Also, as I mentioned in the other thread, that state of the farm is probably the most significant consideration, though not the only one, by far.
Having a strong farm system opens up so much flexibility in payroll.
Also, as I mentioned in the other thread, that state of the farm is probably the most significant consideration, though not the only one, by far.
Having a strong farm system opens up so much flexibility in payroll.
No, I'm not surprised.
1. LA is desperate to get over the hump.
2. LA is very "star" driven.
3. LA has a huge tv contract.
4. LA has lots of young guys on cheap contracts (for now).
It was the perfect storm for Betts to sign a long term deal with the Dodgers. If the Dodgers had won the WS in the past few years, they would not have made this move.
If this were a 'normal' year, I could agree with all of that. I still think it would have been crazy, but I could understand the reasoning.
Under these circumstances, I am mind blown. IMO, they could have signed Mookie for significantly less money. IMO, Mookie "Dodged" a bullet.
I think "these circumstances" are overblown when talking about uber rich like baseball owners. I don't think the pandemic significantly altered their baseball budgets at all. I don't think there is going to be as much of a downturn in FA signings this offseason as people expect.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
The expectation is fans will be back next year and business will be back to normal. I don't think the Dodgers wanted to lose out on Betts this offseason just because they wanted to have a smaller loss this year.
The push for fewer games and reduced pay was a negotiating ploy to fix spending for the next CBA. I think they started out with a bad position and never dug themselves out of it. I don't think owners like John Henry were leading that charge. They would have probably preferred more games for the tv ratings. I don't believe that every owner is in the same financial position and wants the same thing for their teams. They aren't some monolith voting block. Hard to compare the wants and needs of Pirates owners and Red Sox owners even though they both have really bad teams this year.
For all the good Henry has done for the sox, his desire to spend has been somewhat mercurial.
When Cherington took over, he was not allowed to spend. He had to trade Marco Scutaro just so he could bring in Cody Ross. That's a small market maneuver. Then he was allowed to spend and he went nuts with a massive spress that worked out really well (meaning we won a WS) when he brought in Napoli, Dempster, Drew, Victorino and (especially) Uehara. And then he spent poorly again with Sandoval, Hanley and Rusney. And he was not allowed to spend again - remember "no long term contracts for pitchers" - so Lester and Lackey were dealt.
Dombrowski was in the opposite camp. He was allowed to spend like mad, basically an open check book. He also lived up to his rep as a Farm Killer. And it worked for a while. But when it stopped, so did his ability to spend.
And then Bloom was brought in and was allowed to spend on some second tier players like Perez and Peraza, but nothing else.
It's like when the Sox win, Henry laments how much it costs to do so and dials back. But then realizes the losses are even worse when the Sox lose. And then he forgets all about this. Lather. Rinse. Repeat....
I can't, but honestly, I thought this outcome was predictable when the Sox signed Price. I only liked that deal because of the opt out, and once he got injured, it seemed really unlikely that he would. But my main contention that I posted way back on the archives of this board, was that it made it more difficult to extend the players like Betts, whom I did name specifically...
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.