tbb345 said:
If it was as insulting as people want to make it out to be, he never would have entertained offers from the Sox once he was out the door. March HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHERE THINGS ARE RIGHT NOW.
Lester: Stop Believing What You Read on Twitter.
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If it was as insulting as people want to make it out to be, he never would have entertained offers from the Sox once he was out the door. March HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHERE THINGS ARE RIGHT NOW.
Am I delusional or could this have been leaked by Lester camp to try to get the Sox to increase their offer?
Michael Silverman @MikeSilvermanBB 42s42 seconds ago
Source: If Lester has said he won't sign w #RedSox (per @Ken_Rosenthal) it is news to them. They have not been notified.
Source: If Lester has said he won't sign w #RedSox (per @Ken_Rosenthal) it is news to them. They have not been notified.
Why assume that he's choosing a team other than the Sox because he was insulted by the original offer? Isn't it as likely that 1)he wants the most money and/or 2)he welcomes a new challenge, as per Sandoval?
He has no sources. Now he will tweet what Rosenthal just posted.tbb345 said:
Great offseason for San Fran if they add Lester and moved on from 100M Panda.
Rob Bradford @bradfo 15s16 seconds ago
Lester agent Seth Levinson says idea of Red Sox being out and Giants, Cubs currently finalists "absolutely untrue"
ALIVE
Lester agent Seth Levinson says idea of Red Sox being out and Giants, Cubs currently finalists "absolutely untrue"
ALIVE
Jim Bowden @JimBowden_ESPN 13s14 seconds ago
Seth Levinson just told me that it is untrue that Lester is deciding between the Cubs and Giants the rest are still in #ESPN #Siriusxm
Seth Levinson just told me that it is untrue that Lester is deciding between the Cubs and Giants the rest are still in #ESPN #Siriusxm
Exactly.Red(s)HawksFan said:
In the end, this has been a negotiation, and the Sox offered a significant deal. If Lester has decided to take a bigger offer or a longer offer, or just that he wants the challenge of pitching of elsewhere, he has earned the right to make that decision.
And the Sox will be fine.
So Bradford called Levinson in the past 5 minutes and got that, but Rosenthal rolled with his "sources"? I think it's fair to say we shouldn't react much to these Tweets until something final comes out of the Lester camp.
tbb345 said:
No, I don't because that would be a childish way to approach negotiations. Lester isn't a child.
If some reactions to that Rosenthal tweet are any indication, I'll probably have to take a vacation from SoSH if Lester signs elsewhere. Let's wait and see how it all plays out.
Red(s)HawksFan said:
This is true. But the point is that they had a chance to negotiate with him exclusively and they blew it. Just because the ST offer wouldn't be the reason he may pick another team now doesn't mean it becomes totally irrelevant.
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS 3s3 seconds ago
concur that giants & cubs seem like favorites, as @Ken_Rosenthal said. tho least red sox havent been informed theyre out.
concur that giants & cubs seem like favorites, as @Ken_Rosenthal said. tho least red sox havent been informed theyre out.
How do other teams bring that up? "Hey Jon, we like you more than Boston, remember their lowball offer?" At that point he already had their more recent offer in hand. I'm sure the lowball is part of the mix, but to simplify Lester's thinking on this is not worth doing. His relationship with Boston includes a million different things. If anything, the simplest message we could/will draw when it's over is that he just wants to try something different, which as noted above is not unusual.tbb345 said:
This seems like a stretch. What happened in March is only relevant in that he wouldn't be a FA right now if they'd been more aggressive.tbb345 said:
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 5s5 seconds ago
Seth Levinson says it’s “absolutely untrue” Sox are out on Lester
Seth Levinson says it’s “absolutely untrue” Sox are out on Lester
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN 12s13 seconds ago
Teams say Lester's agents typically present bidders with specific $ amounts to reach. So BOS may well have a take-down price--and a choice.
Teams say Lester's agents typically present bidders with specific $ amounts to reach. So BOS may well have a take-down price--and a choice.
Levinson's doing too much denying. To me that means it is true and the Levineon's don't want to tip their hand. Bye Jon and good luck elsewhere!
Never wise to discount anything @Ken_Rosenthal reports. Denials by agent (WEEI) & ignorance of #RedSox curious. Soon, we'll know.
https://twitter.com/MikeSilvermanBB
jacklamabe65 said:
I'm on board with this as well. Lester leaving will hurt but the contract numbers seem really scary and well above what I thought was a fair market for him before this season. I'd be happy to hear he signed but I'd also be worried about that big number 5 and 6 years from now.
The key to this whole thing, IMNSHO is to not overreact and trade the guys we shouldn't be trading.
It's better to miss out on the playoffs in 2015 than it is to miss out on the entire career of Bogaerts, Betts, or Swihart.
It's better to miss out on the playoffs in 2015 than it is to miss out on the entire career of Bogaerts, Betts, or Swihart.
Well if true I hope as a huge Lester fan he goes to Chicago and not SF. Boston only has itself to blame for allowing this to happen so good luck Ben moving on to make the rotation somewhat decent.
I'd take Rosenthal over any agent saying btw.
I'd take Rosenthal over any agent saying btw.
BoSoxFink said:
BoSoxFink said:
Talk about damned if you do... If Levinson DOESN'T deny it, he's confirming it. If he does, then he's REALLY confirming it. In any case, I agree with the above: too much money for too old a pitcher who was strikingly mediocre not long ago. Move on.
burstnbloom said:
Whatever the number is, that's the market. And it means if they want someone of Lester's caliber that's what it'll cost. They don't get to pick and choose when the market works in their favor and when it doesn't. Everyone keeps talking about the FA class next year as if whatever Lester gets won't impact the cost of those players.
KillerBs said:
Yeah, gotta love how these writers leave themselves convenient "outs" should they be wrong as they do everything possible to build twitter follower armies.
If Boston signs him tonight, Rosenthal will just say "I guess there was a late change."
Twitter sucks this time of year.
Sean McAdam @Sean_McAdam 10s11 seconds ago
If Red Sox are indeed out on Lester, they haven't been told that. In fact, still have meeting scheduled with his agents this evening.
If Red Sox are indeed out on Lester, they haven't been told that. In fact, still have meeting scheduled with his agents this evening.
Disagree that 4/70 was "reasonable"; Scherzer rejected 6/144. In that market, even if you don't think Lester's a 24m/per pitcher on Scherzer's level, five years *or* 20m/per has to be the starting point; you can't go that low on both years and cash.Rudy Pemberton said:
Rudy Pemberton said:
My guess was that it's to inform them that they're ready to accept another offer unless Boston tops it, and indications from previous discussions suggest that Boston isn't willing to do so, thus leading to the speculation that Boston is out.
As esteemed and transcendent poster E5 Yaz pointed out to me, there is a great divide between the Red Sox being "out" and "if nothing changes Lester will go to someone besides the Red Sox."
This is bargaining. I think we need to recognize that difference.
This is bargaining. I think we need to recognize that difference.
There is no Rev said:
Right. It was always going to get "messy" with information as it came to a head.
I think the Red Sox can field a perfectly great rotation next year without Jon Lester, the only thing that concerns me is a panic setting in and the FO "giving" on Betts or Bogaerts to get a splashy replacement. Since I don't see that happening, and Lester isn't the last domino to fall this offseason, I'm excited to see where they'll go next if indeed he's NL-bound.
I'm fine with this, and would hope they'd top/match any offer in the 6/140 - 7/150 range, so long as it's not by much and that offer doesn't go back to the Giants/Cubs to further drag out the process.glennhoffmania said:
I have to figure that SF is the front runner. Cubs are 2nd and Boston is 3rd. BUT if Boston is willing to come close to SF then Lester comes back. Hopefully this becomes a reverse Bernie Williams situation from a while back.soxhop411 said:
RDLR, Workman, Webster, Ranaudo, Barnes, Owens, Rodriguez, Johnson, plus other guys like Hembree, Escobar and Wright (and guys further away like Ball and Stankiewicz). These guys aren't all going to stick in Boston. It bears repeating - we have a ton of valuable pitching prospects. BC will be able to find a quality starter or two by trading from this surplus and thereby avoid paying full FA freight to add two good starters. It's possible that he can get enough value from dealing Cespedes and/or another MLB player (Craig?) to get a top-of-the-rotation arm through trade. So if they draw a line on Lester, maybe it means they find a way to get Cueto by dealing quantity (and by involving others teams) and then extend him a year before FA hits, for less money than it takes to sign Lester. Or someone comparable. It's not Lester, Hamels or bust.
Ben's got money, resources, and brains. Let's see what he can pull off.
Ben's got money, resources, and brains. Let's see what he can pull off.
4/$70 wasn't really a bad offer as a starting point considering that Lester really only had performed as a no. 2 with some stretches of ace caliber quality and stretches of no. 4 caliber quality up to Spring Training. Tempers flared because the most recent stretch was his "ace quality" leading them through the playoffs... but there's been far too many no. 3 quality pitchers that have amazing stretches through the playoffs (Mike Hampton anyone?) that end up getting THAT type of contract and then fall flat on their face. 4/$70 wasn't a bad starting place at all IMO.
If he chooses the Yankees I'll be bummed but whatever.... I'm not upset about Ellsbury and I won't be upset about Lester going anywhere else.
If he chooses the Yankees I'll be bummed but whatever.... I'm not upset about Ellsbury and I won't be upset about Lester going anywhere else.
It's frustrating that we could have got Lester for much cheaper in ST but I am very interested in what Ben and Co. Have up their sleeve next.
If that involves trading Swihart, Betts, or X for Hamels then we should all be outraged and not signing Lester would be an unmitigated disastrous
If that involves trading Swihart, Betts, or X for Hamels then we should all be outraged and not signing Lester would be an unmitigated disastrous
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