I'm sure other "hindrances" could have been avoided.Originally Posted by Bellhorn04
There was no reason to bring Eovaldi back, for example. And it has been a massive flop.
Of course, even if the Sox saved that $285mill does not mean they would have tied it all up and then some in Betts. The 2013 team did teach us that spreading the money around a little can be very successful in itself...
ThAt WaS a FlUkE!
No. That was KOJI-RIFFIC!!
[QUOTE=notin;1350721]For all the good Henry has done for the sox, his desire to spend has been somewhat mercurial.
Does anyone really expect an old kajillionaire to suddenly not change his habits of changing? Unless the pandemic lingers and significantly alters pro sports industries (and Henry is secretly preparing to sell), then Red Sox fans concerned with payroll balance, taxes, and roster-crippling contracts shouldn't be surprised when Boston goes all out spending huge on a big-name free agent in the next two or three years.
Regrettably, it won't be on Betts, whose personality and physical skills have been nothing but great his entire career. But for many reasons previously posted, including the turnstiles and cost of living increases, some other lucky "superstar" will inevitably sign with the Sox for what many will view as ghastly amounts -- in both dollars and years.
I expect him to suddenly change his spending habits. In fact, I expect him to do so multiple times.Does anyone really expect an old kajillionaire to suddenly not change his habits of changing? Unless the pandemic lingers and significantly alters pro sports industries (and Henry is secretly preparing to sell), then Red Sox fans concerned with payroll balance, taxes, and roster-crippling contracts shouldn't be surprised when Boston goes all out spending huge on a big-name free agent in the next two or three years.
Regrettably, it won't be on Betts, whose personality and physical skills have been nothing but great his entire career. But for many reasons previously posted, including the turnstiles and cost of living increases, some other lucky "superstar" will inevitably sign with the Sox for what many will view as ghastly amounts -- in both dollars and years.
That's what he has been doing all along, which I summed up in the remainder of my post...
2002 - 2004 spend to break curse
2005 pull back from extending long term older players
2006 - 2011 grow farm while spending
2012 - pull back from bad contracts
2013 add new contracts
2014a get rid of long term guys!
2014b sign old guys for no reason whatsoever!
2015 - 2019 run with younger players in arb years and supplement roster through trades and FA signings
2020 - course correction again
Yup, which really irks me as a fan, if we lost our best player because of one of the owner's mood swings. But back to the title of the thread, I've always been of the opinion that Mookie ultimately wanted out. Henry's words last fall -- wondering "whether Mookie wants to spend the rest of his career in Boston" -- and after the trade (his Stan Musial nostalgia) reveal, at least to me, he wanted to keep Betts and was frustrated he couldn't.
WOW...3 pages of comments on why Mookie was traded & not one said...BECAUSE...HE...WASNT...GOING...TO....RESIGN ...HERE.... Thats why. End of story.
It was reported that when the Red Sox made an offer of $310 million, Mookie's side countered with $420 million, and that was the end of "negotiations".
We'll never know if the Red Sox could have signed him for a lower amount, but it seems a fair assumption that lower amount would not have been much lower than $400 million.
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.
Well, if the Sox and Mookie split the difference, we do know at $365 million, money was no longer an obstacle...
It is interesting that the 365 was the exact midpoint of the 310 and the 420.
The other thing we'll never know is how much impact the pandemic had on Mookie's thinking.
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.
Probably, but not necessarily. I think Mookie jumped at the Dodgers' offer with a huge sigh of relief.
Very little comment in the story or the comments on the very simple fact that the red Sox FO/Ownership concluded what should be more obvious to experienced people. Mookie did not want to be in Boston ( you guess why), and was never going to resign with the Sox as an FA after 2020. You can take all the accounting breakdown in the article and jam it. The RS got some value from a guy who was long gone after the worthless 2020 season.
I don't buy that Mookie did not want to be in Boston. I think now that he is with LA, he probably prefers that over Boston, but I don't believe that he would not have re-signed with Boston if the money was right. At the same time, once he was traded, I didn't see any way that he would be coming back.
Mookie was after the money, period. If the Sox had not traded him, then gave him the best offer during free agency, Mookie would have accepted. He would have possibly accepted an offer from the Sox before free agency if said offer made him the highest paid player in baseball. But I think the only reason he accepted the Dodgers' offer before free agency is because of the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.
As far as I know, Mookie has never said one negative thing about playing in Boston. So any idea that he didn't like Boston seems like pure speculation.
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.
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