Comments on: I, For One, Welcome Our New Left Fielder

By: The wicked clevah ALDS Preview

The wicked clevah ALDS Preview — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:21:50 +0000

[...] I’m on the record as being for the Ramirez trade, and I’m not going to backtrack now. But I did say that the [...]

By: Geof F. Morris

Geof F. Morris — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:03:32 +0000

I don't know if it's too big a deal to worry about who Bay's agent is, Steve. He'll be past-peak and coming out of arbitration by the time you have to consider negotiations—and while the Sox can certainly afford to pay over-reasonable-market prices, I'm not sure that Bay's worth doing that with.

[I'm surprised that more commentators haven't noted that, at his age, Manny has seen his best seasons and, as such, it makes sense to cut him loose. I expect that discussion would have been had come November, though, if he'd stayed in Boston. I guess I'm sensitive to this overpaying-of-old-players thing, having watched the Reds radically overpay Barry Larkin in his twilight.]

By: sog

sog — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:31:53 +0000

er, strike that, Bay's agent is not Scott Boras, but Joe Urbon. who knew?

By: Geof F. Morris

Geof F. Morris — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:11:34 +0000

Yeah, Alex, the key is that Bay will cost the Sox only $9.5MM this year and next, where the Manny money is already a sunk cost and they avoid getting to spend $20MM on him for next year. That's a big savings, and then you consider that Schill comes off the payroll, etc. Given that Bay will be 31 after next year, he's probably someone you can let go after a nice year-plus in left while figuring out if you're crazy enough to employ both Crisp and Ellsbury in the same outfield [seems like not enough sock to me unless Drew's latter career ends up positively Bondsian]. Maybe you see if all this talk about Adam Dunn staying in Cincinnati for 2009 is just a one-year thing while Jocketty and Dusty try to win next year [there will be a moment while I laugh myself stupid], or maybe you see who else will be available by the end of 2009, or you find a big 1B bopper and try Youk out in LF … there's lots of possibilities, I expect.

The more I think about the deal, the more I think that it's a hell of a move—they give away two "prospects" that were never going to make a difference, figure that the opportunity cost of Manny during an Operation Shutdown-style situation was already sunk, and firm up the position for 1-1/3 seasons while saving money for 2009 and getting a guy near his peak. That they were able to pull this off right at the deadline is absolutely stunning, and makes me righteously jealous of Red Sox fans for having a superior front office.

By: sog

sog — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:57:59 +0000

@Alex: Bay is under contract for one more year for $7.5M. After '09, it's assumed he'll hit the free agent market, as his agent is none other than Scott Boras.

By: sog

sog — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:53:26 +0000

@Geof F. Morris: well, they're both weird, but at least there's an explanation for the Ramirez situation. i rarely understand Kenny Williams' moves, and the Griffey deal is no exception.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:13:41 +0000

The thing I haven't found yet is how much longer is on Bay's contract, or is his up at the end of the year as well? I think Manny is the better hitter now, but Bay is 6.5 years younger. Assuming the Red Sox were going to lock either of them up longer term, Bay will definitely be a more productive player over the next 5-10 years.

By: Geof F. Morris

Geof F. Morris — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:01:46 +0000

Thanks, Steve. Really wanted your words on this.

I'm just glad that they've grabbed Bay and won't be trying to pry Adam Dunn out of Cincinnati.

Also, which trade is weirder: the whole Man-Ram mess, or Kenny Williams getting his white whale two or three years too late? I love Junior Griffey, but … there's no way he's going to help the bleached socks.