Lackey to Red Sox, 5yr/85million

[Funketown]

Per Heyman, SI:

 

http://sportsillustrated....lackey.redsox/index.html

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

The rich get richer.

[Invader3K]

Big day for the big market teams, it seems like.

[Ennder]

They will regret that deal. Makes me happier with the Wolf deal even if we did overpay.

[Invader3K]

I agree. Lackey isn't an ace...more like a very good #2, but he's a bit older and could wear down towards the end of the deal.

 

But then again, it's not like the Red Sox will be crippled by it even if his performance does fall off.

[sheethead]

The bigs are winning these players with insanely long-term deals. 5 years from now, there is no way Lackey is even close to a $17 million/year pitcher.

[danzig6767]

They will regret that deal. Makes me happier with the Wolf deal even if we did overpay.

Regret is to harsh of a term for a franchise like Boston that prints it's own money

 

Unless he blows out his arm, Boston can easily afford players that under perform their contract numbers

[Ennder]

They will regret that deal. Makes me happier with the Wolf deal even if we did overpay.

Regret is to harsh of a term for a franchise like Boston that prints it's own money

 

Unless he blows out his arm, Boston can easily afford players that under perform their contract numbers

Sure they have an extra margin for error but if I were a betting money I'd take the under on Lackey earning $50M over the life of that contract. He is breaking down physically and has had his stats padded a bit by that park/division/defense.

[danzig6767]

Yea his health does seem a concern, i'd worry more about that than his pitching abilities

[WisconsinSportsRule]

They will regret that deal. Makes me happier with the Wolf deal even if we did overpay.

 

When was the last time they regretted a big deal they gave out?

[Funketown]

They will regret that deal. Makes me happier with the Wolf deal even if we did overpay.

 

When was the last time they regretted a big deal they gave out?

DLice-K comes to mind. No way he is worth anywhere near the $100M (including posting fee) he got.

[endaround]

Lowell right now. Varitek last year.

[Oldcity]

Sure they regret the deals, but they aren't franchise killers. Boston still made the playoffs, so the consequences for them just aren't the same. Lackey won't cripple them either, even if he's hurt half the time.

[BrewCrewForever]

I would say a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Matsuzaka and Wakefield would be pretty nice.

 

Edit: Forgot they also have Clay Buchholz. Wow.

[MessiahRp]

They will regret that deal. Makes me happier with the Wolf deal even if we did overpay.

 

When was the last time they regretted a big deal they gave out?

Julio Lugo? Edgar Renteria? The Sox have admitted their mistakes in the past and Theo's missed on a few guys. JD Drew, aside from being pretty good in 2007, has been pretty much a bust as well.

 

Rp

[WisconsinSportsRule]

Sure they regret the deals, but they aren't franchise killers. Boston still made the playoffs, so the consequences for them just aren't the same. Lackey won't cripple them either, even if he's hurt half the time.

 

That's exactly what I mean. They give out big deals and it doesn't kill their chances of success. Two deals mentioned, Lowell and Lugo were traded. Sure, they had to pay some of the contract, but it hasn't hurt them that much.

[Invader3K]

This discussion further illustrates the difference between markets like Milwaukee and Boston in the world of MLB. Yes, the Red Sox overpaid at least some, but even if Lackey gets injured and never pitches again after the second year, they can just blow the money off and sign someone else. Meanwhile we complain because Melvin made just two bad moves (Hall, Suppan) that have really hamstrung the team. The Red Sox have made arguably even more bad moves, discussed in this thread, and it doesn't hurt their ability to make signings at all.

 

Edit: And I forgot that Boston fans are still discussing how their team may trade for Adrian Gonzalez. Basically they're first class citizens in MLB that get to enjoy big signings and big trades. We're second class and have to hope whatever moves Melvin has room to make don't cripple the team's budget, even if they are relatively modest ones.