I think he just really wanted to test the market (so less about wanting out of Boston but more about being a free agent). And yeah, once Covid struck free agency wasn’t so appealing anymoreI honestly don't think he wanted to stay. No one will say that, including Mookie. Plus they are ignoring that he signed his deal after covid struck and made waiting for a huge deal in free agency more of risk than it was when the Sox traded Mookie.
No, no. They're only guaranteed 10 great years from him, according to Smoltz.This is why I'm rooting big time against the Dodgers in this Series. According to the Fox announcers they've already been guaranteed a slot in the World Series every season for the duration of Mookie's 12-year deal. Just STFU already.
They have a lot of prospects, a lot of money, and a lack of a firm salary cap.How big is the Dodgers window though? Those young guys will get expensive real soon.
If the guy next to Buck knows anything, it's it doesn't matter how big your window is, because it's no guarantee you'll win more than one championship, if you're lucky enough to get even that.How big is the Dodgers window though? Those young guys will get expensive real soon.
Thank you. I was sitting here thinking the same, “is this guy fucking serious?”If the guy next to Buck knows anything, it's it doesn't matter how big your window is, because it's no guarantee you'll win more than one championship, if you're lucky enough to get even that.
Mookie is similar to Willie Mays with his base running aggression and instincts. Willie was fast but by no means the fastest runner in baseball but he had some sweet instincts. His running motion was choppy, too, but he covered ground.I was way behind watching this and maybe Sox fans are jaded from seeing him so much but Mookie might be the best baserunner (not stealer, clearly Rickey) I have ever seen. Live I could not believe how he got to home so quickly, it was a hard one-hooper right at Diaz and an accurate quick throw and still he beat it. Finally on the umpteenth replay they showed it was because he was impressively already 30 feet down the line, really incredible self-generated and crucial run there.
And if that line drive hits the pitcher instead of the inside of his glove Roberts would be answering some questions.On Kershaw... so interesting and it shows how much the game has changed. He was at just 78 pitches through six innings, with this line:
6.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 8 k
He had an 8-1 lead. The next day you KNOW is a bullpen game, so your relievers - who had to work really hard the previous series - were all likely going to be needed the next day. In the 6th, he had retired Tampa 1-2-3 on just 9 pitches, so he wasn't laboring at all.
And yet they pulled him. Not that long ago, that would have been considered insane. But now, it's normal, and a 6-inning stint is considered to be "dominant".
Baseball is crazy now.
Right, but with an 8-1 lead, you can live with him giving up a couple of baserunners. It wasn't 2-1.Also Kershaw specifically always loses it in the sixth or seventh of postseason starts if not pulled quickly.
He would have come back out if the Dodgers didn't have such a long time at bat in the 6th. It would have been half an hour between pitches for him, so they just threw their low leverage guys out there to mop up instead.On Kershaw... so interesting and it shows how much the game has changed. He was at just 78 pitches through six innings, with this line:
6.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 8 k
He had an 8-1 lead. The next day you KNOW is a bullpen game, so your relievers - who had to work really hard the previous series - were all likely going to be needed the next day. In the 6th, he had retired Tampa 1-2-3 on just 9 pitches, so he wasn't laboring at all.
And yet they pulled him. Not that long ago, that would have been considered insane. But now, it's normal, and a 6-inning stint is considered to be "dominant".
Baseball is crazy now.
Great post, a lot of solid points.https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/10/21/dodgers-rays-world-series-betts
"In April, Forbes valued the Rays at $1.05 billion and the Dodgers at $3.4 billion. The teams’ payrolls reflect that disparity: Before the pandemic prorated everyone’s salaries, Tampa Bay was due to spend about $72 million on players. Los Angeles would have spent $222 million.
The Rays’ only shot at a player like Betts would be to draft and develop him. Even if that happened, they would most likely have traded him once he started making real money. You don’t even need to leave the names on this page for an example: Friedman, who left Tampa Bay for L.A. after the 2014 season in part to give running a big-market team a shot, drafted and developed Price with the Rays. Price hit arbitration in ’13. He made $10 million that year. The next year, Tampa Bay sent him to the Tigers for prospects.
Six years later, Price’s big contract helped Friedman land Betts. The Dodgers extended him as soon as they got the chance. They will pay him $365 million over 12 years. The more they see him, the more they realize: That’s a bargain."
The article asks, "How did the Red Sox ever let this guy go?" This is such a painful thing, because he was my favorite player not named Pedro or Ortiz. But the Sox were in a financial crunch (yes largely of their own making), but people need to remember that they tried to extend Mookie too. He said no. He was looking for $400 million. He was looking to go to free agency, and said so. The ONLY way that the Sox could give him that money was to shed salary. The only practical way to do that was to...trade Mookie and then trust that he wasn't lying when he said he was going to go to free agency. And then, with the newfound financial space you just created, sign him to the huge deal. That was their only real play. They made it, and in the process, picked up some really nice players.
Then COVID hit. And the landscape changed. And suddenly, Mookie, who said he was going to go to free agency, and who was looking for $400 million, signed an extension before hitting free agency, and signed for well under $400 million.
We can blame the Sox for other moves (like extending Sale too soon, for example) that created their financial crisis, but remember: they did so coming off the greatest season the team ever had, and were trying to run it back with an elite core of players. It didn't work. And so from there, they did really the only sensible thing they could do. Then Mookie did the two things he had indicated he would NOT do, and the Dodgers look like geniuses, while the Red Sox look like fools.
Of course, it's easy to say NOW that Mookie's contract is a bargain. Nobody ever suggested that he wouldn't be great early in the contract. It's the back half that's going to be the problem, when he's 33 and is a step or two slower and his hands aren't quite as quick and his arm isn't quite as strong. And he's making $32+ million a year. Will the Dodgers look like geniuses then?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
And the contract doesn't even start until next year.of course everything looks rosy right now, in his prime, and making series-changing plays in the NLCS.
For a team that hasn't won a World Series in 30 years, it's money well spent.of course everything looks rosy right now, in his prime, and making series-changing plays in the NLCS.
I don't think that's right. Their big long inning was the 5th. Kershaw waited a half-hour between pitching, came out and retired the side on 9 pitches.He would have come back out if the Dodgers didn't have such a long time at bat in the 6th. It would have been half an hour between pitches for him, so they just threw their low leverage guys out there to mop up instead.
If he doesn’t win this WS, he may get fired.Win it for Dave Roberts.
The Dodgers are a wagon, this would be a massive failure if they lose to the Rays.If he doesn’t win this WS, he may get fired.