Heyman: Ellsbury to sign seven-year deal with Yankees

[Cowboys Idiots N Beards]

Koufax32,
 
That's apples and oranges, none of us stand for a 20K per year raise...

 

[EllisTheRimMan]

I think it's a terrible deal for the Yankees. However, there is one way this makes a ton of sense for them.
 
And that's if Ellsbury is Paul Molitor.
 
I know Molitor was an infielder (mostly) but they actually have pretty similar skill sets and very similar careers up until Age 29. They each had one great season (for Molitor it was 1982) and had many injury plagued seasons and developed a soft reputation.
 
But this was not the case and Molitor ended up having a 1st ballot HOF career, played until he was 41 years old and is 30th all-time in games played. Basically the guy stopped having weird injuries and wound up leading the league in hits 3 times after he was 34.
 
Will Ellsbury become Molitor? I doubt it but if he does, the Yankees got a steal.

Sounded like you were reading a chapter out of Boras' binder.

 

[ookami7m]

To me, Ellsbury should have been a franchise player for us, just like Cano should be for them. I hold players who stay with one team thru their career in the highest regard. Look at Brian Roberts & Joe Mauer. I doubt they win one with their teams...
 

 
 

To me, in sports and in life, there are statue guys and there are dollar guys.  Dollar guys will always chase the money, regardless of all other considerations.  Statue guys will usually stay put, because they value considerations beyond getting every last dollar.   I always use the last two Patriots coaches named Bill to illustrate the difference.  Parcells was a dollar guy.  He grew up a Giants fan, but that didn't stop him from chasing a bigger paycheck at every opportunity.  After his first Super Bowl win, he was in negotiations to leave the team o join the Falcons.  Then after his second Super Bowl win, and shortly after "retiring" for health reasons, he was off to Tampa Bay, but it turned out those health reasons got in the way.  And if you could believe it, after his next Super Bowl appearance, he was even in negotiations to leave the team he had taken to the Super Bowl during the week he was supposed to be getting them ready for the big game, because Dollar Bill was never one to pass up an opportunity to cash in.  
 
Belichick is a statue guy.  I bet if he had the chance, he would have stayed at Cleveland until they put up a statue of him outside the stadium to honor him for the multiple Super Bowls he would have won for the Browns.  You never hear talk of him leaving the Patriots unless it's speculation about when he might retire.   There's no question that there's a hoodie wearing statue coming to Gillette not long after Belichick hangs up his for good.  
 
Of course, Kraft has always paid him one of the highest salaries in the NFL, and he has the best QB in the league, so why would he leave?
 
Ellsbury leaving for the MFYs might mean he's not a statue guy, but I'm not going to judge him too harshly because he wasn't getting anything close to what they offered him from the Sox, and even for the most loyal, there are limits.   That love has to go both ways, or it goes away.  I just hope for us and for the MFYs, this turns out to be our version of Pujols leaving the Cardinals for the Angels.   That deal worked out really well for one of those teams.  

 
 
To all of you who make the argument that a player should stick by his team and do the best there, I give you Ray Bourque/Junior Seau/Ray Allen just from recent Boston Sports history. Obviously the differences are that their previous teams had varying ability to compete where the Sox are the defending champs, but the motivation to get the most money or the motivation to get that ring are for the player alone. No reason to hate in either direction, but be consistent at least.

 

[cannonball 1729]

It's different, but would your perspective change if Jacoby donated the extra 30 million to Native American Charities and causes? My point being its really not for us to decide how much is "enough." I'd rather JE have it than it staying in Hank and Hal's pockets.

 
Yeah, that's what I think of every time I see that argument.  Pedro used a good portion of his money to build houses, churches, and hospitals in the Dominican Republic, and he provided a whole bunch of disaster relief when floods hit the DR in 2004 and 2007.  For the charities and causes involved, the amount of money that a ballplayer has can be absolutely transformative.  Why wouldn't a player fight for every dollar?

 

[melonbag]

Interesting that the MFYs are willing to back up the truck for Ellsbury but happy to play hardball with Cano. If I were Cano, I'd be so pissed right now that I'd run out and sign whatever the best deal I've got right now from somebody else. Cano is a better player than Ellsbury - aren't the Yankees at best treading water if the sign Ellsbury but lose Cano?

 
Cano has no reason to be pissed.  What part of the negotiations is considered playing hardball?  From the beginning, the MFY's offer was considered the largest out there for Cano.  That's much different than Ells's situation with the Sox.  I dislike Cashman, but I feel he is playing his hand correctly.
 
Cashman knows that nobody is going to offer $288 million, especially when $165-$170 million is the number to beat.   Refusing to bid against yourself is not playing hardball.

 

[curly2]

 
 
But the conclusions are consistent with what we've observed: the best players in baseball used to hit free agency in their primes more frequently than they do today. ...

 
That's definitely true. Andrew McCutchen is a perfect example. Before teams started locking up young stars, he would have been a free agent at 28. Now he'll be 32 before he's on the market (assuming the Pirates exercise his 2018 option). The way it used to be, the Yankees would have backed up the money truck for him at age 28.

 

[Remagellan]

 
Will Ellsbury become Molitor? I doubt it but if he does, the Yankees got a steal.
 

 
I would say steal...maybe more like they'll wind up paying him what's he'll be worth over the course of the contract.   
 
So, are they going to let him keep number 2?  

 

[EvilEmpire]

Why should Cano be pissed? The Yankees would be happy to give him the same deal.

 

[Plympton91]

 
And everyone thought that the Crawford deal was awful, so using it as a baseline isn't helping your argument.

 
Why was it awful though?  Was it awful because Carl Crawford's established skill set circa 2010 wasn't worth $20 million a year in that (this) market?  Or, was it awful because Carl Crawford's skill set wasn't particularly suited to Fenway Park, the needs of the Red Sox at that time, or the atmosphere of Boston?   Two front offices assessed those skills as worth $20 million a season, and the Yankees were willing to gamble an extra 2 years of commitment.

 

[FFCI]

Not sure where to put this and it doesn't flow in perfectly to the current conversation - but looking at how much more Jacoby got from the Yankees than the suggested offer from the Red Sox has been discussed many posts ago, and this may be something that should be discussed a bit further...
 
First, assuming the Red sox offered 6 years $120/million = $20 million per year
 
Yankees 7/153 (or 8/169);  21.85 million per year; or 21.125 million per year
 
The annual difference in the deal is not the 1.85 or 1.25 million more per year because NY State has approximately a 9% income tax rate and NY City has a 3.6% Income tax rate - versus the MA Income Tax rate of 5.25% - so he's looking at paying approximately 7% more in taxes annually...
 
So if the Yankees annual salary of 21.85 is reduced by the marginally higher taxes of 7% - the comparative salary with Boston's offer is 20,320,500.
 
So congrats Jacoby, you'll make an additional $320,500 annually for the next 6 years (not really as that doesn't factor the income taxes (federal and state) and agent's fees, etc. that will reduce that difference).
 
Sure Boras does a great job getting the headlines and ego stroke of the "Huge" deal - but the net deal was probably not the best one out there for him.
 
(The no trade clause gives extra control to Ellsbury, but very limited, because if the Yankees ever wanted to move him and he doesn't waive his no trade clause, that will definitely be leaked in the media and it will get ugly).
 
So really, the deal that "forced" Ellsbury to sign has to be the extra two years.  Interesting that the "security" of having those two years covered was valuable to him today but that security was not valuable prior to hitting free agency, prior to having a $100 million guaranteed in the bank...
 
Anyhow, It's awesome that there are players out there like Pedroia (and maybe I'm wrong) that want a "fair deal" but don't seem to care about squeezing every last buck they can get, that they just want to compete, want to win and want to be part of an organization.  I would have loved it if Ellsbury was that kind of guy, but since he's not - I'm not going to find it hard to root for a rapid decline especially that he's now part of the Yankees (who my personal hatred for was waning)....

 

[ehaz]

I want to see an 8 year $200 million offer extended to Cano.  They could pitch the switch to left field as Robinson being the next in the line of Williams/Yaz/Rice/Manny.  So Cano either signs, or more likely the MFY freak and offer 9/$240.

 

[cannonball 1729]

 

 
To all of you who make the argument that a player should stick by his team and do the best there, I give you Ray Bourque/Junior Seau/Ray Allen just from recent Boston Sports history. Obviously the differences are that their previous teams had varying ability to compete where the Sox are the defending champs, but the motivation to get the most money or the motivation to get that ring are for the player alone. No reason to hate in either direction, but be consistent at least.

 

 
There's no reason that a player can't become a statue/icon type in his second stop.  Just look at David Ortiz, currently on his second MLB team and his third professional organization.  Or Pedro, who started as an Expo.  Hell, Johnny Damon was beloved here by 2005 (before he left, anyway), and he'd only been playing with the Sox since 2002.

 

[dirtynine]

So the Sox paid about $20m for Ellsbury, ages 23-29, and the Yankees will pay a bit more than $150m for ages 30-37.  I'm pretty happy with being a fan of the first team. 

 

[reggiecleveland]

So the Sox paid about $20m for Ellsbury, ages 23-29, and the Yankees will pay a bit more than $150m for ages 30-37.  I'm pretty happy with being a fan of the first team. 

Except the 150m mean almost nothing to the Yankees. It is a nice way to rationalize what happens, but the for the Yankees money is never a problem. If Ellsbury was their player and they wanted to keep him they would. The So wanted to keep him, but not at his price. If Cano was to leave a Yankee fan could make the same argument. But they can keep him at almost any price if they so desire. In isolation you can feel good we got value for Ellsbury, but the fact is we would like his in CF next year, but he will be in NY because they have way more money . I would not mind being the fan of ateam that could always keep the players they develoop and simply eat the declining years.
 
I want my team to win. I don't cheer for the WAR/$ championship.

 

[Alcohol&Overcalls]

I want my team to win. I don't cheer for the WAR/$ championship.

 
Don't the 3 Sox championships show that these things are far from mutually exclusive - in fact, they're likely intertwined? 

 

[Bone Chips]

Mike Francesa on the air. Calling this a "horrible contract". He's a "nice player". "Boras fleeced the Yankees". Thinks this means Gardner is gone now and forces Cano contract upwards of $200 million. He absolutely hates the deal. Poor Mike looks like he's about to blow a gasket.

 

[glennhoffmania]

Not sure where to put this and it doesn't flow in perfectly to the current conversation - but looking at how much more Jacoby got from the Yankees than the suggested offer from the Red Sox has been discussed many posts ago, and this may be something that should be discussed a bit further...
 
First, assuming the Red sox offered 6 years $120/million = $20 million per year
 
Yankees 7/153 (or 8/169);  21.85 million per year; or 21.125 million per year
 
The annual difference in the deal is not the 1.85 or 1.25 million more per year because NY State has approximately a 9% income tax rate and NY City has a 3.6% Income tax rate - versus the MA Income Tax rate of 5.25% - so he's looking at paying approximately 7% more in taxes annually...
 
So if the Yankees annual salary of 21.85 is reduced by the marginally higher taxes of 7% - the comparative salary with Boston's offer is 20,320,500.
 
So congrats Jacoby, you'll make an additional $320,500 annually for the next 6 years (not really as that doesn't factor the income taxes (federal and state) and agent's fees, etc. that will reduce that difference).
 
Sure Boras does a great job getting the headlines and ego stroke of the "Huge" deal - but the net deal was probably not the best one out there for him.
 
(The no trade clause gives extra control to Ellsbury, but very limited, because if the Yankees ever wanted to move him and he doesn't waive his no trade clause, that will definitely be leaked in the media and it will get ugly).
 
So really, the deal that "forced" Ellsbury to sign has to be the extra two years.  Interesting that the "security" of having those two years covered was valuable to him today but that security was not valuable prior to hitting free agency, prior to having a $100 million guaranteed in the bank...
 
Anyhow, It's awesome that there are players out there like Pedroia (and maybe I'm wrong) that want a "fair deal" but don't seem to care about squeezing every last buck they can get, that they just want to compete, want to win and want to be part of an organization.  I would have loved it if Ellsbury was that kind of guy, but since he's not - I'm not going to find it hard to root for a rapid decline especially that he's now part of the Yankees (who my personal hatred for was waning)....

This isn't actually correct because players pay tax in every state in which they are present during the course of a year.  Ellsbury may not even end up being a NY resident depending on where he spends his free time.
 

Except the 150m mean almost nothing to the Yankees. It is a nice way to rationalize what happens, but the for the Yankees money is never a problem. If Ellsbury was their player and they wanted to keep him they would. The So wanted to keep him, but not at his price. If Cano was to leave a Yankee fan could make the same argument. But they can keep him at almost any price if they so desire. In isolation you can feel good we got value for Ellsbury, but the fact is we would like his in CF next year, but he will be in NY because they have way more money . I would not mind being the fan of ateam that could always keep the players they develoop and simply eat the declining years.
 
I want my team to win. I don't cheer for the WAR/$ championship.

 
This is the key thing.  I've been debating with a Yankee fan since last night and we're talking past each other.  I keep saying how happy I am Boston didn't give him this deal.  He keeps saying how much better NY is now that the deal is done.  Unless they still have delusions about staying under the cap, this deal means nothing to NY's future spending.  I don't mind it at all, especially when my team has won three WS in the last decade.  But it's annoying when Yankee fans can't take a step back and realize that they're looking at things from a very different perspective.

 

[Remagellan]

Mike Francesa on the air. Calling this a "horrible contract". He's a "nice player". "Boras fleeced the Yankees". Thinks this means Gardner is gone now and forces Cano contract upwards of $200 million. He absolutely hates the deal. Poor Mike looks like he's about to blow a gasket.

 
He'll love Jacoby once he starts playing for his team and coming on his show.   That is, until/unless he gets hurt.  

 

[Otis Foster]

Not surprised he left nor that he was paid this much considering how frothy the free agent market was. I suspected the Sox wanted to keep him because they recognize how talented he is and what his best seasons, and I figured they'd go to $120-130m or so. I knew he'd be overpaid, but I didn't know he'd get his much. But we have to throw out everything we thought we knew about the free agent market.
 
Great player that had the potential to be a "face of the franchise" kind of guy but never quite got there. That kind of leadership and "brand value" may have encouraged the Red Sox to spend more on him but those qualities never really materialized, at least not in a public-facing way.

 
Agreed - he just wasn't that kind of guy. Not an attack on him - the same applies to lots of others - but I can't imagine Jacoby calling the team together in the dugout, after the 3rd inning.

 

[Sprowl]

Ellsbury's departure was expected, although the destination is a disappointment and the Yankees didn't overpay by the amount I would have hoped. The only way in which this would become a disaster would be if the Red Sox were to react by pursuing Cano, Choo, Granderson or any of the other overvalued free agents left on the market.
 
Stick to the value discipline and multi-year perspective, build around cost-controlled young players, fill in the gaps with short-term veterans, stockpile draft choices, and count on deep depth to keep the Red Sox competitive for 162 games.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

If you were Cano, you wouldn't run. You would jog – barely.

 
Lollygagger!

 

[Pumpsie]

Ellsbury's departure was expected, although the destination is a disappointment and the Yankees didn't overpay by the amount I would have hoped. The only way in which this would become a disaster would be if the Red Sox were to react by pursuing Cano, Choo, Granderson or any of the other overvalued free agents left on the market.
 
Stick to the value discipline and multi-year perspective, build around cost-controlled young players, fill in the gaps with short-term veterans, stockpile draft choices, and count on deep depth to keep the Red Sox competitive for 162 games.

Exactly how I'm viewing the situation.  But, still, I'm going to miss seeing Jacoby play every day for the home town team. 

 

[Bone Chips]

Ellsbury's departure was expected, although the destination is a disappointment and the Yankees didn't overpay by the amount I would have hoped. The only way in which this would become a disaster would be if the Red Sox were to react by pursuing Cano, Choo, Granderson or any of the other overvalued free agents left on the market.
 
Stick to the value discipline and multi-year perspective, build around cost-controlled young players, fill in the gaps with short-term veterans, stockpile draft choices, and count on deep depth to keep the Red Sox competitive for 162 games.

Perfectly stated. This is the formula for success in the post steroid era and I hope the Sox stay the course and remain disciplined. I think they will.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

According to Ken Davidoff the Sox were only offering 5/80
 
https://twitter.com/KenDavidoff/status/408290612140859392
 
If this was true then the whole "wanting Ellsbury back" thing was strictly PR. There's no way the Sox would have realistically believed that that offer would entice him back. I'm guessing they were hoping he would have no serious suitors and only wanted him back on short money/years - which , considering the presence of Bradley, was certainly a reasonable position.

 

[Al Zarilla]

 
Agreed - he just wasn't that kind of guy. Not an attack on him - the same applies to lots of others - but I can't imagine Jacoby calling the team together in the dugout, after the 3rd inning.

A lot of teams probably go years without a guy that will take it upon himself grab hold of the whole team and say we're going to GDMF do this! Ortiz, Hunter Pence in the playoffs last year, who else? I don't remember any publicized such Jeter events, for example. Even Pedroia, albeit an outspoken team leader, doesn't quite seem to have the moxie to do that. Jacoby, definitely not. Jacoby was a keep his nose to the grindstone, keep himself is the best shape possible guy who happened to have two bad injuries (three?), and went through some personal hell, maybe even from a teammate (Youkiilis). I'm gonna miss the guy a lot and just hope JBJ can pick up a lot of Jacoby's contributions. 

 

[E5 Yaz]

Ellsbury is guaranteed $148MM over the first seven years of the contract, and there is a $21MM option for an eighth year that comes with a $5MM buyout, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).

 

[C4CRVT]

According to Ken Davidoff the Sox were only offering 5/80
 
https://twitter.com/KenDavidoff/status/408290612140859392
 
If this was true then the whole "wanting Ellsbury back" thing was strictly PR. There's no way the Sox would have realistically believed that that offer would entice him back. I'm guessing they were hoping he would have no serious suitors and only wanted him back on short money/years - which , considering the presence of Bradley, was certainly a reasonable position.

Or it could be that they believe that's his value to this team.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

According to Ken Davidoff the Sox were only offering 5/80
 
https://twitter.com/KenDavidoff/status/408290612140859392
 
If this was true then the whole "wanting Ellsbury back" thing was strictly PR. There's no way the Sox would have realistically believed that that offer would entice him back. I'm guessing they were hoping he would have no serious suitors and only wanted him back on short money/years - which , considering the presence of Bradley, was certainly a reasonable position.

 
You make it sound like claims that they wanted him back were disingenuous just because their offer wasn't a blank-check offer.  There's a difference between wanting him back at their price and wanting him back at any price, but they are both still genuine desires to want the player to return.  Even without the presence of Bradley as a back-up plan, the Red Sox would still have drawn the line somewhere with Ellsbury.  Maybe the line would have been higher than 5/80, but that doesn't mean it would have been in the neighborhood of 7/153 either.

 

[Pumpsie]

 
I think you also have to consider the team dynamic at play here. They've got the face of the franchise, Pedroia, making ~$14M a year for the next 8 years. Granted it was an extension signed mid-season, with several years left on his deal; so offering Ellsbury a higher AAV makes sense. But I don't think they are going to suddenly offer him 50% more than they are paying Dustin. Maybe this kind of stuff doesn't matter, but it seems like there's a philosophy they've got and if the player doesn't buy in and is dead set on maximizing his payout, he's not going to come back; the Sox aren't often going to be the highest bidder. Think the same thing will happen with Lester, if he wants to set the market he's gone.

That's right.  You have to consider the entire Gestalt of the team's contracts.  You really can't give Ellsbury $20m per and not expect a whole lot of pushback and repercussions from the other players.  They seem to be looking for players who value winning a championship even though it might mean they leave a few bucks on the table in the interests of fielding a truly competitive team.  And they certainly aren't looking to have the most expensive players at too many positions (Ortiz at DH might be the only one and that's as it should be) as that probably would mean cutting costs by going too cheap at others.  It's a juggling act that they were masterful at regarding the 2013 team.  There was no way Ellsbury's situation was going to work out in this regard unless Ellsbury decided to walk away from about $75 million. 

 

[johnnywayback]

Or it could be that they believe that's his value to this team.

 
Or they could have been negotiating.  I'm sure if Boras had come back and said, "No dice, but make it 5/100 and we're getting somewhere," they'd have been happy to have that conversation.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Or it could be that they believe that's his value to this team.

 
For sure .. But .. I would think the general consensus of this board would have viewed a 100/5 offer as the absolute minimum that Ellsbury would conceivably have accepted - MLBTRs had predicted 150/7 (rather prescient it seems).  
 
Sure they would have welcomed Ellsbury back on a 5/80 deal - who wouldn't ?? Considering inflation that's less than what they gave J.D. Drew .. and it's less than Hunter Pence's rumoured deal
 
In other words, it was a laughable offer not to be treated seriously. 

 

[FFCI]

This isn't actually correct because players pay tax in every state in which they are present during the course of a year.  Ellsbury may not even end up being a NY resident depending on where he spends his free time.
 
 
This is the key thing.  I've been debating with a Yankee fan since last night and we're talking past each other.  I keep saying how happy I am Boston didn't give him this deal.  He keeps saying how much better NY is now that the deal is done.  Unless they still have delusions about staying under the cap, this deal means nothing to NY's future spending.  I don't mind it at all, especially when my team has won three WS in the last decade.  But it's annoying when Yankee fans can't take a step back and realize that they're looking at things from a very different perspective.

 
First, I am not a CPA, but I understand that states (and countries) are now taxing players for the income they make attributable to where they play - whether they are residents or not.  So with Ellsbury playing 81 games in NYC - that portion of his salary will be subject to higher taxes. 
 
There are definitely SOSH members that have more knowledge on this than I do, my point is/was that although the numbers sound great - they have to be higher in NYC to be equal to numbers elsewhere....

 

[soxhop411]

Due to this signing it seems the Yankees are now "iffy" on Tanaka

“@DavidWaldstein: Source: Combination of Ellsbury signing and uncertainty over what new posting system will be means that Tanaka now very iffy for Yankees.”
https://twitter.com/DavidWaldstein/status/408319057021378560

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

 
Or they could have been negotiating.  I'm sure if Boras had come back and said, "No dice, but make it 5/100 and we're getting somewhere," they'd have been happy to have that conversation.

 
I think that, in serious negotiation , you don't offer up an opening bid of half what the perceived value might be - because that just pisses off the other side. 
 
If you think Ellsbury could get in the neighbourhood of 150/7 then you might start off at 5/100 and hope the other side comes down so you can meet in the middle at 120/6 
 
I'm not saying the FO was wrong in valuing the player at that figure - they have Bradley ready to step in. But its just hard to believe that they thought they could actually sign him with that kind of offer.

 

[TheoShmeo]

I don't pretend to know how Tanaka will fare in the US.  But if signing a CF keeps the Yankees from acquiring a pitcher who looks like he has the chance to be a very successful pitcher here, then the move is already paying dividends for the Sox.
 
Now David Waldstein could be wrong, and the MFYs have shown an extraordinary ability to spend during the SiaS Era, but the notion that adding Jacoby is going to keep them from addressing their most pressing need with perhaps the most enticing alternative is rather enjoyable.

 

[AbbyNoho]

I don't think this is necessarily bad for the Yankees. It will be great for them for at least a few season, and possible he'll be 'worth' the contract. Even if he isn't the Yankees have shown that it doesn't matter that much to them because they have the resources to replace players.
 
On the flip side - I'm not that upset for the Red Sox angle either. We're not the Yankees - the dollars do matter to us - and that contract would end up being an albatross in Boston. We have an exception prospect in Jackie Bradley Jr ready to fill in. We were never banking on keeping Jacoby. The team is worse off without him, but that was nearly an inevitability that they've been planning on for a while. 
 
It sucks from an emotional 'he was our guy, now he's their guy' perspective, but it's probably a deal that works out for everyone in the end. 

 

[brandonchristensen]

This doesn't hurt as bad as Damon, even though he was our kid that we raised up...it still doesn't hurt.
 
Maybe because the 'Yankees' aren't the Yankees of the late 90's through the mid-2000's. I kinda feel like that rivalry is gone.

 

[lambeau]

If  Ells' option vests he gets 8/$169-- and reportedly   7/170 is the offer on the table for Cano.
 
Yet over their last five full seasons Cano has an OPS of .905 and Ells .775. Cano over 25 HR every season--Ells over 9 HR once.
 
Cano may be looking a little sideways at his new agent right about now.

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Is his option year a vesting option or club option?

 

[mauidano]

Ellsbury's departure was expected, although the destination is a disappointment and the Yankees didn't overpay by the amount I would have hoped. The only way in which this would become a disaster would be if the Red Sox were to react by pursuing Cano, Choo, Granderson or any of the other overvalued free agents left on the market.
 
Stick to the value discipline and multi-year perspective, build around cost-controlled young players, fill in the gaps with short-term veterans, stockpile draft choices, and count on deep depth to keep the Red Sox competitive for 162 games.

This really sums it up best.  

 

[hbk72777]

Mike Francesa on the air. Calling this a "horrible contract". He's a "nice player". "Boras fleeced the Yankees". Thinks this means Gardner is gone now and forces Cano contract upwards of $200 million. He absolutely hates the deal. Poor Mike looks like he's about to blow a gasket.

 
 
Francesa is a god damned moron. If it isn't a story about Parcells or his gold digging wife, he downs it.
 
He was only made tolerable by having Russo as his court jester.

 

[glennhoffmania]

 
First, I am not a CPA, but I understand that states (and countries) are now taxing players for the income they make attributable to where they play - whether they are residents or not.  So with Ellsbury playing 81 games in NYC - that portion of his salary will be subject to higher taxes. 
 
There are definitely SOSH members that have more knowledge on this than I do, my point is/was that although the numbers sound great - they have to be higher in NYC to be equal to numbers elsewhere....

 
If you're a NY resident, which means you spent more than 183 days in NY during the year, you're taxed on all of your income but you get credits for taxes paid in other states.  Since NY has a fairly high top marginal rate, you basically end up paying tax at the NY rate on all of your income.
 
If you're not a NY resident you only pay NY tax on the portion of your income earned while in NY. 
 
All I was trying to say was that your math was way too simplistic and not very accurate, despite the fact that guys who play half of their games in NY will obviously pay more tax than guys who play half of their games in FL, all other things being equal.  You can't simply compare the MA and NY rates and calculate the difference on 20m of income.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

Ellsbury's departure was expected, although the destination is a disappointment and the Yankees didn't overpay by the amount I would have hoped. The only way in which this would become a disaster would be if the Red Sox were to react by pursuing Cano, Choo, Granderson or any of the other overvalued free agents left on the market.
 
Stick to the value discipline and multi-year perspective, build around cost-controlled young players, fill in the gaps with short-term veterans, stockpile draft choices, and count on deep depth to keep the Red Sox competitive for 162 games.

 
And the way this becomes sweet is (assuming the Red Sox come back to earth next year) when the small market Royals win the pennant based on low payroll and great farm system, beating out the pitching-starved Yankees.

 

[InsideTheParker]

 
And the way this becomes sweet is (assuming the Red Sox come back to earth next year) when the small market Royals win the pennant based on low payroll and great farm system, beating out the pitching-starved Yankees.

There are two ways this signing is less painful than it might have been. 1) The Red Sox just won the World Series and 2)Jacoby Ellsbury helped them do it. If a small-market team could only win next year, it would be very satisfying, filling in the time the Sox need to get their youngsters up to speed.

 

[CaskNFappin]

I'd prefer the Sox make the proper adjustments to win in 2014 and beyond.

 

[Plympton91]

I don't think this is necessarily bad for the Yankees. It will be great for them for at least a few season, and possible he'll be 'worth' the contract. Even if he isn't the Yankees have shown that it doesn't matter that much to them because they have the resources to replace players.
 
On the flip side - I'm not that upset for the Red Sox angle either. We're not the Yankees - the dollars do matter to us - and that contract would end up being an albatross in Boston. We have an exception prospect in Jackie Bradley Jr ready to fill in. We were never banking on keeping Jacoby. The team is worse off without him, but that was nearly an inevitability that they've been planning on for a while. 
 
It sucks from an emotional 'he was our guy, now he's their guy' perspective, but it's probably a deal that works out for everyone in the end. 

 
If they've been planning for it, what steps are planned to offset the loss in 2014?  They did just raise ticket prices by 5%; typically you get a better product when the price goes up, not a worse one.

 

[No Guru No Method]

DH3 has spoken ! Lower ticket prices ! Ths most recent championship sticks in your craw, doesn't it ?

 

[Ed Hillel]

If they've been planning for it, what steps are planned to offset the loss in 2014? They did just raise ticket prices by 5%; typically you get a better product when the price goes up, not a worse one.


Personally, I'm hoping the Sox will win 2 World Series this year.

If you don't like the ticket hike, don't go to the games. Or better yet, stop watching. That second one may be your best option.

 

[cannonball 1729]

 
If you're a NY resident, which means you spent more than 183 days in NY during the year, you're taxed on all of your income but you get credits for taxes paid in other states.  Since NY has a fairly high top marginal rate, you basically end up paying tax at the NY rate on all of your income.
 
If you're not a NY resident you only pay NY tax on the portion of your income earned while in NY. 
 
All I was trying to say was that your math was way too simplistic and not very accurate, despite the fact that guys who play half of their games in NY will obviously pay more tax than guys who play half of their games in FL, all other things being equal.  You can't simply compare the MA and NY rates and calculate the difference on 20m of income.

 
Not to mention that 81 games is well under half of the baseball player's year, since players are presumably expected to attend Spring Training as well.  

 

[CaskNFappin]

 
If they've been planning for it, what steps are planned to offset the loss in 2014?  They did just raise ticket prices by 5%; typically you get a better product when the price goes up, not a worse one.

Alex Castellanos and Burke Badenhop.....plus Alex Hassan waiting in the wings.....I'd say 5% isn't enough!