Lost Cause

Seth Mnookin keeps trying to rebut Murray Chass' increasingly bizarre "stories" on the Red Sox. He should know by now that it's no use. This latest one is a doozy, possibly even worse than the J.D. Drew "tampering" allegation that not only was factually incorrect but illogically so, as well.

The Red Sox will never acknowledge that publicly. But in private, at least some members of their ruling triumvirate — John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino — have told a person who works as a consultant in Major League Baseball that had they been unable to sign Matsuzaka to a contract, they would still have considered the enterprise a success because he wouldn’t be on the Yankees. ...

But as the negotiating progressed, the Red Sox grew intrigued, and they offered more than the $5 million to $6 million a year they had originally planned as their ceiling. ...

But [Papelbon's] exit from the starting rotation presumably weakens it. It now has two 40-year-olds, one of whom, Tim Wakefield, had a losing record last season that might have made the difference between the Red Sox making and not making the playoffs.

There you have it. If not for Tim Wakefield's 7-11 record, the Red Sox would have made the playoffs. Oh, and all that scouting the Red Sox did since seeing Matsuzaka pitch in the 2004 Athens Olympics? Didn't mean a thing. They were only intrigued until the last two weeks or so.

I don't doubt that the Sox would have taken at least some solace in the fact that even had they not signed Matsuzaka, they would have been keeping him from the Yankees, but that's a far different sentiment than what is being purported here. No editor in his or her right mind should ever let this kind of unsourced crap into a newspaper.

Comments

[m.g. yanks fan]

paul, before your head explodes, why not check out FireJoeMorgan's take on it. really really funny.

http://www.firejoemorgan.blogspot.com/

second article down i think. although, they're all really good.

[m.g. yanks fan]

sorry, fourth one down

[Paul SF]

Thanks, MG, I'll do that.

I keep telling myself, "Just don't read it, Paul. It's not worth your time." But I just can't. It's like crack. You get hooked on a little bit of the crazy juice, and you just can't stop.

I mean, um, that's what they tell me.

Chass!! CHB!!!

yawn...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[DAW]

Paul, I'm starting to think you're obsessed with this guy. Take a deep breath.

BTW, I was expecting this post yesterday...

[Brad]

You get hooked on a little bit of the crazy juice, and you just can't stop.

hahahahahahaahaha..

[Hudson]

Said it before and I'll say it again... Lop the "Ch" off Murray's last name and you've got an apt evaluation of the guy.

[Hudson]

P.S. That JoeMorganMustBeStrappedtoaRockSoEaglesCanEatHisLiveronaDailyBasis site is indeed pretty funny.

My dads brothers mothers sisters friend from work has a son who knows a guy who knows a girl whose married to a guy that heard from a frinds friend that knows John Henrys wifes third cousin twice removed that the Sox really wanted Andy Pettit instead of the Dice-man, buuuut he went to New York instead. Wow did we get lucky. Is New York just jealous that they have the wrong #18 on their team. Yha know sometimes the best team just does'nt win. Thanks Johnny.

[dc]

...go murray...go murray...go murray...

[walein]

i think everyone knows that most, if not all, of the Red Sox problems last year begin and end with Tim Wakefield.

[SF]

All you SFs:

Meet me in Copley Plaza tomorrow at 3pm. We're burning Wakefield in effigy. It's long overdue.

[Devine]

"in effigy"? How disappointing.

[JeterFan]

Boston Herald Tony Massaroti breaksdown the Redsox payroll for 2007

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=191789&format=&page=1

The Red Sox will end up paying close to $165M after the luxury tax hit. Meanwhile the Yankees payroll going down and The Redsox are payroll going up. It's looks like both teams are in same playing field.. I don't want to hear Redsox Fans complains anymore about the Yankees Payroll and how they spend..

Hey Jeterfan I dont think we have complaind about that since oh lets see 2004.

[Andrew]

Actually many Sox fans were still complaining about it after Matsuzaka and Drew.

Anyway, I saw a girl carrying a Varitek cardboard cutout in Boston today. She was probably going to go burn it and dance dark rituals around it, because when Varitek got injured? The Sox went something like 12-22. It was all his fault, and therefore he needs to be punished.