John Lackey's five-year $82.5MM deal could set the market for Josh Beckett as he discusses an extension with the Red Sox, but Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Beckett is looking for a "slightly longer term" deal. Even though Beckett would like six years, there's optimism that the two sides will reach a deal.
Adrian Beltre turned down a longer-term deal from the A's to sign in Boston, but it wasn't because of Fenway Park, as some have speculated. Beltre, who turned down an offer from the Phillies, told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he believed the Red Sox could win it all.
“I thought the team had a real good opportunity to win the World Series," Beltre said. "I focus on the team, not the place I’m playing."
Beltre signed a deal that pays him $9MM this season and includes a player option for 2011.
“Beltre, who turned down an offer from the Phillies, told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he believed the Red Sox could win it all.”
Am I missing something? Didn’t the Phillies win it all two years ago and make it back last year? Nah maybe I’m mistaken.
I was thinking the same thing. It’s a shame. Our line-up (Phillies) could have been ridiculous with Beltre (although I’m still liking it a lot this year)…
I think Polanco will do much better on the Phils then Beltre.
How so?
Because Polanco is one of the best 2 hole hitters in Baseball.
yeah offensively id give an edge ( slight edge) to polanco no doubt.
but defensively… not a chance. beltre>polanco.
What isn’t taken into account is that Beltre also wants to get his value up and get a big deal next year. He probably thinks he could make more on the market next year than the Phillies offered him this year. I think he accepted Boston’s offer because he can go back out on the market next year while having a chance at the WS this year.
I think the Red Sox are in a bit of a jam. If they don’t give Beckett what he’s looking for, the Yankees probably will.
i think the mets are much more desperate than the yankees.
Bostons deal was probably equal to or more than the phillys offer. The A’s were the one’s known to offer a longer term deal, and they aren’t winning it all this year.
You have got to be out of your mind if you think Beckett will take a dime less than Lackey…
Agreed here. the lackey deal should be a starting point for negotiations. Anything less is a waste time. I do expect him to resign in boston. When on the guy can be almost unhittable. Look at his numbers in the month or two before the all star break last year. The sox realize the yanks are gonna be needing a starter or two in the coming years when pettite retires and Vasquez leaves.
really the bosox over the phillies? the bosox have to deal with the yankees who did nothing but get better this off season even if its only slightly better…there is really only one or two teams in the NL that can give the phillies a problem, the cards, and the braves there are alot of other teams that might but they all have too many question marks…On the other side the AL is stacked this year, the pitching staffs of the whitesox and mariners, the offense of the rays, angles and rangers, I’m going to have to say he made a bad decision turning down the phillies, heck it was even a bad idea to turn down a deal from the A’s, he could have been traded to a contender at the dead line, or it would have been very smart for him to stay with the M’s(i dont remember if they offered him arm) if he stayed there the M’s would have had an even better chance and could have had the best defense in the game
M’s have a better chance than the Red Sox? No. They also don’t have a stacked pitching staff. Boston has to deal with the Yankees but it is very likely they’ll win the wild card. Also, being on the Red Sox > being on the A’s if you want to win.
Perhaps he just likes it better in the AL
Sorry, the Yankees will regress this year and they are not better! They lost 2 big bats in Damon and Matsui. It’s doubtful that this years lineup will be as strong and the same goes for the pitching staff. Might still be the best team in baseball but last years perfect storm is over. This is a new year and one or two injuries can turn any contender into a pretender! I love Bostons staff which is easily the best in baseball and they have more than enough pieces to get any big bat they want at the deadline. Let the games begin!
I am a Yankees fan, and sadly, everything you said was right.
Spoken like a true homer. Slams the Yanks while praising the Sox…Granderson as a total package (Hitting and D) + Johnson OB machine in the two hole is equal to, if not greater than the combination of Damon’s bat and his poor defense plus the streaky Matsui. Don’t let what Matsui did in the World Series warp how he played last year.
Not to mention Granderson’s hitting numbers should improve just like Damon’s did in the new stadium. Not to mention a full year of ARod.
Yes the Sox pitching staff is really good, but the Yankees aren’t that far behind. IF Hughes develops into the Soxs version of Lester, which he has the potential to do, this would pretty much dead lock the two. I would take either staff in a heatbeat and if anyone sits there and says otherwise they are a fool.
But you said it best and its something EVERY team, Sox included, have to deal with, the INJURY bug.
Actually, from all the numbers I’ve seen tossed around (not that I remember any), it seems like the only number of Granderson’s that will improve this year will be home runs. I remember seeing his BA wasn’t great, OBP not high, etc. Doesn’t sound like that’s the “whole package” to me.
Granderson hitting? He hit a blistering .183 against lefties last year, with an OBP of .245. Against Righties he is above average but still. the guy is no johnny damon.
“They lost 2 big bats in Damon and Matsui.”
The same two players who could only get one-year deals because they are in danger of big declines. The Yankees replaced them with two more big bats in Granderson and Johnson. Yes, Johnson is an injury risk, but so is Matsui.
“It’s doubtful that this years lineup will be as strong and the same goes for the pitching staff.”
On the lineup: Considering that ARod will be in the lineup at 100% from day one, Johnson is a .400 OBP player, and Granderson could hit 40 HR playing in YSII, I disagree.
On the pitching staff: Considering that the Yankees added Vazquez to the rotation and Park to the bullpen, and didn’t lose any of their key starters or relievers, I disagree.
“This is a new year and one or two injuries can turn any contender into a pretender!”
Depending on the extent of the injury and the player(s) who get injured, this could be true of any team.
“I love Bostons staff which is easily the best in baseball”
It certainly is in the running. Easily, no.
The only way granderson hits 40 HR is if he gets his B12 shots from the same guy clemens was getting them from.
You honestly think the Yankees regressed? I would be surprised if they DIDN’T repeat.
that’s such an overstatement…yes the yankees have a good team, but you shouldn’t be SURPRISED if they don’t repeat. for any team, no matter how good they were last year and how good they look on paper, it’s tough to repeat. i never EXPECT a team to repeat, and thus, i’m never surprised if they don’t.
It is true that the Boston’s staff is good and all but the Yankees have a pretty good one too.
Sabathia, Vazquez, Burnett, Pettite, and either Hughes/Joba.
Plus, their offense is ridiculous. Granderson and Nick Johnson are on base machines. That package for Granderson was a bargain. They didn’t lose that much.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox’ offense is considered a question mark.
“Burnett, vazquez, pettite”
yeah stellar. a 4 era pitcher with tons of K’s, another 4.25era pitcher with tons of K’s, and an old 4.25 era work horse.
I believe Vazquez ERA was 2.87–Burnett 4.04 and Pettite 4.16 they combined for 42wins with 27 loses.
Buchholz 4.21-Lackey 3.83 and Dice K 5.76 they won 22 and lost 18. You can throw in Lester and you still only come up with 37wins.
Not looking to offend just giving my opinion.
u really think vasquez is going to repeat as 2.87 era?? ok, il put the odds of that happening at 5:95.
You said that Vasquez era was 4.25…I stated his era last season was 2.87. At no time did I say Vasquez was going to post a 2.87era this year.
and he never said that his 4 ERA number was meant as a single season. Vasquez, outside of 2009, has been much closer to a 4 ERA pitcher than a 2.87 ERA pitcher.
lol @ comparing wins & ERA
p.s. matsuzaka threw 59 innings last year
Yeah, I also threw in Lester but they still came up short in the win column but who counts wins and the 100mil Dice K only threw 59 innings last year…wow and I thought they overpaid for Lackey. Keep on drinking uncle Theo’s Kool-Aid ,I’am sure he will come with a graph to show he’s worth every penny.
100mil dice k threw 59 innings
how many did the 50mil kei igawa throw? :]
Mistake by the Yankees and they made quite a few
Nobody thinks Dice-K was worth the money last year. He had injury, mechanics and personal problems. He had training problems, because his routine he had in Japan was not working out for the workload here in MLB. He had basically every kind of problem you can think of. His rookie year, as someone else stated, he had a better ERA+ (someone will need to explain this stat to me someday) than Burnett or Pettite in 2009, and in 2008 he was -very- good. He hasn’t yet lived up to his price tag, and we don’t know if he ever will, but last year was a whirlwind of crap for Dice-K, which it looked like he was overcoming by the end. He’s going to always be scrutinized, because he is admittedly overpaid (well, no, -he’s- not, but the Red Sox did overpay -for- him), but he may actually be a very good pitcher this year. I can see him being our #4, with #2 numbers.
At long last someone who knows the game and can give an intelligent analysis. Now I can go to bed.
“ERA+ (someone will need to explain this stat to me someday)”
Guess you were serious. ERA+ is a player’s ERA measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An ERA+ over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average.
“For instance, if the average ERA in the league is 4.00, and the pitcher is pitching in a ballpark that favors hitters, and his ERA is 4.00, then his ERA+ will be over 100. Likewise, if the average ERA in the league is 3.00, and the pitcher is pitching in a ballpark favoring pitchers, and the pitcher’s ERA is 3.00, then the pitcher’s ERA+ will be below 100.
As a result, ERA+ can be used to compare pitchers across different run environments. In the above example, the first pitcher may have performed better than the second pitcher, even though his ERA is higher. ERA+ can be used to account for this misleading impression.”
(Google is your friend.)
you included two pitchers that pitched half season or less in your formula, tell me how that makes sense.
yep and buchholz threw 90…….still a very valid point though.
Name – xFIP – ERA+
Sabathia – 3.82 – 127
Burnett – 4.29 – 106
Vasquez – 2.82 – 143 (His last three seasons in the AL, however? 3.87 – 107)
Pettitte – 4.38- 103
——————————————————-
Lester – 3.13 -138
Beckett – 3.35 – 122
Lackey – 3.92 – 118
Buchholz – 4.09 – 111 (92 IP)
Matsuzaka – 4.83 – 108 (59 IP; Last full season – 4.70 – 159)
You sure you haven’t been in the altar wine? According to MLB the stats for the 2009 season are: Lackey 3.83era-176innings…Buchholz 4.21era-92innings…Lester 3.41era-203innings…Dice K 5.76-59innings…Beckett 3.86era-212innings.
Yankees: Burnett 4.04era-207innings…CC 3.37era-230innings…Pettite 4.16era-194innings…Vazquez 2.87era-219innings.
As I have stated a few hours ago I’am a Marlins fan with no ax to grind. Unlike the Marlins both teams have owners that compete and put a quality product on the field. I said earlier that there is not much difference in the pitching but the addition of Vazquez made the Yankees better as opposed to the Lackey signing that I considered a risk. I’am not a Yankee fan but based on my knowledge of the game this is my opinion.
What I don’t understand is how some people can make up stats,contradict themselves and assault the truth because they have a anti-Yankee agenda.
Boy is your face going to be red when you finally figure out what xFIP & ERA+ are.
Sorry Rev, I have no interest in the statistical revolution. Baseball is a very simple game,you score the most runs you win. If you sit around reading useless stats all day you can become a little twisted. Look at the affect it has on Mr.Met
In other words, you don’t know to what ERA+ and xFIP refer, but you’re sure they’re useless. Because learning new things is dangerous voodoo.
Hey, I have no idea what they are. Care to explain? 🙂
Not sure if serious
wins is one of the worst ways to judge a pitcher. they have that many wins because their offense was so good. Not because they were excellent pitchers.
Granderson is not an on-base percentage machine at all. Nick Johnson is ,but he is also not going to play the entire season.
My fault there. Nick Johnson is the on-base machine. Granderson is a pretty good player still.
granderson OBP against lefties is .245 and overall was 327 last year. OBP machine he is not.
“IF Hughes develops into the Soxs version of Lester, which he has the potential to do, this would pretty much dead lock the two. ”
Hughes has been a complete disaster as a starter, why would he magically turn into a Lester clone now?
No kidding. I’d consider Lester to be the staff’s most talented pitcher and from a numbers point, their ace. I don’t see Hughes or Joba giving CC a run for his money as ace of staff in the Bronx any time soon. Lester could arguably be the best lefthanded pitcher in baseball in the near future.
Clayton Kershaw can give Lester a run for his money. Maybe its too early, but Brett Anderson as well.
Or the dodgers may blow out his arm from rushing him to the majors too early. He is however one of the most exciting young pitchers I have seen come thru the Dodger system since Bob Welch struck out Reggie Jackson in the 77 world series.I can not see any team in the AL east give the yankees a problem, unless there are injuries.
Tampa has a big shot at the wild card and they have young pitching that may all come together this year. 20-1 in vegas for those who have faith in the rays.koufax55
am i the only one who thinks the yankee’s rotation is overrated?
CC is a near lock for a 3.10-3.50 era which is definitly ace material.
then it drops off
Burnett has to be the most overrated player ever. He gets a ton of K’s which are a nice bragging tool but in reality, they mean nothing. it doesn’t matter how you get a hitter out, just so long as he GETS OUT. and his era is around a 4 year in and year out. a 4 era is not something i’d want in a #2 starter.
petitte is old and can have anywhere from a 4era-4.50 era. i guess thats ok for a #3 starter but don’t expect him to give you 200 innings+.
vasquez is the same way, he had a career year last year and you would be hard pressed to make me believe he will repeat it. probably another approximate 4 era.
so basically, you have a rotation that will give you a ton of K’s which are arbitrary and bloated era…
NOT SAYING ITS A BAD ROTATION!!! its a good rotation, but i think its overrated.
Nope, you’re not the only one.
The Yankees may have improved with actual players ,but that does not win tight games.I just am not sold because they did loose the three clutchest players on that team. Matsui,Damon,and Melky where huge in certain games,and obviously the world series. I also was surprised to see Burnett healthy. He always has a possibility of him getting hurt.
dont forget the fact they had a staggering 10 walk off wins last year. i doubt that happens again despite how good the offense is.
Wow! you guys are finding any excuse to burn the yankees how their pitching sucks this that they got better pitching this year both burnett and sabathia will be more comfertable this year scary thought when u think about how good sabthia pitched and how about we focus on the lack of POWER the red sox got if the yankees pitching isnt as good it wont matter because the boston lineup isnt as good as the yankees soo they cancel each other out
yeah how much better is burnett gonna be? he has averaged 3.84 era his career..and he had a 4.04 last year. how much do you really expect him to improve honestly?
and from years 06-09, what i consider CC’s breakout times, he has averaged 3.11 era. i doubt he gets much lower, if at all then that.
You need power to be successful? Last time I checked there was AVG., OBP, you know, things like that that factor in…
red sox lacked power last year and look where it got them …. SWEPT BY THE ANGELS power isnt everything but you do need it
You mean the Angels who ranked 11th in homeruns and 5th in slugging? While the Red Sox ranked 4th and 2nd?
Good point, clearly power had everything to do with it.
well the angels turned it up a notch and still beat you in the playoffs…. just give it up that little dynasty you guys had with manny and ortiz on SUPER JUICE is overrrr you guys have no 40 hr threats and maybe 2 of your guys will barely hit 30 …. youkiliss and martinez not to mention you guys lost your best power hitter o0o pleaseeee …. and no matter how much better individually your pitchers might think they might be than the yankees none of your pitchers are better CC all the other games are toss up pitching wise … lineup wise you guys cant compete
“The red sox lacked power last year” – salaguato
The red sox were in fact top 4 in all of baseball in both HRs and slugging pct.
“The red sox lost in the playoffs because they had no power” – salaguato
They lost to a team with less power.
“wordswordswords HOMERUNS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS” – salaguato
Everyone has a good laugh.
o0o and this very important stat ummmm yankees led the league in runs sooo um yeah thats a pretty darn important stat dont you think
“if the yankees pitching isnt as good it wont matter because the boston lineup isnt as good as the yankees soo they cancel each other out”
Yeah, I think that’s how it works.
ok but you get what im trying to sayyy let me brake it down for you …. when your lineup sucks compared to the yankees it wont matter about your pitching because you guys wont score as much …. the yankees have a great lineup with good pithing you guys have good pitching with a an ok lineup ….. tampa bay has a better lineup then you ….. 1-4 baltimores lineup is just as good as yours sooo save all your thinking how boston is better because they are no
Is it possible that the Phillies made an offer to Beltre, then Boras shopped it around, the Phils got tired of waiting and then moved on to Polanco? Then after it’s over, Beltre claims he always wanted to be a Red Sox. Wouldn’t be the first time this offseason that happened to a Boras client.
The Phils offered Beltre a 2 or 3 year deal early in free agency when Boras was holding out for a 5 or 6 year deal. Boras overplayed his hand and Beltre had to take a 1 year deal. I don’t think he necessarily feels the Red Sox have a better chance than the Phils, it was all about money.
The only way we win it all is if the offseason signings perform as expected, especially Beltre and Scutaro.
ok they wont get much better but they cant do much worse either and whatever type of pitching they had last year won it all sooo there still favorites to win it all again when they add a guy who eats 200 innings even if his era is 4.50
To be honest, the Phils would have been the better choice, if that were the case. No offense to the Red Sox, who have a good team and have a good shot at the playoffs, but I think the Phillies have much less standing between them and the WS this year than do the Red Sox.
Unless the Braves end up THAT much improved, every playoff team either didn’t improve or got worse from last year in the N.L. The Phillies slightly upgraded with Polanco, but I’m on the side of Tim Dierkes in that a long term deal for him is a disaster waiting to happen, and was a bad idea. They could of had him at a one year deal with a team option and a decent buyout.