Sorry if this was posted but at quick glance I didn’t see it. A-Rod and Boras went to speak to the MLBPA Union per rotoworld .
.
Can’t say their not making an honest attempt to extract him from Texas.

No. AROD and VLAD in place of Nomar and Manny would be incredible, and in my opinion should be doable.

I think we can get VLAD for 15-16M/year.

BTW, $17m/year is _WAY_ more than Vlad is going to get. Which means if he would come to Boston and the Red Sox wanted to bring him here we'd be getting the afformentioned compensation for Nomar and increasing the payroll by less than (on average) $2.5m/yr

Still waiting momentarily for the word Foulke is a go.
The same word that Arod is a go.

this weekend extending Pedro and Ortiz is on the agenda.

expect a flurry of deals like last years ortiz, Giambi, Mueller etc this coming week or two.
Ive heard that some deals are done and not just announced yet.

numbers beck 1.85 yr
hasagawa 3.15
grimsley 1.00
heredia 1.93
timlin 2.75
worrell 2.75
quantrell 3.4
gordon 3.63
guardatto 4.33

thompson 3.5
colon 12.75
carpenter .500

castillo 5.35
randa 3.75
snow 1.75

WFAN reporting Pettitte signing with Astros....reporting from other places not WFAN itself

ESPN has confirmed the deal with 4 sources and Houston is not denying

Interestingly enough, Vlad was offered 5 years, 70 million dollars from the Expos, and he rejected. The point of disagreement apparently was in the number of years, and some reports have him wanting 7 years, although the price might be less, at only 13-14 million a year (this comes from reports about the Yankees potentially offering Sheffield's deal to Guerrero and Guerrero potentially refusing. )

There is no way management will be caught with 2 7-year contracts, especially if Vlad's is also heavily backloaded (the Expos' offer was.)

In other news...

And boy, if the Yankees don't get anyone other than what they've gotten...:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor..._bob&id=1682873

Oh yeah, and proof on my earlier point that Manny/Nomar's desired salary is equal to ARod's peak contract + Tejada (which is a much better combo):
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...mark&id=1682207

All these overtures by the Big Stein and for Guerrero ring hollow to me. I feel like theyre negotiating ploys to get Sheffield to shut and take his money. If the Yankees were so interested in Guerrero, they certainly would have gone out and gotten him by now (I know, draft picks, but they certainly werent worried about Sheffield poissibly costing picks). It seems like SiaS is just strengthening his position to SHeffield, showing him their options, while driving up the price for the O's at the same time, no doubt.

On a completely different subject, how funny is it that Cashman is basically a t-shirt vendor at this point? Every quote or source we hear about MFY dealings comes back to SiaS and Cashman hasn't said anything quote-wise in MONTHS. hes usually pretty vocal, or at least accomadating to the media. Looks like everyone knows whos in charge again, and really, just ask Rondesi Whitecock- thats a good thing.

So now Gammons doesn't think the deal with A-Rod will go through! Does this man ever say what's really on this mind and stick with it. He's been all over the place saying A-Rod will be traded and then that he's not and then the next day that there's a chance. Am I the only one tired of hearing this?? and now according to Dirt Dog the commissioner doesn't think it will happen. Wow, there's a lot of negativity going around. Have they learned nothing from the Shilling trade. I think that if this is true both Henry and Theo will trade for A-Rod just to prove people wrong.

Does your source tell you that both ARod and Foulke are done deals to come to the Sox?

i think by "The Commissioner", DD meant Gammons. Its a nickname of sorts.

I can't speak for Dog, but I am guessing he is referring to Gammons 7 pm ESPN appearance last night where he hemmed and hawed through a "hot stove" segment. All was negative Red Sox wise (A-Rod not coming, Foulke not coming) while being pretty positive about Yankee dealings (Pettitte will get done, so will Sheffield).

rsb

According to WFAN and ESPN, Pettitte is signing with Houston. Gammon's predictions are usually 50 50, hence the nickname gasbag.

... thanks for the insight. I never realized that was a nickname

Sorry reports now say that Petitte has signed with houston..

It seems that all Gammons EVER reports is great news for the MFYs and awful news for the Sox. It is amazing.

I think the AROD deal is done by EOD Friday, but that is just my guess. Reason being, Theo and Trio will need the rest of the time to explore Nomar options and other trades...

I still hope we push for VLAD. If he wants 7 yrs, give it to him @14M per. Having him and AROD locked up - both in their prime - would be SWEET!

New Gasbag

Tom Verducci on the WFAN just said that he thinks the Manny/ AROD thing (incl Nomar deal) gets done by Tues. Sites the JWH quotes as a great reason why theres no turning back.

Like I said, more Doomsday reporting by Gammons.

I hate him.

Yes, Mr. Gasbag is being a very negative Nathan.

Someone e-mail bomb Gammons! ... j/k
Someone also check to see if Gammons is on the payroll!

Why is it "doomsday" reporting? I share most of Gammons' conjectures. If the well is poisoned with Nomar and the A-Rod deal does not happen, this will may not be a very successful off-season. Miguel Tejada is a nice little player, but he is not an acceptable replacement for Nomar performance-wise or public relations-wise.

John,

I can't figure out Gammons' angle here. He pretty much writes that everyone involved badly wants to get this done..and that even the evil Boras is willing to make some creative moves to make it happen...yet he still presents it as unlikely in his opinion.

rsb

I agree 100%

IMO it's CYA reporting. He's played ALL angles so that when something happens he can say "I told you so".

I think what Gammons is saying here is that this is really turning into a high wire act on both sides and if the deal does fall through, someone is going to have to come off of their position.

JH really poisoned the chances of Nomar ever coming back here, but I guess he thinks Nomar is just going to walk anyway.

I don't see what he's saying as negative though. If he's reporting that Boras thinks the deal is going to get done, than that's more positive than anything I've heard in 2 days. This is the first direct reporting that an actual party to these shenanigans thinks ARod is coming to Boston.

Beyond that, do we all agree that the worst case scenario is the Manny - ARod deal falling through and Nomar getting traded and Tejada coming here? Gammons reports that the Sox will "discuss" this -- whatever that means. There are just too many variables before that happens. In my opinion, it seems incredibly unlikely.

If this thing falls apart and the Sox play out next year with Manny and Nomar, Nomar can always come back next year. If nothing happens, in 10 months this will all be water under the bridge!

Because it seems that all of his reports are always on the worst case scenarios for the Sox, not just this one, but always. Always talking about how wonderfully the MFYs handled something, and how awful the Sox handled it, etc etc

i guess my only bone to pick with Gammons is, in fact that he's stating that something as overwhelmingly positive (postiive as in the deal getting DONE) as Boras thiniking it will get done- but he still basically guesses it WONT get done. Which makes me feel, once again, that he's playing both sides so he wont look "wrong." Read that article and tell me he has a definite position on the matter. Ask ME, and I have a position and an opinion, and im not payed to do it. He just guesses and offers vague points we all come up with anyway, and then can look like he was right when the deal breaks anyway cos hes the one who always "breaks" it. Know what I mean?

I think another interesting development will be to see what kind of extention, if any, they work out with Pedro. If they can convince Pedro to take Curt's lead and "settle" for $13-14 mill x 3 years, while deferring $4 mill of this year's $17.5 mill salary until, say 2007, then you have saved some money which you can turn around and spend on Vlad. Pedro could have a huge say on what happens the rest of the off-season. Anyone know who the key FA's are after 2004 season?

You're wrong. There are plenty of Yankee fans who think the exact opposite - that Gammons is out to get them somehow. You are reading your own biases into it.

You guys take Gammons way too seriously. Enjoy him for what he is - a rumor conduit, and a very good one.

Here are the contract stats for the major Red Sox:

<b>Contracts Expire 2004:</b>
Pedro Martinez:
2003: $15.0M
2004: $17.5M [option exercised 4/7/03]

Nomar Garciaparra:
2003: $10.5M [option exercised 3/24/00]
2004: $11.5M [option exercised 3/30/01]

Derek Lowe:
2003: $3.5M
2004: $4.5M [option exercised 11/7/03]

Jason Varitek:
2003: $4.7M
2004: $6.7M

Ramiro Mendoza:
2003: $2.9M
2004: $3.6M

<b>Contracts Expire 2005:</b>
Johnny Damon:
2003: $7.5M
2004: $8.0M
2005: $8.5M

Tim Wakefield:
2003: $4.0M
2004: $4.35M
2005: $4.67M

Alan Embree:
2003: $2.75M (+$0.5M signing bonus)
2004: $2.75M
2005: Team option $3.0M

Mike Timlin:
2004: $1.7M (+$0.8M signing bonus)
2005: Team option $2.75M or $0.25M buyout

Kevin Millar:
2003: TBC
2004: TBC
2005: Mutual option $3.5M

Bill Mueller:
2003: $2.1M
2004: $2.1M
2005: Team option $2.1M or $0.3M buyout

<b>Contracts expire when hell freezes over:</b>
Manny Ramirez:
2003: $18.0M
2004: $20.5M
2005: $20.0M
2006: $19.0M
2007: $18.0M
2008: $20.0M
2009 and 2010: Team options $20.0M


So basically, everybody who's not up in 2004 is up in 2005, with the exception of Manny. The way I see it, Pedro will be the #1 priority for a contract exension this coming year, with 'Tek coming in a close 2nd. As far as Lowe and Nixon go, I think it largely depends on what kind of years they have. I think the best-case scenario for them staying would be for them to have good-to-very-good years for both of them. Crappy, and the Red Sox might not be willing to pay what it would take to keep them here. Exceptional, and they may leave because they can get more on the free market than what the Red Sox would pay them. . . either way, I don't see them staying unless they're willing to take at least a little bit of a hometown discount.

As far as 2005 goes, I think it's WAY to early to speculate. . . Damon will have to take a bit of a cut if he wants to stay, obviously, but I think he may have to take a cut no matter where he goes. Who knows about the rest. . .

On a personal plug, I've started a website with daily commentary and links to Red Sox articles from all over, and I'd appreciate it if you all would check it out. It's <b>http://www.angelfire.com/magic2/ebab</b>. Suggestions for the site can be e-mailed to misskatimichele@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Vlad won't happen IMO. Too much salary and he doesnt want to play for a big market team for whatever reason...

2004 Free Agents

That is the only site I can find with free agents....For the Sox (if the team remained the same and players got arbitration but no contract extensions) then free agents at the end of 2004 would be: Nomar, Pedro, Trot, Varitek, Lowe...ok those are the Sox main free agents.

For non-Sox here are some names: Estaban Loiaza, Garrett Anderson, Carlos Beltran, Mariano Rivera, Eric Chavez, Carlos Delgado, Kerry Wood, Jose Vidro.... of course there are more but at a quick glance those are the main ones.

Ok, so based on all of the previous posts and the material we have read in the papers, this is why I think this gets done, despite what Gammons may have said:

A-Rod - He can't stand playing for a losing team and desperately wants out of Texas. His problems with Showalter have been made public and he know believes the promise Hicks made when he was signed (to spend the necessary money to build a team around A-Rod) has been broken now that Hicks is lowering payroll.

Boras - He sees $$$$ falling out of A-Rod's ass once he lands in Boston. Although agents get only 3-4% of the negotiated contract, they can get as much as 15-20% of endorsements. A-Rod will unquestionably be more marketable with the Red Sox both on a regional and, more imporantantly for Boras, on a national level. The hype that will follow A-Rod throughout his Red Sox career is enough to make him salivate.

Hicks / Texas Rangers - Hicks continues to lose money and needs to cut payroll. Meanwhile, every team in his division has improved this offseason and will probably make additional moves before the winter is over. The result is that his lowly Rangers sink even deeper into the basement. Furthermore, their lack of payroll flexibility just cost them their most reliable starter (if you can call Thompson that) and they have very limited options with their current money. An A-Rod deal does him very little good this year, but during the remainder of Manny's contract Hicks would save atleast $5 million per year ($7 million in some years) and gets to get rid of Manny in just 4 short years (or long years depending on what planet Manny is on). This makes a lot of sense for him.

Red Sox - Primarily, this deal gets rid of the ManChild. Despite putting up fantastic numbers since coming to Boston, his antics on and off the field have turned a lot of people off. Fans in Boston have always appreciated the hard worker, the dirt dogs, the blue collar guys. Manny doesn't fit. Unfortunately, Nomar is caught in the crossfire. However, Nomar and his agent made it clear to the Sox that they want the big bucks and apparently 4/$60 million is simply not enough. This deal brings in a more productive SS in A-Rod, dumps Manny, and seeks a return on Nomar who the Sox reasonably believe will jump ship after this year to test the market. Furthermore, A-Rod will become the face of the Red Sox with the media and with corporate sponsors. The Sox have put a premium on character and leadership and A-Rod fits the bill.

MLB - Major League Baseball loves the idea of A-Rod playing in the biggest rivalry in sports. The resurgence in baseball caused by last year's Red Sox/Yankees playoff battles will taste like appetizers compared to the tasty main course they would get with 19 A-Rod vs. Jeter battles each year as well as any the ALCS games televised nationally. MLB can not afford to let its biggest star rot in Texas.


Conclusion: I can't see how this won't happen. Every party wants this deal to go down because IT MAKES SENSE. A-Rod might not be permitted to restructure his contract so as to lower his compensation, but these are smart people we are talking about and they will figure out how to modify the contract to comply with MLBPA rules. Furthermore, I really can't imagine this deal falling apart now that Henry and Tellum have butted heads. Can you imagine...not one but two disgruntled stars (Manny and Nomar) on a team that values character as much as the Sox? I predict this will happen soon.

Exactly.
I for one enjoy hearing his opinions and take what he says for what it is, rumors. Who cares if he is full of sh*t a great deal of the time, most of the writers and tv guys are too. Although I have no first hand reason to believe it, what I read in Moneyball seems to be true that the GM's, players and agents use these guys to communicate with each other. I'd guess to get around the tampering rules.

As for the Man-Rod deal, could the hang up be ARod's no-trade clause? The Sox seem to be against allowing that in contracts because if 1 star has one, then every star will want one. I don't think I've seen this addressed anywhere and was wondering if this could be a deal breaker?

You have to love the 2004 Hot Stove League... exciting yet frustrating.

When you insert a link into a paragraph, how do change the name of the link to what you want to call it as bosoxgirl75 did with 2004 Free Agents

Potential free agents at the end of the 2004 season

Kerry Wood, ChC, RHP, 28*
Matt Clement, ChC, RHP, 31*
Ryan Dempster, Cin., RHP, 28*
Odalis Perez, L.A., LHP, 27*
Javier Vazquez, Mon., RHP, 29*
Pedro Martinez, Bos., RHP, 33*
Derek Lowe, Bos., RHP, 31*
Matt Morris, St. L., RHP, 31*
Kris Benson, Pit., RHP, 30*
Russ Ortiz, Atl., RHP, 31*
Eric Milton, Min., LHP, 30*
Brad Radke, Min., RHP, 32*
Freddy Garcia, Sea., RHP, 29*
Scott Williamson, Bos., RHP, 29*
Bobby Howry, Bos., RHP, 32*
Jose Jimenez, Col., RHP, 32*
Braden Looper, Fla., RHP, 30*
Felix Rodriguez, S.F., RHP, 31*
Troy Percival, Ana., RHP, 36*
Robb Nen, S.F., RHP, 35*
Mariano Rivera, NYY, RHP, 35*
Jason Varitek, Bos., C, 33*
Paul Konerko, ChW, 1B, 29*
Derrek Lee, Fla., 1B, 30*
Richie Sexson, Mil., 1B, 30*
Carlos Delgado, Tor., 1B-DH, 32*
Jose Vidro, Mon., 2B, 31*
Mike Lowell, Fla., 3B, 31*
Corey Koskie, Min., 3B, 32*
Eric Chavez, Oak., 3B, 27*
Adrian Beltre, L.A., 3B, 26*
Aaron Boone, N.YY., 3B, 32*
Troy Glaus, Ana., 3B, 28*
Cristian Guzman, Min., SS, 27*
Orlando Cabrera, Mon., SS, 30*
Nomar Garciaparra, Bos., SS, 32*
Trot Nixon, Bos., OF, 31*
Carlos Beltran, K.C., OF, 28*
J.D. Drew, St. L., OF, 29*
Magglio Ordonez, ChW, OF, 31*
Garret Anderson, Ana., OF, 33*
Geoff Jenkins, Mil., OF, 31*
* Opening Day age in 2005

Ken Rosenthal writes on FoxSports.com



http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=1931928

excellent point. he really does lead the charge in interesting rumors- but dumb ones too. remember wghen he clamored for a Mike Hampton/ Larry Walker for Manny deal a couple years ago? geesh

To change the name of a link...instead of just copying and paste the link you must go to the http:// box that is under Font choices,etc....

so once you click that you paste the website address into it, then once you hit ok that is where you type in a title...or whatever you want.

You can include true hyperlinks using the tag. Just use the following format:

[ url=http://www.mlb.com]Text to hyperlink.

Thanks Bosoxgirl75 and .406 for your help

Art,

I noticed you in here. Anything new going on with Sox? Nomar, ARod, Foulke?

In regard to Baltimore. How about Hairston and Jorge Julio? Julio seemed to have very good stuff and didn't appear to bad as a closer? Hairston would be nice for 2B, Julio to close and maybe the Matos kid for LF?

Not sure how much Baltimore is going to be willing to part with, but even if Anaheim is out with Tejada, that could put Seattle into the mix with LA and Baltimore... Maybe the Cubs could be interested? Didn't they lose Alex Gonzalez? They have lots of pitching for us...

I don't think the market will dry up for No-More...

How sure are we that these west coast teams want Normar at all?

It's obvious to me that Tellam knows that there is no post-2004 market for the contract that he is seeking for Nomar. It seems to me that the media feel-good-about-Nomar blitz by Tellem and his client reflects their realization that if they want to get a contract that is even EQUAL to Nomar's 2004 salary, the Sox are about the only game in town.

To me, this says that regardless of the outcome of the ARod trade, the Sox have the upper vis-a-vis negotiating the re-signing of Nomar. If the trade does come about, i think the team should forget about trading Nomar, and watch the market further correct itself. It's easy to be viewed a superstar agent when salaries are spiraling out of control, but you look all to human when the market corrects. I think Tellem is feeling this now. (The same can be said about all those people at work we all know who fancied themselves stock market wizards up until about March 2000.)

Howard Bryant wrote today in the Herald, Nomar has himself to blame

Nomar Has Self to Blame; Past Difficulties with Sox Pile Up

I mean, really, compare Gammons to this scoop of bullshit:



Rosenthal casually bashes our two best players, supplies absolutely zero information, and generally talks out of his ass (he has to get a deferred payment on a dollar bet! Oh-ho-ho, that's a good one!) in every column. Rosenthal wouldn't even pass muster as a quality Royal Rooters poster, never mind a columnist for a major publication.

Ok more speculation on my part. Since Gammons latest column I started to think that what if A) the Arod/Manny deal does not occur and that B ) A deal with Nomar cannot be reached in any way. So say that these 2 scenarios were to take place do we trade Nomar anyway and sign another ss (Tejada)? Or do we keep the team in tact and watch Nomar walk away at the end of 2004?

Yes everything above is just a made up scenario by me, but anything is possible with the Sox. So I wonder what everyone thinks of this. Also, with Gammons he says he thinks a deal won't go through (changes his mind quite often), I'm now starting to feel that the Arod/Manny deal will happen. So maybe this post of mine is pointless, but until something happens I guess all we can do is speculate.

This past year Tejada had an absolute awful first half but definitely improved in the second half. His breakout year was 2002, winning the MVP....So if the above scenario took place do we make a move for Tejada and ship Nomar out west or do we keep Nomar and let him walk after 2004 and pick up a ss then?

Yes speculation I know....but I just thought I'd throw this out there for more discussion....

How many people are sick of waiting to find out if the Manny/A-Rod trade happens, Foulke making up his mind and whats going to happen with Nomar? I know I am.

[FONT=Impact][B]Seems like it's been more than a week since all this talk has started. Didn't all this trade talk start two months ago ... j/k.