November 28th, 2006 → 10:18 am @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
In other news, Larry Lucchino, currently eating sushi in Japan, says the Sox have made a formal offer to Matsuzaka and his cuddly agent, Scott Boras. I don’t imagine the contract talks will go seamlessly — no talks with Boras ever do — but it does seem as if the signs point to D-Mat (or Monster, or Mini-Monster, or whatever your nickname of choice happens to be) will end up a Red Sock (what is the singular, anyway?) next year. Still, I can’t help but wonder why Lucchino went public with the offer. It puts Boras and Matsuzaka in a tough position — at this point, it would be bad for everyone if Daisuke was forced to pitch for the Seibu Lions next year — and goes against the recent Sox policy of negotiating deals in private. Lucchino has been accused of throwing a wrench into deals by speaking to the press before; is this a bland public statement? Or a harbinger of what’s to come?
Post Categories: 2006 Hot Stove Season & Daisuke Matsuzaka & Scott Boras
tinisoli
17 years ago
Seems like they are negotiating in private; Lucchino is merely announcing that the Sox have made an offer and the ball is, for the moment, in Matsuzaka’s corner. We don’t have any details yet, right? The one thing I took as meaningful from Lucchino’s statement was this:
“We know it’s been his dream to play in the major leagues and we are proud that he will live out his dream in Boston with the Boston Red Sox.”
This sentence to me brilliantly, gently, and firmly sums up the predicament Diasuke is in. If he wants to be in the majors next season, he has to sign with the Sox. If he refuses a contract offer most of Japan will think he’s being greedy and/or cowardly. The Sox know this, Boras knows it, and it’s probably going to work in the Sox favor. Luckily for us, Japan’s values are not quite as entrenched in the bottom line, and pride is both a personal and a national force. The petulance and greed that are now par for the course in negotiating with MLB veterans (or first-round draft picks like J.D. Drew) are still anethema to Japanese players looking to leap across the Pacific to the Show. Maybe when his next contact comes around Daisuke will simply go to the highest bidder, but right now he runs the risk of losing face–the worst thing that can happen to someone in Japan–if he walks away from a deal that is, as Lucchino has framed it, “fair and comprehensive.”