Options
The Official "What was Jason Varitek Thinking" & "What are the Red Sox Thinking&q
Barndog
Posts: 20,459 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Sports Talk
or something like that.
Word is that the Sox have offered Varitek a one year deal at $5 million...half of what he was paid each of the last four years. If he signs the offering, it would include a second year at $5 million (club option). If the Sox don't exercise the option, Varitek can trigger a player option at $3 million.
So what was Varitek thinking when he turned down the Boston offer of arbitration, which likely would have netted him close to the $10 million he earned in 2008? Surely, he didn't believe the lies Boras was telling MLB about how much a weak-throwing, non-hitting catcher is truly worth outside of Boston.
And what are the Sox thinking in their willingness to bring Varitek back? Do they value their minor league pitchers so much that they didn't want to part with one of them (Suchholz or Bowden, perhaps?) in order to entice Texas to give up Saltalamacchia? Or maybe two easy outs at the tail end of the lineup (Varitek and Luso/Lowrie) can be surmounted due to supreme game-calling and leadership?
Who am I to second guess Theo? He has two WS championships as a GM and I am still winless.
Anyway, this whole ugly mess should come to a conclusion in the next week or less.
Word is that the Sox have offered Varitek a one year deal at $5 million...half of what he was paid each of the last four years. If he signs the offering, it would include a second year at $5 million (club option). If the Sox don't exercise the option, Varitek can trigger a player option at $3 million.
So what was Varitek thinking when he turned down the Boston offer of arbitration, which likely would have netted him close to the $10 million he earned in 2008? Surely, he didn't believe the lies Boras was telling MLB about how much a weak-throwing, non-hitting catcher is truly worth outside of Boston.
And what are the Sox thinking in their willingness to bring Varitek back? Do they value their minor league pitchers so much that they didn't want to part with one of them (Suchholz or Bowden, perhaps?) in order to entice Texas to give up Saltalamacchia? Or maybe two easy outs at the tail end of the lineup (Varitek and Luso/Lowrie) can be surmounted due to supreme game-calling and leadership?
Who am I to second guess Theo? He has two WS championships as a GM and I am still winless.
Anyway, this whole ugly mess should come to a conclusion in the next week or less.
0
Comments
Yes, Varitek stunk at the plate last year but I'm willing to give him another chance. It shouldn't be too hard to improve upon last season's hitting, especially if he's got his mind clear of divorce proceedings and contract expirations.
And Lowrie isn't all that bad at SS. Sure, his final numbers weren't great because he kinda tanked at the end. But up until early September he was still hitting over .280 which is pretty good for a rookie shortstop.
If Varitek does sign, I'll be happy. If the club picks up his option, I'll be happy. And after that, Joe Mauer will be a free agent and I'll be really happy if we sign him.
<< <i>Such negativity, gentlemen!
Yes, Varitek stunk at the plate last year but I'm willing to give him another chance. It shouldn't be too hard to improve upon last season's hitting, especially if he's got his mind clear of divorce proceedings and contract expirations.
And Lowrie isn't all that bad at SS. Sure, his final numbers weren't great because he kinda tanked at the end. But up until early September he was still hitting over .280 which is pretty good for a rookie shortstop.
If Varitek does sign, I'll be happy. If the club picks up his option, I'll be happy. And after that, Joe Mauer will be a free agent and I'll be really happy if we sign him. >>
umm, the unlimited checkbook south of Boston will need a catcher by then
<< <i>
umm, the unlimited checkbook south of Boston will need a catcher by then
True, but hopefully the Twins will have given up hope on trying to sign him midway through 2010 and they'll decide to trade him to a team that has actually kept some of their blue chip prospects . . .
Bosox1976
<< <i> <<umm, the unlimited checkbook south of Boston will need a catcher by then>>
Always so insightful you.
As for Varitek, that situation definitely sucks for him but he made his bed. For the Red Sox sake, I hope he doesn't harbor resentment which I'm assuming he won't. >>
I have already penciled in Mauer to the Yankee lineup
<< <i>Tek should stop switch hitting immediately. as a lefty didnt he hit .200? time to stick to one side old man. >>
it looks like he is swinging a telephone pole from the left side. Takes a good three to four seconds to complete a swing (by then, the ball is back in the pitcher's hand or rolling out to the mound for the Sox pitcher to pick up to start the next inning)
<< <i>He needs to get back on the "vitamins". >>
same with DO, sorry to say
I agree. Him and Big Poopy.
Report: Ortiz not sure if he took steroids
"The answer was in the Patriots eyes. Gone were the swagger and c0ck sure smirks, replaced by downcast eyes and heads in hands. For his poise and leadership Eli Manning was named the game's MVP. The 2007 Giants were never perfect nor meant to be. They were fighters, scrappers....now they could be called something else, World Champions."
<< <i>
<< <i>
umm, the unlimited checkbook south of Boston will need a catcher by then
True, but hopefully the Twins will have given up hope on trying to sign him midway through 2010 and they'll decide to trade him to a team that has actually kept some of their blue chip prospects . . . >>
sick. A team drafts well, gets damn lucky to get a stud player, but they have to trade him because they can't afford to pay him what some other team will.
John
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
That would be true except the now late owner of the Twins was actually the richest owner in baseball. He just chose not to spend as much money on his team as some other owners do.
I've seen it countless times in sports when players are going through off-field issues - it absolutely affects them on the field. Just like Foulke in 2005 with his divorce, JD Drew in 2007 with his child's illness, Tek's divorce totally screwed him up in 2008. I fully expect Tek to hit .260/15/70 this year....
LINK
Has there ever been more obsessing over a .220 hitter?
That being said, his agent is Bore-ass, and the Sox are not on best of terms with him at present.
Though Varitek has been insistent on a multiyear deal, a source in the player's camp recently indicated other reasons for the catcher turning down the Sox' offer of arbitration in December. If Varitek accepted arbitration, many assumed he would end up with a salary in the vicinity of $10 million. However, arbitration might have resulted in a nonguaranteed contract, allowing the Sox to release Varitek during spring training for a fraction of the cost.
Bosox1976
The offense this year will not be what the Sox need it to be (which is lethal). With Varitek in the order, the Sox have at least two easy outs (SS and Tek), maybe more if Lowell is not up to par (and I won't even discuss where Ortiz might be this year). Any potential trade prospects (Montero, Saltalamacchia, or Teagarden) should prove at least equal to Varitek, likely a touch better. Given the offense expected from the catcher spot along with the team's offensive potential, the Sox need to win with their pitching and defense. Varitek's defense is in disrepair. He is still good at digging balls out of the dirt, which allows pitchers to throw splitters, but he is slow to second and third, arm not so great, easy to steal off of him. Seemed to me that Cash did better last year even though he was catching Wakefield! Sure Varitek calls a good game, but so can John Farrell or another competent coach from the bench. Been done before, will be done again. So "calling a great game" is meaningless unless you have lazy or terrible coaching, which the Sox don't. I'm ready for Boston to move on and let Varitek catch for NYY later this year when Posada gets injured.
<< <i>his best days are behind him; he's just being selfish at this point. His contract should reflect the state that he is in...the state of decline. >>
a nice thing about Theo Epstein is that he runs the Sox payroll like a business most of the time. "No hard feelings, but you are not worth four years at $13.2 million per year to us." That attitude will keep the Sox financially viable, at least I hope so.
Sounds like it will be $5 million for this year with a $5 mil club option for next. If the club doesn't pick up the option, Varitek can but only gets $3 to start with another $2 in incentives starting at 80 games played. Seems like a reasonable deal to me.
<< <i>I was just coming here to say the same thing.
Sounds like it will be $5 million for this year with a $5 mil club option for next. If the club doesn't pick up the option, Varitek can but only gets $3 to start with another $2 in incentives starting at 80 games played. Seems like a reasonable deal to me. >>
he can earn up to $12 million over the two years if he meets the performance clause (80 games played) and it is the team exercising the 2010 option and not Varitek. I sure hope the Sox bring in a young catcher with potential to learn for at least a season and a half while Varitek is there.
Sox beat Boras this time...
<< <i>Sox beat Boras this time... >>
Probably worth $12m right there...
Bosox1976
<< <i>
<< <i>Sox beat Boras this time... >>
Probably worth $12m right there... >>
See, I think Boras' unhappiness at getting a mediocre/bad deal for a client means that he'll really try to stick it to the Sox next time
My Podcast - Now FEATURED on iTunes
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>Sox beat Boras this time... >>
Probably worth $12m right there... >>
See, I think Boras' unhappiness at getting a mediocre/bad deal for a client means that he'll really try to stick it to the Sox next time
I wish the Sox had someone with decent potential to "bring up" this year. Sad fact is they do not. Trade will be the route of choice. Sooner done, the better.