Turning Japanese

The Boston Red Sox Are Back
in the Baseball Business

Gammons: The Matsuzaka Investment

"Boston still has Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield. But if the Red Sox get Matsuzaka, they not only go into 2007 with a formidable five-man rotation, but with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard on the horizon, could have big starting pitching for the next five years.

"Second, the Red Sox strongly want to build an Asian foundation. When Theo Epstein left the Red Sox last fall, after he turned down the Dodger job, he worked with two Japanese teams as a consultant. Epstein believes in the next decade the mass of baseball talent coming out of Asia will alter the landscape, and his owners want to be entrenched in Japan as well as China; they signed three prominent Taiwanese prospects this spring, and are looking into establishing complexes in Taiwan and mainland China..."

"It is a gamble to spend the next 30 days negotiating with Boras for Matsuzaka while other free-agent pitchers are being signed. Matsuzaka's health is always a concern considering that he threw 13 complete games and on days before he pitches he throws a 200-pitch bullpen session; it's also every fifth, not every sixth or seventh, day that he starts. Yes, he has thrown more than 1,402 innings before the age of 26, but as The Hardball Times points out, that's fewer before turning 26 than Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Carlos Zambrano, Brett Myers, C.C. Sabathia and others, and his regimen is legendary." -- 11.14.06, Peter Gammons, ESPN Insider blog (by subscription only)

Sox Bid of $51.1M to Land Matsuzaka is Tops

" 'If they can sign him, they've got the best pitcher in the market, and he may be the best pitcher in baseball when all is said and done,' said one American League general manager Tuesday night. 'He's got five outstanding pitches. 'Coming over from Japan where he threw a lot of innings and had 13 complete games, I would think this would seem like a vacation to him. It's a lot of money, but if you have it, why not use it on a kid like this? The Yankees have to be sick about this.' " -- 11.14.06, Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe

Now All They Have to Do Is Sign Him

Bob Ryan: Sox Make Big Investment

"At the very least, the consensus is that he is a top-of-the-rotation starter. He is said to have outstanding stuff. According to a National League scout quoted by "Baseball Prospectus," the repertoire consists of a mid-90s fastball, a cutter, a two-seam fastball known as a "shuuto," a curveball, a changeup, a splitter, and a slider. Again according to Baseball Prospectus, another NL scout says he has three different sliders, which would give him nine pitches. Mike Mussina will be jealous." -- 11.14.06, Bob Ryan, Boston Globe

Has Theo Created a Monster?

The Market for Starters May Never Be the Same

Verducci: Boston's Bold Move

"Just four months after the Boston Red Sox said they couldn't possibly consider picking up the $22 million owed Bobby Abreu at the trading deadline -- "We're not the Yankees," was the short version of their defense -- they apparently have blown the rest of baseball out of the water for the rights to negotiate with Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka, a pitcher who might cost them $75 million for three years of service.

"It would seem to be a stunning reversal of philosophy until you understand this: There is no more valuable commodity in the game than young ace pitchers, and the Red Sox boldly just redefined the value." -- 11.14.06, Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated

Eric Wilbur: Great Expectations

"For all the mind-boggling dollars the Red Sox are prepared to sink into Japanese pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka -- an investment that will likely top $100 million by the time a contract is agreed upon -- the bottom line remains that nobody is quite sure how he'll fare once arriving in America. While names like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui are most commonly associated with Matsuzaka, guys like Hideki Irabu and -- while not Japanese -- Robinson Checo remain the primary concerns about importing unknown commodities into the major leagues." -- 11.14.06, Eric Wilbur, Boston.com

Sox Get the Word Tonight

Extra Bases Today: Epstein Looking for More Than Matsuzaka

"While he might be in front of cameras Tuesday night answering questions as the top bidder for Daisuke Matsuzaka, Epstein also disclosed on Monday that he has made formal offers to two free-agent pitchers." -- 11.14.06, Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff