47 replies to this topic

[AlNipper49]

The other thread is being filled with oft-repeated conjecture.

Please feel free to continue to use that thread but if anyone hears news reports, solid rumors or otherwise please post them in this thread for the contingent who is just waiting for some kind of news.

Edited by Sille Skrub, 13 December 2006 - 04:16 PM.

[JohntheBaptist]

December 13th, 2006
Matsuzaka flying to Boston — chances for deal look good
Posted by Michael Silverman at 12:04 pm

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Daisuke Matsuzaka and his agent, Scott Boras, are minutes away from jetting off for Boston with the Red Sox’ front office on John Henry’s private jet. Talks have gone on all night, and the sides have been working on contract language and incentive-triggering clauses, according to a source. Talks will continue on the plane.

A preliminary deal has not been reached, said a source, but it is safe to say that Matsuzaka would not be coming to Boston were he and the Red Sox not optimistic that a deal could be reached, pending a physical in Boston.

More later.

http://www.bostonher...m/blogs/redSox/

Great news.

[DamonasaNomad]

http://www.bostonher...m/blogs/redSox/

Great news.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

FWIW, Channel 7 just reporting the same story.

[Crazy Puppy]

A source close to the negotiations confirmed that the Red Sox contingent in Southern California is flying back to Boston with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzka and his agent, Scott Boras, on board.

“You can assume that a deal is done or close,” said another source with direct knowledge of the talks.

Boston Globe

[Crazy Puppy]

BOSTON (AP) -- Daisuke Matsuzaka headed to Boston on Wednesday with Red Sox officials, a sign Boston had reached a preliminary contract agreement with the star pitcher.

"They all took off together," Red Sox owner John Henry said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Team president Larry Lucchino said shortly after noon EST that the plane was leaving California.

In prior days, agent Scott Boras had said he would not allow Matsuzaka to travel to Boston for a physical unless the sides had reached a preliminary agreement.

Associated Press

[Fratboy]

AP story is up on ESPN as well.

[jacklamabe65]

Francessa is now conceding that the Red Sox have signed DiceK on the Fan.

[allaboutthesox]

Deal.

Possible figures in the deal. No one knows for sure but this story said somewhere between 8 million per for 6 seasons OR 11 million per season for 6 seasons.

[AlNipper49]

from ATLSOX

http://flightaware.c...e/flight/N611JW

Also of note is the scheduled flight tonight from Hanscom to Boca Raton.... it is likely that is JWH heading home, another positive sign

[jmanny24]

from JMANNY24

http://flightaware.c...e/flight/N611JW

Also of note is the scheduled flight tonight from Hanscom to Boca Raton....  it is likely that is JWH heading home, another positive sign

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just wanted to fix your post Nip

[Shelterdog]

Source: http://www.bostonher...s/redSox/?p=796

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

6 years 52 million according to CNNSI.

cnnsi frontpage

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

6 years 52 million according to CNNSI.

cnnsi frontpage

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

NFW!

There has to be some really interesting fine print.......

EDIT: Jared Weaver, much?

Edited by Omar's Wacky Neighbor, 13 December 2006 - 02:16 PM.

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

Blinked much? Wow, what a deal!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I assume you mean that Boras blinked and the Red Sox got a great deal, right? Those numbers aren't even in Gil Meche territory.

[Drocca]

When you actually click on the link it's just showing Dr. Z's NFL Power rankings. There is an article about Matsuzaka but it's the same one the AP is running everywhere; no figures.

[TheBenzingerGame]

When you actually click on the link it's just showing Dr. Z's NFL Power rankings. There is an article about Matsuzaka but it's the same one the AP is running everywhere; no figures.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Check the upper right corner, in the breaking news box. What a freaking deal, if that's correct.

[SoxScout]

Daisuke Matsuzaka has reached a deal with the Boston Red Sox for 6 years, $52 million, SI.com's Jon Heyman has learned. The deal contains escalator clauses that could bring it up to $60 million.

http://sportsillustr...igns/index.html

Unreal deal for Boston

[bakahump]

Thats a cool Site. Anbd great info. Things have to be looking good if JH is heading home.

2 questions.
How many others are enraptured by the slowly moving plane Icon as it slowly moves cross country.
and
Are we sure we have disabled Stienbrenners Air Defenses?

[Quintanariffic]

When you actually click on the link it's just showing Dr. Z's NFL Power rankings. There is an article about Matsuzaka but it's the same one the AP is running everywhere; no figures.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If that's for real, could someone please paste the relevant text. big Brother says CNNSI is verbotten.

If that's for real, and I doubt it's that simple, that's an outstanding deal/job by the Sox. My guess is that would represent only the guaranteed basem with provisions based on IP/starts and performance that could get it up to the $60-70MM range in total value.

[Fratboy]

Linky goodness from Yahoo. In case it wasn't obvious already, John Henry is back in Boston while Theo, Larry, and Werner hammered out the negotiations (with Craig Shipley too?).

Looks like Henry will meet their latest bauble at the airport for his flight back to Boca.

[behindthepen]

from ATLSOX

http://flightaware.c...e/flight/N611JW

Also of note is the scheduled flight tonight from Hanscom to Boca Raton....  it is likely that is JWH heading home, another positive sign

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

except that the departure flight to Boca is scheduled BEFORE (5pm) the estimated landing time at Bedford (5:30). So I'm guessing JWH will be around this evening.

[CJChap]

John W. Henry is going to be on EEI this afternoon. I think he's the next guest on.

[BoSoxLady]

JWH is on 'EEI. Dice-K is on his way to Boston but there's no deal.

Edited by BoSoxLady, 13 December 2006 - 03:20 PM.

[jayhoz]

Henry on WEEI now:

Got sleep last night while the others did not.

Did not realize you could track a private plane.

No agreement in place

Close enough that all are on the plane together.

Negotiations were ongoing when they took off from Cali.

May be more negotiations need after the plane lands

Knew prices were going to be high in general this year based on "simulations"

Aligned in strategy with Mets and Yanks with regards to Post and contract….Sox outbid on post.

[jayhoz]

Branding: not a lot of thought on branding in Japan. MLB owns the license to the brand so it does not mean a lot of $ to the team. Sox get < 1/30 of the revenue.

Yankees getting money via travel to NY. Does not sound that Sox have given this much thought.

Prime driver of branding is winning.

Why so confident in Daisuke Matsuzakas performance? Many clubs very confident he is a front of the rotation guy. J. Henry had to be convinced by the scouts (Shipley) in Japan for every game.

Everyone has overblown the alternative revenue streams due to the high posting fee. Sox wanted to ensure the rights to negotiate for potentially 6 years of control.

Fear Boras could challenge the posting process? Thought it would be difficult to do….so no.

Bullpen has holes. Concerned? No, every team has plusses and minuses. Sox will have a strong bullpen. Due for better luck. Hopefully not done yet.

Closer? We'll have a closer. May or may not be a current player…ask Theo.

[jayhoz]

Henry has a very positive impression of Daisuke Matsuzakaz based on his meetings with him

Speaks some English

Already talked to Roger about pitching? Would not be prudent to discuss situation at this time. No further comment.

Surprised Manny is still with Sox? No

Set in stone that Manny is on the team? Would have made a deal if it makes sense, but how can you replace Manny in the 4 spot.

Fear that Manny will ask for a trade in Spring Training? If he is in Spring Training then there won't be request.

Open relationship with Manny. He is not afraid to call J. Henry at any time. Does not anticipate a problem.

Hopefully people will show up at Hanscom and show their support for Daisuke Matsuzakaz.

Hopeful that a deal is close and encouraged they are all on the plane.

[smastroyin]

Once again, please leave the discussion in the other threads. This is just the Mats news thread for right now. Every time someone posts in it, 5000 people jump into it to see what the news update is. If you aren't posting news, you are contributing to the board getting crushed at the moment.

[Crazy Puppy]

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, confirming through his own source the numbers reported by Heyman at SI.com:

COSTA MESA, Calif. - Daisuke Matsuzaka and his agent Scott Boras flew back to Boston with the Red Sox [team stats] this afternoon, busy working out the final details on a deal that would make the 26-year-old Japanese ace a member of the Sox for the next six years.

According to a source, the deal, which was all but done, was worth $52 million over six years, with incentive clauses that could increase the total value to as much as $60 million.

[AHeadofTed]

I kid you not, actual Department of State transcript for News Briefing on Six-Party Talks by
Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Head of U.S. Delegation:

State Dept Briefing on Six-Party Talks

This follows a question on nuclear test by Korea:

QUESTION: Chris, on the Matsuzaka issue, not confirmed but it does appear that a deal has been struck; Matsuzaka stepped in and made the deal happen.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: He stepped in.

QUESTION: It appears.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: And was John Henry there as well?

QUESTION: Larry Luchino and Epstein and Boras and Matsuzaka.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: This is a terrific Christmas present. Thank you very much. (Laughter.)

The world is full of Sox fans waiting for news. . .

[GriffinDoerr]

Here are some of the particulars on the deal, as being reported by the AP:

Six years, $52 million.

$2 million signing bonus, $6 million next year, $8 million in each of the following three seasons and $10 million in each of the final two years.

More details probably to come at Thursday's press conference (5 p.m.).

[underhandtofirst]

ESPN link with other info

Boras told ESPN.com the contract includes a "litany of personal comforts." Matsuzaka will get a massage therapist, physical therapist, interpreter and personal assistant, and the Red Sox agreed to provide the pitcher with 80-90 flights over the course of the deal, along with special housing and transportation arrangements and accomodations for his wife.

Although the details were still being worked on, people on both sides said the agreement would include $8 million in escalators based on awards that would bring the total to $60 million over six years. If the deal falls through, Matsuzaka's rights remain with the Lions and he cannot be offered to major league teams again until next November; he is not eligible to become a free agent in Japan until after the 2008 season.

Boras quotes:

We came out of it with what I felt was the right decision for the player. It's an economic package that is reasonable and could end up being good. For his country, for him and the interests of baseball, I think this is really the right decision for everybody."

From a marketing side of this, there's certainly a linkage between Boston and Japan," Boras told ESPN.com. "For both parties, this is going to mean millions of dollars. That was certainly a factor in the decision for Daisuke to come over here now. The other factor was, the player really wanted to come over here and get his career [in the major leagues] started."

[Ramon AC]

The more I think about the $51.11M bid, the better it looks. Had the Yankees won with their $32M bid, what do you think Boras would have extracted over six years? His leverage would have increased in a number of ways, not least of which is the incrementally lower incentive for Seibu to influence the deal. I could see the Yankees paying 6/72. An AAV of ~ $12M, incidentally, was the average prediction of the ESPN "experts" who expected a deal to get done today.

$32M + $72M = $105M. Red Sox total outlay: $103M

Then there are the luxury tax implications.

Most of the commentary I've come across characterizes the $52M bid as "overpaying," but I wonder did the Red Sox game it this way, or did it just break that way?

edit: I was on to this whole blood type thing weeks ago.

Edited by Ramon AC, 14 December 2006 - 12:33 AM.

[The Gray Eagle]

From lurker Billy Barou:

"just caught this on espn.com havent seen it posted yet ..

"Matsuzaka completed a physical exam Wednesday night, Boras confirmed to ESPN.com, and the final agreement is expected to be announced Thursday at a 5 p.m. ET news conference.

Henry declined comment late Wednesday night.

"Tomorrow at Fenway," he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press."

Link.... http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=2696321

So the press conference is at 5 tomorrow, apparently. In case anyone has been wondering when the press conference will be.


Edit: I see now that this info about the press conference was in underhandtofirst's link above, sorry for the extraneous post.

Edited by The Gray Eagle, 14 December 2006 - 01:34 AM.

[jacklamabe65]

Gammo chimes in:

In the end the Red Sox stared down the gun and got Daisuke Matsuzaka for not only what they wanted -- an $8.7M AAV -- but they got him for six years.  They now have three high-ceiling power starters age 26 in Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett, with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in the rearview mirror.

http://insider.espn....e=gammons_peter

Edited by jacklamabe65, 14 December 2006 - 02:13 AM.

[The Boomer]

Gammo chimes in:

QUOTE
In the end the Red Sox stared down the gun and got Daisuke Matsuzaka for not only what they wanted -- an $8.7M AAV -- but they got him for six years. They now have three high-ceiling power starters age 26 in Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett, with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in the rearview mirror.

Gammo chimes in:
http://insider.espn....e=gammons_peter

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I thought the same thing and, with Bowden, Hansen, Delcarmen, Cox and others emerging too, the Sox should have as good a young pitching staff as you could hope for in the foreseeable future. Given the inflated cost of good pitching, Anibal Sanchez might be the last young pitcher to get away unless, of course, such hurlers become the consideration for a Dontrelle Willis level player in his prime. The added dividend in the short term will be that there is no pressure to rush Lester back before he's ready and that a timetable to slow his recovery and rehabilitation to mid-season or later can be implemented. Even better than Gammo, Thomas Boswell, as usual, put this transaction into smart perspective:

http://www.washingto...6121302346.html

Finally, despite statements to the contrary by the FO, if the latest offers for Wells gets him signed in Toronto and with all their cost cutting the Braves decide to keep Andruw Jones, rumors of a Manny trade to the Dodgers or somewhere else with the right combination of young players or prospects will resurface.

[jacklamabe65]

Now, we have Matsuzaka as our offseason gift for the holiday season. In April, we get to unwrap him.

Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post, December 14, 2007

[drtooth]

Silverman and Horrigan note an interesting issue that may have played a factor

Matsuzaka may have had additional incentive. According to rumors that appear to have originated in Japan, word may have reached him that the Lions, who are counting on the enormous cash infusion from the Sox, were considering sending him to the minor leagues if he returned. That would have set back his free agency by another year.

Edited by drtooth, 14 December 2006 - 08:36 AM.

[Crazy Puppy]

Regarding the incentives in Matsuzaka's contract:

The total invested by the Sox in Matsuzaka -- the posting fee plus the contract, which contains additional escalators for winning Cy Young Awards or being voted MVP that could add roughly $8 million to the deal -- is $103.1 million, or more than 12 billion yen.

Boston Globe

[TheBenzingerGame]

Didn't see Cafardo's article posted anywhere; forgive me if I missed it. There's a pretty interesting take in here from Mike Pagliarulo (a Sox killer if ever there was one), who apparently runs a "sophisticated scouting service" focusing on the Pacific Rim:

When asked what he would have recommended as a posting figure for Matsuzaka, Pagliarulo said, "Fifty million. That's what I had written down long before the figures came out. That was based on the talent level of the player, the market for the player, and the value of the player to a team. The Red Sox did an excellent job in finding that value. They really did their homework."

Today's Globe.

[underhandtofirst]

Tom Caron was just on NESN and said they are doing wall-to-wall coverage this afternoon on Matsuzaka. Looks like it is just SportsDesk right now.

They will be rebroadcasting the WBC final Friday at 8pm.

Edit: update

Edited by underhandtofirst, 14 December 2006 - 12:15 PM.

[941827]

This is the news thread. Post news only. Once the press conference is over, I'll lock the thread. Pontificate elsewhere.

[SoxVindaloo]

I was at Fenway at 11:30 today to go to Twins and there must have been about 2 dozen Japanese reporters waiting near gate A. There were what seemed like another 20 or so random Japanese there as well.
When I was in Twins Werner came in to gear his family up for Xmas, he ran into one of the D'Angelo guys, and asked him why there were no Dice-K jerseys yet. The Twins guy explained that since Dice-K was not yet a member of the Player's Association they could not issue MLB with his name. Werner then got on the phone with some guy and nicely pushed him to get the thing done so they could sell jerseys asap.
Interesting am at Fenway, I expect the regular Japanese media contingent to be at least 2 dozen strong during the regular season when Matsuzaka pitches.

[cannonball 1729]

I haven't seen this posted yet, but per ESPN:

In 2009 and 2010, Matsuzaka's base salary can increase to $10 million if:
• He finishes first in AL Cy Young voting in 2007 or 2008, or:
• He finishes in the top three in AL Cy Young voting in both 2007 and 2008, or:
• He finishes first in the AL MVP voting in 2007 or 2008, or:
• He finishes in the top five in AL MVP voting in 2007 and 2008.

In 2011 and 2012, Matsuzaka's base salary can increase to $12 million if:
• He finishes first in AL Cy Young voting in 2009 or 2010, or:
• He finishes in the top three in AL Cy Young voting in both 2009 and 2010, or:
• He finishes first in the AL MVP voting in 2009 or 2010, or:
• He finishes in the top five in AL MVP voting in 2009 and 2010.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=2696321

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Didn't see Cafardo's article posted anywhere; forgive me if I missed it. There's a pretty interesting take in here from Mike Pagliarulo (a Sox killer if ever there was one), who apparently runs a "sophisticated scouting service" focusing on the Pacific Rim:
Today's Globe.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just did a google search on him; found an interview with him (on mlb.com's website from November 17. One interesting thing he said:

"At the last minute - actually it was last week; there was a couple of possible rule changes in - by the ownership over there - and they change the rules over there every year - and they were going to change these rules and it really has an impact on the posting system - how you structure your bid and how you negotiate with this player. Actually, it takes some leverage away from who's he represented by. Some of this stuff is pretty detailed that I can't really talk about right here, but it really has a direct effect - it could save the club millions. I just hope that they're not stupid about throwing money out there like they have in the past."

[gcapalbo]

Watching NESN live, Caron just said the contract was signed last night, and awaiting MLB approval.

I think we had all surmised that, but I hadn't heard or seen the actual statement until now.

Press conference later on this afternoon.

(JWH's plane arrived at Hanscom about an hour ago (12:15pm) from Boca Raton).

Update: Theo reporting the contract is DONE. Dice-K is now a member of the Red Sox!

Edited by gcapalbo, 14 December 2006 - 01:35 PM.