Hamilton is an elite player that most teams, including the Red Sox, stayed away from. The Sox had long discussions internally about him, and they could have used him more than anyone in the middle of their batting order. And they had $260 million saved from the Dodgers deal last summer to pay him.
Get over it already.
It is a different animal than Boston, but there are similarities. For one, expectations are very high for the Dodgers. And Crawford is already complaining about more elbow pain.
Also, Los Angeles is a larger media market than Boston. There are reporters in LA, too, Carl, who will be expecting top performance for $20 million a year.
Right, because there's a direct correlation between size of market and the intensity of media scrutiny. By that token, we should expect Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, Atlanta, and Houston to be just as intense as Boston and we know that's not true.
“Seems like he’s frustrated with what he’s going through,” said a National League general manager. “If the Red Sox blew it on Crawford, then Crawford blew it on the Red Sox.
“Let’s face it, he chased the money. That’s why he signed there. The Red Sox paid way more than anyone else would.”
That is a great point.
A great point? Crawford HIMSELF
said this. "
It just wasn’t the right place for me at the end of my day,” he said. “I didn’t do my homework. Maybe they didn’t, either." But yo needed to quote some anonymous NL general manager (no doubt it was Brian Sabean, who you already quoted earlier in the column) to get that degree of insight? LAZY.
2. Anyone worried about Joel Hanrahan’s poor spring so far?
Why the hell are you asking me? YOU'RE THE COLUMNIST. Should we be worried? How about you ask John Farrell or Juan Nieves, or hell, Hanrahan himself. Have you considered that maybe he's a bit distracted because his wife is about to give birth to their first child?
4. Have to admit, no matter what happens with Team Italy, it has been fun to watch in the World Baseball Classic. Manager Marco Mazzieri is a pretty cool guy.
What makes him cool? I've never even heard of this guy, and I'm sure 99.9% of your readers haven't either. He never played in the States, so all your readers are basically clueless as to who he is, unless they followed the Italian Baseball League in the 80s and 90s. But he is, according to you, pretty cool. Thanks for the heads up.
6. Nick and Colin Barnicle (Prospect Productions) have produced another fascinating 30-minute documentary for ESPN called “Holy Grail: The T206 Honus Wagner.” It’s a look at the famous baseball card, worth upward of $3 million, and how it may have been doctored.
Oh wait, ESPN already aired this on February 27th? Where was this note 2 weeks ago?
7. Just sayin’: The Red Sox should honor Sam Mele, 91, a Quincy resident who spent 38 years of his career with the team as a player and scout; he was once one of Boston’s top talent evaluators. Mele also was the 1965 AL Manager of the Year, leading the Twins to a pennant. He watches every Red Sox game even though his eyesight is failing.
Just sayin': the Sox should honor this guy that managed the Minnesota Twins to a pennant almost 50 years ago.
2. Jose Iglesias, SS, Red Sox — If he continues to hit in spring training, would the Red Sox be open to dealing Stephen Drew? The Cardinals pursued Drew this offseason but lost out to the Red Sox. With Rafael Furcal injured, St. Louis is looking for help. Could Iglesias also be in the mix?
3. Jim Hickey, pitching coach, Tampa Bay — The Rays aren’t known for paying much to their players or coaches. With Hickey’s deal up after this season, would he leave as a free agent?
Again, WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME???
6. Kyle Lohse, RHP, free agent — There have been 800 or so reasons why teams say they are not interested in Lohse, who won 16 games last season for the Cardinals. Not sure I’m buying any of them.
Why aren't you buying any of them? You think teams aren't signing Lohse just for the hell of it? Here are two legitimate reasons for you. A) His agent is Scott Boras, and B) having to surrender a first-round pick to sign him. But ol' Nick ain't buyin' it.