Red Sox Sign Crawford to 7 year 142 Mill Deal
Red Sox Agree To Sign Carl Crawford
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [December 8, 2010 at 10:33pm CST]
The Red Sox started the Winter Meetings with a splash and they won't leave before making another blockbuster addition. Boston has agreed to a seven-year, $142MM deal with Carl Crawford, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports confirms the agreement (on Twitter).
Not only will the move give Boston a tremendous everyday lineup, it will put pressure on a number of the team's rivals. The Rays will face their former outfielder 18 times per season; the Angels lose out on their top offseason target and the Yankees are left with no major free agent to pursue if Cliff Lee ignores their overtures.
Crawford will become the first position player without a 20 homer season on his resume to sign a nine-figure contract. His representatives at Legacy Sports negotiated a deal that falls just short of the eight-year, $160MM Dan Duquette signed Manny Ramirez to a decade ago. However, it surpasses the seven-year, $126MM deal Jayson Werth signed this week.
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As that guy from The Wire would say:
SHIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET
by Fila429 on Dec 8, 2010 8:55 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
THAT GUY?!?!
THAT GUY!?!?!?!?!
I'm still waiting for John Johnstone to come off the DL.
by yankeessuck8991 on Dec 8, 2010 10:07 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
wonder if this makes the angels splurge
on Cliff Lee actually. I hope so. I really wanna see the Yankees fail and there fans get upset about their offseason.If they dont get Lee AND Pettite retires, i think they miss the playoffs. That rotation has the potential to be actually BAD. i doubt theyll take another chance on Carl Pavano or with Greinke and his anxiety disorder worries
Brandon!
Belts one out of here!!
They certainly could. It would hurt the Rangers too in the process. Getting Lee would allow them to trade a starter like Santana too for a bat.
Torri Hunter must be upset lol.
If the Angels sign Lee
Yankees fans will throw the mother of all bitch sessions and the rest of baseball (except the Red Sox, now) will sit there in disbelief and ask “Aren’t they the ones who gave Alex Rodriguez $28 million a year till he’s 42?”
Ain't no Posey like a Buster Posey cause a Buster Posey don't stop...hitting.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Well, don't root for the Angels in that scenario
Root for the Rangers.
Juan "Doesn't Cheat The Game" Perez, future CF for the World Champion San Francisco Giants.
setting up an epic world series....
me vs the lady friend, giants vs. red sox, great pitching vs. great hitting, new school AT&T vs. old school Fenway, McCovey Cove vs. The Green Monster, non-dodgers vs. non-yankees
Wilson vs. Papelbon would be epic theater!
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Holy Fuck
Another terrible contract. He’ll be entirely useless halfway through.
lolwhut
Carl Crawford is the best FA to hit the market since CC Sabathia (and probably better considering Sabathia’s a fatass). Young, five-tool player who’s succeeded in the toughest division in baseball? Unless you automatically consider any nine-figure contract a terrible one, this is a pretty damned good contract.
Ain't no Posey like a Buster Posey cause a Buster Posey don't stop...hitting.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)
Agreed. This is a really good for Boston-especially considering Werth got 7 years
"You think someone that big would be more well endowed" Aubrey Huff's mother on Pat Burrell
I thought he was going to punch me and I was totally accepting of it. I was planning a reason to thank him if he did." Brian Wilson on Buster Posey
Follow me: Twitter.com/gobroks
+1
Halfway through the contract (3.5 seasons) he’ll still only be 32 years old (he turns 33 in August of 2014), which is not old for somebody of Crawford’s talent – considering he obviously takes very good care of himself.
Now, if you want to argue that he’s very likely to get injured, and/or have at least one prolonged slump, at some point during the 7 years then I’m with you.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Lee > Crawford
And it’s not that close
Aaron King, please pitch better.
McC Wiki - for all you newcomers out there.
Crawford will be 29, Lee will be 32
If you’re talking about 7 year deals(which is what it’ll probably take to get Lee) , I think that makes Crawford the more attractive FA
The thong is, it happened.
Unless you automatically consider any nine-figure contract a terrible one
I do. I blame it all on Zeets and Rowand. I inherently hope all these guys end up sucking just so people stop throwing these ridiculous amounts of money around.
who’s succeeded in the toughest division in baseball?
Well, I don’t think that has any relevance…the division’s a haven for hitters.
Basically, Crawford’s main game is speed, and when people get old they get slow (I’m basing this on years of intense testing and observations from the field), so that’s why I said what I said.
Basically what I’m trying to say is fuck the Red Sox, they still can’t pitch, so they’re not winning anything any time soon.
by InTimmyWeTrust on Dec 11, 2010 12:41 PM PST up reply actions
Its funny.. right after the World Series I thought to myself 'next year the Giants vs the Red Sox'
I dont know why. Maybe just because beating somebody old school an with a big name like the Red Sox would really hit home the Giants winning the Series.
Its funny because f*** the dodgers
Didn't hit 20 HR?
Wow. That Aubrey Huff contract is looking sweet!
"I could hear the angry MCC cacophany in my head."--Oldjacket, 7/4/10
That’s a lotta money
Kruk: "and the Giants, the San Francisco Giants…"
Kuip: "They got one…"
Kruk: "World Champs."
- November 1, 2010
Eh, it seems kinda low considering what Werth got
"You think someone that big would be more well endowed" Aubrey Huff's mother on Pat Burrell
I thought he was going to punch me and I was totally accepting of it. I was planning a reason to thank him if he did." Brian Wilson on Buster Posey
Follow me: Twitter.com/gobroks
Good grief
Mr. F! | comics | art | New Nattowear | Unofficial McImage Directory | Confused? Check the McWiki
Sort of reminds me of Philly trying to repeat in ’09 but the Yankees making them their bitches with an All-Star team beast.
Fuck, the Giants had enough problems just facing Adrian Gonzalez.
Didn’t the Giants lose two out of three against the Red Sox’s backups last season?
by Grant_ME_MERCY on Dec 8, 2010 9:45 PM PST up reply actions
THEY DIDNT HAVE BUMMY OR REJUVENATED TIMMY ON THE HILL AHAHA.
and Matt Cain thoroughly has dominated Boston in his career. Id like our chances in that world series. Even tho Boston is now automatically the Series favorites.
Brandon!
Belts one out of here!!
I could see a good match-up if:
Torres CF (stays consistent)
Sanchez 2B (stays consistent and healthy)
Huff 1B or LF (bat stays potent like 2010)
Posey C (bat 2010 or better)
Sandoval 3B (solid defense and bat 2009 or better)
Belt 1B of LF (real deal like Posey in 2010)
Cody Ross CF (bats like 2008/2009/2010 playoffs)
Tejada SS (solid defense and bat clutch)
Burrell DH (2010 bat minus World Series)
Lincecum P (better conditioned)
Matt Cain (2010 playoffs/World Series)
Sanchez (October 2010)
Bumgarner (World Series)
Wilson (no fuckups)
Romo (no fuckups)
Lopez (2010 Giants)
by Grant_ME_MERCY on Dec 8, 2010 10:06 PM PST up reply actions
I ment September for Sanchez P.
His arm gave out at the end.
by Grant_ME_MERCY on Dec 8, 2010 10:09 PM PST up reply actions
Oh yeah, Vaccoro, Bummy lost to the Red Sox.
He gave up a 3 run homer to backup CF Mike Cameron.
by Grant_ME_MERCY on Dec 8, 2010 10:11 PM PST up reply actions
I actually wasn’t serious about everything in the capitals that was a joke. And who cares if he gave up a home run to Cameron, a lot of pitchers have. The guys a power hitter and giant killer. Anyways MadBums stuff wasn’t bad that game, I specifically remember it. but the 3 run home run hurt.
Brandon!
Belted deep to right-center field!
by Vaccaro on Dec 9, 2010 1:34 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
There’s almost a many ifs on the red sox. Look at how unhealthy they were last year. Crawford hasn’t been healthy his whole career either. And look at Beckett an Lackey last year, not close to a sure thing. Also expect major regression from Bucholz. I’m not that scared of them in a 7 game series. Anything could happen it’s not that 1-sided
Brandon!
Belted deep to right-center field!
by Vaccaro on Dec 9, 2010 1:37 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Daisuke Matsuzaka is in their rotation.
That’s at least one win for the G Men
"Do you smell that Kenny? That's hard news. Notice the lack of fornicating horses."
that’s like best-case scenario for every one of those….and Pablo playing solid defense and hitting 2009 or better(?)….that’s a little too optimistic for me….
by repeat_in_2011 on Dec 9, 2010 6:28 PM PST up reply actions
And....
That’s another player added to the ol’ “Well, not with THAT contract I wouldn’t” file.
/closes filing cabinet, locks drawer
I'm as tall as Mel - why can't I hit 500 home runs?
Keep the key handy
Cliff Lee is still out there
by KrazyKrabMeat on Dec 9, 2010 10:21 AM PST up reply actions
You get a seven year deal! YOU get a seven year deal!
EVERYBODY GETS A SEVEN YEAR DEAL
Wikileaks Mirror List for Tumblr: Please Reblog, Retweet, Etc. || I had some other text here but then the San Francisco Giants won the World Series
I guess if you're gonna give out a 7-year deal, Crawford's the guy
but still, it’s crazy.
I was hearing Cliff Lee will likely get a 7-year deal and was all “WUT?”
The thong is, it happened.
If the Giants meet the Sox in the series next year, the Giants have Timmy, Cain, and nothing but lefties to throw at that lineup. I doubt they’re worried.
Buster Posey: Let's enjoy him before he goes to the Yankees because he wants to win the World Series. Wait, what???
by rxmeister on Dec 9, 2010 2:38 AM PST via mobile reply actions
I hope there is never a Giants-Red Sox World Series again
…that’s like choosing one of your kids over the other.
You were around for the last one?
In 1912. Man, you are a long-suffering Giants fan.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
But on the bright side, he’s seen at least 4 more World Series Championships than most of the rest of us!
MY DAD WAS WRONG!
Yes, but he only “saw” them if he had tickets to the games. They didn’t begin televising the Series until the 1951 season. Of course, you were probably using the term “seen” in a more general sense.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
Since I was just reading a book on the 1912 Series, I’ll show off my big brains and hope the zombies don’t come around.
While they didn’t televise series of course, what they did do in the early years in virtually all the major cities, was set up huge score boards that were essentially mechanical versions of the Gameday graphics we have online now. They would include facimiles of the various hitters, who would move around the diamond from station to station if they got on; each pitch would be announced and each play, first via the scoreboard, and then by an announcer who was getting a ticker tape feed from the stadium where the game was going on. In this way, for instance, Fred Snodgrass proud mother was able to have her heart crushed almost instantaneously when her boy dropped that fly ball in the 10th inning of the 8th game of the World Series, despite the fact that she lived in Los Angeles and the game was being played in Boston.
Of course, not too much later than this national radio coverage came along and that’s how most fans followed the series, so I guess he would have heard the championships in the 30s and 50s, but seen them in his mind’s eye.
MY DAD WAS WRONG!
If memory serves, didn’t they distribute the action call via Western Union? Pretty much all towns had WU offices back then – no universal telephone, and even if you had a phone long distance was incredibly expensive. In the bigger towns gathering around the WU office was akin to participating in a McC gameday thread with no TV or radio feed – with a very similar cast of characters and nick-names.
RE: Snodgrass. Everybody always forgets that he made an absolutely fantastic running catch on a blast to the RF gap in the 9th inning that would have been at least a double and likely a triple, and would have knocked in the winning run in regulation. Long-time great Boston OF Harry Hooper called it the greatest catch he ever saw.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
At least in 1912 it was the major newspapers that erected the boards as a bit of advertisement. So in the major cities like NY, Boston and Chicago, baseball fans had options as to where they wanted to go follow the game (Times Sq. or Herald Sq?). Don’t know if that was every year.
Snodgrass’ fantastic catch (which a lot of the players present said was the greatest they ever saw) actually was also in the 10th inning, on the very next batter after his error. It is the cruelest of fates that his brilliant play slips into the cracks and his error is put on his tombstone. Actually, the other fatal play in that inning (Merkle not catching a foul pop) was Mathewson’s fault for calling for the catcher to go after it at the last minute, though Merkle normally catches the blame for that one, too.
One other really fascinating thing I learned about 1912. The Red Sox LF, Hugh Duffy (for whom Duffy’s Cliff in Boston’s LF was named), has some interesting claims to fame. He was the only other person in uniform for both Babe Ruth’s 1st HR and his final HR (Duffy was a coach for the Braves at the time), and is likely the only person besides the Babe to witness them both. He played in the great 1912 series, and 63 years later, he was asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, thus witnessing probably the greatest victories in Red Sox history prior to 2004. Making him of course the only person who could truly answer the question as to whether Game 8 of the 1912 series or Game 6 of the 1975 was really the greater game.
MY DAD WAS WRONG!
2 things
1. Now I see why the Sox didn’t want to sign Gonzo to his contract extension until the beginning of the 2011 season. Their luxury tax will skyrocket in 2012 once both the Gonzo and Crawford contracts are recorded.
2. The Sox have a great-looking offense, and their OF and IF defense should be very good (especially in the OF), but their catching is sub-par (they must be really scrambling to get Russell Martin) and their pitching needs a major upgrade (especially their bullpen). We saw what happened to the Phillies great offense when their ptiching faltered in the playoffs. Unless the Sox make some major changes in their pitching they’re going to have a hard time even making the playoffs. If the Yanks get Cliff Lee and bring Pettite back I still like them and the Rays over the Sox due to their vastly superior pitching.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
They have like 50 mill coming off the books after this year. They have room for Crawford and Gonzo and probably even Pujols if they really want to go there.
Exactly. But if they had signed Gonzo to an extension before opening day his new contract would have counted towards their team budget for 2011, and not the very team-friendly $6.3M that will be recorded now. Crawford’s new contract will go on record immediately. Not officially (I’m sure they already have an agreement in principle that will be announced in April) signing an extension for Gonzo until next season will not make it so they end up paying Gonzo any less money over the life of his employ with the Sox, but it almost certainly will keep the Sox from having to pay the MLB front office tens of millions of $$$ in new luxury taxes for the 2011 season.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
The Marlins must be pissed that the Sox are messing with their revenue stream!
by KrazyKrabMeat on Dec 9, 2010 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
I think you’re right on, but just curious (and lazy), who are their starting five and their relievers and where do they stand compared to the league average? Off the top of my head (Ok, i cheated and looked), Beckett, Lester, Clay, Lackey, Dice-Suck, Wake as starters: definitely not top-notch, but where would you rank them, middle of the pack in baseball?
From an ERA+ standpoint, Boston and NYY had pretty similar staffs, just a little better than average (104 and 106 respectively). Both of them had terrible middle relief and pretty awful back ends of their rotations (and in the Yankees case, once Pettite got hurt, you got to that back end pretty darned quick). Boston’s biggest problem really (aside from paying a whole lot for predictably league average performance in John Lackey, though I guess not quite as much as we do) was that they got evil Beckett last year instead of good Beckett. If he gives them something more in line with his 2007-09 performances they’ll have a pretty solid rotation with great front line starters and solid back end. That said, his K rate has been in bit of free fall the last couple of years, so it’s nothing like a sure thing that he will bounce all the way back to his previous performances, but he’s almost certain to be better than the stinking carcass of suck that he was in 2010.
I gotta say, the whole “is Pettite going to retire story” is becoming more and more perplexing to me. Not that I wouldn’t wish him well if he wanted to call it quits, but it seems pretty clear that he’s gotten to just that level for he can turn a non-HOF level career into being a HOF simply by hanging around for while longer. He’s 38. He doesn’t rely on velocity or any physical tool that’s too likely to go into a free fall. He has 240 wins. And it appears that he can continue playing for a team that scores a bazillion runs a year for as long as he wants to. So it just seems to me that the inevitable math should start ringing a bell at some point. All he has to do is get in 5 more years of 12 wins (which seems imminently doable playing for the Yankees) and he can get to 300 wins a punch a ticket for immortality despite being mostly very-good-but-not-great throughout his career. Even setting aside the many millions of dollars, that seems to me quite an inducement for somebody who has played baseball all his life.
So if the annual retirement story isn’t just gamesmanship at this point, I really have to wonder why.
MY DAD WAS WRONG!
See, this is why I voted for you as Most Informative Poster. That’s both good knowledge and thoughtful analysis.
Seriously though, I don’t have much to add to what you wrote. I would add that I think (if the Yanks sign Cliff Lee) the odds of Pettite and Burnette having much better years in 2011 is higher than the odds that Dice and Beckett will. I think Dice is done and will be out of the rotation by June, and I think that Beckett is at that stage in his career that he will be fighting nagging injuries from here on out. Also, Wakefield as their 5th starter makes Zito look like Dirty Sanchez.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
I wonder if the Giants have the nerve to make Zito the 5th starter in the rotation, because its pretty obvious that’s what he is on this team.
"He knocks a stake through the heart of the Cardinals! The Cardinals are dead! The Giants are going to the World Series!!!" -Jon Miller
t's Posey time!!
Screw you Flannery.
Didn’t they already cross that bridge, in the most publicly humiliatingly way possible, by leaving Zito off all 3 postseason series’ rosters while keeping the other 4 starters on it? Boch will have no problem repeating that decision when the regular season starts in April.
I think that the starting rotation will be this:
Timmeh
Dirty
Cainer
MadBum
Zeets
Some teams will get a big shock when they have to face Zeets 1 day, only to come back and face Timmy’s nasty stuff the next day.
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
humiliatingly?
is that even a word?
"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner
I think so...
I have to say…if I see Zito before the 5th game of the season I’m going to throw a tantrum. Other than that I don’t care too much about the order.
"Today, it's as if McCovey's line drive finally went through. And the earthquake didn't happen. And Spiezio struck out. And Snow was safe."
Agreed.
By leaving him off the postseason roster they pretty much said he’s more mascot now than pitcher.
Honorary parent of Duane Kuiper, beloved broadcaster and power hitting coach for the Giants.
by Giant Voodoo on Dec 10, 2010 10:52 AM PST up reply actions
I think its a good deal for Boston
I could see him keeping up production like Torii Hunter has
"You need to get real!"
The only part of this deal that doesn’t add up is spending 20+ mil a year on a guy that has average power. I think in the end Boston will get their money’s worth, but I fully expect Crawford to lose a step within the 7 years. Even when that happens, i’d bet he’s still doing great things for the team like a super Randy Winn type.
Honorary parent of Duane Kuiper, beloved broadcaster and power hitting coach for the Giants.
by Giant Voodoo on Dec 10, 2010 10:59 AM PST up reply actions
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