have a lesser payroll, no question, but it's not an insurmountable hurdle, either.

Insurmountable? No.

Overwhelming? Perhaps.

Difficult? Definitely.

Unfair? ABsolutely.

Unnecessary? More than absolutely. It's just a stupid-ass suck-ass "system".

[MIAdragon]

As an Orioles' fan I agree.

Oh and btw...the Red Sox don't have shit on the Orioles off-season!!!

Hardy and Reynolds >>>>>>>>>> Gonzo and CC!! ;)

The only thing that aggravates me with Boston is how they whine about not having the money, and then go out and get these two guys. NY at least says, **** it, we are going to buy who we want and there ain't shit you can do about it.

Boston will win the AL East for the foreseeable future.. maybe my birds finish 3rd this season...

Who the fuck "whines"? the simple fact is if you want to compete in the AL east you have to pony up. Ask the O's if you think otherwise.

[MIAdragon]

This competitive imbalance shit is completely overwrought.

Since 2000, these teams have played in a WS:

Yankees, Mets, Diamondbacks, Angels, Giants, Marlins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Astros, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Phillies, Rays, Rangers

15 teams out of 30

Since 2000, these teams have played in a SB:

Ravens, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Bucs, Raiders, Eagles, Panthers, Steelers, Seahawks, Colts, Bears, Saints, Cardinals

14 teams out of 32

You have to stay healthy and get hot at the right time and anything can happen.

[2112]

How anyone can love baseball more than football is beyond me.

Dude, he grew up watching the cfl..lol

[WebGem]

Dude, he grew up watching the cfl..lol

I've never seen a CFL game in my life. I've only been to Canada once. I just like the Blue Jays.